web analytics

JerseySmarts.com

Black Friday 2013 Review

Posted on by

Not too long ago I would wake up early to fully engage in the Black Friday chaos. During the years when I was a graduate student and wasn’t burdened by the repayment of my then-growing student loans, I would take the time to review different Black Friday-themed ads and plot a course for the day. I’d scope out electronics deals, major DVD sales, and I’d always be sure to include a stop at the Walmart that is local to my family’s house because the store manager there would do his own, half-hour sales which were never advertised. It’s remarkable that I used to enjoy going to these stores on Black Friday because today I have zero interest in the mayhem.

Even though I was never in a store that was this bad, I used to go out and shop on Black Friday.

Even though I was never in a store that was this bad, I used to go out and shop on Black Friday.

In fact, I was so wrapped up in Black Friday that I used to write about it right here on the blog. I wrote reviews of Black Friday dating back to 2008, 2006, 2005, and even way back in 2004. After 2008, I stopped going out on Black Friday. It was around that time when I really started planning to kick my student loan repayment into high gear. Plus, some time around 2008 is when the insanity of Black Friday shopping was reaching an apex. And if there were ever two good reasons to stay away from the big box stores and malls on Black Friday, then those are two really good reasons to stay at home.

Fast forward to 2013 and things are a little bit different. First, I no longer have the albatross of student loans weighing me down. Second, stores are now opening on Thanksgiving night to accommodate a portion of the traditional Black Friday crowd. And finally, so many consumers out there are struggling financially that the idea of spending all day shopping on Black Friday just doesn’t make good financial sense any more. It’s certainly a different world than back in 2008 when I last wrote a review of what I encountered on Black Friday. And since the world is a little bit different now than it was back in 2008 I decided to brave the stores on Thanksgiving weekend for the first time in years. This is what I found…

Thanksgiving Night Shopping
Around 11:00pm I decided to go shopping for two specific items. The items weren’t for my family since I finished Christmas shopping for them well before Thanksgiving. Instead, the items I was looking to purchase were for my church’s Christmas giving tree. If you’re not familiar with a giving tree, it’s where the less fortunate folks in a parish ask the church for help in providing their kids with a merry Christmas morning by helping them buy a few gifts. Within the program, though, there are restrictions. For example, at my church you need to be an active parishioner in order to participate in the program. In other words, you can’t just show up in November and say, “Hey, I need help buying gifts again this year.” Nope – ain’t going to happen.

I also have some personal rules that I follow for the Christmas giving tree program. One of those rules is that I don’t buy gift cards. Over the years, the number of tags on the giving tree that are asking for gift cards to Walmart, Target, Shoprite, and other retailers has grown exponentially. And if the purpose of the giving tree is to ensure that young kids wake up on Christmas morning with a few toys to play with under the tree, then I don’t see how a gift card gets a 6 year old boy or a 7 year old girl to that end. One of my other rules is that I tend to gravitate towards buying gifts for boys instead of girls. Something about going into a toy store and buying a Barbie or a princess play set doesn’t work for me. I couldn’t tell you why – it just doesn’t work. Perhaps my most important rule, though, is that I try to pick giving tree tags for younger kids. I understand that teenagers have as much need for a merry Christmas morning as the young ones, but the young ones have stronger memories of the “good times” during the Christmas season. Plus, at some point if you’re a parent and you’re asking for help getting your 15 or 16 year old kid some gifts for Christmas (and you’ve done so for the last 15 or 16 years), then you failed at some aspect of your life. And I know that is a presumptuous statement, but if you have a 15+ year track record of not being able to save a few buck each year so you can buy 3 or 4 nice things for your 15+ year old kids during Christmas, then I’m not interested in advancing your inability to plan ahead and live an irresponsible lifestyle.

