Author: Neon Vincent

Last month, I observed that “K-Mart is closing stores and Toys R Us is going out of business.  Those are definitely topics for another day.”  Today is that day, at least for Toys R Us.*

I begin with CNBC’s The Rise And Fall Of Toys R Us.

One of the most famous toy stores Toys R Us is closing its doors for good.

Oh, look, Bain Capital is involved with a failed toy store chain.  Where have I seen that before?

There’s a double irony here.  First, Toys R Us bought the KB Toys brand and was using it on its line of self-manufactured toys as of 2012.  Two years ago, it sold the name off and the new owners are planning on taking advantage of the former owner’s misfortune.  WKBW in Buffalo has that story, reporting KB Toys aims to fill the void of Toys ‘R’ Us.

Toys “R” Us is on its way out, but KB Toys is set to pop back up.

Strategic Marks, a company that buys and revitalizes defunct brands, owns the KB name and plans to open 1,000 pop-up KB Toys stores for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.

“My assumption is that there’s about half a billion dollars worth of toys that have been produced for Toys “R” Us with no place to go,” said Strategic Marks president Ellia Kassoff, in a phone interview with CNNMoney. “That’s a big, big void that we’re hoping to fill up.”
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After the holiday shopping season ends, Kassoff will decide which of the pop-up stores will become permanent, based on their performance and whether he can negotiate a lease.

I’m glad to have KB Toys back and wish the new owners luck.  They’ll need it.
Of course, I can’t be all DOOM all the time, so here is Jimmy Kimmel having some fun with the bad news as Geoffrey the Giraffe Despondent Over Toys ‘R’ Us Closing.

Toys ‘R’ Us is going out of business and is closing all 735 of their stores. There are many people who are upset about this, including Geoffrey the Giraffe who stopped by the studio to share his feelings on the situation.

Go home, Geoffrey.  You’re drunk.

*I’ll get to KMart in a future set of posts.  In the meantime, stay tuned for three more parts to this sad series.

I am fulfilling my promise to “have more on Business Insider on the retail apocalypse with an emphasis on stores instead of malls” to conclude Business Insider and Dan Bell on dead malls in the Retail Apocalypse with two graphs and a video.

First, Business Insider reported last September that more than 6,400 stores were shutting down in 2017.  In true “a picture is worth 1000 words” fashion, they presented the data visually.

I wrote last time that I would write about the demise of Payless.  This graphic shows that Radio Shack is another famous chain I need to examine.  Once again, Retail Archeology has videos, which I will use when I post that follow-up.

The third company closing lots of stores is Ascena Retail Group.  I didn’t know who they were, but I did know some of the chains they own, including Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Lane Bryant, and Loft.  I might suggest Retail Archeology look at them.  He already has a video about Claire’s.

Next, Business Insider followed up this April by reporting more than 3,800 stores will close in 2018.  The following graph displays the affected chains.

Both J.C. Penney and Macy’s closed more stores last year than Sears and are still closing stores this year, but fewer than Sears both this year and overall.  That doesn’t mean they’re immune from my eye.  I’ll look at all three of them in the future as well.

Happy National Mojito Day!  To celebrate it and complete my month-long run of guest-hosting this series, I’m sharing songs about the drink and drink recipes.  I begin with Bacardi Mojito Song (Robert Abigail).

Yes, Bacardi used that for a commercial, which I might post in the comments.

Now for an even goofier tune, Mojito Song – Thad Castle.

Once again, I’m concluding the diary proper by quoting Don Durito.

For those of you wondering how I and Neon Vincent are circumventing Sucuri to embed videos, here is an example of the embed code we use, so that you can replicate as wanted:

Just remember that each unique 11-digit video code in YouTube needs to be pasted in two separate locations within the embed code in order for your video to show up properly. So easy that I can do it!

With those instructions, feel free to post your favorite music videos in the comments.

I found a shiny object from Business Insider that gives another take on Vox on America’s dying malls as failed third spaces, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse — Reasons Why Malls Across The US Are Closing Down More Than Ever.

The American shopping mall is in a crisis. One of the largest malls in Pennsylvania, the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, sold for just $100. We explore the variety of reasons why malls cannot keep their stories afloat and are becoming vacant wastelands.

Hey, a mall that sold for $100?  I’ve seen something about that, Dan Bell’s DEAD MALL SERIES : The $100 Mall : The Disaster of Pittsburgh Mills.

