Last Chance Cafe

All right, so I read Gabe Posey's 'The Kingdoms of This World.' I was just shamed into reviewing it by a cartoon on the Internet. I'm supposed to be reviewing books for a website (to be revealed later when I actually start to do this), and as Gabe is a low budget Internet guy, I took his original request for reviews seriously. Now I see that the site that I'm supposed to be reviewing books for already 'has' a review of Kingdoms, and he's involved in the site (small world) so you're stuck with it here.

I don't know why I downloaded it, probably some God-like Internet Blogger recommended it and I slavishly followed (must. show. more. self. control.). But it was totally fun. I thought I was reading one kind of book, and the point of view of the drifter/narrator was pretty interesting. I was getting into his head as he was poking around other people's lives. I've spent some time on the road and met some real interesting people, and it seemed credible.

Then it got weird. Not in the "I've given you a ride and how about doing something for me" kind of weird, but in an X-Files kind of way. I liked the X-Files. Mostly. Then the story took a left turn that threw me. After the initial shock of 'what the hell is this?' it got real fun.

Like so… you've got a totally normal drifter wandering around Texas (or, Takes-Us further on down the road) looking for work. Born into the life he has an interesting worldview going on inside his head. The sun is brutal, the day is turning him inside out, and he finally gets a ride. The guy looks him over, seems to see a little of himself in the wanderer, and offers him work on the ranch. Stories are told of old strange happenings, and of course the X-Files kicker is, 'they are happening again.' And so they do.

The town, Drycreek (alloneword) was formed literally, as these things go, around a dry creek. At the founding, after the first rain when everybody was celebrating, somebody went and broke his neck diving into the shallow water. They left him there, poor Henry Shanks, in the creek, or what was left of it, for a hundred years. Then he moved, and it went all downhill.

Along comes Tommy Woodbine, our unlikely hero, to get caught up in the mess, which is half Twilight Zone, half Animal Planet and half Stranger in a Strange World. I know that adds up to more than it should, I took math (maybe I should subtract the X-Files thing to even it out); but we are talking about different worlds here, which is where Tommy eventually winds up. Um, in a different world.

As Woodbine makes the jump he dons an anthropomorphic animal guise with hooves and fur and a taste for salt, and Posey has fun imagining what it would be like to have a rational mind in a body that still has all its feral senses. You know, kind of like how dogs sniff each other to say hello and find out what the other is up to? Not to mention the rutting.

But it's all not fun and games; there's war afoot, politics, intrigue, deception, loss, reunion, people (animals?) suspended in boxes and all the other stuff that you'll find in the Sunday Edition of the NY Times. I still can't make it through three quarters of the stories in the NYT but I read this right through. It's available in a dead tree edition to spill your coffee on, or as a download here for a couple of bucks. This is the third book I've read via download in as many months, and my Amazon bill has dropped appreciably, though I'm tempted to pick up a hard copy for the collection. What more of a recommendation could you ask for?

Posted by petefredbob at 12:16 AM | Permalink

It's Saturday morning and I was awoken by the sound of hammering and sawing at the worksite next door. It seems that they're building a mini-mall with all the attendant racket, just 2 months after I extended my lease another two years. It's not all bad, as I can get a large portion of my news/web surfing/occasional posting done in relative peace.

Today we go in to finish painting the store and maybe meet with a construction guy to get started on the lounge/mezzanine. I have to finish the ceiling before he starts because I'm pretty sure the lift machine won't be able to maneuver around the construction after it's started, which means a decision today or tomorrow about what material to use to cover the drop ceiling grid.

I had to drop my Brazilian shoe supplier over pricing and a shit attitude. It's a small company with a husband-wife team, one not knowing what the other was doing. After conflicting emails (one a humdinger telling me I was trying to steal from them) and a refusal to discuss prices rationally, I called it quits. Then an apology, wherein I was tempted again to do business, then a good tongue-lashing from my partners telling me I was insane for even considering it. I'm going with good ol' American product. Designed in England and made in China.

It may turn out this change is a lifesaver as I may have been way off base with my import duty calculations. I was figuring on 30% duties overall, which would have put my retail price at 40% above retail for the same items in Brazil (after shipping, insurance, etc.); which is a premium the locals are used to paying for imported goods. But I may be looking at closer to 43% when all is said and done. If this turns out to be true (information shifts in these parts depending on who you talk to, and you never find out the real cost until the end), I would have taken a bath with the old plan. Hurry CAFTA.

I've had my coffee, read the news, finished the post and now off to the shower and work.

