The Musings of Brian Groce

So when is the 2008 Valentines Day candy going to appear? I’m having a hankering for Sweet Tart Hearts and buying over priced flowers, aren’t you?

OK, I’m being a little sarcastic (maybe not about the candy part), but is it just me or are the retailers truly pushing out the various “holiday” merchandise much quicker than before? I began to see “back-to-school” supplies in early July (presumably to make way for the upcoming “seasonal” items), Halloween costumes and candy in late August (at both Target and Wal-Mart) and Christmas merchandise in mid-September (at Target and I’d assume the same at Wal-Mart and other similar retailers). Then in yesterday’s paper I saw Halloween and Christmas items in the Kohl’s ad on the same page. (Apparently fall/harvest/Thanksgiving is all lumped together with Halloween.)

Being a “marketing type” and knowing that Halloween and Christmas merchandise are both huge money makers for retailers, I can understand why you’d want these items in front of customers as long as possible. But it’s a little creepy looking at graveyards, skeletons, zombies, mummies, witches, werewolves, vampires, bats, rats, spiders and disembodied heads in crystal balls while hearing Bing Crosby singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” in the background. But maybe it’s just me…

This ad is from the coupon section found in the Sunday Indianapolis Star in October 2007.   Simple, nice use of color, and most importantly, it’s going to “save” me a dollar.  (I ran out of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups today, so it’s time to restock.)

Who hasn’t been disappointed with food that looks great in an advertisement, yet doesn’t quite live up to expectations? Well, this pictorial page confirms what we already knew about the look of the food.

Now if only there were a way to do the same thing with the taste of the food…as my least “favorite” restaurant says, “Everyone Deserves a Good Meal.” Now if only they (and many others) could only deliver on that promise the world would be a better place.

Luckily Yats! never disappoints and I’m salivating at the thought as I type this. It may not be “pretty”, but boy do they have some fine Cajun/Creole food at an excellent price.

Oh, and did I mention that I’m not typically a “picky eater”? I’ll try most anything (reasonable) at least once, with the exception of the non-starchy vegetables, and I actively seek out non-chain eateries. I think I’ll have to blog my list of local eats some day. Until then, parents, don’t let your children eat crappy food. And please don’t subject your friends and family to it either. That just wouldn’t be nice.

Apparently my oldest son really likes Marshmallow Peeps heads…

…either that, or they looked at him funny.

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