Bell provided some telling details about the mall and its sale.  It was built in 2005, so it was already late to the party.  No wonder it never filled up and eventually failed.  Good luck to Wells Fargo getting its money back; they’ll need it.

Bell also showed a Payless store closing down.  I’ll have to cover Payless in a future installment of this series.  Fortunately, Retail Archeology has a video about it, which I’ll post when I write that episode.

I’ll have more next week on Business Insider on the retail apocalypse with an emphasis on stores instead of malls.  Stay tuned.

Happy Hump Day and Happy 4th of July!  From now until July 11th, I’m taking over for Don Durito, spinning tunes and serving drinks for everyone’s entertainment.

As I wrote in the final comment to Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 71, “expect songs about the 4th of July.”  I begin with Chicago – Saturday in the Park (lyrics) HD.

“Saturday in the Park” is a classic song written by Robert Lamm and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1972 album Chicago V. “Saturday in the Park” was very successful upon release, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band’s highest-charting single to date, helping lift the album to #1. – Wikipedia

Moving forward to the 1980s, I present John Mellencamp – R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (A Salute To 60’s Rock) to continue the patriotic pop music.

Music video by John Mellencamp performing R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (A Salute To 60’s Rock).

Since Mellencamp referenced the 1960s, I’ll conclude the music portion of the diary by traveling back to that decade with Surfin’ U.S.A. by The Beach Boys.

Surfin’ U.S.A. (Stereo) · The Beach Boys

Once again, I’m concluding the diary proper by quoting Don Durito.

For those of you wondering how I and Neon Vincent are circumventing Sucuri to embed videos, here is an example of the embed code we use, so that you can replicate as wanted:

Just remember that each unique 11-digit video code in YouTube needs to be pasted in two separate locations within the embed code in order for your video to show up properly. So easy that I can do it!

With those instructions, feel free to post your favorite music videos in the comments.

In the middle of the tale of revenge that is A snail story for Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day, I made the following bittersweet observation.

While many malls are in trouble or have closed, such as the Northland Mall next to where I teach, the Somerset Collection is still thriving.  One of these days, it will close, but not any time soon.

Vox noticed the wave of shopping mall failures in What America’s shopping mall decline means for social space.

The mall was America’s third place — for better or for worse.
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Our lives are lived in 1 of 3 places, the home, the workplace and the “third place,” which is anywhere outside of those two.
Toward the end of the 20th century, the regional shopping mall had become that third place, the hang-out spot in suburban America. This was largely by design — an immigrant architect created the first mall in the vision that it would be a community gathering place.
The plan didn’t work out as he intended. While malls did take off, they more often than not couldn’t quite catch on as ideal “third places.” But with an estimated 25% of shopping malls expected to close in the next five years, there’s an opportunity to re-examine where Americans spend their time and what could be the next iteration of the third place.

Oh, shiny!  Vox used clips from at least one of the two documentaries themselves recycled in The End of Suburbia.  I’d ask at the video if that’s where they found those segments, but the comments section to the video has been overrun with trolls.  So much for chasing that shiny object.

More seriously, malls did not make ideal “third spaces” because they did not exhibit all eight characteristics.  The Steampunk fans ejected from San Diego area mall four years ago found that out the hard way.  They ran afoul of rules intended to keep gang members from frequenting the mall and scaring away shoppers.  As the KPBS article I quoted pointed out, “Malls are private property. They have the right to determine who shops there.”  That means you!
Vox isn’t the only YouTube creator to notice the decline of malls.  This is Dan Bell has an ongoing Dead Mall Series on the subject.  Here is the installment posted nearly simultaneously with Vox’s video: DEAD MALL SERIES : Palm Trees and Broken Dreams : West Oaks Mall : Ocoee, Florida.

I admit I find a certain macabre fascination to the series, which is on-topic for this blog.  I might return to it, as Bell has a video of two declining malls in Flint, Michigan, and another of an abandoned K-Mart.  That reminds me; K-Mart is closing stores and Toys R Us has just gone out of business.  Those are definitely topics for another day.

Happy Hump Day!  From now until July 11th, I’m taking over for Don Durito, spinning tunes and serving drinks for everyone’s entertainment.

It’s summer!  To celebrate, I’m doing the same thing for this week’s music party that I did in Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 57, share songs that celebrate the season.

I begin a song celebrating the beginning of summer when I was a kid, Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out!”

It should come as no surprise that this song has been used in at least one movie, “Dazed and Confused.”  I never get too far from movie music.

Continuing with the 1970s, the next song is “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Crofts.