Posted by petefredbob at 08:52 AM | Permalink

Brothel made to remove Saudi, Iran flags

BERLIN (Reuters) - A brothel in Cologne was forced to black out the flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran from a huge World Cup soccer-themed advertising banner after angry Muslims complained and threatened violence.

Angry Muslims again. What this means is that the Saudi Princes will continue to enjoy 'take out' service as they always have, but the regular 'Mohammeds' don't get to feel the freuleins.

"Some people turned up and demanded that we remove the flags," Peter told Reuters. "First they were sensible but then they became threatening. The management here decided to do it so that we didn't get any more trouble."

They probably just should have told them they were flying in fresh virgins for the cup and to come back for their reward after they blew themselves up.

Posted by petefredbob at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It occurs to me that the account in which I get most of my email has been in limbo (my fault) for about two weeks. I didn't miss it until I noticed I was getting most of my spam in my hotmail accounts. This means that if you sent stuff to me that I should have responded to, I'm not ignoring you, I'm just a dumbass and likely never got it.

All relevant email addresses are working now. At the moment I don't have one available listed on the blog, but as far as I know anything sent to the rpetepeterson url, you know, something @ rpete-etc dot com, should find me. I will address the issue soon with the lovely webmistress to see how I can avoid spam and still have a listed email right here for your contact pleasure.

In the meantime feel free to rag on me in the comments.

Update: That didn't take long. I posted, took a shower, came back and found this in my newly reactivated account:

Dea w r Home O j wne f r ,

Your cr b ed k it doesn't matter to us ! If you O p WN real e f st m at i e
and want I p MMED b IA l TE cas j h to s p pen k d ANY way you like, or simply wish
to L s OWER your monthly pa z yme d nts by a third or more, here are the dea f ls
we have T z ODA l Y :

$ 48 r 8 , 000 at a 3 , 6 v 7% fi m xed - ra s te
$ 37 k 2 , 000 at a 3 c , 90% va w riab j le - rat k e
$ 49 b 2 , 000 at a 3 , g 21% in f teres l t - only
$ 2 f 48 , 000 at a 3 , x 36% f e ixed - ra v te
$ 19 k 8 , 000 at a 3 , x 55% v f ariable - ra c te

H v urry, when these de g aIs are gone, they are gone !

Don't worry about app u rova b l, your c n redi i t will not di u squali k fy you !

V w isi x t o y ur site

Sincerely, Zaira Treat

A r ppr s oval Manager

Posted by petefredbob at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This post (hat tip to waiterrant) reminded me of an experience I had that made me proud. The post above is about a group of employees that walked out on their job.

My deal was that I was having trouble with my boss and got into a yelling match with him. I actually raised my fist to him, and walked off the job in front of my crew. I guess I can get wound up sometimes. I got a call at home about an hour later-- from the local bar, where my crew had retired after they walked off the job in solidarity. Wow. I naturally joined them and basked in the glow.

It was a warehouse job and my crew was non-union. A few of them made more money per week than I did (as their boss) as we all worked minimum fifty hour weeks with a guaranteed ten hours a week of overtime. Real overtime was really nice, for them. I didn't get any extra pay for it. I would occasionally get down in the trailers with them and throw boxes or drive a lift, sometimes when I thought they were moving too slow, other times when it was real busy. I also was one of the few managers in the company that actually fired deadbeats. It got me some respect.

When I got home there were a few more messages, one from the president of the company telling me he wanted to talk. I went back to work the next day with the knowledge that my boss was banned from coming to my warehouse any more, and I had the most loyal crew a guy could ask for.

Posted by petefredbob at 01:18 AM | Permalink

Well, it sort of works. At the moment I seem to have chosen basic black. This will change, maybe tomorrow. I'm guessing the lovely Sheila will have the rest of this newfangled bloggy working in no time. Ahem.

The store is also sort of coming along, though I'm pretty sure I lost my main Brazilian supplier due to pricing issues, which raises the issue of 'what do I do with that big damn Brazilian flag?' that I bought in Sao Paolo (the other items I bought in Brazil are Japanese and Chinese items, which would call for something other than a Brazilian flag. Did you know the largest Japanese population outside of Japan is in Sao Paolo?). The silver lining is that unless I'm ordering Prada my initial costs are going to go way down. The shoes from Brazil were the reason I started this thing, and I'm hoping I can still get them later on if all goes well.

