Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Tick tock
"A man with a watch knows what time it is." Or so I believe goes the first clause of Segal's Law (not Steven, the pony-tailed high kicker and judo chopper). Sounds like a wise man.
Upper 10 was fortunate enough on Thursday night to host a merry gathering of wise men and women for our inaugural "Watch Evening".
The main thrust of the evening was to launch our fantastic new Arctos Range- see previous blogs. However, we were also fortunate to have a serious additional range of very collectible pieces including several Pre-Tag Heuer chronographs, and a fantastically kitsch "Time computer" from the 70s complete with red LED display!
The evening was most enjoyable and a great success, many thanks to those who attended, the next will be going in the diary soon- so be sure to make the time to drop by for a drink a chat and a look at some very cool watches!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Book Club
I've read some really good books recently..... really good ones. Then along came a really bad one....really bad. It would never normally enter my mind to foist my opinions on books, or anything else, on anyone else, but this last one has riled me, and rankled away to the extent that I feel the need to share. Usually I read books that have been reccommended to me, or physically passed my way for digestion; on this occasion I chose the book myself and even went out of my way to buy it. I think this active involvement on my part is a big factor in my annoyance now- there's nobody else to blame, I brought this on myself.
I think that there is a self-satisfaction that comes with having read a good book. A good book of any genre educates as well as entertains, its been my long-held belief that books (good ones) teach you how to think. Books and their characters, provide new ways of considering problems, and different mental vantage points from which to assess life's more interesting challenges. There have been many times that I have failed to pass on a book to the Chairman just so that I could bask in, and enjoy my own increasing wealth in the currency of knowledge that I had just gleaned from its pages.
I hope you are by now beginning to appreciate this important, and small minded aspect of my enjoyment of reading, and that you can, therefore, understand my excitement at having found this great book, which would furnish me with throw away lines and facts to hurl down as winners in arguments with the Chairman, as majestically as Federer would unfurl a backhand down the line.... or so I hoped.
The book in Question? A best seller that I'm sure many of you will have heard of and surely some will have read: "Freakonomics" by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. What better as a business owner and Entrepreneur to read the thoughts of this sage of our times, the man who applies complex economic theorem to everyday issues and produces brilliant counter-intuitive conclusions- Brilliant! How would the Chairman and members of the board live with my interjections across the mahogany board room table once I was furnished with this kind of conversational firepower?
Its a dud, a flop, a phoney and I think it might even be a con. I think my cognative powers may have actually diminished with each page. The Chairman who is more Michael Buble than Michaelangelo in matters cerebral, had nothing to fear from me the day I finished the final page- and finish I did, just in case enlightenment was lurking in the last line- it wasn't. Somehow Levitt (the economist, who enjoys a huge retainer at the University of Chicago) and Dubner (the journo turned author) managed to spend about 250 pages running through about 4 arguments. One of which was to do with Sumo wrestlers throwing matches (they do apparently) and another linking names with success in life. Of course Sumo's throw matches, it has gone on and still goes on in every major sport, and of course Children with certain names will fare better on average than those with others. Poor and underpriviledged parents will lean towards certain names for their kids, and on average those kids will fare worse in life because of their poor and underpriviledged start in life, not because of their name itself- I could have told you that.
The reason I think it might be a con, and all be a bit disingenious is because one of the books main theories is to do with the effect of abortion on the crime rate- a highly emotive and controversial subject in the Christian heartlands in the US of A. When this hit the media there was an almighty furore in the press and media. Levitt was villified by many despite the intrinsic sound principal of his theory. It is the prerogative of the economist and scientist to operate outside and beyond the sphere of religious morality- try telling that to the Bible Belt.
I think Levitt has opportunistically ridden the publicity to promote and sell an apallingly written, uninteresting and dull book to the masses- me included. Don't buy it, don't read it, its a whole lot of uninteresting, repetitive waffle fleshing out the one interesting and morally explosive bone that Levitt stumbled accross.
These are not the views of Upper 10 Ltd- just one of its subjects.
I think that there is a self-satisfaction that comes with having read a good book. A good book of any genre educates as well as entertains, its been my long-held belief that books (good ones) teach you how to think. Books and their characters, provide new ways of considering problems, and different mental vantage points from which to assess life's more interesting challenges. There have been many times that I have failed to pass on a book to the Chairman just so that I could bask in, and enjoy my own increasing wealth in the currency of knowledge that I had just gleaned from its pages.
