Monthly orders continued.

A continuation of my series of posts about making my monthly orders from my main supplier.

I said in the beginning that I can manage this process in one day: Wrong. This is the third day.

The longer I take, the more I order. I might be better off making quick decisions, eh? Anyway, the comic orders are coming in much higher than usual. What to do?

As I mentioned in a comment yesterday, if finances were shaky, I'd probably look for places to cut, but sales have been better than good, so I may go with it.

Of course, over-ordering is how finances become shaky, what?

The Before Watchmen are putting my budget over the top. I've decided to order 60 of each, and use them as "optional" titles. Picking shelf customers who I think might be interested (in this case, most people who take DC titles) and putting them on the shelf with the understanding that they can reject them.

I usually have a pretty good hit rate, because I try not to overdue it.

Meanwhile, I have all the other product in the catalog yet to order. I'll just be a bit more sparing in my orders for non-comic related material, this time. Most of this stuff I can order elsewhere, if I need to.


LATER: Plugged in the new Watchmen numbers, and I'm already at budget, with the whole back part of the catalog to go. I'm going give myself another 10% to order from this section.


THE REST OF THE STUFF:

1.) Books and Magazines.

Most of the books are art or pop culture books. I love the magazines, but don't seem to sell them, and they're kind of pricey these days.

I have a weakness for the art and pop books, and if I had the time and space and money, I'd probably carry almost all of them.

I usually try to limit myself to a few, because these are the type of things that aren't monthly and that I can order later from a book wholesaler.

FANGORIA AND FAMOUS MONSTERS, for the regulars.

A SPECTRUM art book, and another artbook called Flesk Prime. A PROMETHEUS artbook.
Fewer than usual.

CALENDARS: A once a year purchase, generally. I used to do pretty well, but this has really tailed off and so has my enthusiasm.

Going to order maybe 8 (used to order 20 or 30.)

CARDS: Ordered a box of Topps Chrome baseball. Also, almost against my better judgement, a box of Game of Thrones. (I'm getting Hunger Games cards this week, so I've sort of decided to try to revive this part of my store...)

T-SHIRTS: They offer us a ton of t-shirts, so I usually wait for them to go on sale. Sometimes I'll piggy back on someone else's order. I have no idea what to order for posters and t-shirts. What I think is cool, no one else does...

TOYS: After spending a few years mostly buying singles, where possible, I've been trying to revive this part of my store by buying a couple of cases a month. This month, I may pass unless something really catches my eye.

O.K. Got some individual Marvel Select, a single Mars Attack figure, and ...well, a retro Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles case. (Ironically, I never carried these the first time around, because the mass market was full of them -- but I always liked them. Funny how nostalgic they are, even though I was never their demographic...)

GAMES: Did some various adventure packs, a big Pathfinder book, some various Hero Clix, and a couple of boxes of 2013 Magic, and 6 fat packs (which I'm unlikely to get.)


FINALLY DONE. Took three days, instead of one. I suppose I was looking harder because I was making this report.

I'm a full 20% over budget.

Since these are summer items (especially the last part of the catalog) I'm going ahead and pulling the trigger. I'm feeling more and more confident in the other parts of the store, so I may as well back it up.

Indy orders.

Considering that it represents a relatively small portion of my orders, it takes quite a bit of time to go through the Indy comics. In this case, "Indy" is defined as any comics or graphic novels coming from other than Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image.

I'd love to order everything.

But there are 85 publishers, and hundreds of items (thousands?). Much of it is described by a couple of lines. Almost impossible to know what you're really getting.

Having a reliable track record helps, but Indy/Reliable is almost an oxymoron. So you use your experience to try to guess at what each thing is.

At this point, I should point out that I have an overall budget in mind before I start. I can stretch the budget if the product looks worth it.

For Indy's, I look for names or titles I recognize, ideas that intrigue, and -- as I mentioned -- reliability. Top Shelf, Oni, Fantagraphics, and others always get a look. Sadly, if you are a brand new company without a track record, and your material doesn't stand out in some way, you may very well get overlooked. I simply don't have the time or the space to carry everything.

So I can count on being offered, Oh, I don't Know, a 100 different vampire stories, a 100 different "bad girl" comics, a 100 different "young artist in the city" comics. I try to get a "sampling" of each type.



To Begin:

SLAVE LABOR COMICS: This was the home of Jonen Vasquez of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Squee, and of Roman Dirge, of Lenore. Squee is back on the list, as well as J.T.H.M. and some of Jonen's other minor stuff. Reordered all of it.

ANTARCTIC PRESS: They always have intriguing titles, steampunk and such, but I can't seem to sell them. Darnit.

ARCHIE: SOP is for me to order one of each Archie title. They'll pile up, then sell out, but one a month seems to keep the supply up.

ASPEN: Remember what I said about reliable? Frankly, these guys can jump in a lake.

AVATAR: Top writers, combined with lesser known artists. I always wonder if these are leftovers from the likes of Moore and Ennis, or if the subject matter is too extreme for other publishers... Order here and there, for fans of the extreme.

BLEEDING COOL: The first issue of a new magazine by a significant website. Hope this will fill the hole left by Wizard. Ordered 8 copies, which is 8 more than I usually order of mags.

BLUEWATER: Lousy biographies of famous folk, with lousy art. All about : Wow! There's a comic of Paris Hilton? No thanks.

SIMPSONS: Same as Archie, always order one.

BOOM Studios: Always seems to be on the cusp of being a major player. Has lots of licensed, as well as original material. Sells, like most of the indy's, in ones or two.

For many of this Indy's, I'd just as soon wait for the graphic novel complete, and even there wait for some press and or requests.

Extermination: Ordered.

Fanboys versus Zombies: You know what? I think this is played out. Pass.

Planet of the Apes: Farscape; 28 Days Later, etc. You'd think there would be someone who wants these, but it requires the confluence of two small sets of fanboys and comics.

