WTFckery Or Not? You Decide

1. Some major WTFckery going on from Amazon between Macmillan in regards to their ebook pricing turf war that brings to mind West Side Story. Instead of The Jets vs. The Sharks, this latest publishing drama deals with The Amazons vs. The Macs.

The story goes as follows:
Macmillan and Amazon are currently in very big public dispute about eBook prices. Macmillan has asked Amazon to raise the price of electronic books from $9.99 to around $15. Amazon said no and has temporarily removing Macmillan books. It appears that Macmillan books are still not available directly from Amazon. Publishers displeasure with Amazon.com’s $9.99 price for Kindle e-books has been growing along with the popularity of the Kindle, which has also helped to set the price as an unofficial standard as new devices and e-book vendors enter the market. In the wake of the launch of Apple’s iPad device and its content deals with the big publishers, it has been reported that Apple and the publishers have agreed on prices of $12 to $15 for e-books sold through Apple’s forthcoming iBooks Store."

So, whos deserves the biggest WTFckery label?

Amazon for sticking to their guns and refusing to increase ebook prices and punishing Macmillan and their authors by not letting the public buy their products?

Macmillan who refuses to budge, thus hurting their authors' sales by telling Amazon to go screw themselves?

Or perhaps Amazon and Macmillan equally deserve the WTF loser title for not coming to an agreement and work together to fix this. Because either way you look at it:

1. Aauthors who publish with Macmillan because of Amazon’s scare tactics are the main causalities here. Plus, why would the public at large buy a $15 ebook when they can get the same type of product for $5 less, especially in this weak economy where people are trying to save as much money as they can?
2. Readers will turn to other on-line ebook retailers to get the Macmillan titles they need showing Amazon they don't hold all the cards.

2. This is more of a personal WTFckery opinion on my part. Reading this made me see a bit red.

Publishers Weekly THINK FUTURE panel series is designed to present new and engaging information about the future of publishing and to explore genres and hot-button issues with leading experts in the field.

PANEL I: DO BOOK REVIEWS STILL MATTER?

Reviews have traditionally played a major part in a book's success. Authors and publishers looked to the trades to start a book's trajectory and then to the major newspapers and magazines to bring a book's merits to readers and book buyers. In the age of the Internet, marketing and publicizing books is being radically altered. Print coverage is shrinking and the shift to online is marked by inconsistent, sometimes unreliable information by bloggers.

Isn't it lovely that because review print publications are so frightened of becoming obsolete, those self proclaimed "professionals" just have to stress how bloggers are inconsistent and unreliable. First, explain to me what makes a professional reviewer and why they think they have the right to hold a panel where they are critical against bloggers? WTF?

3. I guess this cover is for a very specific reading audience. Gray Pleasures by Richard A. Birth. Thanks to @rebyj for this one. Seventy year olds having sex and masturbating. Grandma and Grandpa need some loving also!

Synopsis: Mary Grace, a widow now seventy, turned on to sex following her menopause. A naive, guilt-ridden virgin at the time of her marriage, she never learned to relax and enjoy sex. Her husband proved a poor lover who only touched her when he wanted to get laid. Once he could no longer become erect, he ceased initiating sexual exchanges. At the time he died, Mary Grace's libido took off. Eventually, she permitted herself to masturbate.

She soon discovered her ability to achieve orgasm. When Mary Grace hears Nick Jacobson read poetry at the Senior Citizens Center, she decides to get to know him better. Via the Internet, she learns of his book-signing at a local bookstore, and plans to attend. Eagerly, she fantasizes about sexual encounters with this retired teacher, but she first must buy a whole new wardrobe of sexy underwear.

The two meet. Coyly, Mary Grace lets Nick know of her interest in learning more about sex. Well able to succeed at that task, he takes it on. An aging male well versed in the art of offering delicious sensual caresses, he finds handling the teaching a bit easier than he does achieving hardness. Still, he's a sensual man who loves eating a woman, and this is just what Mary Grace needs. She always felt that no man could admire her genitals, but Nick quickly convinces her that he loves the aroma and taste of her pussy.

Mary Grace becomes comfortable with her body and Nick's. She learns to enjoy both giving and receiving oral sex, and she even finds pleasure and excitement in talking dirty. Nick teaches her new positions. When he also introduces her to his gay son and his partner, she finds them a delightful couple.The budding romance becomes temporarily inconvenienced by an unfinished relationship that Nick needs to end. A more serious complication gets introduced by a woman who stalks and harasses not only Nick, but also Mary Grace and her family. At length, it seems as if everyone is screwing everyone else, except the two main characters. Mary Grace and Nick perfect a hot monogamous romance: one that offers lifelong pleasure.

4. From Cakewrecks under Bakeries From Beyond. WTF cake is this? Looks like a mutant snowball cookie:

5. So you think the adorable platypus is your friend? Think again. From the 15 cute animals that will cause you horrible harm:

The evil look in my eyes proves I will crush you with my furry hind legs!

The platypus looks, for all intents and purposes, like a joke. A slapped together set of features and parts of other animals, evolving in the island obscurity of Australia. Wait, what country? Oh you know exactly where this is going now...that's right, even the comically misshapen platypus will do you in. For all their bumbling charms, platypuses have a number of points in their favor. Firstly, they're damned fast swimmers. They can also hunt their prey by detecting the electrical fields generated by their muscular contractions. That's right, they can track by telltale signs of your body's electricity. How badass is that? Not only that, but the Platypus is one of the few venomous mammals to be found. Only the males pack this heat, on the spurs of their hind legs. While it's powerful enough to kill animals around the size of a dog, it won't kill you. But you might just wish it had. The pain is so excruciating that it's completely incapacitating, and can last for months. You also get edema, starting at the site of the wound, and then rapidly spreading. That's when weird fluids building up beneath your skin, making the effected area all swollen and lumpy.

6. Those who enjoying reading about tree sex in their books. Beware of tree with tumors.

7. This new board game for Monoply looks like a frisbee. WTF Hasbro?

"For its 75th anniversary, Monopoly's getting a massive update, pitting brazen and new against proven and old: Circular board or quadrilateral? Cash currency or fake credit cards? This is the stuff of ruined relationships. Monopoly Revolution will be out in Fall, for $35."

8. Awesome new infomercial product here! The Shake Weight. Perfect for to strengthen your hand job muscles so you can jerk of a rhino.



9. And your Regretsy WTFckery of the week comes in the form of a night light chicken carcass for $500. Sticking a dead deer head on over your fireplace is so old school. The Dead Chicken Carcass Night Light is the latest trend for 2010.

Description
The installation “Neither fuzz, nor plumage” was inspired by ecologic catastrophe- pandemic flu. This anomaly has happened to humanity looks to me like diagnosis of the modern world society. Chicken- polysemantic and associative object. By choosing it I was trying think ironically relating to moral changes of the world.

Enjoy this week's WTFckery...