Frontier Guard Ep. 108 - "Lab Rat" from Frontier Guard on Vimeo.
18 March 2010
15 March 2010
When religion is allowed to think
Both of these are real, and not one of those sign generators sites.The top one is shocking and rather stupid. The bottom sort of counter points
the asshattery of the above.
13 March 2010
Corey Haim's death linked to prescription-drug ring
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has said that actor Corey Haim’s death is linked to "illegal and massive prescription-drug ring."
Brown's office is investigating "an unauthorized prescription under the former child star's name that was found during an ongoing investigation of fraudulent prescription-drug pads ordered from a vendor in San Diego."
This announcement comes before the LA coroner has ruled on what exactly killed the 38 year-old actor early in the morning hours of March 10.
"Corey Haim's death is yet another tragedy linked to the growing problem of prescription-drug abuse," Brown said. "This problem is increasingly linked to criminal organizations, like the illegal and massive prescription-drug ring under investigation."
Brown told reporters that this ring uses stolen doctor’s identities to order prescription-drug pads to write counterfeit prescriptions. "The doctor whose name is printed on the form is usually unaware that his or her identity has been stolen for this purpose," Brown said. The AG’s announcement did not specify whether any of the prescription drugs found in Haim's apartment after his death were illegally obtained.
Only 11 days before his death, Haim had gotten a prescription filled for the two powerful drugs -most likely Oxycontin, though Brown only linked the drug to the investigation. His primary-care doctor did not know about the prescriptions and called the pharmacy two days later to find out what Haim had been given, a source told CNN.
Los Angeles County Deputy Coroner Ed Winter did say, however, several prescription-drug bottles were taken from Haim's apartment, indicating they were for Vicodin, Valium and Soma, although no tests have concluded if that was what they were.
It’s been reported that early autopsy shows Haim's heart was enlarged and he had fluid in his lungs. The coroner's chief investigator said a drug overdose has not been ruled out as the cause of the actor's death, however. Los Angeles County Deputy Coroner Ed Winter said. “You can have somebody with an enlarged heart and some other medical conditions, but you don't know if the actual cause of death is from illegal substances, medication or heart failure."
After nearly two-decades of substance abuse, it is possible his heart just gave out. And sadly, it appears his passing comes just as the actor was reviving her career. Now he’s just another reminder of how drug abuse will eventually catch up you.
Brown's office is investigating "an unauthorized prescription under the former child star's name that was found during an ongoing investigation of fraudulent prescription-drug pads ordered from a vendor in San Diego."
This announcement comes before the LA coroner has ruled on what exactly killed the 38 year-old actor early in the morning hours of March 10.
"Corey Haim's death is yet another tragedy linked to the growing problem of prescription-drug abuse," Brown said. "This problem is increasingly linked to criminal organizations, like the illegal and massive prescription-drug ring under investigation."
Brown told reporters that this ring uses stolen doctor’s identities to order prescription-drug pads to write counterfeit prescriptions. "The doctor whose name is printed on the form is usually unaware that his or her identity has been stolen for this purpose," Brown said. The AG’s announcement did not specify whether any of the prescription drugs found in Haim's apartment after his death were illegally obtained.
Only 11 days before his death, Haim had gotten a prescription filled for the two powerful drugs -most likely Oxycontin, though Brown only linked the drug to the investigation. His primary-care doctor did not know about the prescriptions and called the pharmacy two days later to find out what Haim had been given, a source told CNN.
Los Angeles County Deputy Coroner Ed Winter did say, however, several prescription-drug bottles were taken from Haim's apartment, indicating they were for Vicodin, Valium and Soma, although no tests have concluded if that was what they were.
It’s been reported that early autopsy shows Haim's heart was enlarged and he had fluid in his lungs. The coroner's chief investigator said a drug overdose has not been ruled out as the cause of the actor's death, however. Los Angeles County Deputy Coroner Ed Winter said. “You can have somebody with an enlarged heart and some other medical conditions, but you don't know if the actual cause of death is from illegal substances, medication or heart failure."
After nearly two-decades of substance abuse, it is possible his heart just gave out. And sadly, it appears his passing comes just as the actor was reviving her career. Now he’s just another reminder of how drug abuse will eventually catch up you.
10 March 2010
Books: Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper (2006)
After reading Tropper’s fifth novel, This Is Where I Leave You last year and his second tome, The Book of Joe in February, I picked up his third book, Everything Changes, and once again, enjoyed a hilarious often touching tale about love, loss, and the perils of a well-planned life.
To all appearances, Zachary King is a man with luck on his side. A steady, well-paying job, a rent-free Manhattan apartment, and Hope, his stunning, blue-blooded fiancee: smart, sexy, and completely out of his league. But as the wedding day looms, Zack finds himself haunted by the memory of his best friend, Rael, killed in a car wreck two years earlier--and by his increasingly complicated feelings for Tamara, the beautiful widow Rael left behind.
When Zack's freewheeling, Viagra-popping father resurfaces after a twenty-year absence, looking to make amends, Zack’s life begins to spin out of control. While Norm's overbearing, often outrageous efforts to reestablish ties with his sons infuriate Zack, and yet, he finds something compelling in his father's maniacal determination to transform his own life. Inspired by Norm, Zack boldly attempts to make some changes of his own, and the results are not what anyone would have wanted: fists are flying, his love life is a shambles, and his carefully structured life goes spinning out of control.
As with the other two books I’ve read by him, Everything Changes is filled with intelligence and razor sharp wit.
To all appearances, Zachary King is a man with luck on his side. A steady, well-paying job, a rent-free Manhattan apartment, and Hope, his stunning, blue-blooded fiancee: smart, sexy, and completely out of his league. But as the wedding day looms, Zack finds himself haunted by the memory of his best friend, Rael, killed in a car wreck two years earlier--and by his increasingly complicated feelings for Tamara, the beautiful widow Rael left behind.
When Zack's freewheeling, Viagra-popping father resurfaces after a twenty-year absence, looking to make amends, Zack’s life begins to spin out of control. While Norm's overbearing, often outrageous efforts to reestablish ties with his sons infuriate Zack, and yet, he finds something compelling in his father's maniacal determination to transform his own life. Inspired by Norm, Zack boldly attempts to make some changes of his own, and the results are not what anyone would have wanted: fists are flying, his love life is a shambles, and his carefully structured life goes spinning out of control.
As with the other two books I’ve read by him, Everything Changes is filled with intelligence and razor sharp wit.
Corey Haim dies at 38 -why am I not shocked?
Since news broke early this morning that 80's teen star Corey Haim had died at the age of 38 of what will probably be an accidental overdose of drugs, the news outlets have attached the film The Lost Boys as the film some of us would remember him by.
But for me, it was Lucas, the 1986 film written and directed by David Seltzer -his one and only film I can even care about. While the film is predictable -with its end of film football game, its nerdy kid that you know will be beat up again and again - its still a charming due mainly to Haim's performance, along with it supporting cast of Hollywood stars just starting out, like Charlie Sheen, and in their film debuts, Jeremy Piven, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Winona Ryder.
Film critic Roger Ebert even gave the film 4 stars, calling Lucas a film "about teenagers who are looking how to be good with each other, to care, and not simply to be filled with egotism, lust and selfishness, which is all most Hollywood movies think teenagers can experience".
While Haim went onto some moderate success with The Lost Boys, Silver Bullet and other dopey films such as Dream a Little Dream, License to Drive and Watchers (plus a slew of made-for-video craptaculars), along with a stint as a reality star with frequent co-star Corey Feldman on A&E, he appeared to reach his potential with that film.
From his late teens on, Haim went on to have a very public battle with alcohol and drugs, which ruined his good looks and destroyed his realtionship with Feldman (who also had the same battle, but able to get over his addictions) and Hollywood.
While his death is sad, and maybe another odd commentary on how Hollywood eats and spits out the young like Pez, I also still remain surprised Haim actually lived well into his 30's.
But for me, it was Lucas, the 1986 film written and directed by David Seltzer -his one and only film I can even care about. While the film is predictable -with its end of film football game, its nerdy kid that you know will be beat up again and again - its still a charming due mainly to Haim's performance, along with it supporting cast of Hollywood stars just starting out, like Charlie Sheen, and in their film debuts, Jeremy Piven, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Winona Ryder.
Film critic Roger Ebert even gave the film 4 stars, calling Lucas a film "about teenagers who are looking how to be good with each other, to care, and not simply to be filled with egotism, lust and selfishness, which is all most Hollywood movies think teenagers can experience".
While Haim went onto some moderate success with The Lost Boys, Silver Bullet and other dopey films such as Dream a Little Dream, License to Drive and Watchers (plus a slew of made-for-video craptaculars), along with a stint as a reality star with frequent co-star Corey Feldman on A&E, he appeared to reach his potential with that film.
From his late teens on, Haim went on to have a very public battle with alcohol and drugs, which ruined his good looks and destroyed his realtionship with Feldman (who also had the same battle, but able to get over his addictions) and Hollywood.
While his death is sad, and maybe another odd commentary on how Hollywood eats and spits out the young like Pez, I also still remain surprised Haim actually lived well into his 30's.
03 March 2010
Black Thursday at Borders II: Electric Screw You
Borders plans to eliminate more front-line workers on Thursday, March 4. The only thing is how many -rumors suggest its only another supervisor position -leaving a GM and two other supervisors. Others suggest all full-time staff members will be gone, though this is probably not logical. If only because most stores have no one to replace them with.
If the the layoff of another supervisor does happen, this means a GM will have to work a ton of extra hours. And think about this, if this is also true, it means that no one, even a GM can ever take any vacation time. And if one supervisor call out, a GM could put in a 14 plus hour day.
Where is the logic in this?
This is how Borders re-engages with its customers, by cutting staff?
If the the layoff of another supervisor does happen, this means a GM will have to work a ton of extra hours. And think about this, if this is also true, it means that no one, even a GM can ever take any vacation time. And if one supervisor call out, a GM could put in a 14 plus hour day.
Where is the logic in this?
This is how Borders re-engages with its customers, by cutting staff?
01 March 2010
Fifth season of Doctor Who spoilers
From darkhorizon.com
In a press release BBC America has announced that the new season of the British sci-fi series "Doctor Who", with Matt Smith taking over as the eleventh incarnation of The Doctor and Steven Moffat becoming the series show runner, will have its U.S. premiere on the cable broadcaster starting April 17th.
The date means episodes will air two weeks behind the UK broadcasts which look to be kicking off April 3rd (not yet confirmed though). That gap may shrink later in the season due to factors like the Eurovision Song Contest and the World Cup affecting the UK broadcast dates.
Many responses to the recent 3D trailer indicated concern over the series becoming too young-skewed and "Twilight"-esque with yet another romance between the new Doctor and companion. A huge amount of what appear to be leaked story details over on Gallifrey Base however would seem to indicate quite the opposite.
RUMORS AHEAD - SPOILERS AHEAD
In the first episode The Doctor's new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) has a fiance, Rory Williams (played by "Little Dorritt" star Arthur Darvill), who will become a regular second companion in the second half of the season. It looks as if Rory comes onboard the TARDIS from the sixth episode, the Venice-set vampire story, and stays onboard for at least three further episodes. The Doctor apparently jumps out of a cake at Rory's stag night/bachelor party in one episode.