Adventure Time: Wasn't aware of this license until I had people coming in looking for it. Ordering #1 again, and upping more orders on the rest.

Lady Death and Tarot: Every 4 months or so, I'll get some mullet haired guy looking for these, which he may or may not buy. ("I used to LOVE these comics!") Have quit ordering them.

RASL: by the creator of Bone. I tried liking these, but I can't understand them. Order them anyway, because I think it's my fault.

DRAWN AND QUARTERLY: A quality publisher, and I always try to order something from them. This month, Goliath graphic novel, which I missed the first time around.

DYNAMITE: Has become nearly one of the big boys, on the strength of their licenses.

I think I'll repeat what I said before.

Licensed product with a supposed fanboy base? It requires the intersection of fanboys of that licenses, and fanboys of comics, and they don't always cross.

Star Trek? (Actually a IDW title, but the perfect example of a strong subset not necessarily translating into sales.) Would seem like a no-brainer, right? Well, not so fast. Lots of picky fanboys of Star Trek, but apparently very few of them like the comics.

That's the classic example to me, but there are many others, in this company alone: Vampirella; The Spider; The Shadow: Tarzan; Dark Shadows; Army of Darkness; Red Sonja; Bionic Man (and Woman); Warlord of Mars; Game of Thrones; Lone Ranger; Zorro, and so on and so on.

I order for subscribers, mostly.

Ordered Boys and Jennifer Blood. Game of Thrones -- I think maybe the G.N.'s will sell better.

FANTAGRAPHICS; Another high quality publisher whose stuff SHOULD sell dammit! I always try to order something. Decided to get the 3 Dungeon Quest graphic novels.

Good looking Bruce Timm artbook, but it's 50.00. Are there any fans who will pay that? Can't resist: ordered.

HUMANOIDS: High quality Euro art, which I simply can't sell. Except Mobieus. Bring back Mobieus!!!!

KODANASHA: A big player in Japan, but I'm being careful with manga. Ordered Negima and Sailor Moon.

LAST GASP. If it were up to me, I'd probably carry everything in their catalog. A counter-culture bonanza. NAlas, here in Bend, Oregon, I can't seem to sell any of it.

NBM. Another high quality publisher, and I try to order at least one thing. I'm carrying the Rick Geary graphic novels of major crimes, which I think are wonderful -- and which never sell.

(Seeing a pattern here? The really good independents -- even they are hard to sell. But my theory is, if I carry a good sampling, I'll sell enough, to tourists and the occasional local.)

ONI: Another high quality publisher, and again I try to order something, at least. Courtney Crumrin, comic and graphic novel.

Bad Medicine: Looks good, from a good company. Ordered.

TOP SHELF: Another quality publisher; the decision is easy. The 3rd issue of the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. A small book, really. Ordered a bunch, because I think it's going to take Alan Moore forever to finish.

VALIANT COMICS: Back when during the comic boom, they were a major player, and they made a major thud.

Still, there is still some residual good will there, and I've been ordering a few copies. We'll see.

VIZ: The obvious manga, from the biggest publisher: Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Pokemon, Vampire Knight.

ZENESCOPE: The masters of 'bad girl' material. This stuff sells slowly, under the radar, and I think I'll treat it like Archie and Simpsons, and order a few every month at random.


One last trip through the catalog to see if anything is getting major marketing muscle that I didn't order. I find a couple, by major book publishers, that I'm pretty sure will be in Barnes and Noble, and I can't STAND the idea that B & N might have a graphic novel I don't carry --


And that's it, folks!

NEXT: Everything Else.

Checking in.

My turn to see the doctor. Just my yearly checkup. I don't see the point, since I feel fine, and it's unlikely that anything has changed concerning my daily Lipitor, but they insist. A couple hundred dollars every year.

I woke up bright and early to go get my blood taken, so I could come back to the house and drink some coffee and read the paper before the actual appointment.

Then I'll come back and finish up my monthly orders.

Next up: Independent publishers ... and everything else.

Image, IDW, and Marvel orders.

The cat has finally moved her furry butt off my order forms, so I can move on. (She usually joins me in the room I'm at, but rarely sits right next to me, so I didn't want to discourage that...)


IDW Comics.

This is the newest "Premier" publisher. They specialize in licensed type properties.

MARS ATTACKS: Um, a little bit because it's a #1.

ROCKETEER: Always order because it was once my favorite comic (when Dave Stevens was doing it.) Speak of the devil -- there is a 50.00 Stevens art book. Ordered.

KISS: Always trying, never selling. Will get a copy, because it's #1.

TRUE BLOOD: Great show, doesn't sell as a comic.

G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS: Would seem like a no-brainer -- except, they keep changing the titles and adding mini's and more series, and then mixing them, and a pox upon them. Order one copy for the one guy who subscribes.

STAR TREK and DR. WHO: Ditto, what I just said above. A single, well done title I could build upon, this bait and switch tactic is just utterly maddening. No copies.

GODZILLA and TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: Ditto. A single, on-time title would be great, not this mix and match stuff. Very annoying.

MAGIC THE GATHERING and DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: Again, would see to be great titles to have, but when you try to match inconsistent customers (people who show up once in a blue moon, demanding to get all the missing issues) and confusing and inconsistent production, it's such a problem that they are almost more trouble than they are worth.

Wow. I didn't know I was feeling this way, until I expressed it out loud. Anyway, this seems to be something that the licensed publishers have a problem with: a well-defined set of titles, consistently produced. They throw spin off after spin off, mini after mini, and confusing absolutely everyone. (Dynamite does this, as well, as does Boom. Dark Horse gets carried away with Star Wars.)

**********


IMAGE COMICS:

Image Comics are on a bit of a roll. Some well known authors, unique stories. Getting attention. At first, I was under ordering them because they looked like the same old same old. But they fooled me and I've been playing catch up ever since. It's also nice that they are keeping most of these in print.

