"Fewer, better things.

Our lives are full of things. Disposable distractions, stuff you buy but do not cherish, own yet never love. Thrown away in weeks rather than passed down for generations.

Perhaps things will be different now. Wiser choices made with greater care. After all, if the fewer things you own always excite you, would you really miss the many that never could?"

These are great sentiments to remember next time I am thinking about buying more junk in the mall. The only thing that muddies the water on these words just a bit is that they're from a full page DeBeers (diamond) ad that has been running the WSJ and other places. But I would say that the ad is a textbook example of how to sell diamonds during a recession. It may not quite make me run out and buy diamonds, but it is definitely thought-provoking.

***

Another ad struck me today, also a full-pager in the WSJ. It was from Chrysler, saying, "Thank You America." What a crock of bull-puckey. It seems poor form to thank people for "investing" in your company when most of us were against it. The ad could have said, "Well, we have been f-ing up for decades but we found a chump--the US taxpayer--to bail us out, since our private equity owners didn't want to risk any more money on us. Since we have highly paid and well-connected lobbyists to push through our agenda, the taxpayers didn't have a choice in the matter. So thanks for the dough, chumps."