Company Man asks 'The Decline of Big Lots...What Happened? ' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I've been expecting a video from Company Man Mike on Big Lots! filing for bankruptcy and he finally uploaded one yesterday, The Decline of Big Lots...What Happened?

One of the country's biggest closeout retailers has filed for bankruptcy and nearly shut down entirely. This video tries to identify the biggest reasons behind the struggles of Big Lots.

Here is Company Man Mike's four reasons for the failure of Big Lots!


What struck me most about this list is how much Big Lots! thrived during the pandemic because of the chain's shift to selling more furniture. As I wrote in 2020, "If one has to shelter in place, then one might [as well] find a better place to find shelter." That, or make one's existing shelter a better place through new furniture. Unfortunately, furniture is a durable good, so once the demand was met, sales collapsed once the public health emergency ended, leaving Big Lots! holding the bag. It makes me wonder how well Zoom is doing. Better than Big Lots! I'm sure.

The chain's boom and bust contributed to stock buybacks being Company Man Mike's final item. I've only seen that as a cause for a company's failure three times, GNC, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Ruby Tuesday. It's much more common to see private equity being a cause, as I documented most recently in Company Man asks 'The Decline of Party City...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse. In this case, private equity looks like it will save the company, at least for now.

No bankrupt company's story seems to be complete without videos from both Company Man and Bright Sun Films. I'm awaiting Jake Williams' contribution to this tale. In the meantime, he just uploaded a documentary about Payless Shoesource, which would be a good subject for a Wayback Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, or Flashback Friday. Stay tuned.

Meyers, The Daily Show, and Kimmel take closer looks at Trump's designs on Greenland and Canada

Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Jimmy Kimmel all returned Monday night and Seth Meyers returned last night, so I'm kicking off today's post with Trump's Insane Press Conference About Greenland, Jack Smith, Gulf of Mexico: A Closer Look, the first of the new year.

Seth takes a closer look at President-elect Trump starting off the new year by threatening to take over a bunch of foreign countries right before getting sentenced for a felony conviction and holding an insane press conference to complain about it.

Yes, Hoover Cleveland is still a convicted criminal, but I doubt Trump will receive any of what I expected last year.

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I wrote fourteen months ago when Colbert's studio audience gave a standing ovation when told about Trump's indictment; Kimmel's was just as loud.

"[J]ail to the chief" is a great line, but it's going to be a while. I expect he'll be sentenced to house arrest in Trump Tower with the Secret Service as his guards, at least for this set of crimes.

I stand by that prediction with the possible addition of $170,000 in fines, $5,000 for each conviction, although Jimmy K's desire for community service to be part of the sentence would work for me, too.

Maybe Judge Merchan will sentence Hoover Cleveland to community service and consider his serving as President to be community service. That would be creative. Unfortunately, Hoover Cleveland is more likely to receive an unconditional release. Sigh.

As for Trump's obsession with Greenland, I turn to The Daily Show, which had more to say about Trump's expansionist ambitions in Trump Ratchets Up Call to Annex Canada & Greenland as Trudeau Says He'll Resign.

Desi Lydic discusses Trump's imperialist push ahead of his inauguration, including making Canada the 51st state, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and possibly invading Greenland. Plus, Jordan Klepper is hyped about colonialism's apparent comeback.

At least he no longer seems interested in trading Puerto Rico for Greenland. I described that idea as a stupid move unworthy of a board game four years ago.

On paper, admitting Puerto Rico as a counterweight to Washington, D.C. looks like it might work. The problem is that the Republican Party has become Trump's party and the former guy dislikes Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans enough that he reportedly wanted to swap the island commonwealth for Greenland.* As long as he's the party leader, his prejudices and those of his followers will stand in the way of statehood.
...
*This reminds me of a stunt I pulled in a games of Pax Britannica 30-35 years ago when I played the United Kingdom/Great Britain. I called it "Aristotle is not a Belgian." When Belgium, a minor power that runs by automatic rules, made a move that resulted in a Casus Belli, I would call for a Congress of Europe and propose a deal that would give Belgium the U.K's possessions in Newfoundland and Guiana (if I could convince the French player, France's possession in Guiana as well) along with a codominion in whichever territory Belgium had established a protectorate or possession, usually the Congo. That would get get rid of two low-value colonies for the U.K. and one for France, freeing those counters to be deployed in more high-value territories, and use up all of Belgium's counters for protectorates and possessions, eliminating it as a obstacle to the players who had plans for Africa.

