Do WE Need Influencers? Apparently WE Do!

One of the more disturbing, to me, effects of social media has been the increase in the number of people who we allow to influence us. Not content to follow the old TV format of some popular sports figure, Joe Namath comes to mind, making a pitch for some product he gets paid to shill, whether he uses it or not. Good ole Joe was trusted because he was an awesome football player. Mickey Mantle, another shill from a time gone bye, was revered until it became known he was drop down drunk off the field.

Some of these current "stars," get paid up to $1 million to post on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and the like. Can you imagine? AND, you know what? I don't know a single one of them and frankly could care less. That said, I am 75 and figure they have nothing of interest to influence me with unless they're pitching a better laxative, pain killer or some new fangled item to make me look say, 74?

Personally I find it one more step we are taking as a society, as people, from having contact with, well, people. And even more in thinking for ourselves. Corvid aside there was once a time when girlfriends would head to the mall and together make a decision about what they liked or not and that was that. You tried that decision at school, usually, and depending on where you were on the social pecking order you either influenced your peers ... or not. Those "not" left a lasting impression.

Because we are creatures of habit and more than willing to let others influence us, marketers and corporations are having a field day where for next to nothing in production costs, they are willing to shower influencers with money and let them do the work. It's kinda like that message you get when the person you call doesn't want to answer the phone will tell you (electronically) that you are so important but they can't get to the phone right now so please leave your name and number and they will call you back shortly. Heard that one? Let me tell you, they NEVER call you back. The other excuse is Corvid-14. In eight months they can't get their supply chain in order? Really? If anything the pandemic has exposed just how lazy many companies and people are.

In case you don't know, an influencer is someone with the power to influence your purchasing decisions. They can have but not always, authority, knowledge, position or a relationship with the audience that often negates the other three categories. We want to be liked and an influencer makes you feel that if you use their product you will be the belle of the ball. You can put lipstick on a pig ... and it's still a pig.

Today social media reaches 3.484 billion people, 45% of the people on earth, who are actively on the Internet. It's literally a gold rush for just about any company that exists. That said, here are the four basic types of influencers:

Mega-Influencers: These are people with a vast number of followers on their social networks. Vast means millions. There are no fixed rules on the boundaries between these different groups but usually they have made their celebrity offline - movie stars, sports figures, actors, musicians, even reality stars like Donald Trump. Because of this, marketing wants these people and is willing to throw money at them for their endorsements. This influencer tends to be fussy about what they endorse keeping an eye on the future and what could come back and bite them.

Macro-Influencers: One step down from the Mega crowd they tend to be more accessible to marketers. They have followers from around 40,000 - 1 million. This group has two main groups: B-Grade celebrities who haven't made the big time and successful online experts who have large followings, like cooks, writers, environmentalists, even some politicians. Macro-influencers usually have a high profile and be excellent at raising awareness. There are far more so its easier for a brand to find one and work with them.

Micro-Influencers: These are ordinary people who have become known for their knowledge about some specialist niche. They have gained a sizable social media following among devotees of that niche. They tend to range from 1,000 to 40,000 followers on social media. Often, marketing reaches out to them first. They also are picky about what brands to hype. Some are paid and others are not paid to promote a product. These influencers are usually from Generation Z, who spend more time on the Internet than any other media. This group will, in reality, become the influencers of the future.

Nano-Infuencers: And finally we have the smallest group of influencers that only have a small number of followers. They tend to be experts in obscure or highly specialized fields. In  most cases they have fewer than 1,000 followers. Most marketers feel they lack much influence but while cheap they carry a tremendous influence on their followers.

Personally I don't follow any of these people. If I need help I go to Google, explain what I am looking for and read what comes up. I've found YouTube can just about teach you how to do anything and have often used it to fix something. Many food web sites not only have wonderful recipes they practically take you by the hand to make sure you do it right. For me it's situational. I am not a follower.

However, that said there is another kind of influencer that I never thought of as that before. These would be by types of content.

Bloggers: A blogger is an influencer in social media that has the most authentic and active relationship with their fans. Marketers are finally realizing and encouraging this. Bloggers have connected with their fans for some time now and the trust they have earned from their fans translates into fans wanting to try out your product. Blogs can be about anything and over the years have 100's if not 1,000's of fans who trust them.

YouTube: The video go-to place to see much of the world. I just discovered you can see old movies, learn to use your Cuisinart, build a shed. You name it, they can show you how. 

Podcasts: Another form of video that covers an amazing spectrum of "things" is a podcast. You can find     podcasts on just about any topic on earth. Religion, politics, books and interviews with their authors, how to take a photo, how to cook a meal. Podcasters themselves have become celebrities and their followers pay attention to what they may say or use, hence they are also an influencer.

Social Posts: It is rare that a blogger, YouTuber or Podcaster relies on just that site. They usually have a social media site like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest touting what they are doing and driving traffic to their site. In fact, the majority of influencers now make their name on social media and promote heavily how and where they are trying to influence you.

