What do Magic, Astrology and eBook prices have in common?

Quite a lot if you ask me. While I have long lamented the woes of eBooks; DRM, pricing, and availability, I feel compelled to revisit the subject.

For all I, a reasonable individual can ascertain, reading the stars and sawing a pretty lady in half as anything I deal with the pricing of eBooks as anything else on this planet.

After reading a Tweet about Seth Godin’s The Dip I decided that knowing when to quit would be a really great skill to have so I set out to look for a copy of this sage advice. With the beautiful screen on my new Motorola Droid providing a great screen for reading and the release of the popular eReader software I set out to procure an eBook of The Dip so I could read it wherever I was.

The first link I found was to Amazon where you can purchase a hardcopy of The Dip for $9.36, but for the want of portability I set out to find a digital copy. What I Found where prices ranging from $10.36 to $12.95 with both the high and low belonging to a Barnes and Noble store.

To this day I cannot understand why I should be charged more for a digital copy of a book; especially if it comes with some form of DRM. While I can’t carry my hardcopy with me all the time, I can share it with anyone I want.

I won’t begrudge an author just rewards for his or her hard work, or even the publisher what they have coming for formatting and publishing a book, but given the fact that they say it costs the same to create an eBook as it does a hardcopy; why the hell do I have to pay a premium for a digital copy?

I welcome your thoughts and explanations.

Enough with the facial Prophylactics: Aids and H1N1

Tonite I saw on Twitter that @jordanmitcheld tweeted:

@mrskutcher 90 people get swine flu & everybody wants 2wear surgical masks. 1 mill people have AIDS & nobody wants 2wear a condom

It’s perhaps the most honest appraisal of the Swine Flu situation in the U.S. and across the world which is why it made me take pause.

Why is this flu so bad that it’s suddenly the number one killer on the public’s mind? It’s certainly not the Flu’s mortality rate. The symptoms suck but it’s not as if you bleed out of every orifice! So why is the Swine Flu capturing our attention in such a way that smart citizens are rushing out and buying masks that in many cases only block 68% of the particles and work best when worn by the infected person?

AIDS kills a lot of people; that’s an understatement, car accidents kill a lot of people, AIDS is a mass murder of a disease, yet it can be stopped or at the least inhibited through proper education and wearing a thin piece of rubber.

So why isn’t there a constant run on condoms? It’s because AIDS is still the disease that affects gays, drug users, hookers and other “unmentionable” members of society. Upstanding citizens don’t get AIDS! Especially ones who aren’t lying in bed with strangers. But the Swine Flu. It’s named after a dirty animal! I could get it from touching a door knob; standing next to someone at a soccer game, shaking the hand of the president at a respected university.

Swine Flu could come from…gasp…anyone…anywhere!

That’s the problem. Right now, the majority of the public feels safe from AIDS; so long as they obey the rules they won’t catch AIDS. Play it safe and nothing bad will happen to you. For many people, H1N1 or the Swine Flu is exactly the opposite; it’s out there, waiting, to pounce from anywhere.

It’s sad disheartening that people still think this way about AIDS. I don’t care how much you claim to worry about it for the majority of our population AIDS is somebody else’s problem, just like Swine Flu would have been had it stayed in Mexico. This perception will be a hard one to change, and I don’t have the answers but until people start looking at AIDS as a problem for all of humanity, it will remain a problem that no one cares about until it hits close to home. And that’s what’s sad.

Dear Hollywood, Stop Making Spoof Movies

Back in 2000 when Keenen Wayans decided to make Scary Movie, I wonder if he knew the hell he would unleash upon moviegoers worldwide. While Scary Movie wasn’t horrible and some would even argue good, it had a huge breadth of material to pull from, in fact over 100 years worth of horror films. Unfortunately the film grossed 42 million on opening weekend assuring the world of numerous sequels and spinoffs. Seriously who spins off a spoof movie to spoof another segment.

