Friday, February 26, 2010

Had to share

This was sent to us by a friend and it just made me laugh!! I had to share it with you all.


Bookstore | United Kingdom



Customer: “I want a book to complete the set for my grandson.”

Me: “Certainly, madam. Can I ask what you’re looking for?”

Customer: “Well, he’s interested in history. I want to encourage him, so he’s already got books on World War 1 and World War 2. I want to get him the next one so he can be prepared before they do it at school.”

Me: “Um, the next one?”

Customer: “Yes. Haven’t you got anything on World War 3? I’ve looked all over.”

Me: “I’m sorry, madam. I’m pretty certain we don’t have anything on that subject at the moment.”

Customer: “Oh, never mind then. I’ll try a bigger bookshop.”

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Extended Tournament on Sat Feb 27 2010.


Extended Tournament


Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Time: 5:15pm - 11:15pm
Location:Chat Noir Books

Description:

Chat Noir Books is hosting a Extended Tournament on Sat Feb 27 2010.

Entry fee is $10. Below is what you need to know on how to build your
deck, or go to http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrextended

Extended Deck Construction

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no
maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with
no assistance. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain
exactly fifteen cards.

With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and
sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card,
counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains,
Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

The following card sets are permitted in Extended tournaments:

* Ninth Edition
* Tenth Edition
* Magic 2010
* Mirrodin
* Darksteel
* Fifth Dawn
* Champions of Kamigawa
* Betrayers of Kamigawa
* Saviors of Kamigawa
* Ravnica: City of Guilds
* Guildpact
* Dissension
* Coldsnap
* Time Spiral
* Planar Chaos
* Future Sight
* Lorwyn
* Morningtide
* Shadowmoor
* Eventide
* Shards of Alara
* Conflux
* Alara Reborn
* Zendikar (effective October 2, 2009)
* Worldwake (effective February 5, 2010)


The following cards are banned in Extended tournaments:

* Aether Vial
* Disciple of the Vault
* Sensei's Divining Top
* Skullclamp


Official information about Constructed formats and the Extended format
can be found in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules.

Join our MTG Temiskaming Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/temiskaming-magic-the-gathering for more updates and find on Facebook as well at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38963450797&ref=ts

Monday, February 22, 2010

Quote of the Day - Digitization our future

I just had to post this great quote from Publishing: The Revolutionary Future By Jason Epste the New York Review of Books.

"Digitization makes possible a world in which anyone can claim to be a publisher and anyone can call him- or herself an author. In this world the traditional filters will have melted into air and only the ultimate filter—the human inability to read what is unreadable—will remain to winnow what is worth keeping in a virtual marketplace where Keats's nightingale shares electronic space with Aunt Mary's haikus. That the contents of the world's libraries will eventually be accessed practically anywhere at the click of a mouse is not an unmixed blessing. Another click might obliterate these same contents and bring civilization to an end: an overwhelming argument, if one is needed, for physical books in the digital age."

Thursday, February 18, 2010

New Comics & Gaming Monthly Magazine




Every once in a while our magazine reps toss us some new magazines that they think will do well in our area. Most of the time they are duds but this week we got a copy of the new C&G Monthly. It is a Canadian Comics and Gaming Magazine focusing on comics, graphic novels and video games from a Canadian perspective! I took a quick browse though it and so far so good! The cover features art work from the new Mass Effect Redemption game and inside there are some great interviews with folks like EZ Street co-creator Mark Wheatley, Author and Comic-book writer Jack Black and Online producer for Dragon Age: Orgins, Fernado Melo.(which I have almost finished!) All the interviews and articles are really interesting and informative, the only drawback is that most of the magazine is in black and white. I am looking forward to reading the rest of magazine and seeing Issue # 2. Hopefully we get more colour!

