Papa Johns vs. The World

…Well, at least Cleveland, Ohio.

While it appears that the move to hand out “Crybaby” t-shirts looked good on paper, I’m willing to bet that any backlash this week will lead to one less branch manager in the D.C. area this week.

And I must say that while I personally won’t be going to a Papa John’s any time soon – it’s just not convenient given my location – a complete boycott likely isn’t the best idea.

I’m too big of a proponent of Cleveland-based business to put up any sort of fight against success around here.  It simply was not a good business move on the D.C. guy’s part.  And I have a feeling The Man will let that be known.  I’m sure there’s more to come.  Now if we could just get the Plain Dealer to link or drop a URL instead of saying “bloggers….”

Sigh.

Buzz Off

By now, you should have heard about the whole “Costas Now” spat between Buzz Bissinger (author) and Will Leitch (blogger).  If you haven’t do a YouTube search, I’m sure it’s there.

And while I apologetically have not posted here much, I felt that a comment regarding the issue deserved some more attention.  It’s not often the blogs link to comments, eh?  Either way, AOLSportsblog commentor “Steve Body” let his thoughts be known.  Check them out here:

I’m in my mid-50s and worked as a journalist for many years. As such, I could be expected to do a back-slapping apology for Buzz Bissinger and try to explain away his bombastic sermon as a traditionalist flailing against technology. The truth is that Bissinger’s rant is as old as journalism itself and was NEVER justified by anything. It’s simple bad manners and arrogance and should be treated as such. One of the reasons I’m not a journalist, anymore, is that I got fed up with that stiff-necked, down-the-nose attitude that says that writing is a sacred quest, best left to the professionals and NEVER to be entrusted, in any form beyond the occasional letter to the editor, to the Great Unwashed. Young writers lucky enough to be hired by a newspaper or magazine were expected to shut the F___ up for a decade or so and learn from their betters, conveniently ignoring that the vitality of their imaginations is exactly what the veteran writers so frequently lack. They worship structure and correct form and most manage to pack in about as much emotional content as the nutrition info on a Twinkie. There are a lot of Bissingers out there, lacking only an invitation to Costas’ show to find their own spectacular meltdown on youtube. Will Leitch, writing on deadspin, showed what I thought was remarkable restraint in his handling of Bissinger’s baloney, saying how much he liked his books and how he really hoped that whatever was eating Buzz would heal up soon. It won’t. What NOBODY – well, that’s an exaggeration: very few – veteran journalists refuse to understand is that writing was ALWAYS man’s primary means of expressing himself in any way that has permanance. Spoken words rely only on the hearer’s memory and receptiveness. Writing is far more permanent. And back when we all scratched our wisdom on stone tablets, anyone could play. Then, along came ink and presses and, for 600 years, it was the sole provense of those who owned those resources. With the internet, the written word is finally back in the hands of those who were supposed to own it in the first place: YOU and ME. Certainly, there are utter fools and jackasses who write blogs, just like there were fools and asses who owned and edited newspapers. But there is also an OCEAN of witty, funny, thoughtful, wise, touching content that deserves to be written AND read…and, at long last, we can ALL find it – IF we’re not too lazy. Bissinger, for all his talent, lives in that country-clubby past…and he rails at Leitch as being the “future”? Guess what, Buzz? The future is here NOW.

It’s not every day that you’ll find someone of “Steve’s” demographic willing to take this stance.  You’ll have to pardon the lack of spell-check on Steve’s part, but you get the picture.  For the original post, head here. 

When Weather Attacks…

The SportingBlog has some great pics from Spencer Hall who was reporting live at the Georgia Dome when the Tornado hit. 

Well worth the visit…

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheSportingBlog/141674/ 

I Should’ve Married A Beatle

Judge Hugh Bennett released a summary of his ruling Monday but had withheld the full judgment until the outcome of Mills’ appeal.

Bennett on Monday ordered McCartney to pay Mills 24.3 million pounds ($48.6 million) in their divorce.

Mills had sought an award of nearly 125 million pounds ($251 million), the court said, while McCartney proposed 15.8 million pounds ($31.6 million).

So, if I read this right, this Mills woman lost the court hearing and only came out with $50 million.  Must be rough.  Part of me wonders if John Lennon is somewhere, laughing hysterically.

But as Chris Rock put it best, McCartney “ain’t starvin’.”  But he would understand…

LEH For $2795? Ouch.

While I assume this is just an error in the financial systems, someone may be the proud new owner of some LEH at the discounted price of $2795.  Those decimal points can be tricky…

But I guess it could always be worse.

It’s All About Promotions

Even though my name is neither Eliot, Spitzer, nor Kristen, I still think that I would attend this event – for full price – had I reside in Macon, Georgia.  How can you go wrong with around-the-clock Sinatra?

Music announce plans for Eliot Spitzer night [Macon Telegraph]

Could Be a Long Car Ride Home

As If Selling Cars For $70,000 Wasn’t Profitable Enough…

BMW to slash 8,100 jobs to boost profitability [AOL]

One Strike Ends, Another Begins

The writers may be back at work following their extended (and very justified) holdout, but that doesn’t mean all is well out there. 

Internet auction giant Ebay has apparently ticked off a few of their key sellers by altering a few of the fees among other functional changes – and the sellers are fighting back.  While this plays out very well for smaller auction companies, its also great to see that it is actually providing results; as seen in the 13 percent drop in listings. 

Drops in listings will provide drops in profits, so as the users unite, the Giant gets kicked in the shins.  Whether or not anything happens from this is to be seen.  Just like those that like to send emails out about not getting gasoline on certain days, for example, fail to realize that sometimes, you just have to do certain things.  Whether or not EBay users are willing to forgo all of the hard work that has gone into getting their “ratings” and “Power Seller” status to sell things at another site is the big question.

As much as people like change in the technology world, I’m willing to bet that this one won’t be long – even if it is “extended” for now.

Until Proven Innocent

When I caught wind of the recent news that more than three dozen Duke students are filing suit against the University as well as the city of Durham, NC, my first response was “what took so long?” While the three players that were charged have gone to file suit against Prosecutor, and dirtbag, Michael Nifong, the new suit will be aimed at the University for invasion of privacy, among other damages.

The way the city was quick to rally around the “victim” disgusts me, so it is to no surprise that I’m fully supportive of this suit. It should be mentioned that I’m wholly against frivolous claims, and most legal politics in general, so my support of this is more of an exception than the “norm.”

And if you’re wondering where my post title came from, check out the video here. I hope to get my hands on this book relatively soon. (I’d embed, but WordPress apparently isn’t in tune with that)