A while ago, I wrote about how Borders in Swindon was closing. Now it seems like that was the thin end of the wedge as the entire chain of bookshops is about to close (cf Dillons, Ottakars, etc).

It’s a shame as when they first opened I was very pr0-Borders. The combination of coffee, cake, and books was a winner as far as I was concerned.  However, the selection of materials was eroded away, the in-house coffee replaced by a chain who produced a gawd-awful brew, and a once – truly impressive – music selection was reduced to a couple of rows of shelves in nearly all the stores.

Who is to blame – The internet you cry! Well if you don’t have choice you do go to the internet. I don’t listen to mainstream music so I have no choice. But that’s not the point, the point is you make a business model that incorporates the internet, and ignores it at its peril.

We in libraries understand this, we salute Borders and mark its passing. and we think to  ourselves “There but for the grace of God go I…”

No women-centric blog today. Instead a mourning for the place where I myself associate with youth and dating and romance.

Borders on Glasgow, and my memoirs of…

A place I adored sitting at by myself, drinking ‘buckets’ of tea (milk no sugar) for the mere fee of £1.70 (always go large, you get twice as much for 40p extra. Principle), I attended so much one of the barristas even made a pet name for me- ‘bookie’ for I always had a book.

Borders was the place I stayed up till midnight in a queue for harry potter 7 with my sister and then best friend. We had our faces painted- I had a phoenix and ate deathly mallows (marshmallows on sticks covered in chocolate), did the hp quiz and chatted to the others in the queue. It was awesome.

Borders Glasgow was the place I had one of the best dates of my teenage years. My then boyfriend, Fraser, and I had been to Starbucks and he had bought me a ‘valentine gingerbread cookie’ whom we called Oscar. Neither of us liked gingerbread so we took him around the store and made him pose in places taking photos of each other and being generally quite childish. We stayed till 10pm. I was 17.

In October 2008, my sisters German exchange parter came over. One evening Mum decided to show her life in Glasgow. Where better to go than the late-ish night hang out where hot chocolate and english dictionaries are a plenty? Borders of course.

Then came March 2009. I had tea daily throughout the summer with someone who I came to care very deeply for. Words were passed and the seat was sat in (the side far from the Starbucks counter, above paper chase). Tea was drank in buckets until closing time. It was a place I fell for romance and kind words.

July 2009- I meet Jeremy Kyle! He signs my book, shakes my hand.

September 2009- I study for my economics essays.

November 2009- my sister and I drink our first hot chocolates of the season.

December 2009….

Tears. Many many tears.

P.S. Thank you Miss Laura E. Gillespie for her black and white shot of dying borders.

It’s official. All 45 Borders and Books Etc. stores in the UK have hung giant STORE CLOSING banners in the window and begun going out of business sales. Though Borders’ administrators have been coy about the move all week with the press, it came as the biggest shock to the Borders employees who were not warned. They found out Friday night at the same time as the rest of the world and the store closing banners arrived Saturday morning with their new POS packets.

Seeing this on the horizon, publishers have been hesitant to do business with the floundering bookseller over the past few months.

Over the next few weeks Borders may try to sell “all or some of the company stores,” but the outlook is not good. They have hired liquidation specialists Hilco to help with the transition

via The Bookseller

Smoke magazine founder Matt Haynes on the imminent demise of Borders and Books Etc:

Smoke wouldn’t exist today if Malcolm Hopkins, who was in charge of periodicals at Borders’ Oxford Street store when we began, hadn’t thought the magazine – and dozens like it – worth supporting. Whenever a new issue came out, we’d take him 350 copies on the 159 bus, and he’d position them subversively among the Grazias and Worlds of Dogs. But, when we breezed in with issue #10, we found no Hopkins, just a surly goth skulking in Esoterica. “He’s gone,” she said. “Gone?” we said. “Why?” “Dunno. Probably didn’t like the uniform.” Half of issue #10 came back as returns. Or the covers did.

Borders wasn’t perfect – in fact, some of its US former parent firm’s employment practices were downright evil. But, without any tradition of independent non-second hand book retailing in this part of south-east London (the nearest independent that I know of is Sydenham’s Kirkdale Bookshop), it’s been the chains or nothing.

