After Kickstarter Record, Pebble Smartwatch Lands $15M From VCs 120
LeadSongDog writes "The Globe and Mail is reporting that the 'Pebble' smartwatch has matched the $15M record for Kickstarter funding after initially being panned by the VC crowd." One advantage that the Pebble has over rumored watches from big names like Google and Apple is existing.
I want one (Score:5, Insightful)
So for at least 90% of my smartphone interfacing it would be awesome to interface with a convenient wrist watch to reach the phone in my pocket or pack. The key is that the watch does not stray into any territory where the phone excels. An example would be mapping. Don't try to put a small map on my watch; that will just drive me nuts. But a navigation app that just distance, direction, and turning instructions would be perfect for a watch.
Where I am presently confused is how to interface with my audio. I guess I could either use a bluetooth earpiece (loser) or headphones with a microphone and that would be fine.
The smartphone interface watch will be far more successful than google glasses. I think that google glasses will be cool for the most part at fulfilling our terminator fantasies but not for meeting our boring needs such as: What time is it?
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What's a smartphone? And why would anyone want this? Sundials still rule!
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I used to know an [Irishman|Polack|Belgian] who thought that. I pointed out that they're no good for telling the time at night.
Next day I saw him buying a tin of luminous paint.
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I just google imaged it, and from that I can say I won't be buying one. I think they are ugly as hell. Plus they are the size of a large wristwatch, which are already too big for my tastes, but are at least round. These Pebbles are a huge square computer screen on the wrist.
No thanks, I'll pass.
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The pocketwatch wasn't wrong, any more than the horse and carriage was wrong. However, like the horse and carriage, you don't see many pocketwatches around anymore. Noting that A has been superceded by B doesn't imply any moral failing on the part of A.
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You could walk around with your hand against your head, but you'd run the risk of being mistaken for a folkie.
[sing, badly] As I roved out one sunny morn ...
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Reminds me of a comment I read somewhere: The only thing I like about bluetooth earpieces is that now I can walk around talking to myself and nobody looks at me funny.
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Of course, when you walk around not talking to yourself with a bluetooth earpiece in place, everyone will still look at you funny..
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I guess I could either use a bluetooth earpiece (loser) or headphones with a microphone and that would be fine.
I don't understand why having a headphone and a microphone is fine, whereas having a headphone and microphone without the cable makes you a loser. I guess it's the same reason why wearing the wrong brand of clothing makes you a loser. All hail the arbitrary dictates of fashion.
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If you have seen the movie Oblivion and remember Tom Cruise's earpiece, then I could live with one of those. But the USB memory stick in my ear, those just suck. They should come with propeller hats (something I would have killed for age 9).
"7+ days of battery life" (Score:1)
Would be impressive if this product wasn't being sold as a watch. It's nice to imagine "a watch that can do all this stuff", but for me a defining factor of a watch is something I don't have to worry about recharging (or replacing the battery of).
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Remember when your phone had 7 days of battery life? (mine still does, but only because it's ancient)
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Indeed. I've yet to come across a smartphone that actually works half as well as a *phone* as your average "free with $15 prepaid card" flip phone.
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Would be impressive if this product wasn't being sold as a watch. It's nice to imagine "a watch that can do all this stuff", but for me a defining factor of a watch is something I don't have to worry about recharging (or replacing the battery of).
well the thing sending data to this is going to be need daily charging.. or dual daily.
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keeping the radios on and device out of sleep is a real hog. updating stock widget and so forth.
then again my phone has an oled display showing the time all the time and I need to charge it every 3rd day or so..(I usually use it to take one picture a day and to read news on the john..)
Re:"7+ days of battery life" (Score:5, Insightful)
I remember when you would forget a watch in a closet for 3 years and it would still be running when you took it out again.
This is a truly atrocious battery life for a watch. If it cannot even last the length of a vacation or a camp in some situation, what good is it as a watch? At least with a old fashioned Wind-up watch you can recharge it in seconds anywhere.
