It is clear that if Mr. KiD CuDi would have followed the advice of his label and made another album similar to his previous one he would have debuted at #1 instead of a weak #3!
What will happen with this world if we allow artists to experiment? The art might change beyond recognition! I still play my Beach Boys record every day and it's still as good as the day it was (over)produced! We don't need new music, we need more of the same. Ask musicians to experiment and we end up with Dubstep!
It is available on Amazon.com. Since I'm in a non-English speaking country I can order there. I agree with you wholeheartedly that the system is messed up though.
What actually really messes me up is that the Kindle version is actually almost twice as expensive as the paperback. How does that even make sense? Unfortunately I already have enough dead trees in my house.
For a self proclaimed writer you seem to need a lot of words to make your point... No short stories for you then? (Sorry, cheap dig)
If you've followed TechDirt for some time you'd know that Mike is not advocating the end of the middlemen. He just says their role should change from gatekeepers to facilitators. See initiatives like Kickstarter etc.
I'm sure there are a lot of writers like you that don't want to make the effort to promote their own books. That means there is a hole in the market that somebody will fill by offering editing/promotional/management services and services like that probably already exist. However, since basically everybody can offer these services now because you don't need expensive printing presses anymore, it will be a much more competitive market which will mean you'll be able to negotiate much better terms than with the current gate keepers AND you'll be able to guard the integrity of your work yourself. Sounds like a win to me.
Additionally: Quit whining. Every job has good and bad sides. If you want to make money with something you have to be good at all of its facets.
Actually I would be rather worried if he took endorsements from Mother Theresa. She supported some pretty shady people when she was still alive, although it would be kind of awesome if the Senator could channel the dead...
Besides the point. However, even if it was true that the Senator took money from Google or is protecting his own state's interest, what does it matter? Haven't the comments from Chis Dodd not made clear that is how they get their support? By giving money in exchange of support?
Everybody discounting Senator Wyden for taking money from the wrong companies or supporting his own state just disqualified all the Senators supporting of SOPA/PIPA.
So, the majority of their traffic doesn't come from the search engines. Hmmmm, since they make no money, somebody must be doing an awful lot of free advertising for them.
I wonder who'd be so stupid to plaster the Pirate Bay name all over the Internet as an excellent place to find fee stuff... Oh, wait.
"her country's entire economy revolves around chocolate, bulbs and wooden shoes"
I'll speak up for my country because you seem stunningly ignorant about us.
I'll have you know The Netherlands has a very nicely stable economy that is still showing some (small) growth, even in these difficult times. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you're American. How high was your unemployment again? 9% and going up? In NL it's lower than 5%, we have a reasonably balanced state budget plus we have very good universal health care and unemployment benefits etc. Additionally you might want to check the Dutch stock exchange because you might recognise some names there.
So, please fix your own FFing country before dissing us because if anything is depressing our economy it's the mess YOU made. /Rant
On an interesting note: Kroes is actually considered quite right wing in the Dutch politacl spectrum ;-)
Blatant use of Tucans as well. Plus their name actually translates as Falcon so the only conceivable reason for them to use a Tucan is to leech of Kellog's trademark.
/sarc
Re: Re: "undermining our nation's national security"
Come on, you missed it completely! OOTB and his AC ilk are obviously agent provocateurs of Freetard Pirate Mike and his parasitic plans.
Nobody could be so braindead to think that their inane method of commenting could do anything other than cementing the opposition and putting the Big Media coorperations and their minions in a bad light. They're doing their cause more harm than good, they must be able to see that.
Our beloved Mike is just afraid you won't have anybody to unite against if he wouldn't pay somebody to make idiotic comments.
For those of you with poor sarcasm filters: Yes, paragraph 1 and 3 are sarcasm. Paragraph 2 is obvious truth.
Re: Re: "undermining our nation's national security"
Come on, you missed it completely! OOTB and his AC ilk are obviously agent provocateurs of Freetard Pirate Mike and his parasitic plans.