I hope you are by now beginning to appreciate this important, and small minded aspect of my enjoyment of reading, and that you can, therefore, understand my excitement at having found this great book, which would furnish me with throw away lines and facts to hurl down as winners in arguments with the Chairman, as majestically as Federer would unfurl a backhand down the line.... or so I hoped.
The book in Question? A best seller that I'm sure many of you will have heard of and surely some will have read: "Freakonomics" by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. What better as a business owner and Entrepreneur to read the thoughts of this sage of our times, the man who applies complex economic theorem to everyday issues and produces brilliant counter-intuitive conclusions- Brilliant! How would the Chairman and members of the board live with my interjections across the mahogany board room table once I was furnished with this kind of conversational firepower?
Its a dud, a flop, a phoney and I think it might even be a con. I think my cognative powers may have actually diminished with each page. The Chairman who is more Michael Buble than Michaelangelo in matters cerebral, had nothing to fear from me the day I finished the final page- and finish I did, just in case enlightenment was lurking in the last line- it wasn't. Somehow Levitt (the economist, who enjoys a huge retainer at the University of Chicago) and Dubner (the journo turned author) managed to spend about 250 pages running through about 4 arguments. One of which was to do with Sumo wrestlers throwing matches (they do apparently) and another linking names with success in life. Of course Sumo's throw matches, it has gone on and still goes on in every major sport, and of course Children with certain names will fare better on average than those with others. Poor and underpriviledged parents will lean towards certain names for their kids, and on average those kids will fare worse in life because of their poor and underpriviledged start in life, not because of their name itself- I could have told you that.
The reason I think it might be a con, and all be a bit disingenious is because one of the books main theories is to do with the effect of abortion on the crime rate- a highly emotive and controversial subject in the Christian heartlands in the US of A. When this hit the media there was an almighty furore in the press and media. Levitt was villified by many despite the intrinsic sound principal of his theory. It is the prerogative of the economist and scientist to operate outside and beyond the sphere of religious morality- try telling that to the Bible Belt.
I think Levitt has opportunistically ridden the publicity to promote and sell an apallingly written, uninteresting and dull book to the masses- me included. Don't buy it, don't read it, its a whole lot of uninteresting, repetitive waffle fleshing out the one interesting and morally explosive bone that Levitt stumbled accross.
These are not the views of Upper 10 Ltd- just one of its subjects.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
HAKA!!
Indulge me one more rugby-centric Blog, after all it is the eve of the second best Rugby Tournament in the world. I'm pleased to see that Brian Ashton read my previous posting and went with Jonny for tomorrow. Although in retrospect, it seems Narraway has been the big selectorial talking point of the week, and not the Jonny/Cipps axis as I had predicted. I'm all for blooding in a bit of youth, and he seems a big athletic lump of a number eight which is fine by me. I wonder to what extent that is due to growing up a butcher's son and dining on choice cuts of British beef as a youth? Thank goodness his Dad didn't have some sort of Vegan/Fruitarian Emporium; surely then he wouldn't have turned out a grizzled 17 stone beast and might have instead been an underweight, pallid synchronised basket weaver or something.
Seriously though, with the formidable, settled and experienced front five we've currently got, it can't be a bad time to make a debut in the back row; you'd have thought he'll have the benefit of operating from a stable platform- we'll see...
Casting my eye over the line-ups I thought their (the Welsh) backs looked pretty good compared to ours, but that our forwards looked better than theirs. Bearing in mind you win rugby matches with your forwards, and factoring in JW's goal kicking, I predict a home win Tomorrow. Again, we'll see....
So you may or may not be wondering why there is a picture of the Haka atop this article. Allow me to explain. Here at Upper 10 we have made the acqaintance of a fantastic local artist and rugby fan, he paints phenomenal canvas images of rugby and other sporting scenes and moments. Obviously the Haka is one of the most evocative and impressive sights in rugby and Rob has captured it marvellously in a huge canvas that we currently have on display and available for sale at £350 in Upper 10. It is approx 2ft x 3ft and in stark black and white would handsomely adorn the wall of any rugby fan. Come along and check it out!!!!
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