Monday, March 27, 2006
attn DT (on all inclusion baxblog weekend!)
an interview with Calexico, because you mentioned listening to them once back when you were cool (but still not as cool as your brother).
OS troubles for Microsoft
interesting NYT article on delays in the next gen Windows, and why it's giving MS such technical indigestion.
I could care less...XP still works. But it's an interesting read with some insight into the difference between Apple and MS's approach to OS design.
I could care less...XP still works. But it's an interesting read with some insight into the difference between Apple and MS's approach to OS design.
attention Zim
In case you've been feeling neglected lately with all the links for booby and ivanusk....
here's a link just for you.
here's a link just for you.
customers: little boy in orange hat
excited boy:
This is like a puppet show place. This is like a place where a puppet show could be!
mom:
It just has books in it....
This is like a puppet show place. This is like a place where a puppet show could be!
mom:
It just has books in it....
politics: astute dissection of the preznit
by Jane Smiley.
I've never been a fan of her fiction, but she pins some people down with this essay.
The part that stuck out for me, something I've felt for years now:
The same thing is true of the 'health care' system in this country.
"Business Ethics" is an oxymoron of epic proportions. Expecting huge coroprations to promote any intersts but their own is like expecting a hungry shark to exercise restraint and self control around a bleeding seal.
Anyway, it's a well-written broadside. Check it out.
I've never been a fan of her fiction, but she pins some people down with this essay.
The part that stuck out for me, something I've felt for years now:
I once knew a guy who was still a Marxist in 1980. Whenever I asked him why Communism had failed in Russia and China, he said "Mistakes were made". He could not believe that Marxism itself was at fault, just as you cannot believe that the ideology of the unregulated free market has created the world we live in today. You are tempted to say: "Mistakes have been made", but in fact, psychologically and sociologically, no mistakes have been made. The unregulated free market has operated to produce a government in its own image. In an unregulated free market, for example, cheating is merely another sort of advantage that, supposedly, market forces might eventually "shake out" of the system. Of course, anyone with common sense understands that cheaters do damage that sometimes cannot be repaired before they are "shaken out", but according to the principles of the unregulated free market, the victims of that sort of damage are just out of luck and the damage that happens to them is just a sort of "culling". It is no accident that our government is full of cheaters--they learned how to profit from cheating when they were working in corporations that were using bribes, perks, and secret connections to cheat their customers of good products, their neighbors of healthy environmental conditions, their workers of workplace safety and decent paychecks.
The same thing is true of the 'health care' system in this country.
"Business Ethics" is an oxymoron of epic proportions. Expecting huge coroprations to promote any intersts but their own is like expecting a hungry shark to exercise restraint and self control around a bleeding seal.
Anyway, it's a well-written broadside. Check it out.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
music: Neko Case (yeah, again....deal!)
She finally got a real web site, and you can check out a video and listen to some teasers of the latest release.
Listened to it a few times now, but at work so it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Early returns are good, she sounds fantastic as always and three or four tracks stand out already.
Not an instant classic like Blacklisted, but good so far, and I think it will grow on me.
Listened to it a few times now, but at work so it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Early returns are good, she sounds fantastic as always and three or four tracks stand out already.
Not an instant classic like Blacklisted, but good so far, and I think it will grow on me.
Eats
some culinary commentary from the past week:
A lifetime quest culminated for GREAT waffles reached a happy ending last Sunday morning.
Okay, it wasn't an obsessive quest in the sense of Javert's pursuit of Jean Valjean, but every couple of months I'd get a hankering for waffles, find a recipe to make and suffer inevitable disappointment with the spongy or dense or gooey (or some combination thereof) result.
But I found the holy waffle grail in one of my favorite cookbooks, the excellent How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. His Overnight Waffles came out light, crispy and divine, blasting away the cloying layer of self-criticism that usually denies me enjoyment of my own kitchen labors.
Bonus: they're dirt simple...my kind of cooking. Mix up some flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and milk, let it sit overnight. Next morning, separate two eggs, mix the yolks in with the batter and whip the whites until you get soft white peaks, then fold it in. Voila.
I also tried out what is (so far) my favorite easy roast chicken recipe, courtesy Jamie Oliver. I despise 'celebrity chefs' on principle, but this book came in over the counter and I was impressed with a few of the recipes when I leafed through it.
So the herbed roast chicken is top notch, and not much more bother than a plain one. The skin is nice and crispy, the potatoes I threw in the pan with it cooked up a treat, and the leftover bits made for a fine gravy.
The bird's carcass is going into stock for a tortilla soup tomorrow, watch this space for details.
A lifetime quest culminated for GREAT waffles reached a happy ending last Sunday morning.
Okay, it wasn't an obsessive quest in the sense of Javert's pursuit of Jean Valjean, but every couple of months I'd get a hankering for waffles, find a recipe to make and suffer inevitable disappointment with the spongy or dense or gooey (or some combination thereof) result.
But I found the holy waffle grail in one of my favorite cookbooks, the excellent How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. His Overnight Waffles came out light, crispy and divine, blasting away the cloying layer of self-criticism that usually denies me enjoyment of my own kitchen labors.
Bonus: they're dirt simple...my kind of cooking. Mix up some flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and milk, let it sit overnight. Next morning, separate two eggs, mix the yolks in with the batter and whip the whites until you get soft white peaks, then fold it in. Voila.
I also tried out what is (so far) my favorite easy roast chicken recipe, courtesy Jamie Oliver. I despise 'celebrity chefs' on principle, but this book came in over the counter and I was impressed with a few of the recipes when I leafed through it.
So the herbed roast chicken is top notch, and not much more bother than a plain one. The skin is nice and crispy, the potatoes I threw in the pan with it cooked up a treat, and the leftover bits made for a fine gravy.
The bird's carcass is going into stock for a tortilla soup tomorrow, watch this space for details.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
The New Yorker on O'Liely
pretty good decontstruction of his schtick.
And by extention the schtick of other right wing talking heads, still trying to pass as some flavor of 'outsider force for good', in spite of their heroes controlling all wings of government and using that control to drive the country into a sewage-filled ditch.
And by extention the schtick of other right wing talking heads, still trying to pass as some flavor of 'outsider force for good', in spite of their heroes controlling all wings of government and using that control to drive the country into a sewage-filled ditch.
Top 11 Spaceships
As chosen by a 20-something doofus who's knowledge of pop culture cuts off abruptly during the late 70's.
At the risk of once again drawing DT's ire, I will take exception to the methodology of the compiler....
Half the list is legit (gotta give props to the Enterprise and the Nostromo, and the Battlestar is classic), half is poop, but I was especially struck by the paucity of knowledge on display.
You'd expect a nerd writing a list for a site like UGO to have a little better depth of field when it comes to movie/tv spaceships. I can think of several deserving (and dare I say overlooked) ships without leaving the restrictive 70's-present timeframe of the article.
off the top of my head:
the bitchin' egg-carton looking shuttles from Space: 1999
the marine transport from Aliens
the last starfighter from The Last Starfighter (not only cool, but wrought with significance, as the first wholly CGI spaceship in cinema history)
The spacegoing arcology from Silent Running
And if you're going to pick one ship from the Star Wars films to represent, it's gotta be either the Falcon or the X-Wing, two of the absolute coolest ships EVAR. The entrace of the Start Destroyer at the beginning of the first movie is mind blowing, true, but the ship itself is just a triangle with some bits glued on, not very inspiring.
Oh wait, I'm being a little unfair, I see the author included the War of the Worlds ship...assuming he's talking about the classic 1950's George Pal version and not the Spielberg remake, apologies are tendered.
At the risk of once again drawing DT's ire, I will take exception to the methodology of the compiler....
Half the list is legit (gotta give props to the Enterprise and the Nostromo, and the Battlestar is classic), half is poop, but I was especially struck by the paucity of knowledge on display.
You'd expect a nerd writing a list for a site like UGO to have a little better depth of field when it comes to movie/tv spaceships. I can think of several deserving (and dare I say overlooked) ships without leaving the restrictive 70's-present timeframe of the article.
off the top of my head:
the bitchin' egg-carton looking shuttles from Space: 1999
the marine transport from Aliens
the last starfighter from The Last Starfighter (not only cool, but wrought with significance, as the first wholly CGI spaceship in cinema history)
The spacegoing arcology from Silent Running
And if you're going to pick one ship from the Star Wars films to represent, it's gotta be either the Falcon or the X-Wing, two of the absolute coolest ships EVAR. The entrace of the Start Destroyer at the beginning of the first movie is mind blowing, true, but the ship itself is just a triangle with some bits glued on, not very inspiring.
Oh wait, I'm being a little unfair, I see the author included the War of the Worlds ship...assuming he's talking about the classic 1950's George Pal version and not the Spielberg remake, apologies are tendered.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
100 Overlooked Films of the '90s
according to the Online Film Critics Society (a name that strikes me funny given the lack of esteem normal film critics command these days...)
There are some worthy films listed.
Glancing over the top ten:
Miller's Crossing was good, but I'd hardly call it the MOST OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE 90's. Without even leaving the Coen Brother's own filmography Barton Fink was both a better film and a more overlooked one (at least in this country, where a Palm D'Or and three bucks will get you a cup of shitty burnt coffee at Starbucks).
Safe? What a pile of dogshit that was. -1 point for the OFCS. If it was overlooked that was only just.
Sweet Hereafter was okay, but I'm not a big fan of Egoyan's. I liked Exotica better, and it got less play. (edit: oh, and there it is further down the list...I'd probably flip the two).
Lone Star is a great film and was in NO WAY overlooked. It got great critical response and did huge business for a true indy film, one not backed by the botique indy arm of a major studio. Off topic, it had the most perfect ending since Some Like it Hot.
Heavenly Creatures: Great, and overlooked.
Waiting for Guffman: Great, and overlooked. It amazes me how many people who carry on about Best in Show or Mighty Wind have never seen the prototype.
Hudsucker Proxy: see Miller's Crossing.
Babe: Pig in the City? It had like an 80,000,000 advertising budget and was the sequel to an Oscar-nominated smash hit. How the hell is that "overlooked"? Full disclosure: my pal Rocco spent several months compositing digital pigs for Pig in the
City
Dead Man: should have been #1. Probably the greatest film American film of the last 20 years, and shamefully overlooked.
Fearless was actually pretty good, and had a bowel-loosening plane crash I'm kinda glad I didn't see on the big screen. But Rosie Perez got an Oscar nomination out of it and it got a big ad push from the studio...so, what's their definition of 'overlooked'?
I'm beginning to think they should retitle their list "Good Movies That Tanked at the Box Office"
Highlights from the rest of the list you should all see IMHO:
Chungking Express Wong Kar Wai's most accessible film, a lovely, moving trifle.
Devil in a Blue Dress GREAT adaptation of the Walter Mosely novel. I was surprised and disappointed it wasn't a big hit- noir done right.
Cemetary Man : The best zombie movie you've never seen. Hilarious, and Rupert Evertt's best role.
Hard Eight PT Anderson's first film, and a great one.
Hana Bi (Fireworks): REALLY overlooked- you can barely find it in this country. I saw it in Paris at a Takeshi Kitano film festival, and it's probably his most complete film. Highly recommended.
My Neighbor Totoro: my favorite Miyazake film. My neice loves it too...hell, even my WIFE likes it. They *finally* released a widescreen version this week, but Dakota Fanning does one of the voices so I may stick with my old fullscreen copy.
The Limey: one of Terrence Stamp's best performances, and one of Soderberg's best directorial efforts. Great film.
that's enough for one post...but I might revisit the rest of the list later, there are a bunch of great films on it.
There are some worthy films listed.
Glancing over the top ten:
Miller's Crossing was good, but I'd hardly call it the MOST OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE 90's. Without even leaving the Coen Brother's own filmography Barton Fink was both a better film and a more overlooked one (at least in this country, where a Palm D'Or and three bucks will get you a cup of shitty burnt coffee at Starbucks).
Safe? What a pile of dogshit that was. -1 point for the OFCS. If it was overlooked that was only just.
Sweet Hereafter was okay, but I'm not a big fan of Egoyan's. I liked Exotica better, and it got less play. (edit: oh, and there it is further down the list...I'd probably flip the two).
Lone Star is a great film and was in NO WAY overlooked. It got great critical response and did huge business for a true indy film, one not backed by the botique indy arm of a major studio. Off topic, it had the most perfect ending since Some Like it Hot.
Heavenly Creatures: Great, and overlooked.
Waiting for Guffman: Great, and overlooked. It amazes me how many people who carry on about Best in Show or Mighty Wind have never seen the prototype.
Hudsucker Proxy: see Miller's Crossing.
Babe: Pig in the City? It had like an 80,000,000 advertising budget and was the sequel to an Oscar-nominated smash hit. How the hell is that "overlooked"? Full disclosure: my pal Rocco spent several months compositing digital pigs for Pig in the
City
Dead Man: should have been #1. Probably the greatest film American film of the last 20 years, and shamefully overlooked.
Fearless was actually pretty good, and had a bowel-loosening plane crash I'm kinda glad I didn't see on the big screen. But Rosie Perez got an Oscar nomination out of it and it got a big ad push from the studio...so, what's their definition of 'overlooked'?
I'm beginning to think they should retitle their list "Good Movies That Tanked at the Box Office"
Highlights from the rest of the list you should all see IMHO:
Chungking Express Wong Kar Wai's most accessible film, a lovely, moving trifle.
Devil in a Blue Dress GREAT adaptation of the Walter Mosely novel. I was surprised and disappointed it wasn't a big hit- noir done right.
Cemetary Man : The best zombie movie you've never seen. Hilarious, and Rupert Evertt's best role.
Hard Eight PT Anderson's first film, and a great one.
Hana Bi (Fireworks): REALLY overlooked- you can barely find it in this country. I saw it in Paris at a Takeshi Kitano film festival, and it's probably his most complete film. Highly recommended.
My Neighbor Totoro: my favorite Miyazake film. My neice loves it too...hell, even my WIFE likes it. They *finally* released a widescreen version this week, but Dakota Fanning does one of the voices so I may stick with my old fullscreen copy.
The Limey: one of Terrence Stamp's best performances, and one of Soderberg's best directorial efforts. Great film.
that's enough for one post...but I might revisit the rest of the list later, there are a bunch of great films on it.
Politics: How the USA is like a group of friends, one of whom is a violent drunk
So I'm walking to work this morning and I pass a group of drunk kids...must have been a very very long St Patrick's Day for them. One of them is demonstrably worse for wear than the rest, and is being coaxed along by a friend. The rest of the crew is far ahead, but slow down to see what's up with their pals.
So the really drunk guy is carrying on, and his pal is trying to talk him into catching up with the group. The group is standing futher down the street, frustrated, urging the drunk to catch up. He's not moving, and becoming more agitated about whatever imaginary problem he's having. Slowly, the main group begins straggling back, obviously unhappy but not willing to abadon their buddy.
As I passed out of view, the whole bunch was circled around the drunk, trying to navigate the labyrinth of his altered state.
It's a phenomenon I've seen before, one person's behavior defining the actions of the group regardless of their wishes or better judgement. A drunk friend gets in a fight, and you're kinda stuck backing them up even when they're being a dumbshit and probably deserve to get their ass kicked.
My ham-handed wrap up in case anyone failed to get the point: the Prez is the violent, irrational drunk, and the USA the group of friends stuck backing his ridiculous play.
bonus link: Bush addicted to straw man arguments in addition to the demon booze
So the really drunk guy is carrying on, and his pal is trying to talk him into catching up with the group. The group is standing futher down the street, frustrated, urging the drunk to catch up. He's not moving, and becoming more agitated about whatever imaginary problem he's having. Slowly, the main group begins straggling back, obviously unhappy but not willing to abadon their buddy.
