BLUTO & POPEYE
Bluto & Popeye
BLUTO & POPEYE
I LOVE WATERMELON
WATER MELON ! Yummmmm !!!!!
The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK
KINDLE UNLIMTED SUCKS
Kindle Unlimited Sucks! Yes Kindle Unlimited Sucks, plain and simple, and there is now question about this .. At first I just thought it Sucks from an author’s standpoint. A authors whose books wear selling pretty well in 20014 … Selling well until Amazon had the bright idea of this thing called Kindle Unlimited, a sort of Netflix for Books .. Well Kindle Books anyway. Kindle Unlimited is a monthly subscription service, whereby a subscriber can get unlimited downloads of Kindle Books on Amazon, 10 books at a time for the cost of $9.99 a month … If you’re an avid reader, this might sound good to you, good if you can get and read numerous books a month for $9.99 … Yes, good if you can get books, or more like, good if there was a good selection of books for you to get (Download) and read … But guess what my friends? The selection of books Sucks “Big Time.” There practically is none. The selection is “Pitiful” scandalous actually. Anyone who has signed up for the free month of Kindle Unlimited no-doubt already knows this. I don’t know what the figures are, but I’d wager to say that percentage wise the number of books available on Kindle Unlimited against the Total Number of Books sold on Amazon is far less than 1 % .. That’s dismal, to say the least .. Think I’ll see if I can find out the figure somewhere, and if one of you dear readers happens to know, please let me know by leaving a comment in the comment box. Thanks for that!
Anyway, I first starting hating Kindle Unlimited in the beginning of the month (August 2014). Anyway last Christmas Season my book sales spike to pretty good numbers for the first time. Nice! Yes it was. The first 4 months of 2014 sales were so-so … Then all of a sudden in May 2014, sales of my book Sunday Sauce started spiking in a big way. They went from about 20 a month to more than 600 … I was loving it .. In June and July I was selling close to 850 units a month with about 50 borrows from Kindle Prime subscribers that are worth 2 Bucks a Pop .. Sweet! Then came the dreaded month of August 2014 … Dreaded for me anyway .. All of a sudden, my sales dipped overnight, and “Drastically” !!! My sales went from around 33 a day, down to a meager 3 ! “What The Fu_k ???” I didn’t know what hit me. Seriously, I didn’t .. I didn’t ever know what the Hell Kindle Unlimited was … I soon found out .. I went on the Forum for Kindle Select Authors and soon found out. A number of authors had seen sales drop dramatically as soon as Kindle Unlimited came on line. They were in the same boat as me .. Others were not. They were the fortunate ones, their sales had soared. Soared upwards that is .. Well goody for them, but not me and others. Some authors said their sales went down but their “Borrows” were up dramatically. Up enough for them to be happy .. But how bout us other guys? Guys (and Girls) whose sales not only went down, but went down drastically, and overnight? And all because of Kindle Unlimited .. I posted on the KDP Forum, “I Think I Hate Kindle Select.” I wasn’t really sure cause as a number of authors stated and suggested for everyone (authors) to wait and see when the dust settles.
.
.
Dodo Bird
OK, so I would. I didn’t have a choice … I was reading some articles and forums about this whole KU thing and how it was affecting authors, either badly, like me, and for some, it was good. Amongst all the talk, some were thinking that if your book was priced at a higher price-point it might tend to attract KU Subscribers to download it more than over titles that were cheaper, like mine at just .99 Cents … The subscribers would feel like they were getting a better deal by getting more expensive books free as opposed to getting a cheaper book free. Makes sense to me!
So I started experimenting. I had to get my sales up after the KU bashing. So I raised the Price to $9.99 hoping to attract more KU Subscribers to download my now more expensive book. Nothing !!! I tried putting it to $5.99, Nothing! So I put it back to .99 Cents and figured I’d wait out the storm …
Well it’s August 31 and the first dreadful month of Kindle Unlimited is over .. But Kindle Unlimited is till there, and new subscriber will be going for the Free Month of KU .. Hey, I did myself. Mainly as an author who saw his Kindle Sales Annihilated as a result of Kindle unlimited, I wanted to get it to see how it all worked and what was available. Boy i’m glad I did. I signed up for my Free Month of Kindle Unlimited, went on and started looking for books. Guess what? Well I think you already know? There’s hardly anything there. I couldn’t find any books I wanted to read. Well a couple. But I don’t think I’ll even find ten. Why? You know. The selections Sucks. There’s hardly anything there. The selection is quite pitiful and I’d have to think the majority would agree, especially those who might read 6 or more books a month and thought KU might be a great deal. Not !!!!!
