Filed under: Romances

Ride China Miéville’s Crazy Train in Railsea

Railsea, the new young adult novel by China MiÃville, is quite literary but playful with vast molehills of brilliant worldbuilding lots lots of ampersands. Utterly unlike any of the many shmoopy vampires dystopian romances out there, one wonders whether this novel will find an eager audience among teenaged readers.

Twelve-year-old Grey Area would have loved Railsea, but he was a pretty weird little dude. Perhaps kids who cut their teeth on Thomas the Tank Engine, then Lemony Snicket and Scott Westerfelds Leviathan are ready for something more bizarre and complex. In that case, theyll have been waiting for a wild ride just like this. Spoilers ahead…

Railsea is not so much a retelling as an affectionate parody of that bane of many a high school students existence, Moby Dick by the similarly surnamed but unrelated Herman Melville. Its not set on the world Bas-Lag from Perdido Street Station, Scar, or Iron Council rather, this is another Dying Earth, similar to those crafted by acknowledged MiÃville influences Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance.

Humanity clings to survival beneath a poisonous upper atmosphere on rocky outcrops separated by the railsea, an ocean without waves whales. Endless railroad tracks of mysterious origin loop crisscross over the soil constantly achurn with enormous burrowing predators. Mr. MiÃville has helpfully included his own illustrations of some of these cthonian terrors. How do you feel about naked mole-rats? Now imagine a colony of them, each one the size of a German Shepard with the table manners of pirhana.

We can always count on China to satisfy our daily requirement for monsters.

All manner of trains ply the railsea; driven by steam, diesel, sail, clockwork, or good old-fashioned galley slaves. Some of these salvage buried technology from civilizations long past or incomprehensible artefacts left by alien litterbugs. These latter items are called strugatski, an homage to the classic Russian novella Roadside Picnic. All of these diverse cultures depend on the found and repurposed tech and lionize the crafty Indiana Joneseque salvors. There are big gears and the occasional top hats, but if we must label things, this is really a Salvagepunk novel.

Other trains hunt the giant moles and other beasts for meat and hides. All the captains of these moling crews aspire to attain a philosophy; a word here meaning an huge animal that has torn off a limb inspiring the amputee to obsessively chase the creature. Each truncated pursuer attaches a symbolic import to his or her specific philosophy; the armadillo of regret the badger of humility the enormous earwig of nostalgia etc.. The exploits of famous captains and their philosophies are major topics in warfside moling taverns. There is a fandom complete with dedicated periodicals. Captain Abacat Naphi is a current favorite, everyone knows of her pursuit of the ivory-furred great Southern moldywarpe that left her with a cyborg arm and furious purpose. She will sacrifice anything and anyone to find and destroy her philosophy, Mocker-Jack, the Mole of Many Meanings.

Aboard Captain Naphis moler, the Medes, is Sham Yes ap Shroop, Ishmael analogue assistant to the classically wise gruff trains doctor, Dr. Fremlo (my favorite character). Sham is not satisfied with the excitement and adventure of moling life moons over how wonderful a career in salvaging must be. After experincing his first moldywarpe hunt, the crew comes upon a wrecked train. On it, Sham finds a camera memory card that sets him on a quest as single-minded as his captains.

The young protagonists of Railsea are, of course in finest YA tradition orphans, largely free of adult control, who come across as authentically adolescent. Sham is physically socially awkward, simultaneously eager terrified of the great wide world opening up before him. His new friends, the Shroake siblings, bicker constantly in a manner reminescent of my own family roadtrips, yet this brother and sister salvor team are ferociously loyal to each other. The three of them and Captain Naphi are set off to the ends of the railsea seeking to make sense of their impossible world. Nothing allegorical for teens there.

The plot veers away from the obvious Ahab parody. We get to see much more than life aboard one train or one captains obsession, although Naphi has a great twist to reveal. Along the way there are pirates, a Plucky Animal Companion, treachery, nomads, huge battles, all manner of monsters as well as impish literary games.