For the final 1970s song about summer, I’m sharing Mungo Jerry – “In The Summertime” ORIGINAL 1970.

I plan on posting more summer songs in the comments.
Once again, I’m concluding the diary proper by quoting Don Durito.

For those of you wondering how I and Neon Vincent are circumventing Sucuri to embed videos, here is an example of the embed code we use, so that you can replicate as wanted:

Just remember that each unique 11-digit video code in YouTube needs to be pasted in two separate locations within the embed code in order for your video to show up properly. So easy that I can do it!

With those instructions, feel free to post your favorite music videos in the comments.

Happy Hump Day!  From now until July 11th, I’m taking over for Don Durito, spinning tunes and serving drinks for everyone’s entertainment.

Once again, my selections for this week’s diary have been inspired by my love of movie music and awards shows.  I chose the music from “Black Panther” because Monday was the MTV Movie & TV Awards and next Wednesday will be the Saturn Awards.  “Black Panther” was the big movie winner at the MTV Awards and could be the big winner next week at the Saturn Awards, where it is nominated for its music along with thirteen other nominations, more than any other movie.

Here are the two songs I think could earn a Grammy and/or Oscar nomination next year.  Both of them are by Kendrick Lamar with other artists.  First, Kendrick Lamar, SZA – All The Stars.

That’s a very good video with imagery inspired by the movie, but for actual scenes from “Black Panther,” watch The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (Lyric Video).

I plan on posting selections from the instrumental soundtrack in the comments.
Once again, I’m concluding the diary proper by quoting Don Durito.

For those of you wondering how I and Neon Vincent are circumventing Sucuri to embed videos, here is an example of the embed code we use, so that you can replicate as wanted:

Just remember that each unique 11-digit video code in YouTube needs to be pasted in two separate locations within the embed code in order for your video to show up properly. So easy that I can do it!

With those instructions, feel free to post your favorite music videos in the comments.

In March 2017, I posted Trump’s wiretapping claim shows his vulnerability for conspiracy theories at my personal blog, which became the 27th most read entry of last year.  This month, Vox Trump invented a fake spy scandal. People will still believe it, which shows that Trump still loves conspiracy theories.

It’s a tactic the president has used before, and it works.
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President Trump calls it calls it “spygate:” the allegation that the FBI and democrats put a spy in his campaign to help Hillary Clinton. It’s not true.

Top [R]epublicans like Speaker Paul Ryan have even disputed the president. But even though it’s a conspiracy theory, millions of Americans will still believe it. It’s a playbook he has used before.

“Spygate” is an attempt to delegitimize the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. If the American people lose trust in them, they won’t believe whatever the investigation finds. It’s working.

Some things just don’t change.

This concludes the current series on political psychology.  I may return to the topic later, but only after I post about the Retail Apocalypse.  Stay tuned.

In the video I embedded in Seeker explains how television entertainment can shape our political opinions, presenter and writer Amy Shira Teitel told viewers to click on a video showing ‘the mind games politicians play to win.’  Here is The Mind Games Politicians Use To Win Votes from Seeker/DNews.

Politicians put a lot of work into the way they get votes, and it’s not just by writing a great speech.

Two of the sources for this video deserve closer scrutiny, beginning with Tears and fears: How do emotions change our political attitudes?

“There’s been a lot of focus in recent years on emotions and political attitudes, but the ways we, as political scientists, have studied this phenomena have made it hard to draw firm conclusions,” said Dr. Jonathan Renshon, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We bypassed many of the methodological problems of previous studies by inducing an emotion unrelated to politics and measuring its effects not with self-reports but with tonic skin conductance.”
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“We found that the anxiety we generated was powerful enough that people couldn’t simply turn it off, it carried over to unrelated domains and actually influenced people’s political beliefs, particularly their attitudes towards immigrants,” concluded Renshon. “This is all the more important as political campaigns become more adept at stimulating and manipulating the emotions of the general public.”

The conclusion of this press release leads me to the conclusion of Deep Voice Gives Politicians Electoral Boost by Diana Kwon at Scientific American.

We like to think that we consider our electoral options carefully, and base our decisions on conscious, rational judgments. But it may be a candidate’s height, attractiveness or voice that play outsized roles when we go to the polls.

I’d like to agree with Julia Wilde, the presenter of the video above, that, once we know about the emotional buttons politicians press, we can work to suppress them and pay attention to policy and other rational matters, but I think that’s easier said than done.

I hope my readers keep that in mind this election year.  May they at least try to make a rational decision instead of an emotional one when they vote.