Althouse: "I just wanted a multigrain bagel. I refused to say 'without butter or cheese.'"

১৬ আগস্ট, ২০১০

"I just wanted a multigrain bagel. I refused to say 'without butter or cheese.'"

"When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want. Linguistically, it's stupid, and I'm a stickler for correct English... I yelled, 'I want my multigrain bagel!' The barista said, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!'"

Meet this week's mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it-anymore character, Lynne Rosenthal.

১০৬টি মন্তব্য:

Phil 314 বলেছেন...: I've seen this movie before.

(Doing it in NYC with a middle-aged woman in the upper East Side is a nice touch); ১৬/৮/১০, ১২:৪৫ PM
Chris বলেছেন...: Here's the scene.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১২:৪৯ PM
chuckR বলেছেন...: Wow. Fourbucks has soup nazis now.

wv - lodedly - "No, that dress doesn't make you look fat", he said, lodedly.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১২:৫৩ PM
Kev বলেছেন...: (the other kev)

I didn't read the whole article. When the barista pop the emergency slide and escape?; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:০১ PM
Wince বলেছেন...: Is this proper English?

"I'll have what she's having."; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:০৫ PM
kjbe বলেছেন...: I just spent the weekend with some who was just as self-centered, demanding control freak...

Try wearing life as a loose garment, Ms. Rosenthal. It might save you (and those around you) a bit of grief.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:০৬ PM
former law student বলেছেন...: they always ask me if I want "room for cream" like I'm gonna put half a pint of the white stuff in there.

But I never go ballistic.

And I don't see the grammar flaw in "Would you like cheese or butter?" Just say, "No thank you," or "Neither please."; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:০৭ PM
tim maguire বলেছেন...: I like my coffee black, no sugar. And I don't mind saying so. You know why? Because most people like theirs with milk and sugar. It's simpler and more efficient for those of us who have minority preferences to make those preferences known.

If most people want butter or cream cheese on their bagel, then it makes sense for Starbucks to make that the default and require those who want neither to so specify.

Is that really so difficult? I mean, I'd order a small at Starbucks on principle (if I ever went to Starbucks), but I can't imagine any principle that says I shouldn't have to say "black, no sugar."; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:১১ PM
Hagar বলেছেন...: The old Esquire Magazine had a short story about a guy who refused to accept rolls with his bacon & eggs at a national chain eatery (or something like that). He was held there for three days until the president of the corporation showed up and turned out to be the highschool chum of his voted least likely to succeed.

Many years ago I learned to hold my nose and just eat my hamburger with pickles, after having been thrown out of two joints for insisting that they make me a new burger with no pickles or pickle juice on it.
This is America, and if I don't like pickles on my hamburger, I should go back to The Old Country!; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:১৭ PM
Ann Althouse বলেছেন...: I thought this was the relevant movie.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:২৫ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: She didn't happen to recently fly from Pittsburgh to NYC did she?; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৩১ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: thanks Chris for the clip. I love the hats.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৩৪ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: Professor;
I thought this was the relevant movie

you're showing your age.

Yes, a classic scene;quintessential Nicholson

PS My daughter works for Starbucks. Yes, i know stores vary but they go out of their way to accommodate any customer request. It sounds like this woman had a "history" at the store and the barista, had gone over the edge.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৩৮ PM
MadisonMan বলেছেন...: Here's the script she should follow:

Whole Grain Bagel.

Butter or cream cheese?

What's that?

Butter or cream cheese?

Right. Hmmm. Well, is the butter organic? No, I think -- no. Hmm.. let me think about that. Butter reminds me young Antony when we lived in Brussels, he was such a charmer. Butter would be so good. I remember when we ran out of butter for a couple days and had to use margarine, if you can believe it. And it wasn't Blue Bonnet, either, just a store brand that had been in the refrigerator too long and had picked up some off flavors. So I don't know if butter is the thing for me, because you know cholesterol, and all that, but I did just this past weekend read an interesting story about how margarine is actually more damaging to your actual health than butter will be, if you aren't consuming either in moderation because that's really the key to healthy eating. But butter? Cream cheese? Hmm. I suppose the cream cheese is the Philadelphia brand? I've never really understood how Philadelphia cornered the market on cream cheese, but no one else seems to have done so with butter or jam. My grandmother used to make her own cream cheese, and it was so delicious, I wonder if I can find her recipe. She lived in a nice pied-a-terre -- that's fancy words for an apartment -- in Paris during the Great War -- I guess you'd call that WWI -- while she worked for the Red Cross and I guess that's where she learned to make her own cream cheese because it would have been hard to get supplies into the city, what with the fronts and bombs and guns and stuff. But it was so fresh tasting, just a nice clean, clear dairy taste.

