Real-time blogging of the (thank-god-they’re-over) Olympics closing ceremony:

They first have dinosaurs look over into the stadium, then Kiss, Earth Wind & Fire, Gloria Estefan, Donny & Marie, Willie Nelson. Is this a salute to things we thought were extinct?

Mary Carillio, shut up. Don’t talk over Harry Connick Jr. to explain what he’s singing. This ain’t tennis. In fact, while I’m thinking about it, shut up the next time you cover tennis.

How old is Dorothy Hamill? 46? Man, that Vioxx seems to be working.

An ivillage.com commercial? A dot-com commercial? This IS a salute to things we thought were extinct!

Scott Hamilton, show us YOUR quad.

The ten-man Italian flag-spinning team? Is Ed Sullivan channeling this show?

No comment on that fashion model not appropriately dressed for 20-degree weather.

Elisa, the Italian Madonna? Isn’t Madonna the Italian Madonna?

The new K-Mart commercial (directed by Spike Lee) is great. Too bad K-Mart isn’t.

Mitt Romney. Is this guy from central casting, or what? Didn’t know him two weeks ago. A Mormon with a Harvard MBA and law degree. Bain & Co. founder with the deep pockets of a gazillionaire. Smoother on TV than Tom Brokaw. Will probably run for governor this November in either Utah or Massachusetts. That’s right, that Massachusetts…where he almost unseated Ted Kennedy. Or he could pick a dozen other states. Tennessee, maybe?

The crowd on our couch gives thumbs up to the balloons with the Cirque de Soleil escapees dangling from them.

Home Depot wins a gold medal for best Olympic marketing break with the success of Derek Parra. Speaking of Olympic marketing. I found the “cute” Chevrolet commercials amusingly executed, but funnier still for their depiction of themselves, the world’s biggest spender of advertising dollars, as a couple of guys who are hanging out in Salt Lake doing guerilla marketing. Funny inside-marketing humor.

Jackson Pollack painted ice with those pogo jumpers on steroids. Now that’s entertainment.

Christina Aguilera’s pants? Are those allowed in Utah?

To the American athlete who yelled at the camera, “Hey, I need a job,” I hear they’re hiring at Home Depot.

That’s it?

Happy trails to you.

Here are some quick takes from the weekend:

If there’s a product which knows its target market better than Budweiser, I have not seen them. Teenage guys, I mean 21+ males, have got to identify with the dorks who are the butts of their 30-second video one-liners. I know I do.

The New York Times digs deep to uncover the plans of Wal-Mart to add upscale merchandise in some of the newer stores in more affluent areas. But will it offend their traditional customers, the intrepid reporter asks. Earth to New York Times. Earth to New York Times. Have you ever been to a Wal-Mart before? Each store can merchandise for local tastes. The one in Nashville is jammed with Titans merchandise each fall. Go to any Wal-Mart near a beach and you’ll find it loaded with sun tan lotion, floats and salt-water fishing gear. Go to a southwest Alabama Wal-Mart in the fall and you’ll find it stocked with turkey and deer hunting gear. One of the keys to Wal-Mart’s success is the localization of merchandising rather than the one-size-fits-all-locations approach of other big boxes. If they’re moving into upscale towns, anticipate upscale merchandise. And I can assure you their traditional customers in Cullman County, Alabama will have no idea, nor care, what the Cape Cod Wal-Mart is stocking.

The greatest commercial I have ever seen is the current 90-second spot from Nike titled “Move.” The music. The cinematography. The editing. The timing. On-and-on, this is great. Has the essence of a brand ever been captured more in a television commercial? Makes me want to start running again tomorrow. Too bad Nike doesn’t make my narrow width. Guess I’ll go drink a Budweiser instead.

Do you create new products based on what customers tell you in focus groups? Apprently not, since most new products fail. Why is that? Thanks to Michael Nott for pointing me to this article in Saturday’s New York Times exploring a better way to get into people’s brain.

The process draws on neuroscience, semiotics and the ideas of Carl Jung — and cutting pictures out of magazines.