Taking Action

End of an era

The Christian Science Monitor is the first national daily paper to switch to a Web-only daily format--its print edition will now be weekly.  The New York Times explains why that's significant.  I've often found myself impressed with the CS Monitor over the past few years...ironically, usually after reading its articles online.

Book talk success

The DC area is a great place to give a talk about Taking Action.  Half the people who showed up on Friday actually work for social and economic development agencies, and most of the rest volunteer for projects or are otherwise engaged in community development activities.  The result was a great discussion in which every person present said something insightful, and the conversation continued long after I tried to stop it and let everyone go home.

A farewell to Olsson's

Olsson's Books and Records reminded me more of a friend's entertainment collection than a store: it had a lot of interesting stuff, but because its small space was divided between books and music it rarely had the depth or breadth to include much of what I was looking for.  Its wares seemed to represent a few individuals' refined but idiosyncratic tastes, which in practical terms meant that I knew they could be relied on for the latest political manifestos but would rarely carry cutting-edge fiction and never rock.

Nevertheless, no matter how many times they disappointed me, I always went back and tried again, because I wanted to do my part in keeping independent music and book stores alive.  So it's with regret that I learned this month that they've shrugged off this mortal coil and joined the growing number of book and music stores in the sky.

Book talk on November 23

I will be discussing Taking Action in a Changing World at the Washington, DC Baha'i Center on November 23, 2008 at 11:00 am.

Qualities of (poor) leadership

I've been studying World War II this week.  It's interesting that the qualities which made the most aggressive leaders dangerous (in Hitler's case, for example, his quest for personal domination over his country and its armed forces, his belief in German ethnic superiority, and his craving for victory and territorial expansion) were precisely the qualities which accelerated their defeat.

Zune and DRM

The inevitable, most recent phase in the counterproductive, decade-long war between content producers and users has been digital rights management, or DRM, which in immediate and personal terms means that the catalog of songs I bought from Zune is now worthless on my new computer.  (Well, until I go through the same roundabout process I used to break through the DRM barriers of my iTunes songs, which is another story.)  Needless to say, all of my CDs still work fine, and I’ve gone back to exclusive CD purchases.  I can use my ripped CD tracks on Zune, iTunes, or any other device I want.

However, I know that people are going to keep buying songs from Microsoft and Apple for the same reason I temporarily succumbed: convenience.  So, since in a previous post I provided a link for anyone who wants to give Apple their money, here’s the link to download my last project, …And Back to Earth Again, from Zune.

Of course, my brilliant and life-changing essay, "All's Well That Ends," is only packaged with the CD.

Book talk on October 17

I will be discussing Taking Action and answering questions in Arlington, VA on Friday, October 17 at 7:30 pm.  Please RSVP for directions.

Good customer service pays for itself

Doing some random post-midnight Web browsing, I'm pleased to see that the online music store I helped start eleven years ago and sold long, long ago still has the same emphasis on customer service and now takes pride in recycling or reusing almost everything that comes into its facility.  I guarantee its emphasis on customer service is part of the reason why it's still around so many years later.

Website update

I've added my blog feed to the front page of my website (www.aaronemmel.com).  Feedburner has a new fan.

The New Yorker is the Mötley Crüe of American magazines

They use umlauts liberally and for no apparent reason.