The Death of the Big Box Model

Now that Borders is in the process of fulfilling the dreams of its only true rival (Barnes & Noble) by beginning the process of complete surrender, I'm wondering why no one seems to be making the connection between the successful launch of the Nook and the explosion of e-readers in general as the most likely proverbial nail in Border's coffin?  So far, the demise of this once giant player in the retail book market is being pinned primarily on poor retail performance (naturally) and an expansion plan that was too aggressive for the current retail climate.

Whenever a business fails, or begins to fail, the balance sheet becomes the primary focus--and it should.  But I worry that by fixating exclusively on the balance sheets, were missing the larger, and, I believe, far more interesting story--the dawn of the e-book age and the beginning of the end for the box model that has dominated the book industry for so long.

Procrastination

Do you think procrastination is the sign of a good writer? I'm hoping so. I've been living in the ultimate procrastination mode these past few weeks. The deadlines associated with the multitude of graduate applications I need to submit is fast approaching, and I've yet to really sit down and think about which 20-30 pages of writing best represent me. More importantly: I have to determine which 20-30 pages of writing will likely sway the leanings of enough graduate application committee members to gain acceptance into one of the programs I'm interested in.

I guess I need to quit pissing about on the Internet and get busy.....

I wonder if Stephen King ever procrastinates? How many books does he have now? Sixty? Seventy?