Sunday, July 31, 2011

Daily Thoughts 7/31/2011

Jim Collins (James C. Collins), an American business consultant, author of "Built to Last" and "Good to Great". By Mangoed on Wikmedia, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0


Daily Thoughts 7/31/2011


I have been reading more of The Successful Business Plan this morning and doing the exercises.  Two of the exercises are very interesting; they are creating an ideal customer first as a consumer customer, then as a business customer.  It is interesting because it helps give you a sense of what people actually do in the publishing and book business.


Some of the publications they might read are: Publishers Weekly, LIbrary Journal, School Library Journal, The Bookseller, Slate, The New Yorker, The Huffington Post (They have written a number of articles in support of libraries), The New York Times, Slate, Editor and Publisher, and the New York Review of Books for consumers.  For companies, I would add Fast Company, Inc., Crain's New York Business, Forbes, and Teleread.


Part of the profile includes websites that they might visit:   Mashable, Locusmag, Romantic Times, Library Journal Online, LIS News, Mediabistro, Galleycat, O'Relly, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Strand Books, Tools of Change For Publishing, Book Expo America, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Meetup.  I would furthers add subsections of Linked In like (Ebooks, Ebook Readers,Digial Books, and Digital Content Publishing), Ebooks In Libraries, and Tools of Change for Publishing.  For Meetups, I might add Content Strategy New York City,  Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art,  Digital Book World New York City, and others.


This is not the first time that I have done this kind of exercise.  For a while, I sold some books on Ebay and ABE (Advanced Book Exchange) to see what it was like, I also used to pick books and comics from flea markets and garages sales when I had more time to trade a long time ago.   I still get the family discount from Rogers Time Machine in Manhattan. This is too time intensive now.  Also, I used to price sometimes for a small bookstore that no longer exists.  Several months ago, I was also working on the beginnings of an idea for a startup for about three months, but it did not work out.


I put the book Nonprofit Management 101 by Darien Rodriguez Hayman on hold.  Darien Rodriguez Hayman was the director for the Craigslist Foundation.  I saw the book listed on the Social Media For Nonprofits Conference New York which is on August 4, 2011.http://socialmedia4nonprofits.org/nyc/

I spent some time talking to a close friend today, David Grayson.  He is writing a column on The Haiku Foundation called Religio about religion and haiku which is rather interesting.  http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/forum_sm/religio/

Harry Potter Contest Entry

This is my entry for the Harry Potter fan fiction portion of the contest. Along with my guest judges, Abby Minard and Colene Murphy, we'll be choosing a winner either Monday or Tuesday. If you'd like to enter, just sign up at this link and make sure you get your entry posted by the end of the day.

If you entered the House Cup Giveaway, I'll be pulling winners tomorrow morning and will try to post the results sometime after that.

Thanks to everyone who entered - I'm really looking forward to reading your entries!

-- Lisa

************

The Best Birthday

Ginny Potter came through the door of her home in Godric’s Hollow to find her husband lying on the couch exhausted as their three children ran screaming around the living room.

“Sorry I’m late, Harry,” she said, scooping up three-year-old Lily, who had just begun to cry after James accidentally stepped on her Pygmy Puff. “I had to file a story on the Harpies win against Ireland for tomorrow’s Prophet.”

“Not a problem,” Harry replied, taking off his glasses and rubbing his temples a bit.

“You are okay, aren’t you?” she asked as her sons James and Albus flew past her with an armload of what looked like Weasley’s Wildfire Whizbangs. “Sunday is your day to watch the kids, after all.”

Harry only replied with a weak smile and nod as he rose from the couch to survey what his son’s were doing outside.

Ginny turned and breezed into the kitchen with Lily in her arms. She was grinning from ear to ear. The surprise hadn’t been ruined.

Today was Harry’s 31st birthday and Ginny had been planning a birthday celebration for weeks.  Last year, there had been a big to-do at the Ministry. Witches and wizards from all over the world were sending gifts and good wishes for Harry Potter’s 30th birthday. That vile Rita Skeeter even ran a cover story on him. “The Boy Who Lived Turns 30” – a not-so-flattering retrospective on Harry’s life, which included some very unfair criticisms about his role as Head of the Auror Office.

Big parties, famous people, cover stories. She knew she couldn’t match something like that. The only thing she had been able to manage was to pull together a small surprise party with family and friends. Everyone was coming in from all over Britian. It was obvious that everyone had kept the secret beautifully. Not one card or gift had arrived by owl today. Even James and Albus hadn’t let it slip yet.

