I generally don’t write about politics and related topics, but I couldn’t resist this one. So bear with me……
I think we were all surprised when President Obama was conferred the Nobel peace prize. As per the White House spokesman, the President was surprised himself. There are varied opinions on this award. He doesn’t deserve it, he deserves it, he shouldn’t accept the award etc.
We are all entitled to our opinion. I personally believe that Mr. Obama didn’t deserve the award at this time. Now don’t get me wrong. I am a big fan and a supporter of our President. But I am not infatuated with him. Maybe the award would have been justified in the years to come. But a fact I hope everybody realizes is that the controversy about this award should surround the Nobel Peace prize committee that gave out this award, and not President Obama.
So far the philosophy of the Nobel award committee has been to focus on achievements. Not on what they hope the awardee will achieve. But in this instance they changed their perspective. They invested in hope. Hope that the President, with his tremendous popularity around the world, can swing the mood around the world towards optimism.
Now is that a bad thing? To invest in hope through one of the most popular public figures ever? Hope is not a conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out. It is the anchor of the soul, the stimulus for action, and the incentive to achievement. Hope looks for good in people instead of harping on their fallacies; it discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot.
"Hope is what led me here today -- with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have courage to remake the world as it should be." ~ Barack Obama in Jan 08
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Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Coffee is coffee, isn't it?.......Or is it?
Well, at Starbucks, it just isn't simply coffee. It's Cafe Latte!
A few days ago, my wife and I went to Starbucks. I don't go to Starbucks much, but whenever I do, I am a little nervous when I order. I'm never sure of what size of the cup I'm going to get. They have their own Starbucks lingo about sizes. 'Tall' actually means small, 'grande' means medium and where the heck did they get 'venti' from? So what do they call their restrooms, as Dave Barry once asked--- 'aquaswooshies'?
You buy coffee in a regular coffee shop, it's 60 cents. But at Starbucks, Cafe Latte: $3.50. Cafe Cremier: $4.50. Cafe Suisse: $6.50. For each French word, another few dollars. Why does a little cream in coffee make it worth $3.50? Go into any coffee shop; they'll give you all the cream you want until you're blue in the face. And it's still 60 cents. You know why? Because it's called "Coffee." If it's Cafe latte, it's $3.50.
You want cinnamon in your coffee? Ask for cinnamon in a coffee shop; they'll give you all the cinnamon you want. It's still the same price-- 60 cents, that's it. But not in Starbucks. Over there, it's Cinnamonnier - and costs something like $6.50.
Now reading this, you all are probably wondering--"What does this guy have against Starbucks?" I have nothing against Starbucks at all. I'm just surprised how busy the stores are. I sometimes wonder if it's the brand name people are after or the taste? Do you feel special if you have a Starbucks coffee cup in your hand versus a cup from one of the run-of-the-mill coffee shops? Or is it just brand-consciousness that has percolated to our coffee cups too.
I was discussing this the other night with a bunch of friends. And one of them suggested that this was something in our culture. We feel good when we relate to a popular name. We feel even better when we own or use something that is considered elite. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. If we feel good about ourselves or our life by spending a few extra bucks, isn't it worth spending those few extra dollars? I think it is. Either way, I need my coffee in the morning to really wake up, as do a lot of you.
If we don't get our morning kick with caffeine, whether it be tea or coffee, a lot of us will suffer from A.D.D. -- "ALERTNESS DEFICIT DISORDER"!!
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A few days ago, my wife and I went to Starbucks. I don't go to Starbucks much, but whenever I do, I am a little nervous when I order. I'm never sure of what size of the cup I'm going to get. They have their own Starbucks lingo about sizes. 'Tall' actually means small, 'grande' means medium and where the heck did they get 'venti' from? So what do they call their restrooms, as Dave Barry once asked--- 'aquaswooshies'?
You buy coffee in a regular coffee shop, it's 60 cents. But at Starbucks, Cafe Latte: $3.50. Cafe Cremier: $4.50. Cafe Suisse: $6.50. For each French word, another few dollars. Why does a little cream in coffee make it worth $3.50? Go into any coffee shop; they'll give you all the cream you want until you're blue in the face. And it's still 60 cents. You know why? Because it's called "Coffee." If it's Cafe latte, it's $3.50.
You want cinnamon in your coffee? Ask for cinnamon in a coffee shop; they'll give you all the cinnamon you want. It's still the same price-- 60 cents, that's it. But not in Starbucks. Over there, it's Cinnamonnier - and costs something like $6.50.
Now reading this, you all are probably wondering--"What does this guy have against Starbucks?" I have nothing against Starbucks at all. I'm just surprised how busy the stores are. I sometimes wonder if it's the brand name people are after or the taste? Do you feel special if you have a Starbucks coffee cup in your hand versus a cup from one of the run-of-the-mill coffee shops? Or is it just brand-consciousness that has percolated to our coffee cups too.
I was discussing this the other night with a bunch of friends. And one of them suggested that this was something in our culture. We feel good when we relate to a popular name. We feel even better when we own or use something that is considered elite. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. If we feel good about ourselves or our life by spending a few extra bucks, isn't it worth spending those few extra dollars? I think it is. Either way, I need my coffee in the morning to really wake up, as do a lot of you.
If we don't get our morning kick with caffeine, whether it be tea or coffee, a lot of us will suffer from A.D.D. -- "ALERTNESS DEFICIT DISORDER"!!
.
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