Signs the End of the World is Near

I have seen my share of goofy signs and bad entertainment in my day, but during the last week I found two that take the proverbial cake. One of these was on a local furniture store and the other had to do with the All Star Basketball weekend recently held in Dallas, TX.


It is clearly tough out there in our local economy and many businesses are doing all they can to stand out from the rest. Some have commercials with attractive actors and others annoy you with their sayings like "You're killing me Larry!" That one is at least slightly effective in that I actually know that the ad is for which is Sit and Sleep stores. However, if I am going to buy a new mattress my decision will be based on the best price, service, and quality of the product. I am so annoyed with the ads that I will make a strong attempt to avoid buying my mattress from them just to make a small point.

I was driving by a furniture store that is very close to my home. It has various signs all across it advertising its sales, but one sign stood out the most. The sign read "We always have our best prices". At first glance this sign appears innocuous. However, thinking about it more made me realize that my initial thought which was that this company has low prices compared to other stores is not what it said at all. They always have their best prices! This is like saying the most hideous creature in the world always looks its best so even though it is hideous that is its best! The store could have prices that our twice any of their competitions, but it will always remain the best price for them. This store signs in English as well as Vietnamese so it is possible the sign details got lost in translation, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a businessman's attempt to take advantage of the naiveté of many consumers.

I am an NBA basketball fan on the lower end of the fan scale. I have attended one or two games over the last 15 years and have watched many on television. I did not watch any of the all star festivities and I wasn't sad about it. If I was forced to watch any event it would be the slam dunk contest. Although currently the big name stars do not compete, I enjoy the pure skill and creative involved. I emphasize the word watch here because the NBA all star events were also on radio. I listened to part of the rookies vs. sophomores even though I only knew a few names. I might have listened to the actual all star game had I been in the car when it was going on, but I wasn't. What I would not listen to is the slam dunk contest! Yes, that's right; the slam dunk contest was broadcast on radio. Nothing like seeing the intricacies of a dunk described on that little box. This is like instead of going to the zoo, just having it described to you. What was the point? Did they think that their listening audience wouldn't notice? Were they expecting listeners to make cut outs of their favorite dunkers and play along with the announcer’s description? I am looking forward to the radio broadcasts of the Antiques Roadshow.