Tag: Washington

Mac Miracle

My friend kept listening to Roger Waters‘ It’s a Miracle, whose lyric includes “they’ve got MacDonald in Tibet“.

Now, they’ve got MacDonald in Vietnam. More miracle!

Thomas Friedman put a spin on an old geo-political theory, which states that any two countries, with a MacDonald,

are least likely to engage in an arm conflict. In this latest case, it already happened. Next week, the two heads of States will meet up in Washington (fries or egg rolls?)

It’s been a long long road, from running girl (napalm) to running man (Arsenal).

In between, we got a bunch of walls (from Memorial Wall to moving wall) and a bunch of bridges.

From feeling betrayed to being bridged.

Ray Kroc would have been proud: shake shake shake, shake your conveyor milkshake.

Tourists would find a cocoon: coffee at Starbucks and a miracle at MacDonald (want fries with it?).

Modernization and urbanization are here to stay.

The last pitch is ” for here or to go”?

Industrial world wins out, to the last drop of ketchup (Heinz) in the bag.

Squeeze it!

Fast food, slow burn.

I am proud then I am sad.

It’s a miracle, yet it doesn’t feel exhilarating.

After all, it’s 2013. Countries are exploring space travel in Mars.

Colonization itself has found new frontier in outer space.

And we can barely find a clean bathroom here on Earth.

With machine-like efficiency, people raise expectations: like, yesterday.

Consistency, predictability and value. In short, brand value.

Hooters itself is having a make-over. With every new “convert”, its chain finds its renewed commitment to core values.

The frontier might not look that promising, but it’s important to its founders and its faith: that its multiplier effect will pay off. And with its new location, new customer life-time value, the brand is strengthened and not threatened.

Growth is not only the result of health. It’s necessary. It’s miracle, yet it’s natural. Anyone can shake the milk, cook the beef and fry the potato. But not all can maintain a clean bathroom, and the consistency of billions hamburgers served.

The Golden Arch will be here (yellow on red is just a co-incidence). It’s another miracle in a series of modern-day event. I fear for the ice cream stores nearby. Can’t beat the value of vanilla on cone, for just under a buck. Fully A/C.

I forwarded the announcement to my friend, hoping the next time he put on “It’s a miracle”, he would think of me,

his repat friend, in search of clean restroom and true miracle in modern age.

Music as Motivator

Old Time Rock and Roll, Get Ready, I Just Want to Celebrate etc.. will “soothe your soul”.

Take time out to massage the affective part of yourself.

Ancient culture or atomized culture, we all need to gather around the “fire”, to warm up, to celebrate and to belong.

Music as equalizer, as motivator. A call to march forward.

At Inauguration, Presidents hold concerts, to celebrate. Good for the top brass, good for us commoners.

In college, students played in marching band (at Penn State, they travel a lot and play a lot at home games). Even at corporate events , we hear music which can really kick start an evening.

Work hard and play hard culture.

Fun, fast and flavourful.

Something about those beats that awake and arouse ancient genes.

We are meant to live in herd and hunt in packs.

No way around it but marching to the same drum beat.

(Incidentally, I found financial guys have the most fun at parties, even though it’s them who will process those payments a few weeks later).

Of course we need rah-rah sessions.

We need to be recognized, to be motivated. It’s not for the winners. It is to draw out the best from the laggers.

A few days ago, Thomas Friedman had a piece about the cultural differences between Washington and Silicon Valley. His central theme was Collaboration.

And how different the concept was perceived and processed in those two places.

I would add creativity and imagination to the mix.

What could be a better source to inspire and jump-start “out of the box” thinking than to turn on those good old-time Rock and Roll, theme songs and marching tunes of the Valley. I have run into a bunch of old acquaintances. The secret sauce has always been music.

Of course, exercise and diet are top of the list. But musicians tend to maintain that care-free, let’s-see-what-happens attitude. It keeps them young and fit. It keeps them upbeat (notice the positive term). At the very least, it draws out the inner child that refuses to grow up in this pain-filled world.

When in doubt, in stress, in trouble, just know You’ve Got A Friend.

California Dreaming

TIME spotlights California on its cover this week.

As a country, California would be with the G8 ( between Italy and Brazil, thus displacing BRIC with CRIC  i.e. California, Russia, India and China).

Yet it has no world-class soccer team (despite having in-shored Beckham) just yet. That’s said, it is one of the brownest States in the Union. And it will stand tall, demographically and technologically.

I wrote about the up-trading Taco truck in my earlier blog. TIME also showed a Korean BBQ truck  using Twitter to announce its stops (high-tech high touch).

What surprised me was foreign students’ major in the State: more chose Business and Management over Science, Math and Engineering (exactly what the Chinese need to move up the value chain).

With 13 percent Asian, California has a natural inroad to Asia (just a plane-hop away).

Washington State has also capitalized on its geographic “proximity” to set up strong ties with the East (and sell some apples, Window and Starbucks while at it).

Who wouldn’t want to live in California: paradise and paradox, problems and promises, most congested freeways, yet greenest state. It has a underexploited Modesto and an overexposed Hollywood , clean tech and bio tech; gay and straight.

California is home to dream factories (Disney and Dream Work). So enamoured with the big screen that the State elected actors to be its Governor not once but twice. Its script keeps getting a rewrite even on location (budget cut? well, hold up a knife Governor. “This is a knife” the line last said by Crocodile Dundee on his first visit to the Big Apple). It’s used to be “Go West young man!” Now, it’s keeping going West and follow the sun.

I talked to people in the Orient and they wanted to come and live in California. To them, California is America (especially if they have a free account on Yahoo, own an I-Phone and watch YouTube, all California home-grown, like its wine and raisins). In up scale China, one can find new developments that were modeled after Newport Beach.

“All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray”. If the gubernatorial race is an early indicator of things to come, we are in great shape. After all, anything can happen in a dream, or when we “sit down and pray”. The truth is, my relationship with California has been a dysfunctional one, as is the State.

Despite its high costs of living, California is where you’ll find innovation around the corner, or in the garage .

Californians don’t do attic or basement like East-Coast counterparts. They compose music on wheels (Jewel), produce TV shows on wheels (Jay Leno), and of course, cater tacos on wheels. Year round, they don’t need the bottom half of their jeans (hence the cut off or zip out). This recession and recent gold price peak led a bunch of people to the high mountain, once again, creating a mini Gold Rush, California’s original raison d’etre.

Most listened to is its rush hour traffic report. Least visited is the downtown LA library, before or after the fire. When EReader and Kindle get full adoption, they will turn library into museum .  What’s hip in California (women volleyball, muscle beach) can’t be easily duplicated .  This Wednesday, Google will team up with Lala to help us search for that “California Dreaming” tune. Just a phrase, such as “I walk into a church” can trigger a bot crawl.

Or ” I’ll be back” to pop up the Terminator. It doesn’t hurt to have a Governor with sound bites or once picked up a dumb bell in what remained of  a LA fire.

And the media ate it up: light, camera, action (background lighting, actor, prop and audio). Keep dreaming California.