Ginny set Lily down and with one great swoop, pulled the invisibility cloak off a great pile of boxes on the kitchen counter. Ginny had never been very good with cooking spells, so Hermione had suggested ordering in all the food. The Three Broomsticks sent everything up from Hogsmeade this morning, so Ginny only had to cover it with the cloak and her secret was safe.

She paused for a second as heard the sound of fireworks being let off in the backyard and Harry distantly yelling at his son’s. The boys were doing their part – keeping their father busy.

“Can you help Mummy bring the food into the dining room?” Ginny asked Lily. She placed plastic bottle of pumpkin juice in the little girls hands. Lily dutifully followed her mother, who was using a hover charm to bring all the boxes to the table.

When their dinner was unwrapped and laid out, Ginny started to decorate. Now these were spells she was good at. She ran sparkling red and gold streamers all around the room and conjured some glittering lanterns to float in mid-air.

“There we go,” she said. “It looks just like the Great Hall after Gryffindor won the House Cup. Now for one last touch.”

Lily watched as her mother waved her wand over a large box. A large cake in the shape of a snitch floated out and came to rest at the center of the table.

“Pretty,” Lily said pointing to the delicious, shimmering cake.

Ginny eyed the room nervously. Would Harry like it? It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.

Harry was still outside when their guests began to apparate into the house. Neville and Hannah arrived from London. Luna used a portkey to come from her travels in Sweden. Hagrid had taken the train from Hogwarts. Ron, Hermione, Rose, and Hugo only had to walk across the street to get to the house. Bill, Fleur, and Victorie came with Teddy. Mr. Weasley arrived by himself, looking a little worn down, after all, it had only been two years since Mrs. Weasley passed away. George was the last to arrive. He burst through the fireplace in a flurry of emerald green flames.

“Didn’t ruin the surprise, did I?” he asked.

“No,” Ginny replied, “luckily Harry’s still trying to track down the last of the Wildfire Whizbangs.”

“Well, you’re welcome then,” George replied. “I made sure I sent over an especially tricky batch.”

“I’m sure the neighbors will appreciate that,” Ginny smiled.

At that same moment, the back door burst open.

“Found the last of them,” Harry called into the house, as James and Albus ran in after him.

“Surprise!” everyone yelled as Harry rounded the corner and saw them all standing in his dining room.

The look on Harry’s face made Ginny doubt for minute whether or throwing the surprise party had been the right thing. His eyes were locked on the lot of them and he appeared to be in complete shock.

After a minute, Ron blurted out, “Blimey, Harry, did we scare you to death?”

Harry finally broke into a smile. “No, it’s just that… well, I thought you had all forgot my birthday.”

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione said, moving forward to hug him. “You really can be very dense sometimes.”

Harry went around with a huge grin on his face, hugging and shaking hands. When she finally came to Ginny he kissed her and said, “I suppose this was all your doing.”

“Do you like it?” she asked anxiously.

“Of course,” he replied. “It’s my best birthday ever.”

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Daily Thoughts 7/30/2011

Portrait of Leo Tolstoy

Daily Thoughts 7/30/2011

I spent some more time reading The Successful Business Plan this morning.  I also took some notes and added to a document I have started writing which is slowly taking form.  I am not in an incredible hurry.  I might have something ready by the beginning of September. I also put the books Six Weeks Start Up and Successful Business Research by Rhonda Abrams on hold.  The writing is very easy to follow.

I also spent some time looking at social networks for books, specifically, Bookmesh http://www.bookmesh.com and Red Lemonade which is a publishing network http://www.redlemona.de 

This afternoon, I looked through Publishers Weekly, Teleread, and Mashable for articles.  I also logged into our library network and took some time to look at EBSCO.








Fewer Words Friday

I mentioned it on Twitter and posted a picture on Facebook.  I really couldn't get over how fun it was to rent a big boat with 6 other people, eat sandwiches and chips, drink beer, jump off rocks (that's not us, but thank you YouTube for the reference), swim, and tube on Lake George.  I thought you needed a special license to drive a motorboat, but it turns out you just need to be awesome like my friend N and zoooooooooooooooom after listening to a dude tell you about the boat for 5 minutes.

The weather was ridiculous.  This activity should be scheduled into your near future.

No matter what you do, have a most excellent weekend.  I hope in the next few weeks I'll be able to tell you about some delightful meals in Bennington, Cape Cod, and dear old Albany.


 this looks remarkably like the fake stock photo when you're waiting for your photos to load in Windows Explorer


Friday, July 29, 2011

Two More Days!

Just two more days to enter my massive Harry Potter giveaway!

