Worse than Ezra

Ahoy, ahoy, dear readers! I’m way too busy reading pharmaco financials and analyst reports to spend much time blogging. Updates will be pretty light until July 4thish. (Of course there’ll be an Unrequired Reading this Friday! Don’t be silly!)

Just so you get your fix, the 0-fer of the week is . . . Ezra Pound!

Now I gotta get back to work. Later!

“Anything but . . . work in a paper box factory!”

A “Key Figure” from sanofi-aventis’ annual report:

boxy

The title of this post is from one of my favorite Woody Allen movies. Relax: I don’t expect any of you to get that one.

(UPDATE: Summamabitch! sanofi got revenge on me! I was about 80% of the way through its profile, for an issue that goes to press early next week, when I got a pharma e-newsletter with a link to the following item:

Sanofi-Aventis Plans Job Cuts

M2 Europharma – Jun. 22, 2009

22 June 2009 -French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis (EPA: SAN) may further cut jobs after the 927 lay-offs in 2008, business daily Les Echos reported on Monday (22 June), quoting trade union sources.

Sanofi-Aventis management is expected to announce the plans for major restructuring at an extraordinary works council next week. Employees are particularly concerned over positions in the research divisions.

The drug maker has been affected by the launch of generic versions of some of its key medicines. Within the coming months the generic version of its anti-cancer drug Eloxatin should …

Of course, the full announcement’s only going to come after the company’s profile is off at the printer! Grr!)

Lollygagging around

Oh, sure! You can take it easy, while I’m slaving away over these darned pharma-profiles! You’re lucky you’re so cute!

What It Is: 6/22/09

What I’m reading: Plutarch’s lives of Timoleon and Aemilius Paulus, and Seth’s amazing comic about Canadian designer Thoreau MacDonald (it’s in an anthology called Kramers Ergot 7). Reading that strip after his George Sprott and Wimbledon Green books (the latter of which I reread on Saturday), it struck me just how much Seth’s work has grown in recent years, and how much of it seems to be a response to the work of other top-flight cartoonists of this era. My pal Tom has a great interview with Seth that explores this topic, but the MacDonald pages, even more than George Sprott, really drive home the point that Seth’s response to “the competition” (especially Chris Ware) is to make better and better work. I’m not sure he would’ve made the leaps he’s made without it.

What I’m listening to: Greatest hits collection of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, after reading this short post by Ta-Nehisi Coates. (He thought she was high yellow?)

What I’m watching: The Original Kings of Comedy, Big Night, Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs, Manhattan and Hot Rod, the latter of which was inspired by its recent My Year of Flops writeup.

What I’m drinking: Miller’s & Q Tonic

What Rufus is up to: Getting the last of his stitches out, learning how to hang out by himself again, and building up his stamina. I can’t believe we went 3 weeks without a walk outside of the yard. I’m glad it’s not hot out.

Where I’m going: Pharmaland. Lots and lots of Top Companies profiles to write!

What I’m happy about: That it’s not raining right now.

What I’m sad about: That my dad got pasted with an attack of gout this weekend, which means we have to put off our Father’s Day lunch till next Sunday. And that we’ll have to take the red wine off the menu.

What I’m worried about: Getting all of those profiles written and then laid out in time to put the issue to bed by July 2.

What I’m pondering: Whether crystal meth would help with that.

Flaunt My (Un)Funbags

In the “I wish I’d made this up” department, the following press release just rolled through my healthcare newswire:

Scots Men Get the Issue of Moobs Off Their Chests in Time for Summer – Male Surgery in Scotland Sees 80 Per Cent Growth

GLASGOW, Scotland, June 17 /PRNewswire/ — Transform Cosmetic Surgery Group has revealed that despite the drooping economy Scots men are opting to perk themselves up this summer by booking in for moob removal surgery and finally getting their insecurities off their chests.

Transform revealed that although there has been a 44 per cent increase in the procedure across the UK, the group’s Scottish clinics have seen the popularity of the procedure increase by 80 per cent from 2007 with 40 operations being carried out in 2008 compared to 2007’s 22.

Transform’s Scottish clinics also found that the number of enquiries for the procedure ballooned in the spring time from men who were preparing to shed layers of clothing during the Scottish summer months.

You really need to read the whole thing. I guess I need to have Boob Week on this site sometime.

Rufus See Well

Last week (?) (seriously, I can’t keep track of days anymore), the police officer who handled the report for Rufus’ dog-attack case stopped by. Because of that letter I got from the Akita’s owners stating that Rufus had walked into their yard, I wanted to check with the officer that the report hadn’t been changed from the once I’d received. He supported the initial report and said that nothing had been changed; the Akita (King) attacked Ru outside the property.

We talked for a bit after that; it turns out that the policeman is a neighbor of ours (which answers the question of why I occasionally see a squad car parked in the driveway of a nearby house), and had seen the Akita unattended in its yard many times. Also, he was glad to see that Rufus was alright, because he last saw our boy the night of the attack, and things looked pretty bad.

Near the end of our conversation, I said, “Y’know what burns my ass? It’s been more than 3 weeks since their dog ripped the hell out of Rufus’ leg, and they haven’t asked once how he’s doing. I can understand them not wanting to come by, but not even a note?”

He said, “That tells you who they are.”

“That it does.”

Today I discovered that it was probably better that they stayed away.

Continue reading “Rufus See Well”