An Angry Man and his Williams-Sonoma Catalog

[vitauta]

since i don't have an espresso machine, i had to brew me another mug of keurig's hazelnut coffee--very nice, btw, enjoying it immensely. but, i sometimes wish i was able to make myself a cup of espresso at home anytime i want. and it is not such a simple thing to go out for a cup of espresso, a seriously authentic or worthwhile one that is, whenever the mood strikes. think i'll take a look around during this time of sales, and see what's out there. what brand coffee do you like, tl, for your machine? do you really follow up an espresso with a morning coffee, tl? i don't understand....

 

[taxlady]

since i don't have an espresso machine, i had to brew me another mug of keurig's hazelnut coffee--very nice, btw, enjoying it immensely. but, i sometimes wish i was able to make myself a cup of espresso at home anytime i want. and it is not such a simple thing to go out for a cup of espresso, a seriously authentic or worthwhile one that is, whenever the mood strikes. think i'll take a look around during this time of sales, and see what's out there. what brand coffee do you like, tl, for your machine? do you really follow up an espresso with a morning coffee, tl? i don't understand....

I meant that my espresso allongé is my first cup of coffee and the espresso machine isn't so complicated that I can't make that espresso before having coffee.

Recently I have been buying Lavazza Rossa and sometimes Oro. But, any coffee you like, that is ground for espresso should make a good cup of espresso. I prefer brown coffee to black. It has more aroma and isn't as bitter. I noticed that you can get Lavazza for Keurig.

 

[vitauta]

thanks, tl. my coffee is as important to me as dessert is to most other folks. maybe even more so. guess i'll go for one last one....

 

[jessecar]

I have a lovely espresso machine that I paid about US$1300 for. It is a semi commercial machine made in Italy. I also have a decent separate grinder that does a pretty good job too.

Fortunately in Australia we have plenty of boutique roasters so I purchase freshly roasted beans from my favourite each week when I go shopping.

When a person feels a need to describe something in their life with foul language, it tells me that there is a serious lack of education in the English language department. The parents and school system failed this person. Certainly not qualified for any job that requires a written report.

Addie, I think you may have misjudged me.

I had wonderful parents who taught me right from wrong and not to judge others. They encouraged me to be the best I could be and that I could achieve whatever I set my mind to. They also taught me to look beyond how someone looks or the words they use as what is important is the deeds they do and how they treat others.

I have two degrees, one a Bachelor of English literature, the other a Bachelor of Nursing with First Class Honours. I am soon to commence a Graduate Diploma in Intensive Care Nursing. Once completing that, I hope to commence a PhD in Nursing Science.

I am the first and only woman in my family to have attended University.

I also teach and mentor undergraduate nursing students and as part of this I have to write reports on their progress.

I smile every day. I do more than smile at the elderly people in my community. I chat with them and help them get on and off the bus and with their shopping.

I also swear. I do not apologise for my use of expletives because in my profession the occasional expletive, in a small room away from patients, is better then strangling them.

 

[Addie]

I have a lovely espresso machine that I paid about US$1300 for. It is a semi commercial machine made in Italy. I also have a decent separate grinder that does a pretty good job too.

Fortunately in Australia we have plenty of boutique roasters so I purchase freshly roasted beans from my favourite each week when I go shopping.



Addie, I think you may have misjudged me.

I had wonderful parents who taught me right from wrong and not to judge others. They encouraged me to be the best I could be and that I could achieve whatever I set my mind to. They also taught me to look beyond how someone looks or the words they use as what is important is the deeds they do and how they treat others.

I have two degrees, one a Bachelor of English literature, the other a Bachelor of Nursing with First Class Honours. I am soon to commence a Graduate Diploma in Intensive Care Nursing. Once completing that, I hope to commence a PhD in Nursing Science.

I am the first and only woman in my family to have attended University.

I also teach and mentor undergraduate nursing students and as part of this I have to write reports on their progress.

I smile every day. I do more than smile at the elderly people in my community. I chat with them and help them get on and off the bus and with their shopping.

I also swear. I do not apologise for my use of expletives because in my profession the occasional expletive, in a small room away from patients, is better then strangling them.

My apologies. You certainly have chosen a very difficult profession. My youngest is a PA. He too is the first to graduate from a University. Starting January 1st, he will be teaching at Boston University and one day a week working in the ER at BMC. He has chosen Emergency Medicine and loves it.

I just hope that there is always an small empty room nearby for you. You are so right. There are definitely times when there is a need for it. I just learned very quickly when working in a business environment not to swear. And I made sure I didn't hear my kids swear also. They used to tell their friends to watch their mouth or my mother will throw you out.

The person who posted the missive about WS had no need for using such language. I really don't think a catalog is a very good reason for his chosen words. There are worse things in life to get upset about that foul language is the only thing to express your anger or upset.

