Counter Attack by miss understanding
March 27th, 2008 12:59 PMButtons to be pushed
Office supplies just waiting to be used
The backdoor view
etc etc
etc etc
Come! Join Us!
We are waiting for you....
21 vote(s)
Lainthulu
5
Jellybean of Thark
5
.thatskarobot
5
Adam
5
Lincøln
5
GYØ Ben
5
Myrna Minx
5
Haberley Mead
5
Soren THREEdux
5
Flitworth
5
Tricia Tanaka
5
JTony Loves Brains
5
TEA
5
Optical Dave
5
Fonne Tayne
5
GYØ Vicki
5
meredithian
5
Ben Yamiin
5
Amoeba Man
5
Whimsical Disarray
5
Juliette
Terms
(none yet)31 comment(s)
Also as another point I love how Paperchase is called Paperchase London there.
I always thought Paperchase was an American import in the UK but obviously it's vice versa.
I have to admit, Paperchase can suck me in. It's all the colors and patterns.
It's a close call between Borders and Barnes and Noble for me, but Borders wins because they really do have a better selection. I can spend hours there, given the chance.
i am wondering if they will join.
Just a reminder:
Independent bookstores do exist and you can shop in them.
Just a reminder:
Some could be kinder.
My patience wanes, not waxes
Your high horse does tire,*
let it rest in the shire
and do something good on the Praxis
Nicely done, miss informed:)
*Flitworth haz an editor! :D Thank you, JTony, it is muchly improved.
I had a £5 ($10) book voucher and £55 ($110) in my pocket on Wednesday and I entered Borders at 10:35am.
I left, 2 Starbucks and 15 books heavier at 3:45pm.
I love Borders
I spent way to much time on Borders for a while. And spent to much money there. I like it though.
Just a reminder...
Anonymity protects me from criticism going both ways.
I just spent three hours there today, and two there yesterday.
I love to hang out there, and they don't seem to mind, so I finish off a book or two a day without leaving the store.
Don't worry, I do buy books too.
Way too many. :D
I worked at a Borders for a couple of years and miss the discount almost as much as I miss the folks I worked with.
To help with solid rhyme, Flitworth, might I suggest:
"Your High Horse does tire"
But otherwise, totally excellent poetry!
And Miss U, nicely done getting the goods behind the counter!
So it's a high horse to admit that a stirring debate about the merits of Barnes and Noble versus Borders isn't exactly the cutting edge of guerrilla art? Guys, it's sorta like arguing if the Starbucks on 16th Street makes a better frappuccino than the Starbucks on 18th Street. It doesn't matter, it's the same thing. It's not really that high a horse.
Yeah, yeah, but we're missing the big question.
Mitten, did you push any of them neat pushing buttons?
There look to be two big blue ones on the right.
Colonel, I did not. I suppose that is something left for the next time I am there.
Scienceguru, I do shop at independent bookstores when I can. There are very few in my area--most likely because larger stores, like Borders and Barnes and Noble, have pushed them to, if not off, of the margins. Not everything I do, or maybe not even much of what I do, is going to be "cutting edge". I live in the same society that has the same questionable capitalist system that many of you inhabit and I believe that the large goes along with the small, the "cutting edge" with the "everyday". Finding other people within that system and encouraging them to find a place that might make them think a little more, might make them feel creative in a way that is too often blocked or made to feel unavailable or maybe just make them a little less likely to kill themselves is enough for me. Finding others within the aforementioned system and pulling them even just a little bit outside of that goes a long way, in my opinion. I think too often people stay put where they are in a myriad of situations because they don't believe what they would/could do is radical enough or enough in some other way.
Scienceguru: I wasn't actually commenting on the high horse, just Flitworth's poetry. I think her poem is more of a reaction to your previous commentary than this particular one. That said, I'll say this:
I think books are different than coffee. I support independent coffee shops because they are more comfortable, serve a better product, and overall have better customer service.
