Slate.com has an article about how Countrywide is still up to its tricks after helping melt the housing market. I don't understand it all, and there is lots of debate in the comments section, so I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about.

So I will look at something a whole lot simpler. Take a look at this picture from the Slate article. Look at that Countrywide sign. Am I the only person who finds that a little disturbing?

Hear me out. Look at its primary colors, its simple shapes. It reminds me of building blocks and preschool. It is simple and welcoming, like a pat on the head to a six year old. These are the messages associated with a massive company that deals with insane amounts of money. I don't know about you, but when I am dealing with a bank I appreciate some semblance of seriousness about them. Instead, Countrywide wants to paint itself in childish simpicity; seriously, the portrait place in Walmart has a more professional sign. It creeps the hell out of me. I feel like this is how little they regard its customers. Hey there stupid, you want a home right? The American Dream? We'll get you there. Just trust us. Meanwhile behind the scenes they screw everything up and get off scott free. It is incredibly insulting that this is how they try to disarm and distract us, and that it actually worked on so many folks. I hate the blanket statement of "I wish everyone else wasn't dumb", as it really is disingenuous, especially with the housing market. A lot of what happened was due to lender's duping people, as much as we claim it was due to families trying to live beyond their means. I just wish people weren't so obsessed with being coddled and praised and leisured, otherwise this kind of marketing would fail miserably.

The Orioles have a better record than the Mets. I hope this isn't a trend.