Corporately Annoying

A) Engraving of a twin-tailed siren (15th century); B) First Starbucks logo (1971 - 1987); C) Il Giornale logo; D) Merging of Starbucks and Il Giornale (1987 - 1992); E) Redesigned Starbucks logo (1992 - today); F) Current Starbucks logo, a revival of the original

The Changing Face of Starbucks - The History of the Logos Through the Years

...or how the Starbucks mermaid logo got her nipples back.

And finally, some humor at Starbucks' expense...

8 Types Of Annoying People You'll Find Inside Starbucks

My favorite is #1... Manager Who Refuses to Recognize the Words Small, Medium, and Large. This one cracks me up because I always order this way just to watch their reaction.

Cat Blog Friday

For this Cat Blog Friday...

... a cat modeling an outfit that Dunkin' Donuts will definitely NOT have Rachael Ray wear for their next ad campaign.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Tragic Tale

Every so often, I run across a story that simultaneously uplifts my spirit and saddens me to the core. This is one of them...

Woman Dies In Iron Lung After Power Failure

Dianne Odell, a woman who spent nearly 60 years of her life in an iron lung after being diagnosed with polio as a child, died Wednesday after a power failure shut down the machine that kept her breathing.

Imagine living in a 7 foot long 750 pound cannister for almost 60 years and yet
managing to earn a high school diploma, an honorary college degree and even write a children's book.

I don't know about you, but I'm going to remember Dianne Odell's life lesson for a long time.

Alexander Courage 1919-2008

I couldn't let this pass with a small mention...

Alexander "Sandy" Courage, an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated arranger, orchestrator, and composer who created the theme for the Star Trek TV show, died May 15th, at 88.

The theme, "Fanfare For Star Trek", was later adapted in all 10 Trek films and the opening bars could be heard at the opening of Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Music for the ages, Mr. C.

RIP.



[The BLOG note: Click on the photo to see the detail of the ASCII art U.S.S. Enterprise.]

Keffiyeh Kerfuffle

Dunkin' Donuts has pulled the ad showing a picture of frontwoman Rachael Ray wearing a scarf that looks like a traditional Arab headdress.

RACHAEL'S AD ARAFAT-ENING
DUNKIN' DUMPS 'HEADSCARF' SPOTS

Frankly, I think the scarf is just plain ugly, and thus more fashion mistake than a deliberate attempt to push the keffiyeh onto the unsuspecting American public.

What do you think?

Trek Cake

"The Ace Of Cakes" Creates Star Trek: The Cake

The Food Network's reality show "The Ace Of Cakes" is featuring a Star Trek-themed cake for one of next years episodes. Turns out Duff Goldman is a Trek Fan.

I've heard that there is a big flap over some Trek fans complaining that Scotty was shown in the Navigator position and Uhura is at Engineering...

People, it's a cake! And a really pretty cake at that. Almost too pretty to eat.

I'm no baker, but what the heck is fondant?

Obama's Uncle

Obama Admits Reference To Auschwitz Was Wrong

It's a shame that they don't teach history in Harvard anymore.

Terror Tat

What would possess anyone to get a large 3-D spider tattoo?

There are worse ones at Look At This . ***Caution*** Not for the squeamish.

Yikes!


[The BLOG note: photo & link via GeekPress.com.]

Subway Snub

Subway makes a delicious sandwich, but their latest business decision leaves much to be desired...

Subway Contest Snubs The Homeschooled

Why leave out the homeschooled kids?

Remember The Fallen

Happy Memorial Day.



[The BLOG note: SoldiersAngels photo courtesy of Scrappingforsoldiers.com ]

Mars Landing

This photo, entitled 'So Few Rocks' , is Doug Ellison's interpretation of the Phoenix spacecraft's landing site on the flat northern Martian plain named Vastitas Borealis.

Phoenix has traveled 422 million miles over nearly 10 months and is set to land on Mars today. NASA refers to the period of hyper-deceleration and descent ''the scariest seven minutes of the mission''.

NASA has not had a successful soft landing in more than three decades since the twin Viking landers in 1976. So cross your fingers.

Be sure to click on the photo. It really does look like the Martian landscape.

Grads Done

Graduation season is over at my house and both cubelets did well.