I'm sorry, what was the question again?

Really, I think she could clog up that Starbuck$ for at least 10-20 minutes.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৪২ PM
sakredkow বলেছেন...: Cosign on the comment from the site: I don't care how educated you are, if you get into an argument with a Starbucks employee you are a moron.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৪৫ PM
Psota বলেছেন...: The "professor" was a jerk, of course, but the barista was not far behind. He should take the advice of a bar tender buddy of mine: any time you have a jerk start hassling you, start responding to their statements with a hearty "Absolutely, Sir/Ma'am!" Mentally tell yourself: "Everytime I say 'Absolutely' I am actually saying 'Fuck You!'" He swears by this.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৪৭ PM
rcocean বলেছেন...: I love how the filmmaker stacked the deck in favor of Obnoxious Jack Nicholson and against the waitress.

First, the waitress is middle-aged, big, white, & somewhat intelligent.

Second, she's snooty,rude, and obnoxious. Guess she doesn't like tips.

Third, I've never been to chain restaurant that didn't serve toast on the side.

Fourth, imagine that scene with an apologetic waitress or a minority, or a young pretty one that smile.

Last, but despite all that I still sympathize with the waitress and not a smartass fussbudget.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১:৫৯ PM
jr565 বলেছেন...: Psota wrote:

The "professor" was a jerk, of course, but the barista was not far behind. He should take the advice of a bar tender buddy of mine: any time you have a jerk start hassling you, start responding to their statements with a hearty "Absolutely, Sir/Ma'am!" Mentally tell yourself: "Everytime I say 'Absolutely' I am actually saying 'Fuck You!'" He swears by this.

Hey it worked for Wesley when he was wooing Buttercup. Every time he said "As you wish' he really meant "I love you"; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:০০ PM
swag বলেছেন...: I thought Burger King was "hold the pickles, hold the lettuce". What's so different about that?; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:০১ PM
Tibore বলেছেন...: Look, I won't defend the barista's actions one whit; you don't mouth off to a customer with "You're not going to get anything unless..." because that's stepping over your own customer service line. If he/she said that, that barista at minimum has earned remedial retraining, if not outright termination. That's open disrespect for the customer.

But that said... the customer did instigate, then escalate things. And to outright say
"It was very humiliating to be thrown out, and all I did was ask for a bagel..."
... is just ridiculous. No, lady, you did not get kicked out for just asking for a bagel. You got kicked out for escalating and becoming an obstinate jerk. It may have been in reaction to someone being a jerk to you, but you can't paint yourself to be the saint in this story, Ms. Rosenthal.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:০১ PM
Scott বলেছেন...: What self-respecting New Yorker would buy a bagel at a STARBUCKS??; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:০৬ PM
kjbe বলেছেন...: I can't tell you how many times I've ordered a hamburger at Culver's and gotten a cheese burger. Pickles, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayo. Cheese? No, thank you.

I peel the cheese (is this really cheese?) and go on my way.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:১০ PM
traditionalguy বলেছেন...: I have a confession to make. I like McDonalds breakfast bagels and coffee. The service is always friendly and quick, and the coffee is actually better. Please don't tell my wife. She has no respect for anyone that eats at McDonalds.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:১৫ PM
Revenant বলেছেন...: Linguistically, it's stupid, and I'm a stickler for correct English

Presumably "stickler for correct English" is some sort of euphemism for "heinous bitch"?; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:১৭ PM
Hazy Dave বলেছেন...: "When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want."

There's nothing like the certitude of ignorance... Caught dead in a Burger King, she would not be.

I recall ordering a burger with "ketchup only" for one of the kids, only to find on getting the food home, that they forgot the meat patty! It was a good laugh, not least because the little guy said he'd eat it anyway, and did.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:২০ PM
Thorley Winston বলেছেন...: When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want.