Nobody could be so braindead to think that their inane method of commenting could do anything other than cementing the opposition and putting the Big Media coorperations and their minions in a bad light. They're doing their cause more harm than good, they must be able to see that.
Our beloved Mike is just afraid you won't have anybody to unite against if he wouldn't pay somebody to make idiotic comments.
For those of you with poor sarcasm filters: Yes, paragraph 1 and 3 are sarcasm. Paragraph 2 is obvious truth.
As someone in a similar situation as yours, living in a country with reasonably priced excellent universal health care I always wonder the same.
What I find the most striking is that when Americans actually live in such a country they usually flip 100%. I know some Americans that lived in Germany for a while and they went from opposing UHC to fully supporting it because they saw how well it can work and how much better it is than the US.
It seems to be a matter of too little information. They simply dismiss it as socialism (thanks Reagan and Friedman) and don't bother to investigate. Additionally the media in the US seems to be extremely US focused so if you want to know how things work in other countries you need to go to other sources which is too much work for most people.
Interesting point actually. Are the ISP unwittingly opening themselves up to massive liability by consenting to these schemes?
Suppose they make some configuration mistake in their network that would allow people to still see censored content, would they then be liable for the massive penalties big copyright likes to extract?
They did agree to censor in the first place, so not doing so might be breach of contract or something.
Re: Where's the diff, Mike? Both say some version of "self-policing".
Let's extend this logic and see what other services need to be shut down then.
- Phone companies. I'm sure drug dealers use the phone a lot, not to mention terrorists and Pedophiles. Gasp! What about the children? They should screen all the calls to be sure everything is safe.
- US Post. Didn't you read that they sometimes use the post to send threat letters? Clearly illegal so if they can't prevent it, shut it down. Shear volume (not to mention constitutional issues) is NO EXCUSE.
- The Stock exchange. Some broker just went bankrupt and there is talk of foul play and illegal use of funds. We could also mention everybody's favorite Madoff. If the Exchange can't stop illegal trading or wrongdoings they should shut down! Sheer volume is NO EXCUSE
- Flea markets: Some people use flea markets to sell stolen goods so they're all criminals. Shut them down!
Orwell and Huxley would be proud of you OOTB. You're their best chance of proving their predictions right.
YES!! I have it. I can simplify all this court stuff for you, too complicated. Let's go back to the old times.
If you are accused, they'll take your servers and drop them in the deepest part of the ocean. If they float, obviously you were criminally infringing and should be locked up for life.
If theys sink you were innocent.
As a non-US resident I have mixed feelings about all the antics of your elected representatives...
There is definitely a Schadenfreude element to it where I feel this is what you deserve for electing them in the first place. I'm ashamed for this but still the feelings are there. Also the US seems hell-bent on creating opportunities for other countries to become the leading economy.
The other part is fear. The US is pivotal in the worldwide economy and if the US is doing badly it will have negative influences everywhere. Besides, what will replace it as the leading economy? Probably China. Doesn't sound like an improvement...
I feel that US voters need to wake up and start voting for candidates that will reform campaign financing. This is the only way that you will ever have politicians that look after your interests (assuming such a mythological creature exists). For me, looking from a distance, this is where it all starts.
On the post: KiD CuDi's WZRD Debuts At No. 3 Despite Being Swept Under The Rug By Universal
You don't understand!
What will happen with this world if we allow artists to experiment? The art might change beyond recognition! I still play my Beach Boys record every day and it's still as good as the day it was (over)produced! We don't need new music, we need more of the same. Ask musicians to experiment and we end up with Dubstep!
/sarc
On the post: Author Reveals Future Book & Series To Terminally Ill Fan To Fulfill His Wish
Re: "PLEASE TAKE MY MONEY"
What actually really messes me up is that the Kindle version is actually almost twice as expensive as the paperback. How does that even make sense? Unfortunately I already have enough dead trees in my house.
