Two stupid commercials I’ve seen recently:

1. Banquet Dessert Bakes. I guess this is some kind of a frozen fruit crisp thing. Or maybe it comes in a box, with the fruit in a pouch. I don’t know. Either way, gross. Their slogan is “the new homemade.” I think that’s what irritated me most about the ad. Also the fact that packaged, preserved desserts are invariably over-sweetened and fulla chemicals.

Apple crisp is one of the easiest desserts to make from scratch. Peel and cut up apples. Put in glass dish. Cover with a mixture of brown sugar and flour. Bake. Total cost to you: maybe $1.50? Comes down to about 25 cents per serving? The Dessert Bake costs $4.00.

2. Preference L’Oreal Hair Color. Starring Heather Locklear! Heather extolls the benefits of this $6 drugstore hair color, when you know she spends at LEAST five hundred dollars a month in a salon maintaining her perfect blonde hair. Please.

Anyhoo.

Speaking of TV, I got caught up in some “muckraking” Dateline show the other night about how car dealers try to fleece their customers. Yeah, I know, groundbreaking stuff. It was interesting to see just how they do it, though. I’ve never bought a car from a dealer. I learned four important car-buying tips though: