Don’t you call me that
I like Matt Damon. Neil loves the Bourne series.
I like Matt Damon. Neil loves the Bourne series.
Our head of sales sent round the first strip on an email. We all laughed at the cruelty. It’s oh-so-true.
I’m very interested in this ‘blank Penguin notebooks cost more than the books they are pretending to be‘ malarkey.
There are a few issues at play, IMHO.
Is the cost of production of these non-book products higher? Unit cost of manufacturing, cost of transportation, cost of distribution, cost of marketing?
Is the perceived utility of a blank notebook, a coffee mug, or a lawn chair higher than that of a Penguin Classic?
Is pretending to be literate of more value than actually making an attempt to be literate?
Everything’s about image and face. We can snort at kids who want to be like the Beckhams or the Rooneys or the next winner of The X Factor, but we fetishise Penguin merchandise, Pantone merchandise, Moleskine notebooks, and so on — because we consider them outward displays of cool. So we aren’t any better, we just spend more on that shit.
Conflict diamonds are an externality stemming from the economics of the diamond business. Hence, if you want to stop Mugabe and other tyrants from selling conflict diamonds, stop coveting diamonds.
I’m about one-third (or more) of the way through Naming the Bones, a newie being published in 2010. I get a bit tickled when I read about places I know (the first part of the book is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow). I’m not sure the author’s style is my kind of thing yet.
Democracy Live looks pretty cool, if that’s your sort of thing.
Apple vs. Microsoft. Again. Apple is a more expensive proposition, so only the most image-conscious will switch, surely? I applaud Apple’s attempts to win new adherents (since it’s their rabid fans who upgrade each and every time, no matter how brief a time between versions) and I think they’ve got a job on their hands since Windows is so ubiquitous.
I’m going for Linux next time. I’m not sure which flavour, though.
I finished The Black Dahlia on Saturday and promptly rented the DVD.
The book is really, really good. James Ellroy is really a master of American noir crime fiction, isn’t he? I know the story of Elizabeth Short, and I still had to look her up to check which bits were fact and which bits he made up to fit the story (although the case has never been solved, I know that). I was completely drawn into the world of 40s LA, where cops were just as crooked at the criminals they hunted.
As for the film, I can see why Brian de Palma made the changes he did. The film helped to deliver the colours and faces to bring the characters to life even more. But having already read the book (and so recently), I found it kind of jumpy — but Neil, who hasn’t read it, found the movie flowed just fine.
My psychology tutor has offered to lend me My Dark Places, so I’m looking forward to that.