Books I Am Interested In Buying, Borrowing or Stealing (Okay, Maybe Not Stealing)

The Long Tail: Why The Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

The Marketing Gurus: Lessons from the Best Marketing Books of All Time by Chris Murray

Fast Company's Greatest Hits: Ten Years of the Most Innovative Ideas in Business by Jim Collins

The Subway Chronicles: Scenes from Life in New York edited by Jacquelin Cangro

Smart Words

So I am trying to dispose of magazine articles that I ripped out for one reason or another (either some nugget of wisdom I think I will refer to at a later point or something that I think is well put) and came across a blurb from writer Barbara Ehrenreich from the March 2006 issue of Fast Company.

She writes:
There is a profound discounting of experience going on that we're going to have to reexamine if we're going to keep up with the rest of the world. During my research for Bait and Switch, I was told again and again that the basis of hiring is not your skills or experience, but how likable you are. The rationale is that you have to be a 'team player' and conform, in great detail, down to the shape of your lapel pin. In what kind of team does everyone have to be the same?

There seems to be a growing culture of incompetence where who knows whom and who likes whom weigh more than getting the job done. This is the kind of thinking that got us Michael D. Brown heading up FEMA. Even more perverse is the constant culling out of the high achievers. If you get a raise, it's like having a bullseye painted on your back. You are just an expense, and a bigger expense, so let's get rid of you.

How will American business face the challenge of the rising economies of China and India? Those nations are emphasizing skill and a proven track record. We are not going to survive in a globalized economy if our business culture is so self-indulgently involved in preserving an internal comfort level. What did you hire me for? To keep you company in the office?

Songs I'm Into

yet not necessarily downloaded from iTunes since they don't have everything in their inventory!

Scanners Lowlife

Sonic Youth Incinerate

Basement Jaxx Everybody

Lily Allen LDN

Brazilian Girls Last Call

Nerd, uh, I mean Celeb Sighting

Saw MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago around 50th/Bway yesterday.....

Ida on YouTube

Another example of why YouTube is awesome - found this clip of one of my favorite bands - Ida.

Saturday in the Borough

Yesterday we entertained a couple of friends in town for a wedding. They visited us in the Slope and we took them to Rose Water for a tasty brunch. Afterwards, we walked around 5th Ave. for a bit before succumbing to the heat and humidity and indulging in some Italian ices from Uncle Louie G's.

Later that night, I met up with some friends in Brooklyn Heights for some sushi at Iron Chef House (no relation to the show, I am pretty sure).

Then I headed back to Park Slope to have some drinks with my wife and a friend visiting from Ireland. Took him to new "it" bar Union Hall, Patio Lounge, and Lighthouse Tavern.

Good Ole Boy

I was catching up on my Daily Show's and Colbert Report's that had gotten backed up on the DVR and saw the story about Senator George Allen who used a racial epithet while on the campaign trail.

Just goes to show you there are still lots of redneck racists out there and lots of them have positions of power!

How Did I Miss This One?

Oh yeah, I don't read The Onion as much as I used to but every once in a while I still do, and damn it's still funny.

Check out this faux-article about U.S. trendsetters "going on strike."

Minor League Baseball = Major League Fun

So we capped off our day in Coney Island with a little Minor League Baseball action between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Batavia Muckdogs.

First of all, there's no better value for sports entertainment than taking in a Cyclones game. There's not a single bad seat in the stadium as it's all one level. Secondly, the $14 ticket is nothing compared to the prices we paid for the Yankees and Mets games that we went to this earlier this year. Next, you receive a free promo giveaway (Modells/Cyclones bag - albeit a crappy one) and a complementary Cyclones Program upon entering the stadium. Also, the variety of food options is great - ranging from burgers to Nathan's hot dogs to Italian sausages and even Asian dumplings. Lastly, the vibe of the park is unparalleled as you can see the ocean, the beach, and the Cyclone in the background.

But the star of the entire show is the small town feel of it all - NYC style, of course. Last night was Italian Heritage Night so they celebrated it in a number of ways including offering ravioli/garlic bread for $5. They also gathered adults/kids onto the playing field in an attempt to form a number of tarantellas - traditional Italian dances. If that's not all, there was even a tasty meatball judging contest taking place.

Then there was the music in the stadium - cheesy songs like Starship's "We Built This City", C&C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now" and yes, Haddaway's "What Is Love?". But everything from the local car dealership's ads ("We deliver/We deliver") to the Cyclones' interpretation of the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep til Brooklyn" (they created a parody called "Baseball in Brooklyn") contained a bit of unintentional comedy that was both amusing and yet somehow endearing. Throw in the local flavor of parkgoers - the Knights of Columbus guy who botched up his speech during an on-the-field ceremony and "Louie" who, when prompted to guess the prize amount of the NY Lottery, responded with: "I'd say between 30 and 40 clams" and you cannot make this stuff up.

