Michael Jackson, dead at 50. He was like a bodybuilder for the music world--amazing talent, but grotesque to look at. I think I'll go listen to his entire discography. Except for Invincible.

From a recent e-mail:

It's easy to lose track of the large-scale principals that are important to me amidst all this stuff. I value reading, learning, trying to make myself a better person, and helping others. Making an attempt at a virtuous life has been a consistent desire for me, even when my lifestyle is completely at odds with that desire. Lately I've been trying to keep focused on the important things while cutting out the pastimes and people that don't enrich my life. It's actually pretty easy to do if you know what you want, but I'm human, and although my desire for virtue is real, I have seen myself totally ignore its pursuit for extended periods. I frustrate myself with that sometimes, but one thing I have noticed is that goodness is always an option you can return to even if you forget it for a while.

"What's that song called, the one where they're driving around like Mad Max in the video?"

"I don't know . . . "

"Oh! 'California Love'!"

"Ha ha, right. The quinnessential white person's rap song."

"I know all the words!"

"Pain or damage don't end the world, or despair, or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man. And give some back."
--Al Swearengen

On Image/Identity

Working as an owner/manager of these businesses has been an intensely rewarding experience for me. I've learned a great deal about myself, others, and business--and I know I've barely grazed the surface. I expect that my next few posts will be experiments in sorting through my thoughts re: the businesses.¹

One theme on my mind lately has been building the identity of the stores. How are we perceived, and how do we consciously create our image?

My feeling is that if you don't consciously build your business's image, the customers will define it for you. How? They'll base their own ideas on what you sell, your prices, your decor, and your location. Of course, those are all things that you choose as the owner of your business, but they aren't necessarily things you consciously choose in service to the image your business projects. (Even if they should be.)

Of course, if you don't have an great location and a halfway decent product, your image will be of a business shutting its doors. But here's an important thing to consider as you define your image: The image you project will determine your customers. It shouldn't be the other way around.

If you're in this situation, it might feel scary to make a change, or to alter the identity that's manifested itself. Do not let this feeling dictate what you want your business to be like.

I mention this from my own current experience. I think we've been more conscious about creating our image and building our own customers at store A than at store AA. Store AA, which has a history of more or less "finding its own way" has an image that has been built by those who simply show up and will take what's available. I admit that allowing that to happen has been a huge mistake, and very likely a significant cause behind store A's relative success compared to store AA.

I resolve to more consciously create the identity of my business based on my values, what I think is best, and what I feel will be most successful. Allowing anything else to happen is irresponsible.

1 Goodbye, anyone who still reads this blog!

My feelings about writing, vis-a-vis my job:

I am oddly both more equipped and less equipped to provide insight with the written word at this point in my life. Because:

- MORE: I have a job that brings with it a good deal more "interesting" anecdotes, which could be witty and interesting to the right audience.
- MORE: The job also doesn't require intense mental scrutiny for eight to ten hours straight, which leaves me, at the end of the day, more able to think clearly. In theory.
- LESS: The job requires less mental scrutiny, which leaves my powers analysis and intellect dull and useless.
- LESS: The job also lends itself to far more social outings. Meaning: I go out and get fucked up more than I used to. Time spent drinkin' is time not spent thinkin'. I am not comfortable speculating on why people in the service industry spend most of their off time inebriated.

Girls are never this hilarious

"How did you sleep?"

"Great. I slept like a rock."

"Weird, 'cause I slept like The Rock."

"Is that why you kept calling out 'Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?' in your sleep?"

"I guess so."

"I thought you were just dreaming about food or something."

I'm only 11 years late on this one

Omaha rapper Big Bear's 1998 album Doin Thangs:

Things to blog about:

- Columbia, South Carolina
- The Greek system at universities in the South
- Barbecue in Memphis
- Graceland
- Lady at Graceland who told the story about Elvis gave her one of his scarves
after a show in the '70s
- Lady who responded "No, thank you," to a television that was showing an
Elvis perform at the "Live from Hawaii Via Satellite" show.
- Truck stop in rural Tennessee that had graffiti soliciting anonymous gay sex written on the bathroom stall.