American Consumerism

Last weekend, I stopped by Sur la table in Berkeley and was entertained mightily by the various fanciful gadgets, till I saw something called "Corn De-Silking Brush".

I was speechless and then was seething with anger.   Why on earth such a tool needs to be created?  How much resources - materials, energy, human labor, etc. used to create this utterly replaceable gadget can be used for better, more urgent purposes?

Read this from another online retailer for this brush:

Corn-on-the-Cob just out of the garden is one of the sweetest treats on earth, but cleaning those cobs can be a tiresome chore. With the Clipper Mill Corn De-Silking Brush, you can take the pain out of that chore!

What can be a better example tho show that how utterly careless and thoughtless Americans collectively are and what a consumer nation we are!  When American consumerism becomes so irksome in the world, shouldn't we have some self-inspection?  When people in many countries perhaps would be happy to eat some corn "silk" to fill their bellies, we are too lazy to de-silk with our hands and someone in China many manufacture them for us. 

I often wonder what a factory worker there would think about the purpose of their products and how they'd imagine the buyers of those products.

Unsustainable Consumerism As Economic Engine

Greece, Ireland, and now Spain is the target for bailout and austerity plan in order to satisfy their debtors.

All those countries had been following the once shining example of American consumerism and "ownership" society.

That trend of relying on consumerism to propel economic has proved unsustainable, yet some economists are hoping that tomorrow, the after Thanksgiving spectacle in the US, a.k.a. Black Friday, will rescue the US's economy.

On international level, they are preaching the once frugal Chinese to splurge.

Perhaps, it's time for the world to turn inwards and consume less precious resources, be a good steward of fragile earth, and rely on self-sufficiency more, and rely less on the unsustainable growth of economy for the basis of a wonderful and meaningful life.

Ice Balls, Honey Dipper, Etc.

Last weekend, I stopped by a Peet's Coffee and saw some colorful plastic balls in a package next to the fancy tea cans.  Study closely, I realized that they are so called Ice Balls that they can chill drinks without diluting the liquid.

Quite clever, yet necessary?

The same Peet's carried something called Honey Dippers as well.  Instead of using spoon, one can use this wooden equipment to dip into honey jar, and carry the honey in the grooves.

The list of these seemingly clever and useful but utterly unnecessary items is long and is sickening - banana hangers, apple slicers, bagel slicing holders, etc.  How much precious resources do we, as steward of the earth, need to plunder in order to gain an ounce of convenience?

Most appalling is the commercial I encountered online.  Watch it and judge for yourself. How sick our society has become and where is the outrage?