The City of Saskatoon's review of its snow removal strategy was deferred until next week, when administration will discuss current practices and ideas for changes to be made after public outcry from the recent snowstorm.
"We need to review what happened and where we go from here," said Councillor Bob Pringle.
The deferral until next week's executive committee meeting was made so that more councillors would be present for the discussion because four were absent from Monday night's council meeting.
Pringle made the motion to defer the snow removal review during debate about changing city policy so that those operating snow-plows and graders could issue tickets as enforcement officers while the snow route ban is in effect. Allowing snow removal crews to issue tickets would ensure better co-ordination of ticketing and towing and ensure people aren't ticketed days before their street is cleared of snow.
The overall policy has to be discussed before focusing on issuing tickets, Pringle said.
"I think our timing is way off base here," Pringle said. "The perception is that we haven't done a very good job."
City manager Murray Totland said that his administration will bring forward how snow removal works at present and "from that we could start framing some changes that the committee might want to consider," leading up to the operating budget discussions in early April.
City crews continue to grade snow on residential streets after 25 centimetres was dumped on Saskatoon two weeks ago. The city was inundated with phone calls and letters following the snowstorm, including more than 30 letters on the agenda.
Councillor Charlie Clark said the recent snowstorm gives the city a chance to assess its approach for such snowfalls.
"I want to see if we can take another look," he said. "One element is money, but another element is strategy, and maybe we can come up with a different strategy for bigger snowfalls."
On January 28, in a security filing, video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. said that the company's director Carl Icahn has announced his intention to resign from the company's board. Is it true? Man, that guy seemed like a real troublemaker. Remember his public conflicts with John Antioco?
Icahn reportedly said in a letter to Blockbuster CEO James Keyes that he was resigning because of Institutional Shareholder Services guidelines regarding the number of directorships a person can hold.
In May of 2005, at the company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders Carl Icahn, Edward Bleier and Strauss Zelnick, a dissident group of nominees up for election to the Blockbuster Board of Directors, won election as Class III directors with terms expiring in 2007. They replaced incumbent Blockbuster Directors Linda Griego, Peter A. Bassi and Chairman John Antioco.
Currently, Icahn is reported to own about 16.9% of Blockbuster's Class A shares and about 7.7% of its Class B shares. Icahn has seen the value of his stake falling drastically over the years. Blockbuster's stock was worth just under $10 when the advocate investor started building his stake and is now trading around 45 cents, reports noted.
On January 20, Blockbuster said it now expects GAAP net loss for 2009 to be in the range of $183 million to $193 million, excluding any impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets. The company said its expectation for fiscal 2009 results were based on current information related to lower than expected results for the fourth quarter, particularly the 2009 holiday season.
BBI shares increased $0.03 or 6.67% and closed Monday's regular trading at $0.48. After hours, BBI shares declined $0.02 or 4.17% and traded at $0.46. The stock has traded between $0.13 and $1.56 during the past year.
Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services are asking city council to approve a growth plan that would allow for the construction of three new fire stations before 2020.
The fire department will ask council to approve the new stations "in principle" at tonight's council meeting. The first station would be built in Hampton Village as soon as 2012, at an estimated cost of $6.9 million.
It will require 21 new staff and add $1.6 million to annual operating costs.
The next two projects are: Fire Station No. 11, to serve the CN Industrial area, including the Stonebridge and Willows neighbourhoods, with planned completion by 2014; and Station No. 12 to serve the northeast development area, including the Evergreen and University Heights neighbourhoods, to be completed by 2018.
The projects are expected to cost $7.8 million and $9.8 million, respectively. Completion of the projects depends on available funding.
"Currently, there is no specific funding for fire stations or fire station growth," said fire Chief Brian Bentley.
Plans to secure funding include asking the Government of Saskatchewan to create a fire levy on new properties, which would require a legislative amendment through the Planning and Development Act.
"I'm optimistic that council will approve this," Bentley said Sunday, noting the key to the report is that projects are all subject to available funding, which could mean the completion dates could be delayed for a year or so at a time.
"These projects aren't built overnight," he said, noting the fire department hopes to minimize costs by using the same station plan.
New stations in developing neighbourhoods would allow the fire department to continue to meet its benchmark service standards as Saskatoon grows. Those standards are four minutes for the first response and eight minutes for supporting vehicles.
The new stations would add 80 members to the existing staff of 260 firefighters and 48 support staff within the next ten years. The increase to the operating costs would be handled by the city.
The fire department has received approval to purchase property in the Hampton Village area, and to identify city-owned property for station No. 11. The location for station No. 12 has been identified but not purchased, Bentley said.