As I passed out of view, the whole bunch was circled around the drunk, trying to navigate the labyrinth of his altered state.
It's a phenomenon I've seen before, one person's behavior defining the actions of the group regardless of their wishes or better judgement. A drunk friend gets in a fight, and you're kinda stuck backing them up even when they're being a dumbshit and probably deserve to get their ass kicked.
My ham-handed wrap up in case anyone failed to get the point: the Prez is the violent, irrational drunk, and the USA the group of friends stuck backing his ridiculous play.
bonus link: Bush addicted to straw man arguments in addition to the demon booze
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Books that Don't Exist
cool stuff.
I love bibliophile shit like this.
It doesn't happen as much as it used to, but every so often someone will come in asking for a copy of a book that doesn't exist, and of course I can't convince them otherwise. It'll be nice to have something to show 'em...
I love bibliophile shit like this.
It doesn't happen as much as it used to, but every so often someone will come in asking for a copy of a book that doesn't exist, and of course I can't convince them otherwise. It'll be nice to have something to show 'em...
Attn DT: more Robots
How to Survive a Robot Uprising.
Yet another bit of anti-robot propaganda linked to Carnegie-Mellon!
And The Author Speaks!
Yet another bit of anti-robot propaganda linked to Carnegie-Mellon!
And The Author Speaks!
ads in mmorpg's
Fuck this crap.
Pay $50 for the game and a $15 subscription fee AND still get in-game advertising?
Kiss my ass!
note to mealy-mouthed marketing moron:
Advertising never "enhances" anyone's game experience.
Pay $50 for the game and a $15 subscription fee AND still get in-game advertising?
Kiss my ass!
We’ve been interested in the concept of in-game advertising for a long time, but only wanted to do it when it made sense for the product and enhanced the game world for our players,” said Dorothy Ferguson, VP of sales and marketing for NCsoft North America.
note to mealy-mouthed marketing moron:
Advertising never "enhances" anyone's game experience.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
david cross vs. larry the cable guy
I'm behind the curve on this one, but he nails that certain strain of cynical anti-intellecutalism so well I'm posting it anyway.
It's one thing to revel in your stupidity...it's another to pretend to be stupid for a paycheck and revel in that.
It's one thing to revel in your stupidity...it's another to pretend to be stupid for a paycheck and revel in that.
Waltropolis: City In A Box
discount living for 100k citizens
Funny/scary in a very detailed, prescient way.
Funny/scary in a very detailed, prescient way.
This infinitely reproduced interior is modulated by the shell of the big-box, the discrete unit of discount space, which renders the box lifeless. Both inside and outside, quality is replaced with quantity and experience is replaced with economy.
All aspirations of excellence are infused with the sole purpose of discount space: savings. Every penny saved in the reproduction of the interior - in the reproduction of the system - is passed on to the consumer with lower prices.
Monday, March 13, 2006
music: Neko Case
new one is out.
She's not hip enough for Pitchfork, who consistenly underrate her albums (giving Blacklisted a 7.9? Heh.) but while the rating is off the commentary is pretty accurate in describing her sound and the purity and might of her voice, so read it anyway.
She's not hip enough for Pitchfork, who consistenly underrate her albums (giving Blacklisted a 7.9? Heh.) but while the rating is off the commentary is pretty accurate in describing her sound and the purity and might of her voice, so read it anyway.
Black Moses leaves South Park
details here.
I'm badly disillusioned...I didn't know Mr. Hot Buttered Soul was one of those creepy Scientologists.
=/
I'm badly disillusioned...I didn't know Mr. Hot Buttered Soul was one of those creepy Scientologists.
=/
snazzy short video
foosball wizard.
I always sucked at that game...although I'm so old I remember when arcades had a walls lined with pinball machines and a row of alternating foosball/air hockey tables down the middle....with one lonely video game off in a far corner looking like it should be wearing a dunce cap.
I always sucked at that game...although I'm so old I remember when arcades had a walls lined with pinball machines and a row of alternating foosball/air hockey tables down the middle....with one lonely video game off in a far corner looking like it should be wearing a dunce cap.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Books: today's tip
Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho is what's known as a PBO, Paperback Original. There was no hardcover edition, so the 'true' 1st is the trade paperback published by Vintage...not a very common occurance for a 'big' author.
All they hysteria around the release of the book meant that it was being reprinted before it even hit the stands, so there are a relatively small number of 1st's around.
It's a book you can find around, in thrift stores, garage sales, wherever, because it doesn't look like anything special.
A nice copy (Very Good in book terms, meaning it looks like it's been read, spent some time in a backpack, but wasn't thrashed) will go for $35 or so, a copy in collectible condition (Fine, meaning new and apparently unread) for around $100.
The book was always a kind of cult oddity, but the market got even hotter after the movie came out...it didn't do much box office, but apparently everyone who saw it decided they had to have a 1st of the book, sorta like story that only 100 people saw the Velvet Underground's 1st show, but all of them started a band.
All they hysteria around the release of the book meant that it was being reprinted before it even hit the stands, so there are a relatively small number of 1st's around.
It's a book you can find around, in thrift stores, garage sales, wherever, because it doesn't look like anything special.