What TFG is alleged to have proposed would not have been possible in Pax Brittanica and would have been a stupid deal even if it were. First, Denmark was not one of the minor powers in the game (Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal were) and Greenland was not one of the available territories, so there would be nothing to swap for. Even if it had, I expect Greenland would have had an economic value of 1 or 2, while Puerto Rico, which is in the game, has a value of 5. This would have been a bad economic deal. Then again, if he actually did want to do this, it would have been for irrational reasons. That doesn't surprise me.

And now he's adding Canada to his expansionary "concepts of plans" as the 51st state. I'd only be in favor of that if each Canadian province were admitted as the 53rd through 62nd states after Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. That's only slightly more likely than "a new constitution that replaces the republic with a constitutional monarchy and invite[s] Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor to be Queen." Monkeys will fly out of my butt first.

I conclude with Jimmy Kimmel, who asked Trump Wants to Buy Greenland!?, Bromance with Elon on the Rocks & Zuckerberg Kisses the Ring.

It is very windy and smoky here in Los Angeles, Jimmy got an on the scene weather report from Guillermo this morning, Cher is here on the show with us tonight, Trump gave a double-doozy of a press conference today from Mar-a-Lago where he covered all the big issues from rebranding the ocean to windmills to water pressure, he suggested that he might buy Greenland and sent his son Don Jr to check it out, Lara Trump is busy ruining Tom Petty songs, Hunter Biden and Flavor Flav hung out at a White House gathering for digital creators, the bromance between Trump and Elon Musk appears to be precarious, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a suspiciously Trump-friendly announcement today, Pornhub is no longer available in Florida, and we shine a light on all the craziness with 2025’s first edition of “This Week in Florida.”

Yikes! If he's sending Don Jr. there, then he's serious about Greenland. As I wrote yesterday, "Here's to the comedians keeping us sane in the new year. We need it!"

Colbert, Stewart, and Kimmel observe January 6th

I anticipated the topic of today's post at the conclusion of PBS Terra explains 'How Scientists Solved the Mystery of a 300-Year-Old Megaquake'.

I expect the late-night talk show hosts will return from holiday break tonight, so stay tuned for their monologues tomorrow. Who knows, they might have something darkly funny to say about the anniversary of January 6th worth sharing.

They did. Watch Your Jan 6th Gift Guide, the cold open to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Every coup begins with Kay.

That definitely counts as "something darkly funny to say about the anniversary of January 6th worth sharing."

Colbert continued in his monologue, Jan 6, Trump's Day Of Love | Jeffries: We Will Fart Hard | Why Does Fun Stuff Cause Cancer?

Congress peacefully certified Donald Trump's electoral victory on January 6, 2025, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made an embarrassing verbal misstep, and Stephen looks into some alarming news about alcohol.

"A day of love" — yeah, love for convicted criminal Donald Trump. His whitewashing and inversion of the attack on the Capitol is the new Big Lie, and enough people bought it that Trump got re-elected. When I called him "Hoover Cleveland — Hoover because he's the first U.S. President to have a net job loss during his term since Herbert Hoover, Cleveland because he's trying to repeat what Grover Cleveland achieved, earn a second non-consecutive term," I was going for a catchy mocking nickname, not a prediction!

While I'm not looking forward to Hoover Cleveland taking office again, I will miss Justin Trudeau. I'm rooting for Chrystia Freeland to replace him, but I'm not a Canadian. What do my Canadian readers think?

Now for Jon Stewart Unpacks The NOLA and Cybertruck Attacks & An Unusually Civil Jan. 6 | The Daily Show, which my wife and I watched last night.

Jon Stewart kicks off 2025 with an unusually civil Jan. 6 election certification, and right-wing media's desperate attempts to make the Bourbon Street attack about immigration. Plus, Jon unpacks the eerily normal digital footprints of recent terrorists and questions the internet's role in their radicalizations.

"Democracy now has pallbearers" — that also counts as "something darkly funny to say about the anniversary of January 6th worth sharing."

I might have more to say about the truck attacks by lone wolves beyond my sympathies to the victims, my worry that the connections between the two incidents are not just coincidences, and a cybertruck burning in front of a Trump building is just too on the nose for 2025 later. Instead, I'm concluding with Jimmy Kimmel's Trump Win Certified on Insurrection Anniversary, Trudeau Resigns & Guillermo vs Mario Lopez, who saved January 6th for last.

