don't let anyone tell you what to like
This is a true story, even if I don't have all the details. I read it in Car & Driver about 15 years ago in a barber shop, man. It's gotta be true...
About 20 years ago, this guy in California had an idea for the design of a car. He liked the old two seat convertibles of the 60's...the Triumphs, Fiats and MGs of the era, but they were known for being finicky cars. You'd either better be or know a good mechanic, because keeping it on the road was work. What if you had something like that, but it was dependable too? He drew it all up and pitched his idea to the big three in Detroit and got tossed out on his ass. Apparently they listened, ran it through focus groups and whatever they have and determined America didn't want this car. He took his idea to Japan. Mazda bought into it and it became the Miata. In no time Mazda dealers had waiting lists for this new car. A reporter talked to the designer about why America's car makers couldn't build a car like this and he told the guy...they could have. I brought the idea to them first. The reporter went to General Motors and was told something like, "Yeah, we see they have waiting lists for that car, but we're not sure why. America doesn't want that car." The man sounded like an idiot. Twenty years later, Pontiac is building the Solstice, and other GM manufacturers have similar versions of the same car.
This morning I'm reading the paper and there's a story about Harry Potter haters...those that won't be lining up to buy the new book or see the new movie. First on the list are book snobs, who were put off that the Potter books had squatters rights on the top of the best seller lists. They had their place in the sun. It's time to move on. The best seller list should be filled with better books....books people should like. Authors who couldn't compete with Potter were/are put off by the fact that the top slot on the list had an "occupied" sign on it. Finally, someone decided to make a new best seller category called "Children's Books", so Harry & Co. could have the top spot there, and leave the "real" best seller list for more serious endeavors. Soooo, we'll have this thing called a best seller list, but it won't be the things that people are buying. It'll be the things we think people should be buying. What kind of shit is that?
The Harry Potter series may be children's books, but make no mistake. The series isn't a best seller because children are reading it. A whole host of adults are too. (Yes, me included.) If the new book sells better than any other book, doesn't that make it the best seller? Don't put it in it's own category because you don't like that it kicks your ass. What if golf did that? Jim Furyk is now #1 in the World Golf Rankings. Yeah, there's Tiger, but we're tired of seeing his name at the top and since nobody can compete, we stuck him in his own category. Jim's got the top spot now. If you can't compete, shut up and either write a better book or wallow in the world of also ran. If you want to be on top of a list, but you can't sell as many books as J. K. Rowling, call your list something else. Maybe call it "books critics think you should like", but don't call it a best seller if it isn't.
Then the list of haters came down to loonies who think the books should be burned because they promote the occult. They have polls where they asked kids, and some wanted to try the spells in the books. Ooookay then. When the spells don't work, doesn't that pretty much debunk the occult? When kids read Superman comic books, are they tempted to outrun speeding bullets and leap downtown skyscrapers? I don't think so. Let's work the concept of fiction into their budding young minds.
Speaking of books, I got this Alice Cooper autobiography for Father's Day, and I love it (but I don't know if it's on any best seller list). I'm not sure if you have to like golf and rock n' roll to enjoy it, because I do...but I'm about a third of the way through it. I won't tell you to like it though. I'll just tell you that I do. One piece of advice from Alice on betting on golf...the more outrageous the bet, the faster you should walk away. "Show me a guy who wants to play you straight up with a 5 iron and a rake, and I'll show you a guy who can shoot 72 with a rake."
About 20 years ago, this guy in California had an idea for the design of a car. He liked the old two seat convertibles of the 60's...the Triumphs, Fiats and MGs of the era, but they were known for being finicky cars. You'd either better be or know a good mechanic, because keeping it on the road was work. What if you had something like that, but it was dependable too? He drew it all up and pitched his idea to the big three in Detroit and got tossed out on his ass. Apparently they listened, ran it through focus groups and whatever they have and determined America didn't want this car. He took his idea to Japan. Mazda bought into it and it became the Miata. In no time Mazda dealers had waiting lists for this new car. A reporter talked to the designer about why America's car makers couldn't build a car like this and he told the guy...they could have. I brought the idea to them first. The reporter went to General Motors and was told something like, "Yeah, we see they have waiting lists for that car, but we're not sure why. America doesn't want that car." The man sounded like an idiot. Twenty years later, Pontiac is building the Solstice, and other GM manufacturers have similar versions of the same car.
This morning I'm reading the paper and there's a story about Harry Potter haters...those that won't be lining up to buy the new book or see the new movie. First on the list are book snobs, who were put off that the Potter books had squatters rights on the top of the best seller lists. They had their place in the sun. It's time to move on. The best seller list should be filled with better books....books people should like. Authors who couldn't compete with Potter were/are put off by the fact that the top slot on the list had an "occupied" sign on it. Finally, someone decided to make a new best seller category called "Children's Books", so Harry & Co. could have the top spot there, and leave the "real" best seller list for more serious endeavors. Soooo, we'll have this thing called a best seller list, but it won't be the things that people are buying. It'll be the things we think people should be buying. What kind of shit is that?
The Harry Potter series may be children's books, but make no mistake. The series isn't a best seller because children are reading it. A whole host of adults are too. (Yes, me included.) If the new book sells better than any other book, doesn't that make it the best seller? Don't put it in it's own category because you don't like that it kicks your ass. What if golf did that? Jim Furyk is now #1 in the World Golf Rankings. Yeah, there's Tiger, but we're tired of seeing his name at the top and since nobody can compete, we stuck him in his own category. Jim's got the top spot now. If you can't compete, shut up and either write a better book or wallow in the world of also ran. If you want to be on top of a list, but you can't sell as many books as J. K. Rowling, call your list something else. Maybe call it "books critics think you should like", but don't call it a best seller if it isn't.
Then the list of haters came down to loonies who think the books should be burned because they promote the occult. They have polls where they asked kids, and some wanted to try the spells in the books. Ooookay then. When the spells don't work, doesn't that pretty much debunk the occult? When kids read Superman comic books, are they tempted to outrun speeding bullets and leap downtown skyscrapers? I don't think so. Let's work the concept of fiction into their budding young minds.
Speaking of books, I got this Alice Cooper autobiography for Father's Day, and I love it (but I don't know if it's on any best seller list). I'm not sure if you have to like golf and rock n' roll to enjoy it, because I do...but I'm about a third of the way through it. I won't tell you to like it though. I'll just tell you that I do. One piece of advice from Alice on betting on golf...the more outrageous the bet, the faster you should walk away. "Show me a guy who wants to play you straight up with a 5 iron and a rake, and I'll show you a guy who can shoot 72 with a rake."
Labels: Whining
John put this out here at 7:19 AM
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