Because of the consistency of vision, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt (the opposite of the way I feel about IDW above.)

PLANETOID. Once would have ordered 1, am ordering 5.

CREATOR OWNED HEROES. Once would have ordered 1, am ordering 8.

CARBON GREY: Ordered 1.

THE ACTIVITY T.P. Ordered.

DANCER; EPIC KILL; FATALE; MANHATTAN PROJECTS; SAGA; REBEL BLOOD; SECRET; THIEF OF THIEVES -- All these titles are big hits, as far as I'm concerned, selling up to a dozen each when a year ago I would have thought 1 or 2.

Go Image!

FATALE T.P. Ordered.

WALKING DEAD T.P. #16. Going to order 6 of these, which is about 3 more than I once would have ordered. And I'll no doubt have to reorder.

**********

MARVEL COMICS:

Like DC, lots of titles, but slightly more predictable.

The Avengers Vs. Marvel titles are settling in, down about a third from the start. Pretty typical.

Not much to say about Marvel. I pretty much know how many Daredevils and Incredible Hulks to order each month.

They are playing a bit of a dangerous game by doubling up many of their titles in one month. Some subscribers may not even notice consciously, but they may notice when it comes time to pay the bill.

Basically, this is a technique of getting more money from the customers they already have.

On the other hand, they do seem to have cut back a lot on extraneous titles -- minor characters and unnecessary mini series. At least, for the moment.

Well, that's it for the day. I got through the Premier section, which is usually about half of the job. But my brain is cheese, so I guess I'll finish tomorrow.

Dark Horse and DC orders.

This is the second of probably 4 posts today detailing my monthly orders from the Diamond Catalog.

Beware of wonk.

First, I load up copies of the last two months worth of comic orders to compare.

One final note: I have a chance to increase or decrease my orders about 3 weeks in advance for the Premier publishers, but I try to make my initial orders as accurate as I can.

Onward.


DARK HORSE COMICS:

Owned by my former boss, (29 years ago) Mike Richardson and based out of Portland. I always give them a little more benefit of the doubt for those reasons.

They have some licensed product, like Star Wars and Aliens and such that I always order. They have pretty good quality on the other material, even if often seems pretty "mid-list" (viable, but not crucial material). If I have to order "mid-list" Dark Horse is as good a place as any...

I usually order at least one comic to put out for sale, beyond subscribers, which doesn't sound like much, but I can afford to do this with only a few publishers...


THE MASSIVE: This science fiction title is the kind of title I'll take a chance on: It's written by Brian Wood, who has a good track record. Order what is a large number for my store. Qualify for a variant. (Most of the comic publishers offer variant cover art if you meet certain thresholds. I don't don't order extra to qualify, usually, but always order the variant if I do qualify.)

FATAMA: Done by indy icons, Gilbert Hernandez and Peter Bagge, order minimal because, as great as they are, they don't seem to sell in my store.

MIND MGMT: An indy, take a chance.

DARK HORSE PRESENTS: I've been ordering extras of this anthology title, because they seem to sell if I leave them out...Great creators, but...well....anthologies are a tough sell. And I know all these stories will collected. (Of course, that's true of almost all titles, nowadays.)

BUFFY: Order.

BUFFY Trade paperback. One of those titles that I'll sell more of the book, than the comic.

ALABASTER #3. Haven't sold any of the first, do I keep going?

B.P.R.D. Have my steady subscribers.

BALTIMORE: Steady few subscribers.

RAGEMOOR: Richard Corben art. Order.

THE STRAIN: Guillermo del Toro's story. Order.

THE RIVEN: Horror graphic novel. The kind of thing I can order if anyone wants. Pass.

SAVAGE SWORD: Much as I love R.E.H., subscribers only.

CONAN: Usual.

CONAN trade paperbacks: Already have a ton of Conan T.P.'s, which sell slowly. Will wait for a requests.

STAR WARS Titles: Have a steady subscriber base for these, about mid-range, and I always order extra to put out.

ORCHID #8. This many issues in, anyone who wants it has shown me.

RESIDENT ALIEN: Again, haven't sold a copy of the first issue. Do I keep going?

EMPOWERED Hardcover: Have all these in paperback, which is already quite a commitment. Wait for a request.

RESET #3: Peter Bagge again. Again, I haven't sold a copy of the first issue.

Some licensed material: figures,, cups, patches, that I simply can't sell. Pass. Some manga, for which I've become very selective. Wait for requests.

(A word on requests -- I try to always order what people request. Even if they don't come back, it at least shows interest...)


DC COMICS:

One of the big two. Between Marvel and DC, they probably account for 2/3rds of comic sales. It is simply the way the market has panned out.

Marvel and DC are also the most predictable in sales -- I can usually check my subscription lists, order that much, and order a few extra for the hot titles, a couple extra for the slow titles.

The #1's are where we have to take chances, but even here, there is usually some track record of the characters or the type of comic.

DC's New 52 are subscribers, plus, and I usually adjust them during the Final Order Cutoff. The "FOC." And yes, everyone makes that joke.

This month, DC is offering us a series of comics they call "Before Watchmen" starring the characters in the original Watchmen series.

This has always been a stand alone landmark for comics; the great Alan Moore wrote it, and it has sold continuously ever since it was released. Moore isn't happy about DC taking his characters and world and spinning off. But DC owns the rights, and....well, even if I wanted to stand for "creator rights" there is no way I can skip this series.

Question is -- how much do I order? How good will they be? How much interest will there be?

So I'm going to order somewhere between the few I'd normally order of a new series, and the many of the New 52 I ordered. Enough to make some sales, but not enough to get killed if they don't sell.

This is the gamble with comics. We comic store owners are the ultimate purchasers -- we usually don't get to return unsold copies...

DC is offering us a chance to order 25% more comics beyond a certain level for consignment.
Unfortunately, that number is awfully high for my store. (In the end, I didn't go for it.)

