Here is an entertaining post in the NY Times (yes, I know that sounds contradictory) which can help you understand everyday occurrences, songs (like the Hokey Pokey) or other sayings through the use of maps. I'm not sure these count as "Infographics" or "Data Visualizations", but they are fun to scan through nonetheless.

If you are bold enough to make the attempt, here are some tips on how to sneak in a nap at work. Not that I'd ever do this, I never even nap at home. But if I were to do so, I'd go the app route. I don't qualify (yet) to attempt the approach shown above.

Wouldn't it be nice to have the "build it and they will come" luxury? Obviously, Apple has earned this through some major innovations, but the response to the iPad seems pretty much as laid out in this visual. More reserved reviews aptly describe it as a big iPhone. But it will be a success, because it is from Apple.

For a little Friday afternoon fun, a reminder that good copywriting requires soul. Or wait, I'm sorry, I mean having no soul.

Classic. That's all I can say.

88t: Steve Martin / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Get To Know Me

[ open on Jon Lovitz sitting at a table in the russian Tea Room with Paulina Poriskova ]

Jon Lovitz: Hello, I'm Jon Lovitz, and I'm having lunch in the Russian Tea Room with the most beautiful woman in the world - Paulina! Well, we can't all be me. But if you'd like to fulfill your dream like I did, then I have one piece of advice for you - Get To Know Me! When did I chip my tooth? Why do I drain my foot? Where is my extra bone? Get To Know Me! Got to go - listen to him!

Don Pardo: Hello! Before I got to know Jon, I was nothing, nowhere, nobody! I was stuck in a room reading voiceovers I could barely understand! And then, I got to know him, and now I get to be on TV! And today, they call me.. Don Pardo!

Jon Lovitz: Get To Know Me! Why do I never wear a hat? Why was I banned from Bangkok? Why do women call me "The Anchor"?

Paulina Poriskova: You.. stud! You gorgeous hunk of male flesh.

Jon Lovitz: [ to the camera ] Yes! [ to Paulina ] Uh.. a little lower and to the left. Get To Know Me! Still wondering if you should? Then listen to him!

Lee Iacocca: Before I got to know Jon, I was nothing, nowhere, nobody! I couldn't get a job to save my life! And today, they call me.. Lee Iacocca! Get to know him! And buy a Chrysler..

Don Pardo: It works, I tell you, it works!

Jon Lovitz: Get out, I tell you, get out! Get To Know Me! Why do girls speak to me? Do I shave my eyebrows in the middle? Get To Know Me! And now, a final testimonial, from a man who speaks the truth!

Steve Martin: Before I got to know Jon, I was nothing, nowhere, nobody! I was a two-bit comic with an arrow stuck through my head! And then, I got to know him, and now I just starred in a movie called "Parenthood", directed by Opie! And today, they call me.. Steve Martin!

Jon Lovitz: Thank you.

Steve Martin: Thank you!

Lee Iacocca: It's true, I tell you, it's true! Buy a Chrsyler..

Paulina Poriskova: He's a stud!

Steve Martin: I might do a movie directed by Potsie!

Don Pardo: I'm on TV!

Jon Lovitz: Get To Know Me!!

SNL Transcripts

A random thought occurred to me during my morning run today (as they are wont to do), and for some reason this skit came to mind. Which got me wondering, was this the watershed moment in the personal branding movement? I mean, don''t Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and WordPress (oh yean, and Posterous) just seem like a fast route to "Get to Know Me"?

So go ahead, ask me where my extra bone is. Or, maybe don't.

I'd love to have found a (non-copyright) video clip for this, but regrettably could not.

Some of these are repeats, but there are a few new gems in here, moving well beyond the traditional anatomical references.

Due to the climate of political correctness now pervading America, Kentuckians, Tennesseans and West Virginians will no longer be referred to as ‘HILLBILLIES.’ You must now refer to them as APPALACHIAN-AMERICANS.

And furthermore:

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT WOMEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

1. She is not a ‘BABE’ or a ‘CHICK’ – She is a ‘BREASTED AMERICAN.’

2. She is not ‘EASY’ – She is ‘HORIZONTALLY ACCESSIBLE.’

3. She is not a ‘DUMB BLONDE’ – She is a ‘LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.’

4. She has not ‘BEEN AROUND’ – She is a ‘PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION.’

5. She does not ‘NAG’ you – She becomes ‘VERBALLY REPETITIVE.’

6. She is not a ‘TWO-BIT HOOKER’ – She is a ‘LOW COST PROVIDER.’

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

1. He does not have a ‘BEER GUT’ – He has developed a ‘LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY.’

2. He is not a ‘BAD DANCER’ – He is ‘OVERLY CAUCASIAN.’

3.. He does not ‘GET LOST ALL THE TIME’ – He ‘INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS.’

4. He is not ‘BALDING’ – He is in ‘FOLLICLE REGRESSION.’

5. He does not act like a ‘TOTAL ASS’ – He develops a case of ‘RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION.’ (Loved this one!)

6. It’s not his ‘CRACK’ you see hanging out of his pants – It’s ‘TROUSER CLEAVAGE.’

Please update your language regarding market segmentation to reflect the above "new realities". Especially if you target market happens to be "Total Asses".

It is a sad state of our litigious society that product warning labels have gotten so tedious and lengthy. In fact, I wonder if they aren't ignored more frequently, and therefore create more problems, then if they really stuck to focusing on the real risks. And it points out one of the major costs of doing business for many companies (and doctors) - the cost of dealing with litigation.