Wishing you a very happy new year. Year of the Rabbit, that is.
Apparently this will be a year for rest & recuperation after the Year of the Tiger, which we’ve just passed through. There’s danger of indulgence & stagnation if you let yourself go rabbit-wild. Also, on the international front, greater insularity & national protectionism, or so I hear.
(According to Punxsutawney Phil, we're getting an early spring; but that's a rodent of a different disposition entirely.)
Still—I’m in the mood for something new & for something to celebrate. So, dunno about you, but I’ve cleaned my house & paid my bills & I’m going to have some spicy Chinese food to mark the changeover.
Gung hay fat choi.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Corporate fish tail
The WSJ reports that a medievalist at Yale has debunked the official Starbucks corporate “history” of the origin of their mermaid logo. ’Bucks’ leadership claims to have both “pored” and “poured” over various (undefined) “marine books” before finding inspiration in a 16th-century “old Norse woodcut”.
According to the Yale blogger, the whole idea of 16th-century Norse woodcuts is on the crocky side,and the source was more likely some version of a book called The Dictionary of Symbols, which was originally published in the 15th century, but isn’t marine related.
Here are my thoughts on the matter:
1. Who cares?
2. Is anyone really surprised that any corporation would fetch up a load of old cobbers about any part of their operation?
3. Who cares?
However, I pass it on to you in the interests of intellectual inquiry.
According to the Yale blogger, the whole idea of 16th-century Norse woodcuts is on the crocky side,and the source was more likely some version of a book called The Dictionary of Symbols, which was originally published in the 15th century, but isn’t marine related.
Here are my thoughts on the matter:
1. Who cares?
2. Is anyone really surprised that any corporation would fetch up a load of old cobbers about any part of their operation?
3. Who cares?
However, I pass it on to you in the interests of intellectual inquiry.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Rooms at the inns
Dunno whether you were contemplating a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., or Daytona Beach, Fla., but if so you may wish to consult Trip Advisor’s list of the Ten Dirtiest Hotels in the US beforehand.
If you’re headed out to Europe, Asia or India (don’t know whether Trip Advisor doesn’t know or doesn’t care that India is part of Asia), there are the ten dirtiest in each of those locations, too. (Actually, two of the Asian names-of-shame are in India, so perhaps there’s something wrong with TA’s algorithm & they can’t afford human editors.)
What surprises me about the Asian list is that two of the top three are in Singapore. Evidently that country’s government focus on societal niceties like shaggy hair & spitting on the sidewalks doesn’t apply to cleanliness in tourist accommodation.
If you’re headed out to Europe, Asia or India (don’t know whether Trip Advisor doesn’t know or doesn’t care that India is part of Asia), there are the ten dirtiest in each of those locations, too. (Actually, two of the Asian names-of-shame are in India, so perhaps there’s something wrong with TA’s algorithm & they can’t afford human editors.)
What surprises me about the Asian list is that two of the top three are in Singapore. Evidently that country’s government focus on societal niceties like shaggy hair & spitting on the sidewalks doesn’t apply to cleanliness in tourist accommodation.
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