Like the United States Postal Service, Hallmark is trying to find its way in a new era. But it has not been successful. It has in recent years laid off some longtime employees, and some stores are closing. The store closures are particularly troublesome because they are locally owned, and for generations have held together [...]

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A new book by Dan Backer and Lance Watson taps brewing history to detail the can designs of nearly 500 beer brands. The book, published by Chronicle (Amazon link at right) shows major and minor brands. Like other Chronicle books, it is handsomely produced at is quite authoritative. It is alphabetized and includes brands from [...]

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Want to read what happens to the merged company Kodak and Duracell, better known as Kodacell? This Thanksgiving, go out and read Cory Doctorow’s Makers, a tale of the future where everything is so cheap to make that all the legacy companies have had to adapt. It’s free on his site; an easier to-read hardback [...]

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Here is a cover from a Marion Richardson handwriting book that came from The Everett School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. (Everett was the predecessor to Cape Henry Collegiate School.) Everett used the best British teaching methods, including Richardson’s series, up until the 1970s. We saved it because we are admirers of Marion Richardson’s handwriting style, [...]

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Everyone seems to be using Twitter to help build their brands. And while it is no substitute for a major ad campaign, it costs nothing, except for staff time. Think of it as your own little wire service or ticker tape. Below, an excerpt from the new book Twitter Power by Joel Comm and Ken [...]

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So Nancy Drew is back. And it’s a great PG film to take the kids to, with no foul language, a jaunty convertible and plenty of penny loafers. In this Jerry Weintraub version, Nancy (Emma Roberts) heads to Hollywood, where she solves the mystery of an actress killed in the 1980s. Whatever the box office, [...]

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