Tweet Starbucks keeps making me these offers that cause me to wonder. Yesterday, I got an email offering me a “free” tote bag. That is, it was “free” if I spent $75 or more at the Starbucks online store. A few days back, I got another sweet offer of 20 percent off! To get that, […]
TweetIn his latest column, George Will makes similar points to ones I made in my last post, about our national orgy of conspicuous consumption. (And thank you, Thorstein Veblen! I’ve always thought that was a great term — and not just because of the alliteration.) He concludes it thusly: In any American city large enough to […]
TweetY’all know of my unrequited love for Starbucks. “Unrequited” because in order for it to be requited, Starbucks would need to advertise here on my blog. I can hardly think of a better fit, given all the free product placement I’ve already provided over the years. But now I have a different proposition: Please, Starbucks, […]
Tweet Had a strange experience a little while ago. The photographs above and below were taken at 12:57 p.m. today inside the Gervais Street Starbucks. And no, they weren’t closed for renovations. In fact, there were a few customers in there — I just shot the empty parts. But… there are never empty parts in […]
TweetSpeaking of storm troopers, here’s something on the opposite end of the gravity spectrum from my last post… This, brought to my attention by Stan Dubinsky, sort of blew my mind this morning: THIRTEEN years ago, researchers at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum began the grim task of documenting all the ghettos, slave labor sites, concentration […]
Tweet OK, not really, and in fact, at least one person appears to have been injured. So it’s no joke. But the truth was, that headline was, I must admit, my first thought when I beheld the scene. Or rather, my second. My first was, “Someone was even more anxious for a cup of coffee […]
Tweet Did you ever wonder why the smallest size advertised at Starbucks is a “Tall?” So did I, but I never wondered enough to ask. I sort of assumed that once there had been smaller sizes, but they had become extinct as America became more gluttonous. I was right. I think. Because it turns out Starbucks […]
TweetPerhaps that headline was a bit too alarmist. Because that would be TOO cruel — cutting anyone off from the black nectar. But to politicians, if not to normal people, being cut off from the cash flow would be as bad as losing the coffee itself. Because, you know, their priorities are seriously out of […]
TweetMary Pat Baldauf just Tweeted this: You could literally hang meat in @Starbucks in the Vista! Freezing! Well, the over-effectiveness of the A/C is neither here nor there, far as I’m concerned. I just want to be at Starbucks! Now! Rather, I NEED to be at Starbucks. Just a moment ago, I found something on my […]
TweetNo, I am not paranoid. It’s just that I’ve made no secret of my love of Starbucks. I’ve made it clear that my blog is available for advertising Starbucks. I give it free plugs all the time, such as here and here and here and here and here and here and … I even offer […]
Tweet A little while ago I posted something on Twitter about a periodic peeve of mine: Yo, Starbucks: A separate queue for us actual coffee drinkers would still be a great idea… Truth be told, I have been to a Starbucks that does have a separate queue for straight coffee drinkers (by which I don’t […]
TweetMy effort the other day to prostrate myself in an appealing manner before Starbucks sort of bore fruit, in that I got this message via Twitter: Loved the blog and thanks for the mention That was from one Darcy Willson-Rymer, who is managing director of Starbucks in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Unfortunately, he didn’t […]
TweetFirst, a confession: I really like Starbucks’ new ad campaign. When you Google it, you find a lot of people sneering at it. They find it pompous, overbearing, supercilious, and so forth. Everything that people who don’t like Starbucks don’t like about Starbucks comes into play. But me, I love Starbucks. So when those ads […]
Tweet The one thing I wanted to know in the news stories about the closing of 600 Starbucks locations is the one thing none of them could tell me: Which stores will close? To a true aficionado, this is a matter of some import. Among those I hope will not close are the following: Gervais […]
TweetJust got back from the beach a couple of hours ago. Sorry I haven’t posted. I’ve been busy, you’ve been busy. You know how it is. I’ll just try to catch up with some pictures, starting a couple or so days before Christmas… Did you check out the big sale in the last few days […]
Tweet I suppose I’ve been too focused on such things as the actual war — you know, that thing in Ukraine. I didn’t even realize this conflict was still going on, until I saw this headline this morning: The war on ‘Happy Holidays’ isn’t about Christmas I reacted to that by tweeting, “People are still […]
TweetI responded to this tweet from my friend Steve Millies: If I’d been there, I might have swiped that guy’s tie — the one on the left, the regimental. I’ve got one just like it, but it’s all ragged and worn out now. And Lourie’s, where I got it, is closed. Long gone. World’s just […]
TweetThe main attraction in going to Boston was to spend time with our twin granddaughters, who are doing a summer intensive program at the Boston Ballet. Of course, they were only free to hang out on Saturday and Sunday, so we planned our itineraries with them in mind on those days. On Friday, Monday and […]
TweetHaven’t had one of these lately, so here goes: Nato needed now more than ever – Biden — This is from the BBC. Unlike U.S. media, they pay attention to stuff like this. Which is helpful. Anyway, Joe said of Finland and Sweden, “They meet every Nato requirement and then some.” SC COVID-19 cases spike […]
TweetAnybody out there still shooting film? If so, what are you doing with it? Yeah, I know it’s an odd question in the Year of Our Lord 2021. Our phones long ago started shooting pictures with resolution that greatly exceed the quality we got from most 35 mm film. My mother, who’s 90, still prefers […]