McHuston Booksellers

Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: information (Page 2 of 5)

Movin’ & Shakin’ on Main…

March 27, 2013 /

Dishes are stacked in the kitchen. They are waiting. I am waiting, too. A break in the action. Today was Red Hat Lady Day. I’ll get to the washing and cleaning in a minute.

The tables at lunchtime were turned over to the group today, and since I’m still a one-man show with limited seating, it threw a kink in the dining plans of a couple of parties of nice folks who had driven over from Tulsa. I hope to be able to make it up to them in the near future.

In truth, this afternoon I was a one-man show with help from a kind-hearted sister. Kathy was kind enough to bring in a helper to cover at her store – Martha’s Heath Food and Herbs – so she could come down the street and bail out her brother by carrying bowls and refilling tea and lemonade glasses. A great help in serving all the Red Hatters at once. (Thanks, Sis!)

Meanwhile, the Ladies were suitably-attired in their matching-color-appropriate hats and enjoyed Irish stew, bread, and fresh-baked cookies before convening their meeting. I snapped a photo of the tables, all ready and waiting. Needless to say, once the chairs were filled there was no more time for my photography.

It wasn’t the only dining action in the Rose District today, although the chewing in the next block south was being done by a big, growling machine. They’ve taken down the building that will be replaced by a new structure to accommodate the In The Raw sushi restaurant. It’s great to see progress, even if it means seeing it with demolition-created-dust blowing into the eyeballs.

I took a stroll down to the bank (not remembering it closes at 4pm, just like in the olden days) and decided to snap a shot of the construction-destruction.

According to an email from one of my merchant neighbors, it was quite a show when it came down yesterday. One of my lunchtime guests yesterday mentioned there was work going on at the site, but I figured it was more of the just-puttering-around kind. Didn’t realize it was the kind of activity that brings down the house. Literally.

So, goodbye to a vintage Broken Arrow structure that probably dated to statehood, and hello to plans for a structurally-sound replacement that will help revive the commerce on Main Street.

Great things are in the works and great work is going on already.

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, BA

Writers. A bunch written.

March 18, 2013 /

Today’s entry is literary. That is to say, it has to do with writing. Not literary writers, necessarily. Not authors.

Writers.

There are plenty of them out there that have nothing to do with books or publishing or creating a leather-bound legacy that might one day become the Great American Novel.

I’m talking commercials, here.

As in: TV.

Unfortunately (for the writers) the general public is widely unaware of who is behind the good (and the bad). Right now, I’m thinking about the new spot for 7*Up Ten, a reduced calorie soft drink that is being sold despite the failure of the factory chemists to eliminate those last nine pesky calories. Okay. I can try it over my One-Calorie soft drink. I’ll burn those other nine calories off somewhere. Maybe I can do it while yawning.

The commercial has Mom and Dad fawning over their purchase of a box of 7*Up Ten, the Most-Amazing-Thing-They-Have-Ever-Seen. In the background, their little baby is moonwalking, doing hand-stands, and You-Think-You-Can-Dance-Level dancing.

I don’t laugh out loud, which is probably the result of my upbringing. When I saw this spot on TV, I almost did. To keep it in perspective, I almost laughed out loud at the chase scene in the action-adventure movie The Package, starring Jason Statham. He was chasing a car through an unfamiliar area while riding a little bicycle. He managed to smash it through a glass door and time it perfectly to crash into the driver’s seat of his stolen car. Bravo. (Chuckle.)

There are others, like the Allstate ads. These aren’t knee-slappers, exactly. No slapstick humor here. Strictly situational. Maybe you’ve seen the one with the Allstate Mayhem Man appearing as a rambunctious toddler in the back seat, yelling – mommy.

“Mommy!” he shouts. “MommyMommyMommy!”

He pulls a drink from his sippy-cup and yells again.

Mommmmmyeeeee!

There are things thrown – maybe Cheerios. All accompanied by the continued shouts:

Mommmmyeeee!

No doubt, it’s just me. But I can easily envision the energetic child behind that Allstate Mayhem Man. In another ad, he disguises himself as a college flag, and as a poorly-installed TV satellite dish in another. Still, he’s the Mayhem Man. Those writers are hitting more than they are missing. The kid-in-the-backseat-of-the-minivan commercial works for me everytime.

Some are the result of writing-teams. Others are solo-shots. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a front-and-center Award Show Recognition like the Emmys or the Grammys or the Oscars that gives credit to these writers. I’m not sure about the category specifics, but there ought to be some publicity for those behind Seven*Up Ten, the Allstate ads, and the like. Some local groups give out “Addys” to winning commercials, but there is no Oscar-scale presentation.

As many commercials as we are exposed to, you’d think someone would sponsor a show.

And run commercials throughout.

A book. A review. A meltdown.

March 29, 2011 /

A British author was fortunate enough to get her book considered by an online reviewer. She disagreed with his opinion. Well, disagreed is wrong. She went ballistic.

I’m not going to mention her name, because I think she’s had enough publicity for one lifetime. She may have been humbled somewhat by the reaction to her reaction. Countless readers – alerted to the public meltdown that was happening – launched their own comments and the blog went viral.

The author bragged about her five star reviews on Amazon. Ooops. Now, an average 1.5 stars. It would be lower except for the early padding by friends and family.

There is a lesson here. Maybe more than one.

At the top is that, Al – who operates the blog – must be a decent sort. He eventually closed the column to comments when the author was being bludgeoned. It’s one thing to kick in a karate match. When the opponent is on the ground and the pummeling continues, it’s not a match any longer: it is a gang and a victim.

Unfortunately, the author deserved the initial roundhouse, when she came out swinging. Let me tell you, bad reviews hurt. But if you can’t live through them as a writer, you need to stick with reading. Not everyone likes the same books. That is a fact.

Even established authors get bad reviews. The good reviewers can critique without being hateful, and that is what Al, the blogger did. His pilers-on were just as hateful as the author’s crude comments.

The other lessons? Awww, the heck with it. This isn’t a writer’s school, it is a bookseller’s blog.

But if I read your book and give it two stars instead of five, it is only my opinion. Don’t go all ballistic – chill out. Read some books. Take mental notes.

Write some more.

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