As previously reported Alex Kingston's Professor River Song character from the fourth season "Silence in the Library" two-parter will appear in the fourth and fifth episode of the new season - the two-parter involving the return of the Weeping Angels from "Blink". Moffat has said in interviews we'll see different and far more powerful kinds of Angels in these episodes as the ones from "Blink" were 'scavengers' and nowhere near the 'height of their power'.
Kingston will also return for the season's two-part finale which looks like it will be partly set in a museum of history and revolve around an object or creature called the 'Pandorica' which many across history have been pursuing including the Sontarans and possibly both the Daleks and the Cybermen. Roman soliders and Stonehenge are confirmed to be figuring into the story somehow.
The first embers of Song's future relationship with The Doctor will likely be laid out this season which should be an interesting mix on screen (Matt Smith is 27, Alex Kingston is 47). Richard Curtis' episode about Vincent Van Gogh (Tony Curran) will apparently have less scenes than an average episode as it's a talk-driven possible bottle episode (ala "Midnight," "Fear Her") albeit set mostly in 1880's Paris. Bill Nighy's guest spot as the Musee D’Orsay's curator Dr. Black will have the actor dressed in some "similar fashion choices" to The Doctor himself.
We may see an aerial dogfight between a spitfire plane and a Dalek saucer in the third episode entitled "Victory of the Daleks" which Mark Gatiss has penned. That WW2-set episode has a scientist using Ironclads (Daleks who don't seem to remember what they are) to help Winston Churchill (Ian McNeice) win the war against the Nazis.
The two-part Silurian episodes are said to have a female member of the prehistoric reptilian race romantically falling for The Doctor. That story, set in a future where global warming has had a major impact, has the creatures cannibalising bodies from graves. Events of the Third Doctor story "The Silurians" are apparently directly referenced, but it's explicitly stated that these are different kinds of creatures (which explains the visual discrepancy of no third eye).
Finally, due to the production shooting episodes out of order, filming is currently underway on the seventh episode of the series penned by Simon Nye ("Men Behaving Badly"). Gillan has been spotted on-set with a baby bump, though an insider tells The Sun it's for a dream sequence.
25 February 2010
Body of actor Andrew Koenig found in park
In what can be only described as a family's worst fears, the body of actor Andrew Koenig was discovered today in a Vancouver park. His father, Walter Koenig, who fans know as Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek TV series and motion pictures, confirmed in a press conference Thursday that... "My son took his own life."
A body was reportedly found in Stanley Park, where the Koenigs had reported on Walter's official Web site all week Andrew was last seen. The younger Koenig was suffering from clinical depression, according to the family, and was believed to have turned down a couple of jobs and either sold or gave away many of his possessions before traveling to Toronto, and later Vancouver, which he considered a second home.
May Andrew Koenig find peace in death that eluded him in life.
A body was reportedly found in Stanley Park, where the Koenigs had reported on Walter's official Web site all week Andrew was last seen. The younger Koenig was suffering from clinical depression, according to the family, and was believed to have turned down a couple of jobs and either sold or gave away many of his possessions before traveling to Toronto, and later Vancouver, which he considered a second home.
May Andrew Koenig find peace in death that eluded him in life.
24 February 2010
Andrew Koenig still missing, but police suspect the actor is still in Vancouver
An emotional, unshaven Walter Koenig told a packed press conference that his son Andrew had waged a lifelong battle with mental health issues amid concerns the 41-year-old had stopped taking anti-depression medication.
"We just want to know that you're okay," he said in a direct appeal to his son. "If that means changing your life and just staying here then okay, that's okay … you don't have to come back — just let us know that's your intention."
Vancouver police believes Koenig is still somewhere in the city and has chosen to go offline. According to family, there has been no activity on Koenig's mobile phone or bank card since February 16.
It seems clear now that the former actor was planning this, as he sold what he could of his personal stuff in Venice, California. What was not bought was left for anyone who wanted it. Also, he was going to Vancouver where the Winter Olympics are currently going on. With police overwhelmed with security issues, along with half the world up there, he could easily slip in and simply vanish.
So, was he planning to vanish in Vancouver, a place he was familiar with, having lived there for a time, or was he planning to end his life?
Theoretically, I suppose, if he was planning to kill himself, a body probably would've popped up by now. Still, with so many people around the city, who knows what might go unnoticed.
Koenig, who appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and played The Joker in 2003's Batman: Dead End, had most recently been working on comedy and editing movies with his friend, writer/producer Lance Miccio. Miccio told ABCNews.com that the actor "suffered with depression and "would get down easily."
"He liked to go to Vancouver because it's beautiful and quiet, it's his favorite place in nature," Miccio said. "One of the films we did together, Living the Blues, it's about a manic depressive musician who went to a spot in nature that he loved and took his own life. I'm not saying that's what happened with Andrew, but it has occurred to me."
According to Miccio, Koenig hated being known for his Growing Pains role and Star Trek connection.
"When I introduced him to people, he said, 'Never say my dad's Chekov and never say I played Boner,'" Miccio said. "He didn't want to be known as Boner his whole life. That's something that affected him."
Depression can make people do things such as this, but I still believe that people who do suffer from it still (partially) think rationally. Putting his family through this is not fair.
One hopes there will be a happy ending here.
Where are you Andrew Koenig?
22 February 2010
Actor Andrew Koenig -son of a Star Trek legend - vanishes with out a trace
Andrew Koenig, the son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, is missing. The last time Andrew Koenig was seen was on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Andrew Koenig never boarded his flight back to the US, and he hasn't heard from since then.
He was last seen at a bakery in the Stanley Park area of Vancouver.
Andrew is white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 135 pounds and has shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes.
Andrew Koenig, 41, was working as the video producer on the show "Never Not Funny" as well as doing improv in Los Angeles. Best known as "Boner" from "Growing Pains", Andrew also had a role in "Deep Space Nine", and is a talented actor director, editor and photographer as well as a passionate activist. In 2008, he was arrested at the Rose Bowl while protesting China's part in the genocide in the country of Burma.
This is a serious matter that has Koenig's friends and family gravely concerned. If you have seen him, emailed him or had any contact after the 14th or spent time with him during his stay in Vancouver please call Detective Raymond Payette of the Vancouver PD at 604-717-2534.
Walter received a letter from his son Andrew, which caused his father to grow concerned about his whereabouts because of it's despondent tone. It was also discovered that Andrew sold or gave away a number of his possessions before flying to Canada; and he refused a job two weeks earlier, saying he "wasn't going to work anymore."
Andrew had recently finished shooting a trailer for a feature film that he wanted to direct, and was in Canada visiting friends: first in Toronto and then in Vancouver. Andrew was very comfortable in Vancouver, having lived there for several years after he fell in love with the area while filming an episode of "21 Jump Street". Friends have reported that Andrew told them he felt Vancouver "was his true home".
It is not believed that any specific incident prompted Andrew's disappearance. "I think it’s something that has been a part of his makeup for a long time. There’s no single trauma. There’s no episode. There’s nothing of that nature," says Walter, who added that drugs were not an issue. " "He's trying to get ahead in this business and he's been working at it a long time." "I only want to say he's a really good person, a great humanitarian," Walter said. "Everyone who knew him was very fond of him."
He was last seen at a bakery in the Stanley Park area of Vancouver.
Andrew is white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 135 pounds and has shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes.
Andrew Koenig, 41, was working as the video producer on the show "Never Not Funny" as well as doing improv in Los Angeles. Best known as "Boner" from "Growing Pains", Andrew also had a role in "Deep Space Nine", and is a talented actor director, editor and photographer as well as a passionate activist. In 2008, he was arrested at the Rose Bowl while protesting China's part in the genocide in the country of Burma.
This is a serious matter that has Koenig's friends and family gravely concerned. If you have seen him, emailed him or had any contact after the 14th or spent time with him during his stay in Vancouver please call Detective Raymond Payette of the Vancouver PD at 604-717-2534.
Walter received a letter from his son Andrew, which caused his father to grow concerned about his whereabouts because of it's despondent tone. It was also discovered that Andrew sold or gave away a number of his possessions before flying to Canada; and he refused a job two weeks earlier, saying he "wasn't going to work anymore."
Andrew had recently finished shooting a trailer for a feature film that he wanted to direct, and was in Canada visiting friends: first in Toronto and then in Vancouver. Andrew was very comfortable in Vancouver, having lived there for several years after he fell in love with the area while filming an episode of "21 Jump Street". Friends have reported that Andrew told them he felt Vancouver "was his true home".
It is not believed that any specific incident prompted Andrew's disappearance. "I think it’s something that has been a part of his makeup for a long time. There’s no single trauma. There’s no episode. There’s nothing of that nature," says Walter, who added that drugs were not an issue. " "He's trying to get ahead in this business and he's been working at it a long time." "I only want to say he's a really good person, a great humanitarian," Walter said. "Everyone who knew him was very fond of him."
20 February 2010
Books: The Lost City of Z by David Grann (2009)
In “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,” David Grann tells the story of adventurer, Percy Fawcett, “the last of the great Victorian explorers who ventured into uncharted realms with little more than a machete, a compass and an almost divine sense of purpose.”
Fawcett is just one of many people, who since 1492, have risked life and money in search of legendary lost worlds. And before satellites mapped the planet, the only way to discover what was out there, was to go find it yourself.
But like many during the later half of the 19th and early 20th Century, the desire to explore the world was born out of boredom and not necessarily the fame and fortune that comes with it. Well, at times, but with Percy Fawcett, for him, he was merely hooked on the notion of treasure hunting in general.
Fawcett, a serial writer, kept copious notes of his travels which started in 1906 (a diary entry of Fawcett would provide Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the idea of his novel The Lost World). With most of the world mapped, the only place that was left, was the mysterious Amazon.
In his travels, Fawcett hears stories, whispers of a long forgotten kingdom. Clues came from everywhere, it seemed, in the customs of Indians, their oral history and legendary tales. Called the City of Z -though it would morph into the classic tale of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold chased after by conquistadors since 1541.
Grann weaves two tales here, one of Fawcett’s search for the City of Z and another of his own obsession with finding out what happened to the adventurer. In between, we sort of get a screwball comedy of Grann -who concedes early in the book that he is not the typical guy to travel into the many dangerous areas of the Amazon, saying he’s “not an explorer or an adventurer. I don’t climb mountains or hunt. I don’t even like to camp. I stand less than 5 feet 9 inches tall and am nearly 40 years old, with a blossoming waistline and thinning black hair.”
A well written look into men’s obsessions and drives some people to risk their lives in search of such things as lost cities. And Fawcett, who with his son and his son’s best friend, vanished in 1925, Grann creates a gripping account of what might’ve happen to him. It does grow tedious at times, something you sort of expect from people who become obsessed with things, but all in all, a wonderful account of an Indiana Jones type of man who went over the hill and never came back.
Fawcett is just one of many people, who since 1492, have risked life and money in search of legendary lost worlds. And before satellites mapped the planet, the only way to discover what was out there, was to go find it yourself.
But like many during the later half of the 19th and early 20th Century, the desire to explore the world was born out of boredom and not necessarily the fame and fortune that comes with it. Well, at times, but with Percy Fawcett, for him, he was merely hooked on the notion of treasure hunting in general.
Fawcett, a serial writer, kept copious notes of his travels which started in 1906 (a diary entry of Fawcett would provide Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the idea of his novel The Lost World). With most of the world mapped, the only place that was left, was the mysterious Amazon.
In his travels, Fawcett hears stories, whispers of a long forgotten kingdom. Clues came from everywhere, it seemed, in the customs of Indians, their oral history and legendary tales. Called the City of Z -though it would morph into the classic tale of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold chased after by conquistadors since 1541.
Grann weaves two tales here, one of Fawcett’s search for the City of Z and another of his own obsession with finding out what happened to the adventurer. In between, we sort of get a screwball comedy of Grann -who concedes early in the book that he is not the typical guy to travel into the many dangerous areas of the Amazon, saying he’s “not an explorer or an adventurer. I don’t climb mountains or hunt. I don’t even like to camp. I stand less than 5 feet 9 inches tall and am nearly 40 years old, with a blossoming waistline and thinning black hair.”
A well written look into men’s obsessions and drives some people to risk their lives in search of such things as lost cities. And Fawcett, who with his son and his son’s best friend, vanished in 1925, Grann creates a gripping account of what might’ve happen to him. It does grow tedious at times, something you sort of expect from people who become obsessed with things, but all in all, a wonderful account of an Indiana Jones type of man who went over the hill and never came back.
18 February 2010
Borders Rant
Every time a pallet does not get sorted, we lose money.
Every time a book cart goes un-shelved, we lose money.
Every time a section goes un-maintained, we lose money.
Every time we cut hours for staff, we lose money.
These are undeniable facts.
The problem is, AA does not realize this. On second thought, maybe they do. So the question is, do they care or are the executives, like Mike Edwards, just a bunch of smug S.O.B’s who continue to draw an indecent amount of pay while hours are cut on the front line - a variation on while Rome burns, Nero plays the fiddle?
Granted, these guys and gals can claim they went to college, graduated and should get this money. After all, they’ll assert strongly, they have earned this pay. And God knows, just because the company is going down in flames, does not mean they should abandon that principle cut the hours and pay of the “little people.” Besides, everyone should know, that in graduate school, the first rule is that workers will crumble in the face of adversity. Just keep hammering them on the head with more and more restructuring and they will eventually go away.
How many Borders employees on the front line have left the company, these guys, these gals, who are the bread and butter of the customer service AA says we should have. These passionate booksellers, managers, and inventory people have been replaced by people who barely understand who wrote Confederacy of Dunces, let alone suggest a title. Essentially, customers come to our stores because of the knowledgeable employees. But now they can barely find anyone on the floor, and most -a fair high amount based on the five Borders I’ve worked at - still don’t know how to use the computers. And even when they do, they still need someone to help them find the section -Borders has failed for years to create a store that can easily navigated by anyone.
Where is everyone, their eyes seem to plead. Well, you see, we need to pay Mike Edwards his nearly $ 500,000 a year pay -God knows what the other executives are making. So to do that, Borders has cut hours to the bare minimum, all while spouting the business cliche of doing more with less (I have 2.5 million light years of work to do, but given 34 hours a week to do it. Does not take a mathematician to figure out that a lot of work is going unfinished).
They’ve essentially now use mutated mathematics, linear logic and a tight sphincter to further justify the cutting of hours and staff - all while Mike Edwards gets extra compensation for being the interim CEO.
But the DM’s and RM’s don’t want to hear this when they rattle their Ghost chains at you for not meeting sales goals or RPL compliance (or, until recently, Make Titles). They want to hear that the staff is failing, that all the front-line workers are, essentially, at fault here. That had they not sold just one more item, be it a Make title, a rubber ball, or a large coffee, Borders would not be in the position it is now. But what about the poor leadership being shown by the DM’s and the RM’s? They come into the stores like Godzilla, create a giant mess and leave, all while giving nothing in thoughtful leadership or advice -beyond get it done or be fired (or as RM Mike Steel would say, just do what your told and don’t think).
Usually, there is tension between the front-line workers and management. The real schism is now between us and the executives at AA. As I’ve said before, the staff clearly understands that AA is playing a very different game than we are, one with a different set of rules. So its difficult for us to get behind these classic ideals of “we are all in this together,” to get us motivated, to get behind AA’s goals when we know how different the stakes are for meeting those said goals are for staff and AA.
The solution to these problems is rather simple:
Give us realistic hours to achieve realistic goals. How a BSS can reach an end-of-week RPL compliance on such horrible short hours is beyond me.
Give us realistic hours to get pallets sorted and shelved (with time dedicated to making sure sections do not fall out of alpha order, which they have).
Give us qualified GM’s who understand how a bookstore works. Have the DM’s stop hiring buddies, close friends and old co-workers who clearly don’t care and don’t want to know how a bookstore works (hello, Mira Loma).
Hire someone who understands pop culture. Jebus on a pogo stick, we cater to middle age business women for what reason? Take a page from TV and movies: teenagers spend money like its going out of style. Why we’re not creating eye-appealing sections (and the INK thing does not count, as it was a failure from the word go and no one at this time has any understanding of why its there and what it does. So, if I may paraphrase Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, we haven’t gone out of our way to call attention to INK, have we? I mean, like actually telling anybody).
Give us leadership. The essential success of any large company is based on its leadership. Borders have failed to give us anyone with clear understanding of how to run a bookstore. It is not like running any other retail outfit, no matter how much you guys at AA want to believe it is. It’s unique and needs to be treated like that, and not as Target or a Wal Mart.
At the end of the day, most front-line workers still want and love their jobs at Borders. But they don’t want to be treated like dirt, which is happening now. AA has hurt the brand, and we, the general staff, are paying the price for it. By not getting product out in a timely matter (and due mostly to the cut hours), by not maintaining section standards, by forcing unwanted Make Tiltes down the throats of people (cause it’s all about the margins. Where did that get NBC?) we are basically saying to all our customers this:
“Here’s the address and directions to Barnes and Noble down the street. While the staff here cares for your needs, your wants, our people in AA do not. Interim CEO Mike Edwards needs to pay for that nice house in AA, and drive that overpriced, gas guzzling SUV. So here, take this slip of paper, go to B&N. They might not understand what you fully want, but at least you’ll get what you want. Eventually. And maybe, if I’m lucky, a Barista at B&N will die and I can get their position.”
14 February 2010
It's the bubble time on the TeeVee
The Hollywood Reporter, obviously being sadistic to actors, released a list of current tee vee shows that are on the bubble -shows potentially to be axed this May.
Just like when Lost starred back in 2004, all three networks tried to find sci fi shows for 2005-06 season. All of them - ABC ‘s Invasion, NBC’s Surface and CBS’ Threshold - never made it out of their first seasons. ABC, with Lost now ending, gave us two sci fi theme shows for the 2009-10, FlashForward and V. While both shows started strong, ratings dropped fast. While both shows were always designed to have a protracted hiatus due to their serial format, FlashForward seems to in more trouble, as its lost its showrunners twice. Expectations are that V will survive for a second season, if only because its storyline can easily extended.
Despite Heroes huge ratings drop off since season one, the show has always done well overseas -which means its making money. And given any normal year, this expensive show would have been gone. But the whole Jay Leno fiasco has created problems for NBC -they just don’t have enough shows to fill the timeslots. While the chances are good for a fifth season pick-up, expectations are that NBC will order only 12 episodes with the intention of tying up all its plots.
While Medium has done well since CBS picked it up, the show still airs on Friday where scripted shows are just not making any money. But with the Ghost Whisperer still doing good numbers, expect another season for that show. However, Numbers will probably be dropped, if only because its episode number was cut and series star David Krumholtz has been cast in another pilot.
When the CW saw Smallville’s ratings decline, it pushed the show to the death slot on Friday. But it appears Superman is unstoppable. While the show has never regained its early ratings success, it bloomed enough on Friday to give the CW its best ratings ever on that night. Meanwhile, Supernatural continues to play strong as The Vampire Diaries lead-out. And despite its five-year arc wrapping up this May, expectations are that both Smallville and Supernatural will return for season 10 and season six, respectively.
Despite being in a ratings decline since being moved to the very competitive Thursday night (and some might even say, creatively), Fringe, along with Bones, has given the best numbers FOX has had on that night, so expect a renewal.
Finally, Chuck. NBC’s highly popular cult show has never been the huge hit it wanted, but the show stabilized in the ratings, bringing in consistent numbers. Some people in the industry were surprised when the show was picked-up for a third season. But it was only given 13 episodes to prove itself and then scheduled to air in late winter. But like Heroes in some way, its survival can be attributed to NBC having blank slots on their schedule due to the failure of The Jay Leno Show. NBC was forced to return the show early, plus order 6 additional episodes. The show has done well, especially critically, and expectations are the show will be back in the fall.
Shows that have no real chance of survival are Scrubs 2.0, Better Off Ted (which is a personal favorite and could be saved if ABC moves it to Wednesday), The Deep End and Melrose Place, while Mercy, Trauma, The Old Adventures of New Christine, Gary Unmarried, Accidentally on Purpose, Cold Case, Human Target, The Forgotten and even 24 remain too close to call.
Just like when Lost starred back in 2004, all three networks tried to find sci fi shows for 2005-06 season. All of them - ABC ‘s Invasion, NBC’s Surface and CBS’ Threshold - never made it out of their first seasons. ABC, with Lost now ending, gave us two sci fi theme shows for the 2009-10, FlashForward and V. While both shows started strong, ratings dropped fast. While both shows were always designed to have a protracted hiatus due to their serial format, FlashForward seems to in more trouble, as its lost its showrunners twice. Expectations are that V will survive for a second season, if only because its storyline can easily extended.
Despite Heroes huge ratings drop off since season one, the show has always done well overseas -which means its making money. And given any normal year, this expensive show would have been gone. But the whole Jay Leno fiasco has created problems for NBC -they just don’t have enough shows to fill the timeslots. While the chances are good for a fifth season pick-up, expectations are that NBC will order only 12 episodes with the intention of tying up all its plots.
While Medium has done well since CBS picked it up, the show still airs on Friday where scripted shows are just not making any money. But with the Ghost Whisperer still doing good numbers, expect another season for that show. However, Numbers will probably be dropped, if only because its episode number was cut and series star David Krumholtz has been cast in another pilot.
When the CW saw Smallville’s ratings decline, it pushed the show to the death slot on Friday. But it appears Superman is unstoppable. While the show has never regained its early ratings success, it bloomed enough on Friday to give the CW its best ratings ever on that night. Meanwhile, Supernatural continues to play strong as The Vampire Diaries lead-out. And despite its five-year arc wrapping up this May, expectations are that both Smallville and Supernatural will return for season 10 and season six, respectively.
Despite being in a ratings decline since being moved to the very competitive Thursday night (and some might even say, creatively), Fringe, along with Bones, has given the best numbers FOX has had on that night, so expect a renewal.
Finally, Chuck. NBC’s highly popular cult show has never been the huge hit it wanted, but the show stabilized in the ratings, bringing in consistent numbers. Some people in the industry were surprised when the show was picked-up for a third season. But it was only given 13 episodes to prove itself and then scheduled to air in late winter. But like Heroes in some way, its survival can be attributed to NBC having blank slots on their schedule due to the failure of The Jay Leno Show. NBC was forced to return the show early, plus order 6 additional episodes. The show has done well, especially critically, and expectations are the show will be back in the fall.
Shows that have no real chance of survival are Scrubs 2.0, Better Off Ted (which is a personal favorite and could be saved if ABC moves it to Wednesday), The Deep End and Melrose Place, while Mercy, Trauma, The Old Adventures of New Christine, Gary Unmarried, Accidentally on Purpose, Cold Case, Human Target, The Forgotten and even 24 remain too close to call.