Blockbuster Inc. said yesterday that it has eliminated its exposure to the remaining $24 million in letters of credit that it held for Viacom, its former corporate parent.
The move bolsters the struggling movie rental company's financial position. Its shares increased 6 cents, or 8.2%, to 79 cents in afternoon trading.
The letters of credit cover potential liabilities for Viacom related to store leases that began before Blockbuster Inc. was spun off in 1999. Last September, Viacom Inc. agreed to cut the face value of the letters to $25 million from $75 million, since many of those leases have been re-negotiated without relying on Viacom credit.
Blockbuster says Viacom's total liability under the leases has now fallen below $25 million, allowing it to eliminate the letters under terms of their credit agreement.
The DVD rental business may not be as good as it once was, but to Ken Campbell it still holds the right mix of family customers and members of the 18-35 set that WIND Mobile is targeting to sell cellular phone and smart-phone services to. More importantly, it gives WIND some speed.
Yesterday, Globalive Wireless Management Corp. announced it has partnered with Blockbuster Canada and will use the retail chain's stores to sell their services. There is a Blockbuster near most consumers, Mr. Campbell, Globalive's chief executive, said in an interview. But on top of that, "we'll have a quick entry into the market."
Globalive, which uses WIND as its wireless brand, is preparing to introduce services in Calgary and Toronto as early as Wednesday after the Government of Canada overturned a decision from the national telecommunications regulator last week. The partnership will see separately staffed kiosks opened in three Blockbuster locations in Calgary and another 13 in the Greater Toronto Area. There is plenty of room for expansion, too. With another 450 stores across the country, the agreement allows for WIND to quickly begin selling services through the chain as it activates its network in other regions in the coming months. WIND products will be running over a similar network to that of Canada's big three cellular phone firms in Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., using the same high-speed packet access (HSPA) technology.
However, Globalive's network is unable to offer the same theoretical speeds that Rogers, BCE and Telus can, Mr. Campbell said, topping out at a maximum transfer rate on data of 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps).
The incumbents can offer top speeds of 21 Mbps in most areas now, although actual speeds are typically slower because of network congestion. The average fixed broadband line offers speeds of between five and 10 Mbps, meaning all four carriers can deliver reasonably high-speed wireless Internet. However, as Globalive grows its subscriber base, analysts say it will have to increase capacity to be competitive. Mr. Campbell was tight-lipped Monday on what consumers should expect for pricing and products. WIND will have HTC, Samsung and BlackBerry handsets to start, he said. It will also sell broadband-only "sticks" that plug into a laptop and allow customers to access the Internet wirelessly.
The CEO said more handsets were coming, while the company is testing its network in Vancouver, Edmonton and Ottawa, the three cities WIND hopes to have services in next. Outside the start-up's coverage area, it holds a national roaming agreement with Rogers.
Dvai Ghose, analyst at Genuity Capital Markets says he expects WIND to undercut the incumbents' main brands. He said WIND could offer a $40 flat rate for unlimited voice services, and an additional $20 for "unlimited" mobile Web for smart phone users. In addition to its Blockbuster outlets, Globalive will open 14 standalone stores in Calgary and Toronto.
The carrier was brought back from the abyss last Friday when Minister of Industry Tony Clement overruled a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications decision that the firm was controlled by Egyptian carrier Orascom Telecom, which has provided virtually all of its financing and owns a 65% economic interest. The minister said changes to covenants satisfied Cabinet while Globalive's board structure ensured the firm is "in fact" Canadian-controlled, which is a requirement under Canadian law.
The reversal has angered several wireless providers, including Telus Corp. and the Communications, Energy and Paperworks' (CEP) union, the biggest telecom union in Canada. A Telus spokesman said it was reviewing its legal options against Industry Canada. Telus, like others, has argued the firm is not Canadian and threatens foreign-ownership rules. David Coles, president of the CEP said the ruling is in "direct violation" of Canadian law. The union plans to ask a federal judge to reverse the government's decision on Globalive.
At the age of ten, most kids don't really care about politics, or how it works, especially when it comes to federal politics. Well, Shanleigh McKeown is a major exception. She is ten years old, and lives here in Saskatoon... and like a lot of other kids, she uses Saskatoon Transit.
Recently, Saskatoon Transit decided to revamp route 5 in the Briarwood area, and those changes would come into effect on December 6, 2009.
Well, somehow, she got confused and thought that the route would be cancelled, out of her neighbourhood, despite the many posters on buses and bus terminals close to Briarwood that state that routes 5 and 60 would be changed. Apparently, people got confused when the City of Saskatoon wrapped bus stop signs in black garbage bags.