Before I say that I never even look at these people, many 50 years or more younger, I must admit that I do look at things that rate the quality of a product many marketers would not approve of. I do check out the ratings of an item on Amazon by clicking first the 1 star reviews. You might as well get that out of the way and if you feel you can't live with the deficiencies listed I move on. If I can live with them I click on the 5 star ratings. I also read CONSUMER REPORTS who I feel need to review an item today and then in six months. I can't even begin to list the items I bought from their recommendations that in a very short time became simply junk. I stopped using them but did return to read what they looked for in an item and I followed that list. We didn't always agree and I still don't. I've noticed that MOTOR TREND has started keeping initially highly rated cars for a year and reporting on what the experience was like. CR also queries consumers about cars and their experiences. You soon learn all the glitters is not gold.

Personally I resent even the idea of an influencer. Why do we follow in most cases a person who often knows nothing about anything and is paid for it? What does Kim or any Kardashian bring to the table? They can't act, wear too much makeup and wears clothes far too tight. Really, what does a sports figure know about a deodorant or power mower? Before you blindly follow someone you might want to do what lawyers call "due diligence." Find out what do they know and does that benefit you in any way?

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

Living GROUNDHOG DAY Today

   

    One of the funniest yet thoughtful movies of this or any time is the now classic GROUNDHOG DAY starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell. This 1993 movie tells the tale of a narcissistic weatherman from Pittsburgh with aspirations of hitting the "big" time. Assigned to go to Punxsutawney, PA for the annual Groundhog Festival February 2 to see if the groundhog sees his shadow or not (seeing it means 6 more weeks of winter) he goes with his producer and cameraman.

    It is not a pleasant journey and he makes it clear this is beneath his "talents" to have to go. He alone stays in a bed and board, the hoi pollo stay at the local hotel.

    Our first day with Phil is a combination of trite events and disaster. After being obnoxious to the kindly proprietor of the B&B, he stumbles into an old classmate, an insurance salesman. After stepping into a foot high puddle he arrives at the ceremony in the town park late but in time for the unveiling of the poor groundhog who looks like he'd rather be in bed. Seeing his shadow all groan! Phil reports this condensingly live and they hustle into the station's van for their return to Pittsburgh. Only, in ignoring his own weather report they get caught in a snow storm and have to return to Punxsutawney. He leaves them to their own devices and finally in a snit goes to bed.

    The next morning the day seems to begin again. Sonny and Cher sing "I Got You Babe" on the clock radio, the world looks about the same outdoors and as he leaves he realizes that this is exactly what he did yesterday. Oddly, he remembers but no one else does. This day is a little different only in that he knows what is going to happen. Try as he might, he CAN'T change it.

    The story line by the writers was timeless. The studio wanted it to be two weeks but as the movie

Does he or doesn't he?

progresses you realize the timeline is much, MUCH  longer. That's the joy and frustration.

    Next he tries to die. One day he grabs the groundhog, steals a truck and drives over an embankment where he and the groundhog die when the truck explodes. The next morning promptly at 6:00 am the radio starts singing "I Got You Babe." More suicide scenes follow but gradually he begins to realize that there is something more he is to learn. Eventually he does.

    There has never been a better depiction of hell, even better than Dante. He made it a place of torment but GROUNDHOG DAY makes it ordinary but ordinary the same forever. While no one remembers Phil does and finally has the presence to begin to change internally. He learns French, plays the piano, becomes a friend to those in need, in short, a better and kinder person. It is that new and changed person that finally nets him the woman he wishes to partner with who finally sees in him a better man.

  Now you may wonder what that has to do with today. I woke up the other morning and looked at what I would do today. GROUNDHOG DAY popped into my mind and I realized that today would be pretty much like yesterday, and the day before that, another words, pretty much how my life has been since March 18, 2020 when the governor of California ordered the shelter-in-place (SIP) order for every Californian.

    To be fair, every day is not "exactly" like the day before but on the whole it is. I walk the dog early before most people are up, usually around 5:30 am, I come home, make coffee, chat with my friend in China, eat breakfast and find something to do. I paint and have put new items in my ETSY store, I worked on a photo book and got that done and printed. I scrubbed the yucky black grout on my tiles floors, read books, lots of magazine and watched Netflix and Prime shows. I got rid of cable so watch the evening news on my iPad and cook all my meals every day. The only times I leave, besides the 30 minute walk outside the gates in the morning is for:

1.             Doctor appointments though many are now virtual
2.             To go get medicines
3.             Grocery Shopping

and often I bundle chores together so I don't have to drive every day. I have spent up to 10 days without driving. Friends go shopping every day just to get out of the house. There are times, trust me. If we could leave before there was, well, no there to go too. Everything was closed.

    That was about all that was open until early June. However, it appears opening up is cause again for alarm. Riverside County is second highest Corvid-19 count only after Los Angeles County. Some restaurants have had take out but after reading that a famous restaurant in downtown Palm Springs closed after reopening because an employee tested positive for the virus, further desires to eat out or even buy a burrito at the restaurant at the end of my driveway stopped. 

