Brookfield Wannabe

For Halloween, some people give out treats.  I'll give you a trick.  The object of this test is to try and beat the computer at a game of tic tac toe.  It'll have you screaming in frustration.

(In order to do the test, the sound on your computer must be turned on.)

Tic Tac Toe Test
 

I read the news story a few days ago, and over the weekend, I saw the going out of business banner on the Bluemound Road store. 

Luckily, for those of us who love home furnishing stores like these and could spend hours wandering the packed aisles, Bed, Bath & Beyond is just up the road in the Fountain Square complex.

Brookfield Square is holding a "celebration" in honor of its renovation from October 16-19.   I was there a few days ago and was generally impressed with the changes.

Thumbs up:  Overall redecoration

The whole mall has a cleaner, bigger look.   The new flooring and new lighting make the mall brighter and seem more open.  There are more seating areas with new armchairs and love seats.

Thumbs up:  renovation of the food court

There is more seating, including banquette seating that partially rims the table areas.  At the time I was there, what looked like a fireplace was not yet completed.

Thumbs down:  counter seating behind banquettes 

Although the addition of counters and bar stools adds more seating, when seated facing the banquettes, I found it a little disconcerting to look up and find a counter seater staring back at me. 

Thumbs up:  new food court vendors 

Steak Escape and Stir Fry 88 to name a few.  (Note:  Stir Fry 88 is different from the new restaurant Stir Crazy, which is not located inside the mall but in a separate building on the north side of Boston Store.)

Thumbs down:  Pushy sample person from Stir Fry 88

Was a little sulky when we turned down the free samples. 

Thumbs down: Parking on the east side of the mall 

With the addition of the new Claim Jumper restaurant, parking on the east side of the mall has become more of a hassle.  I find that parking around Sears is usually the best option. 

Thumbs up:  interactive floor game for kids by the food court

I'm not sure how this works exactly, but there is a machine on the ceiling that projects games on to a special mat on the floor.  Children can make things move in the various games by moving their feet on the floor mat.  (So, you can "kick" balls and other objects.)

I'm not talking about beauty.  I'm talking about what offends you.  Two interesting situations came up recently.  I'd be interested in knowing what you think.  (As always comments are being moderated.)

Situation 1 

I was shopping yesterday at a grocery store in the Brookfield/Elm Grove area.  While waiting in line, I scanned the magazines at the checkout.  I noticed that one magazine was almost fully obscured from my view by a black, rectangular piece of something like light plywood.  I couldn't tell what magazine was behind it, so I pulled it out. After seeing what was on the cover, I did a quick check of the other checkout lanes.  The magazine was covered up in all the lanes that it was in.

The magazine was "People".  On the cover, a picture of Clay Aiken holding his new baby.  The headline, printed in bold letters, was "Yes, I'm Gay". 

Situation 2 

The Spouse's company has been running a series of radio ads.   A recent ad, written by one of the ad agency's employees, used the word "gypped." In the ad, it was  used as a synonym for the word "cheated."  After about a week, a message was left on the company's voice mail.  The caller, offended by the ad, called the Spouse's company "idiots" and "bigots," with one or two expletives thrown in for good measure.

The problem?  The word "gypped" is a racial or ethnic slur against gypsies, which the Spouse discovered after googling the word.  Here are some of the links found:

Defective Yeti and Houston Chronicle

The Spouse didn't know this and, that night, asked me what I thought of the word "gypped," without telling me about the offended caller.  I answered that I might have just used the word "cheated," but the basis for my answer was because I wouldn't use "slang" in the ad, not because I knew it was offensive.

The Spouse's company has pulled the ad. 

Another interesting point is that someone at the ad agency flagged the ad for the reason outlined above, but after discussion, the powers that be at the agency decided that the flag was just an "overreaction".