Nov 20 2024 - Succumbing to Black Friday

 

This is the first year that I've noticed the Black Friday ads justify themselves so far in advance of the actual Black Friday.  It works as it gets my attention. Then I wonder the worst case scenario.  Will it ever end? Will it continue after American Thanksgiving has come and gone?  I wonder these things.  It has already been successful in turning all of November into Black Friday month for Canadian shoppers. Maybe it will drift into December, too. Black Friday in Canada is "a significant cultural and retail event that kickstarts the holiday shopping season, reshaping the way Canadians shop and interact with retailers"  Really? That appears to be an opinion-piece statement.  It has lots off advertisements, so I guess that's the real purpose.   All the articles seem to be this way - they all have lots of ads on the best gifts and best deals.    So I took a look through what the National Post wants you to click through to.  It is HERE.   It is very entertaining. The site is lifehacks.com  and these are crazy things like a smart ring, the vital flex core (military method to lose weight). VI shift revolutionary glasses, fluffy zen pillow, the Ramona fire blanket (You see in ads everywhere)...   Wait there's one for me:  the pocket hose copper bullet - step up your gardening game!  And another that got my attention - see below the picture of a dog and a little four-wheeled vehicle.  It is a robot dog walker.  Can you see Millie dragging it along as she chases leaves?   Maybe it delivers parcels and walks the dog.

Here's my Black Friday picture.  Graffiti on a wall.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Nov 22 2023 - Black Friday Scams

 

I continue with Black Friday confusion.  Isn't it coming up this weekend?  The Toronto Sun news reads:  More than 2 million Canadian scammed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  that story was yesterday.   The article goes on to say this has happened in the past.  So I guess we can add something new to the big deals and best prices of the year event.  There are more articles today on scamming on Black Friday.  From Consumer Affairs comes the headline:  Hold on, that Black Friday deal on a Rolex may be a scam.  This article found an increase of 66% of scamming urls in the US.  There are so many scams that they are listed by subject: Travel - an increase of 133% in things like fake Airbnb pages Walmart - get a deal on a QLED TV iCloud survey - Apple storage is full Spotify - newel problems HR department phishing - check the staff termination list Here are 9 scams to avoid according to Aura.com.  The 9 Latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday Scams You Need To Avoid: Fake or spoofed online stores  Social media ads for “too-good-to-be-true” deals Fake order confirmation emails Fraudulent delivery notifications Fake charity and fundraiser scams Gift card scams  Bogus coupon and voucher websites Non-delivery scams Sellers asking for non-traditional payment options Maybe Black Friday is going to become more famous for how much is stolen on that single day rather than how much is purchased.   It is this Friday, isn't it? Or is there a scan over when Black Friday actually occurs? Isn't this an incredible model!

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

November - the Month of Black Fridays

 

I wonder now about how many days there are to Black Friday?  Is November the month of Black Fridays where every day is a Black Friday sale day?  I have to think this might be causing us to be more depressed in November than in previous years and decades.  It used to be for 24 hours on the day after Thanksgiving,  but it is November 13th today and Michael's tells me they have Black Friday Blow-out deals.   It has turned out that Black Friday is at least a whole week or even two weeks.   Google says it can run all of November and beyond.   Yesterday in the Best Buy store, it had signs to say it is Black Friday Month.  It looks like we've moved on from "can" to "does extend a whole month".  That's how we've gotten to Early Black Friday.  Is there a Late Black Friday - no we have Cyber Monday?  And what beyond that? Can you imagine celebrating a sale day based on two people who caused a market crash:  That's the origin of the name Black Friday?  The term "Black Friday" was first coined in 1869 when two investors, Jay Gould, and Jim Fisk, caused a market crash by driving up the price of gold. As a result, the stock market dropped 20%, foreign trade stopped, and farmers witnessed a huge drop in corn and wheat value.  That's the origins. The other story is that  the day after Thanksgiving is  "Black Friday" because stores would go from operating at a loss or being "in the red," to earning a profit or being "in the black."  That came along in the 1980s, and is the one that stuck.  Black Friday has become Brawl Friday - where shoppers become so excited over these supposed discount prices that they fight and brawl.  The Black Friday jokes mostly involve this activity.  And rightly so as there is a Black Friday death count HERE.   It says 17 deaths and 125 injuries.  That seems to be recorded in the news counting. So expect macabre humour in the jokes section: What do Black Friday shoppers and the Thanksgiving turkey have in common? They know what it’s like to be stuffed and jammed into a small space. Black Friday: Because only in America do people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have. Every year on Black Friday I make sure I wake up extra early.  To go on the internet to see all the fights. Looks like our picture of the day is about "Old News".  I am likely very slow in catching up to Black Friday Month. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Fifty Years a Ruler

