Tag Archives: Wal-Mart

Is the Bank of Ann Arbor’s “non-local banker campaign” a hypocritical, pointelss mess of faux-localism?

For the past few months, those of us who live in and around Ann Arbor have been subjected to a relentlessly pervasive advertising campaign featuring a balding, sunken-chested, Clearasil-colored cartoon banker with an often furrowed brow, and standard issue “nerd” glasses. He started showing up on billboards a little over a month ago. At first, […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Marketing, Observations, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 119 Comments

Sending the wrong message with Instagram

Today, after seeing the doctor about my persistent cough, I want to the drug store, to pick up the inhalers that I’d been prescribed. And, while there, waiting, I strolled around, looking at stuff, and coughing on things. I found two things to be particularly interesting. In front of Better Homes and Garden magazine, I […]

Posted in Mark's Life, Pop Culture, Special Projects, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

For-profit prisons… What could possibly go wrong?

As it’s been a while since we’ve had a post here about the prison industrial complex, I thought that I’d pass along this clip from Charles Blow’s recent piece in the New York Times. “Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Zingerman’s co-founder Paul Saginaw on the importance of robust local business ecosystems, the upcoming BALLE conference in Grand Rapids, and the meaning of “real prosperity”

For the first time ever, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) will be holding its national, annual conference for independently owned, socially responsible businesses, here, in Michigan. The meeting, which is being called Real Prosperity Starts Here, is scheduled to take place in Grand Rapids this May, and, as of right now, I’m […]

Posted in Corporate Crime, Detroit, Economics, entrepreneurism, Environment, Food, Ideas, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Michigan, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Occupy Ann Arbor mic checks Wal-Mart on Black Friday

Posted in Economics, Other, Politics | Also tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

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