So Books Etc in Canary Wharf snagged me very early on, when the Wharf’s shopping centre was a ghost town at weekends, by giving me their poster for the film version of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting for nothing when I asked if they had any for sale. So I stuck with them.

And while Books Etc and Borders were stocking small-scale magazines like Smoke, giving them a leg up and valuable shelf-space. I personally discovered that Waterstones couldn’t care less when I strolled into their Trafalgar Square branch one evening and asked if they stocked it. “We don’t sell magazines,” murmured a surly bloke behind the counter, oblivious to the pile of Time Outs under his nose. I gave Waterstones a swerve for years after, and still try to avoid it.

But the writing was on the wall when Waterstones took over the two Canary Wharf branches of Books Etc a year or so ago, not so long after it’d taken over Ottakar’s in Greenwich, meaning I’ve no choice in local bookshops any more. The closure of the flagship Oxford Street Borders this summer indicated that the game was up. At least a resurgent Foyles is keeping some kind of quirky bookselling going in London. Despite the sins of its US parent, Borders was one American import to London that actually will be missed.

It was this time last year in the run up to Christmas that UK retailer Woolworth’s went out of business and last week we saw the long-awaited demise here of Borders. Cue much hand wringing, questions about the state of the high street and statements of how wonderful these retail institutions are.

But if we stop and take off the rose-tinted spectacles for a moment something else becomes apparent. The reason Woolworth’s went out of business was because it was a shit shop. The reason Borders is in administration is because it is a shit shop. These stores are not providing what the customer wants in a way that is financially effective. It’s not because the customer is wrong. It’s because the retailer is wrong.

I feel sorry for the staff and their families. No-one deserves to hear that they will likely be out of a job this close to Christmas. The reality, however, is that these businesses were badly run and out of time and step with consumer needs. We might not like this, we might not want this. But that my friend is the reality.

Take two examples. I ordered an advent candle the other day for the little HRD’s to enjoy in the run up to Christmas. Three weeks later I hadn’t heard a peep from the retailer, so I dropped them an email only to receive a reply saying that the candle was out of stock they were not sure they were going to be back in stock but don’t worry they “weren’t going to charge me”. Wow….thank you! After a glass (or two)  of something with hints of blackberries and undertones of goat leather, my reply was thus,

“Thank you for your email. I have to say I think this is ridiculously poor customer service, given that I placed this order three weeks ago (that’s 21 days if you need some help) and only heard a response after I decide to email to chase today.

Clearly a product of this kind is time critical (let’s be honest, delivery in January would just be a disappointment). I guess I could roll up a newspaper and mark 24 parts for my kids to burn each day instead?

I’d be interested to hear why you think I should ever shop with you again?”

Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly I have never heard from them. And guess what? They will never be hearing from me again either.

Then yesterday I was ordering the HRD family Christmas cards (oh yes we are THAT swanky). The website was being cranky and so I had to place two orders instead of one missing out on a discount and generally causing me grief. I sent an email laying out the problem and this morning less than 24 hours later, I receive the following:

“Our apologies for that, I have passed the information on so that any technical issues can be resolved. I have also organised a refund for the amount that you would have saved had you been able to purchase your cards in one order. Apologies again for any inconvenience. Your cards have been printed and will be dispatched today.”

No prizes for guessing where I will be shopping for cards next year.

Sure there will be a few examples or exceptions, but retailers, indeed businesses in general, mainly go out of business because they are badly run. Let’s stop apologising, let’s stop theorizing and accept the realities. Sales less cost equals profit. If you can’t make it add up its no-one else’s fault than your own.

According to data gosu the 2008 area of the city covers 26 185 ha. Poznan is located in central-western Poland, in the central part of Wielkopolska province. The city is located within the three physiographic mezoregions ie the western part of Poznan in Lakeland, east of the plain Wrzesinski, and the oldest part of town is located on the bottom axis oriented along a north-south Warta Poznan Gorge. These 3 areas are parts of Mazowsze Wielkopolskie Lakeland.

The extent of the administrative boundaries of Poznan in the north-south axis is about 23 km and the east-west axis approximately 24 km. Poznan is a central part of the Poznań agglomeration. The city borders with 11 other municipalities that belong to the district of Poznan. Directly borders with two other towns ie Luboń and Swarzędz.

The town is situated in the Warta River valley and in the valleys of smaller streams as Bogdanka Cybina and Main.