So I stick with getting gifts for the little ones. Now back to the story…

This year, I picked two gift tags – one for a 7 year old boy and one for a 9 year old boy. They both wanted wrestling toys. One wanted a wrestling figure and the other wanted a wrestling ring: two very easy toys to pick up on Thanksgiving night after I left my family’s house. At some point around 11:00pm I went to the local K-Mart and they had all of the toys right there. Most importantly, though, they didn’t have an excessive amount of people in the parking lot or in the store. In fact, it looked like any other Thursday night in the store. I grabbed a few wrestling figures and the ring and headed for the checkout (I go a little bit above any beyond so when a kid asks for a wrestling ring, he gets a ring and two wrestling figures and when a kid asks for a single wrestling figure, he gets three). And the checkout is what stopped me in my tracks. After very publicly promoting that they’d be open all Thanksgiving Day and night, my local K-Mart had two cashiers working. TWO! Look, if you’re only going to put two cashiers on duty on what could have been one of the heaviest shopping nights of the year, then you’re better off not opening the store at all.

Each of the two checkout lines was about 15 people deep and everyone was pissed that the store decided to open without adequate coverage in the checkout lanes. After spending some time observing (I observe a lot when I’m in these stores), I realized that people with only a few items were checking out quicker at the courtesy desk. I quickly moved over to the courtesy desk, checked out, and left the K-Mart with my Christmas giving tree toys in hand (actually, they were in a bag). My next stop was JCPenney at the Monmouth Mall. Admittedly, this stop wasn’t for the giving tree, but rather JCPenney is one of the few stores where you can find really high quality big and tall clothing, so I stopped there to see what was on sale. I wound up buying a quarter zip sweater that was actually too big (I returned it the next day for the right size). Some of my observations about JCPenney include the fact that a lot of the Thursday night shoppers – and by “a lot” I mean at least 90% of the entire population that I saw in my area that night – were of specific ethnic or cultural descent. I’m not suggesting that 90% of the people in the stores were a single ethnicity or cultural identity – not at all. Instead, I’m saying that 90% of the entire population consisted of a diversity of people including first generation Mexican immigrants, Orthodox Jewish people, first and second generation Indian families, etc. If I had to suggest a single ethnicity that was more prevalent than the rest, then I’d say that the Hispanic population outpaced everyone else by leaps and bounds. Anyway, just a random observation that occurred to me while I was at JCPenney.

After my quick stop at JCPenney (I was in the store for a total of about 10 minutes), I headed to one of the habitually worst places to shop in Monmouth County – the Neptune Township Walmart. Honestly, folks, if you ever want to have a horrendous shopping experience, then go to the Neptune Walmart at any time of the day and try to order anything from the deli counter. If you get away from that deli counter in under 15 – 20 minutes, it would be record-breaking. Anyway, my purpose of going to this disaster area on Thanksgiving Night was to purchase the gift bags that my church requires you place your giving tree gifts in before you bring them to the church. And I have to admit – this wasn’t a big ordeal for me on Thanksgiving Night. I went into the store, grabbed the two gift bags, walked to the register and waited a split second while the person in front of my checked out, and then I checked out myself and left the store. As I left the store I was asked to show my receipt and my purchases (which were in my hand because I refused to take a plastic bag to put two paper gift bags in). My entire experience at the Neptune Walmart was not aggravating at all and that is pretty shocking considering that store’s atrocious history. I should comment, though, that I didn’t venture to the back of the store where the electronics department is located. I looked back there and it looked like Armageddon on earth, but I didn’t dare take a walk to that part of the store. No reason to ruin my shopping experience, you know?

And that was my Thanksgiving Night experience.

Black Friday
The only thing I did on Black Friday was head back to JCPenney to return and switch out the quarter-zip sweater that I purchased a few days earlier. There was a small line in the store, but it was fully acceptable. In fact, I have to salute the young woman who handled my switch request at the checkout counter. She ran into a series of problems trying to make the switch in the system and she kept asking for my patience, which I always give to a cashier (I always remember that the last thing they need is an angry me staring at them). And because I was so patient with this woman, she took an additional $10 off of my purchase which brought the item down from its original price of $45 to the sale price of $25 to the additional reduced price of $15. Not bad for a nice piece of winter clothing.

