Starbucks is planning to expand its Starbucks Evenings stores to carry wine and beer. Looking forward to the new Beer Lattes and Wine Macchiato. There will be a lower-priced store line that sells Starbucks wine in brown paper bags, including the high-end of the line, the "Thunderbird of Paradise." "It carries the intoxicating scent of a New York city subway with the slight hint of bus exhaust." Starbucks will also be hiring a new class of drink blenders, including the beerista.... A friend on Facebook asked his followers to name the last time they were moved to tears. "At the end of the Kentucky-Connecticut NCAA championship game," I said. ... Russian president Vladimir Putin is playing hard ball in his demand for the Ukraine to pay for its natural gas. He hired a bunch of big burly guys who are visiting Ukraine lawmakers and gently suggesting, "You know, you don't pay up, accidents can happen. The next thing you know, you fall down and your knee is all messed up. And you just never know when your fire insurance won't cover your dwelling and valuables." .... Saw a very honest Ethics policy on a website recently: "We don't have any." ... There is a note about scientists having grown human body parts in a lab. Just waiting for that day when some high school biology student says, "Mom, guess what? We made lungs today in class."