You’re right, you don’t have to list the six things you don’t want. But if you don’t tell them when you place your order, they’ll give you the six things you don’t want and you can have the pleasure of picking or scraping them off your food instead of asking them not to include them when you place your order.

Seriously, ordering food isn’t rocket science. If you tell them to “hold the whatever,” they’ll usually make it without the things that you don’t want on it. But if you don’t tell them and they normally prepare it a certain way because their market research says that most people like both ketchup and mustard instead of just one or the other or neither, then that’s how they’ll make it.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:২১ PM
Gabriel Hanna বলেছেন...: Putting myself through school I had more than one customer service job, and I have to say I didn't have temperament for it.

When customers annoyed me I would usually retreat into a passive-aggressive, rule-bound obnoxiousness. This is not what customer service is about. Your job is to make them happy, not to ask "butter or cream cheese" until you get the answer you want.

A lot of customers are jerks, but any reasonable request should be acceded to. It's not as though the barista didn't know what a bagel was.

That professor was a jerk, it's true, but there is no reason to call the cops on her. Just give her her damn bagel. Maybe she'll never come back. But she won't be able to tell all her friends (if she has any) that she was thrown out of Starbuck's for asking for a bagel. Which isn't true, but it's what she'll tell everyone.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:২৩ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: This is typical of the elitist behavior of the ultra-liberal which is the actual description of a college English Professor from NYC.

They have nothing but contempt and condescension toward a working person trying to make a living. So shouting and making a scene is the way to go instead of acting like a human being and treating the service person like they are...well a person.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৩২ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: Now a well bred and genteel English professor from somewhere like....I don’t know.....lets say New Orleans would never act like that.

Of course she would be trying to pick the girl up.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৩৩ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: And of course she would ask for a nice piece of fish on her bagel.

It's a lox.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৩৩ PM
Nonapod বলেছেন...: Not that I patronize the establishment much, but the few times I have I've never run into a Starbucks counter perso - err sorry, I mean "barista" - who insisted on a customer placing their order using the silly in house nomenclature (tall/vente whatever). I've always just said "May I have a large coffee" or whatever and that's what they give me without a fuss. Has anybody ever run into a Starbuck's employee who was a stickler for that sort of thing?; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৩৫ PM
Ignorance is Bliss বলেছেন...: Hazy Dave said...

There's nothing like the certitude of ignorance...

Tell me about it.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৪৫ PM
KCFleming বলেছেন...: Tales of the Personality Disordered

In today's tale, Lynne Rosenthal, who holds a Ph.D. from Columbia and is a stickler for correct English, creates the necessary chaos from a mere bagel.

The key to her destructiveness is the Bartlebian I would prefer not to approach of refusing to speak the desired words, thus completely disrupting the Starbucks ritual.

Her actions were rewarded, really, by the news article, shewing that this is one Willie Loman who will not be ignored.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৫০ PM
Calypso Facto বলেছেন...: Denis Leary has a pretty good section in his most recent book about the special lingo of Starbucks. Similar to his ongoing rant about other coffee injustices.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৫০ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৫১ PM
Freeman Hunt বলেছেন...: When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want.

Yes, you do.

Related: Flame Broiled.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৫২ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: I always say "Large Black Coffee Bro."

Never had a problem.

Of course I hate Starbucks and maybe go in there once a year.

I always buy my coffee from the poor illegal immigrant guy in the aluminum cart where it only cost one dollar. Better coffee and better service by far.; ১৬/৮/১০, ২:৫৩ PM
Freeman Hunt বলেছেন...: How is "Do you want butter or cheese?" for a bagel any different from "Do you want sugar?" for coffee?

Just say no. Like with drugs.

I doubt her story that they've gotten on to her for not saying "venti" or for specifying "no whip." I always specify "no whip." Sometimes I even say, "I'll have a venti, non-fat, no whip, half-caff mocha." This does not even phase the barista. The barista does not care. The barista only wants to know what it is that you want so that it can be made for you. The barista is nice. It is bad to call the barista, as this woman did, an a-hole.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:০০ PM
Shanna বলেছেন...: Rosenthal, who is in her early 60s, asked for a toasted multigrain bagel -- and became enraged when the barista at the franchise, on Columbus Avenue at 86th Street, followed up by inquiring, "Do you want butter or cheese?"

