Mythos & Marginalia

2015 – 2025: a decade of days


  • Shame

    We languish in sorrow, or guilt.
    Shame, a common thread, for the treatment of
    the missing and the dead.

    To ignore is to dehumanize, to disregard,
    to disrespect. Historically, we continued to look past
    those not accounted for. Where now?

    Lives lived. Not forgotten, not ever, by
    those who care. Systemic discrimination by those
    with power to overlook a national tragedy.

    No honour. No concern. No political will
    for change. Decades of ignorance. No justice for victims,
    no penalties for perpetrators. Shame.

    © 2019 j.g.lewis

  • Let’s Call A Bean A Bean

    I dropped into a new location of a very familiar coffee shop last night. It wasn’t my regular stop, nor was it the only new location of the same multi-national company that is close to my “regular” place, but it was convenient.

    Along with brewing good coffee, convenience is one of the hallmarks of this chain. You can, pretty much, find a Starbucks anywhere. The bigger the city, the more locations. In Canada, in 2018, there were 1,109 company-owned locations (I know they’ve opened at least two more in 2019). There are more than 8,500 U.S. locations.

    It’s pretty easy to say this is a pretty common brand, popular with a lot of people. Starbucks’ revenues topped $22 billion in 2017.

    I’m not going to call this brand my favorite coffee, or favorite place, but it is consistent. Open at 5:30 a.m. weekdays, should I need an early jolt of caffeine (I often do), I also spend many a Saturday morning and the occasional evening at Starbucks, catching up on my journal or correspondence. I’m writing this right now with my company-branded ceramic take-away cup within close reach.

    As I was writing, last evening, I noticed a company poster on the wall proclaiming that “some of the rarest coffees in the world are now available in your neighbourhood”.

    Now, I can appreciate the range of coffee, tea, and beverages offered at Starbucks, but this advertising got me wondering how rare can the coffee be if it is available at all, or most, of the more than 29,000 world-wide locations?

    It can’t be. It’s not. It is not true: it’s not even stretching the truth.

    Any dictionary will provide a range of definitions for the word “rare”, including:
    -thinly distribute over an area.
    unusually great (subjective)
    -unusually excellent (even more subjective)

    Coffee is a commodity; coffee is a common commodity.

    We live in an age of exaggeration, defined not only by marketing gurus and clever copywriters trotting out sumptuous superlatives, tempting taglines and hook-filled hashtags, but also by media personalities, public officials and politicians.

    Listen, on any day, to the whining windbag leader of the free world as he bullies, brags, and brandishes his untruths to anyone who will listen. His lies have been documented (and disproved) over and over, but the brash banter continues as the greatest source of the “fake news” he often complains about.

    False information is now something we expect.

    Fake, misleading statements have become part of our everyday lives. It’s nothing new; in fact, it is why advertising standards were established decades and decades ago. This coffee company is — like many producers of consumer goods — pushing the edge of the envelope in an attempt to be the best or the boldest, as a pitch for the almighty consumer dollar.

    It is not logical; it is not reasonable to expect this product to be something more than it is.

    Coffee.

    Don’t tell us it is rare. Yes, you can use the word ‘exotic’, or ‘premium’, you can tell us you’ve travelled to all corners of this round planet to source ultra-fantastic beans. You can boast about how you roast, and promise us unparalleled quality, but let’s call a bean a bean.

    By simply including a product on the Starbucks menu at all, or most, of its locations means you cannot call it rare.

    It is not true, or it’s not honest, and it is not authentic.

    The company has already proven to me (and obviously many others) that it selects, roasts, and brews wonderful coffee in a variety of styles and tastes, so this marketing fib leaves nothing but a bad taste in my mouth.

    © 2019 j.g. lewis

  • Over And Over

    Do you feel stuck where you are?
    Are you content with your state of being: emotionally, physically or spiritually?
    Can you tell the difference between a routine and a rut?
    Do you do what is expected, or intended? Are you surprised when you don’t?
    Over and over we settle for the words, or the life, presented to us.
    Change is always possible, but it has to begin within.
    It is easy to take the same steps or drive the same route, to do, again, what you did yesterday.
    It is not always comfortable. It is not always right.
    It is a habit.
    We are limited by habits, and patterns, no matter how routine. No matter how uncomfortable.
    Are you comfortable with change to your lifestyle or living situation?
    Has it become too comfortable?
    Are you ready for change? Have you even thought about it?
    Have you settled?

  • Certainty

        we litigate our sorrows
        mediate happiness
        negotiate contentment
    barter wisdom for unsuspecting logic

    did we stop
    looking
    for the trust
    for the certainty
    in what we know
         what we carry

        veiled imperfections
        spiteful recollection
        accepted resentment
    the perseverance of inadequacies

    as we keep
    close
    to the truth
    to the familiar
    to what we know
        what we carry

        compromised ethics
        unwritten guarantees
        pathetic promises
    admit what you have lived through

    © 2019 j.g. lewis

  • Right Out Of The Box

    When you purchase a new pair of sneakers you are not only buying the brand, the look, or the comfort. When you buy a new pair of sneakers you are making a commitment to your self.

    You are buying hope.

    As spring slowly presents itself, it’s only natural that you want to become more active. You want to get outside; you want to shed that winter weight. You want to improve. Is there anything more motivating than a brand new pair of running shoes?

    Inspiration right out of the box.

    You buy new sneakers at a time of renewal, at a time when you’ve worn down, or worn through, an existing pair. They too were bought on the premise, or promise, of greater fitness. You bought them because you intended to run, or walk, or cross-train, your way to both feeling and looking better.

    As with every new pair of running shoes, you use them exactly for what they were intended for. For a time. Yes, we all have our own pace, but exercise is the mandate. For a week or three, or like five days out of seven, you do exactly that. You continually log a few miles, or a few thousand steps, or however you measure your progress.

    You may even lace them up on those days when you’re going out shopping or wandering around the city. It’s pretty easy to log four to seven thousand steps while you are out and about.

    Comfort is always appreciated. As it is when you’ve got to quickly run out to the bank, or back to the office to catch up on paperwork. Then, after a while, you find yourself wearing the shoes just to saunter down to Starbucks. It becomes a habit.

    Soon enough the shoes are not really running shoes, but a pair of convenient casual kicks. You don’t even bother untying the laces, you keep them a little looser and slip them on or off.

    Comfort and convenience, what else could you ask for?

    During the whole process you’ve maybe become a little less dedicated to that planned fitness goal. You’re still making use of the shoes, but not in the way they were designed, or the way you intended.

    In time they become just another pair of sloppy, smelly, dirty old shoes.

    When you realize the comfort and novelty has worn off, you decide, again, that it’s time for a new pair and a new plan.

    It’s not an easy choice; there are a lot of sneakers on the market in terms of style, and purpose, and function. You might do a little research and read up on the latest models. Certainly any retail salesperson worth their salt is going to ask you your ‘why’ and ‘where’, and (of course) you might exaggerate your fitness level or fitness plans. Considering the cost, you take in the features advantages and benefits of each pair you try on. And you try on many.

    You want just the right fit, the right amount of padding, traction, and even the right colour.

    Damn, they all feel so good. But for how long?

    The pair you select should be able to perform exactly as intended, but will you?

    © 2019 j.g. lewis