We’re back with a new show after our holiday break, people texting their holiday cards instead of mailing them, a rapper named 2 Low was on a podcast called “One on One with Mike D” and they gave us quiet a moment, Mario Lopez was handing out tequila shots on the Golden Globes red carpet and Jimmy has a bone to pick about it, the Golden Globes put up little facts about each of the presenters as they walked on stage, we have a new winner for tonight’s award for “Excellence in Reporting,” Justin Trudeau announced that he will step down as Prime Minister of Canada, Eric Trump turned 41 and Daddy Donald wrote a very heartfelt post on Truth Social, today is also the fourth anniversary of our Capitol being stormed by the Buffalo Wild Wing of the Republican party, Congress certified Donald Trump’s victory and Kamala Harris had to give the official sign off on Trump’s win as sitting VP, and Jimmy speaks to the “BlueAnon Shaman.”

"The Buffalo Wild Wing of the Republican party" — Ha! It only took four years for that joke, but I like it! On the other hand, the "BlueAnon Shaman" was just silly.

Here's to the comedians keeping us sane in the new year. We need it!

PBS Terra explains 'How Scientists Solved the Mystery of a 300-Year-Old Megaquake'

I closed PBS Terra explains 'The AMOC Might Be WAY More Unstable Than We Thought...Here's Why' with a preview of coming attractions.

I'm not the only one recycling a subject; PBS Terra's previous video is the latest in a series that began with PBS examines the risks from a major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest and continued with PBS Terra explains 'Here's EXACTLY What to Do When the Next Megaquake Hits: Cascadia Subduction Zone' and PBS Terra asks 'What's the ONE THING You Can Do To Survive a Tsunami?' I will almost certainly cover that in a future entry...Stay tuned.

Without any further ado, here is that video from PBS Terra explaining How Scientists Solved the Mystery of a 300-Year-Old Megaquake.

The 1700 Cascadia earthquake and tsunami was a massive natural disaster that reshaped the Pacific Northwest. Through tree rings, soil layers, and international collaboration, scientists have pieced together the exact timing of the event. As the region braces for another quake, can we prepare in time? Find out how new models and tsunami evacuation towers are helping coastal communities face the threat.

This video shows that it took the efforts of people in multiple disciplines, geology, biology, and history, to decipher the evidence and connect it all together into a coherent reconstruction of the event in 1700. It also shows, like the previous episodes, how people are preparing for the next event. One of those preparations are escape towers. As I wrote last year, "my first instinct if I can't get away from the shore would be to climb up, so I'm relieved to see people building vertical escape structures. Now to build more than three in the U.S." If they're all as well-stocked as the Shoalwater Tribe's, then the people should be in good shape to survive the tsunami.

Follow over the jump for the comments from last year's post.

Golden Globes and Critics Choice screenplay nominees for National Screenwriters Day

Happy National Screenwriters Day! As I promised yesterday, I'm covering the Golden Globes and Critics Choice screenplay nominees as the first Sunday entertainment feature of 2025. I begin with the nominees for Best Screenplay, Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.

A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg
Anora
Sean Baker
The Brutalist
Brady Corbet
Mona Fastvold
Conclave
Peter Straughan
Emilia Pérez
Jacques Audiard
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat

Eight of Gold Derby's editors, including Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen, picked Anora, while one each chose A Real Pain, The Brutalist, and Conclave. Gold Derby's experts generally agree, with 18 of the 32 judging Anora the best, followed by eight choosing Conclave, five picking A Real Pain, and one standing out for The Substance. Seventeen of the site's top 24 users agree with Anora, followed by four for Conclave and three voting for The Substance. The users apparently don't like A Real Pain. As consolation, I'm sharing Joyce Eng eliciting Jesse Eisenberg's 'great ambivalence' about his own pain inspired 'A Real Pain'.

Jesse Eisenberg's 'great ambivalence' about his own pain inspired 'A Real Pain.' The Oscar nominee explains how he overcame writer's block, casting Kieran Culkin, and more. Gold Derby senior editor Joyce Eng hosts this webchat.

After watching this interview, I've decided I like Eisenberg better as a writer than as an actor. I think he still deserves his Razzie for playing Lex Luthor.

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was worse than Leto as Joker...My wife and I agreed he wasn't Lex Luthor, who should be colder and more openly calculating, but a more organized version of The Joker who had a goal beyond "watching the world burn."

That performance did not make my memory of Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network a happier one. Maybe A Real Pain might change that.

I'm going to agree with the prognosticators at Gold Derby that Anora will win tonight. Follow over the jump to see if they think it will repeat for Best Original Screenplay at the Critics Choice Awards next week.

