pointedview

By paint_the_dawn:

A gorgeous fan-made comic panel for Adelle from Dollhouse

I just picked up Mass Effect from Direct2Drive. They've got it listed at just under $5 for the next 13 hours as their featured Cyber Monday deal. Even if I don't have time to play it right this second due to holiday preparations, I couldn't pass that up.

I got up early this morning to see a demo unit of the nook in person, as it was supposed to arrive in stores today. I'll confess that I was clutching a slim hope of being able to buy one of the few units allocated for brick-and-mortar distribution for my husband for Christmas. He went with me so we could at least take it for a test drive.

We were greeted with this sign:



:(

I would like to go back in time and warn the nitwit executive at B&N who thought that it would be a swell idea to create the illusion of high demand by producing a low volume of units for initial distribution. Did you learn nothing from the launch of the Kindle? I find it difficult to believe that your marketing research didn't deliver a number that was closer to the mark. Thank you so much, Barnes & Noble, for ruining my planned present for my husband this holiday season. :p

They're even smug about it: their web site currently says:

"The hottest holiday gift is out of stock. Order nook today to be first in line for the new year."

Grr. What exasperates me most about this is that not buying one doesn't punish them, because they'll just sell it to someone else. It'd be cutting off my nose to spite my face. I really despise megacorps sometimes.

I know that we're very fortunate to be in a position to even think about buying presents this year. Every day, I'm thankful for that, and hope that the economy will turn around as rapidly as possible to employ everyone who has been affected by the recession. However, it's hard to stimulate the economy with commerce if the item you want to purchase isn't actually available for sale. :/

More:

• Barnes & Noble Delays Nook by One Week Source: PC World


• Nook retail shipment delayed to meet Internet orders Source: CrunchGear


• Nook e-book reader cooks in a week Source: TGDaily


• Barnes and Noble’s Nook Not Ready as Planned Source: American Consumer News


• Barnes & Noble Holds Back Nook From Store Source: Wall Street Journal


• Barnes and Noble's E-reader Delays: Bad News for Stores, Good News for Publishing? Source: Fast Company


• Twitter: #nook

Reports indicate that the lack of availability has already helped Kindle sales. Way to drop the ball, B&N.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are observing it tomorrow. Whether or not you are, if you're reading this, I am grateful to have you as a friend.

I'm very proud of one of my favorite gaming studios today. BioWare, the Edmonton-based creator of Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, and other best-of-class RPG titles, has recently released Dragon Age: Origins. The game is rated M for Mature, in case anyone is wondering, but as far as I know, it is the first mainstream release to include an option for roleplaying a gay male character to the point of, well, hot elven action.

I'd like to think that my yammering at them to create romance options for female characters equal in number and quality to those of the male characters had something to do with it. :) When I was at WomenGamers in the early part of this decade, I exchanged plenty of e-mails with several staff members. I always really liked and appreciated their willingness to hear me, and to have that dialogue. We had some good discussions.

You've come a long way, baby, as the saying goes. Gay gamers have traditionally been excluded from such storylines, but it is only fair that those paying customers should have options as well, should they choose to pursue them.

Kudos to BioWare and EA for going forward with this.

EDIT: Thanks to jasondemotte, who alerted me to the presence of such in Jade Empire, another BioWare game, as well.

"Remains" from Dollhouse used to voice what Mal and River have lost. Contains spoilers for Serenity.

( Remains )

Few sounds in this world can make my heart ache more than an Irish ballad ...

( Song for Ireland )

Nobody does a weepie quite like the Irish. Hearing this lament makes me feel like, "I've got to get on a plane and get home to Ireland right now! :) (Never mind the fact that I've never been!)

... and, to represent the other side of my family, few sounds in this world can stir and rouse like the hard blast of bagpipes sounding a rallying call on the air as the drums beat out an unrelenting tattoo:

( The Gael )

There's both desperate energy and determination in that one. It reminds me a bit of one of the songs for Hibernia.

And finally ...

( The Foggy Dew )

Good stuff. It may be time to rewatch Braveheart, Michael Collins, and Rob Roy, AKA the "We Hate the English" trilogy as they are sometimes referred to in our house. :)

The Barnes & Noble nook e-reader won't be in stores until November 30th, but we ducked in our nearest location tonight, and found that they're pushing it hard and heavy: no fewer than three separate displays were devoted to it.

They don't have a live machine yet, but they did have dummy models available. It's sleek. I look forward to seeing the real thing.

D. and I plan to watch this sometime very soon. Based on the trailer, it looks a bit like someone put Neil Gaiman, Guillermo del Toro and Clive Barker in a blender.

Ink

I was somewhat hopeful about this new HP TouchSmart TX2-1370 being an answer to my laptop problem, but it's seriously underpowered. It's also rather boxy and heavier than I expected.

The quest continues. Dear laptop manufacturers: make this, but with sleeker lines, reasonable battery life, a keyboard that isn't unpleasant to use, and a processor and video card that's suitable for gaming. It would be preferable for it not to overheat to the point of locking the device up or catching on fire (I'm looking at you, Dell and Gateway). If you can get that together, I'll be first in line to buy it.