This billboard and press campaign is now running in Mexico, is a colorful map depicting what the Americas might look like in an “Absolut” — i.e., perfect — world. The U.S.-Mexico border lies where it was before the Mexican-American war of 1848 when California, as we now know it, was Mexican territory and known as Alta California.

The campaign taps into the national pride of Mexicans, according to Favio Ucedo, creative director of leading Latino advertising agency Grupo Gallegos in the U.S. Ucedo, who is from Argentina, said: “Mexicans talk about how the Americans stole their land, so this is their way of reclaiming it. It’s very relevant and the Mexicans will love the idea.”

The U.S. is the largest importer of Absolut in the world, so I’m perplexed that it concluded there could be a net gain by this ad campaign. Absolut really blew it by uncorking this one. Perhaps it has consumed too much of its own product. They’ll have plenty of surplus stock to drown in though. But don’t worry, folks. This is in no way a threat to our national sovereignty.

To some, Larry Ellison’s $200 million reproduction 16th-century Japanese emperor’s estate in the hills above Silicon Valley sums up everything wrong with America’s out-of-control real estate market. Imagine how upset Ellison’s critics became this week when they found out that the the world’s 14th-wealthiest person had negotiated a 60% tax break on his property. As a result, his local assessor’s office is sending the 63-year old $3 million.

Ellison won the tax break by essentially arguing that he had squandered money on Larryland, and would never be able to get his investment back. Ellison said that the property had suffered from “significant functional obsolescence” and was therefore worth $64.7 million, not the $166.3 million on record (substantially less than the $200 million it cost to build).

Larry’s 23-acre Japanese emperor estate property ended up featuring a 2.3-acre man-made lake filled with drinkable water, 2,000 tons of imported Chinese granite, a waterfall with a built-in fog machine and an on/off switch, several miles of underground tunnels for domestic staff, a 30-ton boulder in the master bedroom shower, and a replica 16th-century bridge that was built by craftsmen in China.

Just Made It Into The Guinness World Records

Swiss gunsmith SwissMiniGun has developed a tiny revolver that’s so small, it’s banned in the United States. The Miniature Revolver is less than 2.2 inches long, but it has all the features of a full-size gun, according to the company. And from short range, it can kill you. Sign me up!

All Miniature Revolvers are custom-made. The basic model is stainless steel and costs 6,500 Swiss francs (about $6,300). How do you shoot a gun so small? There’s an extra trigger.

While most of us think that money is used financial transactions, for some it’s also a place to jot down notes, scribble and doodle.

It’s weird and irrational, but it’s the way it is.

Would you rather earn $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000, or would you rather earn $100,000 a year while other people get $250,000? Assume for the moment that prices of goods and services will stay the same. Surprisingly — stunningly, in fact — research shows that the majority of people select the first option; they would rather make twice as much as others even if that meant earning half as much as they could otherwise have.

This result is one among thousands of experiments in behavioral economics, neuroeconomics and evolutionary economics conclusively demonstrating that we are every bit as irrational when it comes to money as we are in most other aspects of our lives. In this case, relative social ranking trumps absolute financial status. Here’s a related thought experiment. Would you rather be A or B?

A is waiting in line at a movie theater. When he gets to the ticket window, he is told that as he is the 100,000th customer of the theater, he has just won $100.

B is waiting in line at a different theater. The man in front of him wins $1,000 for being the 1-millionth customer of the theater. Mr. B wins $150.

Amazingly, most people said that they would prefer to be A. In other words, they would rather forgo $50 in order to alleviate the feeling of regret that comes with not winning the thousand bucks. Regret falls under a psychological effect known as loss aversion. Research shows that before we risk an investment, we need to feel assured that the potential gain is twice what the possible loss might be because a loss feels twice as bad as a gain feels good.

Hunter vs. Gatherer: According to research, men and women are as different as Target and Tiffany when they shop.

Men, who have often been accused of being merely replacement shoppers, tend to be more utilitarian when they hit the malls and shopping centers. It’s a mission. Get in. Get what’s needed. Get out. Quickly. Women, on the other hand, generally like to look around, talk to sales associates and experience the shopping. They walk around, smell perfume, touch clothes, dab on cosmetics.

Men are very task oriented while women are very much more about the relationship and the engagement and the interaction with the people at the stores. Women told surveyors that they liked it when associates showed them different styles and new items. This isn’t terribly surprising: Women run into more problems when shopping than men. On the tribulations scale, women’s No. 1 issue was not being able to find help when they needed it. One in three women who were so miffed by the issue that they said they would never go back to the store again. Men’s biggest headache: Parking. One in three said they hated not finding parking close to the store entrance.

Men ditch stores, too, but their biggest reason to do so is when products are out of stock. Men complained they experienced that when shopping 24% of the time compared with it happening to women 21% of the time.

Age made a difference, too, in shopper loyalty. The younger the shopper, the more likely he or she was to pooh-pooh a store for poor service. The pickiest of all groups were men 18 years old to 35 years old.

Women and men both are four times more likely to relay a good-news experience than a bad one. Still, when all is said and done, women are the shopping queens. They spend an eye-popping $4 trillion annually, which accounts for 83% of U.S. consumer spending

If it’s done anything, it’s made me never, ever want to buy a Chevy.

Who hates those Chevy commercials because of their song “Our Country,” by John Mellencamp? According to Newsweek, everybody hates it. Mellencamp’s melancholy anthem have become so ubiquitous that they’re driving sports fans to distraction. Chevy thinks the campaign has been a success, and are actually making more “Our Country” commercials, despite heavy criticism from people who are sick of the song.

