The Future of Online Advertising 2
Dictionary.com‘s new homepage layout captures what online advertisers have been struggling with since the beginning of the Internet: to advertise effectively without impeding users. Newspapers have been coping for years with the decline of print circulation. Most people get their news online and newspapers haven’t been able to generate the same level of revenue with ...
Sketch It: Recession Lounge 2
Sketch it! is a fun new section on The Urban Country where we feature random napkin sketches from our resident sketch artist and writer, George Pechtol (Against his will). Today’s sketch features a downtown Toronto lounge during the current economic recession.
Recession Ready? Relief for some, Anxiety for others
In a series of articles entitled “Recession Ready?”, The Urban Country is interviewing people around the world who are affected by the recession to understand how different people are coping. On the morning of March 26th, AutoCAD Operator Megan Howlett arrived at work at a downtown Toronto Architecture firm as if it was any other ...
Why I Love Taxes 8
This is my first post on The Urban Country. Jim has his way with words and ladies and I will do my best to be as fluent and exciting as him in my first guest contribution. I recently read an article on TNR (The New Republic) which linked me to this news article on ABC ...
Recession Ready? Interview with Michael Bevins
In a series of articles entitled “Recession Ready?”, The Urban Country is interviewing people around the world who are affected by the recession to understand how different people are coping. For a complete list of interviews, choose the “Recession Interviews” category on the right navigation. Mike Bevins lives in beautiful Huntington Beach, California, just outside ...
Recession Ready? Interview with Grant Miller
Editor’s Note: In a series of articles entitled “Recession Ready?”, The Urban Country is interviewing people around the world who are affected by the recession to understand how different people are coping. For a complete list of interviews, choose the “Recession Interview” category on the right navigation. Grant Miller is a Chicago-based writer; he’s been ...
Wealth = Debt in North America 1
In North America, society tells us that we need to borrow lots of money, and then spend our life paying back our debt; while racking up more debt by buying bigger homes, new cars, ridiculously expensive weddings, and lots of other luxuries along the way. A friend recently told me that his friend wanted him ...
Economy & Christmas 1
I’ve had several discussions with friends and coworkers over the last few weeks about the economy, Christmas, and our excessive lifestyles that we’ve come to expect in North America. To me, Christmas is the time of the year that manifests society’s expectation and affection for material goods. Every year there is a new gadget or ...
The New American Dream
In an October 3rd article, I was challenged by an Urban Country occasional reader and friend Kam on my definition of freedom. Kam wanted to know how I think people can achieve what I’ll call the “New American Dream”. To recap that article in a nutshell, the “New American Dream” is freedom from the banks, ...
Excessiveness and High Energy prices
With the rising prices of oil, you may have heard me say this before, but I don’t feel bad for people who are feeling crunched by the price of gasoline. Similarly, I don’t feel bad for the majority of people who were hit by sub-prime mortgages. Is it because I’m a hopeless cynic? Perhaps one ...