Answer Some Trivia Questions To Get A Free Copy Of Year Zero; The Epic Sci-Fi Story Of What Happens When Aliens & Copyright Intermingle
from the answer-some-questions dept
Well, well. Last week, we posted an excerpt from Rob Reid's awesome Year Zero novel, and offered up free copies to the commenters who got the highest ranked voting. In retrospect, perhaps we should have realized this effort was going to fail. Whether it was "performance anxiety" from commenters with a free book on the line, a lack of something specific to comment on or (most likely) an unwillingness of people to vote since it might take away from their own chances of winning, the comments on the post got almost no votes. Only one qualifying comment got a serious number votes. One anonymous comment got a bunch of votes too, but you had to be a named commenter to win a book.That means we're still left with four books to give away, and this time we're going about it a bit differently: posting four trivia questions/scavenger hunt items, and the first people to answer each of them in our comments (with some key conditions) get the remaining books sent to them (the first correct response to each question wins -- so if someone gets the first question right, and you answer the same question before someone else answers one of the others, you don't get the book). In order to get the book, not only do you have to get the question right, but you have to leave your email address with your comment (in the email field, not publicly) so we can reach out to you. You also have to respond within 24 hours of us emailing you (check your spam filters!) or we move on to the next person on the list. Yes, again, you have to be in the US or Canada (sorry about this one, but I believe this is due to Random House only having distribution rights in those two countries). Also, you can only win one book. So even if you can answer more than one question, there's no reason to do it, other than to be that guy... and no one likes that guy.
Okay, here are the questions. Get answering:
- Link to a Techdirt post that mentions the person who narrates the audiobook version of Year Zero? (Feel free to name the individual too).
- Year Zero is frequently compared to a famous sci-fi series that was a "trilogy" in five books. A few times on Techdirt, we've paraphrased a famous saying by the author of that series. What's the famous saying he said, that we've paraphrased multiple times?
- The excerpt we posted includes the protagonist in the story, Nick Carter, reciting the "standard terms" that show up in "almost every" major label contract. He notes that most people think he's joking when he tells them that language, but he's not. Of course, Carter is just a character in a funny novel... but he's not joking. Point to three news articles/blog posts (anywhere, doesn't need to be Techdirt) that point to very similar (does not need to be identical) language in actual music contracts.
- Rob has cleverly made sure that he cannot use the most obvious title for a sequel to this book. How?
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Answer to #1
btw, congrats on finally getting my to sign up...
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#2
As Douglas Adams has stated (I'm paraphrasing slightly), every tech around by the time you're born is "normal," new technology that is invented before you're thirty is cool and new and anything that gets invented after you're thirty is "against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it."
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Re: #2
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Narrator
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#4
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Q4
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Re: Q4
And yes, this got me to (finally) register for an account, too ("reason to buy" ?)
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Re: Narrator
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Question 3
Techdirt article pointing to WSJ
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091029/0151366712.shtml
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125 658217507308619.html
will.i.am's contract terms come to light after MegaUpload song dispute
http://digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2011/111216william
From ASCAP even:
http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/news/2011/04/Our-Bloggers-Sound-Off-About-the-W e-Create-Music-Panel.aspx
a bit vague, end of second paragraph
Actual Music Licensing Agreement at University of NC School of the Arts:
http://faculty.uncsa.edu/film/forms/production/original_music_license.pdf
Blog post about American Idol contract:
http://carlsmiller.hubpages.com/hub/Legal-Contracts-Throughout-the-Universe
Work for Hire Abuse
http://www.stopworkforhire.com/site2/legal-perspective/
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The 2009 Film, Year One
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Re:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045778/
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Douglas Adams
During the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future" series, he was asked by some media representatives how he thought technological changes will affect them. His answer:
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But, I'll point out that there are now 6 books in the Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy. The latest not being written by DNA, but rather by Eoin Cofler, named "And Another Thing" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Another_Thing..._%28novel%29
.
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Answers
1.From Insaniac99: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120322/02414218194/musician-jonathan-coulton-i-value-internet-lot -more-than-record-industry.shtml#c484
2.From Mason Wheeler:
I suppose earlier generations had to sit through all this huffing and puffing with the invention of television, the phone, cinema, radio, the car, the bicycle, printing, the wheel and so on, but you would think we would learn the way these things work, which is this:
1) everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal;
2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;
3) anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really.
Apply this list to movies, rock music, word processors and mobile phones to work out how old you are.
3. From Josh in CharlotteNC:
will.i.am's contract terms come to light after MegaUpload song dispute
http://digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2011/111216william
From ASCAP even:
http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/news/2011/04/Our-Bloggers-Sound-Off-About-the-W e-Create-Music-Panel.aspx
a bit vague, end of second paragraph
Actual Music Licensing Agreement at University of NC School of the Arts:
http://faculty.uncsa.edu/film/forms/production/original_music_license.pdf
Blog post about American Idol contract:
http://carlsmiller.hubpages.com/hub/Legal-Contracts-Throughout-the-Universe
4. From Amazon:
He is the author of Year One, a memoir about student life at Harvard Business School
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only one qualifying comment
Lost my interest as soon as I saw that.
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Seriously????
Soooo 20th Century.
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But I wanted to drop in and say "Good luck" to those playing.
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Wow, it exists...really!
the Submissions shall be deemed and shall remain the property of iRobot Corporation in perpetuity. By making any Submission, the sender automatically grants, or warrants that the owner of such material expressly grants, iRobot Corporation the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, and distribute such material (in whole or in part) throughout the universe and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed, for the full term of any copyright, trademark or patent that may exist in such material for any purpose that iRobot Corporation chooses
Uncanny resemblance...really...
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Re: only one qualifying comment
Mike, I know its not your fault, I know its not Techdirt, but you, me and all the others here have decried the negativity that region locked releases have on the market. Therefore, when I, a non-USian, saw you having a competition for a book but saying only open to US/Canada despite the fact you foster a worldwide audience...it left me feeling a bit pissed off.
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The Ultimate Answer
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