LAST HOSTESS CAKES IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Last night, I found possibly the last Hostess cakes in all of Bethesda, at the 7-Eleven on Fairmont Avenue.

Two kinds of cakes - orange cupcakes and Sno Balls - and two kinds of donuts were left.

As I reported yesterday, grocery stores were stripped of remaining Hostess products. Have you seen any Hostess snacks in Bethesda shops or convenience stores?

HOSTESS PRODUCTS VANISH FROM BETHESDA SHELVES!

The demise of Hostess has sent Bethesda shoppers into a frenzy, snapping up the remaining supply of cakes, pies, and Wonder Bread from grocery shelves across town.

Hostess section at Bethesda Row
Giant Saturday night

Arlington Road Safeway

Hostess going out of business is unthinkable. A world without Twinkies and Wonder Bread?  Inconceivable. Is this a conspiracy masterminded by Michael Bloomberg?

Why wasn't Hostess too big to fail?

Ultimately, the end of Hostess was a major backfire and Pyrrhic victory for all involved.  I hope the union is satisfied; their 18,500 employees now have no jobs for Christmas.  Despicable.

As for the Food and Fun Police? They're surprising losers in this episode, too.  They said Hostess was failing, because Hostess Haters had convinced America to leave their cream-filled vices behind.  Instead, the mad run on Hostess documented in these photos proves Americans are still crazed about Ding Dongs.  The empty shelves prove the Fun Police have little public support, and should make a belated return to minding their own business.  Heckuva job, guys.

The Hostess name and brands are too beloved to stay gone for good. Fruit Pie the Magician and good old-fashioned Wonder Bread will be back on shelves before you know it.

Twinkie the Kid will ride again.

HURRICANE SANDY PANIC IN BETHESDA, MARYLAND LEADS TO BARE SHELVES, BOTTLED WATER AND BATTERY SHORTAGES AT SOME GROCERY STORES (PHOTOS)

PANICKED SHOPPERS

STRIP GROCERY SHELVES

BARE

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The bottled water aisle at
the Bethesda Row Giant
Friday evening

The frightening weather predictions of Hurricane Sandy are causing mild panic in downtown Bethesda.  Friday night, the Bethesda Row Giant's water aisle was stripped bare, and C and D batteries were also sold out.

It does a body good.
Empty milk shelves
at the Arlington Rd. Safeway

Safeway on Arlington Road had some water left, but no more lowfat or 2% milk.  The other Safeway - on Old Georgetown Road - was well-stocked in every department.  CVS on Arlington Road had plenty of bottled water and batteries.

C and D batteries are the
most in demand

All of this panic buying was taking place a full 3 days before Sandy is expected to hit our area, on Monday.

Two important things to do ahead of the storm, in preparation for extensive power outages, are to fill your gas tank, and withdraw the amount of cash you think you'll need to squeak by for the week.

Both gas pumps (as we already found a few months ago!) and ATMs can be forced to close without power.

Stay tuned here and at

 @BethesdaRow on Twitter

for all the latest

  Sandy information

CAMPING OUT AT BETHESDA ROW APPLE STORE - IN LINE FOR iPhone 5 [PHOTOS]

BETHESDA LINE

PALES AGAINST NYC

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

While New York's iPhone fanatics waited outside every night for the last week, ahead of today's iPhone release, Bethesda Row's Apple sidewalk was dead, dead, dead.

You may be forced to relinquish your Hipster Cards, Bethesda, should Forbes and the other "Top 10 Towns for ________" curators get wind of this Apple Apostasy.

Fortunately, by last night at 7 PM, a contingent of 6 brave souls had stepped forward to save us from an international embarrassment.  Yes, 6 people who realized that blankety-blank percent of life is just showing up, finally showed up.  As the hours passed, more joined them, to spend the night in the warm glow of the Apple logo, with promises of nothing more than a few slices of pizza.  Maybe.

If it seemed that there were more reporters asking questions than actual iPhone buyers in line, well, it wasn't just your night-before giddiness getting the best of you.  That Mix 107.3 van out front?  Uh, actually, they were across the street for the dog event on Bethesda Lane at Redwood.  Arf!

Personally, I think the new iPhone is a worthy competitor that does get trumped in several categories by the Samsung Galaxy S III.  There should be a good turnout throughout the morning, but it's too late to put the genie back in the bottle:  the fact is, the excitement level just wasn't there.  We know that, because the live bodies weren't there lined up all week outside the store.

iPhone 5 is anything but a failure.  But the response here in Bethesda is a warning to Apple:  the quality is there, but the magic is gone.  What's needed in an iPhone 6, is a feature, a concept, a revolution that brings the magic back.  What that is, has never been up to us, the consumer; Steve Jobs gave us products and features we never imagined or thought we needed.  The problem now is that Steve Jobs is gone.  Let's face it, the Google Glass presentation blew away any of the post-Jobs Apple product reveals.

Jobs/Apple fans like me will always have a nostalgia and affinity for the brand.  But it takes more than that to excite the masses.

After finding 6 people outside the Apple Store T-minus 12 hours before iPhone 5, I do know what Apple needs to address.  "Help Wanted:  Visionary."