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PERRIN LOVETT

~ Deo Vindice

PERRIN LOVETT

Tag Archives: Amazon

Fred on the Lilliputian War Mongers

05 Saturday Aug 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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Tags

Amazon, Fred Reed, War

Some people never learn. Fred recounts:

When you have militarily stupid politicians listening to pathologically confident soldiers, trouble is likely. All of these people might reflect how seldom wars turn out as those starting them expect. Wars are always going to be quick and easy. Generals not infrequently advise against a war but, once it begins, they bark in unison. They seldom know what they are getting into. Note:

The American Civil War was expected to be over in an afternoon at First Manassas. Wrong, by four years and some 650,000 dead.

Germans thought that World War I would be be a quick war of movement, over in a few weeks. Wrong by four years and fantastic slaughter, and was an entirely unexpected trench war of attrition ending in unconditional surrender. Not in the Powerpoint presentation.

When the Japanese Army urged attacking Pearl Harbor, their war aims did not include two cities in radioactive rubble and GIs in the bars of Tokyo. That is what they got.

When the Wehrmacht invaded Poland, having GIs and the Red Army in Berlin must have been an undocumented feature. Very undocumented.

When the French re-invaded Vietnam after WWII, they did not expect les jaunes to crush them at Dien Bien Phu, end of war. Les Jaunes did.

When the Americans invaded Vietnam, having seen what had happened to the French, the thought did not occur that it might happen to them too. It did.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, having seen what happened to the US in a war against peasants, they did not expect to lose. They did.

When the Americans attacked Afghanistan, having seen what happened to the Soviets there, they did not expect to be fought to a slowly losing draw. They were.

When the Americans attacked Iraq, they did not expect to be bogged down in an interminable conflagration in the whole region. They are.

Is there a pattern here?

Pattern, schmattern.

A Review of The LawDog Files

16 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

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Tags

Amazon, book review, books, Castalia House, Humor, LawDog, The LawDog Files, Vox Day

Vox asked for reader reviews of Castalia’s new release, The LawDog Files, by LawDog. I volunteered and My God! I’m glad I did. My Amazon review:

LawDog leads the reader on a fantastic and hilarious journey through human psychology, the realities of rural Texas, and the ups and downs of LEO life.

Going into the book I was uncertain what to expect. I don’t think I’d every heard of the author before (my shame). He’s much more than a Sheriff’s Deputy – a humorist of great eloquence and adroitness. Think of stories by Jerry Clower, Ray Stephens, Andy Griffith, maybe Fred Reed; then, think about small town policing. That’s the nature of The Files.

I’ve been in Texas a few times but never trekked into Bugscuffle. It’s the kind of sleepy little town where the darndest things happen, only to be publicly forgotten and thereafter only retold by old men (in boring fashion). Except that, here, LawDog captures the essence of the area, its people, and the demands of law enforcement, melding them out of keen memory and superb wit.

You’ll love this book if: you have ever worked in or around law enforcement; you’re from Texas, the South, or anywhere rural; you fondly remember the “good old days” from a past America, or; if you just like to laugh. Thrill to: an amorous armadillo, a murderous animatronic Santa Claus, a Dick Cheney-style pheasant (quail??) hunt, and perps appropriately referred to as “critters.”

The layout was easy-going (for an ebook) – a straight flow from one funny tale to the next – as well designed as written. I found one drawback, due entirely to the subject matter and exposition. My reading slowed as I “lived out” the files in my head. And that’s as fun a literary problem as one can have.

I loved it! Do yourself a favor and buy The LawDog Files today. Many thanks to LawDog for serving on the thin blue line and then, again, with the fine lines of his pen.

BUY IT TODAY

519NLyDQXyL

LawDog/Castalia/Amazon.

You’ll love it!

Valediction 2017

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

academic, Amazon, culture, education, schools

The news from government schools and the standardized “education” industry grows worse by the month.

“Valediction,” as used above, means saying farewell.

Valedictoria: a student, typically having the highest academic achievements of the class, who delivers the valedictory at a graduation ceremony.