Poznan is considered a historic capital of Wielkopolska.

Location of the city due to geographical conditions. Location in the valley and Bogdanka Cybina and Central were the swiftest way from east to west allowing gently descend to the bottom of the Warta River, which at this point by dividing the number of branches formed a ford. With the development of the city address the differences in altitude spraying the material with lower land elevation. Strongly changed the hydrographic network of the city. Not only reduced the number of branches Warta, but also covered with small feet, and some of the lower reaches of Bogdanka Segankę whether Wierzbak introduced to the municipal sewer system. Nevertheless, the bottom of the valleys of the tributaries are still so important green wedges.

Adoringly observed over at BibliOdyssey, these covers originated from the early 19th to the 20th centuries:

Several more where these came from. Click over to BibliOdyssey HERE, and check out their beautifully extensive archives while you’re at it.

The Borders bookshop chain in the UK has started a closing down sale in all of its 45 stores, the BBC has learned…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: express shopping. The blog is also related to: shopping in paris.

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 640

“Phnom Penh: The Appeals Court of Cambodia issued a surprising decision, sentencing Ms. Chea Ratha [a former military police brigadier general, who had a lesbian relationship with actress In Soklida] for 18 years to jail for an acid attack against the aunt of the actress In Soklida, and also other accomplices are to be imprisoned. The decision made by the Appeals Court at this time is totally in contrast to the former decisions made by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to dismiss the accusations against the accused persons.

“The acid attack against Ms. In Soklida’s aunt had been brought for a hearing and judgment by the Appeals Court on 27 November 2009, with Mr. Seng Sivutha as the head of the council of judges, with Mr. Nhoung Thul and Mr. Thou Monei as members, and with Mr. Hean Rith as representative of the prosecutors.

“The judgment decided to uphold Decision 82, dated 31 August 2009, of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, but rejected Point 1, which is related to punishments for all who had been charged. The new decision of the Appeals Court exempts Meas Mao, male, 40; and Meas Chandy from the charge of illegal gun use, but sentenced them to serve 18 years in prison for violating the right of an individual, and for planned and attempted murder. Chea Ratha, female, 43, was removed from the charge of illegal use of a weapon, but she is convicted to serve 18 years in prison for planned and attempted murder. Ie Puthea, male, 33, and San Savuth, called San Sanut or Nut, 29, were freed from the charge of using a weapon illegally, but are to be imprisoned for 15 years for violating the right of an individual, and for collusion in a planed and attempted murder. Siek Sophal, male, was removed from the charge of using a weapon illegally, but is to be jailed for 15 years. Chan Dara, male, was removed from the charge of using a weapon illegally, of violating the right of an individual, and of collusion in an attempted murder, that means he is free from all accusations. All the six accused persons were ordered to pay to cover the cost of the medical treatment and to compensate the plaintiff with US$100,000, and an arrest warrant was issued to arrest those who escaped.

“It should be noted that the acid attack against Ms. In Soklida’s aunt occurred on 8 May 2008 in front of the RHAC Hospital on street 433, Tuol Tumpung 1, Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh.

“The Phnom Penh Municipal Court had sentenced to dismiss the accusations against all accused persons, but the plaintiff’s lawyer later appealed against this judgment, and there was also a complaint from the prosecutor of the Appeals Court dated 23 September 2009.

“The reason leading to this new judgment is that there was an acid attack against the victim Ya Sok Nim, Ms. In Soklida’s aunt, by two unidentified persons, who rode a 2008 Viva motorbike, and then stopped behind her to attack her with acid, and escaped.

“After the event, the victim’s husband lodged a complaint to the authorities to solve the case according to the law, but he could not identify the perpetrators’ faces.

“According to a note of the victim read by a clerk, a day ahead of the attack, bodyguards and Chea Ratha came to her house to ask for information about her niece (In Soklida), but she said that she did not know where she was. They asked to check in the house, but they still could not find her. Then they left.

“A few days later, Chea Ratha phoned to warn her, ‘If you do not deliver In Soklida, there will be bloodshed.’ This i was recorded, and her voice was played in the municipal court. Later on, the acid attack happened on 8 May 2008.

“Sok Chey, a person who witnessed the event, said he saw two men, whose faces he could not identify as they wore masks, but remembers their appearance, as they appeared behind the victim, attacked her with acid, and escaped.

