Beyond the Rhetoric

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Not surprisingly, there was a fair bit of both excitement and apprehension among the Star Trek community when the sci-fi franchise got a reboot four years ago. Looking back, it’s pretty safe to say that Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto did a pretty good job with their portrayals of Kirk and Spock, respectively. And so, when the Into Darkness sequel was announced, the community was once again met with both excitement and apprehension.

And action in Star Trek Into Darkness largely picks up where the last movie left off with Captain James T. Kirk leading the USS Enterprise and its crew around brave new worlds. Without spoiling too much, he finds himself in some hot water and loses command of his ship. Meanwhile, Starfleet Command comes under attack by a new threat and Kirk gets thrown back into the fire.

Yes, JJ Abrams indulges far too much with his lens flare effects to the point of utter annoyance and the plot almost feels a little too thin for the movie’s over two-hour runtime, but Star Trek Into Darkness is still quite the joy for Trekkers and non-Trekkies alike. The performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, best known from BBC’s Sherlock, is particularly compelling with his clever blend of cerebral superiority and an underlying bloodthirsty rage. He makes an excellent villain and is reason enough on his own to watch Into Darkness.

The Last Stand (2013)

Ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reign as Governator of California drew to a close, we’ve been anxiously awaiting his return to the cheesy action-packed silver screen. Yes, he had a brief cameo in The Expendables 2, but The Last Stand represents Arnold’s first “real” movie since finishing his life in politics. He wasn’t a particularly young man, even in his heyday in flicks like Terminator 2, but now that he’s in his 60s, Schwarzenegger is really start to show his age.

I’m not saying that older guys can’t hold their own when it comes to action movies, but Arnold is a far cry from his days as Mr. Olympia. It also doesn’t help that you can hang the plot of The Last Stand or a very thin, unbelievable string. Apparently, there is a Mexican drug lord that escapes FBI custody. He gets chased across the country, blowing pass road block after road block, leaving death and destruction in his wake. Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger plays the world-weary sheriff of a small Arizona down right on the Mexican border. You can probably guess where this is going.

You get your car chases and firefights, but somehow this movie isn’t nearly as satisfying for this action junkie as the cheesy gems of the late 80s and early 90s. This is despite some bad one-liners that capitalize on Schwarzenegger’s signature style. Maybe it’s for the best that cheesy 90s action movies stay in the 90s.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

I can see why the Catholic community may have been upset by The Da Vinci Code. Here we are talking about a possible living descendant of Jesus Christ and how the Catholic Church has been keeping a deep, dark secret from his for centuries in order to maintain its power. I can see how that could be troubling, but we have to approach this movie as a dramatized work of fiction and nothing more than that.

The story goes that a man dies and he leaves behind a series of cryptic clues for Tom Hanks’ character to discover. He gets chased by good guys who might be bad guys and he gets led down a nonsensically complicated rabbit hole to discover “the truth.” It really feels like they added multiple layers of complexity purely for the purpose of being complex and not for adding any sort of real value to the narrative. And it really has very little to do with the old man’s death in the first place.

Here is a movie that could have been smart and engaging, filled with subtle nuance and thought-provoking questions, but it just ends up being controversial for controversy’s sake. They could have done a lot worse, but I’d argue they could have also done a lot better.

As most business owners are aware, the reputation a company develops in the real world can have a very big impact on sales. The business that has safe and useful products, excellent customer service, and a history of social responsibility can become a pillar of the community, trusted and patronized by a fair portion of the population, whereas those that put the bottom line ahead of consumers aren’t likely to last very long.

What you may not realize is that your online reputation can also impact your business in a very real way. Even if you make no efforts at all to build an online presence, you might find that one has grown in the vacuum, with consumers complaining that you have no website, or competitors posting malicious commentary or false statements regarding your company. So you definitely need to take action in order to build and safeguard your online reputation. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you create the positive online image that will ensure your virtual success.