The Valedictorian, with the highest academic achievement, gets to say farewell to the school on behalf of the graduating class. And we now bid farewell to valedictorians in American government high schools.

Unfortunately, as the AP points out today, that is exactly what seems to be happening at high schools all around the country as the title of “valedictorian” is being eliminated and/or bestowed upon so many kids in each graduating class that it’s rendered meaningless.

“More and more schools are moving toward a more holistic process. They look deeper into the transcript,” Gottlieb said.

Wisconsin’s Elmbrook School District has for several years ranked only the valedictorian and salutatorian, and only then because the state awards scholarships to schools’ top two graduates, according to Assistant Superintendent Dana Monogue. The change has been accepted by colleges and community alike, Monogue said.

“We are encouraged by any movement that helps students understand that they’re more than a score, that they’re more than a rank,” she said.

One school in Tennessee awarded the “valedictorian” title to 48 kids or roughly 25% of the entire graduating class.

Tennessee’s Rutherford County schools give the valedictorian title to every student who meets requirements that include a 4.0 grade-point average and at least 12 honors courses. Its highly ranked Central Magnet School had 48 valedictorians this year, about a quarter of its graduating class.

At another school in Maryland, the AP highlights the woes of a concerned mother who wonders how ranking might affect her teenager’s confidence.

The day rankings came out at Hammond High School in Columbia, Maryland, students were privately told their number — but things didn’t stay private for long.

“That was the only thing everyone was talking about,” said Mikey Peterson, 18, who shrugged off his bottom-third finish and will attend West Virginia University in the fall.

A spokesman for the Howard County, Maryland, district said schools recognize their top 5 percent so students can include it on college applications and hasn’t considered changing.

“There was a big emphasis on where you landed,” said Peterson’s classmate Vicki Howard, 18. “It made everything 10 times more competitive.”

Peterson’s mother, Elizabeth Goshorn, said she can’t walk into his school without hearing good things about her affable son, but worries about how rankings can affect a teenager’s confidence.

“It has such an impact on them as to how they perceive themselves if you’re putting rankings on them,” she said.

Try as you might, ignoring the principles of basic mathematics does not mean that they cease to exist. And while your enabling parents, high schools and colleges may share your view that ranking people on the basis achievement is racist, sexist and/or any other number of adjectives you may wish to throw out there….again, we assure you that the real world does not care.

Life is competitive and your relative performance versus your peers will ultimately determine your success in life irrespective of how “triggering” that fact may be. The sooner you realize that fact, the sooner you’ll be able to move out of mom’s basement.

The feelings of the snowflakes and the incessant demands of the SJWs destroy another tradition.

unnamed-1

I was not, if I recall ancient history correctly, valedictorian at “my” government high school. We had some very smart kids and very industrious. I’m confident my IQ placed at or very near the top. But my efforts*, while better than average, fell far short of the top slot. I can’t remember who received the honor, and honor it is (was), but I wasn’t the least bit upset about it. I’m happy when people succeed.

Now it’s gone – or going. Maybe it’s time to bid farewell to the schools. A class of valedictorians probably will require remedial education in college and, later, in life. What’s the point?

* My efforts continued to slide in college, as my IQ also surely declined… I rebounded in law school; still not top spot but with honors. I also got a shout out by name, from the faculty speaker, for my achievement. That, I think was rebel-rousing… Hmmm…

The World Is Changing. You In?

28 Thursday Jul 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes, Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Amazon, books, changes, economy, James Altucher, jobs, money

Earlier today I wrote an article about how sitting in a cubicle like a zombie will kill you. If you’re already undead, you might as well go all the way, right? In my story I mentioned that the job itself might be a problem.

Then I read a couple of pieces by James Altucher (one usually leads to another). You need to read them now. The first is 10 Reasons Your Boss Hates You. The Next is 10 Reasons You Have to Quit Your Job (in 2016). Go ahead, read them now – I’ll wait right here.

Okay, he’s right, right? The old economy is on life support. And the “old way” hasn’t really been around that long. At any rate it isn’t working anymore.