The dog chewed up the youngest's cap and tassle and we had to hustle to get a replacement, but she graduated with many honors and received a small scholarship to high school.

The oldest qualified for a Florida Medallion scholarship that pays 75% of college tuition.

Mr. Cube and I are very proud of them. We are also glad to have survived all the festivities :-)

Oops

In case you missed it... Hill's 'Assassin'
Talk A Shocker. Excuse For Not Quitting: Hey, RFK Got Shot In June!

Within hours of making the RFK remark, Hillary expressed regret, saying, “The Kennedys have been much on my mind the last days because of Senator Kennedy,” referring to the recent diagnosis of Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s brain tumor. She added, “And I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive.”

Yeah...

Except she made the same point to Time magazine in March...
Hillary's Bizarre RFK Comment

If I were Obama, I'd watch my back...

Clever Parrot

Lost Parrot Tells Veterinarian His Name And Address

When police rescued the lost African Gray parrot, he kept mum at the station. He was no stool pigeon, see...

He did speak up at the vet's office. "I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird said and he proceeded to give his address and he was reunited with his family.

Cool beans!

Cat Blog Friday

For this Cat Blog Friday...

... a cat painted red, white, and blue just in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Super Collection

Valuable Comic Book Collection Being Auctioned Today

The collection built by Denver media executive Rich Kylberg has been valued at well over $500,000 and is considered the best complete collection of the world’s top comics.

It includes the first appearance of Superman in 1938, and the first appearance of Batman from 1939, along with first appearances by Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Green Lantern, and the Flash. Also included are most of the key Silver Age comics as well, most notably the 1960s debuts of Spider-Man and the Hulk, and other gems like a Near Mint Plus copy of Richie Rich #1.

Too pricey for me, but it's one collection I'd love to peruse.

Big Crowd

The MSM reported huge crowds for Obama's Big Rally in Oregon. They forgot to tell us about the free rock concert that preceeded the event...

Newsbusters.org has the full scoop:

Free Concert By Popular Band Preceded Obama’s Big Rally

If you think you're getting the full story from the MSM, you are as naive as Obama.

Record Piercings

Madonna's new look?

No, Guinness World Record holder for the 'Most Pierced Woman', Elaine Davidson, showing off her 5,920 piercings.

That's a BIG OWWWWIE.

Too Much Of A Good Thing...

14 Tons Of Spilled Oreo Cookies Snarl Illinois Traffic

Oh my, what a waste. And double-stuffed too.

Cat Blog Friday

For this Cat Blog Friday...

... a cat that Obama didn't call Sweetie.

Silly cat, Obama calls all kinds of different people Sweetie, not cats.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Sweetie-Gate

Barack Obama Apologises For 'Sweetie' Remark

"That’s a bad habit of mine," Obama said. "I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect."







It's just part of Obama's charm. It wasn't a dismissive way of not answering a female reporter's question. Just like when he said there were 57 states. He was just tired.

Excuses.

Excuses.

Patriotic Rock

This email was forwarded to my daughter via her friend's aunt...

Can't believe this was done by a teenager!!

There is a huge rock near a gravel pit on Hwy 25 in rural Iowa.

For generations, kids have painted slogans, names, and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. A few months back, the rock received its latest paint job, and since then it has been left completely undisturbed.

I thought the flag was draped over the rock, but it's not. It's actually painted on the rock.

Unfortunately, I couldn't copy the photos of the 2003 Patriotic Rock included in the email, but the story of the artist, Ray 'Bubba' Sorensen, can be found at Bubbazartwork.com and it is worth a look.

Turns out, each year since 1999 Bubba paints the rock anew for Memorial Day with different scenes with the purpose of thanking U.S. veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.

:-)

Cat Blog Friday

For this Cat Blog Friday...

... a graduate cat because I have graduations on the brain.

Postings have been scarce around The BLOG lately because my two cubelets are graduating; the eldest from high school, and the youngest from the 8th grade in the school she has attended since Kindergarten.

The logistics are heavy for one graduation alone, so you can imagine how we are being pulled in many directions at once trying to get everything accomplished for two.

After a hectic week, I am looking forward to a semi-quiet weekend before the pace picks up again!

In the meantime, have a happy Friday, everybody!