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My watch hasn't had a battery change in 7 years and still works fine.
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I have one like that, but sometimes I forget to wind it.
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But it's a tremendous battery life for a desktop computer. Try seeing how long a desktop computer lasts if you unplug it from the charger.
Ofcourse this new type of phone-connected watch is just as much a desktop computer as it is a watch, so that comparison is just irrational..
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But it is being called a smartWATCH and it absolutely sucks at being a watch.
Re:"7+ days of battery life" (Score:4, Funny)
Well that's about right then - a smartPHONE generally sucks at being a phone. I think someone changed the meaning of "smart" when we weren't looking...
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People often say smartphones are bad phones but IMHO some smartphones are surprisingly good at being phones. For example top models from Samsung and Apple supports AMR-WB and voice quality is impressive where networks support it. Ofcourse it's subjective what a good phone is, considering UI, size, battery, voice quality, etc.
So, it's not clear cut. For my personal opinion I've tried several Apple and Samsung smartphones and I consider them all to be excellent phones.
The battery on my current [smart]phone pr
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That's a very clever observation. You must be a very smart person.
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You mean the airplane? You mean the airplane that has a fuel economy of about 100 mpg(per person)? Which is about 5-10 times what a car gets.
Re: "7+ days of battery life" (Score:1)
Using your metric my car gets about 120mog (per person)
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and they only took 15 million? One can only hope they didn't give up their rights in return.
it might not be a seller two years from now.
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and they only took 15 million? One can only hope they didn't give up their rights in return.
I have to wonder why they talked to the VCs at all... I can imagine taking the risk if you've just started somebullshitwithnorevenuemodel.com and crazy guys in suits are offering you a giant stack of pretend internet money for it; but why would a company with an actual shipping product, and sales, and such, risk going up against the elite equity-diluting and value extraction skills of a hardened VC?
Re:They've proven to have a seller (Score:5, Insightful)
Because with all the extra money you can do better marketing, promotion, sales and even product development.
If you can make 4x the money by giving away half, it's still double the money in your own pocket.
Ofcourse this does not account for giving up more subjective values such as control over your own product and being able to "not be evil".
Or simply put; selling your soul does make you rich.
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The Geek Chic people who went on Shark Tank recently have an ongoing business. They've been in business for several years, attend BGG Con each year, and have sold incredibly expensive tables to several people I know.
On the other hand, they have like an 18 month backlog, and once you order and make your down payment they'll ignore your emails for about a year until they're ready to deal with you, and ask you for your customizations. You can customize /everything/ on the table, even though it's marketed as
why? (Score:5, Insightful)
who still wears a watch?
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Look around you, a lot of people do.
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Wherever I look, they're mostly worn as fashion item or status symbol.
These don't look too fashionable, and "nerd/geek" as status is not really desirable.
but people are buying these to use as niche fashion items - and telling everyone they're buying one.
btw do you know how you spot a watch hipster? has a watch - but uses a phone to check the time.
Cool people like you (Score:2)
don't but use mare morals don't don't always want to pull out our brick of a phone out of our pocket do.
Re:Cool people like you (Score:5, Funny)
Re:why? (Score:4, Insightful)
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That's a good point.
The answer I was looking for was either
a) as a suit accessory, like cufflinks or a tie clip, or
b) for fitness reasons (heart monitor, lap timer, diving, etc)
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I do. All of you pulling out your smartphone to check the time look pretty stupid.
I do have a smartphone. I don't use it to see what time it is.
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I do. All of you pulling out your smartphone to check the time look pretty stupid.
Maybe you look stupid for wearing a watch. Or maybe it's just personal taste and isn't worth the insults?
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I only wear a watch on my days off. I can't stand having one on when I'm working, but I suppose if most of your work revolves around talking and some light typing then a watch is a perfectly reasonable thing to wear.
not an advantage (Score:3)
One advantage that the Pebble has over rumored watches from big names like Google and Apple is existing.