I'm going to skip these Before Watchmen titles (4) until I do the rest of the DC comics, to see if how they fit into the budget.



Have come back to this post, because the cat has plunked herself down on top of my order forms, rendering them unavailable for the moment.



Anyway, DC is relatively easy to do, but time-consuming because of the sheer number of titles; the 52, plus graphic novels, plus Vertigo titles. The New 52 have definately settled into lower numbers, but they gave such a good initial boost, that even these numbers are relatively good.

The ability to return some of them, has been a real bonus. There are 5 new titles that qualify for consignment, and I'm ordering pretty big numbers.

LATER: O.K. made a mistake. I thought I was adding up retail and I was adding up wholesale, so it was way higher than I thought I was ordering. Had to go back and redo everything.

All because of new change they've made to the site. I can't check my individual publisher totals as I go along, as far as I can tell. There must be a way, but I haven't found it. Damn changes.

I'm going to post this, and take a break.

This is taking longer than usual.

Doing my monthly orders.

Warning: This is a process oriented post.

I'm going to write two or three blogs in the course of the day, detailing my monthly orders from Diamond. I get comics, cards, games, toys and lots of other items from my main supplier; orders due on the 4th Thursday of every month. I usually try to finish the weekend before.

This order used to take at least 2 days. Roughly 5.5 hours on one day, and 5.5 on the next. I couldn't get much past 5 hours, because my brain would turn to cheese. Then another half day copying and mailing the whole thing.

Now I seem to be able to get it done in one day. Just click and send. I go directly to the computer now, instead of doing a hard copy. Occasionally, I make mistakes this way, but not enough to overcome the convenience.

Ready?

The first item on the order is the hard copy Previews itself. Back when the Previews was smaller and cheaper, I used to give it away to anyone who was interested. As it got bigger and more expensive, I would give it away to anyone who used it on a regular basis. Then I sold it for my cost to anyone who was interested.

Now? I have two or three lingering subscriptions, who don't use the book enough. I get one or two extra to put out (and rarely sell them.) The whole thing just got to be too big and too unwieldy.

Before I start the actual orders, I should make a few things clear.

The "Front" of the catalog is filled with the "Premier" publishers. As a result of the Distributor Wars in the late 90's, the industry ended up with one real distributor. Diamond won the wars by signing exclusives with the biggest publishers of the day: Dark Horse, Image, DC, and Marvel.

As a result, these publishers, joined later by a few other publishers, are in the front of the catalog.

Not coincidentally, these few publishers account for 80% of comic sales. They take up the first 220 pages of the 450 page catalog. (Marvel has a separate catalog inserted, so if that was included, the premier publishers would take up well over half the catalog.)

All the other comic publishers take up the next 120 pages. (I counted roughly 85 other publishers.)

"Books" take up 15 pages.
"Calendars" take up 4 pages. (In this catalog.)
"Cards" take up 8 pages.
"T-Shirts" take up 11 pages.
"Toys" take up 58 pages.
"Games" take up 8 pages.
"DVDS" take up 6 pages.

(Ads make the count inexact.)

Next Post: I start with Dark Horse comics...

It was simpler when we lived in trees and leopards ate us.

So I says to Linda this morning on the way to the movie Chimpanzee.

"How long will it take for Dad to accuse us of throwing away all his valuable things?"

Sure enough, Linda went over tonight and he said, "You threw away thousands of dollars worth of stuff that I had in plastic bags along the wall."

First of all, I didn't throw anything away that wasn't certifiable trash.

Secondly, when he moved in there he had nothing of value and there was no way for him to have accumulated anything.

Third, Why the hell am I explaining myself? Arrgghhh!

Other than that, he seems to be settling in.

Moving Dad.

The following are the two e-mails I wrote to my older brother, Mike, and my two younger sisters, Betsy and Susie. It's about yesterdays experience of moving my Dad from independent living to 'residential' care. He has the hoarder syndrome, so we knew it was going to be tough:


Hey, Sibs,

Today has been quite the experience.

It started off a little rocky. Our first idea was to get Dad out of there while we were moving. Linda took him to say "goodbye" to the doctors, and then tried to run errands, but he kept demanding to go back for lunch.

She called me from Bend Villa and said they had started moving him. I showed up, and what they had done was taken the heavy stuff, and pretty much piled everything else on the floor. Dad was off eating lunch, not knowing what was in store for him.

I tell you, I was almost paralyzed by the sight. (Called my brother and said, "You owe me big time, buddy boy!") Eventually, I got started. I started putting anything of written material that was in the slightest bit pertinent flat in a box. All the knicknacks in another, all the miscellany in another box, folding clothing in another. Stacked all the books. Had barely gotten started before I got word that Dad was on his way, but had been waylaid to the new apartment.

By the time I got there, it was complete rejection of the new apartment. He was more or less circling the hallways in the new section with a mulish look in his face. So Linda and I stood in front of him and tried to make clear to him that it was "Happening" and that it was "Already decided."

Very emotional moment, altogether. Finally got through to him. Linda was in tears, and I was in near tears. He kept saying he "hadn't asked for it." He kept wanting to go back to "his" room.

So we blamed Mike. Heh.

It was too much for Linda, who suddenly announced, "I'm going to get my nails done!"

Anyway, I went back to trying to clear the main room and his bedroom of everything but clothes. I was in the midst when he suddenly showed up. oh,oh. I was a little shocked, but we had all decided that we didn't want him feeling imprisoned. (Made a big show of exchanging keys.) I think he saw that it was all over, and he went back to his new room. Yeah.

So I continued on for a few more hours, trying to get things straight, trying not to lose anything. (At one point, Dad even decided to purge his closet of some clothes -- we had brought everything over that was on hooks. His idea.)

Brought the books and magazines in, and had another dicey moment as he wanted to interfere with everything. I threw up my hands and sat on his couch.

