Velvet

Today is free coffee day at Starbucks! http://www.starbucks.ca/en-ca/_Social+Responsibility/Earth+Day.htm

I've heard Green Day might be at Scotiabank Place.

Still beats smoking.

My only complaints are the conflicts. On July 16 it's Alan Parsons vs Styx vs Les Claypool vs Sharon Jones. What's a nostalgic heady prog-loving funkmaster to do?

There's two days of headliners left to go on your list.

You'd think it wouldn't be that hard a stat to find, but I've been wondering about this for a few years now.

When is the lineup officially released?

McDonald's gives rivals a wake-up call by offering customers free coffee The coffee wars are heating up across Canada, with McDonald's offering free java for two weeks as high-end chain Starbucks closes locations, Tim Hortons struggles with falling profits and Country Style repositions itself under a new owner. McDonald's said Monday it will give away a small coffee to its customers during breakfast hours at its 1,400 locations across Canada until May 3, and you won't have to buy anything to get one. The promotion is an attempt to lure in customers "and those who haven't been visiting for a little bit," said McDonald's Canada president John Betts. The move is a shot at both the low end of the industry, represented by Tim Hortons, a coffee leader with about 2,800 stores across the country, and the high end, represented by Starbucks, which is closing some of its 500 locations across Canada as it suffers from over-expansion and a drop in consumer spending in the recession. Starbucks is also offering free coffee on Wednesday, which is Earth Day, to people who bring their own mug to the store. "It's a jump ball for market share," analyst Michael Krestell of M Partners Inc. said of the McDonald's promotion and the current coffee landscape in Canada. "In addition to going after the higher price of Starbucks coffee, it's a direct shot at Tim's. There's no better way to announce your presence than by offering something for free." To some, the McDonald's promotion may be even more enticing than Tim's annual "Roll up the Rim" promotion, which offers prizes ranging from cars and TVs to free coffee and pastries. Recently, Country Style did what industry watchers called a "promo hijack" by giving free coffee for a week in early March to Tim's customers who got the "Sorry, Try Again" message on their cups. Krestell said the McDonald's two-week free coffee promotion is also an interesting marketing strategy. "If you can get someone to try your product every day for two weeks, it becomes an acquired taste," he said. "To get them into a routine, you have the potential to break from a previous habit. It's no coincidence." Wendy Evans, head of retail consultancy Evans and Co. Consultants Inc. called the McDonald's move "clever." "I think there's a whole segment of the population that has just left McDonald's. This could certainly be a draw for them to try it again," she said. "Nobody is beyond a free cup of coffee." She said the coffee business is "highly competitive and becoming more so all the time." Coffee firms report sales drop Earlier this month, Country Style's 490 coffee and doughnut outlets were bought by MTY Food Group Inc., which franchises and operates Sukiyaki, Cultures, Yogen Früz. Under the deal, MTY will have 114 Country Style traditional shops selling coffee, doughnut and sandwiches, 360 Country Style kiosks and 16 BunsMaster outlets. Tim Hortons saw its profit drop 8.7 per cent in the fourth quarter to $69.1 million from $75.7 million a year earlier after charges related to store closures in the United States. Revenues were up 9.4 per cent to $563.7 million and same-store sales, which are those open more than one year, increased 4.4 per cent in Canada and fell 0.1 per cent in the U.S. In its outlook for 2009, the company said it expects operating income to grow 11 per cent to 13 per cent this year. Same-store sales are expected to grow three to five per cent. However, some analysts have called those expectations overly optimistic in the current economy. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. saw its overall revenue dip about three per cent in the fourth quarter and blamed the stronger U.S. dollar. McDonald's, which reports first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, said in March that its quarterly sales will likely be off by at least $600 million US and earnings could be hurt by seven cents to nine cents per share because of foreign-currency rates. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect profit of 82 cents per share on revenue of $5.18 billion US for the quarter. In February, it said system-wide sales for its worldwide restaurants fell 4.6 per cent but increased 3.2 per cent in constant currencies. Analysts say despite the currency impact on earnings, more consumers are turning to McDonald's as a cheaper alternative as the recession results in thousands of layoffs worldwide and lower consumer confidence. Betts said breakfast represents a large and growing portion of sales at McDonald's, without being specific. He said the new promotion in Canada is for its "premium roast" coffee the chain has been offering for years. "It's our version of a stimulus," Betts said. He also said the company is introducing a new coffee cup that is double-walled and doesn't require a sleeve to hold its hot contents. Betts said the cup is made of standard paper board, "which is standard in the industry." Free coffee doesn't sit well with environmentalists Pierre Sadik, legislative manager with the David Suzuki Foundation, said while the cup might be recyclable, the lids aren't. He said the problem with companies such as McDonald's and Tim Hortons is that they don't have alternative to plastic lids. They also don't offer recycling options for the cups and people just throw them away. On the new McDonald's cup, users are encouraged to "put litter in its place," with a diagram of the Ronald McDonald character dropping waste into a bin. Sadik said coffee chains should encourage people to bring their own mugs by charging a high price for cups. Last fall, Toronto city council considered a ban on single-use coffee cups that were overflowing garbage bins. The city's public works committee decided to consult further with coffee companies, including Starbucks and Tim Hortons, to devise a plan to curb the growing number of paper cups landing in the landfill. Paper coffee cups and plastic lids are recyclable in some other cities, but the two items together can't be sorted at Toronto's recycling depot. Discounts for people who bring their own mugs are common at some coffee chains across the country, including Starbucks. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/04/20/canada-coffeewars.html

