Okay, so he didn't drag "the children" into it; but I thought it especially brilliant to play the Nazi card. That pretty much rounds out the conspiracy memes.
I'm reminded of that scene in Annie Hall: Woody Allen, pulled over in L.A. for driving horrendously, nervously chatters away at the CHIPs officer while shredding his own driver's license into tiny bits, saying, "I have this problem with authority...".
Actually, in NJ (known for our fine, fine drivers), we've gradually removed pretty much every traffic circle. They were colossal accident farms, mostly because they employed variables such as "good judgement". Drivers get unpredictable and wacky without black and white (or red and green) absolutes to obey.
Agreed that the editorial "sparkle" is gone, in the name of mass appeal; I'd been a sporadic print subscriber for decades (in direct proportion to the pile of unread issues on my floor), and watched it fade. But the latest aggravation is the worst: enough of a tease on their RSS feed (via my iGoogle portal) to click through, only to find a paywall nastygram about two sentences in. Most feed stories from others with paywalls are at least partially readable.
My favorite part: What's wrong with this familiar-sounding phrase?
"The proposal follows the principle that sites are innocent until guilty..."
PROVEN... that's the missing word... PROVEN. But it's not part of the proposal... no proving, thanks.
I'd also wager that there's more missing language...
"If a site has ignored a number of takedown requests..."
ought to add, "... or finds them without merit..." But somehow, I don't think that's the case.
This post comes at a good time for me. Whether true or not, I have this perception that the trolls have come out from under the bridges more often lately; and I find that incredibly fatiguing. It's not the disagreement -- I almost always learn something when rational commenters dissent -- but lately, I've seen a spate of posts not from critics but from antagonists and mindless idiots. And it's wearing me down. I don't want to leave in disgust several times each day, with blood a-boilin'. But thanks for reminding me that, in the end, it's organic; that the same system, the same community, which tolerates their irrational bile will likely tolerate my timid two-cents, too. Or my failure to weigh in, or to go AC rather than logged in. The good in this system far outweighs the tedious, and i just need to remember that more often.
Flying Fish, a NJ microbrewery, has a collection of ales named after exits on the NJ Turnpike... Exit 1, near the Delaware Bay, inspires "Exit 1 - Bayshore Oyster Stout"; Exit 9, near Rutgers University's Scarlet Knights, gets "Exit 9 - Hoppy Scarlet Ale". And so on. The old joke is, "You're from Joisy? What exit?"; and this capitalizes on it big-time. So... trademark time for the words "Exit 3"?
If you've ever seen the broad language of "peeping tom" statutes, it's hard to believe that the word "felony" isn't in play here. But, then again, that would mean a local enforcement action, not a preventative injunction; guess we just need to wait until it actually happens. Brilliant.
"That's because as long as the venue has the proper ASCAP/BMI licenses for public performance, they can play any covered songs they want."
Well, almost. That works as long as they're simply playing the song, like when the candidate takes the stage. But when the song in question has been rolled into a graphical/video montage or animated "splash" sequence, for example, and then used to intro the candidate, it becomes subject to synchronization rights, and that's where the screaming starts.
In the late '70's, a fellow named John Diamond, who called himself an "Applied Kinesiologist", got tired of his prior campaign against fluorescent lighting as stress-inducing (too much flickering!) and instead targeted the then-new field of digital audio. I watched him call volunteers up to the stage at an audio symposium, and using supposed muscle strength tests, prove that digital=bad. Chaos then broke out among the bewhiskered researchers and engineers. Looks like he's largely discredited now: http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?3895-This-just-in.-Digital-Bad
This isn't the first time someone (who ought to know better) has failed to grasp the cloud concept, nor will it be the last. But it's fun to read the flowery language of a non-native English writer trying for sarcastic-up-in-your-grill, and winding up with foppish, John Cleese-like rants. I fart in your general direction.
