Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Week # 12

Another Friday, another edition of Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Week!  This week's picks feature sweet delight and vicious vicious lies.

Hero of the Week:  Peeps latte 

It may not feel like spring, but this week it tasted like it.  One local coffee shop (inside a grocery store, no less!) is serving a variety of lattes with a delightfully cheery Peeps chick on top.  The bright yellow color was the brightest part of a gray day.  Although Peeps don't actually taste good, it got all gooey and melty in the coffee and was surprisingly yummy.  I highly recommend this delightful caffeinated concoction!

Villain of the Week:  Punxsutawney Phil

So, lying is bad, right?  Then why does a lying little marmot get his own (lame) holiday?  People gather around in freezing weather in early February only to have "Phil" (if that is his real name) predict whether or not there will be six more weeks of winter.  This year, he proclaimed that spring would come early.  Yet, here it is April 1st and snow is still in the forecast!  What kind example is this despicable animal setting for our children?  For shame!

That's all for this week!  Enjoy the unseasonably cold weather, everyone!

Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Week #6

It is an incredibly beautiful unbelievably mild February Friday, which can only mean one thing:  it's true that as soon as you have decent snow boots and a shovel, the stupid groundhog will go shadow-blind and spring will come early.  Oh, and it's time to unveil Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Week!

Hero of the Week:  Amazon Kindle

This nifty light-weight device allows me to carry thousands of books with me anywhere I go!  I love to read, and I love variety, so this is awesome.  Since the battery can run for a month without being charged, I don't have to worry about remembering a power cord or sitting in proximity to an outlet when I go on vacation or house/dog-sit for the weekend.  It's also easy to read in bright sunlight, so it's perfect for leisurely outdoor reading on a day like today.  And since there are no pages, I don't have to get annoyed at the breeze for trying to turn the pages before I'm ready.  I hate it when the wind reads faster than me!  Another huge plus is access to thousands of free e-books, ranging from classics to new and self-published authors.  True, a lot of the free e-books totally suck, but at least I have the opportunity to discover new voices.  

Villain of the Week:  Amazon Kindle

That's right--the Kindle is the week's villain too!  The reason for my ambivalence is a piece of very sad news I learned this week:  Borders is filing for bankruptcy and closing 1/3 of their stores, including my local branch.  I'm very distressed by this development because I love browsing in Borders, and their coffee is better than Books-A-Million's.  I love walking through the rows of bookshelves, visiting the brightly-colored children's section, and examining all of the random/cool/just plain odd gifts they offer.  Since the growing popularity of e-readers, especially the Kindle,  is a huge factor in the decline of the physical book store, I have no choice but to label it a villain.  (I do realize that I could also blame the economy, but my daily New Yorker cartoon calendar does that every day.  It's just too depressing now.)

That's all I have for this week!  Enjoy the sunshine and the weekend!