13 February 2010
Quote of the Day
"I don't really care for [Lady Gaga]. I know everybody think she's really great, and fashion people are happy because she's one of the few girls who will wear a look off the runway. But having grown up with people like Debbie Harry and Alice Cooper and Kiss, I just don't really see anything very original about what she's doing. I don't like her style. I find it to be very violent. She looks like Dolly Parton after a murder." -- Fashion PR powerhouse Kelly Cutrone
Books: Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore (2010)
Fifteen years after Bloodsucking Fiends (1995) and three years after You Suck: A Love Story (2007), Christopher Moore returns to San Francisco to catch up on the antics of Jody, Tommy, Abby Normal and The Emperor in Bite Me: A Love Story (to be released on March 23, 2010). Set only months after the last book, Abby Normal (who narrates a good chunk of the novel), emergency back-up mistress of the greater Bay Area, along with her manga-haired love monkey, Foo Dog must confront a growing evil taking over the city by the bay.
The city is being stalked by a huge shaved vampyre cat named Chet.
With Jody and Tommy “out of the office” (Abby and Foo had them bronzed in the previous novel) she and Foo, along with emo gay boy Jared, must begin to work out a plan to stop Chet, who is becoming more than a cat, as he seems to be able to think like a human. Well, an undead human. Along the way, Chet’s destructive ways (he ate a meter maid) brings back the Animals (Tommy’s crew at the Marina Safeway) and cops Rivera and Cavuto, along with the Emperor of San Francisco.
But it ain’t easy solving all of this, as crew also become’s the target of three vampires who’ve come to clean up the mess Elijah -who sired Jody - created in the first place.
Once again, this novel follows most of Moore’s now patented formula of relationships between men and women that usually gets screwed up (by the guy), snappy dialogue and a lot of self-referential comments. While the plot is not very complex, and I was annoyed that Moore kept Jody and Tommy apart for most of the book, the jokes come fast. Still, as with most of his books, the plot is not normally the reason to read his books (with the exception of Lamb). Got to give it to the author, as he knows away around the four letter words and many ways Abby can describe having sex with her boyfriend.
Fast moving, but not as funny as the previous two, Bite Me: A Love Story is like an old friend, nice to see every once in a while. Oh, and once again, Lily from A Dirty Job has a cameo.
The city is being stalked by a huge shaved vampyre cat named Chet.
With Jody and Tommy “out of the office” (Abby and Foo had them bronzed in the previous novel) she and Foo, along with emo gay boy Jared, must begin to work out a plan to stop Chet, who is becoming more than a cat, as he seems to be able to think like a human. Well, an undead human. Along the way, Chet’s destructive ways (he ate a meter maid) brings back the Animals (Tommy’s crew at the Marina Safeway) and cops Rivera and Cavuto, along with the Emperor of San Francisco.
But it ain’t easy solving all of this, as crew also become’s the target of three vampires who’ve come to clean up the mess Elijah -who sired Jody - created in the first place.
Once again, this novel follows most of Moore’s now patented formula of relationships between men and women that usually gets screwed up (by the guy), snappy dialogue and a lot of self-referential comments. While the plot is not very complex, and I was annoyed that Moore kept Jody and Tommy apart for most of the book, the jokes come fast. Still, as with most of his books, the plot is not normally the reason to read his books (with the exception of Lamb). Got to give it to the author, as he knows away around the four letter words and many ways Abby can describe having sex with her boyfriend.
Fast moving, but not as funny as the previous two, Bite Me: A Love Story is like an old friend, nice to see every once in a while. Oh, and once again, Lily from A Dirty Job has a cameo.
12 February 2010
****DOCTOR WHO SPOILERS********
DON'T READ IF YOU DON"T WANT TO KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently the new season of Doctor Who has spawned a large number of rumors, here are some. Of course, take them with a grain of salt, however, it will be interesting to see how much of this pans out.
We already know the first three episodes are called (05.01) The Eleventh Hour, (05.02) The Beast Below, and (05.03) Victory of the Daleks.(the Doctor battles his legendary bad guys during World War II)
Now comes the titles for the rest (from radiofreeskaro.com):
05.04 Time of the Angels (Part 1 of 2) by Steven Moffat
05.05 Flesh and Stone (Part 2 of 2)
These above episodes feature the return of the Weeping Angels featured in the third season episode Blink. Also, River Song, played by Alex Kingston makes a return to the series.
05.06 The Vampires of Venice by Toby Whithouse (creator of Being Human, and the second season episode School Reunion).
05.07 To be announced by Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly)
05.08 The Ground Beneath Their Feet (Part 1 of 2) by Chris Chidnall (Torchwood)
05.09 Cold Blood (Part 2 of 2)
This 2-part story brings back the classic Who villains the Silurians and the Sea Devils (last seen in the 1984 Fifth Doctor serial Warriors of the Deep)
05.10 Vincent and The Doctor by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Black Adder)
05.11 To be announced by Gareth Roberts (Who episodes Planet of the Dead, The Shakespeare Code, Unicorn and the Wasp, Doomsday, Army of Ghosts)
05.12 The Pandorica Opens (Part 1 of 2) by Steven Moffat
05.13 To be announced
Once again, Alex Kingston returns as River Song for the two-part season finale. This episode was also filmed at Stonehenge.
It’s also rumored that the arc of season five will be played out almost through every episode, with all of them ending on a cliffhanger. Another classic villain, rumored to be the Zygons, are stalking the Doctor.
In DWM #418 Production notes: Steven Moffat reels off a list of hints about the new series at the beginning of Production Notes: "the dread truth behind the fifth door", "the ruins of Razbahan", "the Doctor's mistake in the maze of the dead", "the secret of Aickman Road" and "the choice of the Dream Lord".
At least half of the season will have stories set in the past.
The season opener, The Eleventh Hour, begins in past, with new companion Amy seen as a child. The Doctor then goes into his TARDIS, and comes out years later when Amy is now grown up.
Speaking of the TARDIS, regarding the new iteration of the Doctor’s time machine, Moffat says in DWM #417: "I do think the Peter Cushing police box was absolutely beautiful and I wanted to get it into the show, so ... there is a plot reason for it, I wrote in why it happens."
Apparently the new season of Doctor Who has spawned a large number of rumors, here are some. Of course, take them with a grain of salt, however, it will be interesting to see how much of this pans out.
We already know the first three episodes are called (05.01) The Eleventh Hour, (05.02) The Beast Below, and (05.03) Victory of the Daleks.(the Doctor battles his legendary bad guys during World War II)
Now comes the titles for the rest (from radiofreeskaro.com):
05.04 Time of the Angels (Part 1 of 2) by Steven Moffat
05.05 Flesh and Stone (Part 2 of 2)
These above episodes feature the return of the Weeping Angels featured in the third season episode Blink. Also, River Song, played by Alex Kingston makes a return to the series.
05.06 The Vampires of Venice by Toby Whithouse (creator of Being Human, and the second season episode School Reunion).
05.07 To be announced by Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly)
05.08 The Ground Beneath Their Feet (Part 1 of 2) by Chris Chidnall (Torchwood)
05.09 Cold Blood (Part 2 of 2)
This 2-part story brings back the classic Who villains the Silurians and the Sea Devils (last seen in the 1984 Fifth Doctor serial Warriors of the Deep)
05.10 Vincent and The Doctor by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Black Adder)
05.11 To be announced by Gareth Roberts (Who episodes Planet of the Dead, The Shakespeare Code, Unicorn and the Wasp, Doomsday, Army of Ghosts)
05.12 The Pandorica Opens (Part 1 of 2) by Steven Moffat
05.13 To be announced
Once again, Alex Kingston returns as River Song for the two-part season finale. This episode was also filmed at Stonehenge.
It’s also rumored that the arc of season five will be played out almost through every episode, with all of them ending on a cliffhanger. Another classic villain, rumored to be the Zygons, are stalking the Doctor.
In DWM #418 Production notes: Steven Moffat reels off a list of hints about the new series at the beginning of Production Notes: "the dread truth behind the fifth door", "the ruins of Razbahan", "the Doctor's mistake in the maze of the dead", "the secret of Aickman Road" and "the choice of the Dream Lord".
At least half of the season will have stories set in the past.
The season opener, The Eleventh Hour, begins in past, with new companion Amy seen as a child. The Doctor then goes into his TARDIS, and comes out years later when Amy is now grown up.
Speaking of the TARDIS, regarding the new iteration of the Doctor’s time machine, Moffat says in DWM #417: "I do think the Peter Cushing police box was absolutely beautiful and I wanted to get it into the show, so ... there is a plot reason for it, I wrote in why it happens."
10 February 2010
Someone out to takeover B&N?
Despite financial issues at Borders Group, the number one book retailer, Barnes and Noble, has taken measures to prevent a potential hostile takeover of the company. It started in early 2009 when Ron Burkle, through his investment firm, Yucaipa Companies, began acquiring stock in the company. In January of 2009, they paid $67 million to acquire an 8.3% stake in B&N. Burkle, who’s other holdings is a 42% stake in Source Interlink, which distributes books, magazines and other media products to a wide variety of outlets, including bookstores and newstands believes B&N’s stock is “currently undervalued.” By November, they had upped its stake 16.8% and now have approximately 19% of the outstanding Barnes & Noble common stock which was bought in open market purchases.
In November, B&N -fearing a hostile takeover bid - adopted a shareholder rights plan that will make it extremely difficult for any outsider to get control of the retailer. Also known as a “poison pill,” the rights plan would kick in if “a person or group,” without board approval, acquires 20% or more of B&N's stock. The plan will also go into effect if a person or group already owning 20% or more of B&N stock acquires additional shares without board approval. A poison pill is defined in Wikipedia as when a bidder tries to “obtain control of a company, either by soliciting proxies to get elected to the board or by acquiring a controlling block of shares and using the associated votes to get elected to the board. Once in control of the board, the bidder can determine the target's management.”
Also, according to Wikipedia this “shareholder rights” they adopted will now gives B&N to issue “rights to existing shareholders to acquire a large number of new securities, usually common stock or preferred stock. The new rights typically allow holders (other than a bidder) to convert the right into a large number of common shares if anyone acquires more than a set amount of the target's stock (typically 15%). This dilutes the percentage of the target owned by the bidder, and makes it more expensive to acquire control of the target. This form of poison pill is sometimes called a shareholder rights plan because it provides shareholders (other than the bidder) with rights to buy more stock in the event of a control acquisition.”
Essentially, the goal of this shareholder rights plan is to force Burkle to negotiate with the target's board and not directly with the shareholders.
This has not set well Burkle, who in late January sent a letter to the Barnes & Noble board of directors. In his comments, Burkle was “surprised” at the poison pill initiative because he had spoken to Len Riggio, the chairman and CEO of B&N, prior to his company purchasing the stock and made sure “he understood our views and concerns as an investor.”
“The fact that the Riggio family,” Burkle wrote, “and other Company insiders own over 37% of the outstanding stock, and that over the past 3 years Len was allowed to increase his personal stake by approximately 10% of the outstanding stock (to over 30% of the outstanding shares), in my view shows that the Board and its Chairman endorse two sets of rules: one for the Riggio family, and one for the rest of the Company’s shareholders. I believe the poison pill allows Len and other Company insiders to exert effective control over the shareholder franchise, while at the same time Len has taken a great deal of money off the table by selling his textbook business to the Company, thereby reducing the Company’s liquidity and burdening the Company and its shareholders with significant debt to finance that purchase.”
Burkle believes these new rules has a “coercive effect on the Company’s other shareholders and gives the Riggio family a preclusive advantage in any proxy contest.”