Rosenthal is crazy. Why didn't she just say "no".

And the Starbucks people need to get over themselves too.

What is the point of a plain bagel with no butter or cream cheese?; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:০১ PM
Hari বলেছেন...: "The barista said, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!' "

If this is accurate, then the barista was telling her that she had choose one or the other; and that neither was not an option, if she wanted to be served.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:০৩ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: I refuse to use Starbucks lingo as well, but I have never been asked to leave about it. All you have to do is describe the drink you want using words you want to use that others can also understand.

I think the person being an asshole here was probably the professor.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:০৪ PM
Freeman Hunt বলেছেন...: Old Dawg, I took that as the barista getting sassy because the customer was being so belligerent.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:০৬ PM
bagoh20 বলেছেন...: This is why my opening line is always: "I want to have sex with you."

It hasn't worked yet, but I'm hoping when it does, they at least get my order right.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:০৯ PM
KCFleming বলেছেন...: If the barista's really really cute, I completely forget what I was going to order and stand mute for a moment, certifying myself a fool.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:১৩ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: "I think the person being an asshole here was probably the professor."

The professor is always the asshole.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:১৮ PM
Hari বলেছেন...: Freeman Hunt,

"I took that as the barista getting sassy because the customer was being so belligerent."

I'm perfectly willing to assume the professor is a jerk. But in order for this to have escalated, the manager had to decide to back the belligerent barista.

Surely it was clear that this could have been resolved by simply giving the jerk a plain bagel. Why call the police?

Perhaps this was a "mad as hell moment" not for the professor, but for the crew as Starbucks.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:২০ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: I mean look at Gilligan's Island.

Mr. and Mrs. Howell were deeply in love and the Skipper and Gilligan had the first gay marriage on televison.

So the professor had a shot at two sweet pieces of bacala and all he did was try to make a telephone out of coconuts.

The professor is always the asshole.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:২০ PM
KCFleming বলেছেন...: "... all he did was try to make a telephone out of coconuts."

Man, and ignoring Tina Louise, too.
Whatta moron.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:২৭ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: Dawn Wells was way hotter.

I've always said that you can cut through a lifetime of psychoanalysis for any man simply by asking him if he would rather have sex with Ginger or Mary Ann.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৩০ PM
KCFleming বলেছেন...: Either/or?

What kind of cruel psychology question is that?; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৩২ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: You are absolutely correct, Pogo. An answer of both tells the story, as does neither. As would, of course, the answer of Mrs. Howell. Or the island natives who occasionally showed up...; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৩৫ PM
former law student বলেছেন...: 7M: Mary Ann, is it even a question?

Unless Ginger and I ended up drinking somewhere together, and her movie star glamor shell cracked enough to reveal the real Ginger.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৩৮ PM
KCFleming বলেছেন...: And when MaryAnn went all Single White Female and actually tried to become Ginger in one episode, well, now, that's psychology!; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৩৯ PM
Geoff Matthews বলেছেন...: I worked at a BK back when I was in High School. One day, the broiler broke, during the night-time bar rush (after the dining area closed, so after midnight.).

The manager decided to heat up the grill (used for cooking some breakfast items) and we sold fried burgers during that time. So I'm in an exclusive group of people who have sold fried burgers at BK.

I don't think that anyone noticed a difference, but the alcohol probably made a difference.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৩৯ PM
Methadras বলেছেন...: Well, looks like Prof. Rosenthal takes her job with her everywhere she goes. Hey lady, check your shit at the door, okay? I suspect she was just being a dick anyway and the minion behind the counter was being a counter-dick right back. Rage ensues. But I like this one:

"If you don't use their language, they refuse to serve you. They don't understand what a plain multigrain bagel is."

Hey honey, come on down to San Diego, where in some taco shops in the south county, if you don't order in spanish, you may not get your order right. Comprende? Besides, isn't Starbucks ordering system with respect to some of their ordering based on italian or some stupid shit language that isn't spoken anywhere else but in it's native country?; ১৬/৮/১০, ৩:৪৭ PM
Lynne বলেছেন...: I was waiting for someone to mention Nicholson. That's the first thing I thought of, and I've never even seen the whole movie. Just that one scene.

