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July 03, 2008

Notes From The Corner by Mike Jewell

Austin and I squirmed while catching a glimpse of our future this morning. NPR was doing a piece on nursing homes that are offering fuzzy robot seals to residents as pets. I prefer my cats, “Maximum” and “Minimum”.
The Corner seems to be changing of late. Perhaps people are wanting to sit outside. When asked, Matt thought that the corner was often crowded but he seemed to hint about other reasons for change. I’ve suspected that denizens are a bit tired of me. I wouldn’t be surprised but I would rather assume that people just want to sit outside.
Ross, a recent member (everyone is a member the instant that they sit down, even if they remain silent) compared our Corner to the Dorothy Parker Club at the Algonquin Hotel in New York. Of course there are a few differences: The Round Table started as a speakeasy and conversations were had over booze.
Parker, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, Heywood Broun, Frankin P. Adams and Edna Ferber were regulars. Perhaps they were as wise as we in The Corner.
(We are very wise)
As promised, a few notes about memes, since the subject has arisen in The Corner. A meme is information that travels (usually rapidly) throughout a culture. In his book, “The Selfish Gene”, Richard Dawkins compares memes to viruses.
Memes are words, phrases, ideas, beliefs, tunes, and fashions that vary, mutate, and “compete” in a naturally selective way, similar to genes. Examples are; 1. “It is what it is”. 2. “Things happen for a reason”. 3. The song; “The Summer of 42”. You can see that meme content is independent of accuracy or inherent quality.
I proudly claim to be the creator of two memes. They are; “Are we having fun yet?” and “If I were me....” I cannot fault the kind reader for having doubts. However, Rob researched the meme, “Are we having fun yet” and reported that it dates back to the late 1970’s. However, I thought of it in 1973 while sitting at the base lodge at Wildcat Mt. with Diane Bojko. It became common a decade later. I use “If I were me” in an attempt to lighten the mood when “suggesting” to students what they should do. It efficiently kills two chickens with one eighteen-wheeler since it is a direct, but coded, reference to the human need to solidify “self”. One of my students printed “If I were me” on a shirt in 1997. I began using it in about 1984. I’m told that it is now being used by a clothing company. Self righteous indignation and pride compete for my prevailing attitude toward others using my memes.

“Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea,
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Romania.”
Dorothy Parker

June 22, 2008

JESUS GETS HIS COFFEE AT FRONTSIDE!

042If you ask, he'll read your horoscope!

Notes From The Corner by Mike Jewell

Ok, this month’s complaint from The Corner: Some of us find the recent meme, “going forward”, to be extremely annoying. First, the term was coined by our present “federal executive administration” (code) as a method of redirecting the gaze of we, the bewildered herd -- from the past to the future, and from the negative to the positive. Thus, the term is inherently manipulative. Second, the term is redundant since it can always be omitted, leaving the sentence in the future tense. This meme has spread rapidly (as memes are want to do) since it is a very effective gaze-averter. Humans seem to be defenseless regarding this assault on our linguistic sensibilities since now even journalists have adopted the term. From today’s Times: “....many in the news media....see little need for reconsidering their coverage or changing their approach, going forward.”
Yucko.
(More on memes next time)
Philosophers often point out that we humans compete with cockroaches and bacteria by organizing and describing the world (this is called “mapping”). We have ethical maps, legal maps, political maps, social maps and a multitude of other maps. As a competitive strategy, mapping is very effective. However, I claim that our biggest mistake is that we forget that “map” is not “territory”: all descriptions of reality are approximate at best. So.....I bought an upside down map of the world! It is of course, disorienting for practical reasons but more basically, it a powerful experiential statement regarding our essential error. The privileged and powerful write history and organize reality. Had South Africans invented the printing press and led the industrial revolution, “south” would no doubt be “up” on our maps (since “up” for most humans is inherently more positive than “down”).

Going forward, I will use my upside down map as a primary geographic reference -- in an attempt to remind myself that descriptions
of reality are crude approximations of infinitely complex territories.

June 20, 2008

Dominican Republic Fedecares Typica

Drying This week we recieved the first Dominican republic coffee to be served at Frontside. We encourage you to stop by and give it a taste. And remember, if it isn't being brewed, try it in a personal french press for maximum effect! Below you will find some info about the cooperative & the beans themselves.

