Big Slam to Best Buy or is it Now 'Try to Buy?'

Last night my son's went in search of a gift at Best Buy. They had done their research online and the company's website showed what they wanted to buy was "available at the store." Immediately upon walking into the store they were greeted not with, "Can I help you?" But rather "Do you use cable or satellite?" Of course they told the person what they wanted, a Kindle and they were not directed to the location in the store but besieged with more questions of their viewing habits.

I don't think this is the way to treat a customer who is clearly intending on spending cash at the store right now. But wait there's more!

Upon finding the area of the store where the Kindles were, right opposite the TVs, they informed a sales person in this section of what they wanted. He didn't know anything about Kindles and tried to up sale them to something else. But my sons persisted and he went to ask someone else only to return and treated them again as if it was the first time he saw them. He left once more and never returned to help them but did help another victim. But wait there's more!

Frustrated they tried to get help from the TV salesperson who declined to help but said he would get someone in that department. Thirty minutes later they left without a Kindle.

Do you think this is an isolated incident? I don't think so. Read this from Forbes on why this writer thinks Best Buy will be out of business sooner rather than later.

So I am slamming Best Buy and declaring them 'Try to Buy'. Try to Buy had a willing customer in the brick and mortar store, their most costly venue for retail products, in the store cash and desire to leave with a Kindle in hand and let them leave with nothing but a bad taste to return ever. The sale by the way did go through and the winner this time was Amazon.com. Go figure!

Slam Best Buy and I declare their new name to be 'Try to Buy'.

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Side note unrelated: I like the free use graphics from Clker.com. Try them out and support them via their ads etc. There are nice graphics here and an amazing selection. Rave to Clker.com.

Rave For History Buffs - Hyperlinked History - A Multifaceted Journey Through Time

I'm giving a shout out for Dan Messer's new book,

Hyperlinked History - A Multifaceted Journey Through Time

I have yet to read it but I don't yet own an eReader and Amazon has not released a Linux version yet. But I have seen some of his videos he has shot in the same genre and they are quite good and interesting. Dan Messer is quite the creative man. He is the catalyst behind several blogs and a podcast from the library he works in.

Here is a non-inclusive lists of sites and stuff Dan is involved in or the creator of its entirety.

Scoop It - Public Library Circulation

Not All Bits

Hyperlinked History - the video versions

Podcasting | Book Talk

Friends of the Queen Creek Library

And this is just the tip of the iceberg for this talented man. Dan is creative in everything he does, music, writing, art or simply helping people find what they need in the Library. He truly loves what he does for a living a what he packs into the rest of his life.

Take a chance and buy the ebook. I know I will even if I have to read it in Windows. :)

Blatant Advertising

Yes that is all this post is about. I know many of my friends shop through Amazon. I am an Affiliate and my family can sure use a boost. Do you love to cook? This is a time of year where the kitchen table draws the family. Here are a great selection of cookbooks at terrific fall pricing. Wow your friends and family this season.

Thank you for reading and participating on the Rave or Slam blog. Remember if you have something you want to Rave or Slam add it to the comments. You can even Slam this posting.

Rave For Literature

I was reading a post from a friend's site and it got me thinking. What are my favorite books that were written at least before the turn of the 21st century? But before I reveal my list, follow the link and read the article. Then come back and read my choices. I am going to limit the list to ten of my favorites and would certainly love to read about yours. Maybe I've read a few and maybe I will read some of them? I think this will be fun so click here if you have not yet and come back after reading the short article. I promise this will be one post you will enjoy if you have a love for books.

Since I am borrowing an image to illustrate my point and create space between my post and my list, I should give the credit where it came from.

My List in no particular order:

1. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 1877
2. Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.1973
3. On the Road - Jack Kerouac 1951
4. The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck 1931
5. Hawaii - James Michner 1959
6. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (trilogy) 1979
7. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1866
8. Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse 1927 German 1929 English
9. Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Preverse Mystery - Richard Brautigan 1975
10. Sick Puppy - Carl Hiaasen 2000 (I know it is technically just outside the 21st century depending on how you count. But this one sparked my interest in all of Hiaasen's works.)

This is my list of ten now let's see yours. The links are all from WIKIPEDIA since they have done such a marvelous job at describing each of these titles. Enjoy.

Rave For Kurt Vonnegut's 'Little Drops of Water'

Little Drops of Water was published in the short story works of 'Look at the Birdie' by Kurt Vonnegut. I really enjoyed reading the entire collection but I came upon this title one more time by accident recently.

A couple of weeks back I was having a conversation with a librarian about what to read next. She came up with an interesting list after I supplied some of my reading interests. Kurt Vonnegut was at the top of my list and has been for some time now. We talked about his work and others I liked and some titles she thought I might enjoy. Last week she sent me an email that the library was including his early work 'Mother Night' into the library's collection. I asked her to setup a hold for me and she did so right away.

I had completely forgotten all about that conversation's details when later, that very evening, I was browsing an old copy of Harper's looking to read an article about Bill Gates. To my surprise I find 'Little Drops of Water' by Kurt Vonnegut first and I of course read it again.

Reading this title the second time around I really feel I understood what Kurt was trying to say about friendships, relationships and men versus women. He makes it perfectly clear that Larry is egotistical and not really fit for a true relationship of any kind outside of himself. But it is this very selfish quality that becomes the target of a scorned lover. She becomes determined to have him despite his bad qualities. So the struggle to win starts with each believing they will be the victor. But are they really? Did each win? Did anyone win? Or is this the way he wants us to think. After all the story starts out describing a death of a friend whom never dies.

Little Drops of Water goes a long way in a few short pages describing the human condition of wanting to be connected to someone somehow. This is definitely a must read for anyone. Fan of Vonnegut or not there is something to learn here.

Look at the Birdie: Short Fiction
Little Drops of Water

OnebookAZ - Code Talker

I have a personal interest in this book since I'm married to a Navajo woman and her sister's father-in-law is a Code Talker. I believed at first that it was he whom the story was being told by. It wasn't until I was well into the book that Danny Akee was mentioned and I knew then he was not the narrator.

 Joseph Bruchac encourages the reader to turn pages not with gory details of war but rather the easy conversational tone he gives the story. You find yourself pulling for the hero of the story and his Marine buddies. I will not ruin the story for you since I consider this a must read for anyone interested in WWII history and the history of the Dine people and specifically the code talkers.

ONEBOOKAZ is a program for Arizona Libraries to encourage reading. There are programs for everyone in Libraries all around Arizona. Copies of this book and the adult featured book, 'Hopi Summer: Letters from Ethel to Maud by Carolyn O'Bagy Davis', are available for free while supplies last.

I'm happy and proud to have met Dan Akee and having shook his hand. I knew then what he had done but I have even more respect for him and all the others for their courage and bravery. I salute them all and say a prayer for those who did not return.

Update: I just learned of this terrific site with an article about Code Talkers in WWI. I never knew about this. It is a very interesting read and I will be following the links too. Enjoy.


Update: I have just learned of this memoir Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII and plan to read it. I wanted to get the news out for everyone else that are interested in these stories. I'm glad to see they are finally getting told and getting the recognition they deserve.