That said-
I've had too many friends work as wait staff to find that scene funny. It's a lousy job and a previous commenter was right: the director stacked the deck in Nicholson's favor.

When my sister was in college- over 30 years ago- she usually ate breakfast in her dorm. She liked plain wheat toast, 1 slice only. They didn't serve it that way. But the first time she passed down the cafeteria line, she gave the server a sweet, sweet smile and said shyly, "Is it ok if I just have one, not two? And I can butter it myself." The server not only obliged her, but by the end of the semester, she could count on her own special plate of plain toast waiting for her every morning!

Of course, it doesn't hurt that my sister is a *stunning* brunette with hazel eyes....;); ১৬/৮/১০, ৪:০০ PM
Chip Ahoy বলেছেন...: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Madison Man cracked me up.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৪:০০ PM
KCFleming বলেছেন...: "I've had too many friends work as wait staff to find that scene funny. It's a lousy job "...

Me, too. I can't see laying into a barista.

Laying a barista I understand.
Ba dum bum.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৪:০৮ PM
William বলেছেন...: Is there anyone on God's green earth who sympathizes with the professor? What's worse than being a wad, is inflecting your wadiness on someone in an inferior position. Try not to complicate the day of someone who is making minimum wage. As Buddy Hackett observed, there are people who go through life eating spit in fine restaurants.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৪:৩৫ PM
dbp বলেছেন...: Either side could have given in.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:০৬ PM
Jennifer বলেছেন...: Even in non-English/Italian speaking countries, they go with the "tall", "grande", "etc..." They are committed to their vernacular. Go with the flow, lady.

P.S. I couldn't figure out why in the heck anyone would want cheese on their bagel until I read the comments. Who calls cream cheese "cheese"!?; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:০৯ PM
Beth বলেছেন...: I won't order a f*cking venti or grande coffee. If there are three sizes, they are small, medium and large.

Unless I want a demitasse. But just try getting one of those at Starbucks.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:১২ PM
Beth বলেছেন...: এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:১৯ PM
Beth বলেছেন...: But yell at a minimum-wage barista? Not me (English instructor and former waitress in a coffee shop).

- Butter or cheese?
- Neither, thanks. Just plain. Oh, barista, my pal Trooper says to tell you you're cute. He does bra fittings, did you know that? What? Hey, there's no need to call security!; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:২০ PM
Kensington বলেছেন...: Both the professor and the barista sound like jerks, and I hope they have to spend eternity in the same small room together.

Of all the possible hills to die on, they chose bagels.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:২২ PM
Kensington বলেছেন...: And what does being a stickler for good grammar have to do with whether one should specify how they want their food presented?

That's a grammar issue?; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:২৪ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: So Trooper, I assume you've had similar customers. How do you deal with them?

(And a question I've always wanted to ask you, given your business, if a customer asks you "does this dress make me look fat?" Are you the one guy in the world who can answer, clearly, distinctly and unequivocally:

yes; ১৬/৮/১০, ৫:৫৭ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: How I picture Trooper dealing with that situation.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:০১ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: Being a liberal from New Yawk, I would expect her to be contrarian and say "Plain."

Butter or Cheese is just sooo common.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:০৩ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: Dealing with the public is a very difficult thing. Especially in my business in which the women who come in often have a lot of issues about their body.

I tell them bluntly "Listen Sweetheart I am going to talk Brooklyn to you. I am just about the only straight guy who works in a ladies clothing store. Now all of those so called problem areas that you are worried about like your arms or you back or whatever. Trust me, a straight guy ain't lookin at that. Try this dress on and we will have Trooper's acid test. Would I buy you a drink if you were wearing that dress when you walk into the bar?"

Works every time.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:০৬ PM
bill বলেছেন...: minor rewrites to a Suicidal Tendencies song.

Sometimes I try to order food and it just doesn't work out the way I wanted to.
I get real frustrated and I try hard to do it and I take my time and it doesn't work out the way I wanted to.
It's like I concentrate real hard and it doesn't work out.
Everything I do and everything I try never turns out.
It's like I need time to figure these things out.
But there's always someone there going
Hey Lynne:
You know we've been noticing you've been having a lot of problems lately.
You know, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!'

...