“After that, police arrested two perpetrators, after showing their photos to the victim. The victim was sure that they were the perpetrators, bodyguards of Chea Ratha, as the victim had gone to the accused’s house [Mr. Chea Ratha’s house].

“After hearing the information and conclusions from the prosecutors, the Appeals Court took the decision as mentioned above.” Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5059, 28.11.2009

Note:

The Camboia Daily reported on Saturday/Sunday 28/29, November 2009:

“Mr. Ratha’s defense attorneys Keo Ya and Nach Try, who had lobbied Cabinet Minister Sok An ahead of the municipal court trial of Mr. Ratha seeking his intervention to have the case dropped, said they were unaware of their client’s whereabouts. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said on Thursday that the lawyer’s letter was not considered in any way by Mr. Sok An, as it was the work of the courts.”

“There was no report that the office of the Deputy Prime Minster rejected this attempt, requesting an illegal act of influencing the court.”

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 28 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #348, 28.11.2009

• The Asian Development Bank Provides a US$10 Million Loan to Cambodia to Counter the Impacts of the Economic Crisis
• Cambodia Has a Family Counseling and Strengthening Center Called “Mlub Kruasa Center [“Family Shade” - in Phnom Penh, assisted by the French government]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2110, 28.11.2009

• [Former Tuol Sleng prison chief] Duch Asked the Court to Release Him [he said so during the last hearing of Case 001 on 27.11.2009 at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal]
• Because Somebody Just Looked Straight at His Face, Man Drew a Gun and Shot to Kill Another Man among the Crowd [the victim was injured while the perpetrator was arrested – Phnom Penh]
• A Ghanaian Man Was Arrested after His Girlfriend Reported that He Was Involved in Cross Border Drug Smuggling [Phnom Penh]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #541, 28.11.2009

• [Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian] Son Chhay Asked [Prime Minister] Hun Sen to Send the Border Demarcation Document with Yuon [Vietnam] to the National Assembly

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6817, 28-29.11.2009

• A Loan from Thailand Was Canceled, but Government Officials Said that Cambodia Has Sufficient Resources to Improve the 117 km of Road 68 [spending about US$41 million without the Thai loan -the Road 68 goes from Kralanh district in Siem Reap to Ou Smach and Samrong districts in Oddar Meanchey]
• Nineteen Companies Received Economic Concession Land of More Than 80,000 Hectares, where Some Companies Are Having Disputes with Citizens [according to a report of the forestry authorities in Kompong Thom]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5059, 28.11.2009

• The Wind Changes Its Direction: Chea Ratha Was Sentenced to Serve 18 Years in Prison
• In 2010 the State Starts to Collect Tax from House Owners [at 0.1% of a the value of a house]
• The Sihanoukville Port Announced the Start the Construction of a Special Economic Zone [on 70 hectares of land]
• Two Girls Who, They Are Aunt and Niece [to each other, 6 and 7 years old] Were Raped by a 14-Year-Old Boy [the teenage boy was arrested – Banteay Meanchey]
• [Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs] Kasit Piromya: Thailand Will Not Negotiate with Cambodia as Long as [Thai fugitive ousted prime minister] Thaksin Shinawatra Is Still Advisor [of the Cambodian government and of Prime Minister Hun Sen]
• A Suspect Involved in the Massacre in the Philippines Was Charged

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

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A rather depressing sight came upon on me yesterday:

Borders are now in administration

I had more sympathy for this book store than the characters of 2012 because the internet has forced U.S.A. book store into administration. With the rise of internet shopping such as Amazon, people are opting for the bargains over the experience of browsing and reading. To add fuel to the fire, the introduction of interactive books or e readers might signal the end of books itself (it is a long way off but who knows?).

Its sister company, Books etc., may follow suit too and maybe WHSmith. At this rate, book stores need to follow templates of music stores by reducing prices considerably to compete with the internet market; before, CDS would range from £10-£16. Now, they are usually £3 or 2 for £10.

Doom and gloom once more and it doesn’t look like it will brighten up soon considering the Dubai crisis now in the limelight.

The Borders bookshop chain in the UK has started a closing down sale in all of its 45 stores, the BBC has learned…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: shopping in dc. The blog is also related to: television shopping.