5) Income is Disappearing

In the past 25 years, real income has gone from $36,000 to $33,000 for people ages 18 to 35.

Why? Who knows. Because nobody cares.

Then the talking blobs on TV tell you you have to start saving during those years.

Meanwhile, the cost of living has gone up.

How do you save, when it costs more to LIVE, while the money coming in the bank is going down.

Society is being strangled. I don’t blame anyone. It’s not the government’s fault. It’s not Wall Street’s fault. Or Main Street’s fault.

Jobs were a myth from the beginning.

The Industrial Revolution standardized society so that factory workers would show up at the same time, have the same education, hit the same bolt on the same nut at the same time, and get paid every two weeks.

That’s the truth, good, bad or indifferent. I’m a fuddy-duddy. Yet, even I realize things are changing and must change. It’s not just incomes that are going down (away?). Home ownership is at the lowest level in over 50 years – only 62% of adults own a house. And, most of them don’t even own one – a bank owns it for them.

The whole economy is being shaken up. Facebook, today, passed Berkshire Hathaway in terms of market cap. Let that sink in for a second. Then again, many of you are reading this right now because you saw it on Facebook, not through one of Buffett’s companies.

129_1200

vimeo.com/HP.

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday and another, similar one today about how I publish words. To some, what I do seems like wizardry. Maybe it is in a sense. But, its academic and logistical, not magical. Me – computer – internet – Amazon – your computer, phone or bookshelf. Kind of like: cow – farmer – bottle – truck – grocery store – your fridge. Easy, huh?

The old economy is on life support and the funeral arrangements are now being made for the traditional publishing industry (and the bookstores). Meanwhile, Amazon keeps posting record profit after record profit. They capitalize on me and my computer and I on them. Heck, I’m preparing to give them two new amazing works to offer world-wide in a few days (weeks? – y’all know I’m slow). Then, I’m publishing more. And more after that.

If the world is changing, I’m going to make the most of it. I hope you do to.

Bookends, July 2016

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in Books For Sale, News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Bookends, July 2016

Tags

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, books, publishing, The Happy Little Cigar Book

The news keeps getting better month by month for authors and readers alike. The old, traditional, monopolistic publishing industry is fading rapidly. Good riddance. With it goes the middlemen, the obscene contracts, the thefts of rights, the low royalties, the limitations of access and of selection, and the tyranny of the gatekeepers.

Barnes and Noble, the last of the big chain booksellers, has announced it will allow some self-published books in its 640 or so stores nationwide. Some, not all. First, a book has to be formatted for Nook, which is B&N’s house version of Kindle. They’re keeping it in the family. Then, there are sales number requirements (1,000 for e-books, 500 for physical copies). Finally, a review board must approve the book for shelving.

Book Business/Mike Valasnick – Flickr.

This is a systemization of their current, difficult and arbitrary policy. An idie author can already get into B&N but the process and the resulting rewards (if any) are so uncertain it’s almost not worth it. B&N is desperately and belatedly trying to compete with Amazon, which allows any and all authors access to their digital store.

Book Business makes a bigger deal out of this story than it needs to. They compare B&N’s 640 stores (and shrinking?) to Amazon as if Amazon was a nebulous startup concept.

Amazon is the world’s largest bookstore. Period. No, they don’t just have one single store in Seattle. They have as many stores as there are computers, tablets, and smartphones in the world. What is that number? A billion stores? Five billion? It’s huge. I have two of those stores in my immediate possession right now.

Sometimes I get asked if The Happy Little Cigar Book is in bookstores. I always say “yes” and refer the inquirer to Amazon. By the way, just click the link two sentences back, and you’re in the store, ready to buy a copy.

When was the last time you went into a bookstore? Odds are it was a B&N as they’re about the only game left in town – and only in decent sized towns. There are, here and there, small private stores but their selection is extremely limited. An indie house might have 5,000 – 10,000 books that the owner felt like carrying. A big B&N might have 10,000 – 30,000. I’ve noticed B&N sells fewer and fewer real books in their stores and more picture books, calendars, coffee mugs, and other stuff. They’ll have popular bestselling novels but perhaps not a work of classical history or philosophy.