So heres the thing: Railsea is metafictional as @%#. Ugh, that word again meta gets bandied about as much as paradigm was twenty years ago. Gee, why are we producing consuming so many self-referential stories? You can chime in with your ideas in the comments below. The story switches tracks between characters in brief chapters, but only occasionally jumps the rails or grinds to a crawl. Just when the reader becomes annoyed at the lack of focus upon this character or that aspect of the world building, the text shifts provides a handy but never clumsy infodump. Then we get cut-scene chapters, that chide us for being impatient attempt to explain the nature of storytelling itself. The reason behind all those damned ampersands is revealed as well with an elegant chuckle. All the action various trains of thought continue to build speed inevitably converges to one of Chinas usual unexpected climaxes. As big a fan of his as I am, I have not enjoyed many of his novels endings (Time Golems, really?) but I really enjoyed what awaited Sham company at the end of the line.

Like MiÃvilles previous offering for younger readers,UnLunDun this novel is breezier than his adult works perhaps even twee. Despite his copious intellect and political leanings, it is not a salvagepunk manifesto. A grim bloody invention like the railsea would be a perfect setting for yet another dystopian romance, but this contains only a frisson of teen shmoopiness. There are tons of brilliant ideas and deep thoughts to be mined here but I never felt beaten over the head and shoulders with A Message. It felt like spending the day with an utterly mad, brilliant, dear friend playing with his train set. The language structure are more challenging weirder than most YA books, but any reader who gets a giggle out of thinking will enjoy this very different old-fashioned Storybook.

Railsea is available May 15 from your local independent bookseller.

Grey_Area is Chris Hsiang, bookseller with Books Inc. in San Francisco.

May 19, 2012

North romances Obasanjo ahead 2015 • Reasons he resigned as PDP BoT chairman …

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The Northern intelligentsia and political leaders are now getting excited by the resignation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo

from the post of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman, and are more prepared to regain their groove with him on strategic reasons, Sunday Tribune can report.

 

Obasanjo, according to fresh findings, has been receiving different delegations from the North, both in Abuja and his Abeokuta home, since the news of his resignation as BoT chairman of the ruling party broke out, all ostensibly congratulating him for taking a “wise decision.”

Meanwhile, the unexplained reason behind Obasanjo’s sudden resignation from the mainstream network of the PDP, according to investigations, was not unconnected with his desire to detach himself from the inner caucus of the party in order to maintain a high measure of neutrality as countdown to 2015 election year, gathers momentum.

The new stance by the former president on politics, as explained, meant that he would no longer be rigidly committed to presidential aspiration of anyone, including that of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

An old associate of the former president told Sunday Tribune in Abuja that Obasanjo had come of age in politics, and for that, had seen the necessity to sit back and review his active participation since 1998, while taking stock of how he had faired in his desire to put Nigeria on the path of greatness.

Obasanjo, the source disclosed, has not been totally happy that those he stuck out his neck for to attain power, including the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the incumbent president, fully appreciated his efforts, much as they attempted to hold him in abeyance while they enjoyed power.

The North is, however, said to be keen on making Obasanjo maintain neutrality ahead of 2015 in its desire to tackle President Jonathan head long following the early campaign for his second term by his supporters.

According to findings, the North is of a strong belief that it could confidently handle Jonathan alone on the 2015 matters, whereas it may find it a bit difficult to do so in the event that Obasanjo steps in again to mobilise support for him, as he did to make him become acting president, then, a substantive president and finally, an elected president in 2011.

Obasanjo, it was learnt, is not desirous of dipping his hands in the murky politics of 2015 in line with a growing orchestra that the incumbent president should step into the ring for another trial, rather than honouring the initial agreement that he should have just one term in office.

The incumbent president rode on the crest of popular sentiment that the South-South deserved to be offered presidential power in 2011 to balance the power distribution equation in Nigeria, hence, the support he enjoyed from top political stakeholders in the country at the expense of the interest of the North to present the next president then.

When former President Yar’Adua died mid way into the expiration of his term in 2010, the desire by the North to fulfil his full term, in line with the existing zoning of political power, was truncated with agitation that Jonathan be given the chance, thus sparking the greatest controversy on zoning in Nigeria.

Obasanjo’s desire to relinquish the office of BoT of the PDP is said to be more predicated on the emergence of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as national chairman of the party. He fully supported the candidacy of Tukur and that of national secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Obasanjo, it was explained, believed that the duo of Tukur and Oyinlola have the wherewithal to hold the party effectively and with ability to resolve all contentious issues over 2015.

