Weekend Digest: The wrong way on willpower, Tom Hanks travel warning, and return of the Polaroid edition

TV PREVIEW
On this week’s TV edition of Talk Business & Politics, which airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on KATV Channel 7 in Central Arkansas and in Northeast Arkansas on KAIT-NBC, Sundays at 10 a.m.:

The McLarty-Johnson Way
Business icons Mack McLarty, Franklin McLarty and Robert “Bob” Johnson were in Little Rock for a chamber of commerce conference. KATV’s Chris May sits down for a conversation on how a new President may alter the business landscape.

On Media
TB&P’s Michael Tilley and KATV’s Elicia Dover talk politics. How is President-elect Donald Trump working the media and how are his business conflicts causing a problem? And, what are the big items to watch in the upcoming legislative session? We’ll explore.

Inside the Numbers
Plus, we’ll go inside the numbers for a look at three numbers that mattered in business and politics this past week.

Tune in to Talk Business & Politics in Central Arkansas on KATV Channel 7, Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and in Northeast Arkansas on KAIT-NBC, Sundays at 10 a.m.

Coming in January 2017, Talk Business & Politics will air in Northwest Arkansas on KFSM Channel 5 at 10:30 a.m. following “Face the Nation.”

WILD ONLINE THANKSGIVING SHOPPING DAY
Fortune reports, “Online spending by U.S. bargain hunters climbed to above $1 billion by Thanksgiving evening, according to Adobe Digital Index, surging almost 14% from a year ago and reflecting a broader trend away from brick-and-mortar shopping.”

At the start of the first holiday shopping season since the election of Donald Trump as president on Nov. 8, U.S. consumers loosened their purse strings and spent $1.5 billion online between midnight and 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, according to Adobe.

Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, has started the holiday shopping season in the United States with retailers offering steep discounts and turning a profit.  But is popularity has been on the wane given the emergence of online shopping and cheap deals through the year from retailers including e-commerce giant Amazon.

More on this story at this link.

6 WAYS GEN Z WILL CHANGE THE TECH WORLD
Entrepreneur says, “Generation Z are usually first adopters of new technology, which gives them an innovative jump.”

“Our society is inundated with technological progress, and there are no signs that it is slowing down.  In this age of fast innovation, everyone is witness, but certain demographics are more influenced than others by the vast changes our technology is experiencing.”

“Generation Zers are often the first adopters of up-and-coming technology, while also being vocal about the tsunami of new inventions. Here are six reasons why Gen Z has the potential to shape the tech world.”

THINKING ABOUT WILLPOWER THE WRONG WAY FOR 30 YEARS
A contributing writer for Harvard Business Review posts, “Not so long ago, my post-work routine looked like this:  After a particularly grueling day, I’d sit on the couch and veg for hours, doing my version of “Netflix and chill,” which meant keeping company with a pint of ice cream.  Even though I knew that eating ice cream and sitting for a long time were probably bad ideas, I told myself that relaxation was my well-deserved reward for working so hard.”

“Psychological researchers have a name for this phenomenon: ego depletion. The theory is that willpower is connected to a limited reserve of mental energy, and once we run out of that energy, we’re more likely to lose self-control. This theory would seem to perfectly explain my after-work indulgences.”

But recent studies suggest that we’ve been thinking about willpower all wrong, and that the theory of ego depletion may not be true. Even worse, holding on to the idea that willpower is a limited resource can actually be bad for us, making us more likely to lose control and act against our better judgment.

Go to this link to learn how you can remain willpower strong.

TO HIDE THIS CONSTRUCTION SITE, THERE’S A LIVING WALL INSTEAD OF PLYWOOD
Fast Company says, “We’re used to seeing scaffold on long-term building projects covered up with advertising, but what about-crazy idea-not creating an eyesore on the city and doing something interesting instead?

That’s what Arup architects is doing during renovation of Grosvenor’s St Mark’s building, in London’s fancy Mayfair neighborhood. The firm has hung a vertical garden over the whole proceedings instead.

“Not only does it look a million times better than a scaffolded building, the carpet of greenery may actually improve its surroundings. Arup says that noise pollution from the construction site it cloaks could be reduced by 10 decibels, and the plants could also clean the air.”

Take a look here.

