I am watching The Apprentice and it is obvious that Proctor and Gamble wants a buzz created for their new toothpaste. So part one is the local promotion in NY, but the reality is that for what seems to be $100,000 ($50,000 for each team) they get an hour long commercial on one of the top rated shows of the year. And vanilla and mint in the same toothpaste? That is disgusting! It's like Nuts and Gum: Together at Last! or the real life version I sampled, Almond Royale, which wasn't quite gum, but also disgusting.

I have been wondering, what makes a rival? In particular, what sets up college rivals? Is it just age of the instution and geographic location? Why is it Ohio State and Michigan or Berkeley and Stanford or Harvard and Yale? While geography is a component, I think it also the recognition of the similarity between the two places. In a parallel universe, things could be switched and everyone would think it perfectly natural to be in the other place. The people, on average, who attend the rivals, while they deny it, have some fundamental similarities and in other settings are perfectly happy to be friends.

I am beginning to think that Target is not as benign as I once believed. They have started to get very snippy at the checkout. Demanding I tell them how I am going to pay even before they have even rung an item? What if I want to decide later. They are redoing the store, which made me confused, but today Target just felt like The Evil Empire.