Burb Rocking
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Bailout: Save Our Starbucks!
Starbucks Reveals Locations Of Stores to Be Closed by Janet Adamy (Wall Street Journal)
Fannie Mae? Freddie Mac? Chrysler?
So why not Starbucks?
And why not DeLorean, for that matter? Much cooler cars than anything to come out of Chrysler! Oh well, what's done is done, and, sadly, there will not be any trips "back to the future." The Tucker Torpedo (1948's very cool innovative auto, the DeLorean of its day) is gone, too - only the fat cats get saved, that's how this game is played.
But Starbucks isn't a David bucking some collusion-ridden monopolistic industrial triumvirate (i.e., isn't a small newcomer going up against the Big Three in automaking or anything else). In the world of coffee, Starbucks is the big kid on the block. And it's about to flush 600 stores.
So, Uncle Sam, while you're busy throwing billions of taxpaid dollars/debt at mega-corporate pals of America's wealthy elite, why not open the door to a fresh face? Sure, Starbucks hasn't been around long enough to be a fixture in the corporate establishment and a part of Bush's "base" (remember his "some call you super-rich the elite, I call you my base" comment?). But a bailout would certainly help to ensure that one day it might be.
S.O.S, Sam! Save Our Starbucks!
(I'm losing my favorite, located at the center of a local outdoor mall, where the shoppers have too much money, but the people-watching and outdoor venue make it more than worthwhile to be there. Also, the staff at that store is great - but that's not really so unusual for Starbucks now, is it?) ¶ 12:34 PM 0 comments
Starbucks Reveals Locations Of Stores to Be Closed by Janet Adamy (Wall Street Journal)
Fannie Mae? Freddie Mac? Chrysler?
So why not Starbucks?
And why not DeLorean, for that matter? Much cooler cars than anything to come out of Chrysler! Oh well, what's done is done, and, sadly, there will not be any trips "back to the future." The Tucker Torpedo (1948's very cool innovative auto, the DeLorean of its day) is gone, too - only the fat cats get saved, that's how this game is played.
But Starbucks isn't a David bucking some collusion-ridden monopolistic industrial triumvirate (i.e., isn't a small newcomer going up against the Big Three in automaking or anything else). In the world of coffee, Starbucks is the big kid on the block. And it's about to flush 600 stores.
So, Uncle Sam, while you're busy throwing billions of taxpaid dollars/debt at mega-corporate pals of America's wealthy elite, why not open the door to a fresh face? Sure, Starbucks hasn't been around long enough to be a fixture in the corporate establishment and a part of Bush's "base" (remember his "some call you super-rich the elite, I call you my base" comment?). But a bailout would certainly help to ensure that one day it might be.
S.O.S, Sam! Save Our Starbucks!
(I'm losing my favorite, located at the center of a local outdoor mall, where the shoppers have too much money, but the people-watching and outdoor venue make it more than worthwhile to be there. Also, the staff at that store is great - but that's not really so unusual for Starbucks now, is it?) ¶ 12:34 PM 0 comments
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Three Kings of Chaos
So that's it. The story is now laid out in ten chapters, as had been envisioned from the beginning. Each image in the text of each title, embodied in the pix I've lifted from here and there around the Web, could be part of a set of Trumps. The summit of Kolvir, the palace grounds, the all-important library, Tir-na Nog'th, the Grove of the Unicorn, the brink of the abyss before the Courts of Chaos, the Floating City within the Courts forever rearranging itself upon the Lake of Sleep, Ygg, the infernal tower where even Brand's powers could be checked, the well at Mirata, the power center on the Shadow Earth known as Manhattan - all excellent subjects for a Master of the Line to tackle in the course of producing a deck of intriguing Trumps powered by the Pattern.
Still looking for a title for this messy fan fiction erected in the memory of Roger Zelazny. Three Kings of Chaos will have to do till something better comes along (maybe The Call of Chaos, All in for Chaos...?). Meanwhile, there may be some rewriting ahead, some punching up of the material.