    A friend concerned about my well being sent me the risk factors for a variety of "opened" activities rated from 1 - 9. Eating out at an indoor restaurant is rated a Risk factor of 6, a drink in a bar is a 9! Who's to say someone working there isn't positive and shows no symptoms? Beijing is more or less quarantined after one case ballooned to over 200. One restaurant had seven workers who tested positive. People and fish tested positive in a fish market. Now they are all closed. Sure 21 million live there but, and it's a big BUT, no one knows who may have it or where it will pop up next. Our valley and our county are seeing 50% spikes over the past week.

    So, for me every day is about like the day before however, to be fair every week is like the week before. During one of my ZOOM meetings, one that worked, someone about my age wondered, "Is this the way I live the rest of my life?" She put in words what I was feeling. Peggy Lee's old song suddenly boomed in my head, "Is That All There Is?"

    Much has been written about this and I won't dwell on it except to ask, IS this all there is? Getting it and living after is not without effects. Hearts, kidneys, liver even blood and for sure lungs are affected during and probably long after. The could be, first attempts, as bad as the disease. Ask anyone in the LGBTQ community. The first drugs killed as many as they saved. These are all things to definitely ponder as we shelter-in-place in "our winter and now summer of our discontent." Dying to get out may just give you that chance!

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

Dogs Don't Practice Social Distancing!

     As we Californians practice "social distancing" now for the third week, starting our fourth week

Miss Maggie - the dog that knows no boundaries

tomorrow, it dawned on me yesterday, after stumbling over my dog, yet again, that dogs DON'T practice social distancing. I became aware of that fact after leaving my condo to go to the bank, shop for food and get medicines at the pharmacy. I completed these four tasks in about two hours. It was my first time out to even do these minimal (allowable) chores in 10 days. Even if I didn't see anyone I knew, it was wonderful to just be where humans were masked and six feet away as they all were.

The morning walk ritual that is done
visitors here or not!

  Having a dog you must go outside, in my case, four or five times a day. We have our long walk first thing in the morning, usually before the sun is up, then there are the WPP's (walk, pee and poop) around our condo complex starting around 5 am, then another around 11-12:00, then 4:00 or so to get the mail, and the finally one around 9:00 pm. I don't have to worry about forgetting, a cold nose on an elbow reminds me, just like when it's time for dinner. I may forget, she never does.

     Usually, we don't see anyone in the complex though there are many dog owners here. If we do she heads straight to the owner to be petted. In fact I think she thinks she's a human. I stopped taking her to the dog park to play with the dogs. I realized she ignored her "kind" instead making the rounds of the humans sitting watching their dogs. Being owners they would give her a few pets and she would give them a lick or two, then move to the next one. So much for playing with the dogs.

Meditating in place!

      In fact, shelter in place has meant for her that her master (though I really am not sure who the boss is here) is now always around. She brings her duck to play tug-of-war, licks some part of me to be petted and is ever watchful of dinner time. We have never had so much "together" time before. During a "normal" week I would leave for meetings, dinners, game night and sometimes be gone for hours as she laid out on the patio or dug through the trash inside our condo.

     I now have a constant companion. I go to the kitchen and when I turn around she lays in front of the way out. Read or watch TV in the living room, a black lump is alongside my chair. There is even no privacy in the bathroom. At least she's not as bad as my last Lab. He would follow me into the tiny inner bathroom, close the door and lay in front of it. At 100 pounds, he was an obstacle in getting out.

     Seriously though, in these times where so many of us are living alone, there isn't a better companion. I have come to realize you hunger for contact and no matter how often you Skype, of ZOOM or FaceTime they are not substitutes for a human hug, or chatter, just BEING with another living being. A dog loves to be petted, trots behind me wherever I go ... kitchen, living room, patio, bedroom or the studio. I have learned these past few weeks to stand and look around to see where she is, actually how close she is and is it safe to walk?

Visiting the Grand Canyon with Maggie

    I don't think we could have designed a better companion. Somehow, a robot just doesn't seem to be a solution, a cold metal and plastic object that even if it talks is, well, not human, not something you would want to pet.

     When my partner was here from China, we drove to see my sister in New Mexico with a stop at the Grand Canyon. To her, a car ride is a car ride just as long as she is with me. I find her sprawled out in the back seat like some teenager. I have to urge her out to pee. I need to go now more than her. My sister has three dogs and mine fits right in with dogs sprawled all over the place.

     In fact as we were gazing out at the majestic canyon a man asked about my dog and asked if he could pet her. It turned out he had just lost his dog who looked exactly like Maggie and we were both stunned to find out they both had the same name! His dog had aged and turned grey just like Maggie. He petted her awhile and finally moved on. Maggie watched him go tail slowly wagging like she understood.

     My daughter wrote to see how I was doing and to ask if Maggie was talking back to me yet. I had a good laugh but noticed her looking at me with a grin. How could she know?