"It was my first reaction. I thought that it was the city's decision to do this, so I thought if anyone could do something about it, it would be city council," she said.
So, not long after she sent a possibly-angry letter to the City of Saskatoon, one of her friends told her that the stops were not being removed... they were just being moved across the street.
"I'm really kind of embarrassed about that," said McKeown "I sent the letter before I actually found out about it."
Kevin Sturgeon of Saskatoon Transit's planning department said that the number of stops in Briarwood is not being reduced.
Effective December 6, 2009, only route 5 will serve the Briarwood area, as opposed to route 5 serving a portion and route 60 serving a portion.
"On the new route all houses in Briarwood will be within 500 metres of a bus stop," said Sturgeon. "That's one of the reasons this particular route was chosen."
Ward 9 Councillor Tiffany Paulsen said that McKeown should not let the mistake prevent her from voicing her opinions to her political representatives in the future. That is true. Sometimes, the only way to find things out is by making inquiries if you can't figure things out.
For more information on the route changes from Saskatoon Transit, click here. And as for the City of Saskatoon, whoever redesigned their website earlier this fall should be slapped.
Feeling a little more free to do things after some debt refinancing in September, Blockbuster Inc. Now plans to boost its marketing and increase the number of movie copies it keeps in its stores during the fourth quarter of 2009.
The company also plans to start renovation some of its stores, with plans to make minor renovations in about 1,700 stores by the end of 2010.
The company plans to spend roughly $10,000-$20,000 per store to repaint, add flat-screen display televisions and make other minor changes in stores beginning this quarter, Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said. After renovating about 600 stores in 2008, the company was forced to conserve cash this year as the recession and competition took its toll, while it faced tight credit markets.
Unfortunately, despite the "good" news financially, the company still plans to close about 960 stores by the end of 2010.
A Blockbuster employee from the Edgewater, Colorado area claimed that he was attacked and stabbed on Monday evening. Well, he was lying.
Aaron Siebers, 29, reported the stabbing at about 6:30 PM when he walked to his job at Blockbuster.
Meanwhile, cops began a search for the suspects, who had been described as three skinheads or Hispanic males dressed in black. He told cops that they tried to rob him and then stabbed him with a knife.
Investigators then reviewed surveillance video taken at a nearby business, which failed to show an attack.
Siebers was re-interviewed by detectives who said he finally admitted he stabbed himself because he didn't feel like going to work.
Blockbuster Inc. has announced that it is planning to close as many 960 stores in the United States, which represents more than a fifth of its total US stores, by the end of next year. These closures are much more severe than the 380 to 425 stores that the company originally believed that they would need to close.
This new announcement follows on from last month's sale of its 186-store Xtra-vision chain in Ireland, suggesting that the scaling back of its international presence will continue into next year.
According a report from the Canada West Foundation, Alberta's economy will fare worse than that of any other province this year, with the economy suffering more hits before a recovery takes hold in 2010. It is estimated that Alberta's economy will decline by 2.4%.
"Alberta will be facing a rough patch for a while," said economist Jacques Marcil, author of the report. "Energy prices and the global economy combined to slow Alberta for now, but they could soon help lift it out of the doldrums and make it the Canadian growth champion again."
This new report follows other recent forecasts that show Alberta is facing its steepest economic decline in nearly 20 years. The Royal Bank of Canada expects a 2.5% drop while the Bank of Montreal predicts that economy will contract by 2.7% this year.
The report stated that oil and natural gas prices appear to have hit a floor, which is trading around the $70.00 US per barrel mark, which is up from around $40 in March.
However, the U.S. and global economies continue to struggle, with bad economic news still outweighing the good. Alberta's economy is expected to lag the Canadian average this year, according to the report. In 2010, an expected rebound in the United States will help Alberta's fortunes, although the pace of economic growth is still unknown.
"Things are not so great in Canada's energy hotbed these days, but they're not so bad either," the report noted.
While development has slowed dramatically, Alberta's vast oil sands reserves aren't going anywhere. The report also states that Alberta still has the strongest financial position, despite deficit forecasts.
Blockbuster Inc. is getting higher sales from a smaller-than-average store in New York City with elements of its upgraded "Rock the Block" theme, though the chain will be delaying their expansion concept until it can reduce financing costs. The largest U.S. movie-rental chain is about to launch a new advertising campaign.
The New York store, whose 2,000 ft2 is about half the size of a typical store, gets some of the highest sales per square foot in the chain, according to Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes. So far, the company has opened 30 larger "Rock the Block" stores, which include a greater focus on electronics, a self-service beverage bar and lower shelving, which are predominantly in the Reno, Nevada area.
