change

Amazon alone: Clear cutting

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For the last couple of days, speculation has been rife that Amazon may dot the American landscape with cookie-cutter, brick-and-mortar stores, much like its weird flagship store in Seattle, Washington. True or not, it seems like a backwards move. (But there are a lot of these everything-old-is-new-again movements afoot; I was surprised to realize on the anniversary of the Challenger explosion that some things were more “modern” and future-oriented then, in 1986, than now – for example, we had an active space shuttle/space exploration program that people were vocal and excited about; we had the Concorde. Those things are considerably muted or non-existent now…).

The Amazon bookstore idea is stupid. I went to the Amazon flagship store in U Village in November soon after it opened (had just read an article about it before coming to town and imagined I would never go there – and why would I want to?). It seems ridiculous and contrary not just to trends and user habits but also to economic sense. In fact, Amazon came into being and thrived, in large part by driving all the Borders and Barnes & Noble stores out of business – and some indie stores too… Essentially, Amazon clear cut the competition, getting it completely out of the way. Then Amazon replants and springs back up as the only one kind of tree – the only tree – in the forest… shrewd but lame?

I hated the store – hated going in only to see the top-selling, most popular crap that would never have interested me anyway, and the “long-tail” stuff I would have searched for on Amazon, I could have done from the comfort of home, right? It still seems like a weird waste of money and space.

Greecing the pa(i)n

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I don’t doubt that the situation in Greece is serious. But I also don’t doubt that I am one of many who feels a weariness about this topic that makes me feel completely indifferent to the details. Every single day is a “this is a do or die” or “we’re at the brink”… but every single day seems to be another step, another reprieve and another step toward going back to the table. I don’t doubt that all of this is a problem for Europe and financial markets and whatever else – I won’t even bother to analyze or find the proper terminology for it.

Weary indifference hearing the same “Greece may be kicked out of the eurozone” talk.

But what is difficult to accept, and where light is only partly shone, is on average Greek people suffering the effects of the uncertainty and the long-term austerity measures. This is the part that is most heartbreaking.

underthings and underlings: shedding layers part five

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The latest to go are the invisible (to most)… socks, undergarments and the like.

It’s strange throwing some things away, trying to remember exactly when they were acquired. Realizing it was more than a decade ago, when you could have sworn it was just three or so years back. No wonder these things need replacing. Time just flies by and clothes (under or over) are not my top-of-mind thought.

shedding layers part one

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Today I threw out an old nightgown. It was worn, threadbare, completely see-through by now. But it is a part of the long-ago past. It has a bunch of naughty monkeys on it. An ex used to poke the monkeys, claiming they were “mocking” him. That was like an eternity ago. That life is over. The nightgown is clearly of no use. I used it for the last time to dust the house. And now it’s away.

Discarded like so many things and people.