I can't be the only one who's completely creeped out by this story (after all, it is Friday the 13th).

The Huffington Post reports that "A funeral home in northwestern South Carolina will be offering what it calls the Starbucks experience" so those who need comfort can pick up their favorite latte. Even weirder, the Coffee Corner, which will be attached to Robinson Funeral Home in Easley, South Carolina, will be open to the public.

Employees from the massive coffee chain will train funeral home staff before the store opens.

Do you think they'll sell any unusual promotional mugs?

Coffee is normally part of some people's everyday routine. Some start their day with a cup, others just can't get enough and consume it throughout the day. Some take it at breakfast; some drink it for breakfast. No matter what, coffee drinkers just can't pass a day without having a cup or two.

Coffee has two main substances that have been found to be very good for the body:  caffeine and antioxidants. Caffeine acts as a stimulant. It restores mental alertness and increases focus. It's also scientifically proven to reduce physical fatigue and gives a temporary energy boost that also helps elevate a person's mood.

Antioxidants are substances that help protect one's cells against the effect of free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food you eat or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke, radiation and pollution. Antioxidants also enhance the immune system to help prevent sickness. That's why coffee is considered a super food; it has a high level of antioxidants which, based on research, is key to a healthy diet.

Coffee can be enjoyed just anytime and anywhere. With so many promotional mugs and tumblers available on Motivators' site, one can choose a container according to how he/she prefers to enjoy their caffeine addiction. We also have coffee packs and pouches which are good corporate giveaways; they may help your employees stay alert and focused on their everyday tasks. Just remember, anything excessive is not good so just keep your coffee intake moderate.

Investor or not, the state of the stock markets this week would be enough to give anyone grey hair and wrinkles. As Brandon had pointed out (as well as the Kansas City Star, Bloomberg, CNN and New York Times - just to name a chosen few) there are a wide variety of factors affecting this. (the chart below is the market stats over the last 5 days) All I know is that in times of crisis (as it has been done in the past), I turn to humour and comedy as a way to promote awareness and see the lighter side of things. But I am not alone in this. 

Motivators has a wide-array of humourous promotional products that can help anyone out of a financial bind. Just imagine the laughs you'll get with the Promotional Shocked Mood Dude Stress Reliever or the Custom Imprinted Devil Stress Ball with a witty imprint logo as opposed to a more traditional promotional stress ball. Or perhaps a promotional t-shirt with some witty (or even derogatory) comment about the current state of the market is more of your style? I can see it now: promotional umbrellas that read "Watch for falling stocks" or "I had to sell my chalice." on a promotional mug.

My DVD collection is pathetic and I will be the first to admit this.

I have about 10 DVDs to my name, almost all of which are Live concert DVDs. None of these disks are in 3D or HD and I think only one is recent enough to include a digital copy with it. I am far behind when it comes to purchasing DVDs but because of the convenience of Netflix, Red Box, Blockbuster, and renting through the TV, I haven't found the need to purchase anything since The Dark Knight came out.

And then I met Rio.

I haven't seen Rio yet but it was certainly one of those fun-looking movie that just made it in-and-out of theatres before I had the time to make it.

And the makers of Ice Age really knew how to market Rio. Between the promotional game called "Angry Birds: Rio" as well as promotional mugs, promotional t-shirts and promotional tote bags that I've seen around in children's stores and online, the idea of Rio was imprinted in my mind. I look forward to breaking off the plastic casing and unwinding this weekend with birds that sound like Jemaine Clement, Anne Hathaway, Will.i.Am and Jesse Eisenberg.

In honor of our wonderful blizzard here on Long Island, I've bringing you the best in snow logos and winter promotional items.

Venture Sports in Colorado had this cool snow sculpture made to reflect their ski and snowboarding equipment. The Snowboard shaped logo, imprinted with the Venture Sports name did a great job of promoting their winter sports supply. To compliment the great snow logo, I suggest a hat giveaway. These custom imprinted knit caps are every winter sport stars best friend.
      
This cool homage to the famous, Cheech Wizard was created in London and incorporated snow paint to liven up the art. This colorful snow logo display deserves an equally colorful winter giveaway. I present our custom imprinted deluxe snowbrush. It comes in a variety of color combinations and can even be used as a wand to channel your inner wizard.
      
Lastly, and most purely in the spirit of winter weather is this snow sculpture of the 2010 Winter Olympics logo. The Olympics kick off this month and promise to give everyone a greater appreciation of winter. When I think of the Olympics, I see myself curled up on the couch hanging out with my family and sipping warm hot chocolate. I'll be tuned into everything from the ice skating to bobsledding and I'll have a custom imprinted koffee keg mug in hand. These promotional mugs are a great winter giveaway because they'll keep you warm and toasty. Enjoy the fluffy whites everyone, and drive safely.
       