If, in some fashion, you are a fan - either of Zelazny, fantasy, or stolen writing materials - then wish me well. I will probably be back. And - who knows? - maybe I'll find the fire to tackle other parts of Corwin's later years, as he steps up perhaps for the last time to rediscover his ideals, the life sleeping in his soul, and what he truly loves in this world. Even someone who has been around a thousand or more years is never too old to learn something. If you're not in the mood to wish me well, then consider wishing Corwin luck as he forges ahead, trying to learn what's truly at the bottom of the machinations cooked up in the Courts of Chaos. The mystery is a bigger knot than he realizes and will take all his resources to untie. With enough luck, some cunning and courage, and a little help from his friends, though, he just might succeed. Or get close enough for government work.
Then again, the journey of the hero, especially the aging hero, is not just about discovering all the things he can (and should) do, but sometimes is about discovering some of the things he can't (and, maybe, shouldn't) do. Not every game at the stadium ends with a victory for the home team. Put another way, the first series of Amber books ended with a victory for Amber over Chaos, but what sort of a "victory" was it really? And if Amber were to lose in some continuation of that conflict, would losing necessarily be such a bad thing?
Food for thought, perhaps.
Chronicles of Shadow ~ BOOK ONE:
Chapter One: Kolvir
Chapter Two: The South Garden
Chapter Three: The Library
Chapter Four: Tir-na Nog'th
Chapter Five: Grove of the Unicorn
Chapter Six: The Abyss
Chapter Seven: The Lake of Sleep
Chapter Eight: The Tree
Chapter Nine: The Pit
Chapter Ten: The Well
For the entire thing in just two windows:
Beginning and End
Amber-related posts:
Chronicles of Amber
Chronicles of Shadow?
Which Amberite Are You? ¶ 12:09 PM 0 comments
So that's it. The story is now laid out in ten chapters, as had been envisioned from the beginning. Each image in the text of each title, embodied in the pix I've lifted from here and there around the Web, could be part of a set of Trumps. The summit of Kolvir, the palace grounds, the all-important library, Tir-na Nog'th, the Grove of the Unicorn, the brink of the abyss before the Courts of Chaos, the Floating City within the Courts forever rearranging itself upon the Lake of Sleep, Ygg, the infernal tower where even Brand's powers could be checked, the well at Mirata, the power center on the Shadow Earth known as Manhattan - all excellent subjects for a Master of the Line to tackle in the course of producing a deck of intriguing Trumps powered by the Pattern.
Still looking for a title for this messy fan fiction erected in the memory of Roger Zelazny. Three Kings of Chaos will have to do till something better comes along (maybe The Call of Chaos, All in for Chaos...?). Meanwhile, there may be some rewriting ahead, some punching up of the material.
If, in some fashion, you are a fan - either of Zelazny, fantasy, or stolen writing materials - then wish me well. I will probably be back. And - who knows? - maybe I'll find the fire to tackle other parts of Corwin's later years, as he steps up perhaps for the last time to rediscover his ideals, the life sleeping in his soul, and what he truly loves in this world. Even someone who has been around a thousand or more years is never too old to learn something. If you're not in the mood to wish me well, then consider wishing Corwin luck as he forges ahead, trying to learn what's truly at the bottom of the machinations cooked up in the Courts of Chaos. The mystery is a bigger knot than he realizes and will take all his resources to untie. With enough luck, some cunning and courage, and a little help from his friends, though, he just might succeed. Or get close enough for government work.
Then again, the journey of the hero, especially the aging hero, is not just about discovering all the things he can (and should) do, but sometimes is about discovering some of the things he can't (and, maybe, shouldn't) do. Not every game at the stadium ends with a victory for the home team. Put another way, the first series of Amber books ended with a victory for Amber over Chaos, but what sort of a "victory" was it really? And if Amber were to lose in some continuation of that conflict, would losing necessarily be such a bad thing?
Food for thought, perhaps.
Chronicles of Shadow ~ BOOK ONE:
Chapter One: Kolvir
Chapter Two: The South Garden
Chapter Three: The Library
Chapter Four: Tir-na Nog'th
Chapter Five: Grove of the Unicorn
Chapter Six: The Abyss
Chapter Seven: The Lake of Sleep
Chapter Eight: The Tree
Chapter Nine: The Pit
Chapter Ten: The Well
For the entire thing in just two windows:
Beginning and End
Amber-related posts:
Chronicles of Amber
Chronicles of Shadow?
Which Amberite Are You? ¶ 12:09 PM 0 comments