Apple has rarely entered a market first. iPod, iPhone, iPad, Air, etc. Hasn't stopped them from being successful, and in some cases reshaping or redefining the market.
Do you want to be the first to jump into the water, or see what happens to the other person when they jump in the water?
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Ask Micrososft how waiting for a market to have established itself first has been working out for them lately...
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Being first to market can have advantages. Coming later to the market with an improved product can have advantages. Coming later to the market with a product that is no better than what is already out there has no advantages at all.
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Do you want to be the first to jump into the water, or see what happens to the other person when they jump in the water?
Ask Micrososft how waiting for a market to have established itself first has been working out for them lately...
Err... you're completely missing the fact that Microsoft was that person who jumped into the water first. For both tablets and smartphones. They did a lot wrong, but they also showed others what doesn't work.
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Apple will take over the market because only Apple has the means to integrate the wat
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Let's not forget that Sony's Android watch has been out for quite some time now, and is slightly less clunky than the pebble too.
I don't know whether it's been rooted yet (by others than Sony...), but if it hasn't, it's just a question of time.
Me, I prefer to use a watch that does the primary function quite well - tell the time without requiring me to use my fingers, and no matter whether it's night or snow or direct sunshine or underwater or on a bike or I haven't given maintenance to it in months. It's j
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Yes, I was a Kickstarter backer for Pebble. And, I received mine, at the stated discount. So I got my expected ROI.
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Which is why I'll never do a kickstarter- I'm not going to pay extra for early access to a product that I can't test and may never be made. I'd be willing to invest for a share of the profits, but not pay extra for a presale.
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Non-kickstarter: Bankers, corporate stiffs have 100% control of what can raise capital
kickstarter concept: A bit of democracy possibility to bypass that control.
I don't personally feel Kickstarter is about investment but taking control --- and near stranglehold --- away from the kind of corporate culture unwilling to roll dice or uninterested in small yield/high interest projects.
Note: I am not arguing "kickstarter" is perfect.
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Then let me invest, rather than prebuy. Let me buy a tiny part of the profits. But I'm not going to pay to pre-purchase an item that doesn't exist yet from a company with little to no track record. That puts all the risk on me, the consumer, rather than the entrepeneur. That's ass backwards.
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I'm going to hope that was a joke. I don't have the heart to explain all of economics tonight.
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I'm going to hope that was a joke. I don't have the heart to explain all of economics tonight.
Dude, I get it. This and other Kickstarters aren't typical venture-capital investments. In fact, I think that is by design; I think that in the U.S., there are regulatory issues with crowd-funding venture capital, and so Kickstarter is intentionally structured this way.
I see below where you replied to an AC with:
That is not
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They're more of an investment than stocks are (outside of public offerings). But buying an item at a discount isn't an investment. It's like coming home from the mall with 20 shirts you didn't intend to buy and saying "but I saved money, they were on sale!"
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Then let me invest, rather than prebuy. Let me buy a tiny part of the profits.
This would be in violation of SEC regulations against selling unregistered securities to the public.
The only way they would potentially be able to do so would be to require that all site members prove they are accredited investors; E.g. by providing a copy of their paystub, showing sufficient income to meet the $200,000 per year income minimum set by the government for accredited investor status.
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Except there are ways to get around that. Ever known anyone who got a loan from parents/friends/ to start a business? Spin it as debt rather than equity. Although you could make a decent argument for waiving those restrictions for very small investments (say sub-100 dollars per investor with a cap on total investment as well).
But that's fine- if you can't do it you can't do it legally. That still doesn't mean that Kickstarter is anything other than a complete rip-off, transfering risk from the business
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if you can't do it you can't do it legally. That still doesn't mean that Kickstarter is anything other than a complete rip-off, transfering risk from the business to the buyer. The way its supposed to be is you make a product, taking the risk, and profiting for doing so. Its not supposed to be you con people into giving you money, let them take the risk that you can't complete development (or that you're just a scam), and then profit as well.
