Starbucks

I was thinking the other day about changes in the world, not the big kind like Bush invading Iraq or Islamic nuts blowing up people in the name of religion. I mean the little things that bring about big social changes.
Well it may not be as big a change as the technological ones like the discovery of the internet or those cell phones I hate so much, but how about the change brought about by a small Seattle company that grew into a colossal corporate beverage monster- Starbucks. In short, Starbucks is changing what we eat and drink, and it's happening all over the world. It may even be altering where and when we work and play and how we spend money and time when we do. Is there any spot on the globe where we don't see one these days?
I did some research and according to the company itself it serves over 40 million customers each day world-wide. In the U.S alone it sells 4 million cups of coffee per day. The goal of Starbucks, I read is to have 15,000 U.S. stores and 30,000 elsewhere in the world. (about as many as Mc Donald's has right now). Is this the new McDonald's (albeit, with a much better and more expensive product)?
I ask this because with the coffee and sweets Starbucks sells comes a kind of pop culture and mentality that people take on as well. Starbucks has even created an image of quality that makes being a Starbuckean (I made up that word, just ignore it if it's stupid) addict? Starbucks sells CD's it promotes in the stores, signs deals with Hollywood filmmakers to put it's restaurants and logo cups in those films (The new film 'Akeela and the Bee' is a Starbuck's promotion), and is about to start "digital fill-up stations" where coffee addicts can bring their mp3 players to download music.
It's hard to be an American and not stumble into a Starbucks at least occasionally. That's because the coffee and pastry is among the best anywhere, a raise in standards a that now makes the name Starbucks synonymous with "best" coffee. It's even forced competitors in the coffee business and fast food places like McDonald's to upgrade their coffee quality. I think is a good thing for the consumer, a monster that actually addicts us with a superior product. Here are some specific ways I think Starbucks has changed our eating, drinking and cultures
1) Down with the food police- Starbucks gives us permission again to forget the food police warnings about eating too much, consuming "bad and high caloric" treats and in general lets us spoil ourselves occasionally with those "bad foods" that aren't really as awful as the health food nuts say. Down with guilt and the food police! For that itself, I love Starbucks.
2) Customize it- Starbucks is a fast coffee dispenser (well, not always so fast) that is teaching fast food sellers that an order can be s customized efficiently. By letting us order exactly what we want Starbucks makes us feel more important than other fast food servers. Uh....but we pay a hefty price for our customized order.
3) Changing real estate- How many times have I seen a real estate ad for high priced apartments say "Near Starbucks" as an incentive for the buyer. Yep, Starbucks is a fast coffee server that actually increases the value of property around it. It made coffee sellers respectable for even neighborhoods..
4) Socially responsible- Gee, I hate that term, but it works here. Starbucks is a trend setter in being socially conscious (ouch...I hope I never have to type that phrase again) in that it uses coffee produced by co-ops that guarantee living wages to coffee growers and workers, uses recycled paper products and offers it's employees much better medical benefits than other fast food servers.
So that's the case for Starbucks being a positive influence in our lives, Feel free to have a cafe latte. You deserve it for enduring my Starbuck's monologue.
The case of the Florida cat nabber has been solved. Christopher Cortez, 33 and wife Iris , 33, were sentenced the other day to 100 hours and 50 hours of community service for stealing a cat. And worse, they stole their neighbor's sons kitty, Kibbles, and dumped him miles away in the Florida Everglade swamp.
According to the court testimony the Cortez duo doesn't hate cats, but didn't like the fact that this one used the back of their truck as a poo liter box. The neighbors and their son are both upset that two firefighters would resort to such devious tactics and expressed the feeling that firemen should save cats from trees, not steal them from neighbors.
Maybe the judge can let those two cat nabbers clean Kibbles litter boxes during their community service time.