Hello ladies and germs -

I hope everybody are enjoying or have enjoyed the holiday time off. Today I am at work but am more or less mailing it in. Light unimportant stuff soon to be followed by a monster project that I must complete by Thursday 5pm.

(e:jason) and I enjoyed some time at home with our relatives - I got what I usually get (cash) followed by some Sabres gear and an immersion blender. I'm most excited by the blender! I like to make homemade soups and the last time I tried to blend some up I burned myself... this new kitchen toy will definitely be put into use. I'm thinking about creating a new 750 house drink based on some kind of blended froofy drink. I love the original 750 but some people do not, so perhaps its time to create a second concoction. Maybe we'll make a game of it and have (e:strip)pers participate in the selection of ingredients!

I'm trying to be mellow today but again, and I'm sorry to keep harping on Mike Niman, but to the people that have read the last Artvoice of the year - didn't you find it interesting that his article was based around the concept of a "no shopping day?" My opinion on the idea is that its ridiculous and implausible... if he believes that a no shopping day will ever gain traction I have a 'war on drugs' and a 'war on poverty' to um.... sell him. Oops.

My feelings about Niman's lunacy is well documented, but this is particularly interesting to me because, of course, he had to mention Wal-Mart and that everything in the store is supposedly made at Chinese sweatshops. I was incandescent with rage after reading it. Mike Niman doesn't have a fucking clue about what he is talking about and I will explain why. I'll simply say this - nobody except for people in my/our position have the ability to make an informed comment on the subject of what goes on at the suppliers to the Big Grey Box.

Why? Because, dear readers, without breaking a series of NDAs that would ensure that my company would get in serious doo doo... lets just say that our company has been to hundreds of suppliers to the Big Grey Box throughout the world, including Guangzhou province in China. Sorry Mikey, just because you can namedrop a region in China doesn't mean that you know a fucking thing about what goes on there. We go to Guangzhou. We go to Vietnam. We go to Bangladesh. We go to Pakistan. We go to Nicaragua. We go to Honduras. You get the picture. Niman and almost all activists do not. This is why we in our industry suggest that activists are all heart and no brains - most NGOs that drive our industry have nearly zero participation in verifying what they are making unsubstantiated claims about. Are there concerns? Surely. Is what you think, hear and read about Wal-Mart true? NO. Is the movie that was released this year criticising Wal-Mart factual? Mostly, no.

Understand this - I have a special and priveliged access to see what Niman and several activists are complaining about. If I were able to I could tell you all about it, from an insiders point of view. We are bound by NDAs that prevent us from revealing what it is that we see and precisely where. I could tell you all about the major problems that exist in various parts of the world relating to production for large discount chains. I could tell you about how Wal-Mart has affected labor in the United States - while most of what you buy in Wal-Mart is manufactured overseas you would be absolutely shocked by the sheer volume of American industry that is supported SOLELY by purchases from Wal-Mart. I could tell you about the standard by which Wal-Mart forces all of its global suppliers to adhere to as a condition of doing business and how without it a factory cannot sell to Wal-Mart. I could tell you about where some of the worst factories GLOBALLY are located (here's a hint - the flag is red, white and blue).

I could tell you about what workers in other countries make, what parts of the processes for various products are outsourced and what are not, I could give you a first hand account about the effects of outsourcing and how it has affected American industry in general, I could tell you about how most of the Nimans out there are lacking so much information that when I read what he writes about Wal-Mart I laugh out loud.... and why. I could tell you about the history of the Ethical Standards program, the current size of it, how committed Wal-Mart is to its own standard, how many firms currently audit Wal-Marts suppliers globally, the strength of the W-M standard compared to other independent standards, how many products have at least some ingredients sourced from China that are produced in the USA - the list goes on and on.

Believe me, Niman and several activists out there that don't have a fucking clue about what they are talking about want to talk to a guy like me if they are interested in getting the authentic scoop. Unfortunately for them, we don't spill the beans. Knowing what we know and seeing what we've seen, I can only say that what critics of Wal-Mart suggest are mostly wrong and are based on a complete and utter lack of factual information precisely because they do not have access like I do. Is Wal-Mart deserving of criticism? Yes... but not because of what you might think.

Fantastic band - my bet is that they will be one of the next American bands to make it big.

Nothing to report - just wanted to say hi.

Thom Yorke has released an EP with 2 videos on it, Japanese import only, called 'Splitting Feathers."

They are selling it for $24.99 at New World, but I'll spare you spending the cash. Don't bother. Its an Aphex Twin retread and as a massive Radiohead fan I'm thrilled that Thom is getting this utter garbage out of his system, therefore sparing his main band from having to turn down this dreadful direction.

I'm ultra critical as a music buff, especially so regarding the bands that I love. Radiohead is no exception here. I'm convinced that anybody that thinks this is even remotely brilliant is simply paying lip service.

Anybody have any recommendations on some new and unheard stuff out there?

This is where I need some technically savvy people to give me some advice - (e:paul), (e:ajay), (e:ucsf) and the like.

Before I do that though, I would like to thank (e:ladycroft). Its always a birthday or holiday that I am always reminded about how distracted and too wrapped up into my own bullshit I can be. Not the best occasions to be sure but I have to tell you guys a story and thank a very thoughtful person.

I got up at 7am on my day off today to bring (e:jason) to work so that I could go get my check and a new tire for the car up at Uncle Wally. Seriously, they have fantastic looking pizzas and lasagnas at Wal-Mart and for a good price - I got a fresh lasagna for $6.50 today! Anyway, I digress. I have been BSing and running errands for almost 4 hours today in the rainy weather when I walk up my stairs and see a gift bag hanging by my doorknob. I'm thinking, "WTF, did my neighbor give Jay and I something? I barely see her!" I bring it in and open it, its from (e:ladycroft)!! I have no idea how that wound up on the doorknob and this is not the first time that she has managed to get a gift past the locked door into our hallway. If I ever need something stolen back for me I know who to call!

Anyway thank you (e:ladycroft) - you are an incredibly thoughtful person and you make me realize that at times I need to do more thoughtful things for people. (e:jason) cannot have the hat, and it is going to pain him not to know what I'm talking about until he comes home. I sincerely hope that this brings you at least a little bit of pleasure! Hahahaha. ITS MINE JASON!

I have a technical question to ask the compunerds around here. Cutting to the chase, this is what I want to know - is there a way to take a java applet based document and convert it into a format that I can either turn into a pdf, or otherwise make it so that I can at least cut and paste the text? We are putting together a package at work and instead of having to manually copy and retype everything manually I want to know if there is a way to do this easier.