Shuffle, Fold, Bend, Spindle, Mutilate
re: the title – Alas, a joke only those familiar with Punch Cards will get — though, did you know that even up until the early 90’s, long after optical scan [e.g. the ubiquitous bubble test/voting forms] had replaced the stiff, holey cardstock that had run the computations of what was then two computing generations past, the stern warning “Do Not Fold, Bend, Spindle, or Mutilate” still appeared in print?
I remember seeing it on class registration forms [GA Tech] from 1992.
The verb, to spindle is an anachronism from the 18th century industrial ‘computers’ (looms, jacquard and otherwise) of the day, dutifully transferred as a warning on cards—and bubble forms—presumably to this day. I’m not sure how many modern #2-pencil-test-takers are also bringing in a tapered rod, weighted on one end (the non-tapered end) (and historically used for spooling thread & yard) But let me assure you that the use of said rod to adulterate the form or card in question is still prohibited.
A spindle can also refer to the spike on an editor’s desk where potential Pulitzer Prize winning stories meet an untimely end (“Not enough sex or violence, son; where’s the corpse, where’s the hooker? Even better, Where’s. The. Hooker’s. Corpse? Don’t they teach you kids anything in Journalism school these days?”) or the similar instrument found in so many period [c. 1910-1959] mystery novels, only occasionally holding processed documents but more often found lodged in the thoracic curve or kidneys of the dynamic-but-abrasive inventor-slash-entrepreneur, or perhaps in similar regions of the up-and-coming deputy assistant assistant prosecutor, whose zeal and morals were only matched by the swiftness of his demise.
“Spindle” is a term steeped in history and rife with potential. At this point (& with my multiple reinforcements) I doubt you’ll forget it.
Fold Bend Spindle Mutilate. I dearly love that concatenation of verbs, the proscription of same that merely invites (sweetly, beckoningly invites) the card-stock-slaughter it seeks to prevent.
…
enough explanation of the off-hand joke used in the title:
I’m shuffling my posted charts a bit and folding one set (new releases and pre-orders) into the other (the Manga 500 and associated summary report) because
1) it’s all pulling from the same damn spreadsheet anyway. also:
2) if I could manage posts on time, some separation might be merited, but
3) …as it is I can barely manage posting the main charts 4 days late
4) …so a separate post on Thursdays for the Manga New Releases would come out on the same day anyway…
5) …and it’s rare enough that I get a blurb and link from the comics-news-aggregators as it is, so I should
a) make it easier on them and
b) make the most of the one-link-a-week that I can bank on.
(yes, like every blogger, I’m a Technorati-rank and SEO whore — part of the job description, part of the job.)
You can consider any promises I make to be lies, damnable lies, but here’s the new schedule:
Sometime between Monday and Thursday of a given week, I’ll post these:
- the Manga 500 (top titles, top series, Publ. scorecard, and midlist) for the previous week &
- the New Release & Preorders (as ranked in the report above: this month’s titles, next month’s titles, and the future…) &
- The Trends Report (highlights from the NR&P post above)
&
– Your Executive Summary and Index: The Top 10s & a Top 25 (or two) and-just-give-me-the-rankings-Don’t-Bug-Me-With-the-Math from the three posts above.
[might even get around to giving each a unique tag/cat to facilitate category-level linking. —not that anyone but me does that, but still]
The shift (from today moving forward) is that I’ll post it all at once (…mostly — maybe over 36hrs. at most) whenever the data is ready to post. Instead of delaying the New Releases et al. until after a Wednesday, I can have that data good-to-go on Monday morning — on those rare Mondays when the charts are done. (Monday *is* still the goal; if the internet and my spreadsheet and my work schedule coooperate I’ll be hitting that target on a regular basis again)
Oh, and the Summary report may have one or two more top 10s/25s on it than you’ve been used to seeing to date. [new chart = new topper for the summary, natch] [starting with the top 25 new releases and preorders— basic, neh?]
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The drawback is that now that I’ve determined to consolidate the Online Sales Estimates In All Their Varied Glories into a once-a-week event is that the once-a-week sales post might migrate even further into the week. (fri-sat? who knows?)
…and, you know, the numbers from, like, three weeks ago just now posted so talking about weekly posts even in this meta context may seem a bit presumptuous… but before you comment to give me any crap on this issue, I have to say:
Sit down, shut up, and enjoy the numbers. It’s not like anyone else is posting them.
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This diversion was hopefully entertaining, and perhaps a tad informative, but The Primary Purpose of this post was to insert a buffer between charts dated week ending 2 November and the next set (the numbers that should have been posted this week, actually) in an attempt to get ahead and in front of the mess that is my current reporting on the topic; I’ve 21 hours and 14 beers (not counting what’s in my blood stream at the mo’) before I have to show up at work again; we’ll see if I can’t manage another charts-download and some some real commentary (w/ or w/o actual analysis) between now and then.
