Early Spring Update + Weird AJ Merch

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Hey Jammers! AJHQ left us a surprise early Spring update today. It also seems like an early Spring has arrived where I am, too, because it's only February 25 but there's no snow and birds everywhere. I even saw a robin by the river yesterday!

If you're also experiencing a strangely early Spring, you can thank climate change for this El Niño delivering everyone a slew of messed up weather patterns. Hooray!

Here's a fun fact that might interest you: If you regard seasons as annual stages of the local natural environment rather than fixed dates on a calendar, then there are actually 19 seasons rather than 4! Right now, the area where I am is within mud season. Cool, huh?

Anyway, let's jump right into the update!

Oh boy, even more diamond items. At least they're a nice shade of green...

...and at least the first one is nonmember! Maybe I'll like this mini-event. 

I still say "down with the Diamond Shop" though. XD

Llamas have returned, yet goats are not yet in sight. Remember, when goats return, there will be word of a new land! Perhaps an oceanic land, as well...

EDIT: BEEP BEEP! AWESOME NONMEMBER ITEM ALERT!

This item is in the "Summer" Carnival, going for 3,000 tickets! It's only here for TODAY! GO, GO, GO!!!

The update has also granted us a small gift that would be almost unnoticeable if it weren't so loud. Yes, friends, once again, you can hear the sound of other Jammers when they change animals.

Dramatic reenactment of the sound:
"TchhuuuuBWAA"

Ahh, today was like logging on during a 2013 update to the sound of everyone vigorously turning into the newest animal. It's the sound of Spring. <(=^ _ ^=)>

Don't ever take this away, AJHQ! :D

I'm gonna end this post on an admittedly less positive note, but it's just something that's been on my mind lately. Have you ever wondered if AJ is getting too corporate? I mean, there is just so much new merchandise that it's tough to keep track of, and some of the merchandise is a little, well... excessive.

This image is credit to Talloose, courtesy of the blog Animal Jam Whip. 

So... it's come to this.

Animal Jam Pillow Pets.

Soon to be released.

I never thought I'd say those words together.

– I mean, yeah, they're cute, but it just feels wrong.

In addition to the merchandise, it feels like AJHQ is getting a little weird with the membership advertisements:

AJHQ: "Did You Know That Members–"
Nonmembers: "YES, WE KNOW, AJHQ."

For the fastest growing game in the world, it sure seems like it needs money. Or maybe the growth this year is somehow slower?

Whatever the reason, all these ads are a little odd.

Back to the toys. What do you think about them? Are you excited about the merchandise, or is it getting confusing? 

Personally, I think it's nice to just have a little merchandise, y'know, like stickers and T-shirts to show your love of AJ, but now WildWorks seems like it's trying to rebrand itself as a toy company. Here's something weird from their website:

Toy makers? Huh.

It seems to me that they're churning out mass merchandise to make money and take advantage of children's materialism. They seem to be enforcing that with online items, too, always putting item-related stuff on the front page of the Jamaa Journal.

What do you think? I wanna hear other opinions.