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Showing posts with label amazon.com. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amazon.com. Show all posts

Friday, March 01, 2013

Dear Amazon: I don't care about gay marriage, just gimme my damn books

I believe that homosexuality and bisexuality is just as wrong as heterosexual extramarital intercourse, rape and polygamy and for the same reasons.

Do I have gay and lesbian friends?  Yup, sure do.  Plenty of them in fact.  They already know that I cannot approve with a sincere heart the behavior they engage in.  They also already know that though I must judge as wrong that behavior, I cannot judge them wrong as people.  Certainly not as the friends who I am thankful to have.

I don't believe that "homosexual marriage" is wrong.  I know that it is.  The notion itself is a contradiction against logic and human culture.  "Marriage" entails the uniting of two unique characteristics into one, so that the the sum is greater than the equal of its constituent parts.  That is something among human society that can only be found in the uniting of one man and one woman.  We've had six thousand years of recorded history without "gay marriage" up 'til now, and many thousands of years of human culture just as absent of it before that.  Sure there were aberrations and deviations once in awhile, but by and large gay marriage is a mutation that has never survived social Darwinism.

Those who advocate "gay marriage" are ignorant of something else.  Namely, that true marriage is not focused at all on sexuality.  That is a defining aspect of marriage... but it's only one aspect of it.  If a marriage is based primarily on sex, then it's not going to be a marriage that tends to survive and endure the trials and tribulations of a couple's lifetime together.  That goes for any couple, be they gay or straight.

So why are we seeing homosexual marriage hoisted high and in our faces lately?  There are two reasons, I have observed.  The first is that legalizing "gay marriage" is perceived by its proponents as being official endorsement for that behavior.

The second is that many if not most of those demanding "gay marriage" believe that doing so demonstrates how "progressive", how "forward-thinking", how "wise and tolerant" they really are.  They won't admit or acknowledge it in the slightest but to them, they are assuming that they "know better" than the rest of us and that we have to be "educated" and made to conform to their own demands and expectations.

Case in point: Amazon's new commercial for its Kindle Paperwhite e-book reader.  I first saw it last night.  It opens with a man and a woman laying on the beach.  The guy is squinting at his tablet in the harsh sunlight while the lady is obviously enjoying reading without straining her eyes.  Convinced, the man immediately orders a Kindle Paperwhite and tells the girl they should go out and celebrate.

Trying to shut him down, she tells him "My husband is bringing me a drink right now."

"So is mine," the man tells her.  Cut to the bar behind them and their husbands(?) waving back at them.

No doubt that Amazon deems this to be a groundbreaking and culturally revolutionary ad.  That it's a game-changer for marketing.  The climax of the commercial practically screams out "WE'RE DIFFERENT AND PRO-GAY DAMMIT!"

Fine.  Amazon is pro-homosexual "marriage".  I couldn't care less what Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos believes on the matter.  He's as entitled to his beliefs and spending money on them as much as anybody is.

But this kind of marketing is a terrible, terrible model for a business.  In fact, it's proven to be downright disastrous.

And I'm not talking about for taking pro-gay stances either.  Anytime a company's leadership decides to use that company as a platform for a social or political agenda, the profits drop.  Ever heard of Hechinger?  It used to be a pretty major name in the hardware and home improvement business, right up there with Lowe's and Home Depot.  And then its head executives chose to make Hechinger as a company pro-gun control.

People stopped shopping at Hechinger as a result.  They wanted lumber and bathroom fixtures, not a political statement.  That was twenty years ago and very few people now remember the company existed at all.

Want more proof?  J.C. Penney's profits dropped 32% in the past quarter.  The situation there is so dire that the company is apparently deferring payments to its suppliers.  Many are blaming J.C. Penney's pro-homosexual marketing: a blunder bad enough to warrant many to demand the banishment of Ron Johnson, the current CEO.

Look, it's not the particulars and peculiarities of the personas involved that is the present problem.  I've come to enjoy the products I buy from Apple.  My iPad goes with me everywhere.  It's become an indispensable part of my life.  I also know that Apple's CEO Tim Cook is widely reported to be gay.  But not for a moment have I considered not buying stuff from Apple because of it.  I buy Apple's gadgets because they work and because the company trusts its products enough to sell themselves.  I do not now, nor will I ever buy something because it's being sold as "pro-straight".  I would however very seriously consider not buying a product if the officials running the company selling it decide to get "in yo' face" about an issue that I disagree with.