You can read more about Comics and Gaming Monthly on their website at http://cgmonthly.com

Coffee and Community

We just got in a new batch of coffee in from Las Chicas Del Cafe in London. Which means more 1909 beans back in stock!! You can also pick up their new newsletter and find out a little bit more where their coffee comes from and the community that the beans are grown in. Also below you will find you will find a few community events that are happening with in the next few days.

Cheers Folks

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The Film Event Society of Temiskaming



The Film Event Society of Temiskaming are presenting a new film this coming Monday!! FEST has also moved to Monday nights. 4th Monday of each Month at the Empire Theatre in New Liskeard.

The next film Feature Film is: "The Young Victoria"
Date: Monday Feb 22nd at 7:30
Tickets are $8 available at the Empire Theatre on show nights.

On the eve of her 18th birthday and succession to the English throne, young Princess Victoria is caught in a royal power struggle. But it is her blossoming love affair with Albert that will determine the strength of her reign. Can she dedicate her life to her country and her heart to the one man she truly loves? Discover the passion and romance behind one of history's greatest love stories.

Short film: Sleeping Betty
Princess Betty sleeps in a narcoleptic stupor. The king appeals to his subjects to wake her, and several respond: Uncle Henry VIII, Aunt Victoria, an emotional alien, a cool witch and a handsome prince. This worthy Prince Charles lookalike has to leave his royal suburb to save the princess, but will Betty be wakened with just a kiss?

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Whats on at the Classic Theatre


Pied Piper Kids Show has Circus Cowboys coming in at the Classic Theatre

February 26, 2010 6:45pm

Single ticket is $7

Series ticket $20 (1 ticket for all 4 shows)
Group series ticket $75 (4 tickets for all 4 shows)
(672-2308 or felicitywowk@hotmail.com) for tickets

About Circus Cowboys

The Circus Cowboys were established in 2002 and since have presented hundreds of shows to thousands of people of all ages across Canada. The company continues to expand with new shows and continues to explore new markets. We have succeeded in passing the 5 year milestone so we will be continuing to grow for years to come. You can check out more at www.classictheatre.net.

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New Liskeard BIA


The New Liskeard BIA also has a new website up and you can find them at www.bianewliskeard.wordpress.com

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CHOCOLATE SUNDAY and RELICS the Art show/sale


Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Temiskaming Art Gallery haileybury, Ontario

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Nuclear Waste? No Thanks!


Nuclear Waste? No Thanks!


Please join us for an information exchange and strategy session about highly radioactive nuclear fuel waste.

Thursday, February 18th, 7 pm
Chat Noir Books, 57 Whitewood Avenue
New Liskeard

Background
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is expected to launch their siting process for a nuclear waste dump (or a "national infrastructure project" as the NWMO now calls it) early in 2010. In anticipation of this - and the campaign the nuclear industry is about to unleash to try to persuade a community to place itself on the receiving end of all of Canada's highly radioative nuclear fuel waste - Northwatch is holding a series of small strategy sessions across the northeast in advance of the NWMO's official launch.

The session at Chat Noir on Thursday, February 18th will include a brief overview to share information about nuclear waste and the NWMO's intentions, and then an open discussion about what is needed locally and regionally to be able to respond effectively to the nuclear industry's efforts to site a nuclear waste repository in northern Ontario.

Please join us. For more information in advance of the February 18th session, visit www.northwatch.org, or Northwatch's web site about nuclear waste in Canada at www.nukewaste.ca

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

From Ellen Hopkins

This is author Ellen Hopkins blog from today. It resonated so much with me I had to share it.



What Is a Book Worth?


Big hype for publishing this week: Macmillan versus Amazon. If you haven’t heard the story, first of all, where have you been? And second, here’s a short version. A couple of weeks ago, Amazon “offered” a deal to publishers: they’d give them 70% of the profits on their e-books, with the caveat that e-book pricing HAD to be $2.99 to $9.99. Period. Macmillan, a publishing powerhouse, responded that they, not Amazon, would set the pricing for their e-books. In other words, no deal. Amazon, in turn, responded by yanking the sell buttons on all Macmillan books, not just e-books, but print as well. Macmillan held fast, and Amazon caved. My feeling is that they caved because the other big publishers would take courage in Macmillan’s bold move and hold fast as well.