So, I’d have to say, it looks highly likely, that eventually this thing called Kindle Unlimited will one day in the near future go the way of the Dodo Bird, and off into extinction .. Time will tell. What do you think?
Daniel
2015
Update : I wrote this early in 2015. I wasn’t happy with Kindle Unlimited at the time. Now (May 2021) I could care less. I’ve written a couple more books and my sales have grown.
Daniel
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.
POSITANO
The AMALFI COAST COOKBOOK & TRAVEL
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The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK
Forced Into Starbucks
Monday, June 25, 2014
Forced to Starbucks! Yes, I’ve been forced to Starbucks against my will .. I didn’t want to, but I’ve been forced into it. Forced against my free will .. Well . I’m here at Starbucks on Bleecker Street, corner of Morton in Greenwich Village .. My favorite cafe, the beloved Once Upon a Tart closed Saturday. They had a party for the staff and favorite customers yesterday, which I went to, but today? No more Tart. If you read any of my post the past two days, I’ve already said a bit about the Tart .. Just here today letting the world know, I’ve been forced to do Starbucks .. Well yes, there are other choices, and I did one this morning by going to an old favorite, Caffe Dante on Macdougald Street, but you see I have two coffees a day. That’s 2 trips to cafes practically everyday. A coffee (Cafe Latte) cost me a whopping $5 at Caffe Dante, so I can’t afford to go there twice a day as I did at Once Upon a Tart for years. I’d spend about $6 a day at The Tart. At Dante, those same 2 coffees would cost me $10 mutliplied by about 350 times, is $3,500, quite a lot of money for coffee (that’s 1 year). Those same coffees cost me about $2,100 a year, for a savings of $1,400 a year. That adds up. I love Caffe Dante and have about 4 coffees (Cappuccino or Cafe Latte) times a week, but 14 times? No can do.
So, as I said, I went to Caffe Dante, did my writing and such, and that Cafe Latte cost me $3.75 plus $1.25 tip for a total of $5 .. It’s waitress service, so you have to leave at least a dollar tip. Anyway, I had my morning coffee as I always do (and write for 2 hours), then I go home for an hour, make a little lunch, and then go for my second cafe trip of the day, a coffee and an hour at the Tart before I head up to work at 4PM .. Kanai at The Tart used to call my 2nd appearance at The Tart in a day, “My 2nd Shift,” and so I do everyday. Now I already spent $5 for my first coffee of the day. Now I’m having my second. I’m not going back to Dante for another $5 coffee, and The Tart is closed (so Sadly), so here I am at Starbucks for a coffee and Wifi for just Two Bucks … Well, I guess there are worst things in life. I know millions of people really love Starbucks. Me, I’m not a big fan. I had The Tart and Caffe Dante, I love nice little independent cafes, not Giant Corporate Conglomerate owned ones, but to each hsi own.
Anyway, that’s it for now, “Adios Amigos!”
56 DODGE CONVERTIBLE
Macdougald Street, Greenwich Village New York
photo by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
Forced to Starbucks
Monday, June 25, 2014
Forced to Starbucks! Yes, I’ve been forced to Starbucks against my will .. I didn’t want to, but I’ve been forced into it. Forced against my free will .. Well . I’m here at Starbucks on Bleecker Street, corner of Morton in Greenwich Village .. My favorite cafe, the beloved Once Upon a Tart closed Saturday. They had a party for the staff and favorite customers yesterday, which I went to, but today? No more Tart. If you read any of my post the past two days, I’ve already said a bit about the Tart .. Just here today letting the world know, I’ve been forced to do Starbucks .. Well yes, there are other choices, and I did one this morning by going to an old favorite, Caffe Dante on Macdougald Street, but you see I have two coffees a day. That’s 2 trips to cafes practically everyday. A coffee (Cafe Latte) cost me a whopping $5 at Caffe Dante, so I can’t afford to go there twice a day as I did at Once Upon a Tart for years. I’d spend about $6 a day at The Tart. At Dante, those same 2 coffees would cost me $10 mutliplied by about 350 times, is $3,500, quite a lot of money for coffee (that’s 1 year). Those same coffees cost me about $2,100 a year, for a savings of $1,400 a year. That adds up. I love Caffe Dante and have about 4 coffees (Cappuccino or Cafe Latte) times a week, but 14 times? No can do.