Unfortunately independent bookstores no longer do it for me, and find myself having happier shopping experiences at Borders and Amazon, with a very few exceptions. Borders has a better selection, better layout, is more comfortable, easier to find what I'm looking for, and generally has better customer service than independent bookstores I've shopped in for years. Some of that the independents can help, some of it is the nature of big company books, but I'm taking my money to where I'm best served and my experience is most fun. I hear of very few customers making comments about indies like Tricia and Adam above, but I hear it about Borders all the time. Unfortunately that leaves out most of the indies and I think is why they are dying out.
The high horse would you criticizing people while hiding behind anonymity.
The confusing part is that you so obsessively stalk something while only offering negative critisicm.
It must be hard to live up to your own standards of perfection.
Mystery and anonymity must be the only way you can dream of even getting close.
"Happier shopping experiences at Borders".
Sounds like the next jingle. I shall forward to their marketing department.
Somebody named Praxis is accusing me of "anonymity"? Surely mystery is fun. Not nearly as much fun as shopping at Borders, but almost :>
Shopping at Borders in a mask, keeping yourself anonymous... now that's fun.
Doesn't work so well at City Lights, though.
aw... mitten f t w !
that hard d sufficed as an even better counter attack.
on the topic of indie bookstores... one famous one in berkeley tanked because of some management decisions... perhaps if i knew my patronage was helping the poor souls behind the counter, held hostage by their owner's ego... i'd also be more excited and inclined....
You're a little out of date HHN. The bookstore just re-opened in downtown Berkeley.
"Its flagship store first opened in 1956 on Euclid Avenue in Berkeley, and moved to Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street in 1967. That store closed on June 10, 2006, sparking a controversy in the local press over the cause. One explanation given was that it was caused by pressure from corporate chains like Borders.
Cody's now only has one store remaining, currently at 1730 Fourth Street in Berkeley. This store will also be closed in March 2008 but will reopen March 24 in downtown Berkeley, at the former site of the Eddie Bauer apparel store (corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way), which has been vacant for years"
Otherwise ... whatever. I guess you can leave chain store employees cryptic notes that you hope will prevent them from killing themselves. But if there is an imminent upcoming surge of suicides amongst Border's employees, I suspect it may have more to do with not making enough money to pay the rent.
I think it is just about having a little fun. Every SF0 task doesn't have to be a political statement. Just making fun with the tools of someone else's trade... trying to bring a little human smile to an otherwise probable cookie-cutter day and making yourself and other SF0 folks smile in the process. Fun = good.
I dunno, JTony, if this task in particular is just about having a little fun. I mean, is HC, right?. I am honestly puzzled about what was the original idea.
As I've said before, the trajectory of desire of each of the groups encompasses much more than a single thread. Fun is as much a part of the Humanitarian Crisis as is misery. Planting trees as much a part of Biome as chopping them down. They are an investigation into an area of our hearts' desires, not a promotion of a particular political agenda. The groups are the subjects. You gotta bring your own verb.
Excuse me, mister scienceguru, but we've been monitoring your activities for a while, and we'd like to submit that your comments are a lot of talk without a lot of walk.
Something we would know about.
Now, son, we're suggesting that you make your commentary a little more eh, constructive, or we'll be submitting that this collaborative production game isn't big enough for the the both of us. Understood, son?
"a lot of talk without a lot of walk. Something we would know about"
if you insist :>
Rules and authority. Yippee. And handcuffs. And jail. Maybe exile to Elba.
I love the police. Next best thing to shopping at chain stores.
To carry on the Paperchase hugging, I buy my school pencil cases from there - £2.25 (about $5.50) is practically a steal!
Cool photos.
Scienceguru, son, reconsider where you are. We used that sort of wording very intentionally, very specifically. You can look at our praxis if you think we're unaware. We've been around for a number of eras here, and we completed two tasks.
You might also point out what kind of laws we're enforcing, what kind of handcuffs we're threatening you with, and what sorts of jails we have here at SF0. We'll give you a hint: there aren't any. How about heedin' our advice, rather than attackin' our character.
Paperchase is better than orgasms.
Borders is better than eternal bliss.
Seriously.
You should see me in Norwich Borders, in the Paperchase section. I melt.
I LOVE IT!