And that’s the whole of my shopping experience this Black Friday. The lessons learned include that shopping on Thanksgiving Night means less crowds and higher diversity of shoppers while the big department stores make returning items a very easy and even thankful process. Another lesson learned is that I’m thankful to have completed my shopping before Thanksgiving and via all-online stores. Overall, I was very pleased with this year’s shopping experience, though not pleased enough to make it a regular occurrence each year.

Book Review: When Wrestling Was Rasslin’ by Peter Birkholz

Posted on by

From time to time I’ll get a request to review a self-published book and to post that review on JerseySmarts.com. I’m always mixed about what to do with these requests. On the one hand, I’ve not really been impressed with any of the self-published books that I’ve read. I even have two self-published books sitting in my NOOK HD+ that I’ve been trying to read for the last year or so. They’re just so poorly written that I can’t manage more than a page or two before I have to take a break. Yet on the other hand, I’m a nut for literature and the professor in me enjoys reading other people’s work – especially when they willingly ask me to offer an opinion on what they’ve written!

However, the latest self-published review request that I received was actually an easy decision for me to make. The request was from a group called Rasslin’ Books and the book that they asked if I was interested in reviewing was called When Wrestling Was Rasslin’ by Peter Birkholz. My response to being asked to review a book about the early, regional days of professional wrestling? Of course!

The early territorial days of professional wrestling have always fascinated me as a topic of discussion. No, I’m not talking about the “regions” of WWE and WCW or today’s breakdown of WWE and TNA. And I’m not even talking about WWE in the 1980s versus the fragile coalition of the National Wrestling Alliance during that time. I’m talking about going back – way back – to the 1920s and 1930s. I’ve always been fascinated about learning the inside story of what really went on in the territories back when professional wrestling was like the Wild West!

For better or for worse, Birkholz’s book is not that story. The book’s cover suggests that this is the “inside story of the legendary Houston Wrestling promotion.” That’s true enough. However, if you’re a fan of what professional wrestling has become today, then this is not the “inside story” that you think you’re buying. This isn’t the story of why a certain performer was chosen to be a champion over someone else. This isn’t the real story of why a certain wrestler was run out of town. This isn’t the story about wrestlers (or promoters in this case) traveling the roads and filling the pages with story after story of unbelievable moments.

When Wrestling Was Rasslin’ is none of those things.

Instead, this is a story about professional wrestling. No, it’s not about the new millennium where one global behemoth company dominates the sports entertainment landscape. And no, this isn’t about the cable television war during the 1990s or the unique attitude that came along with it. In fact, this story isn’t even about the big time 1980s and the pop life prominence that wrestling first enjoyed during that decade. This is a story about a wrestling landscape that goes back further – back to the beginning of professional wrestling in the Houston, Texas area. To his credit, Birkholz does a very good job of detailing the formative years of the Houston Wrestling promotion and talking about how it survived as a business over its initial decades (and ultimately its final years). In some ways, Birkholz has written the story that people have been waiting for Paul Heyman to write about the original ECW, but I digress.

A point of contention for some readers may be that the book reads like you’re sitting down with your grandfather, uncle, or another older relative and listening to them tell stories about days gone by. This is likely a point of contention for some readers because let’s face it – younger generations today are just rude and disrespectful of the art of storytelling that so many older generations relish in. Yet, I believe the methodical pace that the book is presented in is the exact style that Birkholz is attempting to achieve and he does so masterfully.

If you’re okay with the fact that this book reads like you’re listening to a storyteller from an older generation, then one criticism of the story is that it is easy for your mind to wander to other things. For example, I usually read my books with a television on near-mute (to provide some background noise) and with the windows open so natural light and fresh air can come in. Well, it was easy to be distracted while reading this book because if you’ve ever been caught by an older relative who wants to tell you stories, you know that your mind begins to wander after a while. This isn’t a criticism of the book’s content, but it is a recommendation to read the book in short spurts of 15 – 20 pages at a time in order to get the most out of it.