I went to the mall after Thanksgiving to check out the frenzy that is Black Friday and perhaps to find some good deals, since this college student’s pockets aren’t exactly deep. Let’s just say that after two hours of shouldering my way through store after store, experiencing concert-level mosh pits in cashier lines, and generally wishing to be someplace else, I was more than ready to escape the craziness. Borders, the only bookstore in my local mall, loomed into view and I gladly shoved my way through the double doors, welcoming the general peace within. Bookstores tend to inspire library-levels of quiet in me and I guess that goes for everyone else since Borders was surprisingly quiet compared to the rest of the shopping mall.

This made it easy to hear the woman sitting right next to the door. She was behind a card table, modest stacks of books flanking her, pen in hand. She told me what her name was. Introduced her book, told me she was doing a signing today. I think it might have been the fact that I was still shell shocked by the intensity of the rest of the mall, but all I did was nod, smile maybe, and then I passed her, making a bee-line to one of the red chairs that were beginning to look like Shangri-La.

It wasn’t until later, safe in my quiet home, when the ability to think came back to me that I realized that I couldn’t remember the woman’s name or remember the name of her new book. I don’t think I saw a single person greet her with more than a nod or a smile, and the best attempt to acknowledge her was a lazy announcement over the muffled stereo system directing customers to the front of the store. I wondered if it was the hectic nature of the day that kept people from greeting her and buying her book, or if it was something else.

I won’t try to guess at how many books were sold that day, but judging by the amount of time I spent in line, I’d be inclined to say a lot. There were signs around the store advertising various new books, but they all had one thing in common – the author’s name was a recognizable one. James Patterson had his own display, as did Stephen King and Dan Brown. The name wasn’t merely a name it seemed, but an advertising ploy, a way to grab attention for various books.

It’s not uncommon for writers to gain a loyal following of readers, but it takes a select few to attain celebrity status. Stephen King is one of best examples. You’d probably have to leave the continent to find someone who hasn’t heard of him. Dan Brown recently reached this level, with the ridiculously popular Da Vinci Code, although I personally doubt he’ll become as ingrained into our culture as King has. Stephanie Meyer can be considered a celebrity writer, although the writer part is debatable. J.K. Rowling walks the red carpets at the premiers of the Harry Potter movies and has even had a documentary about her in the year leading up to the publication of the seventh book.

That woman in Borders, selling her book, signing her book, got barely a look, while the shelves were emptied of Stephen King and James Patterson. Is a name worth more then an actual person? Celebrity status means a lot on our culture and I guess it just disappoints me that more people, including myself, would go for the big names than take a chance on something that’s new. Maybe it was just the book sales that made people rush past her table. I don’t know. But maybe this idea of celebrity has gotten too big. I’m fine with it in Hollywood, but it really has no room here in literature.

The Borders bookshop chain in the UK has started a closing down sale in all of its 45 stores, the BBC has learned…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: downtown shopping. The blog is also related to: cyber shopping.

We are not for eliminating borders or any countries autonomy, but we are for real FREE TRADE, the decriminalization of all drugs, and use any money or resources that were aimed at controlling the supply side of an economic problem (drugs and out of control migration) and focusing them on the demand side. This includes almost all goods and services. While the www.spp.gov and the NAFTA superhighway are viewed as nefarious secret government plans to create the North American Union (NAU); The UCA is a private attempt to do the logical thing, and create an International Railroad of the Americas — going North and South along the Pan-American Highway and actually completing the Railroad and the Pan-American Highway through the Darien Gap. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_gap) There by creating the largest single economic engine in the world that will put the Americas on an equal footing with China economically and logistically.

Comment here, or send you comments to bleedingborders@gmail.com — related web site; www.bleedingborders@gmail.com

Bismilah al rahmán y rahim

Ginebra ha sido asesinada por los suizos y las suizas, hijos e hijas de Guillermo Tell, que han votado con amplia mayoría a favor de una ley islamófoba y en contra de una iniciativa justa, promovida por el colectivo pacifista más representativo del legado idealista de la paz, en un tiempo asociado a la ciudad del borde del Lago Léman. “Catastrófico“, califica el resultado Tariq Ramadan. Yo pienso en mis amigos que siguen viviendo en aquella ciudad, musulmanes y ateos, quizás hasta cristianos y judíos, que deben estar abatidos, sentirse desolados ante unos resultados terribles y sorprendentes. Ha muerto su ciudad, asesinada en un sucio domingo fascista del siglo XXI, en nombre de la democracia. ¡Qué asco!

