There are two kinds of people in September: the ones who wait for the leaves to turn, and the ones who accept Starbucks' fall menu launch as the official start of the season. Dunkin dropped its lineup on August 19 this year. Starbucks followed on August 25. Neither date has anything to do with the equinox, and nobody cares.

Every September the same photograph appears about four hundred times. A girl, a pumpkin, a plaid scarf, a caption with a pun in it. It’s fine. It’s also the visual equivalent of a chain coffee shop: perfectly pleasant, entirely forgettable, and located in the exact same spot as everyone else’s.