FEDECARES, or the Federación de Caficultores de la Región Sur, was founded in 1985 with the aim of improving quality of life in the community, promoting sustainable development, and eliminating dependence on intermediaries in the conventional market. Fair Trade Certified with Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) since 1992, FEDECARES serves as a focal point of the local coffee growing community, bringing together and educating members of small member cooperatives from around the region.ABOUT THE COOP

1985

Number of Members:

5500

Annual Production:

20 Containers

ABOUT THE COFFEE

Varieties:

Typica, Caturra

Elevation:

600-1200m

Processing:

Wet processing, sun and

mechanical drying

Cup Characteristics:

Good body and

acidity, smooth

Harvest Season:

Oct-Feb

Export Season:

Nov-April

Organic Certification Agency: ImoCaribe

Date Established:

June customer of the month......

Dick Devallion!Devallian

Drink: 8oz. double fog-lifter, 12oz. french press or occasionally an 8oz double latte. Classy drinks.

Bonus: Chocolate Donut.

Interests: Cycling, art, music, dance(currently boneing up on the Tango in preparation for a trip to Argentina), drinking great Coffee & generally living it up.

June 08, 2008

Do you love Coffee? I love Coffee. Coffee Rules!

Spring 2008 009 Sometimes when I turn out the light to hit the hay, I get so excited at the notion that soon it will be morning & I will enjoy a cup or three in the dawns early light.

May 30, 2008

Notes From The Corner

Notes From The Corner
Mike Jewell
May 25th, 2008

I know -- it’s been two weeks since I’ve reported from The Corner. Again, my only excuse is that I (as is the case with all humans) have no choice. The kind reader must admit that this is a reasonable excuse. Perhaps it’s finally time to point out the difference between choice and option.
Options are merely stories that we compose regarding the future. And since the future cannot be predicted with certainty, options have no fundamental reality independent of our imaginations. I might think that I have the option to stand while in The Corner but a heart attack as I stand will illustrate the contingent nature of my imagined option.
“Choice” on the other hand, is an act of pure creation, centralized within one’s self. We confuse these concepts as in; “I have several
choices”. It’s worth clarifying these subjects when assigning blame,
responsibility, guilt, punishment, and credit. I thought that I had the option to write every Saturday but I had no choice but to fail.
While we’re at it, we might as well clear up the near-universal confusion regarding blackflies and mosquitoes. Given our vast experience with these creatures, we should be experts and we ought to cease referring to them as “bugs”.
Leafbugs are bugs. Spittlebugs are bugs. Bedbugs are bugs. But ladybugs are not bugs!! Ladybugs are beetles!!! Blackflies and mosquitoes are also not bugs!!!: they are coleopteran -- that is, they are flies. Bugs are classified in the order Hemiptera which are insects that have “true sucking mouth parts”. Thus, comments like; “You’re a bug” -- or -- “You’re bugging
me!” are much more insulting than the more generous comment, “You insect.....!!” -- which, in some contexts, is a compliment.
I find black flies and mosquitoes most annoying because they are presumptuous when invading my personal space without permission.
A mosquito joined us in The Corner this morning. He/she was an uninvited
guest and it was not wise: I squashed it like a bug.


In case nobody told you....

Spring 2008 011

 

May 03, 2008

New Press Pots & Smoothies!

We are now happy to be offering single serving(12oz.) personal Press pot coffees for in house consumption! Select any coffee from our menu & have it served in an elegant Bodum stainless steel Press Pot. Customize your cup today!

Also new are the Frusia blended fruit smoothies. Super refreshing on a hot day. Currently we are serving Strawberry or Mango. Either can be made with Whole Milk, Skim Milk or Soy Milk.

April 28, 2008

May Customer Of The Month Is.......

Victor Lazaron!!!!

Victor actually was April customer of the month, but what can I say? I'm a busy guy.

Victor is general surgeon extraodanaire here at the memorial hospital. He enjoys cutting, slicing & making incisions of many kinds. When he isn't performing difficult surgical procedures he enjoys spending time with his family, participating in a local underground fight club(he apparently has a great record) & skirmishing with the Jewell & fellow denizens of the corner. 

If you see Victor give him a pat on the back!Winter_08_137_2