The Next Five Years in American House Trends
Consumers stay at home more, and housewares industry takes note
By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — As the recession takes a toll on most businesses, the housewares industry is actually expecting to see some benefit as more consumers eat, entertain and generally spend more time at home in order to save money.
In a presentation earlier this week, Mirabile pointed out several home trends he’s expecting for 2010. Below are five trends he predicts for the kitchen and beyond:
The live-in kitchen. Consumers spend three to four hours in the kitchen every day, not only cooking there but using it as a place to entertain, work, craft and spend leisure time, Mirabile said. The kitchen is being reinvented as a second living room, he said, as appliances are camouflaged and functional objects are hidden or minimized, allowing people to create ambiance in the room.
Living within our means. The recession is changing long-held opinions on how we spend our money. Consumers are looking for quality and durability in products — a shift away from disposable consumption, he said. They’re canning food more and growing their own herbs, they’re brown bagging lunches and they’re shopping in bulk at warehouse clubs or stocking up during grocery store sales to save money.
The green kitchen. Americans continue to make their lives more environmentally friendly, but they’re increasingly confused and frustrated about what is really “green,” Mirabile said. While they want products to be eco-friendly, they’re not going to pay much of a premium for it either — they expect retailers and manufacturers to deliver green products at competitive prices.
The wellness kitchen. Buying local food and/or growing your own often means it will be fresher and free from pesticides and preservatives — in short, more nutritious, he said. Today’s consumers are also interested in purifying their water and air.
Cooking for fun. We’re a nation of foodies, Mirabile said, quoting a Nielsen survey that found one in every five households has a “budding gourmet chef.” It’s not just women spending more time in the kitchen, either; “gastrosexuals” are men who consider cooking more of a hobby than a household chore, and use kitchen skills to impress friends and prospective partners. The popularity of the Food Network has helped to inspire a new love with food and cooking, and he expects consumers to continue to search for new recipes, techniques and cooking tools.
Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.
Geraldine Brooks: People of the Book
I love the way Geraldine Brooks writes. I got hooked when I read Nine Parts of Desire and then again when I read Year of Wonders. You can read my review on her award winning March here. So I could hardly wait for People of the Book to come out in paperback, so I could read it. (Those hard cover books hurt too much when they fall over if I fall asleep, and are too heavy and bulky to carry on airplanes.)
Here is what I like about Geraldine Brooks. Her books are not easy to read. They make you uncomfortable. They make you think. They give you another perspective, and that perspective challenges your assumptions.
The heroine, Hannah, is not very likable. She is cold, she makes poor decisions, and she has a very uneasy relationship with her mother. She is, on the other hand, a master of her craft, which is stabilizing and restoration of old books. She is the specialist called in by museums to help preserve masterful works, and to identify forces at work which can cause grave damage to these books.
While this is a work of fiction, it is based on an actual book and some of the history surrounding it. The Sarajevo Haggadah, a Jewish holy book, is a real book. Some of its history is known – including the fact that it was twice saved from destruction by Moslems, one a very brave librarian in Sarajevo who rescued and preserved it risking his own life, the fact that it was saved from destruction during the Italian inquisition by a Catholic priest. From tiny bits of physical evidence, Geraldine Brooks weaves an entire book creating a story how all the individuals and forces that might have been involved in the creation and preservation of this one special book.
People of the Book is a mystery – Hanna goes in and in the process of evaluating and analyzing the book, gathers tiny bits of “evidence” – a tiny grain of salt, a hair, wine stains. As she investigates, lab results come back, filling in missing pieces of how this book might have travelled from Spain of the convivencia (Medieval Spain) to modern day Sarajevo. Slowly, slowly, Brooks reveals to the readers the real (fictional!) people behind the tiny pieces of evidence.
The plot is interesting. What grabbed me from the beginning, however, is that this is a real book-lovers book, written by a woman who loves books. We learn about how books are created, how book conservators know, from looking at the origin of a sheet of paper, where a book was created and about what time period it was created. We learn about different treatments of paper, we learn about inks, we learn how pigments are created, and we learn about illustrations.
