Hey guys, why get your panties in such a bunch? We all gotta work for a living, so what's wrong with people whose job is to come up with inspired, fun, creative things on behalf of their clients actually doing what they're paid to do?

The dollar is in trouble for sure, but I I wouldn't make too much of this particular anecdote. There are far more European tourists in Southeast Asia than there are Americans, so it makes good business sense to advertise in Euros (when I worked in Southeast Asia a couple of years ago, advertising in Euros was pretty common).

Yeah, Fort Wayne is definitely where the terrorists will strike first.

I don't defend Cheney at all. I can't wait for this administration to exit the stage. But I'm a little perplexed at the shock expressed in this comment thread. This is well-trodden territory. It doesn't take a genius or sage to understand that...

The world's demand for oil is out-pacing supply

Rapidly increasing demand for oil in the developing world will bring us to a crisis point very soon

Our economy runs on oil

Without a steady flow of imports we would burn through our domestic supply in just a few months (60 days is a figure that gets tossed around)

This dynamic of dependence means our economic well-being is in the hands of a few unstable regimes. Needless to say, that's pretty frightening.

The US (and most of the European powers, for that matter) has a long history of manipulating, intimidating and of course toppling foreign governments in order to create economic conditions that benefit a few powerful people.

The difference this time around is that we don't have the information gap we used to have before the digital age. We see and hear about it all.

Of course, there are sensible ways to wean ourselves from dependence on unstable foreign regimes. It's sad that we always choose threats and violence.

"no catch. no irony" ahhhhh. We need more of that.

I suppose that parents' fear of MySpace and Facebook is about protecting their children from sexual predators and other would-be miscreants - i.e. other users. Most parents are probably not so concerned with protecting their children from MySpace and Facebook themselves. Same would hold true for Build-a-Bear.

My ancestors prospered at the expense of Native Americans. I guess I should disown my parents.

Is this supposed to be good news? His Roald Dahl adaptations were awful. I don't imagine his Alice will be any better.

If only corporate malfeasance like this could elicit more than a sigh. Even people who might normally respond by ditching AT&T take one look at their iPhones and take the low road.

A couple of bloggers have journalism cred and suddenly Keen's whole argument is wrong?

This is a silly debate. Do we really need to stick blogs into the journalism box to legitimize them?

You bloggers need to get over it. If you have readers, then who cares what label some pundit attaches to you (or doesn't).

Great argument Cory, from a business perspective, although it would probably do little to placate designers who think of themselves as artists.

Attempting an analogy here, but let's say I'm a chef who invented a delicious sandwich called a Philly Cheesesteak. Word gets out, people flock to my restaurant. Eventually, McDonald's and Jack-In-The-Box start selling things they call cheesesteaks. These resemble but don't come close to the original. In fact, they're disgusting. Maybe it's good for the food industry, but it hurts me on a soul level to see the cheesesteak taken so low.

Fashion exists in the blurry area between business and art, so this probably won't be settled anytime soon.