Is that any different than the risk of "pre-orders" of games or products that don't exist yet? Or buying a product that doesn't achieve critical mass and dies (The Barnes & Noble Nook, a Zune, etc.) I agree with you, by the way --- but look at Craigslist. Caveat Emptor.
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Except there are ways to get around that. Ever known anyone who got a loan from parents/friends/ to start a business? Spin it as debt rather than equity.
Are you familiar with the case of Prosper.com [wikipedia.org] ?
On November 24, 2008, the SEC found Prosper.com to be in violation of the Securities Act of 1933. As a result of these findings, the SEC imposed a cease and desist order on Prosper.[11] Due primarily to the novel nature of the peer to peer lending models, the SEC, after review, now treats all peer to peer
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Its not supposed to be you con people into giving you money, let them take the risk that you can't complete development (or that you're just a scam), and then profit as well.
Kickstarter doesn't fully transfer the risk. According to the terms of the site, if the project creator cannot deliver the rewards, they are liable to the contributors, to refund the amount of their contributions; otherwise, they could be sued by the contributors.
So the contributors have the risk if the project creator beco
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Except there are ways to get around that. Ever known anyone who got a loan from parents/friends/ to start a business? Spin it as debt rather than equity.
If you could avoid it looking to the government like a fixed income security; maybe they could work out a mechanism involving an optional promise to return contributors money after giving out the reward, plus the imputed interest to compensate for cost of capital at the fair market value for consumer debt; conditioned on the project generating reven
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Then let me invest, rather than prebuy. Let me buy a tiny part of the profits. But I'm not going to pay to pre-purchase an item that doesn't exist yet from a company with little to no track record. That puts all the risk on me, the consumer, rather than the entrepeneur. That's ass backwards.
Fair enough, you choice. There are lots of people though who will be willing to fund something *just for the joy of seeing it happen*. Not everything in life has to be an 'investment' to get a return. Sometimes, you take a punt on an unknown on the gamble that they are not going to scam you. Recently I got a Radian time-lapse motion photography thing delivered from a Kickstarter. It's a product that didn't exist and now does, and I'm pleased to have helped it happen. I believed in the people who wanted to c
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Yes. And I feel like the community is being abused by the VC people, if they can just get kickstarter funding, and then go grab additional VC funding at the same time.
Why the VC people can just make 'starting a kickstarter' project as a precondition to obtaining VC funding, and approve the funding, after success of the kickstarter project; so the venture capitalists take the equity of the business, anyways, instead of the project founders.
If they could get VC funding, from the bankers, then the V
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Why VCs? (Score:3)
Why do they need VCs, they have millions in the bank already.
And what's with the 'Nam-speak? (Score:2)
There haven't been any Viet Cong for decades now. They're all simply Vietnamese now.
Pebble Owner Checking In (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Pebble Owner Checking In (Score:5, Informative)
The E-Paper display and 7 day battery life got me.
Yes, E-Paper and not eInk. If it was the latter your battery life could perhaps be several weeks.
E-Paper is a clever marketing term for ... a Sharp monochrome LCD display. It still requires a low current to maintain the display, even when the graphic is static.
Which might be OK for a watch (Score:1)
I'm not sure that e-Ink would be better in this case, depending on how you configure the watch-face. For an ebook reader, you read for approximately an hour, changing pages every 2-3 seconds. For a watch, it may be updating every second (assuming you have a "seconds" counter of some sort showing, or a chronometer etc). E-ink might not be fast enough to refresh, and with 1-update-per-sec it also might have have much advantage battery-wise.
The naming is a bit sneaky, though.
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This^ but without the insult
Otherwise, a nice review, thank you (GP, not P)
Another Pebble Owner here (Score:5, Informative)
My thoughts, for what it's worth:
Appearance - not bad but not great. I wouldn't get one in any of the bright colors that they offer (but if that's your look, then there you go), but my plain black Pebble looks okay. It's a bit big, but not as big as I thought it'd be. It looks 'normal' enough to not get a whole lot of looks in a typical business-casual environment, but it's not going to win any design contests. However, for me, I wanted it for the functionality, so the look isn't that important to me.