Company Man asks 'The Decline of Party City...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I'm returning to the Retail Apocalypse with an update to 2023's Party City files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, Company Man asking The Decline of Party City...What Happened?

The country's biggest party store is shutting down. This video discusses the company's history while attempting to identify five main reasons behind its decline.

Once again, here's Company Man Mike's list.


I begin my reaction by being a good environmentalist and recycling what I wrote two years ago.

Party City has been in trouble for a while, which fits one of the patterns for chains that fail during the Retail Apocalypse. All of them had issues that brought them down when a crisis hit.

The improper inventory reports along with the two new owners all count as reasons why Party City was in trouble even before the pandemic, which Company Man Mike lists among the external factors, along with the helium shortage increasing the prices of balloons and decreasing their sales.* I've mentioned the role of private equity in the failure of retail chains many times before, most recently in 'Bankrupt - 99 Cents Only Stores' by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse. It took more than a decade, but the debt from the leveraged buyout finally caught up with Party City.

As for who benefits from the departure of Party City from the market, in addition to the usual suspects of Amazon and Walmart, Company Man Mike mentioned Walgreens, which is having its own issues and could use the boost, and Spirit Halloween. CNBC and Company Man have videos about both chains, which I plan on using in future Retail Apocalypse posts. Stay tuned for those after I cover Golden Globes and Critics Choice screenplay nominees to celebrate National Screenwriters Day as the first Sunday entertainment feature of 2025.

*As I wrote about the helium shortage two years ago, "That's something I haven't blogged about but should."

'NASA 2025: To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond' and 'ESA 2025: A fifty-years legacy of building the future'

I closed My preferences and predictions for the Saturn Awards on Science Fiction Day 2025 with "Enough holidays. Stay tuned for this year's edition of 'NASA 2024: Onward and Upward' and 'ESA’s future of space travel'." I'm following through by sharing NASA 2025: To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond, which sounds a bit like Buzz Lightyear.

Preparing to orbit and do science on the Moon, investigating how solar wind interacts with Mars, and demonstrating quiet supersonic flight are just a FEW of the milestones we have planned for 2025.

Much of this continues what NASA did in 2024, but that's a good thing. It's also what I'm least worried about with the incoming administration. As I wrote in 2016, "space policy is the one area where Trump might actually be good for the country." I also wrote "It's like hoping for the alternative history in The Man in the High Castle to happen just so there could be commercial SSTs by the early 1960s...The cost would be too high." I fear the cost might be higher this time.

Now for ESA 2025: A fifty-years legacy of building the future.

In 1975, 10 European countries came together with a vision to collaborate on key space activities: science and astronomy, launch capabilities and space applications: the European Space Agency, ESA, was born.

In 2025, we mark half a century of joint European achievement – filled with firsts and breakthroughs in science, exploration and technology, and the space infrastructure and economy that power Europe today.

During the past five decades ESA has grown, developing ever bolder and bigger projects and adding more Member States, with Slovenia joining as the latest full Member State in January.

We’ll also celebrate the 50th anniversary of ESA’s Estrack network, 30 years of satellite navigation in Europe and 20 years since ESA launched the first demonstration satellite Giove-A which laid the foundation for the EU’s own satnav constellation Galileo. Other notable celebrations are the 20th anniversary of ESA’s Business Incubation Centres, or BICs, and the 30th year in space for SOHO, the joint ESA and NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.

"In 2025, ESA looks ahead to a busy and exciting year." So do I. To paraphrase what I wrote last year and the year before, here's to 2025 being another great year in space.

My preferences and predictions for the Saturn Awards on Science Fiction Day 2025

I closed 'House of the Dragon' and 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' lead fantasy and adventure TV nominees at the Saturn Awards with a promise that turned into a pumpkin even before I wrote it: "I'm definitely posting my votes on National Science Fiction Day next month. Now off to cast my votes!" I based that on the website, which said voting would close December 15th. Nope, it closed on December 14th and the email I received said so. Ugh. I had a feeling I should have voted on the 14th just in case something like this happened. So, no votes to report. Phooey!

That's not stopping me from posting would have been my votes, so here goes, beginning with the movie nominees.

