Note to Amazon: You're Trying too Hard

Late last year, I bought an HD DVD player from amazon.com as a Christmas gift. Two, actually. They both came with HD DVDs. This year, I bought a "Playstation 3 Cordless MediaBoard Keyboard" for my living room media center because it was confirmed that it works for more than just the PS3 (it in fact works with my computer, the Xbox and even the Wii). Apparently that is enough to start receiving weekly emails like this:

Movies & TV Let them choose from millions of items › Amazon.com Gift Cards Your Amazon.com Today's Deals See All Departments

Dear Amazon.com Customer, As someone who has shopped for high-def players or high-definition movies and games, you might be interested in our current Blu-ray Sale, where you can save up to 40% on popular Blu-ray movies and TV. Also, be sure to check out this week's Blu-ray new releases and what's hot for PlayStation 3. › Shop the sale

This Week's New Releases on Blu-ray Stargate - Continuum [Blu-ray] $26.95 Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] $18.95 The Hunt for Red October [Blu-ray] $18.95 Top Gun [Blu-ray] $19.95 Shine a Light [Blu-ray] $25.95 What's Hot for PlayStation 3 Metal Gear Solid 4 $59.99 Soul Calibur IV $59.99 Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution $59.99 NCAA Football 09 $59.99 More to Explore Sign Up for Blu-ray Delivers James Bond in High Definition Visit the Blu-ray Store

We hope you found this message to be useful. However, if you'd rather not receive future e-mails of this sort from Amazon.com, please opt-out here. Please note that product prices and availability are limited time offers and are subject to change. Prices and availability were accurate at the time this newsletter was sent; however, they may differ from those you see when you visit Amazon.com. (c) 2008 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Amazon, Amazon.com and the Amazon.com logo and 1-Click are registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Amazon.com, 1200 12th Ave. S., Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98144-2734. Reference 10036370

Yup, one of those puppies gets delivered to my inbox every week as new blu-ray movies and PS3 games are released. I have bought games and accessories for the Xbox and the Wii, but do I get similar emails for those products? Hardly ever. I just went into recommendations and told it to not use the keyboard for recommendations, so we'll see if that makes a difference. The HD DVDs and players were already marked as gifts (so I assume they don't count toward recommendations, but who knows). The email states that I was sent this because I am someone "who has shopped for high-def players or high-definition movies and games", so apparently buying someone an HD DVD player as a gift last Christmas means that I myself own a Blu-ray player, and since I am a gamer, the Blu-ray player is in fact a PS3. Don't let your computers think too hard, Amazon. We don't want you becoming a merchandising version of Skynet.

Zondervan sued by mentally unstable person

Man sues Zondervan to change anti-gay reference in Bible

Bradley LaShawn Fowler is suing Zondervan for $60 million, claiming that "their versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability".

"The intent of the publisher was to design a religious, sacred document to reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion to cause 'me or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder,' Fowler wrote."

First of all, Zondervan did not "design the document". The Bible's been around longer than Zondervan, and they weren't the ones to start saying homosexuality was a sin, Fowler. You're shooting the messenger, and hoping the messenger has $60 million to cough up. If you're going to sue someone, you should be suing God. Good luck with that.

Secondly, who the heck forced him or his family or anyone to read the Bible? Zondervan certainly didn't. There are plenty of books and other media out there that go against what I believe, and some I'm sure could give me enough reason to claim "mental instability", but you know what I do? I don't read them!

This case is so dumb, I don't know what's worse - the fact that this mentally unstable idiot is suing or the fact the Court is even considering this case (with "very genuine concerns" to boot). Unbelievable.