Over at Slate, Seth Stevenson (whom I strongly disagreed with last week on the new Apple ad campaign) takes on Toyota’s Yaris commercials, which I think are creepalicious to the extreme. Stevenson and I again diverge:

Instead, the four Yaris television spots use silly animated bits to focus on: 1) the car’s low cost; 2) its fuel economy; 3) its compatibility with MP3 players; and 4) its plethora of interior compartments and cup holders. This utilitarian approach seems more typical of an ad campaign for a vacuum cleaner.

And I think it works. The ads are appropriate to a low-cost, no-frills product like the Yaris.

Carl asks to see this randomly, but man, every time it’s on, I cringe. (And the end, with the weird split! What the hell is that about, Toyota? Does the Yaris divide and reproduce asexually, thus becoming the harbinger of Judgment Day?)

Anyhoo, you tell me:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skhaeXwfh3s]

Creepy.

I haven’t spoken of it much lately — mostly because (heh) I have been a VERY LAZY BLOGGER — but MTV asked the question that (secretly) keeps me up at night: What If ‘Returns’ Is (Gasp) Kraptonite?

…thank goodness.

Commence with the Squealing Like a Little Girl!

For the OU grads affected by the recent string of data thefts, here’s another log on the fire: a class action lawsuit.

ATHENS, Ohio — Two Ohio University graduates whose Social Security numbers were among 173,000 possibly stolen from school computers have filed a lawsuit, alleging their right to privacy has been violated.

Donald Jay Kulpa, 31, of Cincinnati, and Kenneth Neben, 34, a former Columbus resident now living in North Bergen, N.J., filed the lawsuit in Columbus on Friday. On the same day, the university’s board of trustees agreed to spend up to $4 million to bolster computer security.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, asks a judge to order the school to pay for credit monitoring services for those affected. It also requests compensation for anyone who suffers financial losses from the breaches.

[more]

Saw this first this morning in the Dispatch, but because they tend to hide things behind a subscriber wall, this is the same AP story from the WaPo.

Q: What if famous photographers had posted their photos to a message board for comments?

A: HILARITY ENSUES.

[via kottke]

From boingboing, and something of a followup to that whole grups thing that was circling the internets a while back: a piece from Salon on “kindie rock”, psuedoalternative indie music aimed at both children and parents. “Kindie rock” stalwarts would include Laurie Berkner, Dan Zanes, They Might Be Giants…

… all of whose CDs have at one time or another been in our cars and on our stereos in the last three months.

Hmmm.

…

Dan Zanes totally rocks.

Also, here is TMBG’s very funny little NSA ringtone.

[Salon may require you to sit through an ad before reading the story, but persevere, it’s worth it.]

Nora shows off her new bunny hat, passed down
by her Cousin Cloe. Looks like her cousin passed down
her knack for thinking with her tongue too!