• Chicago Tribune/AP , Friday, November 7, 2008 11 AM

Among those who plan to spend less on gifts this year, only 23% are doing so on their pets, according to Consumer Reports, while 84% say they plan to cut back spending on themselves.

Pet gifts aren't as expensive as human gifts, the article points out. There's got to be some deeper psychology at work here, too, but we're not going to get into a tizzy about it. To quote Robinson Jeffers, a poet whose meaning was always clear, "be angry at the sun for setting if these things anger you." http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Robinson-Jeffers/4310

Talking about poets and clarity, there's still time to let me know what in the name of non sequiturs John Ashbery is talking about in "Informercial 2," -- in fact, you can henceforth reach me on all vital issues at my new MediaPost address: thom@mediapost.com or Twitter. 

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