Continuing in the theme of all that Red V. Blue consumer stuff, I'd like to pump a couple of goodies at you:

1 - Something Scott McCloud talks about lots in his book, Understanding Comics, is the speculator/collectors market that imploded in the mid 90's. All that crossover hype, special collectors' foil covers, etc. etc. There's a great thread highlighted on MetaFilter that has a Seattle Area dealer reminiscing about the good old days, and how it all went boom. A few pages long, do what the good folk at MeFi say: Look for and read all the posts by the guy named "noun."

2 - From the November 2004 issue of Wired Magazine : The Decline of Brands. The pros and cons of having a strong brand identity. Right now companies and brands are weak. That means good things for the consumer - us poor, crap-dollar earning folks.

I've always wondered - what if we just didn't buy things for a day or two, en masse. Would anybody notice, or would it be balanced out by our stocking up pre-no buy and our massive hoarding impusle after? What's the longest you went without buying anything, out of choice?