Apparently, Amazon has a new policy regarding their books.  LGBT material is now considered ‘adult’.  So, what does that mean?  Well, first it means that the books will no longer show up in the best seller list, which many people use a tool to figure out what to buy.  Also, it means that this material is no longer searchable, even if you type in the exact name, the book may not appear.  I have been trying to use my calm voice as to not just spew forth my complete and utter rage at this whole situation.  Let’s do a quick translation – when someone says ‘adult’ material, what do you think?  X-rated movies, pin-up magazines, basically porn.  If I understand this correctly, Amazon thinks that material with LGBT content is porn.  Did the Pope buy Amazon and I missed something.  Amazon is acting like a homophobic idiot, clear and simple.  In the last few weeks, we have seen the Iowa Supreme Court say that it is unconstitutional to ban gay marriage, and had the state of Vermont legalize gay marriage.  We are trying to move towards a more tolerant world, and we run into this kind of discrimination.  What right does Amazon have to ‘ban’ material?  They are a store, not a censor.  Why don’t they just burn all the LGBT books?  From CNN, here is a list of books that are considered ‘adult’ LGBT vs. books that are just normal books.

Still in the Ranking System:

• “Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds” by Chronicle Books (pictures of over 600 naked women)
• Rosemary Rogers’ “Sweet Savage Love” (explicit heterosexual romance)
• Kathleen Woodiwiss’ “The Wolf and the Dove” (explicit heterosexual romance)
• Bertrice Smal’s “Skye o’Malley,” (which are all explicit heterosexual romances)
• Alan Moore’s “Lost Girls” (which is a very explicit sexual graphic novel)

No Longer Ranked for Being ‘Adult’ Material:

• Radclyffe Hill’s classic novel about lesbians in Victorian times, The Well of Loneliness, and which contains not one sentence of sexual description;
• Mark R. Probst’s YA novel “The Filly” about a young man in the wild West discovering that he’s gay (gay romance, no sex);
• Charlie Cochrane’s “Lessons in Love” (gay romance with no sex)
• “The Dictionary of Homophobia: A Global History of Gay & Lesbian Experience,” edited by Louis-George Tin (non-fiction, history and social issues)
• “Homophobia: A History” by Bryan Fone (nonfiction, focus on history and the forms prejudice against homosexuality has taken over the years)

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty offended by those adult books.  I am SO glad Amazon saved me from reading those titles.  Needless to say, I am DONE with Amazon.  I am telling all of my friends and family to boycott Amazon.  I look forward to all the protests that are coming from the Human Rights Campaign and others condemning Amazon.  I will also look forward to an apology.

UPDATE:  Amazon is saying that the blacklisting of LGBT material was a glitch in its ratings system.  Is this true or just a PR save?  Well, one author said that his book was re-branded in Feb.  Hmmm…that’s quite a glitch. (via Gizmodo)

If want to see what Amazon had to say to one of its own writers/clients, continue after the break.

Read More …

I’m not sure how many folks have already seen this, and frankly its a bit off topic. Awww, who am I kidding. This is way off topic.

Time Warner has been testing out a “consumption based billing” structure for its broadband internet service in Beaumont, Texas and plans to expand the trials to San Antonio and Austin; Rochester, New York; and Greensboro, North Carolina sometime this summer.

Up to this point, bandwidth has been capped at 5-, 10-, 20-, and 40-gigabyte levels ranging from $30 to $55 per month plus $1 per gigabyte over, but a recent post from Time Warner Chief Operating Officer, Landel Hobbs, responds to some criticism and outlines plans for two additional pricing tiers.

(via CrunchGear)

The part you don’t see in this pricing scheme is that they’re looking to top out this garbage at $150 A MONTH!

Let that sink in for a second… $150 a FREAKING MONTH!

I don’t know about you folks (there’s a poll below) but I’m pretty sure if Comcast knocks on my door tomorrow and starts telling me about how they’re going to be charging me $150/mo for internet service – I know exactly where I’m going to tell them to shove it.

Hey Time Warner – Don’t bother even sending me a flyer if you come to the Denver area. I’m not interested in being taken for a ride. Scum-bags.

Today seems to be my day to go wildly off topic.  But, since my post count has been a bit low these days, I think it is OK.  Anyway, today there was a full solar eclipse in Russia, and other countries in that region of the world.

I had the opportunity to see a full solar eclipse when I was in college, and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  The birds stop chirping, there is a strange breeze…and then the stars come out (at noon).  Wild stuff.  If you are having trouble imagining what I am trying to describe, check out this video someone shot of the eclipse.

They say you should avoid staring directly at an eclipse (especially the corona) but there is apparently nothing wrong with aiming your camcorder at it.

[via CNN]

One of the great things about owning your own website is that sometimes you can go completely off topic without worrying about cheezing off the boss.

Today, Sarah and I celebrate our tenth anniversary.

That is:

• 10 years
• 4 homes
• 3 cities
• 3 kids
• 0 pets
• and a heck of a lot of landscaping

And only one frog on the rectum (sorry, law school joke).

Happy anniversary, Sarah. I love you.