So, it's not free?

Way to go, Dunkin Donuts: The doughnut chain quietly recanted its "Free Iced Coffee Day" last month -- usually on the same day as Rita's Free Water Ice Day -- and declared today plain-old "Iced Coffee Day," offering its cold java drink for 50 cents all day today.

In attempt to spin the ire of freebie lovers, DD is donating 5 cents of every purchase to benefit Home for Our Troops, a national nonprofit dedicated to building specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans.

I know I'm a little late on this, but hey, you've still got four hours or more to hit up your local DD and pay for what should have been your free iced coffee. Damn these tough economic times.

Let free-food ring!

My fellow Americans, tomorrow is Election Day and in the true spirit of our obese country, a bunch of businesses are bribing you to vote with free food!

Democratic, Republican, Independent, Libertarian - whatever. Vote for whomever you want, but make sure you vote! Here are a few freebie deals for you to check out tomorrow after you've hit up the polls:


For starters, Starbucks is offering a free 12-oz (tall) coffee to any voter. The promotion, announced in a 60-second commercial during this weekend's Saturday Night Live, is available all day. The company is going by the honor system, so just let the barista know that you voted and you're good to go! [click here to find a Starbs near you]

Krispy Kreme, on the other hand, is requiring an "I Voted Today" sticker for you to bag your free doughnut. Present the sticker to the cashier, and you'll receive a free star-shaped doughnut with patriotic sprinkles. Go America! [click here to find a Krispy Kreme near you]

You can also satisfy your Election Day sweet tooth by heading over to a Ben & Jerry's "scoop shop" between 5-8 p.m. tomorrow. The company is offering free scoops during that time with their "Democracy Never Tasted So Sweet" campaign. Scoops are limited one per customer.

I've also heard that some Chick-fil-A locations will be offering a free chicken sandwich to those wearing "I Voted Today" stickers tomorrow and those who bring in their political yard signs on Nov. 5. I'd check with your local Chick-fil-A for confirmation, but that's an awesome deal if you're more of a savory person like I am. [click here to find a Chick-fil-A near you]

If you've got any other freebie tips, feel free to post 'em! Happy voting!

RELATED LINKS
Decision 2008
Don't vote!
Baby mama ain't Obama
Grand Old convention
Dems fightin' words

Wake up and smell the rabies

Part of the reason I'm posting at 1 a.m. on a Wednesday is because I had a latte about four hours ago and the caffeine is pulsating through my veins. Can't sleep, can't sleep, gotta write... But thank the Lord I didn't find what one Iowa woman recently found in her cup o' joe:

The woman went about her regular nightly routine, turning her automatic coffee maker on before bed and drinking her usual cup of coffee the next morning. Only when she went to clean the coffee filter out that night, she noticed there was a dead bat inside.

The bat had been flying around her house earlier, but she didn't think too much of it. Health officials said the bat was sent to a lab but that its brain was too cooked by the hot water to determine whether it had rabies. Can we say, 'Ew!'?

I don't know about you, but just looking at that bat picture right there freaks me out. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel after drinking bat brain juice.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said the woman has undergone rabies treatment anyway. Hey, if all else fails, maybe she'll have a part in a future Batman film, ehh? ehh?

Happy October!

Break out the cider donuts, pumpkin spice lattes, fall festivals, hayrides and scary Halloween things -- it's officially the greatest month of the year! Can't wait for those leaves to start changing...

Afternoon delight at Starbs

Speaking of tanking economy (see below), Starbucks is trying to take itself off life support by offering a new promotion to help save company loyalists a few bucks.

The "Treat Receipt" program allows Starbucks customers to bring in their receipt from a purchase earlier in the day to receive any grande iced drink for $2 (beginning at 2 p.m.). The deal is good til Sept. 2

This is excellent news for people who are addicted to Starbucks enough to regularly purchase its overpriced drinks twice a day, but for the rest of us... Is this really going to push you to spend $4 on a small--sorry, "tall"--coffee at 8 a.m. just to get the reduced price Mocha Choca Latta Ya Ya in the afternoon? Mm, probably not. You'd essentially be paying $6 to get the latter.

