A take on Raymond Chander’s dick Philip Marlowe preparing a leg of lamb “is funny not just because of the incongruity between the tough-guy manner and the task at hand (‘I put the squeeze on a lemon and it soon juiced’); it’s also funny, a bit more disturbingly, because it shows us that there’s something inadvertently comical below the surface of Chandler’s hard-boiled prose.”
Tag: 08.28.10
iPod Sales Sinking. Is The iPod Finished?
“The latest sales figures for the quarter to June showed 9m sold – the lowest quarterly number since 2006. In short, the iPod, launched in October 2001, looks to be in terminal decline. While Apple is unworried – sales of its iPhone and iPad are booming – the drooping figures for the digital music player market are a concern for another sector: the music companies.”
Next Oxford English Dictionary May Not See Paper
“Publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary have confirmed that the third edition may never appear in print. A team of 80 lexicographers began working on it following the publication of the second edition in 1989. It is 28% finished.”
Blockbuster Filing Bankruptcy
“Just as video stores once failed to compete with Blockbuster’s larger inventory, the retail chain now can’t compete with Amazon, Netflix, on-demand cable-satellite, and other means of delivering video entertainment that don’t involve going to a store — even as it struggled to keep up, offering DVD-by-mail option.”
Are The Olympics Profitable?
“Almost every city that does this gets into trouble one way or another because they can’t figure out how to stop spending money. Athens thought they’d spend around $5 billion on the 2004 Games and ended up spending around $18 billion. London thought they were going to spend ($5 billion), and they’re somewhere around $20 billion or more with two years to go.”
Revealed: Susan Boyle Was Auto-Tuned On TV Competition
“The sounds are cleaned up. It’s an open secret and an industry standard. This goes for everyone, even Susan Boyle’s audition was smoothed out in post-production to give it the best possible sound.”
Cable Companies, Broadcast Networks Clash Over Fees
“Battles between programmers and distributors are becoming quite common, and usually agreements are reached without consumers losing any channels.”
A Day In The Life Of The Theatre
It isn’t all just about that night’s performance…
New Group Aims To “Legitimize” Graffiti
“Fashioning itself as an ACLU for those charged with graffiti-related crimes, the group plans to raise legal funds, create a database of attorneys and even attempt to turn some of the city’s high-profile graffiti spots into landmarks or protected areas.”