Another reason to avoid Burger King

Migrant workers who pick tomatoes have long sought an additional penny per bucket from the major fast food chains to raise their meager pay.  The increase would bring the pay for a 32 pound bucket of tomatoes to 77 cents. After a long, hard fight and a consumer boycott, Taco Bell agreed to the price increase, and [...]

Read Full Post »

Nordstrom’s lays off pianists

Nordstrom’s was one of my first encounters with luxury. The store was founded in the Pacific Northwest, and so was I. The store was known for great service and great clothing, and the whole shopping experience there felt luxurious. A crowning touch was the pianist in each store. I remember one store where the piano was located near the perfume and [...]

Read Full Post »

Try this on your boss

Richard Syron, CEO of Freddie Mac, the mortage company, was paid more than $8 million in 2004, according to Forbes. Today the Washington Post reports that Freddie Mac lost $2 billion in the third quarter of 2007. They expect losses to reach $10 billion before it’s over.
Imagine Mr. Syron’s performance review. “Ricky, we notice that [...]

Read Full Post »

A new meaning for get rich quick

The next word in the phrase “get rich quick” used to be “scheme.” A get rich quick scheme consisted of a hukster who got rich quickly selling phantom methods to get rich quick. He got rich at the expense of daydreamers.
While that meaning still has relevance a lot of people are getting rich quick in a [...]

Read Full Post »

Vegetarian dining gets delicious

The face of vegetarian dining is improving, both in the all-vegetarian restaurants and in those that include vegetarian items along with the traditional meat, fish, and fowl selections.
The New York Times published a story today about vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco. The main point of the story is that vegetarian offerings are going haute cusine. [...]

Read Full Post »

David becomes a lawyer!

My nephew David is a high achiever, and on November 16 he received word that he passed the California Bar Exam. It was his first attempt! We are very proud of his accomplishment. He is now working in the District Attorney’s office in Stockton, California.
David has worked in England for a financial services company. He [...]

Read Full Post »

How do I navigate this?

I like to browse MySpace sites to find out what I don’t know that I don’t know. There’s a lot I don’t know. I’m totally desolate in the area of modern, should I say, musicians, for example.
So, I’m browsing my nephew Devin’s site. Devin finishes his course work at the University of Arizona in December. He’s [...]

Read Full Post »

It takes a village

I practice yoga at Yoga Oasis in Tucson, Arizona. Rachel, who manages the studio, urged me to sign up for B.J. Galvan’s handstand workshop. It’s unwise to resist Rachel’s recommendations because they are always right on, so after about 28 seconds of reflection I handed her my debit card to pay for the class. I [...]

Read Full Post »

Voodoo economics

The Dow Jones industrials gained 320 points today. That’s a fact. Now here’s the myth. The gain was due, according the the Associated Press, to “reassuring news” that “quelled some of the market’s worst fears about the credit crisis and the economy. A plunge in the price of oil gave investors further incentive to buy.” [...]

Read Full Post »

My love of commas

Commas aren’t getting the respect they deserve, and I can’t do anything about it.
It’s now considered cool to omit the the second comma in things listed in a series of three. Everywhere you look you’ll see things like, “He ordered orange juice, toast and hashbrowns.”
Lord above, don’t we have William Strunk’s The Elements of Style to remind [...]

Read Full Post »