Woofy Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 6 Location: Seattle, WA Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Tue Nov 15, 2005, 12:40am Subject: Re: Two Hours of Joint Solitude, The Cafe Stage
Loved the article, Sandy! It's so great to see that someone else has noticed. The closest Wi-Fi enabled Charbucks is like a library, but across the street at the neo-goth Coffee Messiah it's all about conversation and no stinkin' Wi-Fi. It's fun just to go from one to the other for coffee just to experience the culture shock.
Unfortunately, I also live a few blocks south from the nortorious Top Pot Coffee shop in Seattle. In addition to great coffee, they have the most insanely wonderful doughnuts on the planet and staying there will turn you from a 1 to a big O faster than my sport bike can do zero to sixty. While Top Pot has Wi-Fi as well, most folks aren't talking because their gorging themselves on those deep fried chunks of heaven. Top Pot's doughnuts are so good, in fact, that the local Charbucks (1.5 blocks to the north of me) has had to resort to selling Top Pot's doughnuts (for almost twice the price) to keep their customers from walking the extra four blocks.
I think I hear those doughnuts calling me now...must resist...must resist... Okay, I have a dozen stashed in my oven so my friends don't catch me with them and attempt yet another intervention! Little good the last one did. All they did was eat the doughnuts! <grin>
BeeBux Senior Member Joined: 20 Nov 2005 Posts: 1 Location: France Expertise: Pro Barista
Posted Sun Nov 20, 2005, 7:08am Subject: Re: Two Hours of Joint Solitude, The Cafe Stage
I do agree with you, but I guess another reason that I go to coffee shops is to listen to the world. It is like a movie where you see for a glimpse of time, the story of someone in front of you. Maybe a lovers fight, maybe a friends reunion, maybe the stress of a college person... And these flashes might awake in you memories or ideas, so it is a source of inspiration to keep you moving forward.
chrispy85 Senior Member Joined: 19 Oct 2004 Posts: 10 Location: Dayton OH Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: la Pavoni Europiccola Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: n/a Drip: Bodum French Press Roaster: FreshRoast, popcorn popper
Posted Tue Nov 29, 2005, 6:19am Subject: Re: Two Hours of Joint Solitude, The Cafe Stage
a travelogue from a major road trip would be of value and no little fascination!
Thanks, Trisha. That's kinda what I was shooting for -- that, plus the social commentary of "why the heck do we go to these places if we feel this way about them?" (see the 500 previous posts whining about crappy coffee shops, hot counter girls notwithstanding...)
And for the record, one of the main reasons I travel is so I can write about it.
Damocles Senior Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 103 Location: Sweden Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Dec 1, 2005, 4:12am Subject: Re: Two Hours of Joint Solitude, The Cafe Stage
I've always liked reading tidbits of what people think, and i like it. I might not always agree to whats said, but it makes me think and re-evaluate, and thats priceless.
Thanks for a good read. Just what i needed as a short break at a stressed out work-place.
Yeah okay, I resemble that remark, cuz. I guess I like cafe's as much as the next bloke, heck i keep going back, don't I? Like a lab rat hitting the feeder bar. But I gotta admit, I wish I wasn't such a long drive and a major body of water away from the nearest good cafe/roastery.
So... planning on travelling and writing about it? Is the emerald city on that list, Dorothy?
EspressoOutfitters Senior Member Joined: 1 Mar 2004 Posts: 18 Location: Tacoma Expertise: Professional
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 9:21pm Subject: Re: Two Hours of Joint Solitude, The Cafe Stage
slidingmike Said:
Great article. It's sad when walking (or driving) down to your local cafe and ordering a drink is the only human interaction we have on some days. I've found myself doing and thinking the same thing. But cafes do provide that gravity, to pull us out of our online existence. It's rare when a cafe really realizes the full importance of its existence -- not just to make shareholders money, but to provide a place for great coffee, for social awareness, for public discourse, for private meetings...
I've had plenty of days like that, especially when I was single. Now, interaction is at best on my terms I'm used to, being a stereotypical artist, it's very easy to get lost in my own little world, being a business owner, even more so, you tend to get enthrawled within a tangent and it consumes all of your focus. I think all people are alone within the very creveces of their psyci, "ignore the spelling :)", to where they are each their own island when it all really comes down to it, at least to a point.
The cafe setting, or at least desire to be in a crowd is similar to how traditional bar's were considered during the first 1/2 of the 20th century, it's still around, but not nearly as much, given the coffee shop represents a more healthy alternative. That, and you aren't having to worry about monitoring your drinking status before getting behind the wheel. A little clutter, and utter chaos which is standard when you mix people also adds a little to the creative elements, especially if you are a writer, so perhaps, that's why you were there, you needed a muse.............
Taniwha Senior Member Joined: 8 Jul 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Wellington Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jan 4, 2006, 12:56pm Subject: Re: Two Hours of Joint Solitude, The Cafe Stage
How to talk to people
Step 1: make eye contact. you can tell immediately if someone doesn't want to talk... but if they hold the contact then continue Step 2: is to smile.. if they smile back, then continue Step 3: say "How are you?", or a local variant of the greeting, or something about the weather. If they give a generic reply and look away, then stop, otherwise continue Step 4: talk about coffee!
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