Right now, I only have seven people signed up for the fan fiction contest (entries should be posted on Sunday), so you're chances of winning of fabulous prize for writing a bit of Harry Potter inspired prose are excellent!

Head over and sign up now!

-- Lisa

Daily Thoughts 7/29/2011

Riley, James Whitcomb: “An Old Sweetheart of Mine” (1902) Study, Chair, and Bookcase

Daily Thoughts 7/29/2011

Today, I checked the Twitter account, checked the book sale, and checked the displays.  I spent some time talking to our new sales representative from Better World Books.  I like to think of Better World Books as a more acceptable way of letting our discards go.  They take old library discards and sell them.  I also like to think of the book sale next to the circulation desk as a way to generate good will.

I read two copies of the New York Times Book Review today and checked the purchase alerts to see what people are placing on hold.  I also placed the book The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan on hold.  It was reviewed in the New York Times Book Review.

We also got some more donations today.  There were a few young adult books worth adding.  I also compiled the monthly statistics today.

On the way home, I read some more of The Successful Business Plan and did some basic exercises to outline questions about the type of business I would be interested in doing.

M is for Motley Crue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6tley_Cr%C3%BCe



Motley Crue is an American heavy metal band that emerged in Los Angeles in 1981. The band consists of Nikki Sixx on bass guitar, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars, and lead vocalist Vince Neil. Almost all of the members have had brushes with the law and some even did jail time, as a result of drugs, alcohol, flings with women. Their main trademark is that almost all of them are heavily tattooed.

Most of their fame came in the 1980s, which they made the albums Theatre of Pain, Girls Girls Girls and Shout At the Devil, all which basically showcased their love of alcohol, motorcycles and strip clubs.

They have all had brushes with the law, in 1984, Neil was heading home from a liquor store when he became involved in head on collision, his passenger, Hanoi Rocks drummer, Nicholas 'Razzle' Dingley was killed. He was later charged with DUI and vehicular manslaughter and spent 30 days in jail.

On Dec. 23, 1987, Sixx experienced a near fatal heroin overdose. On the way to the hospital, he was declared legally dead. But one of the medics, who was a Crue fan, gave him 2 shots of adrenaline to bring him back to life. That was the inspiration for the song Kickstart My Heart.

Their song, Dr. Feelgood, was ranked as the #7 Air Guitar Song of All Time.




L is for Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986 in New York City. She is best known by her stage name, Lady Gaga.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga
What got her noticed is her track Poker Face, off her The Fame album, which premiered in 2008. It had a follow up called the Fame Monster in 2009, with tracks like Bad Romance, Alejandro, Telephone. In 2011, she ahd another album come out, called Born This Way. Her inspiration comes from glam rockers like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and pop singers like Madonna and Michael Jackson. Her trademark is her strange and unusual outfits, her dancing in the music videos and her style of music.

She also recieved an award at the 53rd Grammy Awards on Feb. 11, 2011. She played the song Born This Way.

How she got her name Lady Gaga is she was inspired by Queen's song Radio Gaga. She also has a creative production team called Haus of Gaga, which handles and designs all of her outfits, stage props and hairdos. She considers John Lennon her personal hero and that's why she has a peace sign tattoo in remembrance of him, she is also a humanitarian, she did a concert from her Monster Ball tour to help raise money for Haiti, she did a concert to help raise money for Japan after the earthquake, she contributes in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and also is a huge supporter of gay rights. And she also tries wants bullying to stop.


From the Poker Face video


She is actually very beautiful

K is for Ke$ha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ke$ha

Kesha Rose Sebert was born on March 1, 1987. She is a well known American song writer. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area of California. In January 2010, her debut album Animal debuted, and was #1 in the US. And in November of the same year, the album Cannibal was released, with the #1 hit single We R Who We R


The kind of music she does is a mix of country, pop rock, hard electro. Most of her music has a talky rap style to it, like the track Tik Tok. But she never set out to be a rap singer. Her musical inspirations consist of 1980s pop and dance music, hip hop and punk. Her country influences are Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton.


