I’ve Joined the Dark Side

I never wanted an e-reader.

During my 10+ year career at Borders, we tried to move into the e-reader market, unsuccessfully for the most part. Amazon, of course, cornered the market, with Barnes & Noble another big player. In fact, the rise of e-readers sold elsewhere was a big contributor to me losing my job and Borders – to whom I always remained loyal – eventually closing for good last year.

I never wanted an e-reader.

To get one would have been contributing to Borders’ downfall, and besides, I really didn’t want one – I love physical books so much, and couldn’t imagine liking an e-reader. And besides, you can’t really read one when you’re taking a nice long bubble bath, can you?

I never wanted an e-reader.

But I got one.

Tim got me a Kindle Touch for Christmas. Adam knew he had gotten it, and one day at lunch, Adam said to me, “Mom, would you ever want a Kindle?” I replied, “I NEVER want an e-reader of any kind!.” Oops – I could tell by the look on Adam’s face that Tim had gotten me just that for Christmas.

The day we before we were planning to exchange Christmas presents, Tim confirmed that he had gotten me a Kindle and said that if I didn’t want it, he’d take it back and not even give it to me.

I thought about it and said, “What the heck. I’ll give it a whirl!”

And guess what? By the end of the day, I loved it! I’ve been reading more since I got the Kindle than I have in ages. And Adam loves it, too – he borrows it most nights at bedtime and falls asleep reading it. (I predict a Kindle of his own at some point in the future, depending on how his grades go.)

Thank goodness our library participates in an e-book service. It’s waaaay to easy to purchase a book while sitting on the couch and literally be able to read it instantly! Way too tempting.

Saturday 9

(Stealing from The Gal again!)

Saturday 9: Home1. Do you live close to where you grew up? Why? Well, I live about half-way between the city where we lived until I was 13 and the city we moved to when I was 13. Why? Never had a strong urge or reason to move from the area, and I like being close enough to visit my family whenever but not close enough for drop-in visits.

2. Have you ever been so angry that you almost lost control? Most certainly.I have three kids, after all.

3. Are you a fan of a musical act that slightly embarrasses you? I’ve been a huge fan of the Monkees since I re-discovered them during their 1985 revival. (I say “rediscovered” them because I clearly remember watching reruns of their show in the mid-70s.) I even went to see them in concert three times in the 80s.

4. Is there a movie that always makes you cry? West Side Story. My friends and I saw it on the big screen in college (we weren’t in college in the 60s – it was part of a classic movies series). I sobbed during the movie and the whole walk home. My friends thought I was hilarious, of course, but I still cry whenever I see the movie.

5. Who is the most famous person that you’ve met? Hmm, James Patterson, probably. Or maybe John Lithgow. Or astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space? I met a lot of famous people (though always very briefly) during my career at Borders.

6. Before you leave your home, what must you have? Beyond the obvious (keys, purse, cell phone) I always have to have a cherry Avon Flavor Savers lip gloss in my pocket.

7. What do you miss the most about being a kid? Sleeping in.These days, sleeping until 8 am feels luxurious.

8. Tell us about a passion of yours that your readers would not expect. Eh, everyone knows about my passion.

9. At what age do you think you’d be to think, “I’ve had a great run”? Whatever age I am right before I expire.

WWW Wednesday

A nice, quick little thing I stole from The Gal.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? Port Mortuary, by Patricia Cornwell. (I’ll steal this comment from Gal as well:  Patricia Cornwell and I have a love/hate relationship. I’m so fond of Kay Scarpetta that I keep returning to the series, even though I’m invariably disappointed by her later efforts.)

• What did you recently finish reading? The Secret Lives of Hoarders by Matt Paxton (“extreme cleaning specialist” from the TV show Hoarders). Actually very interesting and enlightening. And I’ve been on a bit of a cleaning tear since reading it, of course.

• What do you think you’ll read next? Mystery: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman. I first discovered the Alex Delaware books when I was working at Schuler Books 18 (gulp!) years ago. I’m catching up on the latest one (as well as the latest Patricia Cornwell/Kay Scarpetta books) now that I’ve got my Kindle. Looking forward to reading this one.

I liberated this from Kwizgiver via The Gal. But if you want to play along yourself, you should click here.

Happy Holidays to All!

