Dictionary Bookmark

Today, whilst splurging a veritable fortune on books in my local Waterstones, I happened across what is potentially the most awesome thing I have ever found in a bookshop; dictionary bookmarks. They’re the same size as a regular bookmark with an elongated keyboard and control pad composing the main body and a small screen at the very top which peeks over the pages when the book is closed. 

I almost had a nerd-fit when I saw them.

The essential premise is that whenever you come across a word you don’t know or understand whilst reading you can simply type it into the bookmark and it will give you the definition. I can’t even describe in words how amazingly useful and convenient that would be. Sadly, such awesomeness comes with a price-tag of £19.99 which, while certainly reasonable, I struggled to accept spending 20 quid on a bookmark when I had already spent over £100 today. 

I’ll most likely be going back to purchase one and stare in awe at it when I’ve had a chance to build up my bank account a bit, but for now I shall just have to lust after it from afar.

Birdie out -

Where is all the Loki merch?

I was in Cambridge the other day visiting a friend at uni and decided to pop into their Forbidden Planet store to check out how the Cambridge geeks stock up on merchandise. As I was standing in the queue waiting to pay for my copy of Dollhouse: Epitaphs* I noticed the racks of Avengers Assemble merchandise stacked on the shelves. As in the Forbidden Planet megastore in London and other shops I’ve searched, I failed to see a single piece of Loki merchandise; there was tons for all the heroes, I think even Nick Fury and Coulson got a look in, but no Loki. 

Now, Loki is one of my favourite characters in the entire Marvel Universe and my absolute favourite in the Avengers franchise, so I find this very irritating. I mentioned my annoyance to my friend and it was another customer in the queue who responded that her sister had complained of the same problem, like wise I’ve discussed the matter with several other people all of whom agreed that Loki was severely underrepresented in the merchandise front. Now, I’m well aware that there are plenty of Loki products available on the internet (I vaguely remember seeing something about a Loki perfume…) but that’s really not the point. I like to be able to fuss and fiddle with things and squawk about how “I’m not sure” before I make up my mind about buying them and I feel that I have been denied this chance and surely the fact that other people are having similar problems means it’s something that should have been addressed in Marvel’s marketing plans.

Well, now that I’ve got that off my chest I’m going to go sulk whilst bitterly perusing Loki products on the internet.

Birdie out -

 

*Dollhouse: Epitaphs is a comic book mini-series that ties in to the Dollhouse television show. It doesn’t add a huge amount to the whole Dollhouse plot, but it is entertaining and provides a little extra insight into the character of Alpha and expands on Ivy’s importance.

Abercrombie and Fitch

So I went to Abercrombie and Fitch for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago. My friend was super excited about introducing me to it and kept asking if I could smell the perfume yet as we were walking down the road, but I was adamant that I could only detect the scent of mouldering vegetables that seems to permeate the backstreets of central London... it turns out I could in fact smell the perfume :S How the hell are they popular?

The building it was in was lovely, all classical stone architecture, wood panelling and wide, twisting stair cases, typical of Central London. I was actually rather sad that it was denied its grand purpose in favour of being a base to flog a bunch of overpriced t-shirts in a room so poorly lit that you can barely see what you’re paying for. Now I couldn’t care less about people spending extortionate amounts of money on fairly un-extraordinary clothes, if wasting their cash makes them happy then power to them, I’m not gonna go off on a rant about feeding the poor or donating to charity or any of that cliché bollocks, because at the end of the day, if you’ve got the money it’s yours to do with as you like.  I’m simply baffled by how these places get so hyped up. I could get nicer, more interesting clothing from most high-street stores, without having to pay extra for a desirable label or brand name. 

Apparently the promise of semi-naked men is a draw for many, although all the models I’ve seen outside any of their stores are total butter-faces (does that even work for guys? Buthis-face? Buttis-face? Whatever, they have alright bods and average everything else, swoon?) so I really don’t think they count as a legitimate reason to fumble about in the shadows amongst a crowd of squeeing girls who look at you weird if you’re not dressed to impress and ‘dancing’ staff who really just sway awkwardly in the corner and get in the way. 

Honestly, that does nothing for me. I'd rather be in a shop where the lights are bright enough to see by, the music quiet enough that I can actually hear my friends' opinions and the whole place not be so crowded that I can't stop for two seconds to look at something without getting in someone's way.

Well I’ve been meaning to go on a shopping trip, I’ve still got £75 worth of gift cards from my last birthday to spend, but I don’t imagine A+F will be on the agenda :S

Birdie out.