Every thread is for those of you not dumb enough to start smoking.

Oh yeah!

Agreed. By the time I realised I needed to be way higher it was tough scoring, though I did try. Worcester was way better for me. I had a great time on mini-tour!

I suspect every library in Canada would stock Allen Carr's The Easy Way To Quit Smoking, ISBN# 978-0973468403, plus it can be ordered here for $14.99cdn. http://www.amazon.ca/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/0973468408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1240207368&sr=1-1

Happy 420

Not to be a grumbler, I was definitely happy to be at the show last night, but the tempos were so slow, it was a bit of a sleeper show. I kept getting up to dance and they would lull me back to my seat. And I guess I'm spoiled after Phish, but the lights are a non-event in comparison. Wow, I sound like a spoiled lot rat. Last night was awesome! Hooray for the Dead! Can't wait for tonight!

I picked up Hard Rubber tix at the NAC box office.

If you're in Ottawa you've probably seen some advertising for BC Scene. Some of the shows are free, though picking up the free tickets in advance is often necessary. Two freebies: -1- May 2 8pm Prepare for daring, unpredictable music when the Hard Rubber Orchestra takes the stage! The National Arts Centre’s eXpressions festival features a performance by B.C.’s vibrant and energetic musical troupe that has been referred to as the “Godzilla of the Vancouver jazz scene.†This 18-piece orchestra, consisting of Vancouver’s funkiest musicians, is a highly active jazz/new music ensemble that has toured to Europe and across Canada, released two CDs, and is the recipient of Canada’s largest arts prize, the Alcan Performing Arts Award. Composer, conductor, and trumpeter John Korsrud leads this acclaimed post-modern ensemble in a wild, eclectic musical ride. The program includes three of John’s own works, plus compositions by fellow B.C. composers Bill Runge and Brad Turner. -2- April 30 8pm BC Scene plays a central role in the third edition of the National Arts Centre’s annual eXpressions festival that this year pays tribute to British Columbia’s vibrant new music scene with Music from Sea to Sky. The National Arts Centre Orchestra celebrates West Coast creativity in a program of works by B.C. composers with violinists Jonathan Crow and Karl Stobbe. Alain Trudel, principal conductor of the Vancouver-based National Broadcast Orchestra, leads the NAC Orchestra in a concert that includes the world premieres of works by Jocelyn Morlock and Douglas Smith, which were commissioned by the NAC Orchestra and CBC Radio, along with works by Rodney Sharman and Benjamin Britten. For info on all ninety(!) shows going on, visit http://bcscene.ca/en/events/

No, I mean the longest continuous play without a whistle or a goal. I suppose the record could stand at twenty minutes, but I wonder, has a whole period ever gone by scoreless and without a whistle?

I was just curious as to whether or not Mike just makes stuff like that up or if he was genuinely misinformed.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that the above reporter has a brain made out of mayonaisse. I think we can all agree that someone with a brain made out of mayonaisse will have a diminished ability to make reasonable arguments, and as we've agreed that this person does indeed have a brain made of mayonaisse, we must also agree his arguments are unreasonable.

Where'd you get that info, Mike?

What's the longest play in NHL history, when was the game and who was playing? (hint - I don't know the answer)

So true. A lifetime of cravings is totally unneccesary. The book is $20. If you've ever smoked, just read it. What do you have to lose (except $20)?

I merely alluded to the idea that it wasn't a blues festival! Insert smiley-face here. Anyways, of course I love the blues, but I'm glad it's not strictly a blues festival because I like the huge variety of quality music they offer (including the idea of getting the younger crowd onsite by booking pop stuff I'm not interested in), and because I'm glad the blues performers they do get are able to get paid so well and play in front of such big crowds.

Did the apocolypse just come and go inside of two hours? It's so hard to keep up.

The only side effect to the book is that people quit smoking. When he did the audio version of the book the recording engineers all ended up quitting too. You don't even really have to want to quit.