Amazon has millions and millions (scores of millions) of books. The e-books one can buy and start reading within about 30 seconds. Hardcover and paperbacks take a few days for delivery. They’re prices are better too because of the economy of scale.

**Want a FREE book from My Bookstore? CLICK HERE and have one, right now.**

It’s getting harder to find a “real” bookstore just as it’s getting harder to find a “real” book from a “real” publisher. The big houses are in deep trouble. If not for coloring books and romance novels, they would already be gone. The world has changed – for the better.

Am I happy B&N is opening up? Yes. Will I try to get a few of my works into their hallowed stores? Yes. Will I obsess about it? No. Amazon and the internet are the future and the future is now and has been for a few years.

First Page Placement

10 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Books For Sale

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Tags

Amazon, books, cigars, Marvin Shanken, The Happy Little Cigar Book

The HLCB rolls on!  I did a search on Amazon for “cigar book” and was pleased to find my contribution appears on the very first page of search results.

hlcb am rank

Yes, I am right under THE Marvin Shanken and his 1996 World of Cigars!

Thank you all for this level of success – more than I had hoped for.

Perrin

Book It!

10 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Books For Sale

≈ Comments Off on Book It!

Tags

Amazon, books, publishing, The Happy Little Cigar Book, Vox Day

Traditional book publishers are rapidly losing market share. This is bad news (overdue) for them and great news for the rest of us. These established houses hold both authors and the reading public hostage: writers, by limiting royalties and holding rights and; the public, by limiting available titles to what editorial staffs see as worthy.

The technology age has shattered the old monopoly. Now, even mid-wit, cost smoking bloggers can publish books – immediately available to readers. Independent presses, print on demand services, Amazon and Kindle are seizing a huge market share while opening competition and choices.

Fortune reports:

According to the figures from Author Earnings — which are based in part on regular samples of Amazon sales data — what’s really been happening is that the market share of established publishers has been declining, while sales of independently published e-books have been growing. In particular, sales of books that don’t even have industry standard ISBN numbers have increased.

Look at this chart:

aap-unit-sales

Fortune.

Vox Day notes the traditional industry is collapsing.

This is a serious problem for the major publishers because ebook sales are a literally less-than-zero-sum game at this point in time. Regardless, it’s not so much the direct competition that threatens to do the big publishers in as it is the new X-factor in ebook sales, which is Kindle Unlimited. Notice which two types of publishers have been doing well since the KU change: Amazon and Small to Medium Publishers.

Good news for you! If I had gone with a dinosaur publishing company, I would still be waiting on someone’s approval. You, many of you, would not be reading The Happy Little Cigar Book right now.

As is, just today, I received 100 copies for local distribution and signing events. Then there is Amazon. Hooray! Order when ready, friends.

IMG_20151110_203046110

Wheeeee!

 

 

Kindle Version On Sale Now!

24 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Books For Sale

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Tags

Amazon, books, buy now, Kindle, Perrin, The Happy Little Cigar Book

I am pleased to announce The Happy Little Cigar Book is now available for Kindle! I also must confess two errors on my part (I am Perrin…).  First, under my own description I say the book will “war the heart” when I clearly meant “WARM the heart.” I made the correction but it obviously takes a little while to show up on Amazon.  Oops. Second, I wrote this book with the paperback version in mind. I have never made an e-book before I knew nothing about the formatting. As such, the Kindle version is a little off – still very readable though. I will fix that foible as soon as I can figure it out. The content is crystal clear though. Think of this like that postage stamp with the backwards airplane; it’s going to be a collector’s item!

Please click on the book here and buy a copy:

BookCoverImage

CLICK HERE!

Please leave me a (good) review and rating (5 stars please). I am working on a bio page for Amazon now. The paperback version (awesome design AND format) will be along sometime next week!

