CAFFEINE!!!!

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

To the delightful Selfmademug:

It is funny how people see the poll. I took away the exact opposite meaning that you did. BMW compared to Ford? How can a performance vehicle be compared to a utility staple product in a bad light. The pollsters were careful to point out that the brands categorize along lines of the same old, same old standards versus the challenger...the Avis "We try Harder" sort of branding. I sort of thought that was the only good part of the approach that Kerry was taking at the DNC...the "We can do Better" routine. The Vietnam exploitation was just a poor strategy all around. There is no good that comes out in celebrating that cause.

So I saw the Kerry choices not as elitist, or affluent brand examples. Bush was likened to IBM, Kerry to Apple. Apple certainly connotes a more austere, yet a more pioneering image.

I wonder if my posting of it influenced your impression. I owe you an apology (and others) who were at the spiteful end of my biting vitriolic messages a few months back during a tough time in my life. I cringe when I read that stuff, and to you in particular, Ms Mug, I do sincerely apologize. I appreciate you and your contributions to this board, and your love for your country, more than you know. We are as different, politically, as day is from night. But I'll just bet that there is a core set of values that we share, and these values are far more substantial than the political fluff that gets so frustrating.

I stand by my beliefs. I admire you as a person of great personal conviction. A picture is always worth a thousand words...

I am not for Bush. I am not for Cheney. I am not for Kerry. I am not for Edwards. I think Moore is a sleazeball of the nth degree, while I think O'Neill has an agenda that has gone awol in his zeal to hurt Kerry. I think Hillary is the devil incarnate. Bill is a brilliant, calculated man who knows how to exploit the system better then 99.999% of the populace. I like Colin Powell, I think he is honorable. I like Ms. Rice. I think she is honorable but maybe in a little over her head. I like Joe Lieberman. But my interests are in one thing...sorry, but only one thing, and that is that I will give everything I own, lose my job, sell all my possessions and walk the earth like Caine in Kung Fu if the world can be a safer place for my son and daughter to grow up in, to have their children in. I believe that the evil empire is firmly rooted in the radical fundamentalist element of the Muslim faith, and that unchecked, it will again raise its ugly head. It is an easy out to say that softening our policies will eradicate this hateful socialization process, the history and reality are against that argument.

I beleive that the only reason we have not seen another attack on American soil is because we have taken the necessary steps to curtail such attacks under this administration. That being said, a great deal more must be done. The Bush comment that the war is unwinnable is directly related to what most people see as a war victory...the annihilation of the enemy. The enemy is an evil spirit that is being socialized within millions of children around the world.

Sorry, but this war is palliative at best. But many of the greatest medical breakthroughs are palliative. They do not remove the root cause...they buy time until the root cause can be neutralized, excised, or checked. His remarks may seem stupid. They are not. They are honest. Unfortunately, during an election year, his brutal honesty is now deemed stupidity. Maybe we have grown so accustomed to hearing bullshit from our politicians that when they speak with honesty we can't handle it. Maybe.

The war will go on while all of our living and as yet unborn children and grandchildren grow. I would like to know how Bush, Cheney, Kerry, and Edwards plan to face that reality of our world. All of 'em.

I hope we have Catherine Cryer (sp) to lead the debates. You know, the famed and highly reputable reporter whom Kerry derrogated as 'playing' because he would not answer her direct questions, and who Edwards called stupid "Catherine, we have explained this to you ten times...its really not that hard..."

I hope we have a tough reporter (not Chris Matthews!) who will demand answers. I think the election is already over because I think that Hillary cannot afford the liability of Kerry Edwards in office.

Bush by a wider margin than anyone ever imagined.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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El Vez
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Post by El Vez »

Me? I'm a java chip frappucino loving bastiche. There. I said it and I feel better for it. I am also solely responsible for the Minnesota Vikings having never captured a Super Bowl title. Sorry.
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BlueChair
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Post by BlueChair »

Ahem.

I thought we were talking about coffee!
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
selfmademug

Post by selfmademug »

It's true, this is supposed to be about coffee. So I will just say thanks for kindness and respect, they are powerful tools.
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

I'll admit that my post started as coffee-related (Starbucks vs Dunkin Donuts as brands), but derailed part way through.

For once, I got a little carried away.

Anyone ever taken a coffee enema? That is quite a rush, let me tell you. At the risk of this sounding like advice from Cope Fan, it is a medical process used for cleansing. It works, but the colon really doesn't prefer Starbucks over Dunkin Donuts. Buy the cheap stuff, and let the healing crisis begin.

You talk about a euphoric feeling afterwards, it is incredible. The caffeine flushes the epithelial ducts and purges toxins from the liver and other parts of the body.

"The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your ....."

Am I back on track now?
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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pophead2k
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Post by pophead2k »

I grew up in Washington state. Starbucks coffee is fine, but it ain't all that. What I don't like about Starbucks is the way they 'infiltrate' a city- open dozens of locations near established neighborhood joints and then close them after the locals go out of business. They tried that here in New Orleans and its one of the first places it didn't work (we need chicory in our coffee dammit!) While I respect the idea of a free-market economy and survival of the economic fittest and all that, it just ......... sucks.
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

I can just imagine how successful a Starbucks would be on Decatur near Cafe Du Monde.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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pophead2k
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Post by pophead2k »

Krispy Creme tried it and failed. Locals detested the idea and tourists can get Krispy Creme at home. Nothing like a Cafe au lait and a beignet on a Sunday morning. Mmmmm......powdered sugar............
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

The beignet's are ok. The environment is everything.

