Neal Pollack has got the "rough copy" of Michael Moore's lastest message to his adoring fans.
For those not ambitious enough to click that final link, moveon.org is calling for people to call their local Disney Store to voice their concern.
Input by Mike at 4:25 PM
iTool
iAlso realiZe the iPuns are tiRed
It seems obvious that the major record labels are playing iTunes, and not in the good way. Apple's music service has agreed to hike its prices by 26 cents per song and in many cases seven dollars per album.
The move seems intent to chase iTunes users (i.e. legitimate music downloaders) back into record stores.
In other words, don't believe all the hype; we're far from any kind of distribution revolution.
Input by Mike at
3:33 PM
Thursday, May 06, 2004
The Library of Congress is developing a former Cold War bunker (for currency with which to jumpstart the US economy in case of nuclear attack) into a protective storehouse for arts artifacts.
I don't know what use it is, but I like the fact that the LoC is preserving both the spirit (through digital means) and the flesh (the physical recordings) of our cultural heritage.
Input by Mike at
1:09 AM
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Someday, Endzone Markers Will Be Mickey Mouse Figurines
But for right now, the bases and pitching mound in all Major League Baseball games will be printed with spider webs to help promote Spiderman 2.
...and there is a resounding "Ugh" from left field.
Input by Mike at
12:34 PM
Overrated
There's a new issue of Chunklet on the prowl. It's the punk rock magazine that hates your favorite band.
In the language of Chappelle's Show (you all speak), it's Keepin' It Real Gone Right.
Input by Mike at
10:58 AM
Your Life Is About To Be Torn Asunder
And it will never be the same.
Input by Mike at
10:52 AM
Right Now
The ACLU is blowing all your money by placing full-page ads in high volume magazines in order to convince more people to send them money to spend on advertising.
The road may never get anywhere, but at least it's paved with gold.
Input by Mike at
10:50 AM
Weekly Challenge : Past Masters and the First Third
The Musical Chairs challenge is still open although it will be closed by the next time I have a day off of work (just two more out of the nine I've had to work left to go).
But here is your new challenge; something much easier and also music related. Everyone can participate with little craft-work, so everyone is encouraged to. The new challenge is called "Past Masters and the First Third."
Part One
Every year we do this thing called the Lost Sock Collections which is an exchanging of mix-cd's featuring each participant's top ten albums of the year. What I find is that a few months later, due in part to the LSC and in part to ambling through record stores, my list would have looked quite different. However, the calendar-year-centered environment we create with "Top Ten of **" lists prevents late-comers from being garnished with attention. The artists still make money off old albums, and the listeners can still enjoy the albums though, so maybe we should give a little more praise to what we missed.
Thus, the first part of this challenge is to name a double-plus good 2003 album(s) that you first heard in 2004.
Part Two
Albums from the early months of any calendar year generally lose ground in annual top-lists due to the added competition, the freshness of that competition and the flaws of human memory. Arguably, a truly great album should be remembered over the course of a year, but is it fair that late-comers don't have to stand up to the same test?
In order to give the underdogs their own place, TMSO issues this simple challenge. Name your favorite 2004 release(s) thus far.
Fulfill your challenge as a comment below or as a separate e-mail and all entries will be put together for a future post.
Input by Mike at
10:46 AM
Monday, May 03, 2004
Wired Notes
Came across a few great quotes from the May issue of Wired.
Cult Life for the Atari 2600 (page 74)
Homestar Runner is getting console game treatment with an RPG-style game for the barbaric Atari 2600. Do you remember when we banged rocks together in order to make Pitfall Harry leap upon crocodile heads? Other people do, and Atari gaming has been making a kitschy comeback because of it. You can purchase joysticks whose bases are bundled with a small museum of these ancestral video games. There is also a blossoming homebrew scene using actual cartridges. And now this. A "commercial" release. Great quote from the Wired write-up on cameos by classic Atari characters, "If it's 8 pixels wide and a single color, it'll be in there."
Fear and Loathing of Information (page 193)
John Poindexter is what Wired refers to as "the Pentagon's Big Brother in chief", a guy trying to organize intelligence so that it can be better used to capture would-be-terrorists. In Wired's interview, Poindexter talks theory about what he is trying to do in broadening intelligence powers. To the statement "Your critics never relented on privacy questions," Poindexter responds...
"Advocacy groups want to stay in business, so it's in their interest to paint a dire picture."
A point I've been becoming increasingly aware of recently... If the problems are solved, the solvers are out of a job. I'll probably post a lot more on this in coming days/months.
The Facts Get Clearer the Further We Get From Them (page 135)
In an article on the MPAA's in-school anti-piracy lesson capsules, the reporter says, "The real point, of course, is to protect Hollywood from the fate of the record industry." What's telling about the quote is how the RIAA's claim (that MP3 swapping has devoured their business) has become a given, despite no clear evidence of its truth (just because the animal has four legs doesn't mean that it's had its business destroyed by peer-to-peer). Is piracy a problem? Sure. Is piracy crippling the RIAA? No. An idiotic business model is. The MPAA continues to strengthen itself despite a dramatic increase in movie piracy as faster connections and more efficient file-sharing progs are released... "Hollywood has seen revenue rise 27 percent in the same four-year period that the recording industry went into free fall." Look at what Hollywood has been offering customers... big, fat collector's editions of even the worst movies on high quality discs. They're reaping what they sow.
Input by Mike at
11:56 PM
