In wine, there is wisdom. In beer, there is strength. In water, their is bacteria.
Oscar Wong, Founder, Owner, President, and chief cleanup guy of Highland Brewery. (via plainclothesman)
Author: coffeehousejunkie
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my copy of ingeborg bachmann’s german edition of darkness spoken arrived in the mail today… began delving into gedichte tonight… #fb
Luxury vs. premium
fluffynotes:1
Luxury goods are needlessly expensive. By needlessly, I mean that the price is not related to performance. The price is related to scarcity, brand and storytelling. Luxury goods are organized waste. They say, “I can afford to spend money without regard for intrinsic value.”
That doesn’t mean they are senseless expenditures. Sending a signal is valuable if that signal is important to you.
Premium goods, on the other hand, are expensive variants of commodity goods. Pay more, get more. Figure skates made from kangaroo hide, for example, are premium. The spectators don’t know what they’re made out of, but some skaters believe they get better performance. They’re happy to pay more because they believe they get more.
NOTES:
1) fluffynotes, June 2009, fluffynotes.tumblr.com, accessed June 23, 2009, http://fluffynotes.tumblr.com/post/115174039/luxury-vs-premium (page no longer available, web site deactivated)
Marketing tells a story
Marketing tells a story that spreads.
Sales overcomes the natural resistance to say yes.
If you don’t pay the salesforce (because you go direct, or you go free), then who is going to do that for you? The only answer that occurs to me is, “your users/fans/customers.”
This means that a critical element of any strategy that ditches the salesforce is to figure out how you will empower and encourage your customers to take their place. Easier said than done.
(fluffynotes)1
NOTES:
1) fluffynotes, June 2009, fluffynotes.tumblr.com, accessed June 23, 2009, http://fluffynotes.tumblr.com/post/115170667/the-difference-between-marketing-and-sales
(page no longer available, web site deactivated)
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the long awaited french press stainless steel coffee maker arrived today! now i can brew coffee at home again… #fb
The south garden patch
the south garden patch on the last day of may: since i lost almost all the spinach plants in last week’s excessive rains, i may rename the south garden the pepper & tomato patch (since that’s the only thing left). again, going with the found, native, organic gardening goal. the waddle fence boarder is from spring trimmings. the tomato plants aren’t high enough for trellis work. maybe in a couple weeks. the pine boxes to the east of the patch (your left) are recycled from and old bookshelf and are home to various herbs: basil, oregano & chives.
The north garden patch
the north garden patch on the last day of may: the goal for this year’s garden is found, native, organic gardening. the stones are from the creek. the pea poles & tomato trellis are from spring trimmings. the wood boarders are from winter deadwood. the only thing i bought was the jute & twine for the trellis work.
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it’s nice to know i still have some beach sand in my camera from the trip to charleston… #fb
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finally, some coffee! spent the whole weekend w/o coffee due to 2 broken coffee presses… even the office coffee tastes good today. #fb
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she says, ‘you’ve been nice to me all weekend.’ i reply, ‘but the kidlingers think i’m genghis khan.’
// what ever happened to WNCNN, Mad Miss Mattie & others (http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2007/09/01/early-morning-mad-miss-mattie/)…1
NOTES:
1) “Early morning Mad Miss Mattie,” Scrutiny Hooligans, September 1, 2007, accessed May 30, 2009, http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2007/09/01/early-morning-mad-miss-mattie/ (page no longer available, web site deactivated)
Johnny Depp reading Jack Kerouac
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Jack Kerouac reads from “On The Road”
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
“How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth?”
There’s a lesson here for publishers and marketers alike: impressions have nothing to do with engagement, and in the end, engaging content appropriately packaged will find its audience.
—Guy LeCharles Gonzalez1
NOTES:
1) Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, “How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part One,” May 26, 2009, FOLIO:, accessed May 26, 2009, http://www.foliomag.com/2009/how-much-magazine-s-content-worth-part-one (page no longer available, web site deactivated. FOLIO: ceased print publications in 2018 and shuddered digital publications in 20202)
2) Bob Sacks, “BoSacks Speaks Out: The Rise and Fall of FOLIO: A Mirror for the Magazine Industry,” July 22, 2025, http://www.bosacks.com, accessed April 15, 2026, https://www.bosacks.com/bosacks-speaks-out/bosacks-speaks-out-the-rise-and-fall-of-folio-a-mirror-for-the-magazine-industry
3) For further reading: “A magazine’s “rate base”… is the rate charged to advertisers in the magazine and is related to the circulation figures of the magazine…The higher the circulation the higher the cost to advertise in the periodical since it reaches more potential buyers.
FOLIO magazine’s Jason Fell wrote an informative article on this subject today:
…for the second half of 2009 made their rate base requirements for the period, many others, including some heavyweights, did not.
Of the 30 or so large circulation magazines with rate bases of 2 million or higher—including AARP, Time and Better Home & Gardens—Reader’s Digest and Playboy were the only titles to fall short of their circ. guarantee….
Generally, when a magazine doesn’t make its rate base, its publisher is required to issue refunds to its advertisers or make other concessions.”
John R. Austin, “Reader’s Digest, Playboy, Others Miss Rate Base,” February 16, 2010, gator1965.wordpress.com, accessed April 15, 2026, https://gator1965.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/reader%E2%80%99s-digest-playboy-others-miss-rate-base/
To ruminate, or to tweet, that is the question
“For some kinds of thought, especially moral decision-making about other people’s social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and reflection,” said… author Mary Helen Immordino-Yang.
(via Tweet this: Rapid-fire media may confuse your moral compass) (hat tip: monkeytypist and azspot)
This seems to contradict the premise of the best-selling book, Blink. The article continues:
The study raises questions about the emotional cost… of heavy reliance on a rapid stream of news snippets obtained through television, online feeds or social networks such as Twitter.
My take away: maybe it is best to marinate and ruminate than to tweet.
newsweek’s facelift
folio covered it first & now nyt gives it review of newsweek’s facelift… newsweek’s focus: ‘the reimagined magazine will include reported narratives that rely on intellectual scoops rather than informational ones and pair them with essayistic argument’ while nyt concludes… ‘The big talents and ambitious journalists that remain at Newsweek should probably spend less time reimagining the magazine and more time imagining a future when the physical product does not exist.’
// ah, it’s good to be back in the office… no sun, no beach surf, no ocean breeze… wake me up when the nightmare’s done…
Twitter is like golf. I feel like an idiot for doing it, but I have to admit that sometimes it’s fun.
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got tagged by a yellowjacket while looking for books in the barn… didn’t know yellowjackets like old paperbacks so much…
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yeah, i know, i should be outside roasting some dead animal on a grill, rather than obsessing over details about the poetry workshop…
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feel like i’ve been washing dishes all morning…
[link]
Coffeehouse Junkie Podcast: An excerpt from Gregory Orr’s essay “Four Temperaments and the Forms of Poetry” will be read on today’s podcast plus an short poem.
“Go to the pine to learn of the pine,” Basho
“A haiku is far more than a concrete image of something ‘out there.’ It is very much about the cognitive awareness ‘in here.’” (via Roadrunner Journal)1
NOTES:
1) William M. Ramsey, “How One Writes in the Haiku Moment: Mythos vs. Logos,” May, 2009, Roadrunner Haiku Journal, Issue IX:2, accessed May 23, 2009, https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/items/show/1301
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only lost 4 plants from the cold weather earlier this week…
Coffeehouse Junkie 