busy busy busy [stunt

A belated Happy Easter to those of you who celebrated; Happy Sunday to those of you who didn't. I'm finally home; I got back late Friday night, and spent most of Saturday finishing an essay and helping Mom prepare for Easter lunch with the family. I've still got another essay to finish and classes to schedule before I go back on Tuesday, so...yeah. Least restful break ever. But at least I'm home. In brief:

1. Haven't seen the new Doctor Who special yet.

2. This has probably been all over your flist already, but this is one time blogging about a problem and spreading awareness might actually help: Amazon has stripped the sales rankings from books with GLBTQ themes, feminist themes, or general sexuality books including guides to sexuality for people with disabilities, on the grounds that they are "adult material" and not appropriate for Amazon's (adult, incidentally, given the methods of payment) userbase. Note that the blocked books include biographies, non-fiction, reference guides, and YA books (including Heather has Two Mommies) that would not by any logical standards be classified as erotica; books with explicit heterosexual content, including the Playboy Centerfolds book, remain unblocked.

Searching for "gay and lesbian" now brings up a full page of books on "curing" homosexuality, preventing homosexuality in teens, and homosexuality in a Christian context.

Personally, I don't use Amazon very frequently, anyway, but I'm still taking my business elsewhere. Discussion and suggestions of other media shopping sites you all like, use, and find reliable would be very much appreciated (especially since I was just about to order my very first Past Doctor Adventure novel and I was all excited about it and it was really cheap and now I'm all annoyed).

3. Finally saw Hellboy II; the family rented it for the evening. Brief and spoilerless, with a possible more in-depth review later: I liked it, it was visually gorgeous, and there were a few brilliant scenes, but I didn't like it as much as the first movie, and the treatment of Nuada annoyed me. But I think I'm starting to have a problem with action-movie romantic subplots in general, so...

...yeah, this is definitely going to need a meta post when I actually have time.

4. After much pimping from both my flist and RL friends, I've finally decided to check out The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother (okay, fine, that last one probably has more to do with watching Dr. Horrible than anything else). Friends who watch it, is there anywhere in particular I should start? Should I start from the beginning? Any episodes I should watch first that'll make me fall in love with the series? Episodes I should avoid? Advice, I needs it. Obviously my life is not filled with enough distractions as it is.

5. There's no fifth point, but I just like it when a list has five things on it.

July

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26 1	27	28	29	30	31

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

powells.com is apparently going to be holding an #amazonfail sale. Or bookdepository.co.uk - ships internationally - is recommended.

Avoid Abebooks, because AMZN bought it out a while back.

Thing is, with very rare exceptions I tend to prefer to buy a book from a person. But then I like to go to bookstores.

[link] [reply]

I usually used Amazon for DVDs and rare stuff I can't find in book stores, because yeah...hanging out in bookstores is awesome.

Hee, a special capitalizing on amazonfail sale, clever.

[link] [parent] [reply]

Thanks for the recommendations - and I love how this has become so widespread so fast that there's an actual Amazonfail sale. Hee.

I definitely prefer bookstores myself, both because I love browsing to see what I can find and because I like to see what I'm buying before I buy it, but there's only one really good secondhand bookstore that I've found back at home, and up at school the few secondhand/rare places I've found are tiny. Plus, my professors have this habit of requiring out-of-print, obscure, or otherwise difficult-to-access books for class; online shopping helps tremendously with that.

I like Powell's and Better World Books, and AddALL and Alibris for out of print searches (though for the former you'll still have to filter for results from Amazon and Abebooks, which is now owned by Amazon). Indiebound can point you to other indie bookstores/online services in your area. There's Deep Discount for DVDs/CDs/more secondhand books, Daedalus Books for discounted remainders (very reliable, have ordered with them dozens of times). For British DVDs (if you have Region 2 facility) HMV ships internationally, and for DRM-free MP3s there's Lala. You can also try Learmedia for harder to find films and television shows. That should get you started. :-) For PDAs, I generally trawl Ebay's book section and/or AddALL.

