Starbucks, the Next Global McDonalds

The logo above is one that I think pretty much anyone in America could plainly recognize, and before too long, most people in the world will be able to do the same. Starbucks and it's trademark green and brown mermaid logo has become synonymous, not just for great coffee, but for this elitist beverage experience one gets when having their Starbucks.  Starbucks Coffee originated in Seattle WA in the early 80's. It's first store was in the Pike Place Market which is primarily a fishing town, thus the logo was based around this mermaid siren. The meaning behind the Starbucks mermaid was that Starbucks coffee was intended to be as seductive as this siren. The logo has changed twice over the course of the company thus far and has become more modern looking and a little more politically correct. The original logo had a bare chested mermaid. Although Starbucks started in a cool fishing town in the hub of the Seattle area, the brand has now evolved to this American standard of identity. I would think that people from other countries who have had any sort of exposure to our western culture would assume that "all American's drink Starbucks." That is not the case, but the coffee has somewhat shaped this ideology of an American lifestyle complete with your laptop snuggled up in a comfy chair and a hot latte at your local Starbucks.

Starbucks Coffee has become the America's Coffee. And with their global expansion moving as quickly as it has been, Starbucks is on it's way to becoming the next McDonalds. In the business sense: McDonalds sells nasty food and Starbucks coffee is pretty amazing!Over the last decade, Starbucks has grown exponentially. Their stores are popping up all over the US, with stores on both ends of city blocks in certain larger cities. But not only has their growth been so rapid in our country, but their global expansion is growing in leaps and bounds as well. As you can see by this ingenious diagram below, Starbucks is now in dozens of countries across the world.


But not only are they uniting very different people and cultures by exceptional coffee, but with this expansion, Starbucks Corporate is able to use resources from all around the world to make a single cup of coffee. The ridiculous $5 we pay for a latte is filtered through the organization and a cut of it is paying some of the poorest countries to harvest the coffee beans, or to pick and clean the cane sugar, or to feed and milk the cows that they use in their drinks. The Starbucks company, although they are making absurd amounts of money, are still making an effort to find the finest resources while employing workers in poverty-strucken countries.

And as you can see by the diagram, the US naturally has the most Starbucks stores in the world, but it is unusual and amazing at the same time to see some the the Starbucks locations in other countries.
Here are just a few:

RUSSIA

China

Korea

Dubai

Paris

Even in the Louvre!

And here is a Map of Downtown NYC. Every single red dot is a Starbucks (not just the larger Letters)

CRAZY!

They are EVERYWHERE!

....but for an addict like me, I guess that's a good thing:)

Science in Pictures

Without the advancements in both science and technology, we as humans would not be able to have the first person perspective of such events as finding out the sex of your baby, or getting to see the magnificence that is the planet we live on.

With the advancements in science, we are now able to see not only what sex our child growing in our womb will look like, but also, what he or she may look like. I know to some people these 3D ultrasound pictures may look a bit creepy, but as a mother of three, I think they are so precious. You can actually see your baby before you actually get to hold them in your arms. Who would of thought even 10 years ago that this could be a reality some day?

With the endless amounts of satellites that orbit our planet everyday, anyone can now see,  what only a few handfuls of astronauts had ever seen before: EARTH from space. It is magnificent. Seeing this picture makes me think of God and his glorious creations. How wonderfully made we are and everything around us was too. It is quite spectacular to see our Planet from this perspective.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) - The Miley Cyrus Show Parody (HD)

Above is a video done by the amazing SNL cast entitled," The Miley Cyrus Show." It is a combination of a pastiche and parody wrapped into a few minutes of hilarious entertainment. I assume that almost every person in the US, or at least everyone who has a television and/or internet, knows who Miley Cyrus is. But, unless you have had the pleasure, and I use that term loosely, to have seen Hannah Montana on Disney channel, you may not "get" the hilarity of this clip.

I have two small children, so I have seen my fair share of Hannah and Miley. The actress in this skit is dead-on in her imitation of Miley. That is why this video is a bit of a pastiche. Miley has that southern twang, the really big teeth smile, and she does talk very fast and say such things as, "shaalllow." It is also a parody in the fact that this video is also making fun of Miley. Everything is over-exaggerated. Her twang, the rambling dialogue, the over dramatic looks, the relationship with her and her dad, Billy Ray, her self-centerness, and over dramatic attitude and lack of acting skills are all over-exaggerated and that is what makes this video a parody. And truthfully, that's where we get the humor from. It's funny because there is truth to the performance, but acted out in such a way that as a viewer we are left laughing, not saying, "poor Miley, they are making fun of her." It is truly one of my favorite SNL clips right now. I hope you too enjoy!