A nice copy (Very Good in book terms, meaning it looks like it's been read, spent some time in a backpack, but wasn't thrashed) will go for $35 or so, a copy in collectible condition (Fine, meaning new and apparently unread) for around $100.
The book was always a kind of cult oddity, but the market got even hotter after the movie came out...it didn't do much box office, but apparently everyone who saw it decided they had to have a 1st of the book, sorta like story that only 100 people saw the Velvet Underground's 1st show, but all of them started a band.
Gratz to Creelea
Who survived Moscow and has now been accepted to a couple of prestigious bastions of higher education in her chosen field of Slavic studies.
If any readers know of job openings for a Russian-fluent student in the Boston area, sound off in the comments...
If any readers know of job openings for a Russian-fluent student in the Boston area, sound off in the comments...
stellar Engrish menu
Oh, dear....
I try to avoid linking stuff from Boing Boing because most folk already have it bookmarked, but I couldn't risk letting any of my prized stable of regulars miss this one.
I try to avoid linking stuff from Boing Boing because most folk already have it bookmarked, but I couldn't risk letting any of my prized stable of regulars miss this one.
Spaghetti Western Resources
What a great site.
I went on a spaghetti western rampage some years back (similar to my more recent hong kong action cinema & kung fu movie binges, and it's a fantastic genre to explore. There's a lot of great stuff beyond the Sergio Leone classics everyone is familiar with, and this site covers it.
Check out the trailers, and the posters.
The review section is fantastic...I disagree with some of his ratings, but the format is fantastic, with screencaps and some choice dialog. Sergio Corbucci, my personal favorite genre director, is well represented.
Check it out...
I went on a spaghetti western rampage some years back (similar to my more recent hong kong action cinema & kung fu movie binges, and it's a fantastic genre to explore. There's a lot of great stuff beyond the Sergio Leone classics everyone is familiar with, and this site covers it.
Check out the trailers, and the posters.
The review section is fantastic...I disagree with some of his ratings, but the format is fantastic, with screencaps and some choice dialog. Sergio Corbucci, my personal favorite genre director, is well represented.
Check it out...
day of updates!
After three days of drought, the surface of the Baxblog is a dessicated wasteland of cracked earth and crisp brown grass, littered with the carcasses of dying posts wheezing their last feeble breathes into the choking dust.
When, on the horizon, a looming wall of lightning-streaked clouds herald the coming storm.
Latch the shutters, lest the wet blast of updates shatter windows and ruin furniture and carpeting alike!
a scattering of showers to herald the blessed rain:
DIY home funerals
Disney being sued by the Hell's Angels
the Motorcycle PC, uniting two groups of geeks previously thought to be incompatible.
download and archive video from various popular sites.
Symantec pulls head out of ass, finally admits Firefox is safer than IE
...and I'm supposed to trust them to protect my PC?
When, on the horizon, a looming wall of lightning-streaked clouds herald the coming storm.
Latch the shutters, lest the wet blast of updates shatter windows and ruin furniture and carpeting alike!
a scattering of showers to herald the blessed rain:
DIY home funerals
Disney being sued by the Hell's Angels
the Motorcycle PC, uniting two groups of geeks previously thought to be incompatible.
download and archive video from various popular sites.
Symantec pulls head out of ass, finally admits Firefox is safer than IE
...and I'm supposed to trust them to protect my PC?
Thursday, March 9, 2006
books: perserverance
I'm buying books from a couple of guys with a pyramid of ratty, mildew-smelling boxes that look like they've been in someone's cellar for 40 years...not the most promising senario from my perspective.
But in keeping with the panning for gold analogy in a previous post, that's what the business is most of the time, sifting garbage looking for something usable.
This particular buy gets much worse...I prise the rotting tape away from one box and lift the warped, reeking lid to expose....a box full of moldy book club mysteries.
I'd have to pause a second to dredge up a less appealing discovery. Maybe a box full of series romances, Harlequins or Zebras. Or a box of old textbooks from the 60's. The book club mystery is such an archetype of the business John Dunning used a room full of them as the critical plot point in his excellent bibliomystery Bookman's Wake.
In situations like this, I repeat the book buyer's mantra: "it only takes one book to make a buy worthwhile".
So I forged on, digging through box after box of musty garbage. There were occasional signs of life, but every one of them ended up being molded and warped from moisture.
Finally, in the second to the last box, I was rewarded with an inexplicable wonderment- set in a bed of furry green book club mulch, three jewels: early Sue Grafton hardcovers, in seemingly pristine condition.
Disbelieving, I fished them gingerly out of the compost and gave them a closer inspection. D, E and F, all 1st editions, all in excellent shape. Thank God!
And this illustrates another truism of the business as well...even with happy endings like this you rarely find THE book (in this case, A is for Alibi). You find neat, uncommon books in the series, but not the ones that are worth real money.
Here's a book buying rule of thumb- it works best with popular series authors, but applies to most fiction: If you see a book by a famous author and their name is smaller than the title, it's an early book and likely to be uncommon (and thus potentially valuable).
This list of Grafton books nicely illustrates the point. Her name starts out microscopic, grows larger and eventually subsumes most of the cover...you can chart the arc of her sales growth by the covers of her books...her name grows like a tumor, eventually becoming more important than the book she's writing (note the 'flip' with H is for Homicide, where she gets top billing for the first time).
time for coffee!
