The Delta Forum Lounge Thread — Everybody is Welcome! 2005-2018
Aug 1, 2017, 10:58 am
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Southern California
Programs: DL: 3.8 MM, Marriott: Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 24,575
Aug 1, 2017, 11:11 am
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Yiron, Israel
Programs: Bates Motel Plat
Posts: 68,928
Bragging Department: Kirkus Reviews, one of the most influential forces in the publishing industry, has posted this review of my book ("Wilde is the Joker" by "Josh Wilde"):
Wilde debuts with a collection of gambling-related satirical pieces populated by characters who take risks in casinos and in life.
The author knows a good deal about casinos and their patrons, and his book’s first chapter examines the quirks of online gambling. In it, Wilde’s gambler friend Melvin gets a nice haul on the internet that he plans on taking to Las Vegas, but he later realizes that he may actually prefer the virtual gaming.
Other pieces poke fun at internet reliance: Wilde’s job at the website Gambling City, for example, entails meeting the staff, including a programmer who speaks only in the computer languages COBOL and BASIC. The author also lampoons how some online casinos avoid paying out winnings by claiming that an internal audit is prohibiting payment or by simply declaring bankruptcy. Later chapters target brick-and-mortar casinos and other forms of gambling.
The short, fun opening pieces feature real-life people (including the author himself and the occasional U.S. president) intermingling with caricatures (such as a lawyer named Arthur Ripoff). A few recurring figures add to the enjoyment, such as customer-service representative Kathy, who’s looking for love through customer correspondence; ex–hit man Big Tony at Gambling City; and U.S. Sen. Jon Killjoy, whose determination to ban online gambling makes him the collection’s villain. Wilde also offers parodies of Shakespeare plays, movies, and TV shows while still maintaining his overall theme; in one, the management of the MGM Grand wants to hire the A-Team.
The book ends with a series of conventional but entertaining short stories. In “Police, Poker, and Panties,” for instance, an Alabama cop plays poker in order to help her solve a string of armed robberies. The easygoing prose is primarily taken up with dialogue, typically Wilde’s. Some jokes, however, become repetitive, such as when casinos habitually declare customers “bonus abusers.” One tale about the author taking a trip to McDonald’s is humorous but predictable: Wilde has a coupon for a free Big Mac, but a restaurant employee tries his hardest not to give him the burger.
Readers need not be professional gamblers to enjoy these tales, which ridicule the pastime with great affection.
Wilde debuts with a collection of gambling-related satirical pieces populated by characters who take risks in casinos and in life.
The author knows a good deal about casinos and their patrons, and his book’s first chapter examines the quirks of online gambling. In it, Wilde’s gambler friend Melvin gets a nice haul on the internet that he plans on taking to Las Vegas, but he later realizes that he may actually prefer the virtual gaming.
Other pieces poke fun at internet reliance: Wilde’s job at the website Gambling City, for example, entails meeting the staff, including a programmer who speaks only in the computer languages COBOL and BASIC. The author also lampoons how some online casinos avoid paying out winnings by claiming that an internal audit is prohibiting payment or by simply declaring bankruptcy. Later chapters target brick-and-mortar casinos and other forms of gambling.
The short, fun opening pieces feature real-life people (including the author himself and the occasional U.S. president) intermingling with caricatures (such as a lawyer named Arthur Ripoff). A few recurring figures add to the enjoyment, such as customer-service representative Kathy, who’s looking for love through customer correspondence; ex–hit man Big Tony at Gambling City; and U.S. Sen. Jon Killjoy, whose determination to ban online gambling makes him the collection’s villain. Wilde also offers parodies of Shakespeare plays, movies, and TV shows while still maintaining his overall theme; in one, the management of the MGM Grand wants to hire the A-Team.
The book ends with a series of conventional but entertaining short stories. In “Police, Poker, and Panties,” for instance, an Alabama cop plays poker in order to help her solve a string of armed robberies. The easygoing prose is primarily taken up with dialogue, typically Wilde’s. Some jokes, however, become repetitive, such as when casinos habitually declare customers “bonus abusers.” One tale about the author taking a trip to McDonald’s is humorous but predictable: Wilde has a coupon for a free Big Mac, but a restaurant employee tries his hardest not to give him the burger.
Readers need not be professional gamblers to enjoy these tales, which ridicule the pastime with great affection.
Aug 1, 2017, 12:39 pm
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Southern California
Programs: DL: 3.8 MM, Marriott: Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 24,575
Aug 1, 2017, 9:27 pm
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,054
Only 6,500? I think you need to add another 500.
Congrats!
Congrats!
Aug 2, 2017, 5:43 pm
Join Date: May 2015
Location: DCA
Programs: AA EXP, DL FO, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 6,712
After being confronted with a charge to reserve a seat in British Airways business class, I may never complain about DL ever again.
Seriously. That's ridiculous.
Seriously. That's ridiculous.
Last edited by KDCAflyer; Aug 2, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Aug 2, 2017, 8:00 pm
Moderator: Hilton Honors forums
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States
Posts: 24,997
I will have to speak to some of the people at Internet Brands, whose headquarters is in El Segundo, as I did not realize that the town uses pounds instead of dollars as its currency.I know someone who dubs Interstate 95 between Arlington and Richmond as The Gauntlet — and I got to deal with the horrible traffic first-hand last year in what seems like the middle of nowhere.
That stretch of highway was not always that bad. What happened? What is so special about Richmond?“Step-children”?!?
Did you get married?
How Wilde is that?!?
You must be Joshing us.
Congratulations.
That stretch of highway was not always that bad. What happened? What is so special about Richmond?“Step-children”?!?
Did you get married?
You must be Joshing us.
Congratulations.
Aug 2, 2017, 10:44 pm
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Yiron, Israel
Programs: Bates Motel Plat
Posts: 68,928
Aug 2, 2017, 10:57 pm
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: Fallen Plats, ex-WN CP, DYKWIW; still a Hilton Diamond & Club Cholula™ R.I.P. Super Plats
Posts: 25,415
Aug 2, 2017, 11:02 pm
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: Fallen Plats, ex-WN CP, DYKWIW; still a Hilton Diamond & Club Cholula™ R.I.P. Super Plats
Posts: 25,415
Aug 3, 2017, 5:32 am
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,054
Aug 3, 2017, 6:14 am
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CHA, MAN;
Programs: Delta DM 1 MM; Hz PC
Posts: 11,169
Aug 3, 2017, 10:05 am
Moderator: Hilton Honors forums
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States
Posts: 24,997
Aug 3, 2017, 1:48 pm
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: Fallen Plats, ex-WN CP, DYKWIW; still a Hilton Diamond & Club Cholula™ R.I.P. Super Plats
Posts: 25,415
Aug 3, 2017, 1:52 pm
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
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Aug 3, 2017, 2:17 pm
Moderator: Hilton Honors forums
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States
Posts: 24,997
Do you have the nocean that I can qualify to work for the marketing department of the frequent travel loyalty program of an airline or hotel?