After nearly 14 years, my Maggie had to be put to sleep. After returning home from a doctor's appointment she met me at the door and followed me around as usual. In the bathroom I could hear a knocking and when I looked out the door found her in convulsions on the floor. With the help of friends we took her to the vet. It had gone on so long there was fear she had brain damage and I felt that I had to let her go. In the few weeks since I still look for her and even call her when I come in the door. She truly was "man's best friend!"

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

A Custom Order Kick-Starts Juices Flowing During SHELTER-IN-PLACE

We will probably look back at this time, this "shelter-in-place" time as the lost days. I know they have been for me. Rather than having nothing to do, I found that I had so many possibilities that I was literally frozen in place with Indecision. I have unlimited hours to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime, enough books of my own, unread I might add, to start a library, lots of unseen DVD's, can cook and yes I could paint, birdhouses my forté, and own a daunting stack of blank canvases. Then, there's the yard. What did I do? I wrote a few letters, did a little baking and watched ALL six seasons of HOUSE OF CARDS, a grim gritty Washington D.C. drama that saw an amazing actor's downfall and a story line that could be out of Washington today. I have no doubt this is a far more accurate view than what we saw on the, in retrospect, fuzzy WEST WING.

Inspiration is only a few clicks away.

     At the beginning of our third week of shelter-in-place here in California, I noticed a message on my ETSY account asking if I would be interested in painting a birdhouse that had edelweiss flowers against an Alpine setting. I had been looking at the studio and carefully closing the door for weeks now and going in thought, well, why not? I asked if they wanted it round or square and they wanted four corners for their cabin in Colorado. They were really going to use it.

      We "all" know the song "Edelweiss" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC but I had no idea what they looked like so off to images in Google to find the flowers and some Alpine scenes.

     What I envisioned was a kind of two dimensional painting on a 3D subject, carrying the view around all sides, and the roof. However, I had never actually tried to do that and this was my chance. If they didn't like it there was always the store to sell it on.

Starting with pencil marks to show areas

I started from the bottom up
defining the lower levels first

     My idea was to layer the hills and mountains and use larger flowers in front with smaller ones in back to give the birdhouse depth. Snow was shown on the mountain peaks and a kind of ice river running down one of the sides. Since it already had a cord to hang it I didn't have to worry about adding feet.  For some reason I decided that I wanted to frame the meadow at the base first thinking that each layer moving up would be less intense and finally reach the mountain tops and be crowned by the sky. In fact, the sky was one of the first finished areas I did. The clouds and colors set the tone for the rest of the birdhouse.

You can see the layers of hills as
I moved up the mountain. The flowers
would come next.

Next the flowers were saddened
increasing the feeling of depth.

     On both the foreground and the mid-mountains I used a feathered brush that gave me many thin lines for grass and was used for the rocky stones in the mountains. It worked well. To capture the ruggedness of the snow I used a palette knife and was so pleased with the effect I also used it to suggest the craggy mountains going dark on dark. Finally, with the addition of the flowers you could see the white flowers set off against the darker Alpine setting. As they were filled in and the florets of yellow added and dots of golden yellow and magenta across the field near the base I achieved the look I wanted.

The solid green base helped but
something was missing.

Painting  the base like the birdhouse base
completed the look tying it together

 The last problem was the base itself. What to do? I finally painted it a solid deep green but was not happy. I got out the cut feathered brush and repeated the strokes used on the lower birdhouse. The effect was perfect for capturing the base of the birdhouse.  

      Now, what to do with the bottom? Since they were planning on hanging it I decided to paint the very bottom with a large edelweiss so that no matter how it was viewed all the sides were painted, something you rarely ever see in a painting. I think I achieved what I set out to achieve and the reaction from the soon-to-be owner was very positive.

No space is neglected. A large edelweiss
graces the bottom of ALPINE EDELWEISS BIRDHOUSE

   I used a variety of paints mostly DecoArt or Plaid. I like Plaid for its dense opaque colors, however, it tends the thicken faster than most other craft acrylic paints.

     I guess I proved to myself that you can have it both ways, a 3D scene that when viewed on an object looks like a painting glued to a 6 sided form. Never say never until you give it a try!

    I am so pleased with this I am trying a variation in the round. No matter how many you try, even with the same design they each have a wonderfully unique, distinct personality.

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

The TIGER KING Phenomenon

Joe Exotic and Tiger friend

     It seems that during every crisis there is something that catches our attention as a distraction from the thing we are really facing. 9/11, earthquakes here in California - we had one near Palm Springs last night, runs on the stock market, riots and wars somewhere in the world focus our attention on something grim. We often need a distraction to look away if only for a brief time. Days after 9/11 and the unrelenting covering of that tragedy, I remember we went to see the movie RAT RACE. Silly yes, but I got two hours away from reality and some good belly laughs to boot. This worldwide Pandemic is no exception. While I can't speak of what people in China or Italy, France or Spain are watching, reading or doing in their time of "shelter-in-place," I do know what America is watching. 