Burkle pointed out in his letter that he was concerned about how the poison pill is applied to Riggo and his family. “Are shares held by Stephen Riggio or Leonard Riggio’s other family members considered ‘excluded shares’ under the poison pill? If that is not the case, then Stephen and Leonard Riggio could collectively own approximately 50% of the outstanding stock without triggering the poison pill. Yet, neither we nor any other shareholder can own more than 20% of the Company’s shares. Please explain the Board’s intended interpretation of the poison pill and any justification for allowing the Riggio family to acquire without triggering the pill up to 50% of the Company’s shares, but to cap all other shareholders at 20%.”
Without any changes or waiver’s, Burkle argues to the Board, that if the Riggio family is allowed to acquire more stock, it would “create a near insurmountable barrier to us (or any other non-Riggio shareholder) in waging a successful proxy contest.”
And things got a bit more interesting, when it was revealed today that Aletheia Research & Management now owns more than 10 million shares of the retailer, giving it a 17.5% stake in B&N. Aletheia acquired nearly 2 million shares of B&N in the January 21 to January 29 period, paying more than $41 million for the shares. In all, the firm has paid more than $210 million for its B&N stake.
Why Burkle feels the B&N stock is “undervalued” is not clear, as his real intention of acquiring so much of its shares. Is he attempting a hostile takeover, or is just trying to pump up the stock?
I guess to be continued would be the answer here.
In November, B&N -fearing a hostile takeover bid - adopted a shareholder rights plan that will make it extremely difficult for any outsider to get control of the retailer. Also known as a “poison pill,” the rights plan would kick in if “a person or group,” without board approval, acquires 20% or more of B&N's stock. The plan will also go into effect if a person or group already owning 20% or more of B&N stock acquires additional shares without board approval. A poison pill is defined in Wikipedia as when a bidder tries to “obtain control of a company, either by soliciting proxies to get elected to the board or by acquiring a controlling block of shares and using the associated votes to get elected to the board. Once in control of the board, the bidder can determine the target's management.”
Also, according to Wikipedia this “shareholder rights” they adopted will now gives B&N to issue “rights to existing shareholders to acquire a large number of new securities, usually common stock or preferred stock. The new rights typically allow holders (other than a bidder) to convert the right into a large number of common shares if anyone acquires more than a set amount of the target's stock (typically 15%). This dilutes the percentage of the target owned by the bidder, and makes it more expensive to acquire control of the target. This form of poison pill is sometimes called a shareholder rights plan because it provides shareholders (other than the bidder) with rights to buy more stock in the event of a control acquisition.”
Essentially, the goal of this shareholder rights plan is to force Burkle to negotiate with the target's board and not directly with the shareholders.
This has not set well Burkle, who in late January sent a letter to the Barnes & Noble board of directors. In his comments, Burkle was “surprised” at the poison pill initiative because he had spoken to Len Riggio, the chairman and CEO of B&N, prior to his company purchasing the stock and made sure “he understood our views and concerns as an investor.”
“The fact that the Riggio family,” Burkle wrote, “and other Company insiders own over 37% of the outstanding stock, and that over the past 3 years Len was allowed to increase his personal stake by approximately 10% of the outstanding stock (to over 30% of the outstanding shares), in my view shows that the Board and its Chairman endorse two sets of rules: one for the Riggio family, and one for the rest of the Company’s shareholders. I believe the poison pill allows Len and other Company insiders to exert effective control over the shareholder franchise, while at the same time Len has taken a great deal of money off the table by selling his textbook business to the Company, thereby reducing the Company’s liquidity and burdening the Company and its shareholders with significant debt to finance that purchase.”
Burkle believes these new rules has a “coercive effect on the Company’s other shareholders and gives the Riggio family a preclusive advantage in any proxy contest.”
Burkle pointed out in his letter that he was concerned about how the poison pill is applied to Riggo and his family. “Are shares held by Stephen Riggio or Leonard Riggio’s other family members considered ‘excluded shares’ under the poison pill? If that is not the case, then Stephen and Leonard Riggio could collectively own approximately 50% of the outstanding stock without triggering the poison pill. Yet, neither we nor any other shareholder can own more than 20% of the Company’s shares. Please explain the Board’s intended interpretation of the poison pill and any justification for allowing the Riggio family to acquire without triggering the pill up to 50% of the Company’s shares, but to cap all other shareholders at 20%.”
Without any changes or waiver’s, Burkle argues to the Board, that if the Riggio family is allowed to acquire more stock, it would “create a near insurmountable barrier to us (or any other non-Riggio shareholder) in waging a successful proxy contest.”
And things got a bit more interesting, when it was revealed today that Aletheia Research & Management now owns more than 10 million shares of the retailer, giving it a 17.5% stake in B&N. Aletheia acquired nearly 2 million shares of B&N in the January 21 to January 29 period, paying more than $41 million for the shares. In all, the firm has paid more than $210 million for its B&N stake.
Why Burkle feels the B&N stock is “undervalued” is not clear, as his real intention of acquiring so much of its shares. Is he attempting a hostile takeover, or is just trying to pump up the stock?
I guess to be continued would be the answer here.
31 January 2010
January's End
The first month of the new decade will close today. And like every month, it has flown by with little fanfare for me. Sure, we've had some terrible things happen - the earthquake in Hati being the obvious. But locally, I've seen my job future become more perilous. My company continues it downward spiral, the third consecutive quarter where sales disappointed. Its fate now hangs on a knifes edge, with only a slip to either end it, or recover to become what it can be. I will, as always, continue to work for the better, putting in the (reduced) hours they give me. But I will admit a certain trepidation with them giving us a universe size amount of work to accomplish (Make titles, the RPL and Customer Service) on the needle head of time they've allocated to do it in. Some see that as a challenge (and to a point, so do I), but like a poor marksman, they keep missing on how to save this company.
I did have some time off, the first time I've taken time off of work since September of 2008. It was nice to be away, and was able to read two books during that time, and finished a third one yesterday. It's been a while since I could say I read three books in one month!
I also purchased a new TV and Blu-Ray DVD player. This has been a big back and forth with me. I wrestled with the logic of buying a new TV when my viewing time was decreasing. And my old TV, a 32" tube, that I bought in 2001 was still fine. But I was not getting any clear channels anymore, a lots of ghosting and what not. This TV should hold up, though I'm unsure how long an LCD TV is suppose to last. I hope to get a good 8 years out of it like my old one. The blu-ray was just to replace my cheap DVD player I bought in 2003 or '04. It was never that good, and had a heck of a lot of time dealing with burned movies.
So, I guess 2010, like the last three years, will be a difficult year. But its one I hope and pray turns out better.
I did have some time off, the first time I've taken time off of work since September of 2008. It was nice to be away, and was able to read two books during that time, and finished a third one yesterday. It's been a while since I could say I read three books in one month!
I also purchased a new TV and Blu-Ray DVD player. This has been a big back and forth with me. I wrestled with the logic of buying a new TV when my viewing time was decreasing. And my old TV, a 32" tube, that I bought in 2001 was still fine. But I was not getting any clear channels anymore, a lots of ghosting and what not. This TV should hold up, though I'm unsure how long an LCD TV is suppose to last. I hope to get a good 8 years out of it like my old one. The blu-ray was just to replace my cheap DVD player I bought in 2003 or '04. It was never that good, and had a heck of a lot of time dealing with burned movies.
So, I guess 2010, like the last three years, will be a difficult year. But its one I hope and pray turns out better.
30 January 2010
Books: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
There is a lot of good stuff (and bad) in Swedish authors Stieg Larsson’s little mystery, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
The novel is about a disgraced journalist named Mikael Blomqvist. He is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his great-niece Harriet. Henrik suspects that someone in his family, who are a powerful, rich and dysfunctional, murdered Harriet over forty years ago. But soon Mikael realizes that Harriet’s disappearance is not a single event, but rather linked to series of gruesome murders in the past. Late into his investigation, he crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker, an asocial punk and most importantly, a young woman driven by her vindictiveness. Together they form an unlikely couple as they dive deeper into the violent past of the secretive Vanger family.
The novel, while not complex (unless you try to keep track of all the various Vanger family members), is a well paced thriller with an interesting main character and odd ball, asperger syndrome type girl. Then again, there is the more than obvious fact that the late author sort of makes Swedish men -mostly 60 and over - out to be misogynist assholes.
The novel does take a long time to set up the meeting of Lisbeth and Mikael, and you get a great look in Swedish economics and libel cases. I found that part interesting, but most of its dropped in the middle for the “locked room mystery” that Mikael is trying to solve. Only the last part is disappointing, as the novel evolves into a boring account of Blomkvist’s effort to take down the executive who originally won the libel lawsuit mentioned at the start of the novel. The story of his revenge is dull and completely implausible, relying heavily on lazy e-mail exchanges between characters.
Still, this won’t stop me from reading the second novel in the series, The Girl Who Played With Fire.
The novel is about a disgraced journalist named Mikael Blomqvist. He is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his great-niece Harriet. Henrik suspects that someone in his family, who are a powerful, rich and dysfunctional, murdered Harriet over forty years ago. But soon Mikael realizes that Harriet’s disappearance is not a single event, but rather linked to series of gruesome murders in the past. Late into his investigation, he crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker, an asocial punk and most importantly, a young woman driven by her vindictiveness. Together they form an unlikely couple as they dive deeper into the violent past of the secretive Vanger family.
The novel, while not complex (unless you try to keep track of all the various Vanger family members), is a well paced thriller with an interesting main character and odd ball, asperger syndrome type girl. Then again, there is the more than obvious fact that the late author sort of makes Swedish men -mostly 60 and over - out to be misogynist assholes.
The novel does take a long time to set up the meeting of Lisbeth and Mikael, and you get a great look in Swedish economics and libel cases. I found that part interesting, but most of its dropped in the middle for the “locked room mystery” that Mikael is trying to solve. Only the last part is disappointing, as the novel evolves into a boring account of Blomkvist’s effort to take down the executive who originally won the libel lawsuit mentioned at the start of the novel. The story of his revenge is dull and completely implausible, relying heavily on lazy e-mail exchanges between characters.
Still, this won’t stop me from reading the second novel in the series, The Girl Who Played With Fire.
17 January 2010
16 January 2010
Leno and O'Brien: ratings versus margins
This only partially about who’s funny and who’s not (although I sense the Leno supporters are mostly older folks, probably 50 and above. That being said, for man folks that were in their teens when Leno took over for Carson back in 1992, grew up with Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. Like the anxiety of younger Doctor Who fans who saw Tennant regenerate into Smith, for those younger Leno watchers he was their first host of that legendary show).
This is all about NBC and their margins versus ratings. The truth of the matter is, for NBC (and its investors), Jay Leno could have a million viewers at 10pm and the network was still rolling in money. What NBC failed to understand -because it was running itself like a cable network - was how low ratings would effect the NBC affiliates -some who were locally number 1 when Leno started, only to plunge to 3rd.
Plus, you add the burden of O’Brien’s renewal contract six years ago. While it’s true that O’Brien does not have that cross appeal broadcast networks want, he does attract the 18-49 demographic that the advertisers want. That was what NBC feared 6 years ago, that if O’Brien left the Peacock, he would land at another network, and steal the all important advertising buck. So they promised him The Tonight Show -despite the fact that Leno was still ahead of David Letterman in then ratings and was still printing money for the broadcast network. They just figured that by 2009, they would figure out what to do with Leno, but really hoping he would retire.