I was in my room and I was just like staring at the wall thinking about correct English.
But then again I was thinking about nothing
And then my mom came in and I didn't even know she was there.
She called my name and I didn't hear her and then she started screaming: LYNNE! LYNNE!
And I go: What, what's the matter?
She goes: What's the matter with you?
I go: There's nothing wrong mom.
She's all: Don't tell me that, you're on drugs!
I go: No mom I'm not on drugs I'm okay, I was just thinking you know, why don't you get me a multigrain bagel.
She goes: NO you're on drugs!
I go: Mom I'm okay, I'm just thinking.
She goes: No you're not thinking, you're on drugs! Normal people don't be acting that way!
I go: Mom just get me a multigrain bagel, please
All I want is a multigrain bagel, and she wouldn't give it to me
All I wanted was a multigrain bagel, just one multigrain bagel, and she wouldn't give it to me.
Just a multigrain bagel.

...

How can you say what MY best interest is? What are you trying to say, I'M crazy?
When I ate your school lunches, I went to YOUR church potlucks,
I went to YOUR institutional fast food facilities?! So how can you say I'M crazy?

hey say they're gonna fix my brain
Alleviate my suffering and my pain
But by the time they fix my head
Mentally I'll be dead

I'm not crazy - Institutionalized
You're the one who's crazy - Institutionalized
You're driving me crazy - Institutionalized
They stuck me in an institution,
Said it was the only solution,
to give me the needed professional help,
to protect me from the enemy - Myself

Doesn't matter, I'll probably get hit by a food cart anyways.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:১০ PM
bill বলেছেন...: Sometimes I try to order food and it just doesn't work out the way I wanted to.
I get real frustrated and I try hard to do it and I take my time and it doesn't work out the way I wanted to.
It's like I concentrate real hard and it doesn't work out.
Everything I do and everything I try never turns out.
It's like I need time to figure these things out.
But there's always someone there going
Hey Lynne:
You know we've been noticing you've been having a lot of problems lately.
You know, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!'

...

I was in my room and I was just like staring at the wall thinking about correct English.
But then again I was thinking about nothing
And then my mom came in and I didn't even know she was there.
She called my name and I didn't hear her and then she started screaming: LYNNE! LYNNE!
And I go: What, what's the matter?
She goes: What's the matter with you?
I go: There's nothing wrong mom.
She's all: Don't tell me that, you're on drugs!
I go: No mom I'm not on drugs I'm okay, I was just thinking you know, why don't you get me a multigrain bagel.
She goes: NO you're on drugs!
I go: Mom I'm okay, I'm just thinking.
She goes: No you're not thinking, you're on drugs! Normal people don't be acting that way!
I go: Mom just get me a multigrain bagel, please
All I want is a multigrain bagel, and she wouldn't give it to me
All I wanted was a multigrain bagel, just one multigrain bagel, and she wouldn't give it to me.
Just a multigrain bagel.

...

How can you say what MY best interest is? What are you trying to say, I'M crazy?
When I ate your school lunches, I went to YOUR church potlucks,
I went to YOUR institutional fast food facilities?! So how can you say I'M crazy?

hey say they're gonna fix my brain
Alleviate my suffering and my pain
But by the time they fix my head
Mentally I'll be dead

I'm not crazy - Institutionalized
You're the one who's crazy - Institutionalized
You're driving me crazy - Institutionalized
They stuck me in an institution,
Said it was the only solution,
to give me the needed professional help,
to protect me from the enemy - Myself

Doesn't matter, I'll probably get hit by a food cart anyways.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:১৫ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: It can be a little more problematic with the shy girls. The women I relate to the best are the African American and Latino girls who are comfortable with themselves.

Many of them come in on Saturday morning when I open the shop and am usually by myself until about 1pm. I crank up my soul albums with Al Green and James Brown and Wilson Pickett and Marvin and Smokey and the whole crew. We groove to the music and the girls try on the latest stuff we made.

One time this one babe put on our slinky Melnna Maxi dress which is very nicely low cut and shows off the girls to full effect if you know what I mean.

She goes "So baby would you buy me a drink if I was wearing this when I came into the bar?"

"No sorry sugar I wouldn't."

"What?"

"I would buy you a car."