Brooklyn Cyclones Baseball - it's a good time!

A Day at Coney Island

We spent the entire day at Coney Island yesterday. The weather was pretty perfect which was nice especially considering the fact that we've had unbearably hot and humid weather the last few weeks.

Took the Q train down and our first stop was the New York Aquarium. Besides the bit of overcrowding, it was an otherwise enjoyable experience with our favorites being the walruses, sea otters, jellyfish and shark tank.

Afterwards, we took in the boardwalk and made our way to Astroland for some skee ball action. Then we headed to Nathan's for some hot dogs and fries. We spent a little more time moseying on the boardwalk until it was time to go to KeySpan Park for the Brooklyn Cyclones/Batavia Muckdogs game (an experience deserving of its own posting).....

Passing on Kevin Nealon

Friday night provided a much needed end to the week....

I met up with my wife at the Snug Bar (around 50th/9th) and then proceeded to Empanada Mama for dinner. We then headed up to the Upper West Side for a little browsing in Urban Outfitters and Barnes and Noble. We walked by the movie theater and didn't see anything good playing so headed back south where we passed the hotel that we stayed at last year when we first thought about moving here. What a difference a year makes.

We almost got sucked into going to a stand-up comedy club but decided that the 10pm start time and two-drink minimum were not enough for us to shell out $20 a piece to see Kevin Nealon, so we hopped on the subway and went home.

Nerdy is the new Cool

I saw this diagram on Gothamist and thought it was interesting.

It accounts for every instance of the phrase "is the new" from various sources in 2005.

Most suprising to me is not that "Park Slope is the new West Village" or that "Quiet is the new loud" since the Kings of Convenience taught us that already but apparently "brown is the new white" and "white is the new orange."

So Where Do You Stand?

My subscription to New York Magazine continues to be a worthwhile investment as it consistently provides interesting and thought-provoking articles.

The most recent issue features a great piece by Chris Smith about Bruce Ratner's plans for the Atlantic Yards.

I was never sure where I stood on the issue, having just recently moved to the area and have been a bit fatigued by the story being covered every week in local papers like The Park Slope Paper and The Park Slope Courier.

However, Chris Smith did a nice job of summarizing the issues, showing both sides, and ultimately persuading me that when it comes to Atlantic Yards, the cons DO OUTWEIGH the pros.

Read the article and decide for yourself!

What A Wonderful World

It's an old story by now but have to comment on Mel Gibson's recent arrest and anti-semitic tirade....ironic how the most self-righteous ones end up being the biggest hypocrites and sinners of them all (also see George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O' Reilly, etc.). I was glad to see this guy exposed for what he is - a no talent, wack-job, anti-Semite.

In other recent news, a tip of the hat (a nod to Stephen Colbert) to the Brits for foiling the terrorist plot and a wag of the finger (another Colbert reference) to U.S. Homeland Security for once again displaying behavior that is completely reactive as opposed to being proactive. First of all, it's time to focus on what these psycho extremists plan on doing next instead of the illogical and irrational banning of everyday items that we know don't contain dangerous gels or liquids. I saw another site that pointed out that airport security was pouring out these liquids into a mesh garbage can. If it was so dangerous, why would they do that in the middle of a busy airport terminal and why would they pour it into a mesh container? Obviously it doesn't pose any serious threat and we are left with a ridiculous exercise that must have the terrorists laughing.

Showing 'Em Da Slope

We had some friends visiting us from Ireland yesterday (with their kids in tow) so got a chance to show them where we live - headed down 7th Ave. for a little shopping and then some brunch at the kid-friendly Two Boots.

Followed it up with a walk through Prospect Park and a visit to the Prospect Park Zoo.

Afterwards, the ladies stayed at home while the men headed to Brooklyn Industries for a little souvenir shopping and some Brooklyn Lager at hipster hangout Union Hall.

Finally, we ended the evening with a tasty dinner at Nana and some ices (and an egg cream for me) from Uncle Louie G's.

Stupid Hot and Indie Rock

You may have noticed that the postings were few and far between this week. Maybe because it was STUPID HOT all week.

How else to describe high temps and humidity that made it feel as if it were over 100 degrees?

On the plus side, I did get to meet indie rock aficionado and taste-maker Nic Harcourt of KCRW fame the other day.