Archive
February 2, 2003
A few notes from the book business
The La Habra Borders is doing RPL's (Required Pull Lists?) this week, where we take lists of books around to the sections, pull those books off the shelf and ship them back to the warehouse, where they likely become remainders and get sold for 6-10 dollars on the bargain-book tables. I am in charge of the science and computer sections, so I started the computer RPL today. Guess what video game got pulled? America's Army. Reason cited? POOR SALES. Haha; take that, Mr Rumsfeld!
Over the past few months, we've had trouble with theft in the multimedia section (what music store doesn't), so we've moved the rap CD's —the prime target— back to the "cage", from which they are available only upon request. It makes me wonder if we couldn't do the same thing with the Sex and Erotica books. Only upon request. I say this because I've personally fielded two complainst over the last weekend about the Playboy and Penthouse magazines on display at the registers, and the Love and Intimacy
display by customer service. My own opinion regarding sexually explicit material is rather liberal, or some might say progressive
, but at the same time I agree that if most customers are uncomfortable with the displays, then some diplomatic compromises should be arranged.
Good Books
I've been meaning to review a couple of books that I read recently.
One author that I have absolutely fallen for is Qiu Xiaolong, a Shanghai-born mystery writer with a penchant for verse, both Chinese and Western. He has only written two books so far, Death of a Red Heroine and A Loyal Character Dancer; both are set in Shanghai and follow the investigation of police detective Chen Cao, a character that Qiu admits was modeled on what his life would have been like had he stayed in China. Death of a Red Heroine discusses the struggle between individual will and the will of the political system, with a twisty ending that even I didn't predict. His descriptions of places around Shanghai, like the Bund and the old French quarter, really made me nostalgic and introduced me to some sights that I will surely visit, should I find myself in Shanghai again.
In the second book, A Loyal Character Dancer, Qiu introduces an American investigator who accompanies inspector Chen on his adventures. The twist is that she is a woman, one more romantic mystery in Chen's already vague love life. I found the second book more awkwardly written in places, as Qiu tries to pass the American off as a Chinese studies major. She bumbles her way around Chinese culture and etiquette, only shining during interrogations and with the occasional historical reference. In an interview with Mystery News, Qiu Xiaolong mentions his next project, consisting of over twenty independent yet interrelated stories
, and another addition to the Chief Inspector Chen series. I can't wait!
The Winter 2003 issue of the Wilson Quarterly had two articles that caught my attention. First off, Normal Kutcher dissects the current debate in China surrounding plans to restore the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanming Yuan. I had assumed that the supporters of reconstruction would be hard-liners who want to erase China's colonial past, and rebuild what French and British troops destroyed in 1860 in retaliation for the death of several individuals sent to China to enforce what were seen as unfair trade treaties. Refreshingly, this was not the case. Instead, the main point of contention was whether preservation as a means of commemoration is a uniquely Western value. According to the article, supporters of reconstruction have begun to enunciate a new kind of nationslism, rooted in the principle that the Chinese past must be commemorated in a Chinese way
. The architecture of Rome and Greece employed mainly stone, while the tool of Chinese architecture was mainly wood. Building with a more flammable and rot-prone material meant that the Chinese have long had a tradition of tearing down and rebuilding their great works of architecture; thus, the proper way to educate people about Chinese history and restore the Yuanming Yuan to glory would be to rebuild it. It's a convincing argument, and one that I would have to think about. Given the communal groan that rises from the Oriental mailing list every time somebody posts an article about the tearing down of a hutong or the renovating of a temple, it would be interesting to toss this article their way.
Another good article is the one following the main theme of "Holy Wars" that focuses on Iran. Since this entry is taking forever to type, I will only say a few words about it. Afshin Molavi starts off with a historical survey of Islam in Iran, and likens the current state of the religion to Christianity just before the Reformation.
[Reformist academic] Aghajari's crime was to dispute the clergy's role as intercessors between man and God and to call for an Islamic Reformation.
I quote this because about a month ago I made this same analogy to Pat Lampman when he came into Borders to do some reading on Islam. I plan to forward this article to him.
On the Nightstand
Last but not least, I'll mention the books I'm reading right now. Having read most of Haruki Murakami's other books, I've begun on Sputnik Sweetheart. His themes are so alien and confusing, but it's almost comforting to read because they are so familiar to me now. Also on the bedside table, Ryan from Borders turned me onto Don DeLillo's White Noise, the book that coined the term "white noise". Buzzword coinage was the same reason I read Generation X by Douglas Coupland, and since Ryan has eclectic, alternative tastes in media, I figured it was worth a read. Very interesting so far.
A Note Regarding Last Post
Shirley wrote to inform me that her mom thinks the study I cited in my last entry was done in Taiwan, as the names are more likely to represent the distribution of names used on the island, rather than those on the mainland.
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February 4, 2003
Moral Obligations in Writing
Sputnik Sweetheart kept me up late, and I finished it. I picked out a passage that spoke to me as the author explaining his writing. It jives with what I noted about Murakami's books. In this section, the character Sumire has undegone some sort of life epiphany and written it down. After stating that Understanding is but the sum of our misunderstandings
, she goes on to talk about dreams and how it is impossible to know things completely. In this context:
Which explains my stance as a writer. I think—in a very ordinary way—and reach a point where, in a realm I cannot even give a name to, I conceive a dream, a sightless fetus called understanding, floating in the universal, overwhelming amniotic fluid of incomprehension. Which must be why my novels are absurdly long and up till now at least, never reach a proper conclusion. The technical, and moral, skills needed to maintain a supply line on that scale are beyond me.