Still, the company says it is responding to customer requests for nationwide promotions, and Starbucks fiends who can overlook the backward logic in this program will be happy to know that their morning receipt could save them $2.15 off a Mint Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino. Okay, well that one kind of sounds good enough to go for broke...

RELATED LINKS
Your barista today is: Ronald McDonald?

Free this time, I swear!

Okay, no joke this time: Tomorrow (May 15) is Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day!


For some reason, the chain set the first day of spring as its annual giveaway day, but backed out at the last minute, leaving freebie-seekers feeling stupid at the counter and awkwardly paying for a drink they were only ordering because they thought it was free.

But tomorrow we will all be given the opportunity to imbibe some delicious and free iced coffee--regular or flavored! [click here to find a D&D location near you]. Enjoy!

UPDATE: After the original entry was posted, I saw a commercial for a free McDonalds giveaway today (May 15), as well.

Between 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., McDonalds will be giving away a free Southern Style Chicken Biscuit--new this month--with purchase of any medium or large drink. Nothing like fried chicken between two buttery (and fatty) biscuits to start your day!

From 10:30 a.m. til 7 p.m., the chain will give away free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich (I think it's got pickles on it or something) with purchase of medium or large beverages.

RELATED LINKS
Paying for your free iced coffee
Forgiveness, please

Paying for your free iced coffee

So I'm sorry about getting your iced coffee-loving hopes up on Friday with promises of Free Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee Day because the company was not actually giving away free iced coffee.

When I posted that link on Wednesday, the official site was advertising the freebie and telling you to invite your friends by entertain their e-mail addresses. Not really sure what happened between Wednesday night and Friday morning, but the doughnut maker had this to say on its press room page.

My apologies again, folks. Perhaps we'll get another shot at it sometime this summer?


Thanks to 'my fav redhead' for bringing that to my attention, and extra apologies to Dave for placating me and taking me to D&D, even though I'm an idiot.

Forgiveness, please

To any loyal readers--

My deepest apologies for not providing you with inane news stories, reality television updates and the like for the last, what, week? My job is generally taxing, but in an effort to have off this Friday to imbibe with friends and relish in NCAA basketball (which I really don't even care about) at the most dominant sports bar in Philadelphia (which I certainly do care about), I have been working insane hours and sitting at droning meetings deep into the night.

Wow, that sentence was really long.

Anyway, it could be another few days before I'm able to form some semblance of an entertaining post, but I will leave you with two reminders to close out the week:

Tomorrow...I guess now it's really today...well, whatever--MARCH 20th is the first day of spring, which means it is Free Rita's Water Ice Day! In honor of the seasonal change, Rita's is rolling out a new cream ice flavor: Birthday Cake. Not sure how I feel about it, but at least I won't be wasting any money to try it.


And secondly, Friday is Free Iced Coffee Day at Dunkin Donuts--and no, that is not the imbibing I was referring to above (this is), but I will certainly take part in this free festivity as well. God, that picture is gorgeous.

Enjoy the next however many days, and please come back. I promise I'll stop sucking in a few days.

Your barista today is: Ronald McDonald?

Years ago, no one would have seen a McDonalds v. Starbucks war brewing, but now, the battle is on.

Both companies have been totally cramping each other's style lately: McDonalds has beefed up its coffee culture and Starbs has installed drive throughs and started serving breakfast sandwiches. The competition has been heating up, but you can add one more point in the McD's column because the fast food company plans to add coffee bars and baristas in 14,000 U.S. locations this year.

The move, which the company sees adding $1 million in sales, will bring cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and the Frappe, a drink similar to Starbucks' ice-blended Frappuccino, to the menu.

I'm up in the air on this one. Most people who go to McDonalds are looking for cheap, fast food and drink. Even if you know what the heck a macchiato is, Starbucks can be intimidating and it can definitely take some time to get the beverage in hand. But apparently, McDonalds has already been testing out the system in Kansas, running ads that claim you won't get a nasty look for mispronouncing the size of your beverage--ooooh, Starbucks. Burrrn!

But even if McDonalds' sales fall shorter than expected, there's no way they're gonna tank as badly as Starbucks has in the last year.