As long as folks seem to be posting about food today...

I TiVO'd a Travel Channel program the other night called Bizarre Foods: Asia.

( Hidden from the easily grossed out and/or serious vegetarian )

Coffee Talk (or Cawfee Tawk)

So Starbuck's has bought out Diedrich's Coffee (their roasting operation will still be going, but all of the Diedrich's coffeeshops will be transitioning to Charbucks starting in December). Apparently the younger Diedrich is holding to the Hermosa Beach location (Kean's Coffee) for himself, but the rest will soon be more cookie-cutter, over-roasted, sugar-laden, "coffee drink" dispensing Borg outposts.

I admit to having mixed feelings about $tarbuck's. They saved us from Folger's and Maxwell House in the '80s, and I'm grateful for that, but they've created a culture of sameness that's not all that different from what they arose to compete with. There was a time when every town had it's local coffee roaster, and before that, when everyone roasted their own coffee at home (see Sweet Maria's antique roasters to see what folks used to use). Everyone drank freshly roasted coffee most of the time, and quite possibily more freshly roasted than much of what we drink today.

So, does big always mean mediocre? Is it simply not possible to be a Very Large Corporation and not compromise your product and/or your basic principles? I'd be interested in what others think.

And on another subject entirely...

As I'm sitting here watching the end of "Return of the King", I started to wonder why it is that creatures of faerie (elves, fairies, etc) are always portrayed with pointy ears. WTF is up with that? Where did that trope originate and when did it start propagating? Where are the earliest illustrations of Spock-eared fantasy creatures? Which culture did they come from? Do elves trying to "pass" get 'em bobbed, or what? Is it in the points that their magical powers exist? Enquiring minds want to know (or at least mine does). Sounds like time for trip to the library.