Advertising demographic failures Dec 5, 2008
I think it's safe to assume that advertising is specifically designed to appeal to certain demographics.  For example, TV commercials during football games all seem to cater to the male 25-45 demographic, which is interested in pickup trucks, fast food, and erectile dysfunction medication.  Similarly, commercials on Spike TV, which is full of ultimate fighting, cartoons, and "man" shows, tend to center more specifically on the male 18-30 demographic, which is more concerned with body sprays, video games, and again, fast food.  Even though demographic-based advertising isn't always entirely accurate, it's usually pretty close. 

So it's weird when advertising doesn't fit the demographic at all.  I don't usually pay conscious attention to these things, but I tend to notice when something isn't right.  Such was the case with a toy commercial on Spike TV.  It wasn't a toy commercial aimed at adults.  It was specifically for kids, showing kids playing with the toy, and showing how cool it was that these kids were playing with this toy.  It was painfully obvious that this commercial was missing the demographic.  It's not even that the demographic is above playing with toys.  It was just the wrong commercial for the demographic. 

I noticed a similar error on the radio during the Opie and Anthony talk show on 92.3 in New York.  It was a commercial for an osteoporosis medication specifically geared towards women.  If any women listen to that radio show, I can guarantee with a high degree of certainty that they're not in the age range that's concerned with osteoporosis.  It's weird to see/hear such a glaring advertising demographic failure, especially on a legitimate media outlet in a legitimate media market. #entertainment
Hiring practices (1) Dec 5, 2008
I've had the anti-privilege of observing some of the hiring practices used by employers.  It's really quite horrifying.  I've seen bosses discard resumes simply for being too long or for having grammar mistakes (which I sort of agree with).  I've seen resumes get tossed aside because the person's name wasn't easily pronounced.  I'm sure this isn't the case at all places of employment, but it was still disturbing to think that this is how employers make hiring decisions.  When I was in college, working my butt off to graduate and get a job that would affect the rest of my life, I never thought I was putting my future in the hands of total idiots.  And even though employers make it clear that they don't discriminate and instead provide equal opportunity to everyone, it's just not true.  That might be the overall corporate policy, but on the ground level, the decisions are made by people who don't need to justify their decisions.  On the one hand, that's good because employers won't need to hire certain people simply to fill quotas.  But on the other hand, you could be glossing over the next Nobel Laureate simply because his name has no vowels. #business