Twinkle Twinkle Little Starbucks

I do love Starbucks. Not the undrinkable coffee, but the place, the existential Starbuck State Of Mind.

Once upon a time, back in San Diego where the coffee is good, there was an underground movement against the earliest Starbucks incursions. The guerilla logo was a red circle with stripe, enclosing a “*$$” . (At the time I had to ask, I didn’t get the “star” + “bucks”, but then I’d only heard the name once or twice.) The meaning, translated, was “No Corporate Coffee”. Remember, this wasn’t long after we stalwarts attested that disco sucked. We cared about all sorts of things in those days.

Of course I prefer indie coffee houses with personality and drinkable coffee. At least I do in theory, I’m at an age where I restrict my caffeine. While I adore kicky ambiance, who wants to shlep into Hollywood for it? My favorite Starbux is only 7 minutes away, with plenty of convenient parking.

I was there for a couple of hours today, the Bux next to the Original Bob’s Big Boy™. I never did figure out what the dowdy guy was selling to the two attractive young women next to our table, but he sure was giving it his all. And for once I couldn’t see the laptops of all the aspiring screenwriters. This is good, they usually tilt their machines for maximum public viewing and seeing a single speech that lasts a full screen makes the editor in me cringe.

There is a recession, but there were people using the WiFi without buying anything before that. Okay, so you don’t hear so many paragraph-long single orders. On the bright side, the line moves faster now. If you’re in the neighborhood, let me know and I’ll meet you there.