Apple rules, Dodgers (:

Hello,

Apple continues it's amazing run: Thanks to Yahoo! Finance techticker for the following: "After market close Monday, Apple reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 a share, on revenue of $9.87 billion. That topped the estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who’d expected the company to earn $1.42 a share on revenue of $9.2 billion.

The company sold 3.05 million Macs during the quarter, a 17 percent increase over last year. It sold 10.2 million iPods, eight percent decline from a year-ago quarter.

And iPhones? It sold 7.4 million of those — seven percent more than it did during the same period last year. So much for those supply-chain issues that some analysts warned might undermine iPhone sales.

“We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.” [Editor's Note: "...really great new products"--is that a euphemism for tablet?] (Thanks to techticker.com)

(Not to bite the hand that bites me too hard, but Verizon Wireless we must do much better than that lame Droid commercial. Mocking the iPhone has been done and has not been effective. Also Verizon Wireless we aren't going to demean successfully the iPhone or outcool Apple. (Remember people are loyal to Apple not AT&T. The only way to get those Apple fans VZW is to bring the iPhone to our network. There may be better phones out there but remember perception is reality. Right now the perception is the iPhone is the coolest phone on the planet.) Microsoft for many years has tried to be as cool, even mocking Apple's cool factor in a recent commerical, as Apple and has failed miserably. No other company will be able to outcool the iPhone, please give up on that. That's especially true as the Droid looks like yet another iPhone knockoff. VZW needs to find out a way to get the iPhone on it's network, or get at least the iTablet that Jobs may be referring to in the above article.) Here's the "Terminator" styled Droid commercial which is drawing yawns worldwide.



(The comments accompanying this video are pretty interesting as well.)

In Game 4 of the NLCS At least the Dodgers had a little fight but still lost last night. They now trail Philly 3-1 in the best-of-7 series. Game 5 is tomorrow and I think this series may be over. LA needs to upgrade it's starting pitching in the off season. When Randy Wolf is one of your best starting pitchers, you have some starting pitching issues.

In the ALCS the Angels kept their slim World Series hopes alive by a double to the outfield by backup catcher Jeff Mathis. That drove in the winning run for the Angels. Both games had walkoff doubles today. New York now leads the ALCS 2-1 with Game 4 tonight. I'm cheering for both LA teams, I really have no interest in seeing a New York-Philadelphia World Series.

The Adam Lambert onslaught is about to increase. I'm sick of reading all these glowing articles about the greatness of Adam Lambert. He hasn't done anything yet but come in second place in "American Idol". He's all over the web. He recently taped a segment with Oprah and worked with Lady Gaga. He's more hyped than the under talented David Archuleta. Lambert is mentioned at least 6 times on the front page of ew.com. There's no way he can live up to the hype. It's also time for him to stop wearing makeup. If his voice is so amazing, he does not need the crutch of makeup.

Now on to one of my all-time favorite shows, the exquisite "Mad Men". Last night's episode was great again. Betty has finally discovered Don's treasure trove of secrets. The previews hint at some explosive things coming. I was hoping for the continuing thread of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life through the show. That was so intriguing how the MLK thread was worked into last week's episode. Ms. Farrell and Don continue their affair. Again I'm so tired of that storyline. The Martin Luther King storyline is so much more interesting. Also Joan needs to come back. This show needs more Joan and less Jane. I didn't miss Pete a bit, did you? This season by far is the strongest ever.

The bomb was also dropped about Sterling-Cooper probably being sold. The 40th anniversary party of Sterling-Cooper was central to tonight's show. Don was being feted for his role of creative director at the firm. He was in the spotlight but he was also in the spotlight of Betty's snarling stare. She's going to have a big confrontation with Don. What did she think when she saw Don's divorce decree, a house deed in California and the Dick Whitman and Don Draper dog tags? What is she going to say to Don? What will be the result of that acidic conversation? The next 3 episodes cannot come fast enough. (Even if Don and Betty break up, I don't see her getting together with Henry Francis. His character is just a tease. Either that or he will be involved in a different storyline.)

This show must have been set around Halloween 1963 as Bobby was asking about his Halloween costume. With three episodes left in this season, I think we are setting up for a climactic season finale involving the assassination of JFK. Other than a couple of minor allusions there hasn't been much else to indicate this will play a role in things. I don't think the sale of Sterling-Cooper is going to be that big of deal. No, it won't be sold to the firm Duck works for. There are some interesting comments posted on ew.com's "Mad Men" TV watch, including one by yours truly.

I continue reading Uwem Akpan's "Say You're One of Them", a pretty good book. I have read the first three stories and the start of the fourth story. I'm not sure what's going on in this book, but all 4 stories deal with leaving. What is Akpan trying to say with these stories? What is he trying to say about Africa?

There are so many good books out there now, it's hard to stick to just one. Just this morning I heard about Dave Eggers "The Wild Things", it's an adaption of Maurice Sendak's "Where The Wild Things Are". Eggers and director Spike Jonze co-wrote the screenplay, Eggers then used that to spin out a novelization of the movie. It sounds very cool. Eggers is one of the best authors currently writing. If you have not read "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius", you must read it. In this era of memoirs, it's one of the best memoirs I've ever read. He also has written two other well regarded books, "Zeitoun" and "What Is The What".

Enjoy your day and read a good book, themusicaddict