Good for them! Maybe they'll open these "Rock the Block" stores in Canada?
The company is currently holding off on expanding the concept, due to financing issues...
Blockbuster Inc. is paying $300,000 to resolve a lawsuit allegeging that the video rental chain overcharged some of its customers in California for candy, popcorn, movies and other merchandise.
The stipulated judgement announced on Monday ends a nearly five-year investigation into the way the company rang up sales in 14 California counties.
The probe found that more than 3,800 discrepancies between the final sales price and the prices that had been advertised or posted in the 82 stores where the problem surfaced.
Shares of Blockbuster Inc. continued to inch upward for the second business day, prompting belief that the Dallas-based #1 DVD rental company is correcting its considered-beleaguered business model.
Blockbuster, which reports first-quarter financial statements on May 14, 2009, saw its shares climb by a whole four cents (five cents after hours) to close at $1.14 per share. The sock closed on May 8, 2009 at $1.04 per share, which is the first time it had ended above $1.00 since February 9, 2009.
BLOCKBUSTER Canada, which is the country's largest chain of vidya-stores, has lowered the price of its new releases to $3.99, as long as you return the movie on time. Actually, they've just reduced it two options.
A while ago, if you wanted to rent a new release movie at the store, it would have cost you about $5.69 (I don't remember the exact prices) plus taxes to keep the movie. Depending on how new the movie was, the movies either had a due date of either two days or seven days. However, you got to keep the movie up to one week after the original due date without any charges. This was and is still kind of known as the "no late fees" program.
Yesterday, the company said that the new options represent a 30% price reduction, or $2.00 savings, over its previous price on a two-night rental. Anyway, right now, you can rent a movie for $3.99 and keep it for two nights, and return within two days without any additional charges. Or, you can keep the same movie for an entire week for $5.99, and you'll get to keep the movie one week after the due date without charge.
Blockbuster Inc., the kick-ass company that rents out movies and games to kick-ass people like me, stated in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Committee filing Monday that it may close all of its 7,400 retail locations globally.
You know... if that happens, that would most likely include Canada. That means Huy's favourite-sacred store at 1505 8th Street East here in Saskatoon will disappear... and that means my favourite store at 402 Ludlow Street will disappear too!
On April 3, 2009, Blockbuster announced that it had an agreement with JP Morgan and a group of lenders, led by Monarch Alternative Capital LP and Silver Point Capital, LP for a $250 million revolving loan refinancing with a maturity date of September 30, 2010.
If Blockbuster closes their stores, we will be very, very sad.
The credit rating agency, Fitch, confirmed on Friday that it has rated the kick-ass movie rental company Blockbuster Inc.'s long-term issuer default rating at "CCC." I don't know what the hell that means...
Anyway, Fitch said that it anticipates it will rate Blockbuster's $250 million bank credit facility at "B/RR2," and called the rating outlook stable. Again, what the hell does that mean? It's unknown.
However, Fitch noted that Blockbuster has implemented a three-step approach to transform the company, which includes restoring its rental business, transitioning from renting movies and videos to selling and transforming the DVD focus to digital offerings.
Blockbuster Inc. CEO Jim Keyes continued to lobby for movie studios and vidyagames publishers to improve revenue-sharing terms at the Telsey Advisory Group's First Annual Consumer Conference in New York today!
His aim is to help the company fulfill its goal of boosting in-store revenue by having more high-demand titles in stock.
Keyes also said that the company would delay its planned roll-out of its remodelled "Rock the Block" stores to thousands of U.S. locations in order to cut capital expenses.
"We bring $1 billion in revenue to the studios," said Keyes. "We're an important channel to them."
Good luck to them... I hope they survive 2009, and many more years...
Blockbuster Inc. has said it would scale back wider rollouts of its "Rock the Block" store concept, which is a strategy that would transform the company from DVD rentals to an all-in-one entertainment retailer.
The Dallas-based company has transitioned all of its stores in Reno, Nevada as part of the pilot program.
Speaking to a group of investors, Chairman and CEO Jim Keyes said that keeping up with change was fundamental to retail, but completely reinventing the brand during a recession required capital investment unavailable in the current credit climate. "It wasn't prudent to continue with the foot on the accelerator as we had in 2008," Keyes said.
You know... their plans might actually work well in Canada. Maybe they should give our country a try?
This is just one hell of a strange and bizarre situation! If you had a daughter and she was molested, you'd probably first turn into one hell of an angry person. Up next, you'd probably go find the douche that would do this to your daughter. Then, you'd whoop their ass, right? Well, that's not what an Alberta man did when a teenage douche molested his daughter.