She bought it in every color.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:১৭ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: All I want is a multigrain bagel, and she wouldn't give it to me

Bill -- That song was the first thing I thought of, too. I am so glad to see that you thought of it, too.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:১৮ PM
Methadras বলেছেন...: Trooper York said...

She goes "So baby would you buy me a drink if I was wearing this when I came into the bar?"

"No sorry sugar I wouldn't."

"What?"

"I would buy you a car."

She bought it in every color.

Playa!!!; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:২৯ PM
bill বলেছেন...: Seven Machos -- looks like my comment was deleted.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৩১ PM
Methadras বলেছেন...: Trooper, dude. More of the first girl with the long hair in the Melnni Maxi dress. She looks hot. The hair makes it happen.

wv = repig = what I am right now. I disgust me.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৩২ PM
Methadras বলেছেন...: Sorry. Melnna Maxi, not Melnni Maxi.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৩৩ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: Bill -- Don't take it personal. Althouse is having some kind of problem with this that's not her doing.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৩৫ PM
AC245 বলেছেন...: The barista said, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!'

It would have been funny if the barista had continued with "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?"

Then the other customers could have shouted in chorus: "Hey! Kid! Leave that teacher alone!"; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৩৮ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: Methras, that's my daughter, don't make me come looking for you pal!; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৪৫ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: Trooper;
You play Al Green in your shop.

SHUT UP!; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৫৭ PM
ddh বলেছেন...: Prof. Rosenthal lets everyone know that she has a Ph.D. from Columbia but not where she teaches, which probably means she feels that someone of her intelligence deserves better than adjunct contracts at several community colleges. She tells the New York Post that she's a stickler for "correct English," when the context suggests she meant "precise English."

So, she decides to stand "on principle" by--in her own words-- yelling, "I want a multigrain bagel." My question: Narcissism aside, why is she surprised that, when she behaves like George Costanza, she is treated like George Costanza? Even George knew that whatever he would do is the wrong thing to do.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৬:৫৮ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: Clearly if the barista had played "Love and Happiness" there would have been no such incident, all would have been good.

Rev. Al can make it alright; ১৬/৮/১০, ৭:০০ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: Al Green and Pink Floyd.

We are getting our '70's groove on.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৭:১২ PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe বলেছেন...: Erm, "Bagel Nazi," just sounds wrong.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৭:৩০ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: The funny thing is that as soon as the wife or another employee comes in they change the ipod.

They say that Al Green and Marvin Gay are Old White Guy Music.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৭:৪৩ PM
former law student বলেছেন...: Is she really your daughter, Troop, or are you just messing with us?; ১৬/৮/১০, ৮:৫২ PM
former law student বলেছেন...: Lynne R. is an associate professor of English at Mercy College in NYC.

https://www.mercy.edu/academics/faculty-directory/faculty-directory-printable/; ১৬/৮/১০, ৯:০২ PM
ddh বলেছেন...: John Lynch, perhaps "barista fascista"? Nevertheless, I have never run into an unpleasant barista at Starbucks.

Thanks, former law student, for the bio info on Prof. Rosenthal. I had guessed wrong about her status, but I bet she still feels entitled to more than life has given her. Being an associate professor in her 60s at a college that lacks the prestige of Barnard or Sarah Lawrence may be a narcissistic injury for her. It would be normal for someone to say "I'm an English professor at Mercy College," but saying "I'm an English professor with a Ph.D. from Columbia" with no mention of the institution where she teaches sounds defensive to me.; ১৬/৮/১০, ৯:৪৯ PM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: They say that Al Green and Marvin Gay are Old White Guy Music.

And this old white guy loves it.

speaking of daughters many years ago I had to drive my daughter to her charter school. I told her then, "If I drive, I pick the music"

She's now a lover of Billy Joel and Sly and the Family Stone.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১০:০১ PM
Gabriel Hanna বলেছেন...: Associate professor at my university is the lowest tenured rank...; ১৬/৮/১০, ১০:৩২ PM
Bob Ellison বলেছেন...: My favorite restaurant ever was La Cucaracha (the cockroach) on Indian School Road in Phoenix, AZ. My father used to ask for the green mixed burro, enchilada style, and I'd say "I'll have the same thing." The server would ask, "Don't you want one of your own?"

I guess you hadda be there.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১০:৪৫ PM
Beth বলেছেন...: but saying "I'm an English professor with a Ph.D. from Columbia" with no mention of the institution where she teaches sounds defensive to me.

