Everybody Loves Stereotypes: Having spent last night at a biker/tiki bar with a Filipino-American friend who boozily excoriated the racist appropriation of his Polynesian heritage (we were just down the street from Dusty's Dagos, a bar that sells Italian sandwiches), this story caught my eye: Urban Outfitters has a line of shirts that regurgitates an old stereotype. While the one that reads "Everyone Loves an Irish Girl" was adorned with shamrocks, the "Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl" version is illustrated with dollar signs and purses.

Nike bomb: Nike recently issued a press release stating they had nothing to do with an internet ad that links the company with terror in the Middle East. In the ad, a sneaker is visible in the foreground as bomb squad members examine a bloody stain on the concrete. The headline reads "You may not survive the blast. But your shoes will."

War games: The US Marines use the videogame Doom in their training, and the Department of Defense uses SimsNet. Now the Army's getting into the game with America's Army: The Official US Army Game. Watch this graphic footage of Apache attack helicopters killing Iraqis with 30mm cannons and you'll see how the game metaphor plays out in actual combat scenarios. Whee.

Artists I'm watching: Vancouver artist Brian Jungen fashions Nike Air Jordans into tribal masks and other motifs of northwest First Nation cultures—seemingly a depiction of the new consumer tribalism and the erosion of cultural identity brought on by the commodity culture. Work samples here, here, and here. Chicago-based artist Siebren Versteeg uses technology to comment on media and globalization. In Dynamic Ribbon Device he uses a net-connected computer to typeset a live AP wire newsfeed into a scrolling version of Coca-Cola’s “ribbon” logo.