But as NBC head Jeff Zucker started treating the network like a cable channel (something they did not consider when O’Brien’s contract was renewed 6 years ago) which focuses more on margins than ratings, he realized that keeping Leno would be a financial boon for them. That even if the 10pm version of The Jay Leno Show failed ratings wise, money would still pour into NBC. But in doing so, as noted, the ratings slide his show took effected the local late news, and probably, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
To me, the ratings tumble was more a domino effect and not a simple “I think Jay Leno is funnier than Conan O’Brien.”
Now NBC has put two hosts in this position with the audience now dividing themselves between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. This schism that they caused will effect both Leno and O’Brien for a long time. Leno will get back The Tonight Show, but he’ll probably never regain the ratings he once had (but he’ll still be making money for NBC no matter what, so I’m sure Zucker will be satisfied with that). Conan O’Brien will probably move to FOX, getting an 11pm show. Will his ratings approach Jay Leno ones? Probably not, but (once again) the 18-49 demographic will support him over Leno.
The idea that this is all about Jay Leno’s and Conan O’Brien’s ego is silly and manufactured. NBC was shortsighted at best, and now they have to figure out how to save face with its viewing audience. Until the broadcast networks go away -which they will - the networks have to understand that not everything is about the investors and its not all about money (though, I know it is). At the end of the day, it’s giving the viewing audience what it really wants.
And if its Jay Leno hosting The Tonight Show at 11:35pm, then so be it. I sincerely believe Conan O’Brien can be a success if he moves FOX. Both of them are funny, even if they appeal to two different age groups.
This is all about NBC and their margins versus ratings. The truth of the matter is, for NBC (and its investors), Jay Leno could have a million viewers at 10pm and the network was still rolling in money. What NBC failed to understand -because it was running itself like a cable network - was how low ratings would effect the NBC affiliates -some who were locally number 1 when Leno started, only to plunge to 3rd.
Plus, you add the burden of O’Brien’s renewal contract six years ago. While it’s true that O’Brien does not have that cross appeal broadcast networks want, he does attract the 18-49 demographic that the advertisers want. That was what NBC feared 6 years ago, that if O’Brien left the Peacock, he would land at another network, and steal the all important advertising buck. So they promised him The Tonight Show -despite the fact that Leno was still ahead of David Letterman in then ratings and was still printing money for the broadcast network. They just figured that by 2009, they would figure out what to do with Leno, but really hoping he would retire.
But as NBC head Jeff Zucker started treating the network like a cable channel (something they did not consider when O’Brien’s contract was renewed 6 years ago) which focuses more on margins than ratings, he realized that keeping Leno would be a financial boon for them. That even if the 10pm version of The Jay Leno Show failed ratings wise, money would still pour into NBC. But in doing so, as noted, the ratings slide his show took effected the local late news, and probably, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
To me, the ratings tumble was more a domino effect and not a simple “I think Jay Leno is funnier than Conan O’Brien.”
Now NBC has put two hosts in this position with the audience now dividing themselves between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. This schism that they caused will effect both Leno and O’Brien for a long time. Leno will get back The Tonight Show, but he’ll probably never regain the ratings he once had (but he’ll still be making money for NBC no matter what, so I’m sure Zucker will be satisfied with that). Conan O’Brien will probably move to FOX, getting an 11pm show. Will his ratings approach Jay Leno ones? Probably not, but (once again) the 18-49 demographic will support him over Leno.
The idea that this is all about Jay Leno’s and Conan O’Brien’s ego is silly and manufactured. NBC was shortsighted at best, and now they have to figure out how to save face with its viewing audience. Until the broadcast networks go away -which they will - the networks have to understand that not everything is about the investors and its not all about money (though, I know it is). At the end of the day, it’s giving the viewing audience what it really wants.
And if its Jay Leno hosting The Tonight Show at 11:35pm, then so be it. I sincerely believe Conan O’Brien can be a success if he moves FOX. Both of them are funny, even if they appeal to two different age groups.
12 January 2010
Why Jay Leno should resign
At this point in time, NBC cannot save face for Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien. One of them will have to leave, and despite what some will say, it's Jay Leno who should resign and head over to any network that will have him. As pointed out by O'Brien in his open letter (below), this began five years ago when NBC was faced with keeping him or losing him to another network. To keep him, he was to get The Tonight Show. While many thought this could be a problem -after all it pushed Leno out after only 17 years as host of the classic series, but he was still beating David Letterman - no one could have foreseen the problems of today. Or if the did, they were like people who buy a new furniture set with payments plan deferred for year, and hoping by the time they have to pay, they'll have come up with the money. So the proverbial situation has come home to roost. And NBC has epically failed at solving the problem created five years ago.
While Conan is not every ones cup of tea, he does deserve a chance as host of The Tonight Show. Forcing the show back a half hour so Jay Leno can air an abbreviated version of his unfunny prime time show is pointless.
So the only idea situation is let Leno go and let Conan O'Brien do what was promised to him five years ago. And being in fourth place, was does NBC have to lose further? It has a crapfest of a schedule, it gets rid of shows that are doing good (Chuck being one of them; and they had to backpedal on that one), and everyone knows Southland was directly canceled because of The Jay Leno Show. Sure NBC says the ratings were the cause of the shows demise (cut even before it could start airing its second season), but it was creative, smart and better than all the Law & Order series put together.
Sure if Leno resigns, the odds are he'll be picked up by FOX or ABC to star in another late night talk show which would air opposite of The Tonight Show. It's something NBC feared five years ago, but time and tide is now forcing this to happen. What it clearly says about NBC's feeling about Conan O'Brien is they don't think he can be a ratings success that Leno was. And that's got to hurt O'Brien.
While Conan is not every ones cup of tea, he does deserve a chance as host of The Tonight Show. Forcing the show back a half hour so Jay Leno can air an abbreviated version of his unfunny prime time show is pointless.
So the only idea situation is let Leno go and let Conan O'Brien do what was promised to him five years ago. And being in fourth place, was does NBC have to lose further? It has a crapfest of a schedule, it gets rid of shows that are doing good (Chuck being one of them; and they had to backpedal on that one), and everyone knows Southland was directly canceled because of The Jay Leno Show. Sure NBC says the ratings were the cause of the shows demise (cut even before it could start airing its second season), but it was creative, smart and better than all the Law & Order series put together.
Sure if Leno resigns, the odds are he'll be picked up by FOX or ABC to star in another late night talk show which would air opposite of The Tonight Show. It's something NBC feared five years ago, but time and tide is now forcing this to happen. What it clearly says about NBC's feeling about Conan O'Brien is they don't think he can be a ratings success that Leno was. And that's got to hurt O'Brien.
Conan O'Brien, in a letter released to press, finally talks about the situation at the 4th place network:
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I
want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second
feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I
love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky.
That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my
bosses are demanding an immediate decision.Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight
Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson
every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant
everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed
up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally
hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the
future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would
have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of
ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting
audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months,
with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their
terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their
long-established late night schedule.Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight
Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years
the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I
sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to
accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider
to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight
Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move
I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David
Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot.
That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be
unfair to Jimmy.So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy
hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is
for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably
hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The
Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its
destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the
Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I
believe nothing could matter more.There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set
the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have
no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this
quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of,
for a company that values our work.Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair;
it's always been that way.Yours,
Conan
10 January 2010
Books: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)
In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman’s second foray into children's literature behind Coraline, is a riff on Kipling’s The Jungle Book. A young boy survives an attempt on his life -his father, mother and older sister are murdered by the man Jack - and is brought up by the ghosts in the graveyard down from his home. Among the dead are teachers, workers, wealthy prigs, romantics, pragmatists and even a few children -so it takes a graveyard village to raise a child. Here Nobody Owens -Bod for short - has adventures as grows, making friends with in the cemetery -some who are not dead - and learning about his past and his future.
Over the years, he encounters hideous ghouls, a witch, middle school bullies and an otherworldly fraternal order that holds the secret to his family’s murder. As arrives into his teens things change, and the story picks up as he learns why he’s been in the graveyard all this time and what he needs to do to leave.
At times magical and terrifying, it is filled with breathtaking adventure. And while Bod makes quite a few careless and sometimes thoughtless mistakes, you don’t feel particularly inclined to throttle him because of them. And while it’s a fantasy for young adults, this sly story will enthrall anyone who wants a good book
Over the years, he encounters hideous ghouls, a witch, middle school bullies and an otherworldly fraternal order that holds the secret to his family’s murder. As arrives into his teens things change, and the story picks up as he learns why he’s been in the graveyard all this time and what he needs to do to leave.
At times magical and terrifying, it is filled with breathtaking adventure. And while Bod makes quite a few careless and sometimes thoughtless mistakes, you don’t feel particularly inclined to throttle him because of them. And while it’s a fantasy for young adults, this sly story will enthrall anyone who wants a good book
05 January 2010
Books: The Book Of Joe by Jonathan Tropper (2004)
Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Conneticut and never looked back. Then he wrote a novel savaging everything in town, a novel that became a national bestseller and a huge hit movie. Seventeen years later, Joe is struggling to avoid the sophomore slump with his next novel when he gets a call: his father's had a stroke, so it's back to Bush Falls for the town's most famous pariah. His brother avoids him, his former classmates beat him up, and the members of the book club just hurl their copies of Bush Falls at his house. But not all of his old friends hate him, and so with his dying friend Wayne in tow, and delinquent nephew adding to his troubles, Joe discovers that coming home might not be all bad -because sometimes there are second chances.
Back in August, I read Jonathan Tropper’s latest novel This Is Where I Leave You. I loved the book, for its look at small town life and dysfunctional family. This earlier work , The Book Of Joe, takes on same themes, but its really about a man coming of age. The only part, he’s 34 and not 18. Tropper has a great conversational tone and gift for character inflection that make for some of the books funniest moments. Some of it can fall into sitcom style, but you can forgive him for that, as you laugh out loud to some of the antics Joe gets into. It’s hoot of a book, sentimental and wicked look at small town life and the secrets they try to keep.
Back in August, I read Jonathan Tropper’s latest novel This Is Where I Leave You. I loved the book, for its look at small town life and dysfunctional family. This earlier work , The Book Of Joe, takes on same themes, but its really about a man coming of age. The only part, he’s 34 and not 18. Tropper has a great conversational tone and gift for character inflection that make for some of the books funniest moments. Some of it can fall into sitcom style, but you can forgive him for that, as you laugh out loud to some of the antics Joe gets into. It’s hoot of a book, sentimental and wicked look at small town life and the secrets they try to keep.
04 January 2010
Omens and Portents
I guess, at my heart of all hearts, I’m a bit superstitious.
So, today as I start my vacation from my much troubled company, I discover that thing (above) stuck in my rear passenger tire. Well, actually, all I could see was that rounded bit at the top sticking out. And when I say sticking out, it was smooth with the tread. At first, I thought it was a nail. Simple repair job.
But for Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice -and most everyone else - it’s a simple patch job and I’m out $30. But as proven in the past more often than not, Dave’s problems are never simple and when it comes to a repair job on his car, well what is easy for others is simply not for me. As an example, last year when I needed to renew my license plates, I needed a smog check. Sure, it’s like 30 bucks. But as they’re doing the smog check, they discover a hose to my engine that has basically collapsed, so that was an additional $45.
