why such a generous offer?

“for over 125 years the wall street journal has been a leading source of global news. and, since 2008, wine lovers across the u.s. have relied on the wsjwine discovery club to drink in-the-know and explore the world of wine with confidence.” ( who writes this stuff? )______________________________________________ the puking buddha and i were perusing the new york times yesterday when an envelope boldly inscribed “a special offer only for the readers of the new york times" dropped out of the artifact…admittedly we have run across the “wsjwine discovery club” before…they drop these “special offers” in the times about once a quarter or so…as we looked over the advertisement a few things struck us…why 2008? could it be that bear stearns’ collapse and a tanking economy persuaded the editors that purveying “news” was not going to be lucrative enough an activity and the time had come to diversify the journal’s economic activities to keep the ship afloat? certainly “the news” is not what it used to be…it was always biased no matter what the source, but its function as an economic activity was beginning to falter…so much competition for the hearts and minds…so many products being flogged out there with fox and msnbc barking down viewers like carnies to sell them “the facts” and set them on a “right-thinking” path perhaps print was foundering and new areas need to be explored…and the journal’s media moguls were not the only ones thinking along the lines of mind numbing substances for readers…the new york times. rolling stone, and the nation all have “wine clubs” ( not to mention the fucking nra…they have one too although one would have thought a “beer club” more appropriate )…the media have reached a bad patch these days…no one knows what’s what and they all have an agenda ( and a product ) to sell…from left to right they are hawking social wisdom and the proper mind set for the “new reality” of our “new, happy life”…and minds softened by the waste product of yeast devouring sugar are more malleable and ripe for indoctrination...and the wall street journal is willing to take a $180 hit just to get you started down that road…my “wine voucher” is going into the archives...i gave up yeast shit long ago…you may indulge as you see fit in that substance...i am not the final arbiter of behavior...i would suggest that you leave political and social thought for more a cogent moment however…there are enough fruit loops exercising bad judgment out there already.

selling is a cultural norm

it is a given that the wall street journal has no clue about my personal history...and if they did they wouldn't much care how their forays into the commercial world would or would not impact my perceptions...business is business and damn the consumer's sensibilities..the n y times might, if they mined their archive have a bit better idea stemming from comments i have made concerning some howlers they have published regarding addictive behaviors...they probably won't...so it came as not much of a surprise when the envelope with "new york times' printed on it fell out of my copy of friday's paper containing this:

some printed matter extolling the qualities and economies wjs wines can provide the readers of the new york times...and:

a couple of vouchers that would allow me to take $240 off the top of the cost of my first two orders..it would be easy to go off on a rant about the elitist nature of wine and the true constituency both the ny times and the wall street journal aim at while insisting they are news sources for the everyman and not commercial enterprises with a distinct bias...that would be beside the point..there are some people who can snuggle up to a glass of wine, drink it, and then move on to something else...not me...i never understood the logic of an open bottle that wasn't empty...and i am still deeply prone to immoderate behaviors...that won't go away..but i learned a long time ago how much harm the darker side of alcohol does to me and those near me..the n y times and the wall street journal don;t care about that...neither does society at large...as a sub-culture we are pretty much on our own in this...even the "health care professionals" are comprehending only in a textbook manner...they lack experience...no fault of theirs and it is experience they should probably avoid..without it however they just don't get it...never will...end rant...hang tough...peace out people.