So what didn’t I like about the eleventh Doctor’s debut? Certainly not Matt Smith, who seems to be channeling more than a bit of David Tennant while still bringing several new mannerisms to the role. I absolutely didn’t loathe the new companion Amy as played by Karen Gillan. Her story is something completely new for a companion, and she brings a sense of independence and depth-of-character that is quite refreshing after the string of one-off companions (not that they were bad if not short-lived).

If there was one thing that I didn’t like about the new incarnation of Doctor Who, it was the music during the opening title sequence. While I’m rarely if ever opposed to the use of electronic music, I really have gotten attached to the fantastic scoring of the classic theme by Murray Gold. It just feels right to me, as much as hearing the classic theme’s theremin-like timbre when I watch some of the series prior to the reboot. The new theme attempts both a blending of these two styles and an introduction of a new motif at the beginning. I think that this will grow on me in time, but for now it just grates on me more than anything else in the show. Beyond that, however, Murray Gold does a great job in capturing the new spirit of the show and blending it a bit with the spirit that comprised the previous era.

In terms of a monster-of-the-week, neither aliens were particularly compelling. They functioned in the obligatory Doctor Who way, setting up a potentially perilous situation for the Doctor, his companion(s), and the people around him (or the entire planet, which has gotten a little underwhelming as it happens a bit too often these days). The aliens are rarely more than that, and these Atraxi and Prisoner Zero certainly fit the bill. The teaser for the rest of the season featured some familiar and some new monsters, planets, and historical figures that should be far more compelling.

If you have BBC America, particularly in HD, be sure to watch the premiere in just under 2 weeks. That’s not the shortest delay (that would be 1 day for The End of Time) for Doctor Who, but its a welcomed change from the usual many months to years that used to frustrate American Who-fans. Even if you’ve never watched a single Doctor Who before, you’ll be able to jump right in with this new Doctor. Geronimo!

Now, with these recent bills, you and the legislature want to not only take back the promises you made to our educators (eg. a salary increase for advance degrees, national board certification, years of experience), but furthermore want to reduce the amount of money that a teacher makes across the board! Your party’s (and unfortunately mine) plan to compensate them for this reduction is equally as shameful, turning teachers into the equivalent of salesmen and waiters by paying them only for “merit” in the form of their student’s respective performances.

Why is this appalling and shameful? Besides the obvious, it completely ignores the important role of the parents in their child’s performance. Do we currently fine parents if their children under-perform or misbehave in school? Do we tax them if their child can’t pass the FCAT? If not, do we in turn give bonuses out to the parents whose children excel on such tests? If we agree that the parents are at least as important in their children’s education as their teacher’s, then why should we not share their financial gains and losses?

It is the height of incredulity to suggest that this effort to “reform” education is anything more than an attempt to bust up the teacher’s union and save the state money. If this were not an election year and you, Governor, not running for a higher office for which you have to act more conservative than I believe you are, I do not believe this would be a priority for our state’s legislature. Please stop currying favor from those who aren’t really your base and return to the moderate positions that convinced me to cast my vote for you.

If you want to run many good teachers out of the state or the field altogether, then continue to support these efforts. If, on the other hand, you actually care about our students’ education, reflect more deeply on these issues. Talk to actual teachers, look at success stories, or at least think about how you were taught! I know my teachers didn’t have to spend hours of class time preparing us for the FCAT or worrying about their loss of income if they had some particularly challenging/difficult students. Did yours?

Sincerely,

Bryan Pittard

Thank you for inquiring about eBook returns and refunds.

As stated on our website, Barnes & Noble eBooks cannot be returned and
are non-refundable.

Barnes & Noble offers very competitive pricing on many items, resulting
in the best value for our customers. However, as with all retail
products, prices are subject to change due to current promotions. As
such, we are unable to credit you for the difference in price, and will
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We do apologize for any confusion. Thank you for your understanding.

I don’t want your flipping apology, B&N customer service representative. I want what is completely fair, a credit of the difference between the two prices. If an apology is all that they are willing to provide, then I will no longer patronize their store. After I run through my B&N gift cards, I will no longer purchase ANY books from their store. Instead, I will rely on other venues to purchase eBooks for the Nook (of which there are actually several).

Thank you, B&N, for proving just how terrible your customer service is. I’m so glad that I’ve never paid for a membership, and I look forward to going back to Border’s again for any physical book needs I may have. They’re a far better brick-and-mortar bookstore anyway!

I purchase the book with minimal effort and put the Nook down to wait while it presumable does its downloading magic. When I pick it back up, I notice that the book has still not downloaded, but rather I’m sitting at a screen describing the book, something like the back of the jacket copy. Ok, no worries, I think I’ve seen this button on here to download new content. I find that, press download, and resume my wait.

After a few minutes, I pick my Nook back up and discover a message indicating that this book has not yet been released!! This is the first mention of this on my Nook during the entire purchasing process, something that has previously kept me from purchasing a book online, print or electronic. If its not yet out, I won’t benefit by ordering it ahead of time, regardless of whether or not they charge my account for it yet. It might be on sale at another vendor when released for a better price, so why not just wait to see? I’m also not that worried about it being out-of-stock as, well, I don’t think that’s possible for eBooks!

So now, sad faces all around, as I have no new Gene Wolfe book to read tonight. I did succumb to purchasing The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency for $1.99, however, which I had been considering checking out. For future reference, if I do decide to buy more books at B&N’s eBook store, it will be only once I know that the book has been released, that its not available in ePub (my preferred format for eBooks anyway), and that its for a good price.