So after I leave my tire there, they call me latter to say that they cannot patch the tire> Reason being this 4" pick (for lack of a better description) has damaged the steel belt with in the tire, making a repair pointless. So instead of being out $30, I’m out $108.
Despite the fact I’ve earned my time-off, like any Catholic (lapsed or not), I feel guilty for doing it. Especially now, as Borders continues to slash hours forcing people to work harder, with less hours all while never changing the amount of work that needs to get done; as a matter of fact, its increasing. With its more than likely chapter 11 bankruptcy coming in early February -Borders fiscal 2009 ends like January 31 - and high expectations for the two RPL (book language for returns) - my taking a vacation at a time when manpower is needed most is filling me with more doubt.
While this flat tire would’ve not stopped me from going to work today had I needed too, it sure as hell would have pissed me off at 7:15 this morning. I would have been delayed at least a half hour. Then I would waste time at a tire repair place after work and blah, blah blah. So on one hand, I’m fortunate it did happen today, because I had no real plans. But it still burns that I’m out 108 bucks.
So, today as I start my vacation from my much troubled company, I discover that thing (above) stuck in my rear passenger tire. Well, actually, all I could see was that rounded bit at the top sticking out. And when I say sticking out, it was smooth with the tread. At first, I thought it was a nail. Simple repair job.
But for Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice -and most everyone else - it’s a simple patch job and I’m out $30. But as proven in the past more often than not, Dave’s problems are never simple and when it comes to a repair job on his car, well what is easy for others is simply not for me. As an example, last year when I needed to renew my license plates, I needed a smog check. Sure, it’s like 30 bucks. But as they’re doing the smog check, they discover a hose to my engine that has basically collapsed, so that was an additional $45.
So after I leave my tire there, they call me latter to say that they cannot patch the tire> Reason being this 4" pick (for lack of a better description) has damaged the steel belt with in the tire, making a repair pointless. So instead of being out $30, I’m out $108.
Despite the fact I’ve earned my time-off, like any Catholic (lapsed or not), I feel guilty for doing it. Especially now, as Borders continues to slash hours forcing people to work harder, with less hours all while never changing the amount of work that needs to get done; as a matter of fact, its increasing. With its more than likely chapter 11 bankruptcy coming in early February -Borders fiscal 2009 ends like January 31 - and high expectations for the two RPL (book language for returns) - my taking a vacation at a time when manpower is needed most is filling me with more doubt.
While this flat tire would’ve not stopped me from going to work today had I needed too, it sure as hell would have pissed me off at 7:15 this morning. I would have been delayed at least a half hour. Then I would waste time at a tire repair place after work and blah, blah blah. So on one hand, I’m fortunate it did happen today, because I had no real plans. But it still burns that I’m out 108 bucks.
03 January 2010
New Years Eve and other things
Spent New Years with Rob, Simon, Carol, Heather, Richard and Rick Pike.
We had dinner, a few drinks and then ventured out to the Rose Parade area on Colorado to see the floats that were finished - or near finished - for the parade on Friday. We got there at 12:30 and then proceeded to walk around the area for the next two-hours and fifteen minutes. I finally got home at 3:55 am and tried to sleep, for I was up in less than three hours to go to work.
Friday was long day, even though work was not that busy. Still, I feel I did not accomplish much shelving - and it does not help I was the one one there to do it. I kind of dread what the place will look like when I return after my vacation.
Saturday was spent recovering a bit from Friday. I stayed in bed way past my usual time, watching nothing on the TV. I went to Starbucks about 11 to really start reading The Book of Joe, then went to Kohls in Glendora to see if I could spend any of the gift card my mom sent for Christmas. I could find nothing I really liked, of that matter, needed. Still, I'm sure I'll find something eventually. It's not like I have to spend it right away. Still, Mom will ask about it everytime I talk to her.
Came home and tried to find the second part of The Doctor Who finale on Youtube. I did watch it, even though the DVR was going to record it. The went out to WeHo with Rick, JayTee, Adam, Stephen and his friend James.
I'm so feel out of place at the bars, these days. Though I admit I was never one to go to them. And WeHo, much like Chicago's Boys Town area, is overrated and filled with too many genetic lottery winners all in search of the same kind of guy. I drew little attention. But I still had a fun time, as I enjoy spending time with Stephen, JayTee and Adam. Rick is hoot and is turning into a good friend.
So that brings us to Sunday. Since I got to bed at about 2 this morning, I did sleep past my normal wake-up time. Still, I woke at 5:30 out of some odd dream I was having and had to piss. Went back to bed, and slept anther two hours, and then just layed there like a lump until nearly 11, where I went and repeated my Starbuck/book run from Saturday.
I'm off the next week from work, taking advantage of time-off that I've earned. No plans in particualar, though I need to update my resume (which I bought a book for) and cleaning some areas of the house that are long over due -like my bathroom and the kitchen.
Maybe take in a few movies, as I want to see Avatar, It's Complicated, perhaps Sherlock Holmes and a few others. We'll see, but at least nice weather will be with us all week long. Temps in the mid to upper 70's in January. That's the kind of winter I like.
We had dinner, a few drinks and then ventured out to the Rose Parade area on Colorado to see the floats that were finished - or near finished - for the parade on Friday. We got there at 12:30 and then proceeded to walk around the area for the next two-hours and fifteen minutes. I finally got home at 3:55 am and tried to sleep, for I was up in less than three hours to go to work.
Friday was long day, even though work was not that busy. Still, I feel I did not accomplish much shelving - and it does not help I was the one one there to do it. I kind of dread what the place will look like when I return after my vacation.
Saturday was spent recovering a bit from Friday. I stayed in bed way past my usual time, watching nothing on the TV. I went to Starbucks about 11 to really start reading The Book of Joe, then went to Kohls in Glendora to see if I could spend any of the gift card my mom sent for Christmas. I could find nothing I really liked, of that matter, needed. Still, I'm sure I'll find something eventually. It's not like I have to spend it right away. Still, Mom will ask about it everytime I talk to her.
Came home and tried to find the second part of The Doctor Who finale on Youtube. I did watch it, even though the DVR was going to record it. The went out to WeHo with Rick, JayTee, Adam, Stephen and his friend James.
I'm so feel out of place at the bars, these days. Though I admit I was never one to go to them. And WeHo, much like Chicago's Boys Town area, is overrated and filled with too many genetic lottery winners all in search of the same kind of guy. I drew little attention. But I still had a fun time, as I enjoy spending time with Stephen, JayTee and Adam. Rick is hoot and is turning into a good friend.
So that brings us to Sunday. Since I got to bed at about 2 this morning, I did sleep past my normal wake-up time. Still, I woke at 5:30 out of some odd dream I was having and had to piss. Went back to bed, and slept anther two hours, and then just layed there like a lump until nearly 11, where I went and repeated my Starbuck/book run from Saturday.
I'm off the next week from work, taking advantage of time-off that I've earned. No plans in particualar, though I need to update my resume (which I bought a book for) and cleaning some areas of the house that are long over due -like my bathroom and the kitchen.
Maybe take in a few movies, as I want to see Avatar, It's Complicated, perhaps Sherlock Holmes and a few others. We'll see, but at least nice weather will be with us all week long. Temps in the mid to upper 70's in January. That's the kind of winter I like.
30 December 2009
Don't Rain on My Parade
It has been an interesting day here. Well, for me anyways. As my cold winds down -just a lot of snot coming out of my nose, it amazes me how much I can produce - work drama (for lack of a better word) continues. Will be GM-less again as 2010 begins.
Yep, in four years that this store has been open, we've had four GM's. Well, three, with one GM coming back. Actually, I'm not shocked or surprised by it. She had left Borders 9 months earlier due to the DM Nazi that took over the SolCal area. She found a great job working at San Bernardino College Bookstore (or something like that). When Patricia bowed out in early November, Lyly returned to take over.
I love Lyly, but why she wanted to return to Borders (yeah, I love it too, but things are going down hill for this company) is beyond me. She had a job she loved, 9-5 with weekends off (plus school holidays). Still, in the few short weeks she has been back, she got our store back in shape. But she had to put in 80 plus hours a week to do it, which is pretty sucky.
Anyways, she got an offer she could not refuse, and took it. Whether she knows something or not about what will happen with Borders as early as February, I cannot say. I'm happy for her, and wish her all the best. She is damn good at what she does and deserves more respect than Borders was showing her.
In the meantime, my planned vacation begins the moment I leave on Friday, January 1. I hope to be productive and find out how I too can get out of Borders before (what I think is the logical step for them) they file Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Anyone need a great customer service agent with 2 decades of experience behind him and can pay me a decent, livable wage, send me a message.
Oh, and it was rainy and cold here all day. And when I mean rain, I mean it mostly sprinkled. It caused puddles, and drivers here to suddenly for get how to drive when the pavement gets wet, but nothing to write home about. The Rose Parade people here in Pasadena are bit worried, but the weather is suppose to clear for tomorrow and Friday. They’re saying, actually, Friday will be the nicest day of week. So, while it’ll start chilly (probably in the low 40s) on New Years, the sun should rise to give a fairly spectacular start to 2010.
Yep, in four years that this store has been open, we've had four GM's. Well, three, with one GM coming back. Actually, I'm not shocked or surprised by it. She had left Borders 9 months earlier due to the DM Nazi that took over the SolCal area. She found a great job working at San Bernardino College Bookstore (or something like that). When Patricia bowed out in early November, Lyly returned to take over.
I love Lyly, but why she wanted to return to Borders (yeah, I love it too, but things are going down hill for this company) is beyond me. She had a job she loved, 9-5 with weekends off (plus school holidays). Still, in the few short weeks she has been back, she got our store back in shape. But she had to put in 80 plus hours a week to do it, which is pretty sucky.
Anyways, she got an offer she could not refuse, and took it. Whether she knows something or not about what will happen with Borders as early as February, I cannot say. I'm happy for her, and wish her all the best. She is damn good at what she does and deserves more respect than Borders was showing her.
In the meantime, my planned vacation begins the moment I leave on Friday, January 1. I hope to be productive and find out how I too can get out of Borders before (what I think is the logical step for them) they file Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Anyone need a great customer service agent with 2 decades of experience behind him and can pay me a decent, livable wage, send me a message.
Oh, and it was rainy and cold here all day. And when I mean rain, I mean it mostly sprinkled. It caused puddles, and drivers here to suddenly for get how to drive when the pavement gets wet, but nothing to write home about. The Rose Parade people here in Pasadena are bit worried, but the weather is suppose to clear for tomorrow and Friday. They’re saying, actually, Friday will be the nicest day of week. So, while it’ll start chilly (probably in the low 40s) on New Years, the sun should rise to give a fairly spectacular start to 2010.