J is for Journey

Journey is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1977 with former members of Santana. They have gone thru several members and most of their success came between the late 1970s and 1987. During that time, they released one of their most famous ballads Don't Stop Believin. This song is known by virtually everyone in the world and even by people who may not listen to them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_(band)

The former members of the band consisted of: George Tickner(rhythm guitar),Greg Rolie(Keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Aynsley Dunbar(drums), Robert Fleischman(lead vocals), Steve Perry(lead vocals), Steve Smith(drums, percussion), Randy Jackson(bass, vocals),Steve Augeri(lead vocals, guitar), Herbie Herbert(manager)

The current members consist of: Neal Schon(lead guitar, vocals), Ross Valory(bass, vocals), Jonathan Cain(keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals), Deen Castronovo(drums, percussion), Arnel Pineda(lead vocals), Irving Aznoff(manager)

In 1997, Perry left the band because he was hiking in Hawaii and he injured his hip. He refused to undergo hip replacement surgery and Schon decided to start looking for a new lead singer. And in Dec. 2007, that's when Schon found the person who would become a permanent member of Journey, a Filippino singer named Arnel Pineda, who was on YouTube with his band the Zoo, singing covers of famous Journey songs. He was invited to the US and people at the airport were surprised to hear he was going ot audition as Journey's new lead singer. The album that he did with Journey, Revelation, made the top of the charts.




Miranda Cosgrove cutie pic in pink


Miranda Cosgrove is an American film and television actress, and she's born May 14, 1993. for 2011 Miranda Cosgrove is 18 years old. Here Miranda pictures when she wearing very short shorts pants and pink dress when shes performed on the stage. She's so cutie looking.

I is for INXS

I'm skipping H, there's no musicians I can think of for this letter.

INXS is an Australian-based rock band that started in 1977 in Syndey, New South Wales. The band consists of Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar, Kirk Pengilly on saxophone/guitar, Michael Hutchence on lead vocals. Michael's good looks and strong stage presence made him like the focal point of the band, almost like an Australian Steven Tyler. Their early music involved New Wave/ska/pop style music, but later on went on to doing pub rock and funk/dance style music


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INXS

In the early 1980s, they started in their native Australia with their self titled album INXS. Did you ever happen to notice that alot of bands first albums are self titled albums? In 1997, Hutchence died and the band did not perform for over a year. In 2005, the hunt was on for a new lead singer, and they ended up finding Canadian singer J.D. Fortune as the new lead vocalist.

In 2004, the band had a small show called Rock Star: INXS, basically this show was to help find a new lead vocalist. On Sept. 20, 2005, J.D. Fortune, who was a Canadian-based singer, won the competition by singing the Rolling Stones hit You Can't Always Get What You Want and the INXS hit What You Need. And after that, he became the new lead vocalist.


Brenda Song 2011 pic

Brenda+Song+pic+2011.jpg

teenager celebrity Brenda Song is an American actress, film producer, and model, even she has the asian face. Brenda song was born on March 27,1988 in Carmichael, California. She's best known on the Disney Channel Movie, The Clue actress. this years, Brenda is 23 years old.

Here Brenda Song Pictures on 2011 Palm Springs International.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

G is for Green Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Day

Green Day is an American-based punk rok band that started in 1987 in East Bay, California. The band consists of Billie Joe Armstrong on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Dirnt on back up vocals and bass guitar and Tre Cool on drums. He replaced john Kiffmeyer in 1990.


Thier 1994 album Dookie was a success. After that, 3 of their albums, Nimrod, Warning and Insomniac didn't go over so well. They were considered to be commercial failures. In 2004, their popularity went through the roof with the release of their rock opera American Idiot, which became widely popular with teh younger generation, including my sister, lol!! In 2009, they released their 21st Century Breakdown album, which is their 8th studio album.

they have won 5 Grammy Awards for:
Best Alternative Rock album-Dookie
Best Rock album-American Idiot
Record of the Year-Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Best Rock Album again- 21st Century Breakdown
Best Musical Show Album-American Idiot

On 15, 2009, their 21st Century Breakdown album was released. Alot of places, such as Wal-Mart refused to sell it because of there being a Parental Adivsory Warning label on the front for explicit lyrics, although it's the same thing on the front of the American Idiot album.

The kind of music they do can be compared to bands like The Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam, and Stiff Little Fingers. The band has said that their inspirations have been Cheap Trick and The Who.

From left to right: Mike Dirnt, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool. the one in the middle is the one my sister especially likes!!



E is for Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler was born on May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain. He is one of the better known Spanish pop singer/songwriters of the Latin music world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Iglesias
On July 12, 1995, his first album, self titled Enrique Iglesias, debuted. Most of the stuff on it is light rock and mainly stuff in Spanish. In 1999, he had made a huge crossover in to English language music. One of his songs, Bailamos, became a #1 hit in the US. And thanks to Latino musicians like Selena, Ricky Martin, he wa able to break into the English language music. In 2007-2008, he went on the Insomniac tour, named after the album he had recently released. On this album, it includes songs like Push, Ring My Bells, Tired of Being Sorry. A solo version of the song Push made it onto the soundtrack for the movie Step Up 2: The Streets.

