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Hey MSNBC.com! 

I have a quick questions.  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? 

One of the postings on the July 2, 2008 Home Page (see screen shot below) read "World Waits For Jolie-Pitt Baby."  Sorry to be redundant, but . . . are you kidding me? 

Do you actually believe that the readers of your "news" website are currently poised and breathlessly waiting with the WORLD for the birth of the Jolie-Pitt baby.  Yikes!  What an insult to everything holy in and on this big blue marble.  I mean REALLY?  Asking if the WORLD is waiting for the Jolie-Pitt Baby?  Not sure what WORLD you are referring to, but in my WORLD, we are not on pins and needles awaiting the birth of the Jolie-Pitt baby.  Where I come from, the world is waiting for:

> Peace in the Middle East
> Our troops to come home from Iraq
> A cure for breast cancer
> A Chicago Cubs world series WIN
> . . . and maybe, just maybe the next episode of "I Survived a Japanese Game Show.  KIDDING on that last one!!!! 

I'm sure I can speak for the majority of the WORLD (hope that's okay WORLD) when I say that we are not losing sleep over the pending birth of the Jolie-Pitt baby.  We do however have an idea!  Grab hold of the person that wrote the peppy little attention grabbing hyperlink headline "World Waits For Jolie-Pitt Baby" and ask them . . . IF THEY HAVE A CLUE.  Better yet, set up a doctor appointment for this person for a complete and full REALITY CHECK UP.

SIDE BAR:  While I am not a huge fan of either Brad Pitt and/or Angelina Jolie, I wish them and their family only the best.  Both Brad and Angelina appear to be good parents and exemplary citizens of planet earth.

So I'm sitting at home pre-Superbowl Sunday, camped out on the couch with my boys, looking for some kid-friendly television programming.  As I click through the DirectTV guide, I happen upon the one zillion or more Nickelodeon/Disney channels.  Low and behold, the kids and I spy "The Incredibles" movie listed in the guide, the kids shriek with delight and before you can say MacBook Air, we're engrossed.  We pause the movie for a scant moment, (gotta love Tivo), grab some snacks, and get settled in for a long winter's evening. 

I'm a huge fan of the movie "The Incredibles", we own the DVD, and I can honestly say we've seen the movie no less than 50, maybe 100 times.  Round about 45 minutes into the movie, I'm struck with an image I've never seen before until now.  Amazingly, Pixar, in conjunction with Apple of course, present us with the MacBook Air in all it's glory.  Yes, the MacBook Air, 4 years before the product was launched to the masses.  Amazing coincidence or brand business as usual from the fine folks at Apple.  Talk about your Visionary Brand Strategy!!!    

Don't kid yourself, an undeniable image strangely reminiscent of the MacBook Air laptop does appear in the movie.  If you would like to see for yourself, grab the DVD and fast-forward to the following scene:  Mirage sneaks into the cubicle of Mr. Incredible immediately after Mr. Incredible (Bob), is called to the office of his boss.  Mr. Incredible is fired, goes home, dumps the contents of his briefcase in the trash, hears a large clunk in the can, reaches into the trash can, pulling out a YELLOW BUSINESS ENVELOPE, reaches into the YELLOW BUSINESS ENVELOPE and . . . wait for it . . . pulls out the MacBook Air!!  Amazing right?  Apple and Pixar had the foresight to strategically integrate the pending launch of the MacBook Air in a movie from 2004!  

Was Apple and/or Pixar crazy or crazy like a fox?  We know that during the recent MacWorld 2008 Keynote, Steve Jobs launches the new MacBook Air, presenting the new product literally from "thin-air", like a rabbit from a hat or in this case, a laptop from a similar YELLOW INTER-OFFICE ENVELOPE!  Mr. Jobs then treats those of watching the Keynote to a preview of the new MacBook Air television spot where we once again we see the MacBook Air, seemingly pulled from "thin-air" from the all too familiar YELLOW INTER-OFFICE ENVELOPE.  

Call it what you will . . . visionary strategic brand brilliance, product placement premonition, or just a lucky coincidence?  I call it INCREDIBLE.