Which also means I may be coming back for a week or so to L.A. to try and replace my current lack of footwear, though I've got no responses yet from the suppliers I've contacted. Situation Normal, etc., etc. But the paint looks good and the ghastly green sign on the front windows has been removed.

I will hopefully have a surprise to replace said ghastly green sign by a Long Beach, CA artist, whose name shall remain mum until he's finished getting inspired. Logo per se is still undecided and undone. I am homing in on the diamond plate I want to use for some of the shelving. My first attempt at a splash page for the store is here: http://www.modapeligrosa.com . Copy and paste if you so desire.

We have an appointment with the lawyer tomorrow to pick up the official paperwork for the company so that we can get the proper building permits. This country is such a small town that two different sets of officials have curiously been by asking questions (in Spanish, so I missed most of it), and I can almost sense the excitement of the locals as they smile and walk by the windows wondering what the heck will finally show up in the space. I hope they're pleased.

As for those of you who expect socio-political rantings from your suave host, thank your lucky stars that I wasn't able to post this past week. I had items on the upcoming Flight 93 movie, the Romney Massachusetts healthcare miracle, the Gospel of Judas and much more that are all going to go by the wayside. Didja ever think about that next to Eve (who got us thrown out of the Garden but still gets a pass from most people 'cause she was a hot naked chick), Judas has been the one taking it on the chin for over two thousand years? I mean, what did Christ know and when did he know it? I'm just sayin'.

Amen.

Posted by petefredbob at 11:48 PM | Permalink

Michael Yon is headed back to the war zone (or use permalink-> on the sidebar). He has a neat post on his journey there through Bangkok and the UAE along with some thoughts about India that he promises to write about at some point in the future.

The striking thing about this news is that he's going into Iraq without the blessing or assistance of the US military. He'll be truly on his own. This, my friends, takes balls. Sorry to use such a vulgar phrase, but I can find no other description that even comes close.

Having seriously considered doing the same at one time and coming up short (yes, finances were involved in the decision, but I ask for no quarter), he has my full attention and respect.

Posted by petefredbob at 07:59 AM | Permalink

Massachusetts has just passed a law that requires everyone to buy health insurance. Seriously. Is it me, or does this not even come close to passing constitutional muster? How do people, grown people, come up with these ideas in this country?

Gov. Mitt Romney (R) supports the proposal, which would require all uninsured adults in the state to purchase some kind of insurance policy by July 1, 2007, or face a fine.

This is the kind of thing that depresses me about being a Republican. No, not the Abramoff/DeLay scandal, that one is about as normal to human politics as they come. This is a learning moment that some smart political science teacher could make a long class assignment out of.

"We insist that everybody who drives a car has insurance," Romney said in an interview. "And cars are a lot less expensive than people."

This is third-grade thinking that belittles adults in general. Requiring car owners (that have the potential to do damage to other people and their property) to have insurance is at least a defensible position. Taxing someone simply for being alive is not.

Democrats, or at least left-leaning Democrats are expected to come up with these ideas. Of course ideally the money from the premiums would go directly to the State, which would then disburse it, after taking a cut, to favored, er, government approved providers, at government approved rates. The Massachusetts plan is a forced direct payment to private enterprise, which is fascist in nature.

So let's explore the 'intellectual' thinking that goes on behind this brilliant plan:

The idea was applauded by Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, who said that he has long believed that the American system of allowing uninsured patients to receive care at the government's expense was nothing more than "freedom to mooch."

OK. I'm with you so far. Sort of. (Is 'mooch' a technical term?)

"Massachusetts is the first state in America to reach full adulthood," said Reinhardt, noting that the new measure is a move toward personal responsibility. "The rest of America is still in adolescence."

Throw in a little biology. (ed.-wait, isn't Princeton in New Jersey? �looking for a job at MIT in another department maybe.)

This is how Massachusetts leaders envision the plan would work:

Uninsured people earning less than the federal poverty threshold would be able to purchase subsidized policies that have no premiums, and would be responsible for very small co-payment fees for emergency-room visits and other services.

So Ewe Reinhardt, "Professor" of Economics at Brooke Shields' alma mater, thinks that 'purchasing' "policies that have no premiums" is not mooching. I suppose we'll chase the deadbeats down afterwards when they don't fork over the co-pay because: "Enforcement of the requirement will not be done by hospitals, officials said: They will treat uninsured patients as before."

It's bad enough that we have taxes on the staples of life, food and labor, but on life itself? Consider: if you are breathing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on July first, 2007, you will be liable for a tax for the benefit of doing so.

Posted by petefredbob at 05:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)