Anyone who knows the Beach Boys' history won't be too surprised by this. Those guys are a bunch of drug-addled has-beens who couldn't get a gig playing anything after about 1969. Everything they did after that failed and they were totally washed up until the re-released all their hits from the 60s on the Endless Summer album. They've been making money touring ever since, but not producing anything new that was noteworthy.
So here's a golden troll opportunity and they jump on it. I don't expect much else from washed up losers like these guys. I hope they reach an agreement but I won't be surprised if they don't, or if any agreement they do make is totally unfair.
I may have to go torrent Endless Summer purely out of spite.
Mike, thanks for doing what you do. I've been reading your blog for 7+ years now and it just gets better and better. Please keep it up! i don't know what I'd do if you stopped!
I think I know why your traffic has doubled in 6 months:
1. SOPA and other issues you cover gaining more visibility.
2. Honest, frank coverage and informed, untelligent suggestions; your contributions to the community.
3. Me posting so many lunks to TD on my Facebook news feed :-)
Thanks for a great year. Hope 2012 is even better.
Re: IS "just a case of a fairly ignorant guy abusing the DMCA".
Spoken like someone totally ignorant of history, unintended consequences, and precedent.
Allowing any censorship of speech, especially just because someone 'doesn't like it,' inevitably leads to censorship of more speech which in all likelihood affect many others.
It's the principle behind it, and you and he are both WRONG.
I love how you and a few others keep calling AC out for ignoring the parts which he doesn't agree with, yet he continues to do the same in his responses without ever denying that's what he's doing.
Keep on slaughtering him. I have enjoyed this thread... too bad AC will keep on trying to redefine FUD and ignore facts which don't fit into his worldview.
How have you determined that anything on the site was 'illegal speech?'
It seems to me that this should be determined by the court, not just arbitrarily decided by the Justice Department? That's the definition of prior restraint!!! Taking someone's rights away without any due process to determined if said speech is truly illegal (which it probably is NOT).
The simple fact that stifling speech is a 1st Amendment violation if there's no due process to determine if anything illegal was said. If you don't recognize this then you don't understand anything about the 1st.
I am consistently amazed at all these examples of blatant corruption and abuse of a system that is so clearly broken. Meanwhile, Congress spends all their time attacking each other over ridiculous political issues (which are equally amazing and disgusting), blaming their opponents, shirking responsibility, and generally ignoring the interests of their constituents.
This behavior should be criminal, and should come attached to jail time. I'm sick and tired of reading about this broken system and the damage it's doing to US interests. Reform is an absolute necessity but we're so far away from any real change that I almost (not quite) feel like even discussing it is a complete waste of time.
I socialize these stories everywhere I can but very few people I know show much interest in them. I don't think most people even care about or are aware of how much damage this system causes for US businesses.
I suppose I should have learned that my expectations of common sense and reasonable solutions to obvious problems are too much for the idiots known as Congresspeople and Senators in the USA. What a joke.
History will look back on our times and call us the most corrupt people ever documented in the history of mankind.
I only ask because I would LOVE to call Mr. Wolk a small-minded, petulant, ignorant, Streisand-Effect-Generating PRICK... but I'm a little worried he might sue me if I did go so far as to actually call him anything like that. So I won't.
In any case, I hardly need to go so far as to call Mr. Wolk anything. He's apparently doing his best to call down the power of all the interwebs upon his own tiny head. One has to wonder what sort of rose-colored lens he looks through when viewing his own actions because, as the readers of this site are well aware, he will likely soon start to suffer the ill effects of his own actions, and I suspect he may regret them very soon.
Re: Having been caught out with the "byline" trick,
That is a really weak excuse. TD has used the same format for their blog for years, and the byline has always been to the left of the article. You fucked up and got called out. Rather than accept it like an adult, you admit your mistake but blame the layout of the page for your mistake and put the blame right back on the guys you so obviously despise.
Your excuse is pathetic, as is your attempted defense of Apple. They deserve every bit of criticism they receive, and more IMHO.
I saw this on Reddit yesterday. I recognize the guy violated their ToS, but Google's customer service is just freaking horrible. I think they could easily resolve this situation without just killing the guy's Adsense acct two weeks before Christmas without even speaking to him once.
"...and he is still a million times richer than you will ever be. For all your internet skill, he still wipes his ass with more money than you will ever have. I would love to fail like him."
You would love to fail like him, huh? Will you still feel that way in 20 years when his empire has crumbled around him and his failures have bankrupted his family? Would you love to be remembered as a dinosaur of a previous age who utterly failed to respond to the world changing around him? Would you love to be the 'riches to rags' failure story of the 21st century?
All of these things will happen, and Rupert Murdoch will be viewed as a total, complete failure. History will not be kind to him, not would it be to you, if you were worth remembering.
Fascinating, and very relevant post. You do bounce around among topics more than you probably should, and paragraphs would be nice, but I (unlike a couple of ass-hats in this thread) did not mind because the content is good.. Great post!