Indication that Obasanjo is now out to prove his neutrality in national politics could be noted with the manner he has been interacting freely of late with members of other political parties, including the leading opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), just as his private visit to Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, continues to generate more controversies in political circles in the country.

Investigations have also revealed that that the North has started making subtle moves to form a new political party as a counter force to the PDP towards 2015 in anticipation that supporters of President Jonathan would use the ruling party to promote his tenure elongation, even through constitution amendment.

Some PDP governors have started distancing themselves from the mainstream activities in the party as evident by the manner they reportedly frustrated the meeting called with them by the new leadership of the party last Thursday.

 

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May 16, 2012

New book sheds light on Obama’s former romances

Washington: A new book sheds light on some of US President Barack Obamas early romances during his college and post-college years.

The revelations came out in a Vanity Fair magazine article featuring excerpts from Washington Post reporter David Maraniss new book Barack Obama: The Story due to be out next month.

According to The New York Post, the book detailsyoung Obamas relationships with two women — Alex McNear and Genevieve Cook — whom he dated while in his early 20s.

Obama met McNear while attending Occidental College in California — at the time she was a co-editor of the colleges literary magazine — before the two reconnected in New York during the summer of 1982. They met up at an Italian restaurant when McNear arrived in the city and quickly started dating, The New York Post added.

McNear told the author that she mainly remembered walking miles through the city with Obama, visiting art museums, eating at restaurants and engaging in deep philosophical conversations about life.

Then in December 1983, Obama met Cook, a 25-year-old elementary school teacher, at a party in New Yorks East Village. The future president was reportedly wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt and a dark leather jacket when he ran into Cook in the kitchen. The two later chatted and bonded immediately over the fact that both had grown up in Indonesia.

Im pretty sure we had dinner maybe the Wednesday after, Cook recalled. I think maybe he cooked me dinner. Then we went and talked in his bedroom. And then I spent the night. It all felt very inevitable, She was quoted by The New York Post as saying.

Cook also recalled how Obama would spend Sundays lounging around bare-chested in a blue and white sarong, while drinking coffee and solving The New York Times crossword puzzle.

Cook kept a journal at the time in which she wrote, I open the door, that Barack keeps closed, to his room, and enter into a warm, private space pervaded by a mixture of smells that so strongly speak of his presence, his liveliness, his habits — running sweat, Brut spray deodorant, smoking, eating raisins, sleeping, breathing, The New York Post quoted Cook as saying.

Obama described Cook without naming her in his memoir Dreams from My Father as a woman in New York that I loved. He wrote, She was white. She had dark hair, and specks of green in her eyes. Her voice sounded like a wind chime. We saw each other for almost a year. On the weekends, mostly.

Obama later said that his description of Cook in the memoir was more of a compression of former girlfriends that also included a girlfriend in Chicago.

May 15, 2012

Kiwi romance readers set to get hooked online

A GREAT BOON: Readers of romances will be able to celebrate now that Mills and Boons back catalogue will be available on e-book.

May 14, 2012

Several authors form Rock*It Reads brand for self-pubbed romance

By Joyce Lamb, USA TODAY

Several romance authors have gotten together to launch a brand designed to help readers find high-quality self-published works. This brand is called Rock*It Reads, and youll be able to identify Rock*It Reads books by the logo on the cover. You can see it on Mia Marlowes cover at right, in the upper right corner. In addition, the authors are launching a column, Love Rocks, at the Bamp;N website (it starts Monday!) that will highlight great romances and initiate conversation about self-pubbed romances as well as traditionally published. I managed to corner some of the Rock*It Reads authors to find out more about their endeavor and what readers can expect. (And, hey, if you stick around until the end of the interview and leave a comment, you could win a book.)

Joyce: What is Rock*It Reads and whos involved?

A: Rock*It Reads is an authors collective of New York-published authors who are also self-publishing romances. Were committed to producing only high-quality self-published works, which match or exceed the standards set by traditional publishing houses. Our Rock*It Reads logo, appearing on the cover of our self-published works, will signal to the reader our steadfast commitment to quality.

The R*IR authors are: Monica Burns, Pamela Clare (HEA contributor, who in no way contributed to or influenced this post!), Lila DiPasqua, Cheryl Holt, Vanessa Kelly, Kris Kennedy, Margo Maguire, Mia Marlowe, Elisabeth Naughton, Sharon Page and Joan Swan.