This horse has long since died! Please stop beating it and expecting cash, all that comes out now is utter shite. I don’t know if you have noticed but there is a magical place you can share your crappy spoof compilations of fart jokes, Dr. Phil sing alongs and stereotypes; it’s called Youtube.com. Please stop invading my moviegoing experience with your horrid trailers. You can use the Internet and play to the lowest common denominator just as well and for 1/8th of the budget. You don’t need big names for a spoof movie, hell I saw 8 people last week who could have passed for the main character in the first Scary Movie, and once you get past that you’d be better off having the bums from BumFight star in your spoof film.

Would spoofing a Spoof of you not making a spoof movie, make a spoof movie not happen? I don’t know but please, give it a try.

Bender Ball Ripoff Warning Video from Youtube

In case you need further and possibly funnier proof that the Bender Ball a infomercial product sold by Savvier LTD is a ripoff check out this funny video warning.

Previous Bender Ball Coverage:

Ordered a Bender Ball? You Joined a DVD Club.

TV Execs: Digital Is/Isn’t Making us Money

In case you can’t tell I am sick of the crap the Networks are trying to sell about the internet being promotional and without money earning potential.

I fail to understand how the executives and networks as a whole continue to deny that the magic of shows starts with the writers. Yes actors are talented but where do they gain their direction and lines from? The scripts people! I used to think the infinite monkey theorem was humorous but all it does is degrade what writers create. I also read last nite that unfortunately the final season of The Shield has also been interrupted by the network’s continued denial of fact and outright greed, which is going to annoy me more than the possibility of LOST ending early. I find it slightly humorous that the networks try to mount a campaign against the writers which is not based on truth in today’s age.. I think it illustrates just how they don’t grasp the reach of the blogosphere its ability to inform more consumers about the reasons behind the strike through, gulp, digital methods.

Why the Writers Guild is Striking

In case you aren’t aware the Writer’s Guild of America is striking.  This is why the TV shows you love are in danger of delayed seasons (Lost), cancellation (24) and reruns (Late Night Talk Shows).  I could tell you that the strike is about respect and a small amount of pay for residuals, but the Youtube clip below will do a much better job.

I will miss the shows we tune into each week but I am whole heartedly behind this strike.  I think it is telling of the networks intelligence that for the longest time they doubted the power of the internet, and now they are doubting the power of their writers and the fans. I urge you to share the reason behind the strike with your friends and co workers.

I think the fans know that the magic starts with the writing.

Ordered a Bender Ball? You Joined a DVD Club!

My wife just got her Bender Ball, which looks nifty and was relatively cheap.

The item description for the package we purchased fails to mention a DVD subscription price of 19.99 plus 3.99 shipping.

Even when you view the “See What’s In the Complete Kit” page the 30 Day subscription isn’t mentioned.

It isn’t until you get to the checkout page that it is mentioned.

Yes it is good practice to read the cart description as I am sure someone will point out but joining a subscription service is something that should be noted on the actual item description rather than buried in the shopping cart.

If you ordered a Bender Ball and don’t feel like being milked for 20 bucks monthly call 1-800-601-7088 and ask to be removed from the continuity program.  I wonder how many people fail to either see this or check their credit card statements for these charges.

Avoid All Pro Football 2k8

As much as it pains me to say this All Pro Football 2k8 need to go back to 2k Sports for finishing touches. I am a diehard 2k5 football fan and I cannot even fathom the sick individuals who think Madden 07 was a worthwhile game on any system but APF 2k8 falls short in all the wrong places. The kicking setup on the game has an incredibly high learning curve and is not very easy to use since it is often difficult to tell when the kicker’s foot is approaching the ball. This is key because due to the quarterback not throwing when you want him to on way too many occasions you will find yourself facing too many 4th and 3 situations. The running game works well and other than a few time when linebackers seemed to move with the speed of a wild hyena on crack, running is an enjoyable experience. Occasionally you can get a breakaway pass or run you are faced with what feels like “catchup mode” and the D is on you like ants on molasses. I really hope I can pick up 2k9 next year and be blown away. Unless Madden felt the heat from early 2k8 rumblings and kicked it into high gear this will be another rent for 2 weeks iteration of next gen football, which is really sad. I cna only hope with a year back under their belt 2k Sports will put out an amazing 2k9 and Peter Moore will get in to EA Sports, kick some asses into gear and put out a decent football came.

Can Anyone put out a “next gen” football game? It has been almost two years and I have yet to see one.

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