But in keeping with the panning for gold analogy in a previous post, that's what the business is most of the time, sifting garbage looking for something usable.
This particular buy gets much worse...I prise the rotting tape away from one box and lift the warped, reeking lid to expose....a box full of moldy book club mysteries.
I'd have to pause a second to dredge up a less appealing discovery. Maybe a box full of series romances, Harlequins or Zebras. Or a box of old textbooks from the 60's. The book club mystery is such an archetype of the business John Dunning used a room full of them as the critical plot point in his excellent bibliomystery Bookman's Wake.
In situations like this, I repeat the book buyer's mantra: "it only takes one book to make a buy worthwhile".
So I forged on, digging through box after box of musty garbage. There were occasional signs of life, but every one of them ended up being molded and warped from moisture.
Finally, in the second to the last box, I was rewarded with an inexplicable wonderment- set in a bed of furry green book club mulch, three jewels: early Sue Grafton hardcovers, in seemingly pristine condition.
Disbelieving, I fished them gingerly out of the compost and gave them a closer inspection. D, E and F, all 1st editions, all in excellent shape. Thank God!
And this illustrates another truism of the business as well...even with happy endings like this you rarely find THE book (in this case, A is for Alibi). You find neat, uncommon books in the series, but not the ones that are worth real money.
Here's a book buying rule of thumb- it works best with popular series authors, but applies to most fiction: If you see a book by a famous author and their name is smaller than the title, it's an early book and likely to be uncommon (and thus potentially valuable).
This list of Grafton books nicely illustrates the point. Her name starts out microscopic, grows larger and eventually subsumes most of the cover...you can chart the arc of her sales growth by the covers of her books...her name grows like a tumor, eventually becoming more important than the book she's writing (note the 'flip' with H is for Homicide, where she gets top billing for the first time).
time for coffee!
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Monday, March 6, 2006
fucking haloscan!
So I give them money for "premium" service and one of the 'features' seems to be mis-reporting the # of comments.
Some posts have comments but claim not to, some have more comments than they're given credit for...wtf?
When I was still leeching off them for free the comments were slow, but accurate.
Now that I've paid them off the comments are fast and innacurate?
Maybe there's a super-exclusive Platinum Diamond Service that delivers fast AND accurate comments. >:(
so, those who like comments click on the link even if it looks like there are no comments, or no new ones- I missed a couple from Anner due to misplaced trust in the accuracy of Haloscan.
Some posts have comments but claim not to, some have more comments than they're given credit for...wtf?
When I was still leeching off them for free the comments were slow, but accurate.
Now that I've paid them off the comments are fast and innacurate?
Maybe there's a super-exclusive Platinum Diamond Service that delivers fast AND accurate comments. >:(
so, those who like comments click on the link even if it looks like there are no comments, or no new ones- I missed a couple from Anner due to misplaced trust in the accuracy of Haloscan.
more Oscar: McMurtry gives used book shout-out
Not many people outside the business know it, but he owns a vast used book store in the town he used as the setting for Last Picture Show.
That article articulates some of the things I like about the business....it really is like panning for gold, you sift through an incredible load of shite to get a couple of decent books, you sift through an incredible load of decent books to get a couple of really nice once, and you sift an incredible load of really nice books to get one FANTASTIC book.
That article articulates some of the things I like about the business....it really is like panning for gold, you sift through an incredible load of shite to get a couple of decent books, you sift through an incredible load of decent books to get a couple of really nice once, and you sift an incredible load of really nice books to get one FANTASTIC book.
film: Crash redux
I stole this from Atrios's comments because it seemed like it would be really funny to anyone who actually saw Crash:
I am happy that Crash won because it said some very important things we should all know:
1.) When crazy Muslims come to kill your kids, Jesus will protect you.
2.) The best hope in life for batshit crazy upper class white women is to have a faithful servent who will listen to their abuse and not quit their jobs.
3.) Racist cops are all really good people underneath.
4.) Liberals are all really potential murderers.
5.) Black hoodlums do in fact carjack. But they draw the line at participating in the slave trade. That's best left to elderly Asian men.
Oscars
Well, the 'party' portion of my Oscar night didn't pan out, since all my guests were deathly ill. Next time I'll diversify my guest list outside immediate family.
On to the awards:
First, what the fuck with all the mic-hogging assholes burning through their 30 seconds or whatever and not letting their co-winners get a word in edgewise? That fat makeup prick with the huge nose and the biker moustache who won for Narnia yammered on about nothing for so long the gal who was with him didn't even get a whiff of the mic. And it happened a few more times- usually a guy hogging the mic from a woman, but one woman hogged the mic from a man.
Kudoes to Peter Jackson's sound crew for having a plan- all four of them got their mic time with no incident.
What the fuck was that thing on the shoulder of Charlize Theron's dress?
It looked like a satin tribble.
Enough with the fucking montages, already! I like Chuck Workman as much as anyone, but if you dump a few montages maybe mic-hogging between multiple winners wouldn't be such a problem.
I crashed and burned in the Oscar pool, but took solace in calling Reese Witherspoon for best actress.
I have a feeling the only thing future generations will remember about these Oscars will be the last 15 seconds of this.
PIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMP!!!!!
And it set up the joke of the night from John Stewart:
The best picture winner is a film described as "unwatchable" by my brother in law and as "a Tuesday After School Special about race" by the closest thing to a Hollywood insider I know, the Pelf.
