I noticed this at the same time I came across a reactionary, blinders-on comment from someone who claims to work in the book industry, and that reminded me of the reactions I saw from publishers over a year ago at a Google digital book conference. There’s a pattern here, which is that too many in publishing are getting hung up on the “disruptive” part of the Kindle’s business model, and not trying to look for opportunities the way smart businesses would.

Read it at Kindlerama.com

(Photo: Gaetan Lee)

Here’s my take on one of the grimmest Clive Barker adaptations to come along in 20 years. It’s definitely not for everyone, and that’s why I liked it. And also why I no longer want to ride the subway at two in the morning.

Read the review at Monkeyskull.com

The G1 is the first phone to run Google’s open-source phone operating system, Android, and it holds a lot of promise. The phone, however, does not. Here’s my review on thenokiablog.com, and something like an apology to my N82, which I’ve come back to with my head hung in shame.

At consumerchris.posterous.com, you can read pretty much the same sort of drivel I used to post at Consumerist when I was Associate Editor there, only at far less frequent intervals. And since I’m not beholden to any notion of quotas now that I’m a free man, the subject matter will probably start to get a lot more chrisoteric. That’s a portmanteau of “chris” and “esoteric.” You’re welcome.

consumerchris.posterous.com

If you prefer the Twitter route, everything I post to Posterous will be micro-micro-blogged to Twitter. Isn’t the web amazing? I know!

twitter.com/consumerchris

Here are some new ideas I came up with for potential titles. I had so much fun writing this post, so it’s disappointing that Consumerist readers ignored it in droves. They are not the most humor-loving bunch, let me tell ya.

I’ve had trouble figuring out the right tone for it. Is it a blog for horror writers? No; I don’t really want to enable that community. Is it for snobby horror movie lovers? Is that even a group? Is it an upscale, watered-down rotten.com that trawls crime-related news feeds for morbid events? That’s too inhuman, even in low doses.

I think I’ve finally figured it out: it’s somewhere between Neatorama and BoingBoing, two of my favorite blogs for eccentric content, but it’s written by and for monsters (and the people who love them).

If there were a Neatorama blog in hell, it would be a little like Monkeyskull. Except, if it were actually in hell, everything would have a blink tag around it.

monkeyskull.com

The idea for this came from my optometrist, actually. I got my eyes examined recently and he told me how independent eyecare providers have to compete with the multinational behemoth that is Luxottica–and that while he can’t discuss prices with other companies, because that could be considered collusion, Lenscrafters, Pearl Vision, and Sunglass Hut are part of the same company. I don’t know how much information that means they can share, but it seems like the kind of thing people should be aware of.

My idea was to model a graphic after a mycelial colony, which is what we call it when a single fungus spreads out under the topsoil and sends up mushrooms all over creation. It’s creepy. (Especially if you don’t like mushrooms, and I don’t.) There’s a mycelial colony in Oregon that’s “estimated to be 2,400 years old, possibly older, and spans an estimated 2,200 acres,” according to Wikipedia. Arg! That’s terrible! Fungus is wrong!

Of course, my mycelial mat is imaginary and shoots up different types of mushrooms, which I think is pretty impossible. Also, some of the dozens of brands Luxottica is licensed to sell as eyeglass frames are represented by little flowers.

After I drew the sketch, I realized that it was too arcane an idea for the Consumerist audience and I shelved it.

Flickr page

Oh sure, it sounds boring now, but after writing for the Consumerist for almost six months, I’ve developed a healthy appreciation for our nation’s freewheeling, debt-accreting pathology. We are a messed up group of people when it comes to debt. That’s why I wanted to focus on some finance-related stats for my first chart.

I’m working on a new one for some time in February, and it will be about cell phone bills. I think it’s going to have leaches.

The problem with being a writer and having a business card is it looks stupid if you put “Writer” as your profession. At least, it does to me. It’s too hoity toity and fancy schmancy.  Maybe even a little frou frou, or la de dah. I want my cards to say fiddle dee dee! And I think these do, especially since “writer” is mentioned nowhere on them.

Why not visit The Consumerist right now at www.consumerist.com and see if I’ve got something posted on the front page? And if I do, be sure to leave a comment telling me how brilliant I am.