Why Oh Why Didn't You Buy The Venti Skinny Hazelnut Latte?

Oh joy of joys! Starbucks has ordered 600 stores closed and 12,000 employees laid off. I'm really not a coffee drinker, but I used to think McDonald's were placed too close together until Starbucks came along. The NYC midtown area alone has tons of them at what seems like a block apart - which is probably why they're losing 6 of them. Coincidentally, on May 17, 2008 a Starbucks employee on 200 Madison Ave started the wheels rolling with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize his Starbucks shop of 13 employees. I wonder if Starbucks is taking a page out of the Walmart playbook and closing this store to avoid dealing with what would be their first union store.

Don't get me wrong. I don't wish any business ill and I certainly don't wish anyone would lose their job. Especially in this economy. But what did they think would happen when they placed these locations 2 blocks apart?

In Galesburg Illinois, at least 2 petitions are being circulated to stop the local Starbucks from closing. You can read the article by clicking on the blog title link, but the basic premise is that their small, local Starbucks hasn't gotten an opportunity to show that it can succeed and the local patrons want the opportunity to prove it can be successful and that the neighborhood is behind it's favorite business.

Anyone see anything wrong with this? This is America. We have a basic, consumer mentality. The way I see it, the community of "loyal patrons" had all the time from store opening until the closing announcement was made to "show" how much they loved their Starbucks. They wouldn't even have had to write a petition. All they had to do was BUY MORE OVER-PRICED COFFEE on a REGULAR basis. Not once a year or only when you pulled an all-nighter. If they had done this, no one would have thought of closing the location. Face it. The number$ don't lie and no company wants to lose money.

The idea that these "loyal" customers are outraged about this closing is pure ignorance. They basically want to buy a cup of coffee once in a while and sit in an air conditioned location for hours. They want the convenience of having the place available in case they choose to use it. Sorry buddy, but you're the reason the coffee costs so much in the first place. Who do you think is paying the electric bill for the time you spend in the location on ONE cup of coffee?
Starbucks is a business, not a park. You don't want to spend a lot of money? But a cup of "gourmet" coffee at the local McDonald's and go sit at a park bench or on the lawn at Central Park. Just make sure you recycle that cup so you can say you're "going green."

On yeah, by the way -just a heads up people, the next business being milked by your non-paying "loyal" asses is the local bookstore so don't be surprised when they close down too.

Sham What?

I'm taking 2 second out of this day to rant about two annoying infomercial spokespersons: Billy Mays and "Vince" the Shamwow guy.
Are these two not the most annoying people you're ever seen on TV? Billy Mays peddles all those obnoxious (but probably useful) orange cleaning products. I get that everyone needs to make a living and he has probably profited well from these ventures. I think his signature loud voice wouldn't be as annoying if I didn't constantly wake up in front of the television at 4am with his loud voice trying to sell me orange junk. Now he's even peddling medical insurance. This is the equivalent of buying a car from the ice cream man. It just doesn't work.

More annoying is "Vince" the guy from Shamwow. When I googled his name I actually found message boards dedicated to their distaste for this, how did they put it? Oh yeah - "douchebag". Everything about this guy is annoying. His commercial (click the blog title to see the commercial), his voice, his attitude and his look (what's up with the mic headset).

Doesn't this guy look like the weasel from the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons?

Even worse is his little comment about how you need to call in the next 20 minutes for their "special deal" because "we can't do this all day..."

Isn't that what you DO? Peddle your wares? Offer deals to get people to purchase? Aren't you a salesman?

I think we need to declare a year long moratorium on infomercials until someone has something better to sell. Let them sell them on QVC or HSN in the interim.

And someone needs to smack Vince (he seems more like a "Lenny" or "Skippy") in the back of the head...

Melancholy Politics And The Status Quo

This is one of the few times you'll see me write about politics.

Here's some info most my friends don't know: I'm a registered Republican. Years have gone by and I've never switched parties because I saw it as unimportant since who really cares what you registered as as long as you vote on election day. I have had forms sitting on my desk before elections (including now) and somehow never get around to mailing the changes in. Why did I register Republican? The world was different. I was different. I had listened to the rhetoric thrown at me by people who I trusted and since there was a war going on in Kuwait at the time, I wanted to make sure that my graduation year and beyond went by without the dreaded draft (yeah, at 18, you always have that "what if" idea in your head) and a swift military action was my idea of an answer.

I've been fortunate the past few years, but many have had it rough and I'm not sure they could go through four more years of the same. The economy is rough. Gas prices are ridiculously high. Food costs more. Whether we are or aren't in a recession, no one wants to admit it. Yesterday our President was asked when the economy would turn around and I heard our Commander in Chief respond "I'm not an economist." I was interested in the Democratic head to head between Obama and Clinton because for a moment I thought maybe things would be different, but after the winner was chosen, we turned back to politics as usual. Maybe there's a little less crap and smack being thrown around but it is still obvious that we've returned to the status quo. The latest election news I've seen is about the off-color comments Jesse Jackson made about Obama and I think I heard McCain received his new AARP card this week.

