bezerkeley

Boing Boing had a post about Berkeley Bowl a couple of days ago. Berkeley Bowl is the famous supermarket (mini-chain? Aren't there a couple now?) that has inadequate parking, overpriced grocery basics, and amazing produce. The latter is the reason we occasionally shopped there when we lived in Oakland...That is, of course, until I decided the amazing produce no longer outweighed all the things I disliked about the place, not to mention the fact that it was a bit of a commute. One thing the article points out that I find questionable, however, if my memory serves me well, is the store's "one-strike-and-you're-out-for-life policy against people who sample without buying." I could absolutely count on encountering at least one person every trip who was standing in line munching on a loaf of bread that was sold by the pound or sampling an olive from the gourmet olive bar. Then again, it's been many years since I've been to the Bowl so perhaps they've cracked down on these shoppers during that time. Here's a quote from the article: "Raphael Breines, who was ejected last year for eating on the premises, said he couldn't decide between two types of apricots, so he sampled both." Seriously?! What's wrong with you people?!

Anyway, on a completely unrelated note, I feel compelled to mention, since I blogged about it previously, that I am not in fact teaching a class this semester at Emerson. It's a long story that I don't need to go into; just felt I should take it "off the record," so to speak.