Viewing Netflix documentary JOE EXOTIC: Murder, Mayhem
& Madness

     People in the United States and even maybe around the Netflix world are watching TIGER KING: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. This seven part, mini-series, a form of docudrama made for Netflix is so wild and well, crazy, that no fiction writer could make this stuff up! 

     It relates the tale of Joe Exotic, a Gay renegade combination of Oklahoma cowboy, Gay queen, animal lover and snake oil salesman who created a larger than life persona. Truly, there has never been someone quite like this. 

     Born Joseph Schreibvogel (A German name that translates to "writing bird") Joe Exotic among other names, legally took the names of his last two husbands so legally he was Joe Maldonado-Passage.

     This docudrama chronicles his beyond reality lifestyle, one so bizarre that as detestable as he and many of his competitors are, you just can't turn away. Why? Because you simply can't believe what you are seeing not only just from him but from some of his competitors and the fact that there are more exotic tigers living in the United States than in the wild. Unacceptable!

Carole Baskin, Joe's nemesis of
BIG CAT RESCUE in Florida

     Joe manages to gather them in Wynnewood, OK, a bleak place in the middle of Oklahoma that apparently gave no oversight to his G.W. Zoo. Joe's nemesis is Carole Baskin, who runs BIG CAT RESCUE in Florida who in her own right is a suspicious and shady character. She tries to shut Joe down thinking he is profiting from the breeding and selling of his 200 Tigers, lions, cheetahs and a whole bunch of other wild creatures.

    Baskin is no saint. Her millionaire husband disappears after their marriage and she suddenly has a fortune to continue their rescue of big cats. The husband is never found (Joe speculates that the body was fed to the big cats in Baskin's care) and we learn that she makes a healthy profit pleading for volunteers to help run her own zoo (that are not paid) acting like a 60's flowerchild. She and Joe have a web presence and they capitalize on it. The images of her with a wreath of flowers in her hair, flowing blouses, with animal prints everywhere - house, clothes, vehicles, she tries to create an image of a loving, caring woman. She is not.

Joe with two of his five husbands

      Joe is no stranger to the matrimonial aisle. He meets his first husband in the 1980's, a bouncer at a Gay bar who dies in 2001 from HIV complications. In 2003 he meets another 19 year-old, John Findlay. Joe, Findlay and Travis Maldonado marry in 2014 (you see the wedding tape). Travis may be straight but is enticed to stay for pot and toys. He accidentally shots himself in the G.W. Zoo gift shop while talking with Joe's campaign manager. Finally Dillion is found on Grindr and in 2017 they marry. Gives new meaning to ménage a très, no? Some say Travis and Dillion were straight.

Joe ran for President and when that failed
for the governor of Oklahoma. He got 19% of the vote!

     The animosity builds and Joe gets distracted. He runs for President then Oklahoma governor getting 19% of the vote in a campaign you might only see in an X-rated movie house. He blatantly copies Big Cat Rescue's logo, makes threats online about killing Baskin. The final straw and the one that got him in jail was his attempt to have Baskin murdered. He gave $3,000 to one of his employees to make the hit, but the employee, no stranger to the legal system and prison, takes the money and had a good time before returning. Nevertheless Joe was tried, found guilty for that and Federal Game law violations and is currently serving 22 years.

    How much money can there be in holding big cats? I saw an article today that estimates that Joe, today, is still worth $10 million. That's a lot of cats!

     The draw though is that, well, it's utterly disgusting and mesmerizing. I have long been a non-fiction fan because you just can't make this stuff up! It seems that people and events stagger the mind that until they happen, make us unable to consider, even think about. It's a train wreck from beginning to end and, like a crash on the freeway, we just can't look away. I would even question that you could "design" this, but as you watch you clearly see it was. Every step was choreographed with, however, not a clear ending in sight.

   Except for the murder-for-hire attempt, is Exotic any different from Buffalo Bill Cody? Or the Ringling Brothers? They had wild beasts they exploited making money off the public paying terrible wages as they tintilated the public while fattening their wallets. While Joe may have paid his employees less than minimum wage he did give people, many felons, a second chance. Baskin, wealthy in her own right, uses "volunteers" for free and lived a pretty good lifestyle, wealthy herself. So who was living off the fatted hog?

Maybe he should have called himself Joe Cody
or Joe Ringling. Truthfully is / was there
any difference?

   We have a month more, at least here in California, to "shelter-in-place." Look at the murder and mayhem and take your mind off CORVID-19!!! It couldn't be a better distraction for a truly American story, maybe even the story of the American dream.

  This documentary also highlights the perils and danger of these "private" zoos, shelters ... whatever you want to call them. We need to remember that wild animals are, well, wild! One of the cats nearly bites off the arm off one of his employees, others are scratched and mauled. He was lucky. Here in California a "pet" wild chimp literally bit the face off its friend and handler. It had been there for years when suddenly ..... More than we should, we read about or see and hear stories of patrons getting killed or maimed in private zoos, far more often than an official zoo. As I said, these are WILD animals and you can never let your guard down. Why do we go? The thrill, the danger? Clearly the folks visiting any "shelter" or private zoo could be putting their own lives in danger. However, if someone puts on a show, there will be an audience. Making a buck is the American way.