After talking to him for awhile, I started back and he didn't stop me. Brought all the papers, all the books, all the fixtures, set up all the tables around his room. Another dicey moment when he wanted his T.V. remote control, but Linda had returned by then and went and got it.

By then it was 4:00 and I was so tired I was dropping things and running into things, so I made two more trips, sat down and asked if I could get a cup of juice or something. Linda, Dad and I sat companionably sipping orange juice, and he started looking forward to dinner.

The room is really nice. Bigger, and of course more tidy. A few pictures and correct arrangement of the furniture made it feel more like an idealized version of Dad's room. If it stays this nice, I'll be much much more interested in visiting him.

I had done everything but the kitchen, pretty much. Some clothes still in the bedroom. Linda went back tonight and got his kitchen and bathroom stuff transferred. He had eaten in the new cafeteria "which is closer!" Dad told Linda that he thought the move had been a good idea!

We credited Mike. Heh.

So we'll see how he feel tomorrow. I'm sure there are some difficult moments, yet, while he re-orients, but so far, so good.

Love,

Dunc and Linda.

(Linda objects to me saying she had abandoned me. She had always said she was leaving for her nails, by gum. But that doesn't keep me from teasing her about it. I saw that look of panic in her eyes!)

Linda says she'll send pictures when she can.

So...I found, I'm guessing, about 25 hearing aid batteries (which he is always running out of), toothpicks everywhere, coupons he could never use, five or six pairs of scissors, and huge amounts of blank scraps of paper. Some of the paper was written on, which would require the Rosetta stone to decipher. I put them all in the box. Linda found 15 toothpaste caps.

The paper trail was interesting. I knew that things had meaning to him: an article about Peter Graves, a Tarzan who had come from Portland, stuff that would look like junk to others. (I've been in the newspaper a lot! He had multiple copies). Not just one picture of you guys, but dozens of the same pictures. Lots of note cards --some which were actually written on, others that were blank. Where does he get those?

All I can think is that he is picking stuff up free in the lounges.

Oh, and the first thing he asked for in his new room were his "wheels. "I have four!" he exclaimed. The nurse had asked me if we could ditch two or three of the walkers, earlier, but we decided since his "wheels" were what he wanted most, we'd better not mess with them.

"I think he uses them to negotiate his room," I told her. "Props himself up going from one to the other."

"Yeah, but if he had only one, he could negotiate much easier.!"

Silly nurse.

Why the change?

Damn Blogger.  Making changes that I'll be damned if I can see are any improvement.  In fact, the thing adds steps and gives me nothing in return that I can see.

For instance....How do I know if there are any comments about a blog post?



Later:  after experimenting, it turns out if I press the "close" button, it goes to a part of the site where I can then go to comments, which I can then click to see if there are any comments.  (At least two extra steps...)

Real intuitive.  Press "close."  ?????

There seems to be no easy step back to the original blog.

Why do they insist on messing with things?

I suppose you readers don't see anything different, but it bugs me.

They recently made some changes in the Diamond site, and I've so far identified exactly one thing that seems to be an improvement, and a dozen things that seem to have added steps.

It's probably got some capabilities that I simply don't use.   Arrggghh.

Trying to get a sense of the local economy.

I'm having a hard time getting a sense of the local economy. The tone of news coverage seems somewhat optimistic, but then it always is, especially in the spring.

Still, it's hard the ignore the real news, headlines and opinions aside. Tetherow lots going to default, Pronghorn asking for yet another extension, bank robberies every other week.

I'm noticing that a lot of the businesses that opened in the first years of the bust, are beginning to fold. They were probably a little too optimistic about Bend.

I've always said, my own business seems to be unconnected to the local and national economy, usually, except for extreme situations like the Great Recession. Once we absorbed that blow, it's been back to negotiating our own path through the usual muddy trails. I added two new product lines (new books and boardgames) at the very tail end of the boom which I continued to build during the bust, and the store is now benefiting.

For the first time in years, I'm not trying to add inventory. Which helps the bottom line.

My overall impression about the local economy is that the downturn is still being managed. The powers that be don't want too many houses, too many commercial buildings, going into default all at the same time.

And shadow inventory is totally underestimated, in my opinion. Not just the houses that are in trouble, but all the houses that are underwater that would be immediately placed on the market if pricing recovers.

So despite all the usual real estate buzz about things getting better, I think we're still in a trough and will be for a long time to come.

I'm trying not to be a perma bear, but it's hard to overlook the damage done.

And yet, I'm getting the tourists in my store, and they seem to be spending money. So my guess is: If you are a business that is properly calibrated to deal with the real economy of Bend --Tourism-- then you can make some money in this town.

If you are a business that is calibrated for 'city' tastes that you think Bend is under-offering, you may be in for some disappointment. And obviously, if you are a business that depends on Bend's building trade returning with a bang, or with Bend growing dramatically, I think you are a little ahead of yourself.

Slow, steady growth.

To me, it's pointless to read or listen to interviews with politicians -- of any stripe. They have a ready made cache of cliches and they use them mercilessly with a smile.

Same with sports figures.

Unfortunately, the same with most business leaders. There is an unwillingness to say anything beyond the obvious. I used to read these interviews hoping for an insight, for something I didn't already know. I've given up.

Why there is such a journalistic industry of such interviews is beyond me. Probably just need to fill the space and air.

**********

Somebody wrote an article about why good restaurants become average over time.

Most of the reasons stated could just as easily be attributed to most businesses. The owner starts to slack off, the newness wears off, and so on.

Personally, I think business is more like a cycle -- sometimes everyone will think you're great, sometimes they'll dislike you. And sometimes for the exact same reasons. A truly long lived business just hangs in there, and it all evens out in the end.

**********

So now it's up to me to say something that isn't obvious?

Woke up really groggy this morning. I swear the next time I think of something that contradicts the common wisdom, I'll post it.