Thanks,

Perrin

The Happy Little Cigar Book

23 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Amazon, blog, books, Perrin Lovett, The Happy Little Cigar Book, writing

Friends,

I usually write 500 to 2,000 words every day. Many never leave the word processor. Others end up here for your consideration. Over the past 15 years or so I have started numerous books – some of which I have touted as “coming soon” or the like. Right now I have over 20 works in progress and in various states of readiness.

I am pleased to announce I have FINALLY published one of those works. The Happy Little Cigar Book is finished and will be available for consumption in a few days. A paperback edition will be listed at Amazon for $7.99 – a real bargain. The Kindle version will be along shortly at an even more incredible price.

BookCoverPreview Cigar

Cover.

This is a small work – just 75 pages. It’s not loaded with ratings, recommendations, history or complicated reviews. It is full of information on the joys of the cigar life. Hence, the happy, little name. I’ve included just a few of the interesting stories I’ve witnessed or heard about concerning the cigar hobby.

I think you will enjoy the reading as much as I the writing. And, this is just the beginning.

Now, at last, I have a firm grasp of what it takes in the publishing world. You may expect quite a few of my other books out in the near future. I have ideas yet begun. Cigars are a side issue I sometimes discuss here. Whereas my usual political ranting is a bit dark, the cigar columns are always happy and lighthearted. It’s kind of fitting this is the first book out. I’m a little overwhelmed by the position response I’m already getting on Facebook and in person.

As soon as Amazon has a functioning link, I will update you immediately. Buy multiple copies.

Perrin

 

Do The Means Justify The Book Ends?

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Amazon, books, publishing, writing

I write a lot of words, some you read here, some you don’t. In the not to distant future I look forward to earning a full-time living as an author. You can help by purchasing my forth-coming works (sooner or later, I promise…).

Today, according to some, it is harder than ever to make it as a full-time writer. A new survey suggests that author income is down due to the digitalized age of publication. I see bad and very good news in this story and related material I have read.

The survey said income for full-time US authors in 2015 fell 30 percent from 2009 to $17,500, and part-time authors saw a 38 percent drop in income to $4,500.

“Authors’ income is down. This is the result of a confluence of factors,” the study found.

“The ubiquity of e-books means that online book piracy is more of a threat than it was in 2009. We’ve seen major consolidation within the traditional publishing industry, which means less diversity among publishers and their increased focus on the bottom line.”

Traditional publishers’ dominance of the marketplace meanwhile is being eroded by the rise of self-publishing, the study noted.

Yahoo News.

Income for writers is down, which is not good. However, it’s also indicative of pay in general. Wages have not recovered from the last recession (even amidst the onset of the next one). 

The truth is the average author never earned that much before 2009 or 1999 or in 1959. Stephen King and John Grisham are rarities. Ordinary writers are content to make a living doing what they love, trading the security of higher income for intellectual freedom. The greatest stifle of said freedom traditionally came from the large publishing houses.

As the story notes those publishing houses are falling apart thanks to the rise of nearly effortless and professional self publishing services. That’s great! People like James Altucher are making more money than ever by self publishing.

True, with publishing easier than ever the market is being dilluted, slightly, by a glut of new works on Amazon and Kindle. And, yes, these businesses have helped shutter “real” bookstores coast to coast.

The best news is that all of these things will even themselves out. The free market will weed out bad books – anarchy in action! The proliferation of Amazon and ebooks means more sales and more profit for good authors.

I read elsewhere, in an article I can’t find now that writing is one of the select endeavors which will benefit from the looming robotic revolution. Smart machines are poised to take 30% of all jobs in the West over the next few decades – from manufacturing to service jobs like sales and bar tending.  Creative arts cannot be so easily automated and should see an increase in human demand.

books

Google.

All of this, of course, depends on people still reading. So, keep on reading! You can start by clicking the “next” or “previous” buttons below this column. Cheers!

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Perrin Lovett

From Green Altar Books, an imprint of Shotwell Publishing

From Green Altar Books, an imprint of Shotwell Publishing

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