Mike Albo is a writer and performer who lives and loves in Brooklyn. His second novel, (written with Virginia Heffernan) is the cult humor classic The Underminer: The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys Your Life. You can find him at mikealbo.com.

McDonald’s is trying to turn into Starbucks, while Starbucks is trying to get away from itself by opening logo-less stores. Mike Albo looks at the changing world of insta-food.

If shopping is a sport, then Black Friday is the Super Bowl. Mike Albo argues that the yearly hysteria over Bionicles and Barbies reflects a dark vision of how we buy.