One of the reasons that your mind can wander while reading this book is because it’s less of an actual story and more of a yearbook (ideally, the book would have been titled, “The Houston Wrestling Yearbook”). The methodical pace of writing that I referenced above really refers to the structure of the unofficial “chapters” in the book (there is no Table of Contents, so I assumed each of the new headings creates a new chapter). Each of these “chapters” is broken into a decade where Birkholz writes about every one of the ten years of that decade. He draws much of his material from reading match listings and recalling a memory or two of having sat through those events. This pace is interesting at first, but ultimately becomes irritating when you realize that the entire book is written in this formula. By the time I reached the “chapter” on the 1970s, I was exhausted with this format. Thankfully, I had four several hour-long train rides in the last few weeks which allowed me the time and patience I needed to make it through the book, regardless of its format.

On the flip side, once you get towards the end of the book it really becomes an interesting story about the shift in power that occurred during the 1980s. The story of how the ownership of Houston Wrestling was split up and then ultimately how Vince McMahon came in, gave Houston a shot, backed out, and then was brought back to the table is one that I would have loved to read much more about – and from more perspectives. Birkholz does an admirable job of covering that period of time and I would recommend that any wrestling fan who can get their hands on this book read through those pages because it really is an interesting part of the story.

A general criticism I would offer is that at times Birkholz the storyteller/former promoter over-sensationalizes the matches and performers that he writes about each year. Sensationalizing matches and performers is not an uncommon trait for professional wrestling promoters and announcers, so I’m already preconditioned to know how to digest this type of hype. Although, when I was some 50 pages into the book I did begin to grow weary of reading about how this guy was arguably the “greatest performer ever” and that his opponent was probably the “best wrestler in the world” and this event was the “biggest event in wrestling history” and the other event was the “most talked about event in years.” You get the point. That went on for the entire book in seemingly every paragraph. That type of hyperbole may be more true than false during the moment and more right than wrong, but it’s also tiresome for a reader to follow along over an entire book.

Also, at times it would have been nice to learn more about the behind-the-scenes discussions that accompany any wrestling promotion. Birkholz tells the early story of professional wrestling in Houston more from a long-time fan’s perspective than from what is commonly thought of as an “insider” perspective. There’s nothing wrong with his fan’s perspective, but if you think you’re going to learn about the backstage discussions that led to, for example, Verne Gagne not becoming the undisputed NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the 1950s, then you’re not going to get that here. And, frankly, that’s okay.

If you’re a wrestling fan, you should not let the lack of backstage “insider” discussion from 60 years ago prevent you from getting your hands on this book. For this wrestling fan, it was a fun read and a very colorful trip down sports entertainment’s memory lane.

Book Review: Countdown to Lockdown

Posted on by

Fans of professional wrestling will immediately recognize the name of this book as it was written by current TNA Wrestling star, former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and former WWE Champion Mick Foley. Wrestling fans may also recognize this title because it was promoted on both TNA Wrestling and WWE programming, which is a first for a book written about the professional wrestling/sports entertainment industry.

The name of Foley’s latest book is Countdown to Lockdown. Lockdown’s focus is a short, six-week period of time leading up to Foley’s match against Sting in the main event of TNA Wrestling’s Lockdown event which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Younger wrestling fans will love reading about Foley’s state of mind as he recounts his actions in the ring promoting this match and during the match. Older wrestling fans will enjoy reading Foley’s commentary on the wrestling world, including his frequent references to and shots at Vince McMahon. However, I think all consumers of good literature will like reading about how Foley’s life is intimately informed by the world around him and how he interacts (and gives back) to that world.

