Get ready for the bookstore massacre! Have you been noticing your local bookstores closing? In a few years, hard copy ‘books’ will be the thing of the past. I’m sad to see bookstores disappearing. I guess the digital world is indeed taking over! Check out this article I found:

Get Read for the Bookstore Massacre
By Brett Arends

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Are we about to see bookstores closing across the country? I suspect so.

Look at the depressing proxy battle for what remains of Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS 15.36, +0.33, +2.20%) , the world’s largest chain of bookstores. You could hardly dominate an industry more than B&N has dominated the landscape of traditional bookstores. Yet its fortunes have fallen so far that management has hoisted the white flag and put it up for sale.

Barnes & Noble stock, which was flying high above $45 five years ago, has plummeted below $15. Wall Street’s view of its prospects is so dim that not even the news of a bid battle has set it alight. The only bright spot: The company’s e-book sales, which rocketed 51% last quarter.

(A vignette of a company in decline: Barnes & Noble’s annual filing shows that management and staff owns 5.5 million stock options, granted to them in previous years to give them an incentive to work harder and smarter. The options have an average exercise price of $20.19 — meaning most of them, if not all, are now seemingly worthless.)

digits: It’s the end of bookstores as we know them
MarketWatch Columnist Brett Arends tells the Digits show why bookstores may soon go the way of music retail stores, spurred by price cuts on e-book readers and sales of digital books.

As for the other giant of traditional bookstores: Borders Group Inc. (BGP 1.11, 0.00, 0.00%) stock has plummeted by as much as 95% from its peak. Indeed, Borders stock, at around $1.20, is now a fraction of the cost of a book.

Meanwhile, e-books have now reached that tedious cliché, the tipping point. Amazon.com Inc.’s latest Kindle e-book reader has sold out — weeks before it even started shipping. The new device is smaller, cheaper, and has a better screen.

Amazon (AMZN 124.86, +1.07, +0.86%) says it’s now selling more e-books than paper-based books — about 43 % more in the last quarter, including about 80% more in the final month.

It doesn’t end there.

Expect prices for e-book readers to start collapsing. How can Barnes & Noble still charge $149 for its Nook, or Borders $149 for the Kobo reader, when Amazon’s newer, better product sells for $139?

And, of course, it’s not just about e-book readers. People are also downloading electronic books onto their Apple (AAPL 243.13, +0.63, +0.26%) iPads, laptops, tablet computers, and cell phones. But e book readers are the key for serious readers. Their screens, unlike those on regular devices, emit no light into your eyes. So they are much better suited for reading.

While prices collapse, screens are getting better. The latest Kindles have the newest, improved version of “eInk” screens. (I’ve used one of these screens, and it’s a noticeable improvement.)

We already know how this story is going to end. We saw it with the cell phone and with the iPod. The devices and services get better and better until suddenly they go mainstream.

Three years ago, an e-book reader cost $400, offered a limited choice of books, and had a dark gray screen that wasn’t so easy on the eyes. Today they’re just over $100, offer almost unlimited choices of books, and the screens are excellent. And, naturally, you can download books over the air.

When these things happen, they happen quickly.

When I was growing up, record stores were a place you could hang out. In a really great store — one of those big city leviathans spread over several stories — you could spend the best part of a day flipping through the racks looking for hard-to-find records, obscure titles, things you’d never even heard of.

Teenagers today probably have no idea what I’m talking about. Who goes to a record store? Why don’t you just download your music onto your iPod?

As recently as 2001 there were music stores everywhere. As many as 80,000 people worked in them, according to the Labor Department. And that was a number that had been steady for years.

In 2002 the iPod took off. Today the number working in music stores is 20,000 — a 75% collapse.

As for the book industry: About 125,000 people still work in book stores and news dealers, according to Labor. How many of them will still have jobs in two years? Another 75,000 work in book publishing. When writers self-publish in electronic format, how many publishers will still be left?

Women Hate It When You Call Them Things Like “Darling” And “Babe” Around The Office

If you’ve got a female co-worker and you call her “babe” or “honey” or “cutie” . . . apparently, SHE doesn’t think it’s as kind and endearing as you do.

-According to a new survey of 3,000 female office workers in England, almost THREE out of FOUR think that pet names in the office are, quote, “unacceptable.”

-One out of four say that pet names make them ANGRY, and another one out of four say pet names are UNPROFESSIONAL.

-The survey was conducted by a market research site called OnePoll.  They say, quote, “Guys may think they are being affectionate by calling someone ‘babe’ or ‘love’, but it seems women simply find them patronizing and demeaning.”

