The semiotics of Nescafé

To all of you who have arrived here recently via Google, trying, apparently, to understand the semiotics of that series of Nescafé ads where a man and the woman borrow instant coffee, exchange meaningful looks, and converse archly, before finally getting to the romantic part: Welcome! It's not really what we're about, here, but you're certainly welcome to rummage around a bit. Perhaps (they said... archly) we can give you other ideas...

Solo III

Wednesday, June -, 20-

Independent c-shop

Overheard:


Last time I was in the UK I noticed an upsurge in coffeeshops
I remember a place that used to roast coffee and the smell was wonderful, out in the street
When I was a boy
I used to walk by there on the way to school
One of those childhood memories
Then coffee went the way of... everything went to instant
Instant coffee bars, Nescafe and this stuff with crystals
I left the UK in my early twenties

Starbucks over there a lot now
A lot of these chains
Yeah they’re starting to do real coffee again
It’s not just about the coffee, it’s going in, sitting down, reading the newspaper
Everything comes back around again
There’s nothing new
Samuel Johnson
My memories of Turkish coffee
The smaller the cup, the stronger the coffee

One place we were looking for ping pong balls
Try to explain ping pong balls to
We decided to send a couple of kids to look for them, pay the kids to
A girl who was six and a boy who was probably three
Talked to the parents and they shoved the boy forward, he was clueless
We wanted the girl to go
Finally managed to explain to the parents what we wanted
Five Egyptian pounds, their eyes were wide
We walked by the store, how’d they know there were ping pong balls here
Anyway we saw the kids later walking up with baskets of kale and greens
Obviously spent their five pounds
Interesting how they kept pushing the boy forward
Nothing wrong with having the girl do it
Encourage equality wherever possible

I remember went in for a shave
There was a little kid with a cutthroat razor
I was a little perturbed
What’s your name, son, Sweeney?
It was a very close shave, a good shave

Even if you’re aware of the local customs, you’re not always aware of what your travelling companions are doing or not doing, so that can be a problem

Solo observation

Tuesday, May -, 20-

Ottawa South BH

Overheard:

Boom boom boom, b-boom b-bah

Cymbal clash

Klatter, chatter

C’est comme une...

This is why

Funny story

Only John would organize a huge

For Louise in Sudbury

Wah wah

Yeah exactly

Subdued roar

Further reflections

The fairest trade of them all...?

Two or more years ago, I clearly recall the since-departed 5th Muse stating her belief that Bridgehead was a fine place for her to be.

Partly because she judged the male patrons cute. More particularly because she'd reasoned that, since they were buying fair trade coffee, they must be possessed of developed social consciences. Therefore, they'd make good dates. Like all idealistic generalizations, this one seemed and seems problematic.

Yet. Yet. How many people patronize Bridgehead because they believe it to support their values? How many - secretly or overtly - hope to meet a suitable partner there, presumably self-screened to share their deeper values? If BH merely marketed beverages and snacks, the well-coiffed, well-dressed lovelorn could as easily line up to suck budget-conscious double-doubles and Ice Caps amid the luridly utilitarian fluorescent and arborite ethos of Tim Horton's.

They do not. Not when I'm there.

So it may be that what BH really sells is simultaneously more important and less concrete - a localized zeitgeist/gestalt/tribal affiliation that appeals to a specific demographic, in search of an atmosphere that will appear to reinforce very specific things about themselves. The team owes it to art and science to observe and explore these phenomena in their puzzling inferential multiplicity.

I must end this journal entry, though, with a salutary warning to myself and Pandora to be cautious about leaping to premature conclusions. It may be best to refer to a long-ago Elgin Street Irregulars weblog posting:

"I wonder whether the Muse is equipped to navigate the unseen pitfalls of her own ideals? And I think to myself that... she's trying. But does she have any reliable maps or guides? The soul is a very large continent..."