Barney's ties up the holidays with string... literally the cheapest string they could find.

This article in the NYTimes about "shoppers being treated like kings just for, well, being customers" reminded me of how (humorously) appalled I was during a xmas trip to Barney's New York (Seattle outpost).

This is a retailer that (nearly) invented exciting, surprising, satisfying speciality fashion on a grand scale. That's why I was so surprised to have the Marc Jacobs baubles that I bought for my daughter boxed up and tied with a cheap,, scratchy, stretchy silver cord - not even a ribbon! Two words:  Tack-eee.
I'm pretty sure Walgreens down the block was using higher end materials at their cash registers.

The ironic thing is - and I mentioned this to the VERY gracious salesclerk - was that merchandised right there on the cash wrap was Simon Doonan's book, "Eccentric Glamour." The current darling of all things fabulous and he has prescribed the world's cheapest piece of schmutz to enliven the packages of one of the world's most expensive emporiums.

Simon, are you kidding me?? Definitely NOT fabulous.

I told you not to park there.

There we were, all 6 of us, and the limo breaks down and...

This shot reminds me of AAA of Washington's ad campaign that basically says, it's never just a simple breakdown on the side of the road - there are always repercussions...

What's that address again?

Architectural signage is a key element on the exterior of any building... you hate to see a great facade compromised by signage that ends up being an afterthought. These numbers appear on the outside of the new Fairview Research Center, on the corner of Mercer and Fairview.

It would appear that the number spin individually on their own axis... but they may simply be fixed at different angles. More later...

Nice Shot w/a Powershot???

In a magazine ad for a camera, is it fair to assume that the photo featured in the ad was taken using the actual camera being advertised??

How to verify? It reminds me of the "scandal" surrounding Microsoft staff using Apple and other products to create websites and such - even though MS made similar (though not quite as good?) products.

For the record, the photo of this ad for Canon Powershots was taken with a Powershot.