Joyce: Why did all of these authors form this group/brand?

A: The e-book market place is exploding, offering readers an astounding number of books to choose from. But its too easy for readers to get search fatigue from wading through the options, trying to find the gems.

By establishing Rock*It Reads, were giving readers an effective, streamlined way to find really great books. Our beautiful new website is a one-stop portal for finding our books and for keeping up to date on latest news and upcoming releases. And our clearly recognizable logo is a signal to readers that theyre getting a story thats been tended with the same level of attention and professionalism as our New York works. The logo is our seal of quality, telling readers we care as much about writing great stories as they do about reading them!

And to make sure its clear: Rock*It Reads is not a publisher. All the books are 100% self-published works, done by each author on her own time. Weve simply banded together to form Rock*It Reads to help our readers find other high-quality self-published works. Were hoping the logo will be like a beacon or guide though the vast world of self-published romances.

Joyce: How did these particular authors find each other? And whose idea was this?

A: It was the brainchild of Elise Rome. Elise is filled with amazing ideas, and this was one of many. A few of the R*IR authors are part of another group of authors who respect each others work and try to cross-promote, to get the word out about other great romances. The self-publishing angle was a specific extension of that idea: help our readers find great new romances.

And voila, Rock*It Reads was born! OK, the growing pains were a little more extensive than a voila! But were excited to be offering readers high-quality self-published romances. The group is small now, by design, but we have plans to grow the brand and for it to be an effective and easy way for readers to find great romance novels across all genres.

Joyce: How will readers find Rock*It Reads books?

A: 1) The RIR logo, which our authors will put on the covers of their self-published books.

2) Our website, RockItReads.com

3) Our newsletter, which will be out on a regular basis (dont forget to sign up when you visit our site!).

4) Going forward, our authors will be including information on Rock*It Reads at the back of their self-published books.

Joyce: Is it weird that authors will be reviewing other authors (asks the author who sometimes reviews other authors)?

A: Ooh, youre talking about Love Rocks, our new column at BarnesandNobleReview.com that launches Monday!

Love Rocks is going to host conversations and features on self-published romances available at Barnes amp; Noble. Were so excited about this! The Rock*It Read authors are going to be spotlighting and reviewing self-published gems that dont necessarily hit lists and can be difficult to find. Our authors will individually select books to highlight or review — books that appealed to us on a personal level and that we wanted to share, reader to reader. Because thats what Rock*It Reads is all about: writing and finding great indie books and bringing them to readers.

We truly hope this column will become a go-to place for discussing great indie books. We want to build a community on Bamp;N, one that strengthens the connection between authors and their readers.

Joyce: How often/how many reviews can readers expect at Bamp;N?

A: To get started, were doing every other week. Each column will be run by a different R*IR author, who will discuss and spotlight books on a particular theme or organizing principle. Barnes amp; Noble is especially interested in fostering conversations about great romance as well as self-published works, so theyre quite open to having wide-ranging and eclectic discussions. Basically, anything thats interesting, fun, and engaging for readers.

Joyce: What else do readers need to know?

A: In addition to our website, we also have a Rock*It Reads Facebook page and Twitter. Youll want to check that out, and also spend some time looking around our website. Were uploading content on a regular basis, and theres lots of fun and interesting stuff on our authors. And, some of the hottest romance covers out there! While youre at the site, dont forget to sign up for our newsletter!

Joyce: Thanks!

Seven commenters will each get to choose one book from these seven options: Fever by Joan Swan, Claiming Her by Kris Kennedy, How to Distract a Duchess by Mia Marlowe, Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton, Hot Number by Vanessa Kelly, Undone by Lila DiPasqua and Sweet Release by Pamela Clare.

You can enter until midnight ET Sunday, April 29. Winners will be notified Monday, April 30. (There are always rules, please click here for ours.)

Heres a question: Have you ever read an independently published book?

May 14, 2012

Eva Green: Relationships are hard

Eva Green finds relationships hard work.

The 31-year-old actress enjoys the early days of her romances but thinks she gives too much of herself when she falls in love.

May 13, 2012

Bigger and brighter Supermoon romances with night sky

New Delhi: Star gazers across the country were in for a celestial treat on Sunday night as it happened to be the only night in 2012 when the Moon shone at its brightest and biggest.

