Bitching, moaning

It's been months since I've posted here, though not for lack of things to write about. There have been a couple of things over the past week that need mentioning, though:

I went to a concert at Jordan Hall at NEC the other night, for the first time in nearly 6 months. Soon after sitting in my seat it was clear that something was different about the hall...NEC was advertising itself on stage! Yes, in their obsession with "branding" (which I know of firsthand), NEC created a wood/metal(?) sign and that reads "New England Conservatory," and place it smack dab in the middle of the back wall of the stage. The wood on the sign almost matches the wood of the hall, but it's noticeably different. The font, though (which can be seen in the logo on their website), doesn't match the style of the hall at all, which makes the words even more of a distraction. Does the BSO have a sign in the back of Symphony Hall? Does Sanders have a "Harvard University" sign in the middle of Sanders Theater? It's obvious that NEC wants to remind people that they're not just in Jordan Hall, but also at NEC. But it's also obvious that putting the words "New England Conservatory" in plain sight on the stage really takes away from the concert-going experience - you want to be focussing on the music and the beautiful hall, not on words on the stage (which I found difficult to ignore). It's too bad NEC chose to detract from the Jordan Hall Experience.

Another disconcerting change in the area is to the Harvest Coop in Central Square. I saw a while back that they were renovating, and now the renovations are complete. The store is still called "Harvest," but they renamed the front portion of the place...get ready..."The Clear Conscience Cafe." A while back I was getting annoyed at a hybrid commercial that indicated that a great reason to buy a hybrid is so that you can lord it over your littering, polluting brethren. Now this mentality is seeping into cafe culture! Will I have people with Clear Conscience Coffee Cups giving me knowing looks of their superiority I walk down the street with my cup of 7-Eleven joe? Oh, the disgrace I will feel! Sheesh.