**********

The usual Spring push for a housing recovery is here.

All I'll say this time is -- the fact that it isn't dropping precipitously anymore is not the same thing as a recovery...

**********

Usually, my business has been at the center of whatever chaos was in my life. A constant struggle to make it work.

So it's sort of strange to have the business working finally at a nice even level, and the chaos being in other parts of my life. (Not that I have that much chaos -- I'm lucky right now that things are going well. Knock wood.)

There are times of rapid growth, times of rapid decline, times of stagnation, and times like now where the business is making incremental improvements, month to month, and that is the best situation to be in. Rapid growth would seem to be even better -- except there is always a price to pay. Give me slow, steady growth any day.

Nothing is lost, everything is lost.

There is a singer I liked way back in the '60's that seemed to drop from sight. Eric Andersen. A few years ago, I looked him up online, but either there wasn't much there yet or my google powers were weak.

Anyway, I tried again last night. (Levon Helm to Rick Danko to Eric Andersen.)

This time, there were a ton of video's on Youtube, and I spent the evening listening to tracks.

I wonder if some folks won't have a career revival. I mean, none of the video's had more than 20 or 30k worth of hits, and most had much less. But there were a number of comments like mine from people re-finding Eric Andersen.

(It happened in a very small way with my books, which by now have been so long out of print that the likelihood of tripping over them in a bookstore was slim. Instead, there's hundreds of listings online. People have e-pirated the books, but I've let that go.)

So nothing is lost.

On the other hand, there is so much material at there that everything is lost -- at least, the way a drop of water is lost in an ocean. But at least you can find the drop of water if you're looking for it.

**********

Woke up this morning and Linda was marking up my book.

"I hope you don't mind my marking up your book so much."

"No. I'm glad you're doing it."

I really don't seem to take offense at critique nowadays -- I remember how hard it was to take at the first of my writing career, but now I just appreciate the help. There is a point earlier in the process where it could discourage me from continuing, but not this far along.

Even if I disagree with a correction, I can often use the input to spark something else. It's something to work off of.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for all the critiques, so I'm going to just commit to the second book for awhile.

**********

My Dad is being moved into a higher level of care, which means moving him physically from his room to another.

I've mentioned that he's a Hoarder. All he can hoard these days is paper; some clothing; some knickknacks here and there and so on.

But while looking for his lost keys last night it occurred to me that the Movers we hire to transfer him may want to ask for hazard pay.

The question is -- do I buy him a new table or bookcase? He's got a cardboard box as a table, and his couch is completely covered in books and magazines.

But even if I do, will he use them? Won't we probably just be in the same place?

If we clean and organize, I know from past experience it will look exactly the same in another few months. So just transferring everything exactly the way it is, mess and all, might be easier for him.

Except, I know it won't. He'll still lose things in transition and be certain that he was robbed. Hoarding and dementia are a bad combination.

It's probably a no win situation.

It's all HIS fault...

Top 5 U.S.A. Today news stories:

1.) "Agents at Columbia brothel bragged about Obama duties."

I blame Obama.

2.) "Alabama's crystal BCS trophy shattered in accident."

I blame Obama.

3.) "Satellite captures giant eruption from sun today."

I blame Obama.

4.) "Discovery lands after saluting nation's capital."

I blame Obama.

5.) "Michigan lottery winner charged with welfare fraud."

I blame Obama.


Every time a news story comes up, I turn to Linda and say, "I blame Obama."

I so wanted to make that joke when we were looking at the magazines at the checkstand at Safeway. Oprah and Kardashian and Brangelina.

"I blame Obama."

But I was pretty sure everyone in line would assume I meant it...sigh.

What is normal to others...

All these hospital and retirement home visits, shopping trips, restaurants, etc. have shown me that my agoraphobia is at bay.

A couple of times I've looked around at a crowd and marveled that I wasn't feeling even a twinge in situations that once would have sent me tight-lipped to the outdoors.

I still don't totally trust it -- but it's a virtuous cycle; the more relaxed I am, the more relaxed I get.

I'm still somewhat of a socially awkward penguin, especially for a guy my age. I'm just not in the practice of dealing with lots of people, except in my store, of course, but that's my territory. And internally, I think it must still be difficult based on how tired I get.

But how wonderful that I can finally enjoy a restaurant or other social areas -- at a time when I can more finally afford restaurants and trips and other such areas.

**********

Monday moops.

When did Game of Thrones become a half hour show?

Anyway, that's the way it feels. It's so engaging, that the hour just whizzes by. I almost never rewatch a show, but with GOT's I may make an exception.

**********

Had a terrific weekend at the store. Didn't miss having a festival at all. Maybe N.W. Crossing would like some more of our events?

Go ahead and poach, I say.

**********

The tax district downtown is up for another vote.

It's probably very safe, if from nothing else, from inertia.

Hopefully, the mini-rebellion last year has woken them up to the fact that endless festivals are not and endless good.

**********

Books are saved!

There is a vast baboon market, just waiting to be tapped.

Wait. What if the little bastards prefer e-books? You know what, I bet the little bastards do prefer e-books....

**********

I'm trying hard to work up sympathy for the book publishers. After all, I need them to survive.

But damn if I don't think they are partly responsible for the situation they're in. The helped facilitate Amazon's rise. So now they get to deal with the consequences.

**********

Annoyingly -- I've for years agitated for card companies to be more careful about who they sell to.

So, when Panini actually does it, I find myself hoist on my own petard. They want so much documentation that I'm a real store, that I actually didn't follow through.

With the sudden emergence of Jeremy Lin, I decided I probably wanted to get basketball cards, after all. My wholesaler actually followed through for me, but I haven't heard back.

**********

Getting an unexpected visit from one of Linda's nieces.

I'm trying to tell myself that sometime in the not too distant future, I'm probably going to want to be able to drop in on relatives and friends around the country while traveling.