So, as I said, I went to Caffe Dante, did my writing and such, and that Cafe Latte cost me $3.75 plus $1.25 tip for a total of $5 .. It’s waitress service, so you have to leave at least a dollar tip. Anyway, I had my morning coffee as I always do (and write for 2 hours), then I go home for an hour, make a little lunch, and then go for my second cafe trip of the day, a coffee and an hour at the Tart before I head up to work at 4PM .. Kanai at The Tart used to call my 2nd appearance at The Tart in a day, “My 2nd Shift,” and so I do everyday. Now I already spent $5 for my first coffee of the day. Now I’m having my second. I’m not going back to Dante for another $5 coffee, and The Tart is closed (so Sadly), so here I am at Starbucks for a coffee and Wifi for just Two Bucks … Well, I guess there are worst things in life. I know millions of people really love Starbucks. Me, I’m not a big fan. I had The Tart and Caffe Dante, I love nice little independent cafes, not Giant Corporate Conglomerate owned ones, but to each hsi own.
Anyway, that’s it for now, “Adios Amigos!”
56 DODGE CONVERTIBLE
Macdougald Street, Greenwich Village New York
photo by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
The Last Days of The TART … Once Upon a Tart
ONCE UPON A TART Closing After 23 Years in Soho
SATURDAY August 23, 2014
The LAST DAY of THE TART
It’s a very sad day in our neighborhood of South Greenwich Village / Soho today. Our beloved favorite little Mom & Pop Bakery / Cafe UNCE UPON A TART is Closing today. It’s the last day, my last Coffee and the last time to see our lovely friends; Cleo, Samina, Kanai, and Jerome ..
Once Upon a Tart has been like family to us. Those of us living in the neighborhood like myself who go there the first thing in the morning after leaving my house, I go to Once Upon a Tart fo my morning Coffee. But it’s much more than that. It may sound Cliche, but in my case it really is, these people (the gcounter girls) are literally like family to me. I’m single and don’t have a family and going to The Tart is almost like going to a second home where these lovely ladies, Cleo, Anna, and Samina are so nice and sweet, seeing them each morning brightens my day and starts it off just right. It really means a lot to me. And let me not forget Jerome, the owner of the Tart who with his wonderful little bakery / cafe, has brought joy and a place to go for those of us in the neighborhood as well as a multidude of tourists who find a lovely little cafe were they can get a bite to eat, a coffee and a bit of relaxation in a wonderful independent non-Starbucks cafe. How refreshing.
I’ve bee going to the Tart for 23 years since the place first opened. My girlfriend Dante and I were strolling the neighborhood and discovered this lovely little place. I’ve been going there ever since, never missing a beat. I love this place and will “Miss it Greatly.” I will miss the nice ambiance, the coffee, tasty muffins and tarts, but most, I’ll miss those wonderful girls who give me my coffee with a sweet smile each and everyday. I’m almost about to cry. Thank You to The Tart, to Jerome, and all the lovely ladies who have worked there over the years. A not so sweet but sad goodbye. Farewell.
Semena, Myself, and Cleo
One of my cafe Friends CHRIS N …
Jerome (The Owner) & I
SOME TARTS
by Daniel Bellin-Zwicke
New York & The World’s Best Pastrami
KATZ’S DELI
LES NEW YORK, NY
E. HOUSTON STREET
“SEND A SALAMI To YOUR BOY In THE ARMY”
MARCO PIERRE WHITE
ENJOYING KATZ’S PASTRAMI
ABIDE in da PASTRAMI !!!
The DUDE & FOOD
in
The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK
ABIDE !!!