And based on history, I don't doubt that there are many others who would refuse to support such a company either, on those same grounds.

Amazon: seriously?  A pro-gay e-book reader?  Why should I care?  Why should anybody care?

Jeff Bezos, keep your pro-gay stance to yourself.  Just be a responsible CEO and shut up and sell books.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Amazon.com cuts off Tarheel affiliates (blames WORST GOVERNOR EVER!)

Bev Perdue - also known on this blog as "WORST GOVERNOR EVER!" - has done it again. 'Course to be fair she had help from North Carolina's lawmakers. Amazon.com has stopped doing business with all of its affiliates in this state: a consequence of, as Amazon.com puts it, "the unconstitutional tax collection scheme expected to be passed any day now by the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) and signed by the governor."

This is already the most taxed state in the southeast. Piling on more taxes is not a smart move by any measure. But sadly folks, this state's head honchos have long been drunk on wild spending and are desperate for any way they can find to keep their mad orgy going.

North Carolina, ladies and gentlemen: "The California of the Eastern Seaboard".

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Monty Python has 23,000% increase in DVD sales during past two months...

...and it's being attributed to the official Monty Python channel on YouTube and all the free videos on it.

This was a sales gimmick from the very beginning (see my post from November when Monty Python launched the channel) and, apparently (LOL!) it has been an earth-shattering success! Monty Python is now sitting pretty in the #2 slot on Amazon.com for TV and movies, and as Mashable notes that's likely because of all of the links embedded in the YouTube clips that take viewers to the appropriate product page at the Amazon site.

The lesson from this should not be lost on those from the RIAA, and others who have been overly-zealous in enforcing "copyright" on the flimsiest of grounds. This story demonstrates more than adequately that YouTube can be a marketing powerhouse and that it is a friend to commercial art, not a foe to be shunned.

(Thanks to Phillip Arthur for passing along the story!)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Full-size Lancer from GEARS OF WAR on sale at Amazon

Here's one for the "Things We Don't Really Need But Are Lusting For Badly" file...

The Amazon.com exclusive Gears of War 2 Lancer. Full-sized replica of the workhorse weapon used by Marcus Fenix and the Delta Squad, right down to the bloodied chainsaw bayonet. Squeeze the trigger to activate the chainsaw sound effects and vibrating action. It also features a removable clip.

Retail price: $139.99 and that isn't stopping it from currently being the #1 video game item at Amazon.

Think I'll just get the game instead :-)

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I'll never do business with Amazon again

It's bad enough that they have a package sent out two weeks after it was ordered...

...but to waste my valuable time with a "customer service representative" who is talking to me from another country and can not speak discernible English at all, when there are plenty of people in America who could both use a job and would not be an insult to the intelligence of Amazon's customers as their "outsourced help", is the final straw.

Friday, October 19, 2007

TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE charts on Billboard in debut week despite limited store release

NOW can we see a wider release for this thing?

After its first week out, Transformers: The Score, Steve Jablonsky's orchestral soundtrack for the blockbuster movie, has debuted at #172 on the Billboard 200 chart and is #13 on Billboard's Top Soundtracks. This comes in spite of what MTV has noted was a limited store release with about 4300 scans at the cash registers.

Meanwhile, the Transformers score CD continues to do well at Amazon, where it is now #39 in overall music (having increased in rank in the past few days) and is currently #5 in soundtracks.

Someone... probably a lot of someones... at Warner Brothers Records needs to very strongly consider getting this thing out to a lot more outlets. They are sitting on a goldmine with this CD and the demand is only going to get bigger now that the DVD is out and folks who didn't see Transformers during its theatrical release will be just now discovering both the movie and its beautiful orchestral soundtrack.

Don't make us have to start up another online petition now ;-)

Thanks to Transformer World 2005 and Seibertron.com for the heads-up!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

TRANSFORMERS score CD news: ScoreNotes.com review, Amazon and store availability, and update on the signed copy eBay auction

There's not nearly as much news about Transformers: The Score as I wish I could relay to y'all tonight. But here 'tis...

First, word is that Warner Records is still "scrambling" to distribute the score CD. Someone told me that this past week was something of "a shock" regarding demand for this album.

Amazon is still reflecting the shortage. Earlier on Friday morning the site said that it would again be in stock on October 20th. Right now it's saying that the product "Usually ships within 1 to 3 weeks" although some who ordered the CD this past week said on Friday that they received e-mails from Amazon stating that their orders are either about to ship or are already on their way. As of this writing according to Amazon's product page for Transformers: The Score it is holding strong at #35 in music sales and #4 in movie soundtracks. That category, for some reason or another, also includes the soundtracks for Halo 3 and Twin Peaks Season 2, and The Best of the Three Tenors(?!?).