• Make inroads. The place to start when it comes to building an online reputation is by creating and expanding your online presence. This begins with a designing a website that represents your brand and acts as a hub for all of your online efforts. Considering how many people now look for products and services online rather than thumbing through the Yellow Pages, this is an absolute must. You should also consider listing with online directories so that potential customers can find you more easily. From there you need to join the community by participating in forums and blogs (or even penning your own on-site blog), and you should definitely set up social media accounts in order to connect with consumers on a more personal level and push content in a non-threatening manner. Creating this foundation is essential to developing the positive presence you want in the online arena.
• Provide quality content. It can be tempting to engage in corner-cutting practices like keyword stuffing and linking schemes, but these will almost certainly put you on Google’s black list before long, potentially resulting in your site being delisted. Instead, try to follow the rules in their current algorithm by creating the high-quality content that consumers (and web crawlers) are seeking. It will benefit your business in the long run.
• Utilize SEO. Creative web design and quality content are only useful insomuch as they can be found by prospective customers. So if you want to build an online reputation of your choosing it’s in your best interest to engage in SEO practices that will ensure your positive efforts rise to the top of Google’s list for targeted searches. In this way you can displace any negative commentary that has thus far dominated.
• Beef up customer service. One of the best ways to safeguard your online reputation is to ensure that customers are satisfied so that they aren’t inclined to put negative information out there. With customer service options that include, say, prompt email assistance, an automated phone service (with actual operators available as needed), or even live chat, you’ll ensure that consumers have a chance to address grievances directly with your representatives rather than airing them publicly.
• Hire professional help. You have a business to run, which means you may not have time to manage your reputation on your own. It is for exactly this reason that online reputation management services exist. These professionals can help to erase negative content (to some degree), but they also have the resources and expertise to build and protect a positive brand image for you. It may cost you, but a boost in recognition and sales should sweeten the pot.

Leon Harris is a contributing writer for Reputation.com. Harris lives in Southern California, and enjoys eating healthy and exercising with his two Golden Retrievers.

What’s going on in the wide world of blogs this week? Let’s find out.

Having recently flown across the Atlantic, I found Darren Barefoot‘s post on the best time to buy a plane ticket to be of particular interest. In his highly unscientific experiment, he found that the difference between buying three months in advance and buying the day before… was just $50. I’ve seen both bargain basement last minute deals and hugely expensive last minute fares, so I suppose it can go either way.

Speaking of travel, Buzz Bishop is leaving for Scotland this week and he plans on bringing four travel guides. These are actual printed books, though he’ll still have a series of apps on his iPhone for self-guided walking tours and so forth. He says that he still doesn’t trust digital, but I found for my trip that I relied far more on my smartphone than on the physical books we also brought along.

What about when you’re staying closer to home and trying to minimize your carbon footprint? This was on the mind of Karly Pinch as she and her partner were deciding on their wedding venue. They wanted to keep thing simple, hosting the ceremony and reception in the same place, and they wanted to keep environmental considerations in mind too. Local beer at a local brewery and restaurant that is easily accessible by public transport? Sounds like a win in my books, Karly!

What did you want to be when you grew up? Graeme McRanor wants you to read his essay on his lack of early aspirations, his misguided adventures through Mexico and how, now, he’s 42 and he just wants to “do everything because I don’t want to regret anything.” He’s right. Committing to a career while still in grade school “seemed like an awfully big decision.” I thought I was going to be an architect, but I guess I’m building something else these days.

You may have heard that Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st. Sharon Hurley Hall explains how you can continue to read her blog when that happens. You can visit the site directly, of course, but you can also migrate to Feedly, get updates via email, or get the blog on Kindle. All three of these options are available for Beyond the Rhetoric too, as well as staying updated via Facebook and Twitter. I’m sad to see Google Reader go, but it’s not the end of the blogging world.

There are very few cities in this world that are quite as iconic as Paris, France. There is a definite romance associated with the City of Light. Maybe it has to do with the French language, French cooking or the French wine. Whatever it may be, Paris is the very definition of a world class city and it was definitely one of the biggest highlights for my first ever trip to Europe.

And so, just as I did for Amsterdam last week, I have now put together a set of photos that I took while in Paris to share with you today. Seeing how I took somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 photos in Paris, the curation and editing of this photo collection took some time and it’s naturally not fully representative of everything I saw, ate or experienced. But it does give you a taste of la Ville Lumière.

Paris is an iconic city and it is filled with a lot of iconic architecture. There is the Eiffel Tower, to be sure, as well as the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and more. It’s exhausting, but it’s an absolute joy exploring all the different buildings and architectural styles in Paris, from the artsy alleys of Montmartre to the decidedly modern and overbearing Montparnasse Tower.

By far the easiest way to get around is with the robust Metro system. While there are day passes available, they’re not really worth it unless you’re riding a lot of subways to get everywhere. Instead, I’d recommend getting the books of ten tickets for about 13 Euro. Each ticket gets you one trip, including any necessary transfers. The ticket machines only take credit cards and coins, so if you’re buying with a Euro note, you’ll need to see the attendant at the booth.

