Omakese: What Do "We" Want?

Amazon's "Omakase" or "leave it to us" option claims that it can combine my taste (as reflected in my purchase history and the content of this humble blog) and your taste (as reflected in your purchase history and I don't know what) to create the perfect Acephalous Shopping Experience.  I don't buy it.  Since I can only see the "perfect" combination of me and myself, I wonder if you wouldn't mind sharing what our Aristophanean taste looks like.  Do "we" want a crock pot?  A croquet set?  A book on micro-nautical engineering?  What does Amazon think "we" want? 

Comments

[Scott Eric Kaufman]

I want John Prine albums, Virginia Woolf novels and a blender.

[Scott Eric Kaufman]

Scratch that, as I'm a finicky bastard. I want John Prine albums, J.M. Coetzee novels and a food processor. I wonder:

We know what I want to listen to while I prep it--and that I'm in the mood for literary fiction while I eat it--but what do I actually want for lunch?

[The Disgruntled Chemist]

Apparently, we want a bunch of TV shows. I'm OK with the Arrested Development and House seasons, but I refuse to take responsibility for Desperate Housewives. That must be your doing.

[The Disgruntled Chemist]

Upon refreshing the page to see if I made any major grammatical errors in my previous comment, I see that now we want lots of video games. Swing and a miss on that one, Amazon.

Nancy Drew Interactive? World of Warcraft? Seriously?

[Jesse A.]

Apparently, all I want is Steely Dan CDs I already own. So I suppose it has my taste right, but it's not terribly helpful...

[Tom Hitchner]

What the damn is with all of the heart-health books? Seriously, all I see is sixteen books on lowering my cholesterol. I'm a 145-pound vegetarian; does Amazon know something that I don't?

[Scott Eric Kaufman]

No, no, DC, I'm not the one responsible for Disgruntled Housewives. That's so, like, obviously you. (Now I see that we want the second season of Veronica Mars. I can live with that.)

As for the video games, maybe Amazon thinks we work too hard. Wants us to kick back, enjoy life as a teenage sleuth/orc every once in a while.

Jesse, the Steely Dan's probably for me. I loathe Steely Dan, but Holbo's been trying to get me to listen to them (gentle pressure, gentle pressure) for months.*

Tom, those must be for me, since I started eating meat. That, or, well, you may want to sit down. This is really difficult for Amazon to say, but ...

*By which I mean: I read every reference to SD on the Valve as Holbo's doing.

[Jesse A.]

Scott,
For the record, Holbo's right. You should listen to Steely Dan. I saw them the other night, and for a couple of old farts, they put on a fantastic show.

Jesse A.

[The Little Womedievalist]

Brilliant.

Items: (1) Replacement Air Filter. (2) Make Your Life Worthwhile by Emmet Fox. (3) Wife to Be Sacrificed by Masaru Konuma. (4) A Jealous God by P. Winnick. (5) The Hellpig Hunt by H. Fontova.

The Narrative: Our air conditioner dies, leaving me to cope with asthma attacks and you with heat-induced depression (and oxygen-deprived wife. It's less expensive to sacrifice the wife than buy a new replacement air filter. You hear the voice of your g_d (or possibly Leonard Cohen) telling you not to sacrifice your mate...Then the Mund comes in wearing his Piglet cap. Lovely.

[Jason]

Looks like we want:

+ whistle (fox 40 pearl with a breakaway lanyard)

+ car air filter (K&N...for a Nissan 240SX/300ZX or a Maxima)

+ sex tips (The Grrl Genius Guide to Sex)

+ new friend (plush Kerri Fox 9")

Don't worry. I won't tell the lil' Womedievalist.

[Alex Leibowitz]

I don't see a single philosophy book on the list, and aside from "Schrodinger's Balls", nothing that looks like it has anything to do with logic and mathematics...hmph.

Alex

[Scott Eric Kaufman]

This is ... strange. I haven't searched for any on Amazon, but I was discussing A.S. Byatt on the Valve earlier, and now, suddenly, I want A.S. Byatt novels. Most improbably, I seem to want the very novel I was trashing, as if Amazon itself is weighing in on Laura's pro-Possession side.

[jholbo]

"The Grrrl Genius Guide To Sex?"

Plus a bunch of TV I'd probably like just fine.

And some Sandman comics I'd probably like just fine.

(Not that a spot of genius sex wouldn't go down a treat.)

[Scott Eric Kaufman]

I'm sure "The Grrrl Genius Guide to Sex" (which has cropped up three times now) must have something to do with the fact that the word "feminism" has appeared on these pages. Apparently, hardcore feminists like sex but aren't very good at it.

[belle waring]

it thinks I want rare groove, which is true. can we start pressuring you to listen to rare groove? there's more to it than just patrice rushen, man.

[Scott Eric Kaufman]

I don't know, belle. I mean I trust y'all's taste, but I'm neither rare nor groovy. More of a commonplace polka, you could say.

[Veronica]

Um. I would describe it as "shit ton of Juliana Hatfield."

[Andrew]

All I get is a boatload of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ben Folds albums. =)