Excellent New Yorker piece, too, including the observation that the government has walked away from prosecuting far more egregious offenses when "friends" are involved. Also suggested that Drake's brand of whistleblowing... his persistence... may have had annoying overtones; some anecdotal mention of his past as a stickler for the tiniest everyday infractions... a profoundly rules-based "noodge". Not a criterion for prosecution, of course, but perhaps a gadfly anyone (in power) would love to swat.
"Having attended business school at one point in my life, I don't recall that part of the curriculum."
We actually did have a professor who a) showed his all-male class a 16mm breast self-examination film each semester, and b) organized a bus trip to the US Treasury each year... 15 minutes of snapshots on the front steps, then off to the Washington, DC strip clubs.
That musical figure can be heard in "March of the Toys", an instrumental in Victor Herbert's operetta "Babes in Toyland", immortalized in 1934 as a Laurel & Hardy film, but composed originally in 1903 for the stage. Both of which dates are before 1978, I think. Of course, having added the word "Charge!", I think he's entitled to every penny for his hard work and ingenuity.
On the post: Our Response To Arthur Alan Wolk's Threat To Sue Us
Re:
Air ambulances?
On the post: Our Response To Arthur Alan Wolk's Threat To Sue Us
Re:
On the post: What Do They Say About The Lawyer Who Represents Himself?
Think of the children...
On the post: New Beavis & Butt-head To Contain Less Music... Because MTV (MTV?!?) Says It's Too Expensive To License Music
Re:
On the post: Judge Waxes Comedic On Whether You Can Trademark Quilted Diamonds On Toilet Paper
Serious stuff
On the post: TSA May Announce New Behavior Screening Plans Soon
Re: I'm screwed
On the post: Misleading Scientific American Report On Traffic Cameras
Re: Traffic lights suck
On the post: Misleading Scientific American Report On Traffic Cameras
Re: Scientific American
On the post: Music Industry Wants To Put 'Red Lights' In Google For Sites It Says Support Infringement
What's missing
"The proposal follows the principle that sites are innocent until guilty..."
PROVEN... that's the missing word... PROVEN. But it's not part of the proposal... no proving, thanks.
I'd also wager that there's more missing language...
"If a site has ignored a number of takedown requests..."
ought to add, "... or finds them without merit..." But somehow, I don't think that's the case.
On the post: If Your Comment Section Is Awesome, It's Your Community's Fault
Helpful
On the post: Anheuser-Busch Trying To Trademark Area Codes For Local Beers
Turnpike trademarks
On the post: Court Refuses To Issue Injunction Stopping Secret Web Spycams From Running On Rental Laptops
Re: The mind boggles...
On the post: Billboard Apparently Unable To Hire Its Own Writers For Copycat Conference; So Just Copies Text From Others
Re: "intersection between tech and music"
On the post: Dear Musicians: Once Again, Politicians Can Probably Play Your Songs At Events Without Your Permission
Maybe covered, maybe not
Well, almost. That works as long as they're simply playing the song, like when the candidate takes the stage. But when the song in question has been rolled into a graphical/video montage or animated "splash" sequence, for example, and then used to intro the candidate, it becomes subject to synchronization rights, and that's where the screaming starts.
On the post: Prince: Digital Music Has A Different Impact On Your Brain
Re:
http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?3895-This-just-in.-Digital-Bad
On the post: Indie Label Opts Out Of Apple iCloud Music Match; Says It's An Insult That Tramples Copyright
Missed the boat
On the post: Feds Ridiculous Prosecution Of Whistleblower Thomas Drake Falling Apart
Re:
On the post: University Newspaper Figures Out How To Get Around Administration's Censorship Orders
Brings back memories
We actually did have a professor who a) showed his all-male class a 16mm breast self-examination film each semester, and b) organized a bus trip to the US Treasury each year... 15 minutes of snapshots on the front steps, then off to the Washington, DC strip clubs.
On the post: The Pirate Party Not Pirate-y Enough For You? Maybe You Need Kopimism, The Official Pirate Religion
Re: I'm in
On the post: Guy Sues Over 'Da Da Da Da Da Da.... CHARGE!' Jingle He Might Not Have Written
Goes 'way back
Next >>