New York 5 Best Burgers
SCHNIPPER’S Is # 1
SCHNIPPER CHEESEBURGER
JG MELON
Upper East Side Manhattan
JG MELON BURGER ROCK at SECOND BEST
“Some Would Say First. Even Me”
SHAKE SHACK BURGER # 3
“MANY SAY IT’S THE BEST”
We Wouldn’t Disagree, But You Gotta Pick Some Kind
of Order .. Everyone Has Their Own Choices, and These Are Ours
“GUESS WHAT? We LOVE THEM ALL, and FEEL THEY’RE
ALL # 1 The BEST, or DAM CLOSE To IT” !!!
The LUGER BURGER at PETER LUGER
The WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS STEAK HOUSE
Is a STEAL at Just $11.95
GET With THEIR FAMOUS BACON
“IT ROCKS” !!!
THE LUGER BURGER
With LUGER BACON & CHEESE
“DAM THAT BABY Is TASTY” !!!
photo DANIEL BELLINO-ZWICKE
MINETTA TAVERN
GREENWICH VILLAGE NEW YORK
MINETTA BURGER
TAKE The “MINETTA BURGER Over The
More Famous BLACK LABEK BURGER …
“IT’S BETTER” !!!
The MINETTA BURGER TAHT IS !!!
And IT’S CHEAPER To BOOT !!!
“TRUST Us On THIS ONE” !!!
……………………………………………………..
NEW YORK’S 5 BEST BURGERS
1. SCHNIPPER’S
2. JG MELON
3. SHAKE SHACK
4. PETER LUGER
5. MINETTA TAVERN
New York’s 5 Best Burgers? Wow! Who are they? Who right? Who’s Not? Yes, it’s not easy, and who’s to say who is the best, who’s not, and that they are thee authority and decider of who is # 1 and Who’s Not? Well, there are any number of people, magazines, newspapers, and other intitties doing articles, stories and what-not on the Best Burger or Best Burgers in town and around the country. It’s a big and popular subject.
Well, this is just ours. Not seeing that his is the definative list and list to end all. It’s just ours. And of these 5, we ourselves what put any number at the Top of The Heep, they’re all great burgers.
THE SKINNY On EACH
SCHNIPPERS
Schnippers is awesome. They came on the scene a couple years ago. They didn’t make all that much of a splash in the first year or year 1/2, but now? They’ve Splashed, and in quite a big way. They just opened their 3rd location in Manhattan and seems like their expansion will lead to any number across the country, alla Shake Shack. Spaeaking of Shake Shack, Schnipper’s opened their first place less than 200 feet from Shake Shacks hugely famous Flagship Burger Joint (and 1st) at Madison Park at 23rd Street and Madison Avenue.
Anyway, the Schnipper Burger is awesome. The Schnipper Burger is a classic straight forward burger. It’s 5 ounces, fresh beef (never frozen), cooked to perfection and seasoned perfectly. We love it, and think it taste exactlt as a burger should, with an emphasis on the tasty beef patty.
JG MELON
JG Melon is one great old institution up on 3rd Avenue at 74th Steet on New York’s Upper East Side. The Melon is a cool classic old school bar, the kind that just can’t be duplicated. Great natural vibe, and un-contived. And guess what? they’ve got one of New York top burgers, if not thee # 1 tops .. Some say, they are the best. Their Burger, and we wouldn’t give them a fight on that. We love em too, and almost picked them for the # 1 spot on our list. What do you think.
SHAKE SHACK
A Great Burger! Some say the Best. We did too for some time, but we feeel that Schnipper’s has edged them out. Though we wouldn’t gie anyone a hard time if they Shake Shack is # 1 … They’re Buger is Classic, just the right size, seasoned and cooked to beautiful tasty perfection. We just Love Em.
PETER LUGER
The Luger Burger is awesome. It’s quite tasty, and makes our top 5 list for it’s tastieness and the fact that you can go into this Mecca of Steakdom and get a Burger for just 12 Bucks .. But you probably won’t. You gonna want some cheese on that $1.50 and the Bacon ($4.25) is a “Must Have” at Lugers. If you go for Fries (Only $1.95), your burgers gonna cost you about $19.00
But hey, “It Peter Luger” and that’s a bargain.