I was captivated by all the love of book-creation present in this book. Most of all, I love it that she dedicated this book to the librarians of the world, those unsung heros who devote their lives to the preservation of information. It was definitely worth a read – and, as an exception to most of my rules, it will probably be worth a re-read.
A friend recommended a video of Geraldine Brooks discussing this book at a book-talk at Northeastern University. It is a little long – you will need about 38 minutes of your time if you want to listen to this amazing woman:
Ghostly Sunrise
One minute I looked and there was nothing, the next, this faint outline of the rising sun. It doesn’t look like rain – remember the forecast for today was 100% precipitation? Today the forecast is only for 30% rain.
I wouldn’t mind a little rain.
Today is one of those “miles to go before I sleep” kind of days. While it isn’t a snowy evening, and “woods” is not a word I would easily associate with Kuwait, nonetheless, I have promises to keep . . .
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
Sunrise 28 March 09
Yikes. Almost a quarter of 2009 gone already? Yikes.
The Gulf is as smooth as glass once again today, people are out looking for little fish or shellfish to add to their Kuwait bouillabaisse, and the roads are quiet. It is another perfect day in Kuwait.
It’s clear. Not a lot of haze, I can see almost to the horizon . . . but I am having trouble breathing. I don’t have asthma, or I don’t think I do, but some days I wake up feeling like I am not getting enough oxygen, and this is one of them. I don’t understand – no dust storm, no nothing, but I feel like a goldfish whose water needs changing.
The temperatures this week are perfect – not a too-hot day in the bunch, all just right for picnics and sitting outside for coffee at night. Pure heaven.
Did you see that? Tomorrow we have 100% chance of precipitation? How often do you see that; weather people so sure that they will say 100%? I think I would say 95% just to be on the safe side, LOL.
We had eight drops on our windshield on the way to church yesterday. AdventureMan called it torrential. He says in Kuwait, eight raindrops equals a torrent. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Have a great day, Kuwait.
Record Traffic Violations Recorded
Cameras capture record traffic violations
Staff Writer – From today’s Al Watan
Wooo HOOOO! Cameras are impartial; they catch the violators, no matter who. I love it.
KUWAIT: The relocation of radar cameras on major roads has led to a sharp increase in the number of violations registered during an entire month. According to security sources; they reported that around 2,000 cars have been photographed by the relocated cameras during last January as compared to 900 cars prior to the relocation.
Earlier on, the Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Major General Mahmoud AlـDousari had recommended the relocation of the radar cameras, particularly since motorists had become too familiar with the previous locations. Drivers who have been involved in violations have been contacted through official channels to either pay their fines or get referred to the concerned authorities. It has been gathered that fines have been already collected from 400 errant motorists.
Last updated on Friday 27/3/2009
Here is an extra one for you, General Al-Dousari, one of those special kind of people who travel in the emergency lane while the rest of us obey the rules and crawl along the freeway. I could not resist this particular photo – with the sign right there.
PS – We were not moving. I wasn’t driving when I took the photo. 🙂
First Kuwaiti Policewomen Graduate
Wooo HOOO on you, Kuwaiti policewomen! It is always hard to be in the vanguard, you take the criticisms, you take the disbelieving stares, and you handle questions, even from your own families. It’s always tough to be out front – to be a leader.
First group of policewomen graduate
From today’s Al Watan
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Sabah AlـAhmad AlـSabah has attended on Wednesday the graduation ceremony of the 35th batch of military cadets, the 20th batch of specialized officers and the first batch of female cadets at the Support Authority Institute of the Saad AlـAbdullah Academy for Security Sciences.
The ceremony witnessed the graduation of the first batch of policewomen in the country. His Highness the Amir who arrived at the academy at 10:30 a.m. was warmly received by the Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Sheikh Jaber AlـKhalid AlـSabah, as well as other senior police officers.
The ceremony was also attended by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlـAhmad AlـSabah, Vice President of the National Guards Corps Sheikh Mishaal
AlـAhmad AlـSabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlـMohammed AlـSabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Sheikh Jaber AlـMubarak AlـSabah, as well as other members of the ruling family, senior statesmen and members of the families of the graduating cadets.