Just been out trying to finish my Christmas shopping but Santa is feeling rather uninspired and also a bit of a spend thrift. So consequently the kids’ underwear drawers will be replenished this Christmas but to my credit it is nice underwear rather than the normal Primark stuff I get. Girl Lacer will also be getting a natty purple hat and glove set (like any modern 21st century 6 year old, pink is sooo past it and purple is de rigeour) and I wanted to get Boy Lacer one to but he has a very large head and now wears adult hats and even some adult hats are too small, so I had a tour round the menswear departments but they were either cheap and incredibly boring or nice and stripey and too expensive, so gulp, I brought some Noro wool and will knit one, it’ll work out cheaper but yet another thing to make before Christmas.

I was also half heartedly looking for a new top for my two Christmas parties this year and couldn’t find anything I both liked and could afford, M&S had some ok stuff but their range at the moment is a bit too much like my trendy auntie would wear and as much as she’s trendy, still a different generation. So I had decided I was going to wear an old grey jersey dress with my turquoise tights, when by chance I made my usual pilgrimmage to the fabric section of John Lewis (whilst getting the wool) and noticed a lovely, cheap, blue floral fabric for £5 a metre, so I’m going to make Weekend Sewing’s Summer Blouse (yes I know the season but as I was saying the other day, I hate winter clothes) which I’ve always wanted to make. I may not manage to make it by my first party on Thursday (so the grey dress will get an outing) but I’ll get something new for at least one party, with decent fabric and for only £10!

Finally I went into my local Borders, which had been in the process of closing down before it went into administration. I liked my Borders, compared to my local Waterstones, it had a far better craft and writers’ book sections plus they heavily supported the local writers’ festival, providing event space for a lot of the talks, however it was unlucky to be in a part of town where there weren’t that many other shops (specially since the Woolworth’s that was nearby, closed, although ironically the Swedish equivalent to Woollies is opening on the old Woolworths site next week), they were more in the cafe quarter of town, so when I wanted a book I went to the Waterstones, which was more centrally located and I’m sorry to say had better deals, so even now with Borders offering 20% off, that’s 20% off full cover price, which is still not cheaper in a lot of cases to going to Waterstones or Amazon, book monoliths that they are. They were even playing the blues over the speaker system as I went in there today. So, sometime soon I’ll be in a one bookshop town, which is sad and I bet Waterstones are rubbing their hands in glee as they’ll be getting all the customers that Borders did get.

The Borders bookshop chain in the UK has started a closing down sale in all of its 45 stores, the BBC has learned…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: outlet shopping. For a different topic see easy cake recipes. The blog is also related to: japanese shopping.

I went shopping on Black Friday. However, I am not one of those people that wake up at an ungodly hour to go shopping. I like my sleep and I don’t want to deal with the possibility of being trampled. I did go in the afternoon when it was less… insane to say the least.

I found something very disturbing which made me weep for humanity. Technically this was on Wednesday and not on Black Friday, but it was still at the mall. Just an FYI, I hate Twilight and anything dealing with sparkly vampires. The vampires I grew up with were terrifying and killed people. None of this sparkling, stalking, and general weakminded-ness of female characters.

I was in a toy store and saw a woman whom I am guessing is in her 30’s and she was wearing a “My Husband Sparkles” tshirt. A middle-age woman. Oh dear God. There are better male characters that are so much better than Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen has nothing on Mr. Darcy. Edward is a pathetic excuse of a character with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I wish people would get over mooning over him and this God awful franchise soon.

And then I find this on FML, which I find very fitting for the situation:

Today, I woke up and looked in the mirror and noticed that my face was covered in glitter. I asked my wife about it and she said she put it on me while I was sleeping so that I would sparkle like Edward from Twilight when I’m in the sunlight. FML

And then I went to Borders, and I think in my head this was Borders way of making my day better after seeing that tshirt. There is a reason why bookstores are my happy place.

Invasion of adorable pandas!