Anyway, the situation is really weird. The incident started in March of 2007, when 16-year-old twin boys visited a home in Wetaskwin, Alberta, where friends of their family lived, including two young girls and their father. Wetaskiwin is about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton.
Anyway, while the four kids played in the basement of the girls' home, each of the boys placed a hand down the underwear of one of the girls and touched her vagina, which was heard by the court.
Down the road, the fathers of both the girls and the boys had drinks and discussed what they could do for punishment. They agreed to have the father of the victims to smash a teens' hands with a hammer. Only one teen was injured.
Blockbuster Inc., the company that provides movie rentals to the Reverend Huy Dang, who runs the Huy's HomeTurf!!!@Home website, has announced that sales at stores open at least a year rose by 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2008 as strong demand for electronics and vidyagames overshadowed a decline in rentals.
Blockbuster's shares, which tumbled 76% earlier this week after news that it may be headed for bankruptcy, jumped by 23% following the same-store sales news and company statement that 2008 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were better than expected.
The company has said it has no plans to file for bankruptcy. However, the company has been trying to reposition itself to compete in a world where people are either downloading or receiving movies by mail, has hired lawyers to help raise capital and refinance debt.
This is good news for the company. Good luck to them in the future.
Blockbuster Inc. is a company that we all love and hate. Yes, they are the #1 entertainment provider in the world with over 7,600 locations around the world. But, they also suck, profit-wise. I for one, still rent at their stores.
The company, which has endured at least four painful rounds of credit refinancing, has hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to help it again restructure debt and explore avenues to raise capital. News reports and a source familiar with the situation say that Blockbuster is considering a bankruptcy filing as one of many options, but the company has denied it. Hopefully, that won't happen... although many would not be surprised if this happened... while a lot of people are surprised that it has not happened, yet.
Blockbuster shares plunged a whole 76% before a trading halt on Tuesday. On the face of it, Blockbuster's woes jeopardize an important distribution channel for major studios from Walt Disney Co. and Sony Corp. to Time Warner's Warner Bros.
Analysts estimate that the video store chain may owe as much as $900 million in accounts payable to studios, vendors and other suppliers. Total debt stood at $854 million on October 5, 2008, which was up more than $100 million from the start of 2008.
"Studios have been watching Blockbuster a long time and presumably Wal-Mart, Target Corp. and Netflix Inc. will pick up on the volume," said Harold Vogel, of Vogel Capital Management. "It's unpleasant but not as catastrophic as it might sound for Hollywood. I'm sure studios would like to have Blockbuster survive, but there are other distribution media that will step into the breach and cushion the blow."
Something you may find interesting is that one studio executive stated that Hollywood began rethinking its relationship with Blockbuster around 2005 when billionaire investor Carl Icahn joined the company's board to publicly criticize then-CEO John Antioco publicly. "A lot of studios reexamined their business relationship with Blockbuster around the Icahn turmoil," the executive told Reuters. "I don't think Blockbuster has ever rebounded or successfully addressed Netflix or the impending digital model."
Well, I hope Blockbuster survives. They've managed to survive for now, by closing underperforming stores and stepping up performance when it comes to their Total Access service down in the United States. Their main competitor, Movie Gallery, has already filed for bankruptcy. I really hope Blockbuster survives 2009, and beyond.
New technology that gives people the ability to move objects with their minds will soon be available at North American toy stores. But, unlike those goofy X-ray glasses, these things will actually work.
Mattel Inc. has created a game that can read a child's mind and use thougths to manoeuvre a small foam ball through a table-top obstacle course.
Known as the Mind Flex, the toy will cost about $80.00 US... and no Canadian pricing has been revealed.
As interesting as this is, I'm not going into this very much because it's kind of boring.
I'm not really interested, unless you can "blow shit up with your mind," like that dude on Accepted wanted to do.
But, the cool thing is, no other device or toy like this has existed.
Movie Gallery, one of America's worst companies ever, has decided to sue Mark Wattles, the original founder of Hollywood Video.
Supposedly, part of the agreement between Wattles and the company was that Wattles would eventually change the name of the stores he didn't sell to something else. He was supposed to do that by August 31, 2008.
To date, that has not happened, resulting in the lawsuit.
Leon David Dorsey IV is finally going to die. In 1994, he went into a Blockbuster store in the Dallas area and shot two employees at the store, after robbing it.
The only reason that this is interesting (to Huy Dang for that matter) would be because it involves Blockbuster, and anyting "interesting" involving that company/store should be profiled here.
Blockbuster employees work hard to treat idiotic customers with as much respect as possible. Robberies and explosions at stores make things tougher for its employees.
The douche said that he shot the two employees because they couldn't open the safe. He said they could have lived, but they didn't make a wise choice, which was most likely to open the case.
