Perhaps you know a hipster, or maybe a one in recovery. More likely, the hipster you know ( and maybe even love ) is still active in the community. For most practitioners of the art of being cooler than you, shirking their role would, despite all cues to the contrary, might deprive the world of another obscure blog entry–or drunken interpretative dance on open mic night.
While hipsters have been around for a long time, and in some form probably always will exist, the shelf life of an individual hipster is far shorter than their actual lifespan. Thankfully this gap only places the slightest of burdens upon society.
For while the hipster’s posturing continues long after anyone stops noticing, the more obvious point is that nearly no one ever did in the first place.
Mentioned eight weeks ago that I changed jobs, without revealing the name of the employer. That seemingly odd–to some, at least–omission affirms traces back to my consulting days.
When I started in tech, the sea of money awaiting professionals willing to jump ship seemed almost endless. It was a special time in both business and history, when dollars really did more than just trickle from above; they pelted the economy and many of its participants from every direction. Good times, indeed. Like all cycles, that one came to an end, though I have faith another boom will happen.
Even though jobs back then were plentiful, and there were far more employers looking for workers than the reverse, it actually was hard to find a position that was really better without dealing with a recruiter. Besides staying at the new job for at least 90 days ( the minimum tenure needed to collect their placement fee ), recruiters demanded some discretion. In practice that discretion really meant the following:
1) Tell no one at the current job you are looking for work.
2) When you get the new job, tell no one where you are going except your immediate family, until you have been there for a few months.
While the first rule was relevant in markets both good and bad, the second was much harder in practice. No third party agent guided this job change, but I’ve acted from the old advice once again without thought.
And thus explains the secrecy.
Every so often, a letter comes from an unexpected place. A Christmas card and thank you note from a reader in Malaysia, in this instance. Made the perfect bookend to my birthday and the kindle edition giveaway.
First kind Christmas and New Year tidings . . .
Then a handwritten thank-you note. And who doesn’t love those?
Speaking of the giveaway, the final number of The Last Track downloads: 11,560. Of that total, just over 11,000 went to US households, the remaining were bound for other countries. Downloads from the United Kingdom comprised the lion’s share of the international demand, but readers in Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, India, Brazil and Japan also grabbed copies as well.
Not a bad few days, indeed.
Thank you very much to everyone who helped get the word out about the promotion and a special thank you to those who downloaded The Last Track. And Natasha from Malaysia, of course, for such a nice note!
And next week, I go back to writhing in self-pity. Er, I mean, writing the sequel.
The Last Track giveaway on Amazon this week went very well. With a little more than 24 hours left, the book is ranked #4 in action/adventure and #2 in hard-boiled mysteries, down from a peak #1 position in both categories. For nearly four days, The Last Track remained in the top 100 of all free Kindle titles.
So that’s what a download count well in excess of 10,000 can do for rankings. Not too shabby. Was a nice treat on my birthday, especially after being so exhausted that I passed out on the couch at 6pm. Although there is one day left in the promotion, I’m OK with those numbers, so anything else that happens is gravy.
Based on the above results, the publisher decided on a new pricing strategy for the e-book version. Also, the paperback release is getting reset in another trim size and perhaps a new cover, though that won’t happen until sometime in April.
Anyway, if you’re reading this before February 15, 2013 at 8pm EST, by all means, grab a copy of The Last Track.
Quite a few things happened between the last post and today’s. First and most importantly, I got a new job. After seven years and a month as the tech office at the boarding school, it was time for a change.
No matter how often someone has changes jobs and deals with the last day emotions, until that door shutters behind you for the last time, what you’re really feeling about leaving that position–much less about the time you spent there—remains the big unknown. Especially this time.
So when the ninth graders delivered a handmade card they all signed to my office, I lost it. This was the first and only time a group of fourteen year-olds reduced me to tears. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised, since the day before the seniors almost succeeded with their own missive. Needless to say, it was moment I shall remember for a long time.
That being said, despite all the interviews and waiting to get the new place, after almost a month there, it was definitely worth the hurdles.
The publisher and I decided to try a new promotion technique, and so The Last Track is free on kindle for a short time. To say the least, I’m very pleased with the download numbers.
So please help yourself to a free copy.
During one of the quietest weeks of the box office season, The House at the End of the Street finished at number three against several other movies opening this weekend, though it deserved a far larger audience. Even a nearby pack of screaming babies ( seven separate babies at a horror film constitutes a pack ) couldn’t kill the mood of the theater.
For this horror film proves far smarter than the average genre offering by being far more effective at the moments where direction and pacing matters most in a movie. Also, the story felt fresh, as did the careful blend of recognizable and more obscure–yet properly cast–actors.
Usually I avoid PG-13 horror movies during their theatrical runs, since the rating often reflects a studio’s attempt to reach the widest possible audience, by making sure no teen in America is left behind. But in the process of toning down the movie to avoid the dreaded R stamp, the final product often loses the edge that might have resonated with more audience members in total. While I understand the logic, I wonder if the PG-13 rating can’t keep out babies, can the R rating really stop a motivated teen looking for a good scare? Survey says: Probably not.
In any case here’s what worked about The House at the End of the Street:
1) Story. Original enough that the audience appeared surprised by the plot twists several times.
2) Photography. It’s hard to do location shots in the woods and without making the audience wish the director stuck to a set or dirty alleyway. This film looks creepy instead of contrived.
3) Ending. Twisted enough, yet plausible given the narrative and characters development.
Verdict: DVD or matinee. Baby not required to have a good time.
I had planned to write a review of a great movie released nearly a month ago, posting the entry an hour or so after the first midnight showing shuttered, but tragic events in a theater Colorado that same night made any sentiment of ebullience and awe about the film seemed, well . . . ill-timed. Thus that post will appear later.
For now, time to shift gears with a comedy: The Campaign. No matter what one feels about government, politicians and the election process, this movie offers some honest laughs about a system that probably intends to be neither so funny nor broken, but in practice is really both.
What works about The Campaign:
1) The cast is solid and well placed. Will Ferrell shines as the archetype career politician – narcissistic, shallow and possessing the moral flexibility of an orphaned pimp. Zack G’s approachable delivery serves as the perfect counterpoint to Ferrell’s shyster ways.
2) With the Presidential election looming, it’s timely story, without being preachy. And even though some scenes rest on actual events from recent election seasons, it’s not necessary to recognize the factual basis to get the joke, or savor the caricature.
3) It’s definitely a comedy for adults. F-bombs abound.
Verdict: If you like well done comedies, The Campaign is worth seeing. Theater full price.