Thought the Cash 4 Gold Superbowl ad was strange? Turns out a lot of you didn’t: suburbanites from Oregon to New Jersey are trading their stereotypical Tupperware parties for gold-selling parties. Guests bring their unwanted jewellery (from previous fashion fads or ex-husbands) to a MyGoldParty, enjoy the company and maybe a glass of wine, and leave with a check. USA Today investigated:
[MyGoldParty founder January Thomas] says many women don’t like going to pawn shops. “At a party, they’re less embarrassed about asking how much their jewellery is worth,” Thomas says. “Besides, it’s a form of recycling and [...]

According to the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), creative professions will soon outstrip the financial sector in the UK. The organization’s research indicates that by 2013, the creative industry, which includes film, music, fashion, TV and video games production, will employ 1.3 million people – or 100,000 more people than the financial industry – growing at an average of 4% annually, more than double that of the national economy.
[via Dexigner and Brand Republic]
[image via Vizrt]

HOK pointed us to this eye-opening way of looking at the $780 billion stimulus package. The pictures speak for themselves.

… And you’re not even halfway there.
[via Life at HOK]

We found this visualization of the current credit crisis remarkably informative.  The ten minute long video does a really great job breaking down all the different players and provides a general overview of how investment banking works.  By the end of it, terms like sub-prime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations, frozen credit markers, and credit default swaps actually make sense.
The video was created by Jonathon Jarvis as part of his thesis work in the Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design.