Have you noticed, in recent times, that several fast food brands have stylized their names, going with shorter monickers?
KFC now uses initials, possibly to downplay the “fried” in Kentucky Fried Chicken. For an identifier, an image of The Colonel is part of the logo.
Jamba is the single-term name after Juice was squeezed out.
Ditto, Dunkin.’ The Donuts is gone, maybe because the pastry shop offers a lot more than mere doughnuts.Is this a trend?
Single names kinda work best. From Arby’s to Zippy’s, you’ll find a bunch of one-word branding: Denny’s, Subway, Wendy’s, Starbucks, McDonald’s, for instance.
Which begs a few questions: Will Jack in the Box go someday with only Jack? And Papa John’s, cutting back to Papa or John’s? Domino’s would serve the pizzaria; Popeye’s could drop the Louisiana Chicken and still be known by followers; In-and-Out is vastly popular elsewhere, but not here, and its three-word name is very much in. But King would be presumptuous without the Burger, but Caesars would be recognized without the Little.Can’t quite get it, however, with Raising Cane’s, a chicken hut whose name does not reflect its fame; I researched and discovered the name honors the owner’s Labrador Retriever, Raising Cane’s. Hmmm…
Just asking …Is your iPhone, or any other cell device, prepared for the looming 5G upgrades?
AT&T led the parade, shutting down its 3G — third-generation mode — to beef up to a speedier 5G service.
Verizon will eliminate 3G in December.
T-Mobile, my service, is terminating 3G at the end of March, which, gulp, is next week.
So I went to my T-Mobile store to check if I’m AOK for the switcheroo. Turns out, I am, because I got an iPhone 12 two years ago, my phone already is primed for 5G. My wife’s device, older than mine when I upgraded, was deemed ready for trashing when 3G vanishes at T-Mobile. So we got her an iPhone13 mini. Her data was properly transferred to the tinier new phone, so she’s ready to fly, too.
But are you? If you have popo or kupuna in your ‘ohana, you might want to assist them to updated their phones. If not, elders may lose connection and not know why.AARP Bulletin estimates between 1 and 3 million are 3Gers will need to convert to the 5G mode.
Are you regular fans of network TV programming of back-to-back episodes on specific week nights?
Referring to procedurals that tackle crime and punishment, aid and rescue of the injured or ill, embracing car accidents, highrise fires or rampant drug-related crimes?
If so, which of these back-to-back shows do you like best?
Monday on CBS, two procedurals reign: the flagship “NCIS,” the Mark Harmon original, which this season precedes “NCIS: Hawai‘i,” the island-based spin-off. We watch, though miss Harmon (he’s retired, but his name and image appear in the opening titles), even though it’s no longer the hot show it was for much of its 19 seasons. The Monday scheduling is a wise lead-in to the Hawaii-shot spiff-off,.
Tuesday on CBS, a trio of investigative shows are intensive, savvy projects: “FBI,” “FBI Most Wanted,” and “FBI International.” Great casts, with some crossover moments; fresh, incisive scripts.
Wednesday on NBC, it’s must-see TV, the best of triple-threats set in the crime-heavy Chicago, and unbeatable in relevance and timeliness: “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” are often gritty but grand, and the hospital setting unsettling but intriguing, the firefighting front and the police station daunting but challenging. The mix is the stuff of episodic drams: ER tension, smokey highrise, dangling vehicles over the river, and unexpected flying bullets or bombs bursting. Everyday drama never has been so visible and jammed with fictional stories that demonstrate and spotlight such emotional wallop. And, yes, giving first responders a positive image.
Thursday on NBC, law and order prevail: the original “Law and Order” favorite, Sam Waterson, is back and holding court in a reboot, and time will tell if it has staying power. “Law and Order SVU” still features Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson and remains a powerhouse hour that’s a whole lot better than the third entry, “Law and Order: Crime” which has Christoper Meloni’s Elliot Stabler attempting to get a handle to outlast and outpower his weekly antagonist.
Friday on CBS used to be the slot for the now-shuttered “Hawaii Five-0,” where “Magnum P.I,” the Jay Hernandez reboot shooting here, preceding the network’s popular “Blue Bloods,” which still stars Tom Selleck, the original Thomas Magnum.”
Incredibly, Dick Wolf is the creator and executive producer of all the “Law and Order” series, all the “Chicago” brands, and all the “FBI” titles, a credit few others can claim. Indeed, he’s the king of the best of the TV franchise shows.
And most of his trademark programss are in syndication, so reruns provide a world of entertaining dramas, on such venues as USA, iOn, We and a few other spots on your TV dial.
With so many heavyweights from the traditional networks, it’s tough to surf the streaming services of Netflix or Disney+ or Amazon Prime. The aforementioned series left the airwaves during the coverage of NBC’s “Winter OIympics,” but happily, regular programming has returned … though most series are approaching their finales for the season.
On cloudy, rainy days like today and yesterday, don’t you feel like singing a weather-related song?
That ominous, threatening layer of clouds lingering yesterday over the islands produced a lot of liquid sunshine, prompting me to think about weather tunes.
Ominous clouds over Honolulu yesterday.
Here are 10 tunes — to search for in your disc collections or to request your favorite deejay to play — to keep you in the rainy-cloudy-stormy vein:
“Rhythm of the Rain,” by The Cascades.
“The Rain in Spain, Stays Mainly on the Plain,” by Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” (varies if film or stage).
“Set Fire to the Rain,” by Adele.
“Get Off of My Cloud,” by the Rolling Stones.
“Singing in the Rain,” by Gene Kelly.
“Both Sides Now,” by Judy Collins or Joni Mitchell.
“Cloud Nine,” by the Temptations.
“Stormy Weather,” by Lena Horne.
“Come Rain or Come Shine,” by Margaret Whiting and various artists.
“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” by B. J. Thomas. Of course, the childhood-era “Rain, Rain Go Away” might be the simplest song on the rainy list, and if there’s rain, there just must be rainbows, so credit Judy Garland for her “Over the Rainbow” original, and home-grown Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole” for re-inventing his version fused with “What a Wonderful Day.”
Do you have a weather-related song you wanna hear on a cloudy day?