What's fair for the goose.

**********

I am unbelievably lazy. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

**********

Sunday splat.

What? The Titanic was a real event? It wasn't just a movie?

Heh.

**********

I've been reading some old Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe) mysteries.

One, written in 1960, is set in an ultra-rich, ultra-fancy penthouse.

Get this. It had "stainless steel appliances!" What's more, it had "marble countertops!" "Carpet covered, secret doors!" (O.K. Maybe that last hasn't happened.)

Kind of interesting that what was considered ultra fancy in 1960 is now in every McMansion in America.

As Nero Wolfe would say: "Pfui."

**********

The picture of the Egyptian blue hippo ("a gift shop favorite") in the Bulletin today brought back memories. We got that exact figure in the gift shop on one of our visits back east when I was a kid. My room also had a nice print of cave art horses.

Brings back the nostalgia.

Wonder whatever happened to those?

I'll bet both are available online.

**********

Instead of that nostalgic decor, I'm dealing with four signed and numbered prints that we pulled out of the family storage unit. (Apparently, Mom's father collected prints.)

Looking them up, they are all name artists, and in fact, in all four cases I was able to find references to the exact same prints. The artists are: Rockwell Kent, Lawrence Beall Smith, Fred Morgan, and J. Chatwood Burton. They are early 20th century.

None of them are worth very much -- especially if they had to be auctioned off. In fact, if I go ahead and reframe them, that might be more than they're worth. Just goes to show, just because something is nearly a hundred years old doesn't mean it's worth anything.

Then again, they are almost a hundred years old...

They are nice and charming, and I think I'm going to frame them and display them.

**********

I had bad dreams last night. The usual ostracism dreams that I seem to always get.

(Linda on the other hand always has "hero" dreams where she saves people, especially children.)

I think the nightmares came from a couple of Netflix movies: "Devil's Playground," a zombie movie; and "The Lazarus Project" a freaky (what is real and what is imagined?) movie.

"Also "Cabin in the Woods," Linda says, when I tell her about my bad dreams.

So what did we go and do yesterday? We rented a cabin in the woods for the 29th anniversary of our first date. Up on the McKenzie -- far enough away that it's not local, but only an hour and half drive.

We drove there yesterday, just to look around. Had hot dogs at 'Reservoir Dawgs' (yep, he had the whole motif going, but I told he he was missing a bet not wearing a black suit and tie.)

It was a beautiful, lazy day. Few other tourists, mostly locals. Drove up and circled Blue Reservoir, and just sort of relaxed.

**********

Linda's back has almost returned to normal. It took two weeks, or so. I'm very thankful that my little love-bump that sent her sprawling didn't do any lasting harm. I've noticed that I do that, without being aware, kind of bump up against her. Did it twice on the trip yesterday and pointed it out each time. I don't think I even knew I was doing that.

**********

Dad has decided that he's got cancer and he's going to die in two weeks anyway and he didn't go to his doctor coffee klatch, nor does he want to take his pills.

The pills are antibiotics, because he ended up in the hospital with an infection. He somehow thinks they are vitamin pills and "useless." Dad is profoundly deaf, and only seems to understand what he wants to understand.

So a couple of days ago, he changed his self-diagnosis. "I think it's the prunes," he says. "The prunes have turned on me...."

So there you have it: It's either cancer ....or it's the damn prunes.


**********

One thing that would stop me from trying to run a 'full-service' new independent bookstore would be the necessity to buy all the "best-sellers."

It is a little unexpected, but I purposely avoid all best-seller lists. I've stuck with the tried and true, mostly. Books that have a history; cult books, favorites, classics, quirky.

Oh, I sold plenty of Hunger Games and Game of Thrones -- I ain't totally crazy -- but I've avoided the latest Nora Roberts or Tom Clancy.

So why give up the luxury of carrying books I want to carry, versus books I feel like I have to carry because they are on some list somewhere?

**********

I wonder how many kittens are being named Katniss, even as we speak?

**********

You KNOW where I am.

The visit from my family (coordinating all the siblings) and Dad's visits to the clinic and hospital, have finally forced me to carry my cellphone everywhere.

I've told my guys at the store to start calling the cellphone, instead of the home phone.

Yesterday, Linda wanted to go see a movie and I brought out my phone and looked up the times at the theaters.

"Wow. That's really cool." Linda says.

So I guess I've finally joined the modern world. Now if I commit a major crime, the government will be able to track me. Come to think of it, the government can track me anyway....

By the way, there's been talk of eliminating paper money. Do they have any concept of what an uproar that will cause all the people who are trying to live off the grid? For innocent and for guilty and for conspiracy minded reasons?

Anyway, I predict that won't go down without a firestorm of protest.

Saturday suds.

Saw "Cabin in the Woods", of which the less I say, the better for you guys. Myself -- I purposely avoided all trailers and reviews, because my mind can't help but start puzzling them out.

It's one of those films you laugh at, and then look around to make sure no one thinks you're weird for laughing. Gory, and tongue in cheek. It just keeps ramping up.

There is one scene, near the end, which I can't wait to freeze frame at home someday so I can count all the ways of weird mayhem therein contained in one scene.

**********

Finally saw "Green Lantern", and I plead guilty to the same fault of not going to see it in the theater that I accuse other of: -- how can we expect more of these movies to be made if we don't go see them?

It was fun, but I can kind of see why it wasn't a big hit. Ironically, it was one of those rare films that the fanboys liked, because it was fairly true to the comic, but the public didn't. Usually it seems like it's the other way around.

I liked the Science-fiction elements, and would love to see a movie someday that utilizes those kinds of special effects for a galactic empire story.

**********

I'm happy for Joss Whedon, (Cabin in the Woods writer/producer and Avengers writer/director) and maybe he'll get a few more greenlights from here on out, and maybe the Suits won't be in such a hurry to cancel him.