On the post: The Sky Is Rising: The Entertainment Industry Is Large & Growing... Not Shrinking
Re: The "low barrier" has actually been raised
If you've followed TechDirt for some time you'd know that Mike is not advocating the end of the middlemen. He just says their role should change from gatekeepers to facilitators. See initiatives like Kickstarter etc.
I'm sure there are a lot of writers like you that don't want to make the effort to promote their own books. That means there is a hole in the market that somebody will fill by offering editing/promotional/management services and services like that probably already exist. However, since basically everybody can offer these services now because you don't need expensive printing presses anymore, it will be a much more competitive market which will mean you'll be able to negotiate much better terms than with the current gate keepers AND you'll be able to guard the integrity of your work yourself. Sounds like a win to me.
Additionally: Quit whining. Every job has good and bad sides. If you want to make money with something you have to be good at all of its facets.
On the post: Senator Ron Wyden's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
Re: Re:
Besides the point. However, even if it was true that the Senator took money from Google or is protecting his own state's interest, what does it matter? Haven't the comments from Chis Dodd not made clear that is how they get their support? By giving money in exchange of support?
Everybody discounting Senator Wyden for taking money from the wrong companies or supporting his own state just disqualified all the Senators supporting of SOPA/PIPA.
On the post: Senator Ron Wyden's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
Re:
On the post: US Can Extradite UK Student For Copyright Infringement, Despite Site Being Legal In The UK
Re: Certainly wrong
On the post: Data Shows: Removing 'Rogue Sites' From Search Won't Make Much Of A Difference
Free advertising
I wonder who'd be so stupid to plaster the Pirate Bay name all over the Internet as an excellent place to find fee stuff... Oh, wait.
On the post: EU Commissioner Kroes: Copyright Is 'A Tool To Punish And Withhold'; New Business Models, Not More Enforcement Needed
Re: Re: Re: Envious much
On the post: EU Commissioner Kroes: Copyright Is 'A Tool To Punish And Withhold'; New Business Models, Not More Enforcement Needed
Re: Envious much
I'll speak up for my country because you seem stunningly ignorant about us.
I'll have you know The Netherlands has a very nicely stable economy that is still showing some (small) growth, even in these difficult times. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you're American. How high was your unemployment again? 9% and going up? In NL it's lower than 5%, we have a reasonably balanced state budget plus we have very good universal health care and unemployment benefits etc. Additionally you might want to check the Dutch stock exchange because you might recognise some names there.
So, please fix your own FFing country before dissing us because if anything is depressing our economy it's the mess YOU made. /Rant
On an interesting note: Kroes is actually considered quite right wing in the Dutch politacl spectrum ;-)
On the post: Kellogg Settles Toucan Trademark Dispute With Mayan Archaeology Group
I have their next target
http://www.valk.com/pages/?id=4428
Blatant use of Tucans as well. Plus their name actually translates as Falcon so the only conceivable reason for them to use a Tucan is to leech of Kellog's trademark.
/sarc
On the post: Senators Rand Paul, Jerry Moran And Maria Cantwell All Warn That PROTECT IP Will Kill Jobs
Re: Re: Re: "undermining our nation's national security"
On the post: Senators Rand Paul, Jerry Moran And Maria Cantwell All Warn That PROTECT IP Will Kill Jobs
Re: Re: "undermining our nation's national security"
Nobody could be so braindead to think that their inane method of commenting could do anything other than cementing the opposition and putting the Big Media coorperations and their minions in a bad light. They're doing their cause more harm than good, they must be able to see that.
Our beloved Mike is just afraid you won't have anybody to unite against if he wouldn't pay somebody to make idiotic comments.
For those of you with poor sarcasm filters: Yes, paragraph 1 and 3 are sarcasm. Paragraph 2 is obvious truth.
On the post: Senators Rand Paul, Jerry Moran And Maria Cantwell All Warn That PROTECT IP Will Kill Jobs
Re: Re: "undermining our nation's national security"
Nobody could be so braindead to think that their inane method of commenting could do anything other than cementing the opposition and putting the Big Media coorperations and their minions in a bad light. They're doing their cause more harm than good, they must be able to see that.