-The survey also found the top 10 nicknames women hate around the office, although some of
these are VERY British and don’t really apply over here.
-The top 10, in order, are:  Love, darling, babe, mate, hun, kiddo, chick, dear, poppet and pet.

(–To Americanize that list, just replace mate with “sweets” and poppet with “jiggles” and I think we’d be set.)

WOMEN’S TOP TEN MOST HATED NICKNAMES

1. 1.    Love
2. 2.    Darlin’
3. 3.    Babe
4. 4.    Mate
5. 5.    Hun
6. 6.    Kiddo
7. 7.    Chick/Chicken
8. 8.    Dear
9. 9.    Poppet
10. 10.  Pet

Just opened a little surprise I got in the mail from the wonderful NoCashComics . As you can imagine, this made me smile and skip like a little girl.  😀   Be sure to check out NoCashComics !  <3

Hmmm . . . I don’t know… do you think he was able to capture our energy in the drawing? LOL 🙂

Congratulations to Jimena Navarrete being crowned Miss Universe 2010.

Miss Universe 2010 Final Result

Miss Universe 2010 – Miss Mexico (Jimena Navarrete)
1st Runner Up – Miss Jamaica (Yendi Philips)
2nd Runner Up – Miss Australia (Jesinta Campbell)
3rd Runner Up – Miss Ukraine (Anna Poslavska)
4th Runner Up – Miss Philippines (Maria Venus Raj)

According to a Pew Research poll, 18% of Americans still think President Obama is a Muslim.  But here’s a hint . . . HE’S NOT.  Here are four MORE things Americans believe . . .

#1.)  THAT THE SUN REVOLVES AROUND THE EARTH. Hopefully this has gone down in the last ten years, but in a 1999 Gallup poll, 18% of Americans said the Earth was the center of the universe.

–In case you’re keeping track . . . Galileo proved that wrong about 400 years ago.

#2.)  ONE-THIRD OF AMERICANS BELIEVE IN GHOSTS. That’s according to a poll the Associated Press did for Halloween in 2007.  One-third of people ALSO said they believed in UFO’s, and 19% believed in WITCHCRAFT.

#3.)  THAT HUMANS AND DINOSAURS LIVED TOGETHER. We don’t have the NATIONWIDE stats on this, but according to a recent survey by the University of Texas, that’s what 30% of Texans believe.

#4.)  THAT THE MOON LANDING WAS A HOAX. It’s been over 40 years since NASA landed the first man on the moon, and polls consistently show that 6% of Americans still think they faked it.

I turned on the stove, cooked a meal, and didn’t catch anything on fire this time!! LOL   Please Kiss the Cook! 😀  *patting myself on the back*   😛

Download this entire set over at the VIP area!

Health authorities in the US have recalled 380 million eggs after hundreds of people contracted salmonella.  Read the article below:

Wright County Eggs, the Iowa manufacturer of 320 million eggs that have been recalled nationwide, on Thursday revealed more brands and identification numbers for packages that may have been contaminated with salmonella.

The recall includes many popular brands sold in California supermarkets. A full list of affected brands and identification numbers can be found at www.eggsafety.org.

Hundreds of people around the country have been sickened with salmonella from tainted eggs since May, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contaminated eggs first were taken off shelves last Friday, but many consumers may have recalled cartons in their refrigerators. Eggs that are part of the recall should not be eaten, and can either be thrown away or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Lollipop lollipop
Oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop oh lolli lolli lolli lollipop lollipop oh lolli loli lolli lollipop!
Download the entire set now at the VIP!

It’s almost time for the BIGGEST and BADDEST car show to hit Canada!!  I’m returning again as Miss Importfest 2010! Hang out with me all day and party with me all night long!!  Visit www.Importfest.com for all the details!

Check out the latest artwork from gWebber.  These sketch cards were made to raise money for the March of Dimes Charity Auction.  

Have you ever seen a Crip Walking Gangsta Grandma in Target?

Here’s a shot from my latest shoot with the AMAZING  Tony Chu!

I promise you will love it.

I didn’t need a survey to tell me that we Americans love going out for 5,000-calorie dinners at the Cheesecake Factory. Anyone who’s ever gone to one on a weekend night . . . and found it’s as crowded as a market in Mumbai . . . knows it’s popular.

-And according to a new survey, the Cheesecake Factory is now officially the most popular chain restaurant in the U.S.

-The survey asked people to rank casual and family restaurant chains . . . so it only includes sit-down restaurants, not places like McDonald’s.

