I have a problem with the show "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Only two of the women are married and therefore only two of the women have husbands. That leaves three or four that are single and not housewives, or any kind of wives, at all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the show would be improved if the girls were married, although part of that is that I'm not sure the show could be improved. Not because it's sublime but because no matter what they do it stands, alongside much of reality or "partially scripted" shows, as a completely vapid waste of time.
And yet here I am, writing about it. This can't be good.
Saw the thing last night and was disappointed. I've read some pretty sloppy reviews by folks that have loved it so I wanted to throw out a few things that seem to me may have been overlooked.
First, the good: most of the acting for most of the movie is fine. Brad Pitt, to me, has a certain charisma but not a lot of appeal as an actor. I thought he limped through his breakout role in "Legends of the Fall" and he's not much better here. He wears a near constant expression that looks somewhere between the crooked mouth set now frozen on Burt Reynolds' face and a man caught sucking a lemon. His Tennessee accent is odd but consistent although he delivers while seeming to impersonate his pal George Clooney's clipped mode of speaking in "O Brother Where Art Thou."
Another thing that took away from the acting were the cliches, both spoken and acted, that tore me out of the movie with a lurch.
The movie is told in chapters, reminding me of Tarrantino's description of his "Pulp Fiction." And while each chapter follows a different plot line, the juxtapositioning works well until the last chapter where the narrative seems to run out of drive just before the climax. Because the previous chapters don't set enough hooks for the ending, and because at the time you I didn't know it was the ending, the finale came off flat and forced.
Perhaps the biggest flaw is the depiction of the Basterds themselves: they simply didn't do enough. They were formed, we jump ahead to their established history, we see the ending of one adventure, and throughout the rest of the movie we see them in small groups in different places. Are there more of them? Will they be coming together? Whoops, it's over, I guess not...
In the end I'd say that some of the writing was very smart, some of the performances very well acted, and even halfway through I was smiling at how much I was enjoying some of the things I was seeing. But it was ultimately disappointing, very much so, and for me it's one of those what-might-have-been movies. If an extended director's cut were ever released, I might try it again but otherwise, a revisiting of either "Pulp Fiction" or "Jackie Brown" would be much more enjoyable.
I just saw another book on Amazon's site (Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") that is MORE expensive in the Kindle edition than it is a print version. Unlike the first book I found like this, this edition is the trade paperback and goes for $10.17. The Kindle version is priced at $11.99, $1.82 more.
Um, so right now today I can pay $359.00 for an electronic reader, then pay higher prices for the electronic versions of books? Geez, how fortunate we all are to live in such technologically advanced times.
I read on a blog where an author was posting his unpublished books on the Amazon site for sale in the Kindle format. He could charge $1.59 and make .70 per download. This means that Amazon's share is 56% of the consumer price, which beats the hell out of iTunes' 35%.
I suspect the great miscalculation in the amazing Kindle project is that the technology is somehow so compelling that price is no object. As a believer that the publishing industry as a whole is shooting itself in the foot with book prices that are simply too high, I can only believe that at the end of the day, this whole Kindle thing will be a small footnote along the path. Books will be written about it, I'm sure.
And if you're willing to pay a buck or two extra, you can read it on an actual Kindle.
I can't help it but I gotta say more. I've been trying to hold it in...
Still an Amazon fan, still not sure what they're trying to kindle with a Kindle. I saw a book last week that is actually a dollar MORE for the Kindle version than the physical hardcover. I just clicked on a random cover shot on their site (Melissa Gilbert's memoir) and the Kindle version's a whole dollar and some odd change cheaper than the hardcover.
Really, what are they Kindling? Are they expanding the e-book market, or just their bank account? If I bought books all priced at the same rate as the Gilbert one, I'd have to buy four hundred books to break even on the cost of the reading device.
Rather than call it "Kindle," how about something more accurate like, "E-book Reader That Displays Books Sold According to the iTunes Model." iTunes apparently gets 35% of everything sold through their site. They get the biggest slice of the pie, more than the artist, more than the label, more than anyone.
Perhaps that's fair, just, and the way it ought to be. I can't help but think, though, that if distribution is so lucrative, and can be done by anyone with a web server, that at some point labels will sell their bands' music from the labels' own sites. Or the from the bands' own sites. Once the consumer is used to buying music online and the artist is well enough known that their fans will seek out their sites, why iTunes?
Yes, this is already being done to some degree but not enough to diminish iTunes. I think that ultimately expensive distribution will always drive manufacturers (in this case writers and artists) to find cheaper methods. I don't think that's the fire the Kindle is supposed to be igniting.
Don't leave any money on the table, charge what the market will bear, charge for the hype. Yeah, whatever. To live up to their hype they'd need to make e-books attractive and available to people who are reluctant consumers.
My point is that buying into the Kindle way is just too darned expensive. Charging prices that are so close to the actual book price is simply laughable, especially when your biggest potential audience are actual book buyers. There's a market, sure, but it's a subset of readers, ones that treat books as disposable objects, not items worthy of a Library. I suppose if they spend more money on books than ordinary book lovers they could make Amazon happy.
For the rest of us, I say bring back the mass market paperback. Sell some books at five or six bucks a pop and maybe they could kindle something more substantial, like more actual readers. A new reader isn't as likely to shell out over three bills for a machine and THEN shell out so much for each file, er, book than they would be to come out of a bookstore with a handful of paperbacks. Just two more cents in the pickle jar.
