Black Marks on Wood Pulp 4.0

February 29, 2008

BMOWP Logo When I started this blog, I did so with no anticipation of making it a long term commitment. I wrote when I felt the need, about what was on my mind. I threw together a design and called it good. I never imagined I would actually keep up with it. Hell, I had a hard time reading a short novel at that point in time.

Yet, within a year, I was writing two book columns and roughly 35 blog posts a month. So I guess it stuck. And with the content, it was only natural that books became an integral part of the site - up to 30% of the content was literature related, in some way. With little time available to adapt a theme, I often resorted to some simple font changes and a new header picture.

Nearly three years later, Black Marks on Wood Pulp has become something I take great pride in. And with that pride came a creeping embarrassment at the design I had simply thrown together. It was time for a new look - something elegant, something simple, something that illustrated my desire to grow as a writer and be taken seriously as a member of the blogosphere.

And this is it. You’re looking at the newest version of Black Marks on Wood Pulp.

The tree? Well, to tell you the truth, I think it looks cool. But if you asked me the symbolism behind it, I’m sure I’d tell you something about my connection with the world around me, about how I write about whatever I see, about how I long to keep growing, and a bunch of other hippie crap. But really, all of my passions have come, in some weird way, from trees - from my days as a prospective biology teacher to my love of books and other paper bound words.

Don’t get me wrong - I just love the simplicity of it. And, again, I think it looks cool.

I’ve even come up with two logos: the tree itself and the acronym treatment. Because, for once, I think this has the legs to stick around for a while. And though it’s not a marvel in Web technique or design, it’s a million times better than the maroon boxy mess I had stuck with for two years.

Wow. It’s amazing what a little simple design can do to a person’s pride.

Tags: Writing, Black Marks on Wood Pulp, Blogging |

8 Comments

Shack-ing up with the past

February 28, 2008

The power of an old message can be rather surprising.

I’ve seen a sudden spike in interest for my mini three-part rant on Radio Shack, a nearly two-year-old sore spot that has since dissipated into consumer lore like an Alka Seltzer. The main issue: a local Radio Shack store sold us a Sirius satellite radio receiver under erroneous pretenses and, when pressed, made little effort to help us.

I was pretty angry - and totally duped - about the situation, and after three months I finally just wrote a letter to the district manager.

I didn’t expect much. But I was a dissatisfied customer making his voice heard. I am a multi-year veteran of retail and know that, as an employee, your ultimate job is to make your customer happy. You may not like it. You may not do it. And your bosses might not even care. But it’s your job, or at least it should be.

Though it may be a long lost chivalric deed nowadays, I still feel that a retail establishment has a duty to its customers, if only because those customers ultimately keep a store in business.

Anyway, I received a response (after finding my own solution) and found it lacking. A few hours later, I got a call from the district manager with a personal apology - an apology that I was both surprised and pleased to receive. It was the way customer service should be - filled with actual concern and not just simple avoidance. I held a grudge for about six months, then (naturally) gave in and started shopping at Radio Shack again.

I’m not old fashioned, I hope. I think a company best maintains its brand by promoting positive customer experiences. I didn’t ask for anything more than respect, and I didn’t offer anything but my disappointment. I posted the letter and responses to let others know what I had gone through, to see if I was the only one, to see if I could rouse up some solidarity.

My posts returned several types of comments.
1. Other customers who were equally upset.
2. Employees of Radio Shack who corroborated my issues.
3. Employees of Radio Shack who tried to justify the issue by saying, “What do you expect? We’re here to sell things.”

A great number of responses were either of a “Radio Shack Iz Dum!” or, even worse, “Yer Dum!” nature. I fought for my position when needed and still feel I was justified. I passed off moronic and insulting comments as immaturity. I was at ease with my thoughts, and as nearly two years passed, and I figured the ordeal was in the past.

It wasn’t. Thanks Google.

Go ahead. Search “Radio Shack Sucks.” See what you get. There’s a good chance it looks like this:

Yup. That’s me. #1. The old URL, too - cdub.driscocity.com, not blackmarks.net. You get the same post and the same comments either way. Amazingly, the comments have gotten more pro-Radio Shack. And the reasoning goes back to #3 above: What do you expect? We’re here to sell things!

Please. Most of us want to be treated with respect when we enter a store. Unfortunately, that respect can be difficult to find. There’s a large number of retail employees who might not care about the customers they serve - and who can blame them? It’s hard to care when you’re being paid peanuts, or when you’re pressured to make sales above and beyond the capacity of the community.

But does that make it okay? Do the ends justify the means? Are we really supposed to simply shrug our shoulders and accept the fact that, sometimes, at some stores, we’re going to be lied to in order to appease some corporate sales level?

Whatever. Unless I lock the comments, I’m sure I’ll continue to get comments from both sides. I’m at peace with the situation, and most of the comments I continue to get are rather funny. In fact, I’ve helped those coming to the page by added links to the other posts - now readers won’t assume the letter was the last word. Now readers can follow the situation to its thrilling conclusion.

And I can sit back and revel in the fact that I’m #1 in terms of such a seemingly common theme - corporation malaise; the hatred for the big - a search term that could rank in the top ten of “INSERT STORE” Sucks, somewhere after Best Buy Sucks and WalMart Sucks.

I have to be careful though. In the grand scheme of things, I’d hate for this mini-rant to be my legacy.

Tags: Black Marks on Wood Pulp, Advertising/Marketing, Blogging, Annoyances |

1 Comment

Site update (in the works) - 2.27.08

February 27, 2008

For those who don’t get their BMOWP through RSS, you’ll have to forgive me if the site looks messed up today. I’m working on adapting a theme and, naturally, I’ll be cluttering up the site looking for the right settings and all of that.

Thanks for understanding.

Tags: Black Marks on Wood Pulp, Blogging |

1 Comment

Garfield Minus Garfield

February 26, 2008

It’ll be light for the next few days. I’m still feeling a little bit of a posting hangover after last week’s Oscar ExtravaganzaFest.

Until then, check out what life is like for Jon when Garfield is away: Garfield Minus Garfield.

Garfield Minus Garfield

From the site:

“Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life?”

Life has never looked so lonely for Jon. I can’t tell if these are hilarious or really sad. I feel both ways.

Via bookslut.

Tags: Random, Random Links |

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The (Oscar) Week at Misc. Asst.

February 24, 2008

A few movie themed entries popped up over at Misc. Asst. over the past two weeks. Check them out.

2/13

Top 10 Movies of All Time - Dave
A week early in support of the writers strike.

2/25

Inaccurate Vernacular: Top 10 Foreign Language Films - John
IV’s back (finally!) with the top ten films in languages I never bothered to learn.

Tags: The Top..., Misc.Asst., Movies |