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Because You Demanded It
By Marc | May 26, 2008
In this very special blog post, we will reveal everything: every dirty little secret, every lie, every deception, and the betrayals that really torque us off. We never thought it would happen to us, or that it would eventually come to this.
We are simple people pushed to the edge. We thought we could handle anything, but this time they’ve gone too far.
Today we will air it all out. Why? Because you demanded it.
Actually, no we won’t. Not everything.
I’m really sorry for the way I started this post. I hope you keep reading, but I understand if you don’t. I tried to create a deception to prove a point.
How many times have you picked up a comic book, looked at the cover, read too-good-to-be-true blurbs (like “Because You Demanded It!” (I don’t remember anyone demanding anything)) about the amazing collector’s-item-level exploits inside, and were mesmerized by the holographic, die-cut, foil cover with an acetate overlay?
You only have enough in your pocket for two regular comics, or one special issue like the one before you.
You are also considering that next issue of Action Comics, because you have been following the storyline, and a fairly newer title that you’ve never read but have heard lots of good things about.
You decide on the pretty shiny thing in your hands, because you know one day it will either be worth thousands or that it will change comic history forever. Then, you pay your money, take it home, read the contents, and eventually realize that you wasted your money.
Maybe not immediately, maybe not in the next couple of months, but eventually you realize that you bought junk. You see that the plot is convoluted, the writing is substandard with horrible dialogue, or the artwork is hurried and generic. You also may realize that everything that happened within that flashy cover had no effect on comic history or the characters’ lives.
How many times have you gone to the movie theater and watched a trailer that really made your whole body tingle. You simply HAVE to see this movie. You will wait in line…uh…camp in line until you see it. This movie will change your whole life. People will come up to you after this and know that you have been witness to this cinematic masterpiece just by the glowing energy emanating from you.
Needless to say, your life will never be the same.
Then, when the time comes for the premiere weekend, you purchase enough popcorn, soda, and candy to get you through the movie. You might even wear an adult diaper so you don’t have to get up to go to the bathroom because you don’t want to miss anything. (That’s just weird.)
The movie is a complete dud. The only interesting parts were included in the trailer. The story had almost NOTHING to do with what they were advertising. You might even wait until the credits are over to see if there is anything redeeming about this celluloid crap.
You wasted two hours of your immediate time, weeks of anticipation, and at least twenty bucks of your own money on a ticket and snacks. You could have spent that evening on something a lot more fulfilling, like renting a real movie, inviting some friends over, and ordering a few pizzas.
How many times have you bought a video game based on reviews on magazines and websites, the description on the back, and the reassuring “sticker” on the front of the package telling you this is a “(magazine name here) TOP PICK!”
You purchase it, play it, and realize you wasted fifty bucks. The controls are crap, the graphics are buggy, the whole thing can be completed in half an hour, and the “storyline” is stupid or almost nonexistent.
You also find out eventually that a rating in a magazine or on a site cannot always be trusted. Sometimes you are dealing with the personal biases of the reviewer, and sometimes game companies will punish sites and mags for giving poor reviews by pulling advertising and refusing their games to be covered at all.
How many times have you picked up a book, read the back of the book, and decided that this novel will be the best thing you have ever read; a real page-turner.
The book is garbage. You get an idea of this about five chapters in. You keep reading hoping it will get better. It doesn’t. You have wasted so much time on it, you don’t even care to finish. You put it down, walk away, and don’t bother to even find out how it ends.
How many times, when you were a kid, have you seen an advertisement for a new toy? This thing will do anything! It talks! It fires missiles! It shoots lasers! It will complete your homework for you! You beg and beg your parents for it.
Christmas or your birthday rolls around and you get that special thing. You soon realize that it’s cheap plastic, has a voice chip (with only three phrases), and the “lasers” are just LED lights.
In just about anything else that involves making decisions about your time and/or money, what you see on the surface is usually all you get, and sometimes it’s honest, sometimes it’s very very deceptive.
Whether it’s making an investment, becoming friends with someone, joining an organization, purchasing a product, or something as simple as watching a show on TV, hopefully honesty is the rule to live by. But sometimes there is manipulation, however subtle or overt, at work to maintain you as a customer or devotee.
On this site, who we are is what you get. If you’ve read us before, you can see that we don’t always paint ourselves in a positive light. But, we won’t give stuff that isn’t relative to the topic, and we won’t embarrass people we know by pointing out their faults.
Honesty is very important to us; also trust. Without honesty, there is no trust. Without trust, we tie our laces tight and walk away.
We expect the same from you. If we aren’t honest, then confront us with it. If we don’t apologize or we can’t convince you of our honesty, then just walk away. You didn’t need us anyway.
Oh, by the way, we WILL air something out today. Something that really needs airing out: our house. In the summer months, you can either have the air conditioning on, or open the windows on a nice breezy day. There was a storm last night, and today is particularly cool, so we will be opening some windows to let in some of that wonderful air.
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