None of the Best Buy stores within a hundred-mile radius have the score CD in stock. Ditto for Circuit City. I went to the Wal-Mart Supercenters in both Reidsville and Eden on Thursday night. At each location there was probably a dozen copies of the soundtrack to Ken Burns's new documentary The War, as well as the soundtrack from Tyler Perry's latest film Why Did I Get Married?... but not a sign anywhere of Transformers: The Score. However at the Eden Wal-Mart I wound up getting some new Star Wars figures: Darth Malak, the Animated Debut version of Boba Fett, and the Ralph McQuarrie Concept of the Starkiller Hero (AKA "Luke Skywalker is a girl!"). But alas: no Transformers score CD! And much to Lisa's chagrin, Friday afternoon I found the McQuarrie Concept figure of Darth Vader: I'm now forbidden from bringing any more Star Wars figures into the house for the rest of the month :-P

But anyhoo, I still can't find the CD either. So my self-imposed fast - that I will not listen to Transformers: The Score until I can purchase two copies at some store's cash register - is still in effect. That's more than 2 days now that I haven't played the soundtrack at all: not a single note from the thing. And I'm dying to have it playing on our stereo again.

But if most people can't listen to this album, then I can't either. Not from CD or an MP3 player, I will not enjoy it... 'Til all have one!

ScoreNotes.com has a great review of Transformers: The Score. It gives the album an 8 out of 10.

Finally, in my review of Transformers: The Score it was announced that we had a copy of this CD signed by composer Steve Jablonsky, and that it would soon be auctioned on eBay, with 100% of the proceeds going to support something relating to music education. And there was something very particular that it was always intended that this would be going to help with.

A few days ago I was told that the needs of this situation had been provided for and that we didn't have to worry about it any more.

Except that we still have this copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Steve Jablonsky, that was always meant to help with music education. And there's no way that I can retreat from that commitment. Somehow, we need to auction this CD so that it honors not just the spirit of the original intended purpose but also Mr. Jablonsky, who we are very thankful that he lent his support in this matter.

I'm still trying to figure some things out (and there are a few ideas that I'm looking into) but I can absolutely promise you, that we will have the eBay auction for this signed copy of the Transformers: The Score CD and that it will be soon. As soon as can be managed. And that every penny from this sale will go toward music education in some worthwhile capacity. It matters to me tremendously that this all be above-the-board and subject to scrutiny.

That's been the biggest thing worrying me about Transformers: The Score the past several days, truth be known. Lord willing, we will be able to move forward with this very quickly.

And hopefully sometime early next week I will have some concrete word about the distribution problems especially for y'all in Canada and elsewhere :-)

'Til next time...

"Transform and roll out... them CDs!!!"

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

TRANSFORMERS score CD update: "'Till All Have One!"

Just because yesterday was the release date, doesn't mean that the struggle is over with. We won't stop demanding Transformers: The Score ...

Bigtime props to Mike Halverson for coming up with that awesome line!

(It's a paraphrase of the '"Til all are one!" final quote from the 1986 animated Transformers movie, in case ya didn't know :-)

Now, on to serious business regarding the problems still plaguing the release of the score CD...

Am still trying to get hold of someone at Warner Records about this, especially the Canadian distribution issue. It may take another day or so before I can come back with something definitive on that though, but will keep working on it. Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow 'cuz I hope to be able then to talk with someone who can provide some real skinny about what's going down.

Now about the orders placed through Amazon.com, which there have been all kinds of stories coming in about folks now getting e-mails from Amazon stating that their orders will be delayed. A source has said that "It's almost impossible!" right now to get Transformers: The Score shipped immediately from them because Amazon is running extremely low on stock. It is now being considered a "top priority" by Amazon to get more CDs sent to their warehouse (and Amazon is asking for "thousands!").

Unfortunately this means that anyone now ordering from Amazon will probably have to wait 1-3 weeks before their CD arrives!

Clearly, the demand for this was very unexpected. By everyone.

I am still looking for a couple of copies in the stores too, and went all over Greensboro (the biggest town around here) today and it's nowhere to be found. A dude in High Point has said he went looking for it to, but to no avail. Have also heard that Burlington is a complete bust.

Nothing much else to say at this point except...

"Transform and roll out... them CDs!!!" :-)