Today is the day when all the magic happens, no not that kind of magic. Today is Apple wants us to see its latest creation. Well we all know by now that we will finally get to see the long awaited Apple Tablet, name unknown yet until later on today. We will hopefully get a taste of the new iPhone OS 4.0 which I am looking forward to seeing. Rumor has it that the new OS will have a much different user interface and begin to introduce 4G capabilities. But as we know all eyes want to see the Apple Tablet much rumors have been surrounding the device like a 10 inch screen, webcam, fully touch interface, app downloads, and so much more. Being the geek that I am I have created a file that will run automatically at 1pm EST and will open my browsers to the live Blogs of Gizmodo and CNET. Now if I can have my promotional mug just automatically just pour water into my mouth every hour...back to the drawing board.

We all have our very own, customized routines. From the twenty minute snooze, to the cigarette after lunch, we've all adopted certain behaviors to help the days go by as best they can. One routine, prevalent with most people in our office, is the morning cup of coffee. In fact, people all across the world like to indulge in a hot brew to get the wake up boost that is much needed.

The warm cup of coffee resting between your hands in the morning helps to make the ten messages left on your machine to go by more quickly. Sometimes, however more than just one cup is needed. Your daughter's school called and says she refuses to come down from the jungle gym, or maybe you are trying to perk up for your own visit to the gym after work. It could be the stress or maybe it's a bit of an addiction. No matter what it may be, I'd like to show you frequent coffee drinkers the pinnacle of all custom mugs.
                                     
This gigantic mug graced the PPAI trade show last week and helped to draw people to its booth. Once filled with coffee, this mug is a bit hard to handle. But I'm sure you can all handle the walk from the break room to your desk. If not, you can always go back to using your regular promotional mugs and use the huge mug for other purposes.

Fill it with water and create your own fish tank. I'm sure a few rubber duckies would look just grand while floating inside the large aquarium mug. If fish aren't your thing, how about some snacks? That beast of a mug can hold a whole month's worth of jelly beans or mints for your enjoyment. While you all consider what you'll use this elaborate logo mug for, I'll begin my quest for a matching sugar spoon. I bet a ladle will do the job.

Let's not lie here. I'm addicted to caffeine. I need to survive. I jones for the stuff on a daily basis. My coffee maker goes on automatically without me even having to tell it so. Sadly, I still have to move from my bed to hit the brew button and as much as I have debated moving the coffee maker to my night stand, it's better in the kitchen. Then I have a reason to be fully mobile and functional. And believe me, caffeine at 6am is a reason to be moving. My trek is really only from my bed, to my kitchen and living in a 1 bedroom basement apartment, I'm not going to lie, it's not far. I haven't counted, but I'm going to say less than 10 steps. Short of being IN my bedroom, the coffee maker could not be closer. So, I've got 10 steps to travel to get my fix. But my question is...how far would YOU go for coffee?

I've got to give my usual twitter props to @DunkinDonuts, as well as @puckstopper who is the owner of this fantastic mug. I'm nothing if not always stalking the latest swag on twitter, and DD has got some good stuff. Let's not forget the awesome Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Starbucks promotional t-shirt that's available for sale.

To anyone who's ever had Dunkin Donuts coffee, I'm sure you could all agree with the statement proudly imprinted on these promotional mugs. It hurts when I'm in California and have to adjust to the time change without my blueberry iced coffee. It really hurt when I visited Greensboro, NC in August (just a WEEK before they opened their Greensboro location, mind you) and had to get through being a Maid of Honor without NY bagels and my appropriate caffeine.

So props to Dunkin' Donuts for their brilliant marketing strategy and use of a fantastic tag line that several people can relate to. And as far as Aruba is concerned, Dunkin' Donuts is just another reason to go there.  

When the winter weather starts to set in, it's best to focus on the better things that winter brings. Like togetherness among families and friends. Tidings of good joy and my favorite, hot chocolate and cookies by a toasty fire place. If you're lacking a fire place, no worries, just come on down to my house. But be sure to bring your own promotional ceramic mugs.

No plates are needed for the cookies; I'll display them on a lovely holiday plate for us all to share. Unless of course you come equipped with the coolest promotional ceramic mugs I've ever seen. These newly designed, tea and biscuit encouraging mugs were designed by Dominic Skinner and are the next best thing since sliced bread.

The unique shape allows for you to fill the mug up with a tasty hot beverage and the convenient cut out at the bottom of the ceramic mug is perfect for slipping in a couple of cookies. Now you can avoid the extra dirty cookie dishes and focus on enjoying every inch of those delicious cookies as you dip them into your drink of choice.

Soak up the sun today. Soon we'll be huddling over an open fire to escape the snows fury - custom ceramic mugs in hand. If the "Dunk Mug" isn't for you, there are tons of other fun, traditional or unique custom promotional mugs to choose from.