(no subject)
i think this is an example of good use of language and large words
The best of these chains have brought products to people who previously felt they had little or no access and at prices that most could afford. Ikea has enabled college students, underpaid artists and regular working class folk to outfit their modest living spaces like sophisticated European aesthetes and socialites, while Home Depot has empowered millions of the rank and file to build additions onto their houses and install hot tubs in the backyard. Trader Joe's has somehow managed to dig up good, fairly healthy, borderline exotic or gourmet items and then miraculously sell them at nearly discount prices. And Starbucks brought a sanitized, decently replicated version of coffee house culture not only to street corners everywhere, but to some out-of-the-way neighborhoods where a few years ago a cappuccino would have been considered as exotic as a Faberge Egg or a Maserati.
With their spiffed-up, earthy décor; retail displays of recommended music and books; and receptacle full of lightly used New York Times and other newspapers ripe for perusing, I believe Starbucks has noticeably increased the percentage of Americans who read edifying material, listen to semi-hip music and schmooze aimlessly for hours with friends and even strangers while exchanging philosophical banter. There's an atmosphere unique to a coffee establishment, where thoughtful quiet time and diligent intellectual improvement can be pursued in a way that wouldn't seem as natural in a donut shop or a cheeseburger emporium. The citizenry in San Francisco, Cambridge Mass. or Paris, France have long taken the existence of these places for granted. The people of rural North Carolina or Bakersfield, CA have not.
It is, I admit, kind of a weird choice, but for my Best Chain Store title I am crowning Pinkberry, the red hot frozen yogurt upstart that's sweeping the nation from its West Coast beachhead with a fiercely addictive frozen desert product that's tart to the point of nearly sour and whose prices relatively rival those of the pricey Starbucks, whom comedians routinely take to task for their “eight dollar double frappuccinos.”
But Pinkberry offers not just a clean, refreshing, creamy product devoid of the sugar overdose found in, say, Cold Stone Creamery or Ben & Jerry's, but it also offers the thrill of waiting in line at least twenty minutes and participating in a notable cultural zeitgeist specific to the smart, urban, creative crowd of cities like Los Angeles.
A Pinkberry at the end of the night, while maybe not quite as satisfying as good sex, nonetheless offers a similarly sensuous and visceral feeling of physiological release, and all for only a few bucks. It also takes place in what resembles a spotless, bright pastel-colored, Hello Kitty-meets-Barbarella space capsule.
While not transforming lives as comprehensively as the previously mentioned chains, Pinkberry gets my vote at the current moment for inverting the flavor of an essentially silly, frivolous dessert product and for marketing it in a fresh and audacious way, making their stores as much a place to sit down with friends, people watch, or even flirt with strangers as any hip Hollywood nightclub.
http://www.thesimon.com/magazine/articles/bias/01432_chain_stores_chic_hip_pinkberry_trumps_all.html
i rate today's work a 2/10, given an 7 week average of 4/10 and a 5 day average of 6/10. does that make sense? i hope so.
The best of these chains have brought products to people who previously felt they had little or no access and at prices that most could afford. Ikea has enabled college students, underpaid artists and regular working class folk to outfit their modest living spaces like sophisticated European aesthetes and socialites, while Home Depot has empowered millions of the rank and file to build additions onto their houses and install hot tubs in the backyard. Trader Joe's has somehow managed to dig up good, fairly healthy, borderline exotic or gourmet items and then miraculously sell them at nearly discount prices. And Starbucks brought a sanitized, decently replicated version of coffee house culture not only to street corners everywhere, but to some out-of-the-way neighborhoods where a few years ago a cappuccino would have been considered as exotic as a Faberge Egg or a Maserati.
With their spiffed-up, earthy décor; retail displays of recommended music and books; and receptacle full of lightly used New York Times and other newspapers ripe for perusing, I believe Starbucks has noticeably increased the percentage of Americans who read edifying material, listen to semi-hip music and schmooze aimlessly for hours with friends and even strangers while exchanging philosophical banter. There's an atmosphere unique to a coffee establishment, where thoughtful quiet time and diligent intellectual improvement can be pursued in a way that wouldn't seem as natural in a donut shop or a cheeseburger emporium. The citizenry in San Francisco, Cambridge Mass. or Paris, France have long taken the existence of these places for granted. The people of rural North Carolina or Bakersfield, CA have not.
It is, I admit, kind of a weird choice, but for my Best Chain Store title I am crowning Pinkberry, the red hot frozen yogurt upstart that's sweeping the nation from its West Coast beachhead with a fiercely addictive frozen desert product that's tart to the point of nearly sour and whose prices relatively rival those of the pricey Starbucks, whom comedians routinely take to task for their “eight dollar double frappuccinos.”
But Pinkberry offers not just a clean, refreshing, creamy product devoid of the sugar overdose found in, say, Cold Stone Creamery or Ben & Jerry's, but it also offers the thrill of waiting in line at least twenty minutes and participating in a notable cultural zeitgeist specific to the smart, urban, creative crowd of cities like Los Angeles.
A Pinkberry at the end of the night, while maybe not quite as satisfying as good sex, nonetheless offers a similarly sensuous and visceral feeling of physiological release, and all for only a few bucks. It also takes place in what resembles a spotless, bright pastel-colored, Hello Kitty-meets-Barbarella space capsule.
While not transforming lives as comprehensively as the previously mentioned chains, Pinkberry gets my vote at the current moment for inverting the flavor of an essentially silly, frivolous dessert product and for marketing it in a fresh and audacious way, making their stores as much a place to sit down with friends, people watch, or even flirt with strangers as any hip Hollywood nightclub.
http://www.thesimon.com/magazine/articles/bias/01432_chain_stores_chic_hip_pinkberry_trumps_all.html
i rate today's work a 2/10, given an 7 week average of 4/10 and a 5 day average of 6/10. does that make sense? i hope so.