Of course I'm not writing a novel here. I don't know what to call it. Just writing. I'm thinking aloud, so there's no need to wrap things up neatly. I have no moral obligations. I'm merely—hmm—thinking. I haven't done any real thinking for the longest time, and probably won't for the foreseeable future. But right now, at this very moment, I am thinking. And that's what I'm going to do until morning. Think.
Is that why Japanese novels are so annoyingly ambiguous? Because the authors have no moral obligations,
no Judeo-Christian guilt. No need to have the character be redeemed, or condemned. Just think.
Foreign Service Written Exam
I've been reviewing the Arco American Foreign Service Officer Exam Guide. It got awful reviews at Amazon, so I'll have to order the study guide from ETS. This will be my first time taking the test, so I'm not too serious about it. As a reminder to myself, the test is on April 12, 2003, and you can register for the FSWE at the State Department website.
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February 12, 2003
Even if you don't work at Borders, you can get a sense of what is going on within the stores and the company by reading a couple of different websites.
First off, the Yahoo BGP message board is a discussion forum for Borders shareholders and potential investors. At the same time, it is frequented by many Borders employees who air their comments on company policy and grievances regarding the treatment of Borders staff. Who is to say why, and I would not dare to toot my own horn, but I'm guessing that Borders employees tend to be educated and concerned about the social value of their work. From time to time, certain posts appear that give an insightful and critical behind-the-scenes looks at Borders, especially in light of its history as a socially conscious store.
Another valuable resource is a resource site for workers who want to unionize their Borders. It combines news about current Borders—and other stores'—union drives with a message board to provide moral support, real-time information, and customer service anecdotes for general amusement. It is even rumored that influential officers from the corporate office patrol the boards for potential unionization rumors. Personally, I've learned a lot from this site about unions and their role in regulating corporate mindlessness. It's important to be aware of this stuff.
For example, through the Borders Union site I learned about Category Management, a process in which several committees of large publishers decide which books will be stocked on shelves and displayed to the customers. This strategy was imported by now-Borders president Greg Josefowicz, who formerly oversaw its use in supermarkets when he was president of Jewel-Osco. Its critics claim that CatMan allows the larger publishers to push out smaller, more eclectic companies, thereby reducing the selection which Borders once prided itself on, and lowers the value of Borders to society.
I find myself agreeing with the critics. As much as the top executives at Borders may want to deny it, over the long term the price of BGP has fallen as more cost-cutting programs like CatMan have been introduced. Since I've worked for Borders, my opinion of them as a company has dropped substantially, and the only reason I'm still working there is my respect for the people at my store and their stallwartness, kindness and sensibility in the face Borders' corporate numbing down.
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February 19, 2003
Holiday Cheer
The La Habra Borders staff celebrated Christmas this past Sunday by going bowling! At about 6:30 PM, a group from the Yorba Linda Borders came to our store, got acquanted with the layout, and took over for about 3 hours while the on-duty folks car-pooled to Concourse Bowling Alley down by Fry's in Anaheim. I got to ride in Sal's truck; it's a huge thing, we fit six people very comfortably and partied-hardy to the bowling place. Once there, we settled down, chatting, chowing on pizza and ordering beer with the Christmas gift-wrapping tips—shameless!
After a while, we wandered over to the lanes and began to bowl. There were supposed to be prizes for the best game (Debby? Dave?); as for my group, our computer broke down so we just took turns bowling for pleasure. I didn't realize how fun bowling can be when you're not keeping score.
We just chilled until about 11 PM, when everybody started taking off. Pretty much everybody except our GM Ryan (out sick) put in an appearance. It was a great night out.
I put Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations on hold at Borders; I'm thinking of reading it as an accompaniment to my economics class. Or at least the important parts: it's a very thick book written in equally thick sixteenth century English. At the moment, I'm not reading anything fun. I finished White Noise, Don DeLilo's early 1980's book touching on themes of the media's saturation of daily life, and our fear of death. I'll write up something shortly, though it didn't make much of an impression. At work, Heather mentioned that she had read it in one of her classes in college; I wish I had been able to, perhaps I would have gotten more out of it.
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February 21, 2003
John takes a stab at explaining Dashan.
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February 26, 2003
Green Cards for Resident Foreigners
Through the Oriental Mailing list I heard that China is experimenting with granting green cards to foreigners.
Under the scheme, 46 expatriates in the Chinese capital yesterday became the first foreigners in the capital to get a new long-term residence permit for up to five years from the Beijing Public Security Bureau.
[snip]
China will promote the "green card" system nation-wide by the end of this year, with the move in Beijing as a prelude, Zhang said.
Apparently, there was a better article about green cards in the People's Daily, with the exciting piece of news that Beijing will soon open all its kindergartens and primary and middle schools to children of foreigners.
In many ways, I'm glad that my parents sent me to public school in Spain; it helped me to make friends in the neighborhood and taught me the language very well. Wouldn't that be exciting to learn Chinese naturally as a child? I'm still waiting for the school reform that doesn't pound down the nail that sticks out, though.
Honesty in Politics
"Everything up until now has been campaign mode, and people shouldn't judge him on that basis," said a senior advisor to Mr. Roh. "It is true that he has been making lots of contradictory comments. Like President Bush, he has a bit of a heart and mind problem, with each of them in a different place sometimes, and he must resolve that conflict."
If only American politicians would be so honest. Clearly, no candidate has an exact idea of what his actions will be until he is elected to office, and any extreme language used during election campaigns should be taken with a grain of salt. [ Link ]
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