'Panic Saturday': Rebranding the Week

Last year saw the unpleasant arrival of 'Black Friday' in the pre-Christmas calendar. This year it was the turn of 'Panic Saturday', or 'Saturday' as it's normally known. The last Saturday before Christmas joins an unspecified Friday in late November in the sheep-pen of branded dates.

Before we end up with every single date from November 1 - December 23 rebranded by the retail lobby (hand in glove with the mainstream media, who seem to happily parrot this stuff without ever challenging it), how about some alternative names which truly capture the spirit of Christmas: for example

Sharing Monday
Unselfish Tuesday
Hospitality Wednesday
Thankful Thursday
Phone-Call Friday (for ringing that person you've not spoken to for a while)
Kindness Saturday
Switch-Off Sunday (minimise screen time, maximise face time)

None of these have any money in them, which is one reason they probably won't catch on.

The other reason is that none of them generate the same sense of urgency as the branded days - there may not be another day to catch this bargain (which is cobblers of course, just wait until January). But there's always another day to be kind, unselfish, make the phone call etc. Good deeds are easier to leave for later, if the clamour for a bargain has a grip on our souls. And if it does have that grip, we need a buy-nothing season to wean us off it: cold turkey is for life, not just for Christmas.

Capitalism 2 Sport/Free Speech/Democracy 0

Here are the Olympic Rings.

I wonder what would happen if I put them into my blog title bar, or changed my Twitter avatar to a picture of the rings. A spell in prison looks like a possibility, with some draconian brand protection going on around the Ol****cs.

Meanwhile the engine noise at Formula One drowns out the sounds of protest and death in Bahrain, because it wouldn't do to let the sponsors down. Do Formula 1 and its bosses care? Do the drivers have a conscience, and how much contractual freedom do they have to exercise it?

Though at time of writing, there may still be time for Jeremy Clarkson and the boys to break into the pit lane and paint 'Free Bahrain' on the side of all the cars. Or for all the drivers to don 'Pray4Bahrain' t-shirts, to be unveiled at the podium ceremony. It's maybe a bit much to make parallels with the Hunger Games, but is it possible to win in such a way as to make a statement about the parameters of the competition?