Of course, no visit to Paris would be complete without visiting the museums. And there are a lot of them. It’s worth it to get the Museum Pass, not only to save some money, but also to skip the lines. There is usually a separate entrance for pass holders, as most of the lines are simply for people buying tickets.

The Rodin Museum was naturally a highlight for me. The Louvre is massive and crowded; we spent the whole day there and only covered about half of it. I’d also recommend checking out Napoleon’s tomb, located in the same complex as the Army Museum and Les Invalides.

And then there’s the food. You can walk into just about any patisserie (pastry shop) or boulangerie (bakery) and you will not leave disappointed. Pick up a croissant or a pain au chocolat just about every chance you get for about one Euro. Crepes from the street range from about 3-6 Euro and are great for a quick snack on the go.

I’ve already written about La Jacobine Restaurant and we also visited Le Petit Prince (third picture). Both dinners were about 70 Euro total for the two of us. We also indulged in a wine tasting, which was very educational for us wine novices. You’ll learn that the French typically list their wines by region (Bordeaux, Sancerre, etc.) rather than by grape (Chardonnay, Pinot noir, etc.), because they believe the terroir is more important.

The city is split up into about 20 arrondissements (administrative districts) and this is a good way to help plan your visit. If you check the postal code for any location, the last couple of digits will represent in which arrondisement you’ll find your attraction of choice. I also found that most Parisians can speak some English, but it is best if you at least attempt to speak French with them first.

As I make my way through the rest of my pictures, I’ll be adding more to my Flickr photostream under the KwaninEurope tag, so be sure to check that out from time to time.

My first job ever was working for my dad at his convenience store in West Vancouver. My first REAL job was being a busser (what they called service assistants or SAs) at a Bread Garden. The work was menial and the pay was low… just like anyone would expect from a job requiring no pre-requisite skills or knowledge. If you could spell your name, you’re in.

At that point my career goals of being a chef were still very clear to me. I was going to cooking school and even had my first job lined up after I graduated. The pay of a chef is relatively low compared to other industries. The ratio of work and the type of work in relation to the compensation is pretty bad too. But no matter. You simply bottle in your frustration, because through hard work and perseverance, you’ll get a raise every so often and comfortably settle into life. Well, that’s the plan anyways.

You ever notice no matter how much money you seem to make, it never seems to be quite enough? At first, I thought this was a phenomenon caused by a lack of discipline. And while that’s certainly a large aspect, there’s another player involved, and it’s called inflation.

Well, Duh

Everyone knows that. Inflation, for those that don’t know, is the word used to describe the devaluing of money. And so you can see how making more money wouldn’t necessarily mean a better lifestyle. While this fact may seem obvious, what isn’t so obvious is the relation that minimum wage has on inflation and the impact it has on people’s day-to-day lives.

Raising Minimum Wage

BC minimum wage was recently raised to $10.25/hour (an increase of approx. $2.00/hour). Minister Of Labour Margaret McDiarmid said, “British Columbians who made $8.00 per hour last year could now have more than an additional $4,000 in their pockets this year. That’s good news for individuals and families– and that’s good news for the economy.”

That sounds alright on paper. It makes complete sense that raising minimum wage would be good for the province. More money in people’s pockets means a stronger economy, since people are spending more. So, why the stagnant lifestyle? As I mentioned, it has to do with inflation and here’s why.

What’s Inflation Got To Do With It?

Okay, so it’s not exactly inflation per se. It’s the effect of inflation. Inflation is the weakening of the dollar. This happens when more dollars are brought into existence. The increase of minimum wage does exactly the same thing. When you consider that 10% of the workforce in BC will have their wages affected by that increase to $10.25, that’s a big enough influence on the economy to affect the demand for products and services in the province.

More people will be buying iPhones, eating out more, and otherwise buying things they can’t afford since the more money they have, the more confident they feel about paying down debt. So, what happens to the farmer who’s working just as hard as he was before, but now there are more people who can more easily and afford his goods?

He raises his prices.

And there you have it. The correlation between inflation and the increase in minimum wage. And this is a phenomenon not exclusive to farmers. It happens clear across the board. When it’s that easy for money to enter the economy, the price of commodities skyrocket.

Minimum Wage Isn’t Salvation

While the onus of making ends meet still weighs heavily on the individual, you can see why simply increasing minimum wage and organizing your finances may not be enough. If the goal of financial gain is important to you, you need to take a page out of Warren Buffett’s book:

“The best hedge against inflation is to constantly increase your earning power.”