The "Donald" as Joe. Rumors on Facebook said junior
compared himself to Joe. Someone took him up
on a potential look alike. But, it's all fake news, right?
Remember his ancestors were German and his
mother was Scottish and his wives Slvenian.

    Remember, a good many American heroes of the past on closer inspection today could be considered murderers, cheats, land grabbers, crooks, sexual predators. This modern era looks at things very differently TODAY as they did back THEN. It's only now that we are re-writing what is and is NOT acceptable. Consider ... Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, the glass ceiling, the good old boy network, equality for African Americans, women, the LGBTQ community, the faces of immigration, even religion! 

     As much as many in this country would love to believe this is a "white" country the reality was we never were. There were already people here, we forcibly brought people from Africa, and not a few either. Immigrants came from England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany at first then the flood came from everywhere. Each wave was never welcomed. The Chinese were brought to build our railroads and forced to return to China. Mexicans were good enough to pick our crops but not to live here, at least not permanently. It's happened to them all. We didn't want Catholic Irish or Italians, Jews were marginalized, Nordic folks were only good for the lumber industry. The list goes on and on.

     Here in California we are to shelter-in-place until the end of April after already doing it for two weeks. So I say, why not? It's better than the show in D.C.

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

To Keurig Or NOT To Keurig, That IS The Question!

How we start our day!

     I have been a coffee drinker most of my life. I guess you could say I started in college because of the all nighters I would pull for my various Journalism classes and a memorable Philosophy 101 class where the dean finding out there were so many graduating seniors made us work like we were getting our masters! At least I didn't learn to smoke. I can remember editors at the student newspaper with a cigarette in their mouths and another in the nearby ashtray.

     And, at the good old age of 74 I watched the rise of Starbucks, Peet's and who knows who else. I never liked Starbucks, the regular coffee was too bitter, the lines went on forever and the cost was high and kept on increasing. I would marvel the few times I would go, usually at an airport, and be flabbergasted at the orders of the loyal patrons. I would ask myself, "How did they learn to order all that stuff? And all in one cup? Five bucks? Really?" Usually I would hunt down the McDonald's that actually had pretty good coffee that was faster to get and far cheaper. I don't want to buy the store!!!

I tried it again. It takes forever on an electric stove.

     Coffee though does evoke many emotions. People I've known over the years have all kinds of rituals in the storage and preparation of coffee. I can remember my grandmother always had a pot on the stove, drank it black and there was always pieces of eggshell in the grounds. Why? Who knows. That's the way they did it in South Dakota.

   For many years we had a Faberware percolator that could make 12 cups. It actually make good coffee, nothing fancy but strong enough to make you realize you were drinking a good, smooth, strong cup of coffee. I guess in around the 80's we got our first drip coffee maker. It was a bit faster and the coffee was ok. When I had my own business and often worked at home, I could easily drink half a pot and maybe more. It kept me going between taking the kids to school, calling on accounts, working on graphic design projects, picking up the kids and finally around 8 each night, running out of steam

Good old Mr. Coffee. You could even set it
to have the coffee ready when you woke up!

     I never needed an alarm. I just woke up at 4:00 am, made coffee, worked a bit, walked the dog, then got ready for the day. A cup would follow me in the truck as I took the kids to school and the ritual started all over again.

      I first became aware of the Keurig device from friends. It was a quantum design change in coffee delivery. There is always a childless couple in everyone's life and they were the first to have one. It was simple ... make sure there was water in the reservoir, put in one of the little white cups, select an ounce size for your cup and wait. It isn't fast. In fact I could make a 12 cup pot in about the same time this thing makes one cup.

     It sounds like a great deal until you look at the prices. They begin to approach Starbuck prices! I compared prices for Folgers that at a cost of (hopefully) $9.99 at Costco gives you about 260 cups of coffee per the pod price at the same store. Folgers runs you about 4¢ a cup depending on the current cost of coffee beans and can be more for fancier coffees including Starbucks in either ground or unground bags. The cheapest K-cup I have seen was 31¢ a cup with prices climbing to $1.61 each! If you don't believe me, go look at Costco. They have thoughtfully done the price comparisons for you.

Keurig B-2000

     Then there's the cost of the Keurig. It was originally developed for offices as a replacement for the dreaded pot of coffee that lingered all day on some burner that by 3:00 pm was strong enough to grow hair on the bald. However, it's one advantage, a good fresh cup of coffee also had a disadvantage, it took several minutes to brew a cup.

Early home use Keurig.
K-cups were part of the system.

       At some point people that used them at work began to agitate for coffeemakers they could use at home. The company was started in 1990 by Peter Dragone and John Sylvan. At one point they were a division of the Green Mountain Coffee bean company. It took until 2004 to create a machine that would be used at home. However, the K-cup was developed for offices in 1998 but became an integral part of the Keurig coffee system everywhere it was used.