Who cares? Maybe THIS is the reason why a vast majority of Americans are apathetic to the electoral process. Maybe no one cares because in the end, it's all the same, the face in charge is just different. No one expects changes overnight, but people expect an attempt at change. At least try! This Democratic Congress gave up trying to change policy after being fought at every turn. It's YOUR JOB to FIGHT! The people you represent demand it! If you can't fulfill the duties of your office then step down. Even better - take a pay cut or work for free. At least then we'll know you really want the position and are up to the task.

What's wrong with hope? What's wrong with hoping that 2 or 3 years down the line the world has a better global view on us and our global impact. I don't want it to be any less safe, I just want people to look at my country and not think that all of us are cowboys.

I feel disillusioned. The excitement I felt for what was to be a historic election is no longer there. Will I still vote? Absolutely. I'll go through the motions because deep down I still hope the system can correct itself. I hope all those things I read in textbooks in high school are true and that the people will force the change, but I've seen the people's choice been ignored before.
I hope there is more to this election than what I see now. I hope.

There's that word again...

Quiet Your Kids Or We'll Kick Them Off The Plane!

This is going to sound insensitive to you parents. A family was not allowed to take a connection flight because their 4 kids were "unruly" during their first flight. Apparently the kids were allowed to run around on the plane -mom accommodated them when they got restless and allowed that to happen. Two of the kids were special needs (autistic and CP).

I'm glad they were bumped from their connection. It makes me want to fly Southwest knowing that their "customer service" was prioritized by the needs of the many. I kind of wish the kids had all been equipped with that stun bracelet that Homeland Security wants us to wear. THAT would have calmed them down in no time!

I understand that parents with kids have a challenging time. But it's theirs. They own it. I shouldn't be inconvenienced because you decided that a village of strangers should rear your child so they can enjoy time off. Especially after you chose to hop them up on McDonalds and sweets before the flight. I can guarantee the brats would be tired and low energy if all they had eaten before the flight was carrot and celery sticks instead of a happy meal! Besides, why wasn't the aunt traveling with them assisting in herding them?

Personally, I dread a flight cross country when I see a loud little kid on board an aircraft. Those of us that don't enjoy flying, don't particularly like surprises. But that's just me.

You're Going To Get Shocked!

Once upon a time, our country used to run on the idea of pure capitalism. Let's face it -we consume more useless crap than any nation in the world because we have more disposable income than any other nation. For those of you that want to argue this point, see if the teenage kids in Serbia or Ethiopia are paying 300 USD to get the new Jordan Collezione sneaker on its release date and then we'll talk. It used to be that you could easily win an election with any platitude about the robust economy and our purchasing power. Since 9/11 our country feels like it's been run by something else - fear.

It seems we spent the years after 9/11 living in a haze like a kid who just got a wedgie and can't believe it happened to him. Living in NY, less than 1/2 an hour from Ground Zero I fully understand. Its felt like we have a big target painted on our backs and everyone walks around in a semi-conscious state. To date, I have yet to visit the construction site. It's just not something I like to remember.

It seems every week during the first few years, we received constant terror alerts. Some nationwide, but most only in NY. While the rest of the US changed their alert status to orange, NY was always in red. Some will even argue that the previous election was won on because of how they portrayed fear (if you remove the Florida ballot factor).

The past year, we have been led with the fear that we're running out of gas, when in reality there is plenty of gas to go around. If we could get OPEC to flood the market or stop these morons who predict oil futures from talking to anyone with purchasing power. They are creating the problem by predicting the problem.

Now, it seems we will soon be focused back on terror in the skies. I just read an article on Gadling (http://www.gadling.com/2008/07/07/update-dept-of-homeland-security-weighs-forcing-passengers-to/) highlighting a stun bracelet that the Department of Homeland Security is considering making us wear for air travel. Check the link out and click the my blog title to see the sales video attached to this product. Half way into the video, they actually had me believing it was a good idea to wear a bracelet. I felt safe and warm and fuzzy inside...

WTF? The basic concept is this:

1. Check in at airport counter
2. Receive bracelet with personal info linked to checked in bags- no bording pass needed
3. Big brother may now watch all your movements through the airport.
   

Yes, TSA and Homeland Security will now know that you visit the rest room 4 times before actually boarding the plane. All under the disguise of safety.

I don't know how I feel about this. While I like the idea of knowing that there is added protection, I don't like the idea of little miss Susie sunshine stewardess...I mean flight attendant...controlling the actual activation. What if she (or he) gets the wrong person? What if I swapped seats? I doubt the attendants are going to check the terrorist's ID to make sure they activate the correct bracelet. Or what if they simply activate a bunch of them and stun half the plane to control the threat. Then we all simply become collateral damage.

Besides, 200+ bracelets emitting an electric charge on a plane? I'm not even allowed to use my cell phone in flight and you want to bring mini stun guns on board? Didn't a small electrical spark bring down one of those TWA planes back in the day? ONE spark. Imagine several interfering with the wiring of the aircraft.

Feeling safe yet?