I'm glad the douche is finally dead.
If you read the article, he has done a whole lot of out-of-control shit during his eight years in prison since being convicted.
Blockbuster Inc. and NCR Corp. will be putting out 50 automated kiosks that provide DVD rentals as a pilot program that could result in 10,000 kiosks within 18 months.
That's one big fucking expansion there, punks.
This is interesting. So... based on this information, would I go to the store just to use a machine when I can rent from the store? And I can go to the store to download a movie to my iPod, which can be done at home?
Blockbuster Inc., the company that should be purchasing Movie Gallery, has decided to withdraw its public offer to acquire Circuit City Stores Inc.
This is all that has been said:
"Based on market conditions and the completion of our initial due diligence process, we have determined that it is not in the best interest of Blockbuster's shareholders to proceed with an acquisition of Circuit City," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. "We continue to believe in the strategic merits of a consumer retail proposition that would bring media content and electronic devices together under one brand. We will pursue this strategy through our Blockbuster stores as a way to diversify the business and better serve the entertainment retail segment."
A shareholder of Circuit City Stores, Inc. has told the "media" that there are "several" firms that are interested in purchasing the company, and that Blockbuster Inc. is not the only interested company.
The company refused to comment on the remark, which came the day after the company held its annual meeting at the University of Richmond.
As you all should know by now, Blockbuster Inc. and billionaire Carl Icahn have announced that they are interested in purchasing the crazy company for $6 to $8 in cash per share.
Now, as for the man who made the comment, he happens to be the founder of Hollywood Video, which Blockbuster tried to take over in 2005 but was screwed when Hollywood Video responded to an offer by Movie Gallery instead.
Ram Bhakshi is unemployed. Ram Bhakshi is a homemaker. Ram Bhakshi is a douche. Why? Well, Ram Bhakshi (we don't know if it's a man or woman) is suing the Real Canadian Superstore after alleging that a clerk, who was stacking items on a high shelf dropped boxes on them, which had an iron in one of them.
I hope Ram Bhakshi loses and embarasses themself.
This is not looking good... and I hope Westfair Foods will win.
This might be old news, but I'm reporting it here this morning, or tonight, whichever flips your waffle.
Remember when Blockbuster Inc. said it wanted to purchase Circuit City? Well, Circuit City refused to let Blockbuster Inc. look at its books. Now, they're willing to open up to that possibility, after Carl Icahn said that he'd just buy the company himself if the company cannot come up with financing.
Blockbuster Inc., the world's most kick-ass entertainment company, announced yesterday that it offered to pay over $1 billion to purchase the struggling Circuit City Stores Inc.
BLOCKBUSTER CEO James Keyes said combining the companies would create a chain that could sell portable devices and entertainment for them.
Blockbuster Inc., the world's #1 source for home entertainment, still kicks ass. And it kicks even more ass now that Movie Gallery has announced that it will close an additional 300 stores, on top of its 520 stores that are scheduled to close, which was announced in September. I remember that day very well, in fact, I think I've already reported it.
Well, that's the only sweet thing. You know what they should do in Canada? They should sell VHQ to Blockbuster Canada.
Now, either way, Movie Gallery sucks, and it's closing 520 stores, which means good news for me. I hate VHQ.
Wherever you go these days, there's always those damn kids (including me) that are sending text messages in class. In your class (if you're still in school), you may see kids sending text messages while trying to pretend they're paying attention to their teacher, or kids sending messages to someone in the same room (Lyndsay Popoff did this to me before).
Well, here in Canada, it seems like text-messaging hasn't existed for a very long time. It just took off about five years ago.
However, whether you want to believe it or not, text-messaging is nwo 15 years old.
The world's most kick-ass movie-rental-chain Blockbuster Inc. today said that they are testing prices for its rental format and will experiment with its existing store layouts so that it can try experimenting with movie downloading stations, books or beverages in an effort to bring its numbers of customers, UP!
According to CEO Jim Keyes, raising prices could produce immediate results. I think he's wrong. It would only produce immediate results if their customers were as loyal to them as Huy Dang, Joseph Harris and Nathan Dutnall are.
Currently, they're also considering ways to build up a digital distribution channel for distributing films. One possibility is to merge Blockbuster.com and its most recent purchase, Movielink. The company's loss margin recently widened as of November 1, 2007 as it closed more stores around the world. You know, this is bad for business, and bad for Huy Dang.
You know, the only reason Blockbuster is not doing so well is because of that douche John Antioco.
Movie Gallery, the second largest movie-rental chain in the U.S. has seeked bankruptcy protection in an effort to slash its debt.
