Fragana @ #375, c'mon. There's a drought in New Mexico, doncha know?
Hmm. Chile-scented bubble bath, Serge?
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and don't nobody miss the Happy Thanksgiving Sidelight. I've never seen that before.
Target just opened its first two stores in Hawai'i, and customers seem well pleased. OTOH, any new store/restaurant in Hawai'i gets swamped at first, just because of the new & shiny aspect it brings to a jaded populace.
I was there trying to spend a gift cert yesterday and had a terrible time finding a pair of walking shorts that wasn't either blue denim (I own six pairs of those already, thanks), cargo (I don't like the style) or 1970s PGA Tour golfer (window-pane patterns). I ended up with one of the only two pairs of khaki flat-front shorts they had.
David G @ #337, Locks of Love says it will accept gray hair and resell it. See item #9.
Elliott @ #295, "soup-chunk" is my favorite neologism of the day.
Velma, you and Soren hang in there. As many of us know, the prep for that damned procedure is worse than the actual operation.
Carol Kimball @ #252, I own that book! Your grandparents? Ouch!
Er, considering the long-time symbol of the GOP, how is it that no one has thought of this alternative title for La Palin's book: Rogue Elephant?
Greg Ioannou @ #44, from Torstar's annual report for 2008:Our top performer in the year was Harlequin, which delivered 11% growth in reported earnings (15% excluding foreign exchange).Even including Harlequin, they lost $180M in 2008 after making 101M in 2007. That's a loss of $2.29 per share (I'm pretty sure the dollars are Canadian). They reduced the annual
This was the second year of growth in a row for Harlequin, reflecting the success of Harlequin’s strategy and execution. It is a terrific business and we remain optimistic about its prospects
despite the difficult global economy.
dividend from 74 cents to 37 cents per share.
Harlequin's revenue was $472.9 million in 2008, up $10.2 million from $462.7 million in 2007. Net was $72,411,000 up from $65,473,000 in 2007.
It looks like Harlequin is the only bright spot in the Torstar firmament (sorry; I couldn't resist), which makes this decision even more odd. The time to take risks with your best unit is not when it's the only one doing well, it's when all the others can pull their weight while you muck around with the cash cow.
Josh Jasper @ #40, "That's just lack of due diligence"
Beyond that, it's a lack of empathy. Does Harlequin have no one on staff who said "Wait a minute. What about our already-existent authors? Won't they rightfully feel a little devalued if we do this?"
Apologies to any HQ mid-level staffer who did say that and got overruled by a profit-hungry marketing "genius."
xeger @ #177, seeing that instantly took me back to 1973, walking the Ginza-equivalent in Yokosuka. I amused myself going into seven-story department stores filled with that kind of thing.
Stephanie @ #14, I was hedging because I was not (am not) sure whether Silhouette and Harlequin are two parts of a larger whole or whether they are separate publishing outfits. I figured the RWA members who didn't start with HQ started at Silhouette. I can't imagine too many independent publishers trying to beat those gorillas.
Considering that a huge hunk of the RWA's membership probably got its start writing for Harlequin, that's really gutsy.
Andrew @ #164, so are you part of the Crouch End Festival Chorus, or is your group just taking its role for the American tour?
Review of "The Kinks Choral Collection."
Serge @ #133, how 'bout a demented mantra?
O-o-o-o-o-MG!
OtterB @ #64, "Take the project that seems overwhelming as a whole and break the next steps down into smaller and smaller pieces"
That's the logic behind my local public radio station's small goals for each program ("$2000 during Fresh Air"). Otherwise the overall goal of $760,000 would just discourage the pitchers and the listeners.
SylvieG, we lost Tigger a year ago after she spent nearly 16 years with us. The grief has mostly dissipated, although every so often there's a reminder that brings back the loss.
So far we've had no new critter appear, but it seems likely that's what will happen. The last four or five animals who've lived with us did just that, either on the deck in the morning, at the place where Mom worked, or when my sister decided to give my Dad a puppy for his last year of life.
Don't let anyone tell you "it was just a dog, fer cryin' out loud."
David D-B @ #175, well, you're right; I assumed she took her husband's name at marriage, and I shouldn't have, since I don't know that for sure. I wish I knew the stats on name-changing after the ceremonies, but I don't. I wonder if anyone keeps track. It would be interesting from a sociologist's viewpoint.
Helen, It seems very odd to think "phew, seizure," but when the alternative is stroke, I guess that's the appropriate response.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 690 |
| 2008 | 673 |
| 2007 | 694 |
| 2006 | 460 |
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