My favorite story from the book isn’t actually wrestling-related. In fact, my favorite story recounts how Foley donated money to a small area of Africa to help build a school for the children there. Yet, Foley didn’t stop by just donating money to build the school – he actually went over to Africa for a site visit. This is my favorite story in the book because Foley recounts how he was treated like a king including having choirs of young children singing his name and being greeted and thanked by all of the local townspeople.

There’s something about envisioning the “Hardcore Legend” being exalted in sub-Saharan Africa that the wrestling fan in me really enjoys. The philanthropist in me, though, loves the fact that Foley gives away so much of his income to worthwhile, charitable causes.

I also enjoyed the frequent references to Tori Amos and her song “Winter,” which you can listen to by hitting play on the video below. Foley talks about how this song is his go-to song to amp him up for the biggest matches in his wrestling career. And yet, he says that he’s only listened to this song a small handful of times before his matches. In other words, he only uses this song to get prepared for a match when it is an especially important match to him, personally. Pretty amazing.

From a wrestling fan’s perspective, the constant jabs at McMahon are really fun to read. And when I write that the jabs are fun to read, I’m not suggesting that I enjoy reading about someone taking shots at McMahon. Not at all, actually. Instead, I’m more suggesting that so few wrestling books take the time to comment on how McMahon interacts with his talent backstage that Countdown to Lockdown provides a refreshing alternative to the pack. Of particular entertainment is the discussion around Foley’s time as an announcer on WWE Smackdown!

As a reader and wrestling fan, I felt bad for Foley when he recounted his story about McMahon almost ruining a planned family vacation by yelling and screaming at Foley through his headset during a live show. In fact, Foley talks about how McMahon used the type of language that he wouldn’t even dare to repeat in his book, which is pretty amazing considering that all manner of craziness is usually included in wrestling books. After reading that story and reading about some McMahon’s other pet peeves when it comes to announcing (for example, he doesn’t like the use of “he” or “it” or “she” – instead he wants proper names always used), I watched a few minutes of WWE RAW this past Monday night and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself a little bit. Not only was Foley right on the money about McMahon’s pet peeves, but it was really funny listening to Michael Cole have to say things like, “Jack Swagger comes off the ropes into Daniel Bryan and Daniel Bryan, King, seems like he’s ready to launch a comeback against Jack Swagger. I wonder if Jack Swagger will be able to hold off the brunt of the offense being unleashed now by Daniel Bryan!? And Daniel Bryan with a few big right hands against the head of Jack Swagger; Jack Swagger reeling from this assault from Daniel Bryan and Daniel Bryan is on top!”

It’s ridiculous to listen to the announcers on WWE programing when you’re listening after reading this chapter in Foley’s book.

There are a lot of gems in Countdown to Lockdown and I think that readers of all types and ages will enjoy reading this book. It’s one of those rare pieces that starts in one literary world (wrestling books) and crosses over into a variety of other worlds including inspirational piece, autobiography, historical commentary, and work of art. If you’re looking for a good, solid read, then I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book.

Remarkable – Former Hawk Travis Taylor Now NOT Going to Boston College

Posted on by

Frankly, folks, this is remarkable. Former Monmouth University men’s basketball player Travis Taylor was supposed to be heading to Boston College to play basketball in the fall. Well, the word on the street is that the plan to go to BC isn’t going to happen after all. Below is a portion of an entry from The Hawks Nest blog which talks about the reason why the plan wound up falling apart.

Former Monmouth forward Travis Taylor is now back on the market and won’t attend Boston College.

I’m hearing BC wasn’t aware that Taylor had been suspended for seven games last season for “violating team rules.” Really? How do you not know that?

Anyway, the 6-foot-7 Taylor, a Union, N.J. native, will visit Xavier Tuesday and is also considering Miami, Cincinnati and Arizona State.

“Travis and his family want to utilize the three remaining official visits he has left before he makes a decision,” a source with knowledge said. “Considering we’re about to enter the second live period this could drag into August.”