Build quality - so so. I don't feel like it's going to break if I drop it, but it's mostly plastic and doesn't feel as rock-solid as, say, an iPhone 4/4S/5.
Battery life - Great, now. It was pretty poor at first (when sync'ed w/ an iPhone; I heard Android users had better luck), but a recent software update has improved the battery life tremendously. I now get 7+ days regularly (though I usually turn the bluetooth off at night).
Watch - it tells time well enough. :-) I love the ability to change watch faces. They just recently opened up the SDK, so I expect more watch faces to be available as well as other apps.
Accelerometer -- I'm sure this will be used in many apps in the future, but for now, it's still kind of a cool feature that I can just flick my wrist to turn on the backlight. :-)
Phone sync - this is what it's all about. It's...okay, but it has potential, and keeps improving rapidly. There is currently an annoying iOS bug where it doesn't always sync up with all the services (SMS, email, calendar, etc) you want it to, and you have to toggle the alert in the iOS settings for it to see the connection again. I usually do this once a day whether it needs it or not, since it only takes a few seconds. Regardless, it's GREAT to have. My personal favorite is the calendar reminders (I'm in a out of meetings a lot all day at work). It's great to check quick text messages without pulling out my phone too. Emails are usually too long to be worth reading on a watch, but it can do some of that if you want. You can also control media playback with it, pretty much out of the box. And it displays the number or name of someone calling you, or whoever you're on the line with, so for example you can check your watch and ignore a call without taking out your phone.
Apps are finally starting to arrive. Supposedly Runkeeper has some Pebble integration now, though I don't use that app personally.
There definitely seems to be more you can do with it on Android, but I'm an iPhone user at the moment, so I can't speak to that at all.
Recently released updates seem to have enabled some key functionality for someone to possibly make a "killer app", so I am anxious to see what starts showing up in the near future.
It's well worth keeping an eye on if you consider yourself to be even a little bit of an early adopter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android/posts
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It's big and ugly and it needs to be teathered to a phone...It's like strapping a RIM Playbook on your wrist!
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My experience with mine is that it's smaller than my last watch (not big), the faces are quite attractive (not ugly), and tethering to a phone isn't a bug, it's the #1 feature. I keep my phone on silent all the time now and just route the notifications to my watch. Quick glance at it during meetings to see if the email/text/whatever is important, and the phone stays in my pocket.
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though I usually turn the bluetooth off at night
Can this be set on a schedule or does it require manual intervention?
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I get that you're trying to provoke a reaction. The problem is, no one's offended by that kind of thing anymore. It's 2013, and we've all been desensitized by goatse and shitting dick-nipples. Plain obscentiy won't work anymore; you have to move on to something new and fresh.
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I've never heard someone under 30 years old use the word "rancid". It has really fallen out of use. That guy is probably old and sad.
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FYI, people generally go with "gross" or "nasty" now. Also, assholes generally smell bad anyways however the smell of death should never emanate from a living person. Get that guy to the hospital.
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That's basically what kickstarter is - it's a way for VCs to crowdsource initial investments without having to give any stock in return. As an AC noted below, in this case, it would appear that the kickstarters basically gave the VCs a gift of $15M, since now the VCs won't have to make any investment for initial development, prototyping, and manufacturing.
It's a pretty sweet deal if you're a VC - just snap up these kickstarters that someone else paid to develop, and laugh all the way to the bank.
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Yes, I was a Kickstarter backer for Pebble. And, I received mine, at the stated discount. So I got my expected ROI.
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The new and easy way for the Rothchilds, Banker barons, and CIA to filter any new technology coming up and actively controlling it and distributing it to their liking.
If you cocksuckers didn't notice this is what the entertainment industry did with American Idol when it started: A systematic system of filtering all of the talent in the world so that in the end they can be controlled by said Rothchilds, Banker Barons and CIA
Americans are fucking stupid.
funniest thing I've read all day! someone mod this funny (esp. the american idol bit).