Possibly, but it's not unusual to avoid identifying one's workplace when in a public contretemps. She's in high dudgeon and being interviewed, and some bit of discretion prevailed.; ১৬/৮/১০, ১০:৫২ PM
jamboree বলেছেন...: In the "Falling Down" clip. Never saw it before. Am I the only one that thinks Douglas is the one being an asshole? Even before he gets the gun out. Post-Columbine/Virginia Tech/Fort Hood, it's actually chilling to watch. How spoiled are you that you can't let someone with a soul-crushing minimum wage job get through their damn day.; ১৭/৮/১০, ১২:৩০ AM
jamboree বলেছেন...: OK. Read it. What a stupid cranky ass cow. Here let me help her:

"Please, I would like a multigrain bagel - PLAIN, Thanks so much." That fulfills everyone's requirements. She gets to speak in the positive tone, yet makes herself clear.; ১৭/৮/১০, ১২:৩৫ AM
Revenant বলেছেন...: In the "Falling Down" clip. Never saw it before. Am I the only one that thinks Douglas is the one being an asshole?

*Everyone* in that movie is an asshole, with the possible exception of Robert Duvall's character.; ১৭/৮/১০, ১২:৫৬ AM
Methadras বলেছেন...: Trooper York said...

Methras, that's my daughter, don't make me come looking for you pal!

LOL!!!; ১৭/৮/১০, ২:২৭ AM
Phil 314 বলেছেন...: Jam;
Am I the only one that thinks Douglas is the one being an asshole?

Watch the whole movie (its ok. It gained more attention due to its subject matter than the quality of the film) and you'll see how he "gets what he wants" in the end.; ১৭/৮/১০, ৯:৩৩ AM
Fred4Pres বলেছেন...: I thought the customer was always right?; ১৭/৮/১০, ৯:৫০ AM
Fred4Pres বলেছেন...: So she was bitchy. They should have just given her the bagel and sent her on her way.; ১৭/৮/১০, ৯:৫২ AM
ndspinelli বলেছেন...: All corporate restaurants require you to follow their format. And some are quite Orwellian. My family was in the restaurant business for 50 years. You don't have to deal w/ these confines when you go to restaurants owned by actual people. That's why we should always seek out the small business owner whenever possible; ১৭/৮/১০, ১০:০০ AM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: That is indeed my daughter, FLS so keep it clean or I will have to look you up too!; ১৭/৮/১০, ২:২৮ PM
Trooper York বলেছেন...: When I had the crew for "What Not to Wear" setting up for the shoot of the season premiere, they were all old white guys. I had my music blasting. James Brown, Al Green, Bill Withers and the Stylistics.

Everybody was grooving to the music.

Than the wife came in and changed it to Lady Gaga and Beyonce.; ১৭/৮/১০, ২:৩১ PM
Synova বলেছেন...: The girl at a local Subway thought I yelled at her. After I got my stuff (finally) and my daughter and I were eating she came out and told me I had been abusive, told me she was talking and I couldn't interrupt, and said that her co-worker (manager? someone...) said she wouldn't have had to serve me.

I was horrified.

From my point of view the fans in the empty store were so loud that I thought she couldn't hear me over them so I raised my voice. I couldn't find "seafood salad" on the menu so I asked how much was a "six inch seafood salad" to which she responded something about salads, to which I said, "No. A *sandwich*." After a couple of iterations she explained that a *sandwich* was called a "seafood sensation", which I apparently was supposed to know even though I couldn't find it on the menu.

I finally got my food. I never said anything to her that was personal whatsoever.

She said that she gets angry customers and had someone throw something at her once.

Considering that she was convinced that I was *hostile*, I'm not really surprised.

And I have NEVER gone back. I didn't say a single personal thing to her. She said that I was abusive. It made me feel sick to my stomach and upset for the rest of the day.

I will NEVER go back. And I don't care if she is there or not.; ১৭/৮/১০, ২:৪৯ PM
Synova বলেছেন...: I also don't care if her delusion meant she went in back and cried after serving me and before getting the resolution to come out and "politely" tell me I was a horrible person. I didn't DO anything.; ১৭/৮/১০, ২:৫৪ PM