There is a lot at play here. I happened to be in NYC last week, and shared conversations with a great many industry professionals. Here are a few things that were mentioned:

· If all the major publishers refuse to cave, Amazon will essentially have only small press and self-published books to sell. No big names. No bestsellers. Unless those authors want to deal directly with Amazon, of course.

· Amazon has become so focused on selling things OTHER THAN BOOKS that books are a relatively small percentage of their income now. Maybe they’re tired of selling books?

· With the advent of the i-Pad and similar devices, the Kindle may very well become obsolete within the next few years. Maybe this is a last-ditch effort to capitalize on the Amazon e-book platform while they still can.

· The e-book market is growing, but for now it remains a small percentage of book sales. While some doom-and-gloomers have declared print going the way of the dinosaurs, not everyone believes that digital publishing will eclipse print.

My thoughts. First of all, bravo, Macmillan! Your authors may feel threatened by the lack of Amazon sales, but their books are still available through many outlets, at a price point that will allow them to write for a living. Because here’s the deal, all you people who think book downloads should be cheap, or even free: Seriously??? Do you have any idea why books cost what they do? The actual materials and printing per unit are usually under $2 each (pop-ups are pricier because of the engineering). The rest of the cover price goes to salaries for editors, copyeditors, designers, illustrators, marketing people, salespeople, truck drivers, receptionists, etc. Not to mention leases, utilities, legal costs, shipping, warehousing, promotional materials, trailers, website design and upkeep. The list goes on. And, yes, the publisher makes a profit. Aren’t businesses SUPPOSED to make a profit?

Oh, and just BTW, how about allowing the authors to actually make a living? Writing a book is a year of my life. Some writers write faster or slower, but we all need to pay our bills! Recently, there was an article by a book pirate—someone who scans books and distributes them for free downloads (he makes money by charging “membership fees”). His take was that he was only ripping off big corporations. Uh, no. Those corporations are paying employees. And one of them is paying me. I want to keep writing great books for you, but I have to earn a living. If you can’t afford to buy them, I understand. But please get them from a library, which does buy the books.

Beyond that, I want to advocate print. There is intrinsic value in pulling yourself away from your screens, big or small, and reading a real book. We are increasingly becoming a society cut off from one another by our screens. We text, rather than call, connecting us by our voices. We email, rather than visit, or even write real letters, giving the personal connection of our handwriting. At the recent electronics convention in Vegas, they introduced a reader that can duplicate picture book pages, with a disembodied voice that will read the pages for your toddlers. Where is Mom’s touch in that? Where is Dad’s voice? Where is that amazing connection that comes from sitting a child on your lap, turning the pages, pointing to things and giving them words for those things?

I’m all for technology. For gadgets that help us navigate our world. For interactive computer games, even. But not at the expense of human-to-human connection. The future holds such possibilities. But if we forget that, first, we are people, the future is dark, indeed. Text when you must, but call when you can. Pick up a real book and share it with a friend. Go to the library and see what’s there. Read to your babies. Take them to the park to play. Don’t let a computer babysit them for you. There is joy in human connection. Unplug for a while.

New website for Chat Noir Books

Chat Noir Books has a new online look and you can check it out at www.chatnoirbooks.ca.

Booster Draft Tournament WorldWake


Booster Draft Tournament WorldWake

Date:
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Time:
5:15pm - 11:15pm
Location:
Chat Noir Books

Description

Chat Noir Books will be hosting a draft Tournament for the new Magic: The Gathering WorldWake Set.

There will be a $20 entry fee, which will cover the cost of the booster packs and prizes. Please bring your own land, there will be some on hand, but I might not be able to cover everyone.