Culture Videos: Culture History and Culture Videos // Current

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6 hours ago

Mars needs Catholics

The Vatican has hosted a conference to study the possibility of alien life in the universe and its implication for the Catholic... more

callenstewart
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New study concludes large breasts linked to intelligence

A study conducted in the United States showed that women with big breasts are not necessarily less intelligent than those who are... more

thedirtman
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The Grey Dress in New York: Private Longings for Love and Desire

“The Grey Dress in New York” is an intriguing, captivating short experimental art film by Pierre St-Jacques, which has... more

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Sarah Palin's book goes rogue on facts

Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over... more

Future_America
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Andy Warhol’s fabulous joke

200 One Dollar Bills: Andy Warhol’s Fabulous Joke Unfortunately, Andy Warhol’s not around to enjoy the fabulous... more

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Recycling is Bullshit Redux: Let's Declare Nov. 15 Buy Nothing Disposable Day

We said it last year: Lets call recycling what it is- a fraud, a sham, a scam perpetrated by big business on the citizens and... more

pjacobs51
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Ancient Aliens: History Channel's 2009 Documentary

Are we ready to accept the theory of Extraterrestrials as Gods? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH66LramO8U

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Starbucks Via Promotional Tactics Upset Baristas

Starbucks (SBUX) instant coffee was always going to be a tough sell. That’s why the company spent years developing it and months preparing its frontline employees (aka baristas) for the Sept. 29 launch of Via, three-packs of instant that go for $2.95. “We took a lot of time with it because we knew it could undermine the company if we didn’t do it right,” CEO Howard Schultz said this summer.
(Berfield, S., 2009, November 11, par.1)

It’s too early to say whether Via is a success. But judging from the coffee blogs, including the company’s mystarbucksidea.com, for some baristas the pressure to sell Via is intense and unwelcome. “This is the most stressful promotion I have ever experienced, and I’ve been with the company for seven years,” a barista wrote on starbucksgossip.com. Some customers are finding the hard sell a bit exasperating, too. As one wrote: “Please no more high-pressure Via sales pitches. It’s annoying … it’s completely out of line with Starbucks’ vibe.”
(Berfield, S., 2009, November 11, par.2)

Starbucks sees great potential in Via: Instant coffee is a $21 billion global market. And Starbucks made a significant investment in Via, the biggest product rollout in its history. Naturally, executives set ambitious sales goals. There, perhaps, lie the roots of the problem. Starbucks baristas typically think of themselves as akin to bartenders, not salespeople. “We were just told to place a Via 12-pack in the customer’s hand while asking if they would ‘like to add some Via to their order,’ ” blogged one barista. “I have seen more annoyed customers than enthusiastic ones from all these strong-arm sales tactics. … Not to say it’s not a good product. I think it just needs to be kept in the supermarkets next to the other Starbucks mass-market frill.”
(Berfield, S., 2009, November 11, par.5)

The company won’t provide any specific information about Via’s sales so far except to say that the product has been incredibly well-received. Clifford Burrows, president of Starbucks Coffee U.S., has seen the criticism of the sales tactics and says: “I’ve read it, but the general spirit is one of enthusiasm about Via. Some will find it easier to sell than others, some stores will be more successful than others.”
(Berfield, S., 2009, November 11, par.6)

More details at the link:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_47/b4156033031118.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

http://theretailsector.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/starbucks-via-promotional-tactics-upset-baristas/Starbucks (SBUX) instant coffee was always going to be a tough sell. That’s why the company spent years developing it and... more

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1 day ago

It's illegal to be fat in Japan

Thanks to an anti-obesity law passed last year, Japanese salarymen across the nation are pulling up their shirts to have their... more

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1 day ago

Friday the 13th Facts

"If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 has been an unusually unlucky year. But your luck is about to change. Today is the... more

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2 days ago

Want to help our troops? Help them volunteer in the community.

The traditional approach to volunteering and our veterans has been to encourage Americans to get involved at local organizations as a way to support the troops. By partnering with organizations that deliver services and programs to vets, active military personnel, or military families, Americans can do their part to salute the men and women who protect and defend our nation.

But there's another way volunteering can help troops: by providing our active and veteran forces with ways to find meaning and purpose in our local communities after they return home.