The company, which operates almost as many stores as its #1 rival Blockbuster Inc., filed for a pre-negotiated bankruptcy filing in the Eastern District of Virginia in a plan under which some $400 million in debt will be converted to equity when it emerges from bankruptcy.
Debt-plagued Movie Gallery, the company that owns VHQ here in Canada has announced that it would close about 520 stores in the U.S.
Now, it would be much better for me if they were to close every VHQ location in Canada because I dislike that chain of stores... just like Wal-Mart. But sometimes, Wal-Mart can be cool.
You know why Blockbuster Inc. is one of the greatest companies ever? Well, it's the #1 movie rental business in the world, store-wise. And it has one of the most kick-ass online services in the United States and no matter what, Netflix will always stink up the joint in my opinion.
Well, not only do they have kick-ass services, they also have kick-ass Store Managers. According to the article I linked to from The Consumerist, a store manager cursed at a couple of customers because they refused to sign up for the awesome BLOCKBUSTER Rewards program.
It's most likely a lie. But if it's true, I salute Blockbuster.
Blockbuster Inc., the world's #1 movie rental business in all of THE WORLD has officially purchased Movielink. Now, hopefully, this purchase will allow them to have a better ground when it comes to competing with online-rental service Netflix, which recently started offering digital downloads.
I love Blockbuster. I hope they survive for many years to come.
Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart?! I do. Now, whether you want to believe it or not, the Kwik-E-Mart has suddenly become a real store. Eleven existing 7-Eleven stores in the United States (and one in Canada apparently) have been converted into actual Kwik-E-Mart stores. At these stores, you can now buy yourself a Squishee, Buzz Cola, a pink donut, KrustyO's, or a copy or Radioactive Man! For all of the products that you can buy that are inspired by the movie, click here. This kicks ass. Now, in case you still don't believe me, click here and watch this video.
Now, I am going to feature news from the towns/cities that have converted stores as much as I can.
We'll start from Burbank, California where MTV Movie News wrote an article. People there seem to be surprised about the opening of a Kwik-E-Mart.
Now, from Denver, Colorado, customers seemed to enjoy themselves there too. But, there WERE conflicting opinions. But first, we must highlight something important:
All U.S. and Canadian 7-Elevens will be stocked with Krusty- O cereal and Buzz Cola. But the lack of Duff beer will likely disappoint the Barney Gumbles out there. (For Simpsons neophytes, Barney is Homer's perpetually intoxicated drinking buddy.)
That's good. I'm going to 7-Eleven tomorrow. Now, read this:
Bob Mazerov of Mazerov Miller Research & Marketing Strategy called it a brilliant tactic that has the potential to create strong emotional connections with consumers.
I couldn't agree more. Now here's the part that pisses me off:
But Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., called the campaign "'Field of Dreams' branding," saying that companies mistakenly assume attaching themselves to a popular brand will result in increased sales - if they build it, dollars will come.
"Do you remember when Oprah gave away a bunch of cars on her show?" he asked. "Do you remember what brand of cars they were? No one does."
The free cars were Pontiac G6s. Pontiac's sales dropped overall the next quarter, Passikoff said.
Passikoff also pointed out the irony of trying to promote fresh food by associating with a cartoon store known for year-old rancid hot dogs and overpriced, month-old milk.
"They would have been better off doing a tie-in with 'Ratatouille'," he said, referencing Pixar's just-released animated feature about a rodent aspiring to gourmet chef superstardom. "At least that movie deals with fine foods."
We must find this Robert Passikoff fellow and kick his ass, or kill him.
There's not much news from Dallas, Orlando, Las Vegas or Los Angeles, or Mountain View, California.
Now, in New York, some people even took time off from work to buy some stuff. The person that made the biggest difference to me was Brent Fournier, who is from New Jersey and took off work to come to Manhattan to buy Simpsons-inspired merchandise and lost $75. That did NOT include the 90 minutes he spent searching for parking or the money he spent to park and get those things. Now he's DEDICATED! I love that guy.
In Bladensburg, Maryland, many people there seemed to be uninterested. What a shame.
That's right, Blockbuster Mexico has made a deal with Promotora Forjadores (a Mexican real estate firm) to open a theatre dubbed Blockbuster Cinema! Promotora Forjadores is fully-financing it.
"With stadium seating and digital sound, the state-of-the-art multiplex will open in Cholula, Mexico. Cholula lies 75 miles southeast of Mexico City and 10 minutes from the city of Puebla, Mexico's fifth-largest city."
Blockbuster Inc. CEO and Chairman John Antioco has apparently agreed to leave the company by the end of this year.