Representatives of the 35th batch of military cadets then handed over the national flag to the representatives of the 36th batch. The Assistant Director General of the Academy for Education and Training Affairs Brigadier Dr. Waleed Khalaf BinـSalama read the ministerial decrees before inducting the new male and female police officers into the police force.
His Highness the Amir handed the graduates awards and certificates in appreciation for their efforts and then received the shield of the academy, that is dedicated to him, from Major General Yousef Mubarak AlـMedhahka. ـKUNA
Last updated on Thursday 26/3/2009
Sunrise March 26, 2009
It is a glorious sunrise. There are just enough clouds to radiate and reflect the glory of the rising sun, the haze has retreated, at least temporarily. Looking closer, however, you can see a totally separate layer of brownish yellow, and in this photo, it is even higher, above the rising sun. As I watched the layer, it morphed from a whale’s tale, to an elephant spouting water, to a scorpion tale, rising out of the rising sun.
It looks like we can breathe more safely today, Kuwait, as we get ready for the weekend. Yesterday, I couldn’t keep my eye make up on – I didn’t even know it but I was rubbing it off as I rubbed my irritated eyes. Let’s hope today is a better day.
We’re having a little cold spell – temperatures will be a little lower today. For all my friends in Germany, in Seattle, New York and other assorted – and cold – places, that was a little joke. We have had temperatures up in the 80’s and 90’s.
Perfect weather for fishing. I want this boat:
Space Storm Alert: 90 Seconds from Catastrophe
A fascinating article from New Scientist passed along by Law and Order Man. Thanks for a very scary article. 😦
According to the NAS report, a severe space weather event in the US could induce ground currents that would knock out 300 key transformers within about 90 seconds, cutting off the power for more than 130 million people (see map). From that moment, the clock is ticking for America.
First to go – immediately for some people – is drinkable water. Anyone living in a high-rise apartment, where water has to be pumped to reach them, would be cut off straight away. For the rest, drinking water will still come through the taps for maybe half a day. With no electricity to pump water from reservoirs, there is no more after that.
There is simply no electrically powered transport: no trains, underground or overground. Our just-in-time culture for delivery networks may represent the pinnacle of efficiency, but it means that supermarket shelves would empty very quickly – delivery trucks could only keep running until their tanks ran out of fuel, and there is no electricity to pump any more from the underground tanks at filling stations.
Back-up generators would run at pivotal sites – but only until their fuel ran out. For hospitals, that would mean about 72 hours of running a bare-bones, essential care only, service. After that, no more modern healthcare.
72 hours of healthcare remaining
The truly shocking finding is that this whole situation would not improve for months, maybe years: melted transformer hubs cannot be repaired, only replaced. “From the surveys I’ve done, you might have a few spare transformers around, but installing a new one takes a well-trained crew a week or more,” says Kappenman. “A major electrical utility might have one suitably trained crew, maybe two.”
Within a month, then, the handful of spare transformers would be used up. The rest will have to be built to order, something that can take up to 12 months.
Even when some systems are capable of receiving power again, there is no guarantee there will be any to deliver. Almost all natural gas and fuel pipelines require electricity to operate. Coal-fired power stations usually keep reserves to last 30 days, but with no transport systems running to bring more fuel, there will be no electricity in the second month.
You can read the entire, very scary article, by clicking NEW SCIENTIST
Light Haze My Foot!
The sun is a mere light dot in the sky, small, impotent, far away and struggling to break through the “light haze.” The “light haze” is so think that I can only see a couple hundred meters off the shore, and my head is thick and it is harder to breathe this morning. I have a very bad feeling about this “light haze.”
Blush Pink Dawn 24 Mar 09
It was one of those hushed, still mornings; once again the water is smooth as glass and the sky is just preparing to receive the sun, all glow-y and blushing, but without the presence of the awaited guest:
This morning’s temperature at 0630 was the expected high temperature back in January. It is still fresh, but it won’t be for long.
Have a great day, Kuwait!
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