The company used Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” for 11 years, helping drive up truck sales 61%. Chevy spokesman Terry Rhadigan is aware of the negative buzz but has no plans to throttle back.  When it comes to building awareness, experts say, nothing succeeds like excess—even at the risk of overkill. Just great!

  $25,000 Dessert Anyone? … Anyone?

Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, partnered with luxury jeweler Euphoria New York to create the “Frrozen Haute Chocolate,” a blend of 28 cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe. The dessert, spelled with two Rs, is infused with 5 grams (0.2 ounces) of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. At the base of the goblet is an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds.

Four years ago, Bruce unveiled a $1,000 ice cream sundae called Golden Opulence, a staple on his menu and a favorite with rock stars, socialites and other celebrities. Both desserts are sold only with advance orders. Bruce said he has received inquiries about his latest creation, mostly from Europeans planning to visit New York.

Nudy Sleepwalkers on the Rise 

Workers at a chain of budget hotels are being given advice on how to deal with naked sleepwalkers.  A study by Travelodge found there had been more than 400 cases in the past year, almost all involving men. Sleep experts blame stress, alcohol abuse, lack of sleep for the disorder, eating cheese or consuming too much caffeine . A number had walked into the reception area asking for a newspaper or saying they wanted to check out. The advice includes keeping a supply of towels in reception to help preserve a guest’s dignity. Hah!

Sleepwalking 101: Sleepwalking is also called “somnambulism.” It is a parasomnia. A parasomnia involves undesired events that come along with sleep. Before walking, you might sit up in bed and look around in a confused manner. At other times, individuals may bolt from the bed and walk or run away. Your eyes are usually open and have a confused, “glassy” look to them. It can be very hard to wake a sleepwalker up. When you do wake up, you can be very confused. You might even attack the person who wakes you. Men, especially, are often violent during these episodes. Sleepwalking most often occurs in the first third of a night’s sleep or during other long sleep periods. Sleepwalking is more common in children and affects both boys and girls. The rate of it in children is as high as 17%.

Welcome to your future, California.

Six illegal immigrants were arrested today by U.S. Border Patrol agents at Qualcomm Stadium, after a report that they were stealing food and water meant for evacuees. Gee, who could have seen that coming? San Diego police responded to a call about alleged theft from the evacuation center and encountered six people in a van who didn’t speak English and didn’t have California driver’s licenses. The police officers called the Border Patrol, who arrived at the stadium and made the arrests. The immigrants admitted they were Mexican citizens and that they were stealing.

Other news release from Sign-On San Diego, “A woman told San Diego police officers she saw the group load up two pickup trucks and a car with cots and other supplies, leave and then return, said police Sgt. Jesse Cesena.” A clear indicator of having zero values or worth as humans. The first step towards U.S. citizenship is stealing food and water from disaster victims. How about the other 11,999,994 that are stealing our tax dollars?

Design Your Kitchen Cabinets, Dressers or Book Shelves as Miniature Buildings

Wouldn’t it be entertaining to have furniture in your home that is functional (storage chests, cupboards, TV cabinets…) yet interesting because it’s all shaped like miniature buildings? Love the idea, now bring it to the U.S.

The Power of Hormones 

SAC Capital is a powerful $10 billion hedge fund run by superstar trader Steven A. Cohen, one of Wall Street’s most prolific players who regularly takes home $500 million a year. What’s their secret? Telling their traders to swallow female hormones to trade better. It was alleged that one of Cohen’s top bosses at SAC chided traders for being too aggressive - and that they must use a soft feminine touch to score in their trading pitches.

One junior trader claimed that the boss, Ping Jiang, a key producer at the big hedge fund, demanded that the young trader take female hormone pills to help erase his aggressive male ways so he could be more effeminate in his trading style. Eventually, the hormones caused the junior trader, Andrew Tong, to start wearing dresses, avoid his wife’s touches altogether and allegedly begin a sexual relationship with his boss, the trader claims. Tong said that when he was instructed by Jiang to start taking an unspecified dosage of the pills to improve his trading.  Tong had to search the illegal black market to find his hormone pills.

The method apparently worked for Jiang, who’s listed by Trader Monthly magazine as one of Wall Street’s top 100 traders, with estimated income of $100 million a year.

Millionaires Have Problems Too

The surge in the number of millionaires in the world is spawning a fast-growing industry — wealth psychology. U.S. wealth managers are adding services such as psychological counseling for wealthy clients to set them apart from the competition, experts said. Some of these psychologists handle clients who feel guilty about inheriting wealth. Others help with problems such as how to raise children in an environment where almost anything can be bought, or intervene when spouses fight over money.

One of the biggest concerns: How am I going to raise my kids responsibly with all this money? Some experts predicted that within 10 years most financial management firms will offer psychological services. The more cutting-edge wealth management firms and banks are beginning to realize they need to get people available and in house. Wells Fargo recently hired two psychologists to meet with its clients, and is seeing demand for another new service for the wealthy — catering to the aging parents of millionaires.

The United States is the world’s biggest wealth market but many players find it hard to achieve and sustain profitability in part because they cannot differentiate themselves, according to a recent study by Boston Consulting Group.

Promised Fun: Send pictures with a little twist of humor

Blabberize is a new service that allows you to create your own talking picture, basically a moving mouth on a still image. Users upload a photo of someone to Blabberize, select a mouth and then record a message. Once done, users can email a link to the Blabberize hosted page or embed the result. Their site is so busy from traffic that you might as well wait till it dies down a bit.