Why Would I Want That?

I occasionally buy things through Amazon.com. Amazon is pretty good about tracking what you buy and suggesting other items you might like. They often send emails suggesting things, based on previous purchases. These emails usually go something like this:

“We’ve noticed that customers who purchased Dynasty Season 1 on DVD also purchased Dallas Season 1 on DVD. Dallas is on sale now, blah blah blah.” (Ok, Amazon.com has picked up on my love for trashy 80s nighttime soaps. Unfortunately, they have totally missed the point that Dynasty is far superior to Dallas. I’d say more, but that’s really a post of its own.)

or

We’ve noticed that customers who purchased Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor also purchased the Queer as Folk Season 1 DVD, which is now on sale, blah blah blah. (Ok, Amazon.com has clearly identified me a hag, and they would be right about that.)

But today I received a message that said

“We’ve noticed that customers who have purchased Kingdom of Heaven (Widescreen Edition) also purchased Henry Fonda’s Clarence Darrow on DVD. For this reason, you might like to know that Henry Fonda’s Clarence Darrow will be released on January 31, 2006 on DVD. You can pre-order yours at a savings of 30% by following the link below.”

This seems so random. My reasons for purchasing (ok, preordering) Kingdom of Heaven were that I really like the movie, I am very interested in the Crusades (ummh, history nerd alert), and I am wicked hot in the pants for Orlando Bloom. But I just don’t see a connection to Henry Fonda’s Clarence Darrow, which is apparently Fonda’s one-man show about the famed defense attorney. I just cannot figure out the connection here. I am not wicked hot in the pants for Henry Fonda (not that I have anything against crushes on dead people. I totally heart William Holden circa 1953). I have no particular interest in Clarence Darrow. I pretty much hate one-man or one-woman shows, because there are very few actors I like enough to sit through two hours of them monologuing and chewing on the scenery. And this DVD hasn’t even been released yet, so how many people who bought Kingdom of Heaven have actually preordered it? Is there huge cosmic connection that I am missing here? What’s next? “We've noticed that customers who have purchased the new Kate Bush CD also purchased Cheaper by the Dozen 2 on DVD”?