Lunch With George!

June 20, 2002 - Wildflower Bread Company

Agenda

• Cows for New York
• Sirius
• Hooray Beer!
• Spyderco

Cows for New York

George was telling me about the most touching and valuable gift to the city of New York in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks:

A village of relatively impoverished Masai (in Kenya) donated 14 of their cows to the United States as a token of their sympathy for the terrible losses suffered there.

The Masai elders handed the cattle over to the U.S. Ambassador among the mud huts of Enoosaen, where hundereds of Masai had gathered. They held banners reading "To the people of America, we give these cows to help you." According to a report from ABC News, this is the ultimate gift the Masai can give-- they live in an isolated village with no electricity, phones, or paved roads. They depend totally on their cattle for their diet.

It seems that the U.S. State Department, when asked what they would do with the cows, replied they would probably sells them, since transporting cattle would be difficult. George found this great Op-Ed piece that addresses this unintended insult very well. I just wish I knew what finally happened with the cows!

Giving XM Radio a Run for their Money

George spent a little more time at their site and found that you can listen to their programming over the internet! It's a good way to sample what they have to offer.

I've seen a few articles in magazines discussing the satellite radio market, and noting that both companies are dropping their prices for equipment and installation (but NOT the recurring cost of the monthly access fees, of course).

Hooray Beer!

George and I both had noticed the large, simple billboards for Red Stripe beer proclaiming, "Red Stripe. It's beer. Hooray Beer!" George searched the internet and found the following transcript to one of their radio ads, featuring the friendly Jamaican fellow:

"Yo mon! Buy Red Stripe beer! It's in dee ugly little bottle. Dis bottle be so ugly, if an ugly person stand next to it, he be beautiful! Yo mon, come 'ere. Are you an ugly person? (Well, I wouldn't consider myself...) You dead ugly, mon! Stand next to dis beer. YOU BEAUTIFUL! Red Stripe Beer. It's beer! HOORAY BEER!"

I don't drink beer much, and I don't know if Red Stripe is any good, but I sure enjoy their ads!

 

Spyderco

Spyderco Endura

George really likes the knife, and noted that a Spyderco advertisement listed it "as featured in the blockbuster film Cliffhanger." I saw the movie recently, and sure enough there's old Pa Walton pulling out his Spyderco to cut a skydiver down out of a tree! Cliffhanger may be a terrible movie, but I sure love it when a super-intelligent criminal (played in this case by John Lithgow) is bested by locals when he tries to call the shots in their back yard.