The phenomenon, called Supermoon, this year coincided with Buddha Purnima.

The spectacular view was possible because the full moon came closest to Earth and the distance between celestial bodies was only 357,000 km against a mean distance of 384,400 km.

At 9.05 pm IST, the distance between the Earth and the Moon was 3,56,955 km, the closest this year, while the angular size of the Moon was 0.5515 degrees.

Supermoon occurs because the Moons orbit is not perfectly circular, Arvind Paranjpye, Director of Mumbai-based Nehru Planetarium, said.

This full Moon was nearly 16 per cent brighter than average. Conversely, later this year on Novemver 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moons farthest approach, offering an especially small and dim full moon.

Though the rare appearance of this full Moon was surprising to some, theres no reason for alarm, scientists cautioned.

The slight distance variation was not enough to cause any earthquakes or extreme tidal effects, experts asserted.

However, the normal tides around the world were mostly high and low. At perigee, the moon exerted about 42 per cent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later.

The last Supermoon appeared in March 2011.

May 12, 2012

Juliette Binoche: ‘To keep a relationship is an art in itself’

Juliette Binoche believes relationships are a real challenge.

The French actress – who has previously had romances with professional scuba diver Andre Helle and actor Benoit Magimel – is currently dating Argentinean writer-and-director Santiago Amigorena, and admits she constantly finds maintaining a partner difficult.

She said: To keep [a relationship] is an art in itself. When woman are caught up in their everyday lives, habits are killers.

You have to take time for your relationship. Because its always there you dont pay as much attention as you should. I think staying together is a lot of a work. Its a real challenge to be a couple.

However, the 48-year-old beauty – who has children Raphael, 18 and 12-year-old Hannah – reveals she needs little time off from work because she is so energised by being an actress.

She added to Stylist magazine: I dont need to switch off because my job gives me energy. I dont need to do anything on the side as it wouldnt mean anything.

My kids arent on the side, theyre part of it all. I cant put myself into different boxes, it just doesnt work for me.

May 2, 2012

Shahid romances Priyanka in ‘Teri Meri’…

The cast and crew of Kunal Kohlis new film, Teri Meri Kahaani assembled at a suburban multiplex to unveil the first trailer. Director Kunal Kohli says that the film is all about the journey of love through the ages. There are three different love stories set in three different time periods.

My film takes you on a journey of love through the ages. Ever since humans have existed, theyve known love. So my basic idea was to show the strength of love beyond generations. That is how the films idea was conceived, said the director of films such as Hum Tum and Fanaa.

There are reports that the film is inspired by a Taiwanese film called Three Times, released in 2005. Denying this, Kohli said, Its completely different. While I was making Teri Meri Kahaani, somebody did tell me about Three Times and I checked it out. Let me assure you, it has no similarities.

The film is set to release in June 2012. Catch the films trailer below:

April 29, 2012

Ariba Breaks Up With "The Cloud," Romances "Enterprise Networks"

It seems that for every few persons of interest Kim Kardashian is seen with, Ariba comes up with a new corporate umbrella from which to dangle its overall company and product positioning. Fortunately, we all know the results that good P2P provides can long outlast the run of a typical reality TV show — or the love interests of someone on it. For Ariba, not so long ago it was Spend Management (the Nick Lackey and Reggie Bush years for Kim). Then it became the Commerce Cloud (moving onto Miles Austin and a short-lived and long-paid jaunt with Kris Humphries). As of yesterday, its Enterprise Networks or Business Commerce Networks (Kanye?!).

Alas, for the largest pure-play provider in a sector, swapping positioning has broader implications for how the market perceives software that addresses core business processes than it might first appear on the surface. Consider Aribas latest positioning or boilerplate from April 2012: Ariba, Inc. is the worlds business commerce network. Ariba combines industry-leading cloud-based applications with the worlds largest web-based trading community to help companies discover and collaborate with a global network of partners. Using the Ariba Network ™, businesses of all sizes can connect to their trading partners anywhere, at any time from any application or device to buy, sell and manage their cash more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Companies around the world use the Ariba Network to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance the results that they deliver.