My favorite casual restarant in the world is very nearby...I think its on St. Peters: Ralph and Kakoo's. I love the crab au gratin (it's very slimming you know) with enough fried clams on the side to fulfill the deep-fried fix. Gator appetizers for the cajun experience. I love the hush puppies.

I'm going man. I'm effen goin'

I know that you locals think of Mulates as the local tourist trap as it sits on one edge of the convention center, but I really enjoy the live music. Food is okay, but not the caliber of R and K's. On Bourbon, I like the Cajun Kitchen but it was falling off when I last visited. Great live music and one of the few venues that I can get up and dance. Even though many people die when I get to dancin', the Nawleen's rules of civil conduct allow it, and I have never been arrested (for dancin' anyway).

My brother has a second story apt on Royal with a great balcony overlooking the street.

Finally, when I was single and wanted to impress a date, I asked her out to dinner (I lived in Dayton, OH). I would arrange for dinner reservations on a weekend in the French Quarter (did I say "French?"), at Tony Morans, second floor. They make a special seafood fra diavlo for me with angel hair pasta that is fantastic. Makes for a fun date. Thank goodness for frequent flyer miles.

Now that I'm married with children, things are a little different. A good pizza, diet coke, and a Netflix movie is pretty exciting.

I'll stop reminiscing now. I guess this is all better delivered via PM, but what the heck.

Oh, and I'm drinking coffee as I post this, so it counts.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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cosmos
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Post by cosmos »

El Vez wrote:Me? I'm a java chip frappucino loving bastiche. There. I said it and I feel better for it. I am also solely responsible for the Minnesota Vikings having never captured a Super Bowl title. Sorry.

I've been a Minnesota Vikings fan since I was eight years old. Would you please lift the curse already? We fans have suffered enough!
selfmademug

Post by selfmademug »

You haven't lived until you've tried the New England version of a beignet, that is, fried dough.

Okay, that's not true, you've lived, and quite well, actually, but isn't it a funny concept? The ultimate junk food, with no fancy name to cover it up: big lump of dough, fried. With powdered sugar, of course. It cracked me up the first time I saw them for sale, "FRIED DOUGH!!"; it was as if someone was advertising "globs of fat!!"...

Personally when it comes to fried stuff with sugar on it I will take funnel cakes every time, or better, a hot and crispy donut right outta the fryer, with cinnamon sugar on it, and a glass of fresh-pressed apple cider, on a perfect autumn day, in the Berkshires... wow, getting hungry...
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pophead2k
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Post by pophead2k »

Mugsy,

Your description of the New England beignet sounds just like the New Orleans version- fried dough and confectioner's sugar. Absolutely delicious. Now if they could just make New England clam chowder down here that was any good......
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El Vez
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Post by El Vez »

cosmos wrote:
El Vez wrote:Me? I'm a java chip frappucino loving bastiche. There. I said it and I feel better for it. I am also solely responsible for the Minnesota Vikings having never captured a Super Bowl title. Sorry.

I've been a Minnesota Vikings fan since I was eight years old. Would you please lift the curse already? We fans have suffered enough!
Are you a Red Sox fan as well? If so then I probably owe you a beer. Not because I'm responsible for that one but just because you guys deserve some relief.
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cosmos
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Post by cosmos »

No El Vez, I couldn't take that much suffering. I'm a Twins fan. So I guess their championships kind of balance out with the woes of the Vikings.
selfmademug

Post by selfmademug »

El Vez wrote: Are you a Red Sox fan as well? If so then I probably owe you a beer. Not because I'm responsible for that one but just because you guys deserve some relief.
Ahh, but we are only 3.5 games behind the dreaded Yanks, who got the worst drubbing in their club's HISTORY last night!! 22 - nuthin'. Which isn't to say it won't all come to a tragic end, of course... :roll:
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cosmos
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Post by cosmos »

selfmademug wrote:
El Vez wrote: Are you a Red Sox fan as well? If so then I probably owe you a beer. Not because I'm responsible for that one but just because you guys deserve some relief.
Ahh, but we are only 3.5 games behind the dreaded Yanks, who got the worst drubbing in their club's HISTORY last night!! 22 - nuthin'. Which isn't to say it won't all come to a tragic end, of course... :roll:
I had to smile when I saw that, Mug. I felt great for all the Red Sox fans out there who've taken so much abuse.
Goody2Shoes
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Post by Goody2Shoes »

Yes, 22-0. Was that not a beautiful sight to behold? 22-0. 22-0. I just like typing it. 22-0. 22-0.
It's a radiation vibe I'm groovin' on
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lapinsjolis
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Post by lapinsjolis »

I love coffee-white chocolate mocha too-it still helps with headaches! So it's coffee to me.

Ooooh Goody2shoes. . . .Julian! I love her.

I'm sportless.:cry:
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
Goody2Shoes
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Post by Goody2Shoes »

Lapinsjolis--I honestly don't know too much about Julian, and have read only a very little of her life and her writings. I just know that that quote has become my mantra of sort over the past few uncharacteristically gloomy months.

And look out for that hurricane!
It's a radiation vibe I'm groovin' on
bobster
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Post by bobster »

How did I miss this thread last year? I used to be a coffee cup, before I was a red X.
http://www.forwardtoyesterday.com -- Where "hopelessly dated" is a compliment!
selfmademug

Post by selfmademug »

bobster wrote:How did I miss this thread last year? I used to be a coffee cup, before I was a red X.
Just FYI, now that I have a Mac, you are a question mark in a blue box.
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