Edited Date: 2009-04-13 06:57 pm (UTC)

Thanks so much for the links, especially Indiebound, since I've only found a few good independent bookshops in Collegeland and I'd appreciate knowing where to look.

I'd also recommend Daedalus for that, as they carry a very large selection of nonfiction scholarly and otherwise at very steep price cuts.

*nods* A wide nonfiction selection's a very good thing; most of my online shopping was for textbooks and class materials. Thanks again.

Coo. *makes mental note to look into* Wish I'd known about a place like that while at college.

EEEE The Big Bang Theory is love! Just watch the whole thing through in sequence; there's so much to adore and it goes quick and there's not much of it yet.

HIMYM I'm not as into, but it's got good points, which should also be watched sequentially because it's a continuity-heavy show. The ep I'd most recommend is s1's "Zip Zip Zip."

Noted and noted, thank you!

And yeah, I've heard all good things about Big Bang Theory, but my roommate-to-be informed me that the science geeks actually know their science, and are generally pretty accurate, and, well, that was a bit of a tipping point for me.

Yeah, the show celebrates rather than lampoons their intelligence and geeky tendencies, which is the key to making it actually funny. =D

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER *DOES NOT KNOW WHERE TO START WITH EXCITEMENT*

So, um...actually, I'm not sure; my knee-jerk reaction is to say start with the pilot and work in order, but that's not what I did so I can't guarantee it. I also can't remember exactly what I did, so I agree with the other person who said that Zip, Zip, Zip is a good jump-off point.

Duly noted! I'll probably watch that episode just to get a feel for it (unless I can't understand it, of course) and then start from the beginning, but really, I am very much looking forward to Neil Patrick Harris and his sharp, sharp suits. :D

Dunno if you have them where you're at, but I'm a total <href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com">Barnes and Noble fangirl when it comes to books, CDs, DVDs, and even toys (sometimes). Their site's got a lot of good ways to narrow down your searches. No idea if they have that Past Doctor Adventure book you're looking for, though, as I don't know its title. ^^;

I'm a member there, though, so I can take maximum advantage of their membership deals (frequent coupons via email, 10-15% discounts with the card, etc.) I only have ever used Amazon.com as a last resort, even for textbooks, which, most people I know rave about Amazon's low textbook prices but I actually get them cheaper through B&N because of the member discounts and whatnot.

Borders is pretty good as a backup.

We've got a B&N or two around here, but I haven't used the website yet because I'm wary of signing up for things if I don't absolutely have to; I normally just use the stores. But all those discounts make it sound like it might be worth it.

The Past Doctor adventures are all out of print, which is why I have to find them via Amazon or otherwise secondhand. But textbooks form the majority of my online book-buying, so those two sites will be useful. Thank you!

O, your comments have been a wonderful source for Amazon-alternatives! I checked out a few places & they have what I'm looking for in DVDs & books. Not sure where I'm going to find another place to buy an external hard drive though, but I'm sure I'll find a place! :D

I know! Even with the apology and retraction, I'm really glad to have all these other resources. Can't help you with regards to the external hard drive, though; my dad ordered one direct from Iomega that I use, but I don't know if that requires signing up for anything or how their prices compare to Amazon.

I only just discovered TBBT today, buuuuuut...definitely check out season 2 episode 17 (The Terminator Decoupling). Four lonely geeks + Summer Glau + train = WIN.

Summer Glau is in this series? Even in just one episode?

I'm liking this more and more, and I haven't even seen it yet. :D

Oh my yes. She randomly appears on a train as herself and 3/4 of the male cast makes woeful attempts to pick her up. It's glorious.

and 3/4 of the male cast makes woeful attempts to pick her up.

Well, I mean, they would. She is Summer Glau. Heck, I'd try to pick her up. XD

O MAI. I wonder if you'd succeed? :D

stunt_muppet

busy busy busy

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

July