Our beloved Mike is just afraid you won't have anybody to unite against if he wouldn't pay somebody to make idiotic comments.
For those of you with poor sarcasm filters: Yes, paragraph 1 and 3 are sarcasm. Paragraph 2 is obvious truth.
On the post: SOPA Will Have Grave Effects On The Health Of Hundreds Of Thousands Of Americans
Re: Buy why are prescriptions dearer in the US?
What I find the most striking is that when Americans actually live in such a country they usually flip 100%. I know some Americans that lived in Germany for a while and they went from opposing UHC to fully supporting it because they saw how well it can work and how much better it is than the US.
It seems to be a matter of too little information. They simply dismiss it as socialism (thanks Reagan and Friedman) and don't bother to investigate. Additionally the media in the US seems to be extremely US focused so if you want to know how things work in other countries you need to go to other sources which is too much work for most people.
Yes, I realise this is a gross generalisation.
On the post: UMG Finds Perfect Biz Model: Cheat Artists, Then, If Caught, Demand Insurance Company Pay Instead
Re: Re: Re: Jammie Thomas
On the post: Attempts To Censor File Sharing Sites In The UK Demonstrate The Pointlessness Of SOPA's Blocks
Re:
Suppose they make some configuration mistake in their network that would allow people to still see censored content, would they then be liable for the massive penalties big copyright likes to extract?
They did agree to censor in the first place, so not doing so might be breach of contract or something.
On the post: Content Industry Insists E-PARASITE Won't Rewrite DMCA, But Co-Author Of The Bill Admits That's The Plan
Re: Re: Re: Where's the diff, Mike? Both say some version of "self-policing".
Thank you for clearing that up for me. Having actually read both books I obviously missed that point.
On the post: Content Industry Insists E-PARASITE Won't Rewrite DMCA, But Co-Author Of The Bill Admits That's The Plan
Re: Where's the diff, Mike? Both say some version of "self-policing".
- Phone companies. I'm sure drug dealers use the phone a lot, not to mention terrorists and Pedophiles. Gasp! What about the children? They should screen all the calls to be sure everything is safe.
- US Post. Didn't you read that they sometimes use the post to send threat letters? Clearly illegal so if they can't prevent it, shut it down. Shear volume (not to mention constitutional issues) is NO EXCUSE.
- The Stock exchange. Some broker just went bankrupt and there is talk of foul play and illegal use of funds. We could also mention everybody's favorite Madoff. If the Exchange can't stop illegal trading or wrongdoings they should shut down! Sheer volume is NO EXCUSE
- Flea markets: Some people use flea markets to sell stolen goods so they're all criminals. Shut them down!
Orwell and Huxley would be proud of you OOTB. You're their best chance of proving their predictions right.
On the post: PROTECT IP Renamed E-PARASITES Act; Would Create The Great Firewall Of America
Re: Without Court Review? Nope!
If you are accused, they'll take your servers and drop them in the deepest part of the ocean. If they float, obviously you were criminally infringing and should be locked up for life.
If theys sink you were innocent.
On the post: PROTECT IP Renamed E-PARASITES Act; Would Create The Great Firewall Of America
Re: Re: Re:
There is definitely a Schadenfreude element to it where I feel this is what you deserve for electing them in the first place. I'm ashamed for this but still the feelings are there. Also the US seems hell-bent on creating opportunities for other countries to become the leading economy.
The other part is fear. The US is pivotal in the worldwide economy and if the US is doing badly it will have negative influences everywhere. Besides, what will replace it as the leading economy? Probably China. Doesn't sound like an improvement...
I feel that US voters need to wake up and start voting for candidates that will reform campaign financing. This is the only way that you will ever have politicians that look after your interests (assuming such a mythological creature exists). For me, looking from a distance, this is where it all starts.
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