Just thought I’d share our awesome holiday cards, designed by my good friend (and partner in crime for the Duran Duran concert), Amy.

Catching Up On the Past 30 Years

Around the time I went to the Duran Duran concert back in October, I watched a few of their videos on YouTube. As anyone familiar with YouTube will know, whenever you watch a clip there is a list of related videos on the right side of the screen. And as anyone who has ever watched a video on YouTube will know, that can lead to a fun meandering through all sorts of fun clips.

Basically, I’ve been catching up on the past 30 years of Duran Duran interviews, features, and other videos. Back in the day (i.e. the 80s), you couldn’t just hop on the internet to find the latest interview with your favorite band. You just hoped you caught it when it was on TV. If you were lucky, you knew about it in advance and were able to watch it and maybe even videotape it for future viewing. But most of it, you just missed. If you were really lucky, you or a friend had the money to buy your favorite band’s concert tape, which you watched over and over until you literally wore it out.

I’ve watched their very first interview, done on the fly when an American film crew literally bumped into the band after an early photo shoot and figured they must be somebody. I’ve found other video clips from the concert I attended. I’ve come across an episode of a silly game show called Pop Quiz, pitting Duran Duran against rivals Spandau Ballet. A Japanese interview with John Taylor where he reluctantly samples Japanese food and explains why he declined the sake. Several multi-part documentaries from various times in their career (particularly good ones from 1984 and 1987).

Heh, just found a multi-part concert video from earlier this year. Must resist watching it tonight!

The moral of the story is … hop on over to YouTube and look up your favorite band or singer! What are you waiting for? (I’m looking at you, Gal – I bet you can find tons of new stuff from your Sir Paul there!)

Hail to the Victors

I don’t watch much football (really, just the annual Michigan-Michigan State game) and really don’t follow any other college sports. However, I’m well aware that the University of Michigan’s biggest rival is Ohio State University. And since we won the football game on Saturday, I can’t resist posting this fun video. It makes me laugh every time  I see it. (We showed it at the beginning of our all-staff meeting at work today, to enthusiastic laughter and applause.)

 

My Trip To Sunny California

So, this is why I was in California last month. I was invited to participate in Honda’s 2012 CR-V product launch event for a select group of bloggers. (I was representing CarseatBlog.) I had a blast, the Honda reps were first-class hosts*, and I loved the vehicle. Check out my review!

*Honda paid for travel and accommodations but no other compensation was received.

How Could They? (Or Rather, How Could They NOT?!)

This post has been simmering in my mind all day.

If you follow the news at all, you’ve probably read about the child abuse scandal at Penn State, involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who was allegedly abusing young boys. But I’m not going to talk about him – if the allegations are true, then obviously I think he should spend a long time in jail, and then rot in hell. I’m also not going to talk about Head Coach Joe Paterno and other people who did not directly witness the alleged abuse but were told about it and failed to report it to the police.

But what of the people who actually SAW the abuse happening? According to this timeline from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, at least THREE people caught Sandusky in the act. And not one of those people say that they did anything to stop the abuse. I’m not talking about whether or not it was reported up the correct channels (though I believe that at least one of the eyewitnesses was a mandated reported, who was legally obligated to go to police). I’m talking about people who SAW a child being raped, and did nothing to intervene at that moment.

Hell, Mike McQueary, a football graduate assistant at the time, went home and CALLED HIS DAD to ask what he should do, then finally told the head coach about the rape a day or two later. What decent human being would leave a child in that situation?!

Honestly, when I read a document like the one I linked to above and I see something like “witnesses Mr. Sandusky having sex with Victim 2 in the shower at the Lasch Football Building” I would expect that to be followed immediately by something like “and runs up to pull him off the boy and then immediately calls the police.”

I can only imagine how those boys – young men, now – must feel, knowing that adults actually witnessed their abuse and did nothing to stop it.

Be Back Soon

I’m out in sunny California on a top-secret mission that I’ll blog about in a few weeks. And when I return – an overdue write-up of the Duran Duran concert, with more pics and a video clip or two.

The Concert That Keeps On Giving

Another little teaser for you … I’m IN this picture of John Taylor! Imagine my surprise to see it posted on Duran Duran’s Facebook page today.

(Lower right corner, with my arms up and open.)