Taylor averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds last season.

Boston College Says No

Wow. I have a few comments on this new story from The Hawks Next. First, at this point I’m not sure if this information is confirmed or strong speculation, so it might be best to label it as allegedly true instead of known fact. Hey, we all thought that Taylor was heading to Boston College, right?

Second, let me echo what the Asbury Park Press’ Tony Graham wrote above – how did Boston College NOT know that Taylor was suspended for seven games in the middle of last season?! Really? They didn’t know that? Who does the recruiting up there? Were they asleep at the wheel? I don’t know the details of the situation, but one could make a strong argument that the primary reason why Taylor is leaving Monmouth is because of that suspension. So did the recruiter at Boston College say, “Why are leaving Monmouth?” and accept a generic answer like, “I’m trying to raise my profile?”

I mean come on!

And finally, I wanted to repost a comment that someone named redskin22 posted on The Hawks Nest blog:

This is very sad- Ego’s is what this move is all about. The damage that his mom and mentor have done to this kid is unbelievable.

Has far as taking him back to MU – No Way!!!! He, his mom and his mentor have burn that bridge. This is what happens when people who think they know college basketball get a hold of a kid. they screw it up almost always.

Look, I don’t know what the core reason was for Taylor wanting to leave Monmouth. There were rumors that Dave Calloway’s coaching style was too aggressive for most of the players and that he treated them like kids rather than young adults. Who knows if that is true other than the players? The comment above suggests that Taylor’s Mom wanted him out of the program – who has anyway of knowing if that is true besides Mrs. Taylor and her son? Was it Taylor’s “mentor” that brought the Mom and son delusions of grandeur? No one can know for sure.

What we do know at this point is this: Taylor was suspended for seven games in the middle of the season for violating team rules. The rumors suggest that it had something to do with smoking some weed, which was a very poor decision on Taylor’s behalf as it negatively impacted his teammates during the season, the health of his team after the season ended, and his own character in the college basketball world (as the Boston College story above represents). What we can all, I think, safely speculate at this point is that this was a tremendously bad decision on Taylor’s part and that it probably wasn’t worth the few hours of a high that he may have received from smoking up.

Then again, are we now expecting college kids to consistently act with the type of responsibility that we expect from ourselves as adults? I sure hope not because the vast majority of college kids don’t take into account what impact their actions have on tomorrow, let alone what impact those actions will have on their character a few months afterward!

It’s Official – Travis Taylor Leaves Monmouth for Boston College

Posted on by

The folks over at ZagsBlog.com are reporting that Travis Taylor has officially left Monmouth University’s men’s basketball team to move to Boston College’s basketball program. Here is the report from ZagsBlog.com:

Former Monmouth forward Travis Taylor has opted to transfer to Boston College and play for former Cornell coach Steve Donahue. Taylor chose the Eagles over Seton Hall and Temple.

Taylor, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Union, N.J., averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds last season

“This was an extremely tough choice for Travis and multiple factors played into his decision making process,” said Bill Diamond, the Taylor family adviser. “It was well thought out and he and his family asked all of the right questions. Travis loved the campus, the academic reputation and the coaching staff. He has an opportunity to earn immediate playing time in one of the best conferences in the country. Steve Donahue is a proven coach and will do a tremendous job in Travis’s maturation process on and off the court.”

Monmouth gave Taylor a conditional release, allowing him to move to schools not on the team’s 2010-11 schedule. Seton Hall is not on the schedule, while Rutgers is.

Taylor has not answered several calls to his cell phone.

He was suspended for seven games last season for “violating team rules” and the team went 2-5 during that span.

From my perspective, I’m really unsure about this move in terms of being a benefit for Taylor. In the NEC he stood out as clearly the best player on his team, but also as one of the best players in the league. Moving up north and into the Atlantic Coast Conference is a whole new world – I’m not sure how Taylor will be able to perform up there, but I guess all that anybody can do is wait and see, right?