Starbucks’ instant-coffee gamble, Jane Austen’s alien invasion

GOOD DAY FOR: Instant gratification, as Starbucks is preparing to roll out its Via Ready Brew line of water-soluable instant coffee. Packets of the instant coffee—the product of 16 years of testing—will hit Chicago and Seattle stores March 3. Starbucks runs some risk of diluting its luxury cachet in the U.S., but the instant brew has the potential to be an instant success abroad: globally, instant coffee accounts for 40 percent of coffee sales, and 81 percent in Britain. Only 7 percent of U.S. coffee sales are of the instant variety. (The New York Times)

BAD DAY FOR: Jane Austen fans, after Elton John’s Rocket Pictures signed on to produce “Pride and Predators,” a film that will combine Austen’s classic novel with bloodthirsty extraterrestrial visitors. The film, directed by Will Clark and set to start production in London later this year, joins another Austen abomination, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” scheduled to hit bookstores in April. (The Inquisitr)

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