...or justifiably uttered in any kind of public forum, but this is what popped into my mind yesterday...
I saw an AP headline that read "8 year old Saudi bride divorces 50 year old husband." The first thought I had was how sick that an 8 year old would be married off to anyone, let alone an old man. My second thought was surprise that somehow, someway divorce would even be possible for the girl. Sadly, this was followed by the flawed notion that the girl just didn't give the relationship enough time.
I'm sure this says something about me but whatever it is, I'm probably better off not knowing.
Here's a review I left for an Amazon Marketplace reseller after ordering a "New" book that was clearly used; by that I mean very obviously read as opposed to some kind of shelf wear. Or, as the seller maintains, transportation mishap. There are so many clear lies that it compels one to assume all of his questionable statements are also untruths. I won't get specific because no one really cares. The mystery in all of this is how someone can fudge on the truth, get called on it, and then fudge it some more. It seems likely that his offer of a refund in exchange for me deleting the rating is how he does business: exagerate/lie about the book, send it out, if called on it offer a refund. Good business model. And if he fails, it's all my fault...
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"This book isn't in "New" condition as stated. The front cover is dinged in two places as well as bent (along with about a fifth of the pages in the lower right corner), and the paper edges are dirty, especially along the top. Given this and the fact that the book lays as though it's been read, it should be hard to call this "New.""
This is J* from B*. Firstly, I'd like to express my sincere gratitude for purchasing your book, Black God's Kiss, from our new company. B* is a brand new seller on Amazon, and I know many of our customers have taken a chance in buying from a seller who does not yet have the standing of the more established Amazon sellers.
I read your feedback this afternoon and I want to apologize for your book not arriving in the condition you expected. We do screen all our orders prior to shipping, but I do know damages can occur if packages are mishandled during transportation.
As a new Amazon seller receiving feedback's of 3 or less is devastating. To be honest, it will only take a few negative feedback's to drop us to a 96%. To buyers and sellers alike this feedback is below acceptable standings and will hurt our sales substantially.
Therefore I would like to compensate you in such a way that would make your shopping experience with B* better than a 3.
If it pleases you, I would like to offer you an additional 15% discount towards the purchase of your book.
Again, I apologize for this inconvenience and the frustration it has caused you. I hope you will allow me to rectify this situation.
I appreciate your offer of a discount on the book I purchased although I'm not sure how it would help. The problem, as I said in my review, was that the book was not in the stated "new" condition. It isn't even in "used--like new" or a "fine" used condition. The book has plainly been read, not overly carefully, and the bends in the cover and pages, and especially the dirt smudges along the page edges and the way the book lies when placed flat certainly weren't caused by "mishandling during transportation."
I'm sorry you're unhappy with my review, though probably not more so than I am with a "very good" used book sold as "new." If this review prevents disappointment for another customer or else causes a more accurate book listing, then I think it's doing what it was intended to do. I buy a lot of Amazon Marketplace books and have only rarely had issues of any kind. I try to be conscientious, accurate, and aware of what I'm saying.
Thank you for your quick response. I certainly understand your dissatisfaction. All I can say is that your book was purchased directly from the publishing house, so I can assure you the book has never been read. I don't doubt your observance. I am currently at the Book Spring Show in Atlanta, but upon my return I will have a serious discussion with my staff about our quality inspection prior to shipping.
We deal with a lot of books, and I admit sometimes we incorrectly list the condition of the books. (Though none of our books have ever actually been read, some are damaged by improper packing by the publisher.) This is why we spend the extra labor certifying that the condition of the book being shipped is the condition of its listed state.
I work very hard to ensure my customers are satisfied, which is why even with sabotage from large Amazon sellers, my company remains at a 99% feedback percentage. Since my offer was obviously not acceptable to you, I am willing to refund your entire cost including shipping. I lose my postage, labor, mailer and book cost, but I gain customer confidence by assuring your dissatisfaction is not acceptable to me. From time to time my customers come to me with complaints (as with any business) but I always make sure they feel I care about their business.
Your feedback won't destroy me, but it will hurt, and in the end the only people who lose are the people I am forced to lay off from decreased sales. I hope my offer of a full and complete refund changes your mind about removing your feedback.
Again, I do apologize about this inconvenience and the frustration it has obviously caused you. (Why else would you want to leave my company limp.)
I don't really appreciate the insinuation that I may have some reason for causing you to lay off people or "leave your company limp." My only agenda was to leave honest feedback on a questionable transaction.
That being said, I was going to delete my rating and be done with it but while at the site I stopped to read the other reviews. In the first two pages there are four instances of people who had the same problem I did. This would suggest that you, your company, or somebody is conspiring to sell books falsely labeled.
I suggest that if you end up laying off people or losing firmness in your company it is only yourselves you have to blame. Since my case does not appear to be an isolated one, I didn't remove my feedback rating. You appear to have earned it.
I consider this case closed and will not bother you further. You are correct, in a very short time span my company has received 3 similar claims. I also wrote each of these customers in hopes of reaching a resolution. Again, if I did not care what you thought I would not spend time trying to make the transaction right by you.
If nothing else, please accept my apology for seemingly insinuating malice on your part. I meant no disrespect. I am a young, freshly-graduated, entrepreneur who obviously has a lot left to learn. I do appreciate your feedback (via your e-mail responses) and will do my best to not become frustrated when unable to reach an agreement with customers.
I don't expect your business, at least for a while, but truly hope you might check us out in the future to see an improved feedback rating.