Black Friday sales reports violence across the U.S.  It seems regrettable that this shopping day has an association with the Black Friday label.  Black Friday 'days' commemorate catastrophic events such as scandals, stock exchange crashes, fire devastation, military operations, and so on. There's an entry for Black Friday 2016 for the United Kingdom - the day after the Brexit vote - when the financial markets lost 2 trillion dollars in the worst single day drop in history.  Fidel Castro has died at 90 so today's photos show scenes from Cuba.  Here is his most famous quote: "Condemn me.  It does not matter. History will absolve me" And an historical fact I'd forgotten: "Castro’s speeches, lasting up to six hours, became the soundtrack of Cuban life and his 269-minute speech to the UN General Assembly in 1960 set the world body’s record for length that still stood more than five decades later."

Shopping for humans, designed by robots

My Redbubble site has 20% off everything with the BLKFRIDAY code. There are many products available now, including scarves, pillow cases, and even clocks, so take a look. If something isn't available in the product you want, send me an email and I'll update the image.  Redbubble has been developing new products at an incredible rate. Something I notice is that Black Friday has 'taken over the world'.  One of the British gardening blogs had a review of Black Friday deals for gardeners.  So of course I did a search on Black Friday Shopping around the world and found the Shopbot Black Friday site.  The banner at the top says - Shopping for humans.  Designed by Robots - and explains:  "It seems countries all over the world are getting ready for this year’s Black Friday shopping season, which means it could possibly be the largest event in the history of shopping."  Covered on the site are: France, Brazil, Canada, Asia, Pakistan, etc Our pictures today are on a simpler topic from earlier times.  It is Grimsby's Fantasy of Trees decorations day.  This is a festival celebrating Christmas trees sponsored and decorated by Grimsby businesses and individuals.  The trees are raffled, with the proceeds going to local charities.  I'm on the organizing committee and it has been an easy sell to get the 40 trees sponsored, and to get silent auction and raffle items.  Trees are decorated in themes - one of the highlights is the Historical Society theme of Grimsby restaurants from years gone by.

It's The Black Friday!

Today I get to find out how Black Friday came about.  I admit that I don't like the term associated with festive holidays.  It sounds like a doomsday scenario.  Harper's Weekly says its first use came from a gold market crash in 1869.  There are lots of Black Fridays listed in Wikipedia here and they start in 1688 with the imprisonment of the Seven Bishops of the Church of England on the eve of the 'Glorious Revolution'. All of these Black Fridays refer to violence and scandal.  So how has a shopping day taken on a label associated with violence, scandal and murder? Supposedly the name came about because so many people went out to shop that it caused traffic accidents and sometimes even violence.  It was first recorded in 1966 in a Philadelphia  ad, when the Philadelphia police department used the phrase to describe the mayhem surrounding the congestion of pedestrian and auto traffic in the centre of town. The article says Black Friday became a positive name.  I wonder about this, as the news focuses on mayhem and violence, wherever it occurs that day. I did my shopping part yesterday.  I went to the Niagara Outlet Mall - a big American-style mall on the QEW across from Niagara College (where I was going).  And yes, there were the deep discount prices of Black Friday.  Do you think it will be jammed today?  Will you go shopping today for the special deals?