This was an interesting article - finance.yahoo.com/family… discussing brands that are likely to disapear in the next 12 years. Thought it was interesting locally, since we have Kmart, Sears, and several A&W restaurants.

American Apparel!? That's quite shocking for a company to boom and bust on a global scale within about seven years. Where the hell will I get my gold hot pants and leggings now? I am totally serious.  NOOO

The only K-Mart around here is the one in Sparks and we would be missing nothing if it closed.  I stopped by there recently and it was just plain nasty, empty shelves, canned goods with dust on top of them and to make it worse the crap was not even competitively priced.  

As far as Sears...I used to think their tools were great but I hear different from my son who is an auto mechanic.  He said that a torque wrench at Sears costs $80 is made in china, has plastic working parts and no more craftsman lifetime guarantee; an equivalent torque wrench at Harbor Freight tools is $30, also made in china, has metal working parts and a lifetime guarantee.

Soap Opera Digest is going away because of matters beyond it's control. Soaps are getting canceled. There's nothing to write about or read about.
Motorola stumbled in the late 1990s when they invested so heavily in analog technology and cell phones made the switch to digital. Nokia capitalized and it seemed like everyone had a Nokia phone. But then Nokia stumbled with smart phones by trying to develop their own operating system. It failed badly. The race is shaping up to Apple vs. Android. Nokia signed on with Microsoft in the hopes Microsoft can pull out something, but it's looking like it's going to be going away.
Saab died years ago. They're just waiting for someone to put a bullet in its head.
I never understood why Sears bought KMart. Sears still has some of the best appliances. I had good luck at their optical store. KMart offers neither the best value or selection.
I never got MySpace. Of course, I never got LinkedIn either, and investors seem to like it.

Kmart is a total train wreck. I honestly don't know how they are holding on. We went in one when we were in the Florida Keys (only option nearby) and it was awful. I've not been to a local store since the one near the NW Reno Home Depot closed a few years ago.

I like Sears, but only for certain products--mostly major appliances, vacuums, and the like. They usually have good prices, competitive interest free offers, and knowledgeable staff. I've also had good luck with their service center (over in Sparks) and their repair / home maintenance folks. Auto stuff is usually good too.

Did anyone see that Newscorp just sold myspace for a fraction of what they paid for it to a company headed by Justin Timberlake? Ouch.

Cracks me up. Corn Pops are out, but Frosted Flakes are in?  Actually, I grew up on both of those, and I'm doing fine. Ha. All this is replaced by an egg white and fruit juice for breakfast? C'mon...!

I always found corn pops to be too sweet. Plus, the fact that they were neon yellow freaked me out. Peanut Butter Crunch is where's it at. And cookie crisp (cereal shaped like cookies? hells yeah!).