anti-[everything]

NoMeansNo - Graveyard Shift (Live)

Technorati Tags: punk, NoMeansNo

I'm not a businessman, so maybe that's why I don't understand this site's business scheme.

The founders of Abunga.com¹ believe that it is time for a wholesome marketplace where illicit materials are restricted and new product offerings are constantly monitored by both the company and its growing community of users that care about decency, hence empowering decency.

Abunga provides three levels of content filtering:

Internal Filter – We remove broad classifications of illicit materials by the information classifications set by the publisher. Currently, over 65,000 books are eliminated from our available inventory to protect your family.

Individual Customer Block - On any search, any Abunga customer member can click the block button and that particular book will never show up as an offering on their account.

Community Block – Abunga records your blocks and if a number of customers block the same product, Abunga will remove it from their offering. (About Abunga.com)

Their plan is generate profits by letting everyone permanently filter out books? In essence, they plan to specialize in not selling you stuff? So really, they're saying:

Internal Filter - There's tons of stuff we can't selll to you! Currently, over 65,000 books are for sale somewhere else! Try Amazon!

Individual Customer Block - Doubtful that our other users are doing a good enough job filtering your search results? Block it just for you! Find even less stuff with every search!

Community Block - If a undefined number of anonymous potential shoppers find a book particularly bothersome, we won't' sell you that either. Just sit back and watch your purchase choices dwindle.

Is it just me, or is this phenomenally retarded?

The result is, basically, a store that mostly sells Christian nonsense (redundant, I know). Why not just ignore the titles you don't want to see? Why are "families" so damn sensitive? What's the chance a search for a "family friendly" title is going to return an illicit suggestion? I buy a lot of books online and not once have I ever been presented with an illicit item on my searches. For example, I've searched for and purchased osteology books online and have never found results for books about "the wrong kind of bones" (i.e, hard dicks, we're not family friendly here). Maybe their software people just can't write a decent search engine?

Finally, is it really empowering to hide the title and tiny pictures of book covers from yourself?

I think someone is overstating the importance of their business.

To test this theory, I searched for some religious titles (e.g., the Bible, Purpose Driven Life) and then blocked them. It was pretty boring. In addition, it took much more work to find things that I might hate and block them than it did to not search for them at all. But wait! I can also view all of the books I've blocked, in case I've forgotten what's been offensive to me. But I thought I didn't want to see these titles again? Apparently they can't even protect me from the stuff I hate when I make an effort to tell them. What's the point of this endeavor then?

It's Dumb. Very dumb. I hope this business fails and everyone involved starves to death in an alley.

So they're not just dumb. They're also annoying. Thanks, Abunga.

[Update]: Here's link to a recent post at abunga's blog. They pat themselves on the back for not selling the Golden Compass²

[posted with ecto]³

Technorati Tags: Abunga, family friendly

Since the wife and I have had Netflix, we've watched more documentaries that you possibly imagine. I wouldn't say I'm a fan of the genre; documentaries can be interesting, but just as often they can be as inept as any of the garbage normally at the movies. The worst of them is like listening to someone explain an interesting and complex topic to you, but they're too dumb to grasp the basic concepts. Basically, a bad one is like reading a blog: pointless.

This weekend we saw Confessions of a Superhero. The movie is about street performers, some say panhandlers, in Hollywood that dress up like superheros. The film's synopsis describes it as

CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERHERO explores the fascination, obsession and allure of fame through the eyes of some very unique people struggling to make it in Tinseltown.

...

This deeply personal look into their daily routines reveals their hardships and triumphs as they pursue and achieve their own kind of fame.

These people are looking for fame, stardom, or at least a step towards an acting career beyond the street level. What the film impressed upon me, though, was the strong desire these people have to escape their own situations. Each one of them is living in some sort of fantasy, to different degrees, about where they are, where they're going, and how they'll get there. I don't say that to slight them because I think this is an overwhelming common but unrecognized condition. I know a plenty of people whose dreams stretch beyond their talents. Some of them are still pursuing those dreams despite the evidence they encounter. When do you give up? When do you start looking for something else? Is it heroic or tragic to persist?

What's interesting about the street performers is the seeming willingness of tourists to engage in their illusion. Sure, that might not translate into a "tip." But, calling them "Superman" or "Wonder Woman" seems to validate their act and reinforce the fantasy. I wish the filmmakers had explored that interaction a little more. While the Superheros' reaction to the non-tipping public was evident, I would have liked to see the contrast between people that took them seriously and those that reacted negatively. But, maybe that was a little more potential humiliation than the filmmakers wanted to capture?

Finally, I wonder about the parallel between the tourist public, the superhero's friends and families, and acting industry (eg., Wonder Woman's agent and acting coach). Is their support just patronizing or is it sincere? I don't doubt the support the Superheros give each other. They seem to believe in their mission. But the rest benefit from the Superheros somehow, whether it's money or entertainment they're receiving. Is there an obligation to refuse to partake in a fantasy at some level? Can you support someone too much?

The film is, I think, sincere in it's portrayal and is not mean-spirited. That said, I don't think these people deserve the meanness they might otherwise attract.

The worst part of the movie, and this is no fault of the filmmaker, is Morgan Spurlock's introduction to the movie. I found it obnoxious and unnecessary. I don't think it fit well with the film's tone. But what do I know? I'm not a documentarian.¹

Anyway, you should see this film.²

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: Confessions of a Superhero, Batman, Hulk, Wonder Woman, Superman, documentary