One time I gave myself a nasty cut. The kind that required sutures. I let out a loud F word. My kids came running in to see what happened. They were more shocked to hear that come out of my mouth than showing concern for my cut. We have a resident in the building, that has one of the foulest mouths I have heard in years. What really bothers me is that her whole career was working with kids. The words just tumble out of her mouth like she is asking you to pass the salt. I just stay away from her as much as I can.

Please accept my apology.

 

[vitauta]

I meant that my espresso allongé is my first cup of coffee and the espresso machine isn't so complicated that I can't make that espresso before having coffee.

Recently I have been buying Lavazza Rossa and sometimes Oro. But, any coffee you like, that is ground for espresso should make a good cup of espresso. I prefer brown coffee to black. It has more aroma and isn't as bitter. I noticed that you can get Lavazza for Keurig.

when I looked up lavazza rossa coffees, I found that what looked like k cups, werem't. they were some kind of coffee pods that work only in lavazza machines. too bad, so sad, lavazza espresso machines are in the thousand dollar and up price range, not an expense I can even begin to seriously consider at this time. the quality and taste of lavazzas coffees receive the very highest marks, from numerous appreciative reviewers. one day....

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Addie and Jessecar, I think you both presented in a wonderful way your own points of view and show a better understanding each other's as well.

I think writing on the internet is one of the most difficult ways to communicate, as there is no representation for voice inflection, emotion, gestering with our hands, tone of voice, facial expression and all the things that make up communication. It is not just words, and emoticons do not always serve as a replacement.

I am going to offer a 2nd article to compare with the WS catalog. From the NY Times, a restaurant review of Guy Fieri's new restaurant in NYC/ Times Square area. GF has a cooking show Diners Drive Inns and Dives. The article is amusing, sardonic, ironic, witty? , tongue in cheek , and offers all the things in the same vein as the WS article, excpet the author is able to achieve his point of view without using four letter words. Oh, and yes, the NYT review did create a stir in the press and on tv, the same as the perhaps smaller scale WS article does. Sometimes I think writers just write for the attention, not to inform or communicate.

Google

 

[Andy M.]

I have to say I'm surprised at the extent of the reaction to the language used in the article. I don't condone or reject it. I understand it has become a greater part of general usage than in years gone by. I just didn't expect it to take over the thread.

Foul language is less appropriate in some venues than in others. Certainly there are sites on the internet that are worse than this one when it comes to that. Deadspin is probably a site to avoid if you don't want to read language like that. You have to know your audience, so to speak. I believe the article could have been as funny without so much foul language. I also didn't mind it.

What I took away from the article was that it was funny, poking fun at overpriced cooking gear. That is, after all, why it was posted.

 

[SherryDAmore]

I have to say I'm surprised at the extent of the reaction to the language used in the article. I don't condone or reject it. I understand it has become a greater part of general usage than in years gone by. I just didn't expect it to take over the thread.

Foul language is less appropriate in some venues than in others. Certainly there are sites on the internet that are worse than this one when it comes to that. Deadspin is probably a site to avoid if you don't want to read language like that. You have to know your audience, so to speak. I believe the article could have been as funny without so much foul language. I also didn't mind it.

What I took away from the article was that it was funny, poking fun at overpriced cooking gear. That is, after all, why it was posted.

My apologies to all of you who were offended!!! The post I read had been edited. I didn't realize the link left all of those words in! When I saw your posts, I tried to cut and paste the version I read, but because it had too many images in it, it wouldn't let me. Sigh. Sorry. The fellow who wrote this is a very young looking sports blogger.

 

[bakechef]

Coming from New England (Maine) I wasn't used to people reacting to curse words. After moving to the south, I noticed that a lot more people were shocked when I dropped an F bomb. It's just a difference in culture, I guess. I have even had to edit my "clean" curse words here, I used to say "oh crap" and I ended up offending customers at work. My new clean curse word at work is "oh crud!".

I find it interesting that people are offended by words. These are just words that at some point, someone found offensive and it just snowballed from there. These words could have just as easily been "pickle" or "cookie".

I often use them as a stress reliever, nothing like a good strong curse word to blow off some steam.

Of course there is a time and place for everything I guess. I don't find things funny because of curse words, but sometimes in a well written article (not this one in particular) they can enhance the humor.

 

[roadfix]

Good reviews! And I can relate to some of them.

And as for the foul language, DC has come a long way. I remember, even as recently as a couple of years ago this thread would have simply vanished without explanation.

 

[Zereh]

It's grand being an adult and having complete control over what I choose to watch or listen to or read or whatever.

F-bombs don't offend me for the most part. I have even been known to drop a few myself. Judiciously, of course.

 

[Cerise]

Oh my. Now there is a bitter human being. I read about 1/3 of that and just X'd it away. Not funny to me.
How fouL. Enough said.

I agree. Look past the language & read the article in its entirety.