On July 5, 2010, he released the album Euphoria, which I think is probably his best one. I have it at home and I love listening to it! This album has 6 songs in Spanish and 7 songs in English. The first English single on the album is called I Like It, and in the video, it features the cast from the new reality show Jersey Shore. The song went to #1 on Billboard's Hot/Dance Club play.

He's also done a little acting, mainly along side Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He played a foul mouthed gun-wielding man named Lorenzo. He also has had a small cosmetic surgery to remove a large mole that was on his cheek near his right eye. For a long time, this was his trademark, but he had surgery to remove it.





I have this album at home, it rules!!

I also have this one too!

D is for Def Leppard

This English rock band formed in Sheffield as part of a new wave of British heavy metal. Ever since 1992, the band has had these members: Joe Elliot on vocals, Phil Collen on guitar, Vivian Campbell on guitarRick Savage on bass, and Rick Allen on drums. Most of their success came between the early 1980s and early 1990s. According to Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, their 1983 album Pyromania rankes #384. And in fact, they just played at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH, just last night!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Def_Leppard

In 1992, their album Adrenalize was the first album without guitarist Steve Clark(strangely enough, this is also my dad's name, lol!). Something unique about Rick Allen is he only has 1 arm. He lost his left arm in a car accident on Dec. 31, 1984 when his Corvette hit a drystone wall. Even though he only has 1 arm, that doesn't take away from his awesome drumming, he uses his feet to do some of the back up drumming.

On January 8, 1991, their guitarist Steve Clark died from a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol in his London home. On Oct. 23, 1995, they got into the Guinness Book of World Records for playing 3 concerts in 3 continents in one day- Tangiers, Morocco; London, England; Vancouver, Canada. On Sept. 5, 2000, Def Leppard was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame in Hollywood by friend Brian May of Queen. And Def Leppard is only one of 5 rock bands with 2 studio albums selling over 10 million copies over the world, and those bands are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Vn Halen.

Side stuff

Joe Elliot sang lead vocals on 2 songs on Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood's album Slide on This, Phil Collen played guitar, uncredited, on Sam Kinison's Wild Thing. The video featured members of the bands Poison, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Ratt, Aerosmith.


Them younger

C is for Cher

Cherilyn Sarkisian was born on May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California. She is a well known recording artist, TV personality, actress and director. She is also known for her marriage to Sonny Bono.



In 1965, she and Sonny appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and they sang. They also appeared on Ready, Steady, Go!, which for all who are from England would know this show. This was the English equivalent to the Ed Sullivan Show. A lot of English bands and artists may have performed on this show during the 1960s. She ws known for her dark, exotic looks, and then became a fashion designer, starting the trend of bellbottoms and unique gowns and hippie attire.

In 1974, she had a show called called The Cher Show, which had famous people on in, such as David Bowie,Ray Charles, Pat Boone, Cheryl Ladd, Linda Ronstadt, Lily Tomlin. Alot of the suggestive outfits she wore then were made by fashion design legend Bob Mackie. This show ran for 2 and a half seasons before Cher, who was pregnant at the time, decided to cancel it. 3 days after her divore from Sonny Bono was finalized, she married rock musician Gregg Allman  on June 30, 1975. They had 1 son named Elijah and divorced after 2 years.

She has also done acting. She appeared in the 1985 movie Mask, in which Eric Stoltz plays a teen with a disfigured face and she plays his loving mother. She also has appeared in movies like Witches of Eastwick, where she played a witch, Suspect where she played a lawyer, Moonstruck in 1987, where she played a frumpy Italian bookeeper.

In 1989, she wrote the song If I Could Turn Back Time, in the video it shows her wearing black leather and a fishnet suit, performing on a Navy battle cruiser. This video caused a lot of controversy because it showed her in a see-through outfit and you could see a butterfly tattoo on her lower back

In 1990, she starred in the movie Mermaids, and in 1998, she was in London when then daughter Chastity Bono called and informed her of Sonny Bono's death from a skiing accident. He was a popular California congressman married to 4th wife Mary Bono, he was 62. She chose to give the eulogy at his funeral and she teared up while giving it. Later that year, Sonny and Cher got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2010, she starred in the movie Burlesque along side Christina Aguilera.

She is also a supporter of gay rights, because her now son Chaz Bono was born a female and came out as a lesbian at 17, and that's when she noticed that not everyone gets the same rights because of sexuality.