-13% of people ranked the Cheesecake Factory number one. Second place was a two-way tie between Texas Roadhouse and Red Robin, both of which got 8% of the vote.

-Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesday were next, tied at 5%.

-The rest of the list, in order, goes: Red Lobster, P.F. Chang’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, Outback Steakhouse, Cracker Barrel, T.G.I. Friday’s, Golden Corral, Applebee’s, Chili’s, and IHOP.

-Of the 15 restaurants that made the list, IHOP came in last, with only 1% of the vote. However . . . that means it beat out places like Denny’s, Bennigan’s and Waffle House, which didn’t even make the list.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CHAIN RESTAURANT?

Here’s a list of favorite casual and family restaurant chains by rank:

1 –  The Cheesecake Factory

2 – Texas Roadhouse

3 – Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

4 – Olive Garden

5 – Ruby Tuesday

6 – Red Lobster

7 – P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

8 – Longhorn Steakhouse

9 – Outback Steakhouse

10 – Cracker Barrel

11 – T.G.I. Friday’s

12 – Golden Corral

13 – Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar

14 – Chili’s

15 – IHOP

“Pac-Man” Is The First Game To Be Inducted Into The International Video Game Hall Of Fame

Over the weekend, the International Video Game Hall of Fame inducted its very first class.  Most of the entrants are people who have created or set records playing video games, but there was one game they chose to immortalize.

–And that game is . . . “Pac-Man”.  It beat out “Pong”, “Super Mario Bros.”, “Space Invaders”, “Donkey Kong” and all of the other classics to become the first game inducted.

–The committee behind the new Hall of Fame says they chose “Pac-Man” because, quote, “The arcade unit alone has been played more than 10 billion times.”

–“‘Pac-Man’ is one of the longest running video game franchises from the golden age of video arcade games and [along with‘Pong’ and ‘Dragon’s Lair’ is one of only three video games on display at the Smithsonian.”

–The other high-profile inductee was 57-year-old SHIGERU MIYAMOTO, the man who created ‘Donkey Kong’, Mario, “The Legend of Zelda” and several other franchises for Nintendo.  He’s considered the top video game creator of all-time.

–The International Video Game Hall of Fame is located in Ottumwa, Iowa . . . which is a town in southeast Iowa with a population of 25,000.

–Why the HELL is it there?  Ottumwa is home to a famous arcade called Twin Galaxies, which hosted several video game championships back in the early ’80s.

–In 1982, the mayor issued a decree calling Ottumwa the Video Game Capital of the World.  No one bothered to argue with them, so they’ve claimed that title ever since . . . and now they’ve built the Hall of Fame to cement it.

ELECTRONIC ODYSSEY Nearly 100,000 video games have been released since the days of Pong and theMagnavox Odyssey (the world’s first home video game system, in 1972), according to game-stats tracker Twin Galaxies. USA TODAY’s Mike Snider serves up some historical highlights: Best-selling video game. Wii Sports, with lifetime sales worldwide of 45.7 million copies from its launch in 2006 to May 2009. The previous record, held for more than 20 years:Super Mario Bros., with 40 million copies. Top-selling game in its first 24 hours. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 generated $401,690,771 on its launch Nov. 11, 2009, also setting a record for one-day revenue by any entertainment product. Most recognizable video game character.Pac-Man, according to a May 2008 Davie-Brown Index poll. He’s recognized by 94% of U.S. consumers; in second is Mario at 93%. Most ported video game. Tetris, on more than 55 different formats. Most-played coin-operated video game franchise. Golden Tee Golf, by about 1 billion worldwide in more than 100,000 bars and pubs. Top arcade games: 1. Space Invaders. 2. Pac-Man. 3. Donkey Kong. 4. Street Fighter II. 5. Asteroids. 6. Defender. 7. Galaga. 8. Gauntlet. 9. Outrun. 10. Pong Sources: Guinness World Records, Twin Galaxies.com, www.arcade-museum.com, USA TODAY research

According to a study by the University of Rochester, all the colognes, cars and abs in the world are alright . . . but if you REALLY want to attract women, just wear red.

–They found that women are subconsciously attracted to red . . . when they see a man in red they think he’s richer and a better potential husband than a man who’s wearing a different color.

–The color red has been connected to STATUS forever . . . from the red clothes that were worn by the most powerful people in ancient China, all the way to the color of Ferraris today.

–So, the researchers believe women have been slowly conditioned to associate the color red with the most attractive men available

Here’s my new do . . . what do you think?

ParseError thrown

syntax error, unexpected '}', expecting elseif (T_ELSEIF) or else (T_ELSE) or endif (T_ENDIF)