Now take a step back. Heres how Ariba described itself just two months ago: Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. Ariba combines industry-leading technology with the worlds largest web-based trading community to help companies discover, connect and collaborate with a global network of partners — all in a cloud-based environment. Using the Ariba Commerce Cloud ™, businesses of all sizes can buy, sell and manage cash more efficiently and effectively. Over 730,000 companies around the globe use the Ariba Commerce Cloud to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance results…visit: www.ariba.com/commercecloud/ (editors note: this link already redirects to www.ariba.com/networked-economy)

Whats happened in this timeframe for Ariba? Theyve buried the cloud, for one. And we say good riddance (we were critical of this positioning from day one, which certainly didnt make us any friends at Ariba) because no one in procurement, AP, or treasury gave two figs about it. The idea of positioning what Ariba does as serving as a type of business or enterprise network makes more sense on the surface, even though at the end of the day, Ariba is really about two key things: purchase-to-pay automation and capability on the buy-side and supplier enablement on the sell-side.

Getting back to the updated positioning approach, five phrases stand out to us:

1) Worlds business commerce network

2) Largest web-based trading community

3) Connect to their trading partners

4) Buy, sell and manage their cash

5) Simplify inter-enterprise commerce

Some of these (eg, web-based trading community) send us back to the B2B marketplace era. Consider this description of a former Ariba competitor from 2000: Through its products, portals and services, XYZ creates access to worldwide markets, allowing anyone to buy from anyone, any time, anywhere. The XYZ Global Trading Web is the worlds largest business-to-business trading community. Comprised of many open e-marketplaces, the Global Trading Web provides unprecedented economies of scale for buying organizations, suppliers and service providers worldwide.

Ariba in 2000? Close … it was Commerce One. This was Ariba at the time (1999, to be specific): Ariba, Inc. is the worlds leader in business-to-business electronic commerce services and software. The company provides the Ariba Network platform, the industrys leading open, unified global platform for business-to-business commerce on the Internet. Aribas software and services leverage the Ariba Network platform to automate and integrate the internal and external commerce processes of buyers, suppliers, and value-added service providers, delivering a global eCommerce infrastructure that provides cost saving and revenue opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

My, how history comes close to repeating itself sometimes (at least from a marketing perspective). Yet whats missing from the new old description is any actual tag signifying what Ariba does on a functional basis (ie, serving procurement, P2P, accounts payable and treasury-specific needs). Still, one could argue, the new positioning reflects the essence of what theyre up to — and what their competitors are up to — on slightly more grounded level than the cloud ever did. Borrowing from a recent Ariba whitepaper to explore the evolution of how they currently position P2P and supplier networks, the explanation goes further: The networked economy is all about relevant connections and efficient collaboration. Its the glue that links and coordinates a virtual extraprise of partners into a shared community executing improved and co-ordinated processes in a more informed way than in the past. Traditional operating models, old-school enterprise applications, and proprietary point-to-point or hub-and-spoke integration strategies are too rigid to enable such transparency and efficiency across the value chain. Virtual extraprise? Put the check in the mail to former FreeMarkets CTO Bill Blair for that one (who started Co-Exprise after leaving).

The positioning continues (and goes deeper) however: These outdated approaches carry high costs and require heavy lifting to enable and support, excluding many partners from participating. In short, these traditional models prevent companies from gaining the transparency and capability they need to execute processes across the value chain — from finding and serving new customers to organizing and managing supply to optimizing cash flow — in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible…Companies today are moving beyond their traditionally inside-out view of the world and IT infrastructure and are no longer focused on features and functionality when it comes to technology. What they want is access to the people, processes and tools they need to make their businesses go. They want to be able to buy, sell, and manage their cash as easily in their business lives as they do on the homefront. They want business networks.

Whether this positioning is a throw back to the old Commerce One, VerticalNet and Tradex days is open to interpretation. Decide for yourself: for a more in-depth look at this new positioning, you can read Aribas whitepaper in article format here. If you check it out, youll see the only real direct vestige of the recent cloud shtick is the continued comparison to Google, Amazon, etc. In short, the new stuff is better in our book, even if it marks the beginning of a back to the future move (queue a Delorean entering on stage left). Alas, perhaps if Ariba is still independent by 2015, theyll just call the sector what it is: procurement. And Kim Kardashian may just finally end up with the man of her dreams then, too (even if both parties work their way through another one or two sector rebrands and beaus in between):

- Jason Busch and Sheena Moore

April 26, 2012

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