THANKSGIVING 1963 .. THE LONG WEEKEND THAT DEFINED LBJ’S PRESIDENCY
POLITICO Magazine posts, “For most Americans, then and now, Thanksgiving is a time to relax, to enjoy time with family and friends, and to usher in the holiday season.  Even presidents pause for a little relaxation.  But for Lyndon Johnson, Thanksgiving 1963 was a personal and political inflection point.  over the long holiday weekend and in the days that proceeded it, in an unrelenting string of phone calls and in-person meeting, LBJ set in motion one of the most important strategies of his presidency-a strategy that enabled him to channel the nation’s grief over Kennedy’s assassination to build a strong, lasting legacy, rather than allow popular affection for the slain president to overshadow his presidency.

It would turn out to be one of the most significant weekends in presidential history.

Go to this link for an in-depth look at that weekend and the strategy “LBJ set in motion.”

TRUMP ADVISER TELLS REPUBLICANS: YOU’RE NO LONGER REAGAN’S PARTY
The Hill reports, “Donald Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Moore told a group of top Republicans last week that they now belong to a fundamentally different political party.”

“Moore surprised some of the Republican lawmakers assembled at their closed-door whip meeting last Tuesday when he told them they should no longer think of themselves as belonging to the conservative party of Ronald Reagan.”

They now belong to Trump’s populist working-class party, he said. A source briefed on the House GOP whip meeting – which Moore attended as a guest of Majority Whip Steve Scalise – said several lawmakers told him they were taken aback by the economist’s comments.

Click on this link for more on the lawmaker’s reaction.

THE DISRUPTIVE CAREER OF TRUMP’S NATIONAL-SECURITY ADVISER
The New Yorker says, “The first time I met Michael Flynn, whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped last week to be his national-security adviser, he was wearing the Army’s weekend uniform — a baggy polo shirt and khaki pants — and swinging his Blackberry around like a cowboy would his revolver. It was the late summer of 2008, at a Washington cocktail party hosted by Flynn’s boss, Admiral Michael Mullen, who was then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Flynn was Mullen’s top intelligence guy.

“A lot of reporters and other civilians found Mike, as everyone called him refreshing. A plucky Irish Catholic kid from Rhode Island, he wasn’t impressed by rank. He told his junior officers to challenge him in briefings. “You’d hear them says, “Boss, that’s nuts,’” one former colleague said. The colleague asked not to be named, as did others I talked to for this story, either because they wanted to maintain a positive relationship with Flynn or because they did not want to criticize the incoming Administration.”

Flynn broke rules he thought were stupid. He once tole me about a period he spent assigned to a C.I.A. station in Iraq, when he would sometimes sneak out of the compound without the “insane” required approval from C.I.A. headquarters, in Langley, Virginia. He had technicians secretly install an Internet connection in his Pentagon office, even though it was forbidden. There was also the time he gave information to NATO allies without approval, an incident which prompted an investigation, and warning from superiors.

For more on the career of Flynn, his temper, his need to seek the Washington spotlight and how he “created massive antibodies in a building,” go to this link.

OBAMA’S MEDAL OF FREEDOM PICKS PART OF LEGACY
NBC News reports, “For the last time during his tenure in office, President Obama bestowed the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor on a distinguished array of American icons on Tuesday.”

It was a star-studded affair filled with luminaries from a broad range of fields spanning the arts, sports, philanthropy, education, science and mathematics.  It was also an event filled with laughter.

“The president warned the gathering never to travel with award winner actor, Tom Hanks.”

“You’ve got pirates, plane crashes, marooned in airport purgatory, volcanoes…something always happens with Tom Hanks,” the president said. “And yet somehow we can’t resist going where he wants to take us.”

For more on the affair and its honorees, connect here.

NOSTALGIA IS DRIVING UP SALES FOR POLAROID
The Polaroid is back! Marketplace says, “More than a decade ago, and perhaps a few times after that, many people believed Polaroid was dead.

While it had been a household name for years, many people though the brand would die in the age of digital photography,  But last year, Polaroid made some what of a comeback–and this year is looking even brighter.

Why? What has happened to zoom this iconic old-brand’s sales? Find out by clicking here.

THE 2016 TURKEY PARDON
NPR posts, “The annual turkey pardon is a silly tradition, and president Obama knows it.  On Wednesday, before pardoning turkeys named Tater and Tot, Obama summed up his feelings about this particular duty.”

“It’s my great privilege–well, it’s my privilege–actually, let’s just say it’s my job to grant them clemency this afternoon,” Obama said.”

More on this “turkey” of an event and who stood in with the president at this link.

THE HISTORY OF THE MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE IN PHOTOS
It’s one of America’s favorites and perhaps the best parade ever.

Fortune has chronicled a remarkable array of photos to honor Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from over the years.

Take a look at the balloons, floats and performances that have wowed us for 89 years.