tangents

February. For Asian children congregating throughout the world, this is their coveted month of the year, for we receive treasures contained in little red packets. It's like Christmas all over again, but in decidedly cash form, so we can use it to spend on things we actually like rather than exalt the Peruvian knit sweater Grandma decided to get us.



I've talked to Jia and also commented to Mag about this, but I wonder if anyone knows the psychology behind this idea:



I'm sure there's been plenty of studies out there that say that sex sells, but what about textual sexual innuendo? Does the eroticism added by deeming these chips "naked" increase their marketability? Will the general public feel more compelled to purchase these based on increased neurological pleasure than say regularly flavoured chips? I always wonder if we have this innate image associated with words simply because the word is a symbol, and we've attached that which we find sexual to the word 'naked'. This leads me to wonder if only males would buy the chips if we said they were "simply sapphic", or if women would buy them if they were labelled "rich and wealthy". I'm probably missing the entire point, but you kind of get what I mean, right?

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I've got this great post I had in mind to publish today, but I think I still need to do some research on it before launching it. Let's say it mixes a character from a popular TV show, Cassius Clay, and shy children altogether into one shining message. Hopefully that's enticing enough.

Did you know Boston Mass General has a program catered towards business executives who have a specific fear of flying? Clearly this would be highly debilitating, since it would impede productivity and networking. Essentially you go on a crash course of relaxation therapies and some cognitive reasoning prior to the flight, and then a trained psychiatrist accompanies you while you're on the plane and talks you through the flight there and back. It's apparently got a pretty good success rate, but in case it isn't working, they always carry prn benzos to lighten the load. Makes you wonder though, if people are simply popping prn drugs to alleviate their stress, why not just simply resort to a stiff drink? Both are strongly GABAergic and I'd assume it's easier to wean off ethanol than it is certain benzos...