One of the most audacious and irony-defying advertising campaigns to rumble down the turnpike in recent months has got to be “Hummer Helps.” The TV commercial features quick cuts of black storm clouds, hurricane winds, crashing seas, flooding shores and wildfires, interspersed with shots of postapocalyptic good Samaritans coming to the rescue driving Hummers. Need to escape Katrina’s surge? Trapped between a raging California wildfire and a ravine? Better hope your neighbor drives a Hummer, and that he has forgotten that you never returned the circular saw you borrowed last summer. The commercial urges viewers to contribute their own “Hummer Hero” stories on the manufacturer’s Web site. Just don’t mention the vehicle’s carbon footprint and the possible link between global climate change and the above-named natural disasters. And leave out that the driver asked you to split the $125 it cost to refill the tank.

. Enjoying that end-of-year bonus? Maybe you’ll take the family to Olive Garden, or, more likely, pay those bills that are yellowing with age. But if you helped your employer earn more money in 2007, it might be a different story. That was the case for Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, who “earned” a $68 million bonus last week in addition to his $600,000 salary. To put it in perspective, Mr. Blankfein’s bonus last year was just $54 million. And last year, the company dished out $16 billion in bonuses – an average of $600,000 per employee. Employees said the bonuses almost make going to work the other 51 weeks bearable.

. Did you read about the Oregon income tax rebate? According to that state’s constitution, if income tax revenues exceed projections by 2 percent or more, the additional money is returned to those who paid it out. The typical check was $600, but for some, like Nike founder Phil Knight, the “kicker,” as they call it, was $800,000. Gov. Baldacci and the Maine Legislature are considering a similar deal, according to rumors, except that when revenues dip below projections, the state will take your debit card to cover the shortfall.

. The painful spike in the cost of gasoline and home heating oil, presumably tied at least in part to a lack of supply and a growing demand, is plenty serious. But it’s not the only commodity shortage making its influence felt. Hops, an essential ingredient in beer, is also in short supply, down 8 percent to 15 percent below world demand. Europe’s 2006 crop was ruined by heavy rains; Australia’s by a drought; and Slovenia lost nearly half its crop to a hailstorm. Microbrewers are bracing themselves for the day when dealers say they have no hops to deliver; the big boys, such as Anheuser-Busch and Miller, have locked up the supplies that remain. Beer prices, especially for so-called craft brews, are expected to rise. Talk about an inconvenient truth.

. Though Maine is the only U.S. state to lie contiguous to two Canadian provinces and just one other state, we’ve not seen the charms of Boxing Day cross the border. The Dec. 26 holiday, which can be traced to the medieval practice of feudal lords giving Christmas boxes containing gifts to their serfs, is marked in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Tradition calls for a second, but perhaps more low-key Christmas celebration, getting together with extended family and eating leftovers from the previous day’s feast. Shopping for deeply discounted items is also a big part of the holiday; for U.K. retailers it is one of the biggest revenue-producing days of the year. The Maritime Provinces mandate that stores remain closed, so the big sales commence Dec. 27. Though that seems like a civilized take on the holiday, a reader of the Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Guardian newspaper Web site posted this response to a Boxing Day story: “Nowhere to shop in this province on Boxing Day – still stuck in the last century.”