I blame it on the non-conformist within me. I’ve never liked Starbucks. Their just too trendy. Too snobby. (Are “small”, “medium”, and “large” beneath your “grande” dignity?) Besides, I really do hate the taste and smell of coffee.

Still, I have to chuckle at the latest media scandal surrounding the burnt-bean-juice vendor. For the third time in the company’s 37 year history, they’re redesigning their logo. The original logo “gave the impression of an authentic 15th century European woodcut” and featured a “”twin-tailed siren” (according to wikipedia). In the original logo, the siren’s breast and navel were exposed, again, much like the European art on which it was based. Through the years their java girl has become increasingly modest. I think you you can guess where this is going.

The new Starbucks logo is a throwback to their original, except that the new version obscures the nipples. Still, the ink was barely dry before the boycotts began. Several groups are decrying the artwork as obscene.

“[The logo] has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute … The company might as well call themselves Slutbucks.”

(Heh heh… Slutbucks…) Seriously though. It’s a mermaid, people! Mermaids don’t even have legs and unless your only exposure to mermaids has been the Disney variety, you aught to know that mermaids prefer to air out their mommy parts. Besides we’re not talking about high definition boobage. It’s a woodcut for goodness sake. You can get more titillation from your favorite PG-13 stupid-teen move.

Is it any wonder that the world has a disparaging view of “puritanical” Christians? *sigh* Just drink your devil bean juice and shut up, okay?

Clicky for the news article with all the logo goodness, new and old.

I admit it. I am shamelessly clinging to the coat tails of a recently released, blockbuster movie in order to get more traffic. But seriously! There really is a news story about a real life iron man. Honest!

Rex Jameson (That’s a comic book hero name if I ever heard one!), engineer for Sarcos Inc., is sporting a new look. It’s not exactly the polished red and gold steel of his comic book counterpart, but when a scrawny geek can lift hundreds of pounds with his robotic suit, he doesn’t quibble about looks.

The robotic exoskeleton is still just a prototype limited to a 30 minute battery charge and it’s still a bit slow to respond to the driver’s movements, but it’s still wicked awesome. Jameson says, “It takes no special training, beyond learning to relax and trust the robot.” Trust the robot? Famous last words! Dude, have you read any science fiction?!

The picture of the suit in use reminds me more of Sigourney Weaver’s cargo loader in Aliens, which is likewise awesome. And of course, my mind races ahead to the (perhaps not so distant) future where soldiers tramp across giant battle fields firing lasers and missiles from their BattleMechs like I did when I used to play MechWarriors every night.

Combine this with “Fusion Man” making his first flight with his jet powered wing suit thingy and you’ve got a genuine fanboy geek-gasm. It’s a brave new world, kiddies. A brave new world.

Baby BattleMech article
Fusion man on YouTube