It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's an Argument.

OOOOOOKAY. Now that is an argument if I have ever seen one. Glaring and confrontational if you ask me. Who exactly does this coffee mug think it is? Let's find out.

You know what really trims my hedges? Gardeners. Also, the fact that The Brew, our lovely on-campus extension of the generation-owning, street-corner-monopolizing, bookstore-saving arm of capitalism Starbucks Coffee, is arguably not actually by the Slough. There, I said it. Is it irrational for this to bother me? I'd rather not think about that, so let's move on.

The whole concept does make a decent amount of sense. We're college students, and if you can wake up, go to class, get some decent grades and still have the pep to attack that homework before bedtime all without the aid of God's brown battery acid, more power to you. But for those of us who need/enjoy the stuff, there is some issue that can be taken with the java being identifiable with the Slough.

No doubt the argument is that coffee-drinkers, if given the choice, would buy coffee that could then be calmly sipped in solitude by a pleasant natural environment. Truly, there are few greater joys than grabbing a cup o' joe with a friend or colleague and taking a stroll down the slough path, taking in the plants, the animals, and the off-putting realization that the water is the same color as your mocha latte. The scenery has been known to really incite some interesting discussion and questions. Is there an afterlife? What is humanity's purpose? Did I just see a mutant fish with arms drag a raccoon into
the water? You know, questions we all ask ourselves when looking at the Slough.

The advertising mentality of the name does fall short in this respect. Like most arguments, it is prone to failure under certain conditions, namely the Slough's stagnant nature and in the dead of Winter when it is more frozen than Keanu Reeves' face. People will be more likely to buy coffee if they are baited with a comfortable, inspiring environment, but the Slough just isn't always that place. It is
utterly dependent on the situation.

That all being said, "A Coffee Shop" is not a particularly enticing name either. So all in all, I'm glad Augustana made the attempt to develop a suitable name no matter how effective it is.
Think about this the next time you catch a whiff of that coffee. Or the Slough for that matter.
End tirade. Thoughts, comments, musings, and expletives welcome. Cheers.