I haven't seen it, but after one clip they showed (the excellent Terrence Howard and his movie wife referencing the Cosby Show during an argument about which one of them was blacker) the wife commented "that sounded rich suburban white people trying to imagine what a black couple would say" and I could but agree.
Glad to see Altman get an Oscar. Hard to imagine a more hit-or-miss director, but when he's on he's on, and he's the only one of the surviving 70's mavericks who still makes interesting movies.
On to the awards:
First, what the fuck with all the mic-hogging assholes burning through their 30 seconds or whatever and not letting their co-winners get a word in edgewise? That fat makeup prick with the huge nose and the biker moustache who won for Narnia yammered on about nothing for so long the gal who was with him didn't even get a whiff of the mic. And it happened a few more times- usually a guy hogging the mic from a woman, but one woman hogged the mic from a man.
Kudoes to Peter Jackson's sound crew for having a plan- all four of them got their mic time with no incident.
What the fuck was that thing on the shoulder of Charlize Theron's dress?
It looked like a satin tribble.
Enough with the fucking montages, already! I like Chuck Workman as much as anyone, but if you dump a few montages maybe mic-hogging between multiple winners wouldn't be such a problem.
I crashed and burned in the Oscar pool, but took solace in calling Reese Witherspoon for best actress.
I have a feeling the only thing future generations will remember about these Oscars will be the last 15 seconds of this.
PIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMP!!!!!
And it set up the joke of the night from John Stewart:
Martin Scorsese: zero Oscars.
Three Six Mafia: one Oscar.
The best picture winner is a film described as "unwatchable" by my brother in law and as "a Tuesday After School Special about race" by the closest thing to a Hollywood insider I know, the Pelf.
I haven't seen it, but after one clip they showed (the excellent Terrence Howard and his movie wife referencing the Cosby Show during an argument about which one of them was blacker) the wife commented "that sounded rich suburban white people trying to imagine what a black couple would say" and I could but agree.
Glad to see Altman get an Oscar. Hard to imagine a more hit-or-miss director, but when he's on he's on, and he's the only one of the surviving 70's mavericks who still makes interesting movies.
Saturday, March 4, 2006
Food: frozen pizza
A public service announcement relayed from my pal Zim:
Beware DiGiorno Harvest Wheat Crust frozen pizzas.
He declares them practically inedible.
And honestly, what's the point of a wheat crust frozen pizza?
It's nothing but a sop to your conscience, like the gluttons at the Italian place I used to work who would march through the complimentary basket of grease-soaked bread, an appetizer of fried mozzarella and an eggplant Parmesan entree like the Nazis through Poland.....and wash it all down with a large diet soda.
And lest you write Zim off as some sort of prima donna food purist akin to your humble narrator, this is the same man who openly bragged of "eating like a king" for a month after finding a stack of Brand X frozen pizzas for a buck each on clearance at the local convenience store. And who, in his youth, would use the same water to boil his nightly hot dogs for weeks on end, deigning to add fresh only when the level dipped to the point where the dogs were beached on the bottom of the pot, half exposed like sea lions at ebb tide.
The Harvest Wheat Crust defeated even the leathery tastebuds and cast-iron stomach of this much-decorated triathelete of nutritional misery.
You have been warned!
Beware DiGiorno Harvest Wheat Crust frozen pizzas.
He declares them practically inedible.
And honestly, what's the point of a wheat crust frozen pizza?
It's nothing but a sop to your conscience, like the gluttons at the Italian place I used to work who would march through the complimentary basket of grease-soaked bread, an appetizer of fried mozzarella and an eggplant Parmesan entree like the Nazis through Poland.....and wash it all down with a large diet soda.
And lest you write Zim off as some sort of prima donna food purist akin to your humble narrator, this is the same man who openly bragged of "eating like a king" for a month after finding a stack of Brand X frozen pizzas for a buck each on clearance at the local convenience store. And who, in his youth, would use the same water to boil his nightly hot dogs for weeks on end, deigning to add fresh only when the level dipped to the point where the dogs were beached on the bottom of the pot, half exposed like sea lions at ebb tide.
The Harvest Wheat Crust defeated even the leathery tastebuds and cast-iron stomach of this much-decorated triathelete of nutritional misery.
You have been warned!
another corpse in the creek
Another dead homeless guy.
Nobody in the press is saying anything, but with three dead homeless people in the last 6 months, all longtime downtown regulars, all of who died near creeks, I smell serial killer.
New Times sucks, but they're the only ones doing more than a blurb on the obit pages for the victims.
Nobody in the press is saying anything, but with three dead homeless people in the last 6 months, all longtime downtown regulars, all of who died near creeks, I smell serial killer.
New Times sucks, but they're the only ones doing more than a blurb on the obit pages for the victims.
when privacy advocates and fundies collide!
RFID tags are the Mark of the Beast!
Wait a second....didn't they say the same thing about bar codes?
I object to the tags for commonsense reasons, but if the fundies End Times are Nigh! fixation can be put to work in a good cause for once I'm not gonna complain.
A potential practical dilemma for conspiracy minded fundies:
The entire Wal*Mart business model is built around RFID tags.
Quel Horreur!
Wait a second....didn't they say the same thing about bar codes?