29 December 2009
Books I read in 2009
01. Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
02. The Appeal - John Grisham
03. Captain Freedom by G. Xavier Robillard
04. Fool by Christopher Moore
05. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
06. Deflowerd: My Life in Pansy Division by Jon Ginoli
07. Shadowplay by Tad Williams
08. Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron
09. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon by Gideon DeFoe
10. The Terror by Dan Simmons
11. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
12. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Seas Monsters by Rick Riordan
13. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
14. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
15. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
16. NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
17. Retail Hell: Confessions of a Tortured Sales Associate by Freeman Hall
18. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
19. Star Trek: Assignment: Eternity by Greg Cox
20. Under the Dome by Stephen King
21. Huge by James. W. Fuerst
22. Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
23. How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
02. The Appeal - John Grisham
03. Captain Freedom by G. Xavier Robillard
04. Fool by Christopher Moore
05. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
06. Deflowerd: My Life in Pansy Division by Jon Ginoli
07. Shadowplay by Tad Williams
08. Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron
09. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon by Gideon DeFoe
10. The Terror by Dan Simmons
11. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
12. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Seas Monsters by Rick Riordan
13. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
14. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
15. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
16. NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
17. Retail Hell: Confessions of a Tortured Sales Associate by Freeman Hall
18. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
19. Star Trek: Assignment: Eternity by Greg Cox
20. Under the Dome by Stephen King
21. Huge by James. W. Fuerst
22. Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
23. How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
Books: How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely (2009)
Pete Tarslaw has had it rough, or so he thinks. Stuck in a dead-end job writing college essay’s for spoiled rich kids so they can get into those prestigious colleges, he is surprised one day to get a mass email from an ex-girlfriend who is getting married. Soon after this surprise, Pete’s employer folds, laying him off. Depressed even more, he then sees an interview with popular best selling author Preston Brooks, who writes books that everyone seems to like (his current one is called Kindness to Birds, described in a faux New York Times Book Review as a story about “a downsized factory worker named Gabriel touches the lives of several people wounded by life.”)
After seeing this, Pete decides he can write a novel, that he can have the fame and respect of people like Brooks, can have the same financial freedom to do anything he chooses (boating, skeet shooting). That he can have a mansion by the ocean (or a scenic lake), but mostly, just to humiliate his ex-girlfriend at her wedding.
From there, author Steve Hely (who wrote for David Letterman and the TV series American Dad) takes us on a wicked satire of the publishing industry and its insatiable desire to find and produce the same winning formula over and over again (James Patterson, anyone? Hello, Nicholas Sparks). I mean, take a stroll through the fiction area of your local Borders if you think Mr. Hely is making any of this stuff up as he sets the rules up for how to write a popular book. Hely also pokes fun at the readers who buy this stuff, but also airs a cautious argument between what is literature and popular fiction.
The book, however, runs out of air towards the end. In the final pages he torpedoes Pete’s cynicism in ways that will disappoint anyone who was enjoying the jaded humor. Still, Mr. Hely deftly clobbers the popular-book business. By taking aim at lucrative “tidy candy-packaged novels you wrapped up and gave as presents,” the kinds of books that go “from store shelves to home shelves to used-book sales unread,” his complaints about such books hit home and are very funny. They’d be even funnier if they weren’t true.
After seeing this, Pete decides he can write a novel, that he can have the fame and respect of people like Brooks, can have the same financial freedom to do anything he chooses (boating, skeet shooting). That he can have a mansion by the ocean (or a scenic lake), but mostly, just to humiliate his ex-girlfriend at her wedding.
From there, author Steve Hely (who wrote for David Letterman and the TV series American Dad) takes us on a wicked satire of the publishing industry and its insatiable desire to find and produce the same winning formula over and over again (James Patterson, anyone? Hello, Nicholas Sparks). I mean, take a stroll through the fiction area of your local Borders if you think Mr. Hely is making any of this stuff up as he sets the rules up for how to write a popular book. Hely also pokes fun at the readers who buy this stuff, but also airs a cautious argument between what is literature and popular fiction.
The book, however, runs out of air towards the end. In the final pages he torpedoes Pete’s cynicism in ways that will disappoint anyone who was enjoying the jaded humor. Still, Mr. Hely deftly clobbers the popular-book business. By taking aim at lucrative “tidy candy-packaged novels you wrapped up and gave as presents,” the kinds of books that go “from store shelves to home shelves to used-book sales unread,” his complaints about such books hit home and are very funny. They’d be even funnier if they weren’t true.
27 December 2009
Doctor Who: 4.17: The End of Time (Part 1)
There is not much positive things to say about The End of Time, Part 1. First, it makes little sense, even though RTD does sort of explain the Immortality Gate (which is just a lame bone thrown to spin-off Torchwood). But like most two-part episodes of TV series these days, its all a set-up for next weeks conclusion.
In some ways I’m happy to see the RTD era end, as show was taking on way too much baggage -four seasons of episodes that seemed to have a high bit of coincidences and too many robots - and was starting to resemble the later years of John Nathan-Turner.
A prime example is the whole Master resurrection scene. My biggest issue with it was how the followers of the Master knew of him, as the Doctor explained to the Ood, only Lucy should remember him (and then there’s the convoluted scene where this liquid Lucy comes by to stop the resurrection and how she got it to begin with). And what is with the whole the legend of the blue box and the Sainted Physician at the Church? I found that out of place and probably completely unnecessary.
Ironically, The End of Time moves at a snail’s pace, setting too many things up that had no pay-off. Even a two-part episode should have some pay-off. It should solve something. But no, everything will be shoved to next weeks conclusion and that can’t be good. If only because character moments will set aside for a grand finale.
Perhaps the best part of the episode is the café sequence where the Doctor and Wilf talk about Donna while ruminating on death and loss. The rest of it is just padding, including (a RTD trademark) a lot of running around -which just seems to indicate that to maintain a certain length, they just insert more running instead of actually writing something.
And while I was never certain about RTD’s killing off the Time Lords, as the series progressed I found the idea certainly appealing -at least it kept the Doctor a more dedicated hero, thus adding an element of drama and sadness. However, like the Daleks, he has decided to bring them back. And based on Timothy Dalton’s brief appearance at the end (in a shot stolen whole heartedly from The Phantom Menace senate scene), these may not be the stodgy old Time Lords seen in the original series. Still, in a post credit opening clip of next weeks provided on the Doctor Who BBC web site shows Dalton and his fellow Time Lords discussing the Time War. It’s filled with annoying prophetess and an over-acting Dalton. So it looks like part-two does not start promising.
Maybe, with what photos that have been released, Steven Moffat’s take on Doctor Who is a more return to the classic series, with less emphasis on running around and robots.
In some ways I’m happy to see the RTD era end, as show was taking on way too much baggage -four seasons of episodes that seemed to have a high bit of coincidences and too many robots - and was starting to resemble the later years of John Nathan-Turner.
A prime example is the whole Master resurrection scene. My biggest issue with it was how the followers of the Master knew of him, as the Doctor explained to the Ood, only Lucy should remember him (and then there’s the convoluted scene where this liquid Lucy comes by to stop the resurrection and how she got it to begin with). And what is with the whole the legend of the blue box and the Sainted Physician at the Church? I found that out of place and probably completely unnecessary.
Ironically, The End of Time moves at a snail’s pace, setting too many things up that had no pay-off. Even a two-part episode should have some pay-off. It should solve something. But no, everything will be shoved to next weeks conclusion and that can’t be good. If only because character moments will set aside for a grand finale.
Perhaps the best part of the episode is the café sequence where the Doctor and Wilf talk about Donna while ruminating on death and loss. The rest of it is just padding, including (a RTD trademark) a lot of running around -which just seems to indicate that to maintain a certain length, they just insert more running instead of actually writing something.
And while I was never certain about RTD’s killing off the Time Lords, as the series progressed I found the idea certainly appealing -at least it kept the Doctor a more dedicated hero, thus adding an element of drama and sadness. However, like the Daleks, he has decided to bring them back. And based on Timothy Dalton’s brief appearance at the end (in a shot stolen whole heartedly from The Phantom Menace senate scene), these may not be the stodgy old Time Lords seen in the original series. Still, in a post credit opening clip of next weeks provided on the Doctor Who BBC web site shows Dalton and his fellow Time Lords discussing the Time War. It’s filled with annoying prophetess and an over-acting Dalton. So it looks like part-two does not start promising.
Maybe, with what photos that have been released, Steven Moffat’s take on Doctor Who is a more return to the classic series, with less emphasis on running around and robots.
23 December 2009
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20 December 2009
17 December 2009
Success of Pride and Predjudice and Zombies spawns more mash-ups
While the mash-up's are not new, the success of last summer's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies seems to be giving publishers an excuse to give the public more. With Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters a moderate success, and with author Seth Graham-Smith's P&P&Z follow-up, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter due this coming Summer, look for more to come.
Like the above, due in late January.
Like the above, due in late January.
14 December 2009
Books: Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
Back in September of 2008, I read Joe Haldeman’s The Accidental Time Machine. I liked the book, mostly because I’m a sucker for time-travel stories. Less I’m a fan of is the so called hard-core science fiction of say Arthur C. Clark or Isaac Asimov and others. It wasn’t that I found these writers bad, I just got bored with all the techo jargon that comes with it: the mathematical equation the ship needs to get into orbit of a planet. I was brought up on Star Trek reruns where all of that was just magic, anyways.
Anyways, I enjoyed Haldeman’s style of writing, even if I could not figure out how he figured out how one could travel only forward in time and not back.
Now, what will probably be my last book of the year, I took on Marsbound, an entertaining and often humorous tale where conflict and mystery await on the planet of Mars. Set in an unnamed future time -I’m guessing somewhere around the end of the 21st Century - we meet 18 year-old Carmen Dula and her family, who’ve won a lottery and are bound for the first Mars colony. While not sure she wants to do this - after a trip on a space elevator to space station, there is another six month journey to that red planet. But while her doubts begin to creep in, she eventually finds some comfort in the arms of Paul, the pilot of the John Carter Goes to Mars.
But the daily grind soon sets in, and she also manages to make an enemy of the general administrator of Mars named Dargo Solingen. After a flare up between them, Carmen ventures out onto the Mars surface for a walk. But a slip up and trip down a hole propels Carmen into an adventure she never thought possible. There is intelligent life on Mars and they’ve been watching.
As typical it seems of Haldeman, his detail is good, but never gets in the way of the story. And the fact that it’s told from the 1st person point of view gives the reader a chance to discover everything just as Carmen is. And while this is, at its base, a standard sci fi plot idea -first contact - Haldeman balances with some great action, a huge dose of humor and with an easily described world that makes you focus more on the characters than the whole science of what could be a boring story about space travel to Mars.
Anyways, I enjoyed Haldeman’s style of writing, even if I could not figure out how he figured out how one could travel only forward in time and not back.
Now, what will probably be my last book of the year, I took on Marsbound, an entertaining and often humorous tale where conflict and mystery await on the planet of Mars. Set in an unnamed future time -I’m guessing somewhere around the end of the 21st Century - we meet 18 year-old Carmen Dula and her family, who’ve won a lottery and are bound for the first Mars colony. While not sure she wants to do this - after a trip on a space elevator to space station, there is another six month journey to that red planet. But while her doubts begin to creep in, she eventually finds some comfort in the arms of Paul, the pilot of the John Carter Goes to Mars.
But the daily grind soon sets in, and she also manages to make an enemy of the general administrator of Mars named Dargo Solingen. After a flare up between them, Carmen ventures out onto the Mars surface for a walk. But a slip up and trip down a hole propels Carmen into an adventure she never thought possible. There is intelligent life on Mars and they’ve been watching.
As typical it seems of Haldeman, his detail is good, but never gets in the way of the story. And the fact that it’s told from the 1st person point of view gives the reader a chance to discover everything just as Carmen is. And while this is, at its base, a standard sci fi plot idea -first contact - Haldeman balances with some great action, a huge dose of humor and with an easily described world that makes you focus more on the characters than the whole science of what could be a boring story about space travel to Mars.
12 December 2009
08 December 2009
Winter arrives in the Southland
On a very brisk morning -38 degrees - a day after a blustery winter storm blew through the foothills were dusted with snow. It was very pretty, and the closet to snow I want to get these days.
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