BrianHimes.com » Pop-Culture

Cup with a Cause

Brian — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:15:34 +0000

I stopped by the 7-Eleven across from my office this morning and noticed a new promotion while I was serving myself some coffee. The promotion is called “Cup with a Cause”, and it’s a philanthropic venture for 7-Eleven. Here’s a description of the program from www.cupwithacause.com.

The 7-Eleven Coffee Cup with a Cause program brings limited edition coffee cups designed by high profile entertainers and athletes into 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Each cup will benefit a charity of the celebrity’s choosing, with the organization receiving a $250,000 donation from 7-Eleven. This means that the next time you help yourself to one of 7-Eleven’s great coffee options, you’ll also have the chance to help someone in need. Now that’s hot. Cup with a Cause. It’s charity, by design.

It’s nice to see 7-Eleven doing something like this. And, with so many people visiting 7-Eleven each day, this will be great PR for all of the featured charities. Very cool 7-Eleven.

The first featured cup benefits the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation.

Posted via email from brianhimes’s posterous

In Times of Catastrophic Disaster

Brian — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:47:23 +0000

Why do we only care about the poor and poverty stricken in times of catastrophic disaster? For the poor and poverty stricken each day is a disaster. It’s a disaster when the can’t afford food or shelter. It’s a disaster when they are beaten and broken. It’s a disaster every day.

We have this tendency to give in abundance when media is plagued with coverage of horrific events; but once the coverage has ceased, such events fall out of our consciousness.

Now that the terrible events in Haiti are two weeks past, coverage is getting less and less frequent. Soon we will forget all about Haiti and we will return to a world in which, for all intents and purposes, Haiti no longer exists. It reminds me of something I recently read on The Onion.

Less than two weeks after converging upon the site of a devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake, American anthropologists have confirmed the discovery of a small, poverty-stricken island nation, known to its inhabitants as “Haiti.”

We didn’t acknowledge it’s existence before so why should we continue to care a few weeks from now?

If you’re a Christian, like I am, you are probably aware that we are called to look out for these people. It’s what Jesus modeled in his ministry and it’s what he instructed us to do in following him. He even went as far as telling us that whatever we do for the least, we do for him (my paraphrase).

So the question is, what do we do? What do we do to look out for the least? What do we do to keep Haiti, and the-like on the forefront of our minds?

Here’s a suggestion. We should regularly support local and world humanitarian efforts. We should do so with our time and money, in times of catastrophic disaster, and times of every day disaster. There are always people who need help. And there are always ways to give… even if you aren’t wealthy.

Posted via email from brianhimes’s posterous

Apple’s iPad

Brian — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:52:09 +0000

Well Apple seems to have done it again. They announced what seems to be another amazing product. And this time, in an almost un-Apple fashion, the price point of the product seems reasonable. Maybe I’ve just become accustomed to their pricing, but I really expected the iPad to start at $700 subsidized by a mobile carrier when you sign a multi-year data contract. I’m glad I was wrong. Apple seems to have pulled out all the stops with this device.

One of the features that surprised me most was the availability of the iWork office suite. I had been dreaming that it would be capable of running presentations and opening documents, but I never really expected it to be a reality. Bravo Apple. This seems like an amazing device.

I am anxious to see how the iPad fares in reviews once people have their hands on it. I know I have a few questions still about how it will accomplish certain tasks, but I’m really excited about the possibilities. I think Apple is going to give both netbooks and ereaders a real run for their money with the iPad.

Posted via email from brianhimes’s posterous

Favorite Albums of 2009

Brian — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:02:50 +0000

In no particular order, here are my 5 favorite albums of 2009.

Swoon - Silversun Pickups

Break Up - Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson

21st Century Breakdown - Green Day

Curse Your Branches - David Bazan

Noble Beast - Andrew Bird