     The patent for the K-cup expired in 2012 and the stampede was on. Unable to make the fat profits of before Green Mountain sold the company to an investor group that then sold it to Dr. Pepper for $18.7 billion. Keurig is such an important part of this company they changed the same to Keurig Dr.Pepper. In fact it was so lucrative Keurig tried in 2015 to introduce Keurig 2.0 that could only use licensed K-cups shutting out anyone that wouldn't pay royalties. There were so many complaints and threatened boycotts that it was soon withdrawn.

Take your choice. Everybody is making K-cups in every price range.

     But, I digress. I have used the Keurig at friends but being a coffeeholic I didn't want one. If I drank say 5 cups a day, my old totals, it would cost me $2.50 a day, each and every day, something I wasn't able to afford when I first moved to Palm Springs. However, after the move I realized that I was only drinking one or two cups a day, usually my first cup talking to a friend overseas. The need for and even the desire for more coffee seemed to have dissipated. I found that I was leaving more than half of the pot left each day. I would heat some up the next day in the microwave but as we all know it was well past it's prime.

     The other hindrance was the cost of the Keurig. Even the cheapest model with basically nothing to do but make one cup of coffee cost $100. You could buy a fancy Mr. Coffee for half and on Black Friday Sales a quarter of that. It was a little messier, yes, you had to dump the grounds each day but the cost was much, MUCH cheaper. And the grounds could be composted.

The Ambiano system:
K-cup holder, coffee filter

There is a lot of
coffee splatter 

     About a month ago, Aldi, the German grocery chain that has taken America by storm had a sale on a Keurig knockoff. For $30 you got the maker, the ability to use your own coffee or use a K-pod and a reservoir to hold enough water for several cups of coffee. You could chose 8 oz. and 16 oz. cup sizes. I bought one.

     It has actually been a fun adventure. You can get K-cups for every imaginable coffee, tea and even hot chocolate. But I also have noticed that it is a bit messy. As the water drips into the cup it splashes both in the cup and around the machine onto the counter. The cheapest K-cups I found after comparing prices at Costco, Aldi, Walmart and Amazon is about 20¢ a cup. And that coffee would be considered marginal by dedicated coffee drinkers. Each cup takes about 2 minutes set at 16 oz. and fills my cups at least to the brim. It's good I guess and other than wiping the counter each time, is simple.

9 billion a year end up in the dump.

     The downside to the K-cup however, is that it is estimated over 9 billion cups are sold each year. They consist of a plastic tub, coffee and a foil top that is punctured to release the coffee. It goes into the trash, then the landfill where it will live forever ... well, not maybe forever but for a long long time. It is so far not environmentally friendly by any stretch of the imagination. Sylvan, the inventor was quoted as saying that he wished now he had never invented the cup because it was terrible on the environment.

     So ... right now I have several drip coffee machines, an on the stove percolator that easily takes f  o  r  e  v  e  r, a French press in two sizes, an electric kettle for instant coffee and the Ambiaco K-cup coffee maker. I have only been using the Ambiaco for a few weeks now ... actually since the shelter in place order from the California governor. That though is another story! There really is no winner and I use one of these when the mood strikes me. Instant coffee is quite good these days (some) and the K-cup is a simple alternative as well. I do like that I can use any coffee I buy at a substantially cheaper cost though I admit it's not as simple as popping a cup in the holder, selecting the cup size and letting it rip ... actually drip.

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

   

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...."

 

   The opening words of THE TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens have ricocheted through my thoughts since about the beginning of the the COVID-19 crisis.

French Revolution

     Describing "the terror" of the French Revolution in 1789, a sad and far more violent revolution than the American version that spawned, it nevertheless offers words to address our current 21st Century.

     The 21st Century has not been kind to humankind. Starting with the great computer blackout in 2000 because no one thought to consider a new century of date counting with millions of Microsoft Window Computers, the soon to follow Internet crash of 2001-2002, a kind of new age Ponzi scheme, to the effects of 9/11 that changed the way we viewed travel and ourselves forever. The iPhone in 2007, a device David Pogue said would change everything and we, at Macworld in January of 2007 thought Steve Jobs and crew had smoked too much something in Silicon Valley. (Pogue was right, the iPhone and Android DID change everything in ways we still don't understand now). From China we had SARS, and MERS and H1N1, and now of course, COVID-19. Global warming became a reality from the scientists abstract as vast changes in weather and climate stalked the earth. Huge swathes of industry quit camp at home and went to China and other places in search of cheaper labor and more profits. Because of the ensuing pandemic world trade is coming to a standstill. Stock market exchanges around the world have crashed and so far 1/3 of all wealth has vanished overnight.

Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans under water

     We had terrible hurricanes and blizzards, historic floods, the population of the world seemed to be on the move, never-ending wars, democratic governments increasingly seem to fall before strongmen, some letting go and others holding on at a terrible human price, one economic rupture that nearly brought the world down in 2008-2009 and is now being brought down again by a pandemic. And to think, all this in only 20 years.