Part of Blockbuster's press release states the following: "John and the company have reached terms that are clearly in the best interests of the stockholders," said Carl C. Icahn, a member of the Blockbuster Board of Directors. "I and the rest of the board remain committed to working with our dedicated management team to deliver on the company's financial goals for the year and to continue positioning Blockbuster for improved success now and into the future."
Carl Icahn is a fucking liar and probably blackmailed Mr. Antioco into leaving.
Well, it appears BLOCKBUSTER is downsizing, once again. Today, the Company announced that it would sell its remaining franchised stores and eventually, its corporately-owned stores.
Despite the sale, the BLOCKBUSTER name will still be used.
Lycos, one of the worst search engines in the history of the world is suing Blockbuster, Netflix and TiVo over each Company's use of "recommendation technology." For instance, you know how a lot of online rental services such as Blockbuster Total Access, Netflix and Zip.ca here in Canada suggest movies that you might like based on what you've selected in the past? Well, if you do, that's what Lycos is suing for.
The City of Saskatoon's review of its snow removal strategy was deferred until next week, when administration will discuss current practices and ideas for changes to be made after public outcry from the recent snowstorm.
On January 28, in a security filing, video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. said that the company's director Carl Icahn has announced his intention to resign from the company's board. Is it true? Man, that guy seemed like a real troublemaker. Remember his public conflicts with John Antioco?
Blockbuster Inc. said yesterday that it has eliminated its exposure to the remaining $24 million in letters of credit that it held for Viacom, its former corporate parent.
At the age of ten, most kids don't really care about politics, or how it works, especially when it comes to federal politics. Well, Shanleigh McKeown is a major exception. She is ten years old, and lives here in Saskatoon... and like a lot of other kids, she uses Saskatoon Transit.
According a report from the Canada West Foundation, Alberta's economy will fare worse than that of any other province this year, with the economy suffering more hits before a recovery takes hold in 2010. It is estimated that Alberta's economy will decline by 2.4%.
Remember when Circuit City closed their American stores and liquidated all of their merchandise? Well, that was a sad moment in American history.
This is just one hell of a strange and bizarre situation! If you had a daughter and she was molested, you'd probably first turn into one hell of an angry person. Up next, you'd probably go find the douche that would do this to your daughter. Then, you'd whoop their ass, right? Well, that's not what an Alberta man did when a teenage douche molested his daughter.
Blockbuster Inc. is a company that we all love and hate. Yes, they are the #1 entertainment provider in the world with over 7,600 locations around the world. But, they also suck, profit-wise. I for one, still rent at their stores.
New technology that gives people the ability to move objects with their minds will soon be available at North American toy stores. But, unlike those goofy X-ray glasses, these things will actually work.
Movie Gallery, one of America's worst companies ever, has decided to sue Mark Wattles, the original founder of Hollywood Video.
Blockbuster Inc., the company that kicks ass when it comes to in-store movie rentals is paying $25.00 to members who sign up using PayPal.
Leon David Dorsey IV is finally going to die. In 1994, he went into a Blockbuster store in the Dallas area and shot two employees at the store, after robbing it.
Ram Bhakshi is unemployed. Ram Bhakshi is a homemaker. Ram Bhakshi is a douche. Why? Well, Ram Bhakshi (we don't know if it's a man or woman) is suing the Real Canadian Superstore after alleging that a clerk, who was stacking items on a high shelf dropped boxes on them, which had an iron in one of them.
This might be old news, but I'm reporting it here this morning, or tonight, whichever flips your waffle.
Blockbuster Inc., the world's #1 source for home entertainment, still kicks ass. And it kicks even more ass now that Movie Gallery has announced that it will close an additional 300 stores, on top of its 520 stores that are scheduled to close, which was announced in September. I remember that day very well, in fact, I think I've 
Wherever you go these days, there's always those damn kids (including me) that are sending text messages in class. In your class (if you're still in school), you may see kids sending text messages while trying to pretend they're paying attention to their teacher, or kids sending messages to someone in the same room (Lyndsay Popoff did this to me before).
Movie Gallery, the second largest movie-rental chain in the U.S. has seeked bankruptcy protection in an effort to slash its debt.
Movie Gallery, the company competing against Blockbuster Inc. posted a wider loss during the second quarter of 2007.
That's right, Blockbuster Mexico has made a deal with Promotora Forjadores (a Mexican real estate firm) to open a theatre dubbed Blockbuster Cinema! Promotora Forjadores is fully-financing it.
Blockbuster Inc. CEO and Chairman John Antioco has apparently agreed to leave the company by the end of this year.
Blockbuster is planning to buy the rest of Movielink, a movie-download service.