You can only get The Luger Burger at Lunch, and we just love hopping over the Williamsburg Bridge every 2 or 3 months to get one. You will too.
MINETTA TAVERN
You can’t beat the ambiance and History of Minetta Tavern .. This Historical Old Greenwich Village Haunt is cool as can be. And you’ll feel you are too once and if you secure a seat inside. The master of the restaurant business in New York, Keith McNally rescued this great old joint, spruced it up just a bit, retaining its wonderful origianl decor, placed a couple great chefs at the helm and opened her up to rave reviews. The menu is French Bistro Steak House, with big juicy Steaks, Bistro Classics, and a pair of New York’s Hottest and most loved burgers; The Famed Black Label Burger ($24.00) and The Minetta Burger ($16.00) .. The Black Label Burger is by far the most famous of the two, made with the Black Label Blend of Dry Aged Beef from famed New York Butcher Pat La Freida .. Dry Aged Beef may be great for Steaks, such as the ones so famous at Peter Luger and Minetta Tavern, but we feel that this beef doesn’t translate so well to Burgers … We prefer the Minetta Burger. How bout you?
LEARN How To MAKE The Perfect BURGER
in
GOT ANY KAHLUA?
Its
The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK
Albums Minus Deceased Members
The BEATLES
ABBEY ROAD
With PAUL McCARTNEY & RING STARR
Minus JOHN LENNON & GEORGE HARRISON
Now Deceased
THE DOOES MORRISON HOTEL
MINUS JIM MORRISON
but Not RAY MANZAREK Who Sadly Passed Away
ROBBY KRIEGER & JOHN DENSMORE
Still ALive as of Simmer 2014
PETE TOWNSEND & ROGER DALTRY
of
THE WHO
ODDS & SODS Album Cover
KEITH MOON & JOHN ENTWISTLE Deceased
ELVIS PRESLY Album Cover
ELVIS
Deceased 1977
THE BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK
GOT ANY KAHLUA ?
WORLD CUP 2014 in NEW YORK
SUPER MARIO
MARIO BALOTELLI
ITALAIN NATIONAL TEAM
AZZURI
SUPER MARIO BALOTELLI
with
SUPER MARIO ITALIAN FANS
CAFFE DANTE “GREENWICH VILLAGE” NEW YORK For WORLD CUP SOCCER 2014
WEST BROADWAY For THE WORLD CUP
Novecento
West Broadway
“They’re For ARGENTINA HERE” !!!
There were many sad faces at Caffe Dante and all over Greenwich Village today as Italy led by Mario Balotelli aka “Super Mario” and Italian Teamates are unable to score even 1 goal in Team Itay’s crushing defeat against Costa Rica … As with almost every Italian World Cup game in the past 20 years I watched the game at Caffe Dante on Mcdougald Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, the longtime most famous Italian neighborhood in Manhattan.
Greenwich Village and Soho are hotbeds for watching World Cup action with many Eropeans and South Americans living in the area. Caffe Dante is the preferred local for watching Team Italy Games, while Novecento and Felix on West Braodway in Soho is thee # 1 hottest location to watch South American Futbol (Soccer) Games in New York .. Novecento owned by Argentinians who have a Novecento in Buenos Aires is # for games of team Argentina while the French Bistro across the street Felix is Groudn Zero for Team Brazil (Brasil) as the owners wife hails from Brazil .. It’s quite alot of fun watching eithr Brazil or Argentina play at this spot on West Broadway near Broome Street in Soho, and I have long said it is one of the greatest locations in the World to watch World Cup Soccer matches .. It’s quite exciting, and you will almost feel as if you were at the game live. If you can’t be there, being on West Broadway at Felix or Novecento are the next best thing.
Yes, it was a let-down for Italian fans today. For me, Team Italy is my # 2 team after TEam USA, and I’ll always root for Brazil as my team # 3 if Italy or USA are not playing, it’s quite fun to have a few favorites (in a certain order) to root for.
IT’S TEAM BRAZIL
“BRASIL”
ALL THE WAY
at
BISTRO FELIX
Legendary DIEGO MARADONA
of
ARGENTINA
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