     Christians will find many words in their Bible about change. And let there be NO doubt, we are witnessing one of the biggest changes in humankind's history. One portion of the Bible that comes to mind to me is Ecclestiastes 3:1-8: For everything there is a season, and a time for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (NIV).

See No Evil!

     Wise words but hardly comforting. Of soberer thought are Lincoln's words during the Civil War: "Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared with the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good."

 Many wise men and women have predicted these times. Eric Toffler predicted in the 1990's that the 21st Century would have the biggest migration of people than ever before in the history of the world. The great philosopher Santana wisely said, "Those who forget history are condemned to relive it. Even Gladstone in 1795 said, "The only thing necessary for evil to persist is for good men to do nothing."

Border issues are far greater than the US and Mexico.
Here immigrants try to get into Hungary!

     As I sit writing, sheltered in place, it is hard to accept the changes that are daily changing my life. Blame and counter blame is thrown around the world. Can we call it a Chinese pandemic? Is that racist? A Chinese friend, no less, noted when this started by asking, "why do all these terrible illnesses come from China and not, well, India?" Why? In this century four have erupted there and started to spread. This recent outbreak has been fast and devastating.

 XI: Pooh Bear No More

Even if the Chinese government doesn't accept blame for poor sanitary conditions is its many outdoor markets, I find it interesting that today, finally, the government gave a formal apology to both the family and co-workers of Dr. Li, the young eye doctor who blew the whistle about a new virus and paid for it with his life. Police who were involved in the attempted coverup are being punished but as the saying goes, too little too late! When I asked another Chinese friend about how this can happen he noted that there are many laws, even more than here but rather then enforcing them it's more of a Mafia style shakedown.

Is this our future of staying in place?
Wuhan interchange in a city of 11 million.

     WIRED magazine had a fascinating article years ago telling how a pandemic would spread. They said it would reach the entire world in 48 hours because, well, too many people travel around the world at any one time. While not exactly following the predicted path it has reached the entire world. And in places where it shouldn't.

China is already bailing out banks

     The blame, if there is really any to be had, is that we have all become interdependent, just as the breakdown in supply chains has clearly shown. While the west has cheerfully moved all it's production to China to let them deal with the smog and political fallout there, they have given up the right to call the shots in search of the cheapest price. Only it's not so cheap anymore if you can't get it. 
    The rise of far more aggressive governments, the rising cost of labor and transportation already had some looking for a new nest to roost in, places like Viet Nam, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, even countries in the Middle East. After this, it will most likely go from a trickle to a stampede. Companies simply cannot let themselves be caught again without an alternative source.

     And it isn't only the United States that has been living beyond it's means. China has a banking and real estate problem so deep that should it fail, as it clearly could in this crisis, Wall Street will have seen nothing yet. We might be glad of "only" losing a third of our wealth. Consider this, it took the stock of General Motors (GM) until 1953 to regain the value it had when Wall Street crashed in 1929. That's right, 24 years. 

Christmas? No, hoarding.

   What is even more inexcusable is the hoarding of important things the very doctors and medical people need are being hoarded just like the toilet paper we clearly do not need. Despite assurances that there is food, more than ample supplies, try to find milk, eggs, flour, spaghetti, and many canned goods. I went to four stores to get eggs, milk and flour. I got eggs in one, milk in another and never found flour of any normal kind.

     We are scared and we have a right to be. However, we also need to keep level heads and follow the guidelines given to us by the CDC. Sadly our present administration, like the Chinese decided to ignore it, then say it was a hoax perpetrated by the Democrats before the numbers of infected and death tolls started to rise and could not be ignored any longer.

     Could it have been avoided? Many health officials say yes. China should have jumped on it at the first reports. President Xi it turns out knew about it two weeks before publicly acknowledging it. As America watched passengers get picked off one by one in the marooned cruise ship in Japan, with many Americans aboard, where one case ballooned to over 700, our government also did nothing. A friend in the shipping business said get them off! Ships have some of the worst filtration systems in the world. If one passenger had it, their virus got sucked into the ducts and was redistributed through the entire ship. It was, in effect a petri dish for the virus. As I write this cruise ships all over the world are being denied docks, even if there are no cases onboard for fear of it coming there.

San Francisco with all sheltering in place

       I do know one thing though, the blame game is not going to heal the sick or create a vaccine or treatments to save either the dying or prevent us from getting it. However this turns out, with the entire world working for this one virus it may open the pathway to cure all viruses in ways individually we have been unable to do in the past. United we stand, divided we fall.

     And yes,  we have "designed" the dilemma that we are in today. Supply chains, shipping, trade and manufacturing are all manmade events. They have thoughtfully been designed for the greatest profit. However, events have shown that not all contingencies have been thought out. I suspect that this will change. One thing is for sure though, the world will never be the same again.

     Shelter in place and wash those hands. We must all do what we can to stop a pandemic that cares not for race, or religion, sexual orientation, rich or poor. It is an equal opportunity killer at worst and has the potential to stop the world.

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!