Best Science Fiction Film: Dune: Part Two
Best Fantasy Film: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Best Horror Film: Alien: Romulus
Best Thriller Film: Strange Darling
Best Action / Adventure Film: Deadpool & Wolverine
Best Independent Film: The Substance
Best International Film: Godzilla Minus One (Japan)
Best Animated Film: Inside Out 2
Best Actor in a Film: Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine)
Best Actress in a Film: Demi Moore (The Substance)
Best Supporting Actor in a Film: Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine)
Best Supporting Actress in a Film: Margaret Qualley (The Substance)
Best Younger Performer in a Film: McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire)
Best Film Direction: Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two)
Best Film Screenwriting: Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve Jon Spaihts)
Best Film Visual / Special Effects: Godzilla Minus One (Masaki Takahashi, Tatsuiji Nojima, Kiyokk Shubuya, Takashi Yamazaki)
Best Film Music: Dune: Part Two (Hans Zimmer)
Best Film Production Design: Dune: Part Two (Patrice Vermette)
Best Film Make Up: The Substance (Pierre-Olivier Persin)
Best Film Editing: Dune: Part Two (Joe Walker)
Best Film Costume Design: Dune: Part Two (Jacqueline West)

My predictions of winners different from my should-have-been votes:

I decided to go with the professional opinion and vote for Margaret Qualley as Best Supporting Actress in a Film, but I think Emmy-nominee Emma Corrin is just as good an actress and chewed more scenery as the villain of Deadpool & Wolverine, so she could upset.
I think McKenna Grace is a better actress and displayed more range in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire than Jenna Ortega in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but Ortega is a bigger star, so she's likely to win Best Younger Performer in a Film.
While I decided the makeup was integral to telling the story of The Substance, both Dune: Part Two and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earned Critics' Choice Award nominations for their makeup, so either of them could win, particularly Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Dune: Part Two also earned a nomination for costume design at the Critics' Choice Awards, but I wouldn't be surprised if the superhero cosplayers who are on the Saturn Awards costumes committee would be able to sway the vote to Deadpool & Wolverine.

Follow over the jump for the television categories.

Some of my favorite bands at the 2025 Rose Parade for New Year's Day

Happy New Year! I'm sharing my favorite bands in the Rose Parade for New Year's Day, courtesy of Luis at Music213. I begin, like last year, with the official band of the Rose Parade, 2025 PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band & Herald Trumpets (Day 1) - 2025 Pasadena Bandfest.

The 2025 Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band & Herald Trumpets performing their musical selections at the 44th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest on Sunday, December 29, 2024.

That was worth it just to hear the percussion play Espresso, which will probably be the Record of the Year at the GRAMMYs.

Next, a band I may end up recycling for the 2028 version of Marching music for the Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio Presidential Primaries on the Vernal Equinox, Lincoln-Way High School Marching Band - 2025 Pasadena Bandfest.

From Frankfort, Illinois Lincoln-Way High School Marching Band performing their field show at the 44th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest on Monday, December 30, 2024.

I couldn't resist leaving this comment on the video.

Here is the music for the field show:
0:32 Music from "El Cid"
2:20 "The Death Hunt" from the movie "On Dangerous Ground"
4:00 "The Magnificent Seven"
6:00 "Gone with the Wind"
8:45 Reprise of "El Cid"
8:56 "Hurray for Hollywood"

The song for the pass in review at 13:12 is "Land of Make Believe."

Anyone who has been reading this blog for any time knows that I love movie music, so of course I'd know. Also, drum corps have played every single song in this repertoire, just to reinforce my familiarity with them.

Now, my favorite marching band from Japan, Kyoto Tachibana High School Green Band - 2025 Pasadena Bandfest.

From Kyoto, Japan, the Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School Green Band performing at the 44th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest on Monday, December 30, 2024. This exceptional group will also be performing in the 136th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Wednesday, January 1, 2024.

As in 2011 and 2018, they were the ONLY band to receive a full standing ovation during the two-day festival. Their performance was truly spectacular! A huge THANK YOU to Kyoto Tachibana!

Field Show:
00:07 - Introduction
04:04 - Johnny B. Goode
05:16 - We Are Your Dream Girls
07:50 - Happy Birthday (Tournament President Ed Morales Birthday)
08:55 - Memory (from Cats)
11:58 - Sing Sing Sing
18:00 - Photos

Pass in Review:
18:41 - Fantasmic!
20:16 - High School Musical (High School Musical 3)

Wow! In case they look familiar, I featured them in Two Rose Parade marching bands playing 'Thriller' for Halloween and Two drum corps and some of my favorite bands marching in the New Year for 2018. Welcome back!

Follow over the jump for more of my favorite bands.