Day: October 13, 2008

Discussing the future of banks in the ongoing financial panic as they navigate the reality of federal assistance, the Associated Press offers this quote:

"This is Darwinism finance, literally the survival of the fittest for the banks," said Chris Johnson, chief investment strategist at Johnson Research Group. "This is Wall Street's version of the Amazing Race where these companies are going to jump through hoops and rings of fire to rebuild their businesses as quickly as possible."

A brief refresher on how Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" works in the evolution context: "Teams of two people who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship race around the world in competition with other teams," the British naturalist wrote in The Origin of the Species, elaborating further:

Contestants strive to arrive first at "pit stops" at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and avoid coming in last, which carries the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg. Contestants travel to and within multiple countries in a variety of transportation modes, including planes, taxis, rental cars, trains, buses and boats. The clues in each leg point the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. These challenges are related in some manner to the country or culture where they are located. Teams are progressively eliminated until three teams are left; at that point, the team that arrives first in the final leg is awarded a large cash grand prize, usually one million U.S. dollars.

It's amazing that we have so many species on Earth today given what they had to go through.

From Don Markstein's Toonopedia:

Unlike most parody publications, Not Brand Echh had continuing characters. Charlie America stood in for Captain America, The Inedible Bulk for The Incredible Hulk, Mighty Sore for The Mighty Thor, Scaredevil for Daredevil, etc. Eventually, the title fielded a resident superhero of its own, Forbush-Man (aka Irving Forbush, another letter column schtick, this one going back to 1955). The latter, in the grand tradition of superhero spoofs (e.g., Supersnipe, Captain Klutz, Super Goof), wore red long johns as a prominent element of his costume.

By the ninth issue (December, 1968), it appeared Not Brand Echh had become a sales sensation — that was the first in its new format, extra-thick but costing about twice as much as most comics. But perhaps not, as the next one, billed as "The Worst of Not Brand Echh", consisted entirely of reprints from early issues. After #13 (May, 1969), it was canceled.