Target and VolunteerMatch Respond to Help Returning Servicemen and Women Find Service Opportunities

On Veterans Day, VolunteerMatch and Target Corporation announced a new partnership to make it easier for veterans to find service opportunities, for citizens to support the military through community service, and for service organizations to more effectively recruit volunteers in local communities.

The partnership is a response to a new report written by Civic Enterprises and underwritten by Target and the Case Foundation that found that veterans who had participated in service opportunities since arriving home from Iraq and Afghanistan had smoother transitions than those who had not.

To make it easy for visitors to find military-related volunteer offerings, VolunteerMatch has added a new Interest Area, "Military Families & Veterans," to the VolunteerMatch system.

By choosing "Veterans & Military Families" for their listings, organizations make it possible for visitors to the VolunteerMatch Advanced Search page or any of our hundreds of network partner sites will be able to quickly find ways to get involved at thousands of local organizations.

Military service and community service are both strong in our nation, and volunteering at local organizations is a great way for these traditions to come together to strengthen local communities. We salute the men and women who defend our nation and we're proud to do our part to help ease their transition home.

http://3blmedia.com/theCSRfeed/Want-help-our-troops-Help-them-volunteer-community#The traditional approach to volunteering and our veterans has been to encourage Americans to get involved at local organizations... more

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2 days ago

The Saddest Video You Will Ever See

Sorry to ruin your day, but someone shot a sea lion in the face in Sacramento, leaving the poor thing writhing in pain as he keeps... more

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9 days ago

Karen Armstrong

Religious thinker Karen Armstrong has written more than 20 books on faith and the major religions, studying what Islam, Judaism... more

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9 days ago

Video: Charter for Compassion

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9 days ago

Charter for Compassion

Welcome to the Charter for Compassion Group! This group was created with the simple goal of promoting the message that the Charter... more

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9 days ago

TED Talks: Charter for Compassion

This is the TED site with all of the speakers for the Charter of Compassion. It also provides a good background on Karen... more

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3 days ago

Are Americans Faking Religiosity?

According to polls, a mere half of Americans are able to name a single Gospel, and a majority are unfamiliar with the fact that... more

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3 days ago

Sexual Hook Ups Damned By Chastity Groups, Hailed By New Feminists

"Today's first base is kissing ... plus fondling this and that. Second base is oral sex. Third base is going all the way. Home plate is learning each other's names."

So wrote Tom Wolfe in his 2000 book "Hooking Up" -- a term that describes a wide range of coupling from making out to intercourse.

For more than a decade, the "hookup" has been an integral part of the American college experience -- a result of the increased permissiveness that came with the sexual revolution of the 1970s.

Just recently at Harvard University -- sometimes pegged as "godless and liberal" -- the hookup culture came under fire, mostly from a small but growing abstinence group called True Love Revolution.

They argue that women who invoke a new kind of feminism -- the right to have sex whenever and with whomever they choose -- is demeaning to women.

"A popular thing to say among this intellectual crowd, in the ivies and in feminism in general, is to say that sex is empowering and a real woman uses her sexuality in any way she pleases," said Rachel Wagley, a 20-year-old sociology student who is TLR's co-president. "It's blatantly false and a lie that this culture tells to girls for their own benefit." Silpa Kovvali, a 21-year-old computer science concentrator, argued in a Harvard Crimson editorial that there is nothing "inherently degrading" about engaging in casual sex -- in fact, she said, it can be "empowering."

But chastity groups seem to be on to something -- a growing unease that although hooking up can be liberating, it can also be annoying and sometimes destructive.

"It's a huge part of life here," said Maariya Bajwa, a senior at the University of Florida. "When I used to take the bus I'd hear random people having conversations about random hook ups they had. I was like, 'Uh guys, we're on a bus. I don't need to hear about your one-night stands.'"

By the end of senior year, the average college student has had 6.9 hookups, mostly after a "good bit of drinking," according to a survey of 4,000 students at five universities by Stanford University sociology professor Paula England.

Her work revealed that while 24 percent of the respondents had reported never having hooked up, 28 percent had more than 10 such casual sexual encounters.

England, who set out to explore the dating habits of college students, found they were kissing, having oral sex and sometimes intercourse with "no expectation that either party has an interest in moving toward a relationship."

"There's a lot of degrading treatment of some women and it is empoweringly free for other women," she told ABCNews.com."Today's first base is kissing ... plus fondling this and that. Second base is oral sex. Third base is going all the... more