Blogging Light For The Next Several Days

Suffice it to say, it's interesting what you find when you're moving. Move that dresser away from the wall - the one that hasn't been moved in five or six years - and you'll be reunited with crap you thought you lost forever.

Tucked in the back corner of a closet I rarely open was my "clip file" - the collection of newspaper clips I wrote throughout my journalism career that I used to show to newspaper editors when I was interviewing for reporter gigs right out of college. It probably hadn't been touched in nearly 10 years. It was fun looking at college newspaper columns, freelance stuff I wrote in college for the Rockbridge Daily Press (Va.), the first several issues of The Sound Observer and more.

As more and more furniture moves around and more boxes get packed, I'm sure I'll come across some more interesting stuff...

Toys "R" Us Gone? Say It Ain't So

So Toys "R" Us is looking at splitting off Babies "R" Us and selling off the toy business.

When I was a little kid, going to Toys "R" Us was a rare treat - something that happened only a couple times a year. I used to go there in search of the latest Star Wars action figures, Atari 2600 games and whatnot. The place always seemed to be like a fantasy land, with all the latest cool toys around. It was such a treat.

Later in life, I worked on the interactive part of their business, buying online media for the company when they went head-to-head with online toy retailers during the dot com boom when I was working for K2. I remember going to the Union Square store with K2's COO, Rob Burke, and spending around $500 on toys for the office. We bought remote control cars, Nerf weapons, beach balls, a robot and a bunch of other stuff and let staffers spread it around the office. IIRC, then-chairman Matt DeGanon was seen from time to time stalking creatives and programmers with a Nerf bow and arrow, firing plush missiles over the tops of the cubes occasionally, for shits and giggles.

The news about Toys "R" Us is disappointing. What makes it more disappointing is that the mega-retailers are responsible. They sell their toys as a loss leader, making it difficult for a large toy retailer to do business at all.

I constantly tangle with my cousin Al over my point of view on this, but I think the world is a suckier place when a mega-retailer like Wal-Mart can succeed on the breadth of its offering, running other retailers out of business because they can sell things like toys at a loss and make it up on sales of other goods. We're moving toward a world where all stores are Wal-Mart because their stranglehold over the distribution of retail goods forces manufacturers to make crappy deals or risk being locked out of the stores entirely. Call it progress if you will, but will the country be better off when every retailer faces being undercut by Wal-Mart? How can you compete when the guy down the street is selling the same stuff at a loss and making it up from sales of household goods, small appliances, groceries and all sorts of other stuff?

That's New York For Ya

Honestly, I didn't think my landlord had a prayer of re-renting my place out at the price he was asking, which was almost $2,200 a month for a 4th-floor walkup with no doorman. Granted, this place is pretty big for a one bedroom, but I thought anyone with $2,200 a month to spend would rather put that sum toward a place with a bit more in the way of building services. Last night, I came home to a voice mail from the landlord that said the apartment had been rented as of September 1, so I couldn't change my mind in terms of moving out.

Geez, can you believe what people will pay for places in NYC? It should be noted that the next tenant will be moving in while the RNC is here in town, which will likely be a large pain in the ass. This place is also 4 1/2 crosstown blocks from the nearest subway, which is another bigtime inconvenience for anyone looking to commute within Manhattan.

Movers are showing up on the 20th to take me back to Wading River. I suppose I'll miss it here, but when we start making a bit more money with Underscore, I'll likely look for a new place.

Things I'll miss about this apartment

1. Carl Schurz Park
2. 86th Street shopping - Best Buy, Circuit City AND P.C. Richard within walking distance
3. Proximity to the Triborough and easy access to Long Island
4. My cool neighbors - Flavia, Sergei and Ellen

Things I won't miss about this apartment

1. Useless super who can't be bothered to keep an extra plug fuse around
2. Do-it-yourself plumbing and the tub wasteline that constantly backs up
3. The guy upstairs regularly flooding my apartment when he forgets to turn his tub off and it overflows
4. My uncool neighbors, like the crazy woman downstairs who always complains about my creaky floorboards, and the aforementioned idiot who causes floods.

Kristof: Someone's Going To Drop The Big One Any Day Now

Nicholas Kristof thinks we're all in danger of falling victim to nuclear terrorism. We may very well be, but when I see alarmist articles like this one, I like to know that there are some credible facts backing up the decision to yank the alarm lever.

The only real value I see in this piece is Kristof's promise to "explain how we can reduce the risk of an American Hiroshima" in his next column. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks to James for pointing out the article.