I object to the tags for commonsense reasons, but if the fundies End Times are Nigh! fixation can be put to work in a good cause for once I'm not gonna complain.
A potential practical dilemma for conspiracy minded fundies:
The entire Wal*Mart business model is built around RFID tags.
Quel Horreur!
Oscar Party
If anyone of my loyal readers is gonna be in town for the Oscars, you're invited.
There'll be a cheese board, bread and crackers and snacks.
BYO wine.
Gimme a call for location and time.
There'll be a cheese board, bread and crackers and snacks.
BYO wine.
Gimme a call for location and time.
did they try this on you, Ivan?
gulf war vets fed placebo.
I mean, I'm sure it saved them a bundle in the face of continued government gutting of the VA, but you think they'd have some shame.
I mean, I'm sure it saved them a bundle in the face of continued government gutting of the VA, but you think they'd have some shame.
Friday, March 3, 2006
50 best web sites
according to a Chicago Tribune writer.
Looks good on cursory examination, I recognize several from my own bookmarks (Pitchfork, Metacritic, crooks and liars, some others).
Good stuff.
Looks good on cursory examination, I recognize several from my own bookmarks (Pitchfork, Metacritic, crooks and liars, some others).
Good stuff.
what d&d character are you (stolen from Ivan)
I tried to steal some content from Bobo, but he refuses to update. =/
better than the usual 'what _____ are you' tests.
I'm a Chaotic Good Elf Bard.
In my youth I was a prototypical Chaotic Good Elf Thief, proof that therapy and meditation are good for your soul!
better than the usual 'what _____ are you' tests.
I'm a Chaotic Good Elf Bard.
In my youth I was a prototypical Chaotic Good Elf Thief, proof that therapy and meditation are good for your soul!
ok this one's better
Riyadh International Book Fair
A clever reader (or even a semi-conscious one) might draw paralells between extremist fundie ranting about the arts in Saudi Arabia and extremist fundie ranting about the arts in the good ol' US of A.
A clever reader (or even a semi-conscious one) might draw paralells between extremist fundie ranting about the arts in Saudi Arabia and extremist fundie ranting about the arts in the good ol' US of A.
Bike Furniture Design
what'll they think of next.
ok, ok, it isn't that great, but I'm making an effort to increase my 'weekend' (for me) updating so cut me some slack.
ok, ok, it isn't that great, but I'm making an effort to increase my 'weekend' (for me) updating so cut me some slack.
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Attn Ahggg
a baxblog housewarming gift just for you.
and no I do not have an e-crush on ahggg, he's just new and I'm trying to make him feel at home!
and no I do not have an e-crush on ahggg, he's just new and I'm trying to make him feel at home!
comments updated
since you generally silent fekkers are commenting occasionally now, I threw Haloscan a couple of bucks for "premium service".
Not sure what that gets us, but it looks like the ads in the comment popup are gone...yay!
Not sure what that gets us, but it looks like the ads in the comment popup are gone...yay!
work: customer relations
there's a subset of the book buying public that comes in, gets the title wrong and then fights to the death over it.
A hefty fellow with bad teeth and an American flag ballcap was in yesterday looking for that crypto-commie bashing classic None Dare Call it Treason, a perrenial seller to wannabe militiamen and basementdwellers of all stripes.
He thought the title was None Dare Call it Conspiracy (a book of more recent vintage, a conventional NWO/Illuminati/Gnomes of Zurich deal, no commies involved), and I couldn't talk him out of it.
Are you going to argue with a doctor over a diagnoses (well, unless you're like Bobo)?
Are you going to argue with a plumber about the toilet?
Then why argue with the bookseller about books?
I think they've been conditioned by burger-flippers at chain stores like B&N, who constantly confuse 'out of stock' with 'out of print' (proving the limits of the inventory database).
Just now a young gal came in looking for Midsummer Dream Night. I didn't say a word, just took her to drama and handed her a copy of Midsummer Night's Dream which she happily bought.
I think I'll make that my default position from now on...give them the book they want and let them argue with the cover if they still feel obstreperous.
A hefty fellow with bad teeth and an American flag ballcap was in yesterday looking for that crypto-commie bashing classic None Dare Call it Treason, a perrenial seller to wannabe militiamen and basementdwellers of all stripes.
He thought the title was None Dare Call it Conspiracy (a book of more recent vintage, a conventional NWO/Illuminati/Gnomes of Zurich deal, no commies involved), and I couldn't talk him out of it.
Are you going to argue with a doctor over a diagnoses (well, unless you're like Bobo)?
Are you going to argue with a plumber about the toilet?
Then why argue with the bookseller about books?
I think they've been conditioned by burger-flippers at chain stores like B&N, who constantly confuse 'out of stock' with 'out of print' (proving the limits of the inventory database).
Just now a young gal came in looking for Midsummer Dream Night. I didn't say a word, just took her to drama and handed her a copy of Midsummer Night's Dream which she happily bought.
I think I'll make that my default position from now on...give them the book they want and let them argue with the cover if they still feel obstreperous.
welcome aboard, Ahggg
In honor of NYC laywer-guy and boxing afficianado Ahggg joining the baxblog role of honor here's something I found stapled inside the front cover of a 1989 California Penal Code a while back:
Words of wisdom in retail as well as law enforcement....
Words of wisdom in retail as well as law enforcement....
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