Borders was invaded by plush pandas. All of the floor associates were not only handing out flyers, but were carrying pandas everywhere they went. And I kinda really wanted one. A lot. They were soft, fuzzy, and adorable. I’m a sucker for all three of those adjectives, especially if they’re in the same sentence.

It was supposed to be a promotion of a new children’s book about a panda. This wasn’t a random invasion of pandas.

I nipped into my local Borders this morning.  Everything’s at least 20% off (they’ve gone into administration), so thought I’d see what I could get.  Paul wanted a copy of Flashforward so the visit was justified whether I got anything or not.  I got myself the Twilight Journals and a magnet set.  Not much I know but it makes me happy.  I was also looking for Touched by a Vampire but couldn’t find it so had to wait till I got home so I could check it out online.  Whilst browsing other Twilight goodies, I couldn’t believe how many other people have made money off the back of the Saga.  There are books for the films, books about the books, books about Stephenie Meyer, parody books, authorised books, unauthorised books, quiz books, books about the actors, Twilight and Philosophy, the Twilight Gospel (The Spiritual Roots of Stephenie Meyer’s Vampire Saga), the Saga in different languages, different covers, collectors/special editions…you get the idea.  So, for something that many people pass off as trash, why is it so popular?  Why has it made others want to make money on the back of it.  The Twilight and Philosophy and Twilight Gospel books just made my jaw drop.   It’s entertainment with no hidden meaning..it’s fun, it’s an escape from the drudgery of life.  Why does it have to be qualified in such books?  Yes, I know I’ve bought a book about ‘hidden meanings in Twilight’.  I’m just curious as to what these may be?   I’ll write a review when I’ve read it.

As for being too old for all this Twilight stuff?  Here’s what Stephenie Meyer herself said:

“Because I wrote Twilight for my twenty-nine-year-old self and not for a future YA audience, it always made sense to me that women my age would get it the same way I did. Are you ever too old to remember falling in love for the first time”?

Ill attempt to my best Dave Zirin impersonation here.

The night before Thanksgiving Katy and I saw The Blind Side.

I had been familiar with the story when I read this New York Times Magazine profile of Michael Oher a few years ago.   After reading the article I bought the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.

The book was great but the posters for the movie version of The Blind Side looked horrible.  It seemed to me that this was going to be a sports movie version of Mississippi Burning .  Or might qualify for a recent blog post titled “The Five Most Unintentionally Racist Movies about Racism. Anyways, here is a nice summary of the criticism about Mississippi Burning:

[Missisippi Burning] been criticized by many, including historian Howard Zinn, for its fictionalization of history. According to Zinn: while FBI agents are portrayed as heroes who descend upon the town by the hundreds, in reality the FBI and the Justice Department only reluctantly protected civil rights workers and protesters and reportedly witnessed beatings without intervening.^[1] It was also criticized due to its portrayal of southern African-Americans as passive victims. The image of African-Americans as being passive also shapes the film’s reenactment of the assassinations;^[2] New York Times film reviewer wrote that the film’s alleged distortions amounted to a “cinematic lynching” of history.

See, The Blind Side takes place in Memphis and essentially a rich white woman comes to the rescue of a homeless black kid with an NFL body.  Hollywood could have very easily taken the very powerful story of Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy and turned into a Disnified, racial fantasy.

Never mind the fact that  Memphis might be one of the most racially polarized cities in the country and the place where Martin Luther kIng was assassinated. And the University of Missisippi?  It’s racial history is just as brutal. And “Ole Miss,”– the college’s nickname?  That is what slaves called the slave master’s wife.

Overall,  the book was better and the movie is far from being perfect.  The Border’s commercial that breaks out in the middle of the movie also might be the most annoying product placement I have ever experienced.

But still, the movie made me cry.  (The last time I cried in a movie might have been in Top Gun when Goose died.)

And I cried, I think, because I grew up around families like the Tuohy’s.  Rich. White. Christian. Republican.  I never once met someone from that background who would have opened the car door for a homeless black teenager, even if he had NFL tackle written all over his body.

And that is why I loved the movie–because if you are rich and white and powerful, it means nothing if you don’t open the door for others.

P.S. I also thought it was interesting that at the end of the movie when they were showing newspaper clippings of Michael Oher’s career the other story that appeared on the “newspaper” was about Darfur.  I think the movie producer’s were trying to make a point….