I spent several years trying to convince people that Buffy was smart, not dumb. When Firefly came out, I couldn't seem to find anyone watching the first run. When Serenity came out, it seemed like every likely person I talked to wasn't going.

These became 'cult' classics after their first runs, but even adding these shows to Buffy wasn't a clincher. Dollhouse was a bit of dud. I liked parts of it, but...

Anyway, now I can point to a couple of other accomplishments by Whedon, instead of the eye-rolling I used to get (and still get) about Buffy and Angel.

**********

I dreamed all night about this blockwide building that I was negotiating to buy or lease to put in a giant bookstore. It just go bigger and junkier as the night went on. The owner was slippery and wouldn't give me a firm answer.

Linda says, "You want the perfect bookstore and there isn't such a thing."

**********

I'll tell you what. If I was ever interested in having a full-line new independent bookstore, the recent actions by the DOJ to let Amazon loose on prices would be enough to change my mind. I hope everyone enjoys those lower prices while the infrastructure is still intact, because I can't see the middle holding.

**********

I really liked this line from local blogger 'Bend or Bust':

"Two of the richest companies in the world (Apple and Facebook) needed tax breaks from one of the poorest counties in Oregon in order to build there."

Perfectly stated.

Well almost perfect. I would have said "wanted" tax breaks; "begged" or "held hostage" or "demanded" or ... well, you get the gist.

Then again, "needed" is more ironic.

**********

A suggestion for the 'local businessmen' who want the Parks and Rec to build a 12 hole golf course for the public.

I'm betting one of the current 30 golf courses would be more than happy to sell out to you...

**********

"The Secret World Arrietty" is coming out on DVD.

When I watched this in the theater, I kept thinking my Mom would have loved it. It was the best depiction of a garden I've ever seen -- live or cartoon. She would have objected going to a cartoon, but I might have been able to convince her because it was based on a well-loved children's book we had in the house: The Borrowers.

It's from Studio Ghibli, and while it isn't Miyazaki, it was so Miyazaki-like as to make little difference.

Opportunities to stress out some more.

If you take what visitors say at face value, downtown Bend really does impress them. That really can't be denied. Whether what they see is what they would get if they actually moved to Bend, is a whole nother thing.

But superficially, at least, Bend is very attractive to them.

I found it interesting that the Rademacher house was precluded from renting out to a clothing store, unless they had tons of experience and credit references. Well, clothing stores are only the most ubiquitous of downtown stores; but there are obviously several other types of businesses that we seem to have a surfeit of; high end restaurants would be another.

The rents are too high for anyone to really make money, I think. But I think the commercial real estate may finally be at a bit of a tipping point. I could possibly buy a building that wouldn't cost all that much more per foot than renting the same space would cost. Even at the beginning. The big payoffs would come further down the road, of course, because the rents are bound to keep going up over the years, and I'd be locked into a price.

I know how I would do it. What I would do. I'm pretty sure I could succeed.

However, what do I need the stress for? Why should I gamble?

I know from the experience of opening 5 stores and closing 3 stores, that it would cost more, take longer, and be incredibly stressful. I'd be a stress puppy for months, if not years.

On the other hand, my downtown store is finally functioning the way I've always wanted it to function. I should probably just take my winnings and go home, so to speak.

It's tempting, but I'm trying to focus on the consequences -- even if I succeeded. That kind of challenge used to really get my juices flowing -- but now I just remember how tiring it all was.

If I was younger, if I was more technically adept, if I had a bit more wiggle room financially, I'd be more likely to try. One of these days, the perfect opportunity may come along. But until then, I think I'm better off sitting tight.

Thursday thunks. (was Wed. wats.)

Woman comes in with an umbrella, shakes it out all over my books. I look at her incredulously, and take a towel and quietly try to wipe up the drops.

"Wow. I haven't see an umbrella in a long time," I said. "It rains all of 8 inches a year around here."

"The hotel had them..." she said.

**********

I can sell the Weird Oregon book all day long, but no one wants the Weird California book.

It's not because they aren't weird...

**********

As I thought, I have no willpower whatsoever in the face of selling candy in my store. I'm slowly but surely eating all the Turkish Taffy.

**********

Speaking of candy. My brother left a huge pile of Rex Stout 'Nero Wolfe' mysteries, and I've been ah, hem, wolfing them down. Short books, pithy. What's most dated about them isn't that everyone wears hats and calls each other "Mr." and "Mrs." and uses phone booths. What's most dated is the treatment of women, who usually fall into the "Madonna or the Whore" category. Such a "frail" species, who must be taken care of. It's kind of weird, like a species once existed on this earth that we men used to take care of who has disappeared.

***********

I was talking with a customer about George R.R. Martin's tendency to kill off major characters, and I said, "Yeah, and he doesn't just kill them in glorious battle -- he has to kill them or maim them in some humiliating way...."

Hey, wait a minute. I've read these books! They're better written than the Gor books, but...

**********

Linda's back is slowly getting better. She went to a chiropractor. I grew up in a doctor's family and 'chiropractor' was a dirty word. Never been to one, never will. (It was funny -- we were talking about it at Bend Memorial Clinic while dealing with Dad -- but we talked in whispers.)

But Linda wanted to go. He did a scan of her back and told her it was in her muscles and nerves, and would slowly get better on its own.

Color me officially impressed. (I'd been telling her the same thing --- being a doctor's son and all makes me such and expert and all.)

**********

Saw some N.C. Wyeth art on a site, and tried to order some of his illustrated books. (King Arthur wasn't available??!!) Anyway, I figure his artwork was at least as responsible for my life turn into fantasy as J.R.R. Tolkien was. (That and historical novels by Harold Lamb and Mary Renault.) In other words, I was primed. Tolkien and R.E. Howard were inevitable.

**********

I think I might be completely -- so far --- utterly uninterested in J.K. Rowlings adult novel.