I too can make a blade last six months or so. Check out this link on sharpening your used, dull blades. It really works; I do it every week and have not bought blades for about two years.
They're afraid that intelligent, well-educated people will go sign up to send their letter, take out all the canned bullshit they prepared and edit it to say things like "hey this letter is canned BS from the CRIAA (or whoever)" and do some damage to their 'grassroots' (LOLOLOLOL) campaign.
I doubt the interns at the Canadian legislature (Parliament? I am unfortunately ignorant about Canadian government setup) actually read all those letters word-for-word anyway, but it just shows you that the industry groups who support the CA-DMCA are well aware that the arguments against the bill are logical and sensible, while the arguments in favor of the proposed law are anything but sensible, fair, or reasonable.
I'm an avid reader. Mostly sci-fi stuff, but I also love historical fiction and frequently read books from the business section related to my field of work (software technical sales). Oh and I just bought a nook from B&N, which I love dearly.
I haven't purchased a major-label CD or DVD for almost ten years. I got so fed up with the **AA groups and their anti-consumer practices that I decided I wouldn't support their efforts. I have bought a few CDs from indy bands on small labels or who produce their own CDs, but that's it. I am still carrying on with this boycott and will keep it up until the music labels and movie industry come to their senses.
To date, I've been purchasing my ebooks legally. I think they're too expensive, but the book publishers haven't acted like complete assholes just yet... but I certainly see it coming.
I will stop purchasing my ebooks legally if the publishers keep this shit up. As a digital-age consumer, I am not stupid and know full-well where I can acquire ebooks for free. I haven't done so yet, but if the publishers choose to pursue a similar anti-consumer path like the music and movie labels/publishers have, then I will have no problem with boycotting them also.
Book publishers, I hope you're listening. Don't make the same stupid mistakes that the RIAA and MPAA members have done. You'll regret it. I know I'm not alone.
French citizens aren't that much smarter than American citizens, are they? US voters fall for that crap all the time... I don't see why the French wouldn't.
I would love it if I were mistaken, but I am a cynic.
On the post: Beach Boys Lyricist Goes After Artist Who Dared To Paint Works Inspired By Beach Boy Songs
Pathetic
So here's a golden troll opportunity and they jump on it. I don't expect much else from washed up losers like these guys. I hope they reach an agreement but I won't be surprised if they don't, or if any agreement they do make is totally unfair.
I may have to go torrent Endless Summer purely out of spite.
On the post: New Year's Message: From Optimism And Innovation... To The Power To Make A Difference
Thanks!
I think I know why your traffic has doubled in 6 months:
1. SOPA and other issues you cover gaining more visibility.
2. Honest, frank coverage and informed, untelligent suggestions; your contributions to the community.
3. Me posting so many lunks to TD on my Facebook news feed :-)
Thanks for a great year. Hope 2012 is even better.
On the post: Double Bogus DMCA Takedown All The Way!
Re: IS "just a case of a fairly ignorant guy abusing the DMCA".
Allowing any censorship of speech, especially just because someone 'doesn't like it,' inevitably leads to censorship of more speech which in all likelihood affect many others.
It's the principle behind it, and you and he are both WRONG.
How much did you earn for posting that comment?
On the post: The Insane Chain Of Sampling Rights: How A Folk Song Collector Became A 'Co-Author' On A Jay-Z Song
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I love how you and a few others keep calling AC out for ignoring the parts which he doesn't agree with, yet he continues to do the same in his responses without ever denying that's what he's doing.
Keep on slaughtering him. I have enjoyed this thread... too bad AC will keep on trying to redefine FUD and ignore facts which don't fit into his worldview.
On the post: Puerto 80 Appeals: Asks Court To Recognize That Trampling The First Amendment Is Substantial Harm
Re: Re: Re:
It seems to me that this should be determined by the court, not just arbitrarily decided by the Justice Department? That's the definition of prior restraint!!! Taking someone's rights away without any due process to determined if said speech is truly illegal (which it probably is NOT).
The simple fact that stifling speech is a 1st Amendment violation if there's no due process to determine if anything illegal was said. If you don't recognize this then you don't understand anything about the 1st.
On the post: If You Have To License The Software You Claim Infringes On Your Patent, How Is Your Patent Valid?
Unbelievable
This behavior should be criminal, and should come attached to jail time. I'm sick and tired of reading about this broken system and the damage it's doing to US interests. Reform is an absolute necessity but we're so far away from any real change that I almost (not quite) feel like even discussing it is a complete waste of time.
I socialize these stories everywhere I can but very few people I know show much interest in them. I don't think most people even care about or are aware of how much damage this system causes for US businesses.
I suppose I should have learned that my expectations of common sense and reasonable solutions to obvious problems are too much for the idiots known as Congresspeople and Senators in the USA. What a joke.
History will look back on our times and call us the most corrupt people ever documented in the history of mankind.
On the post: Our Response To Arthur Alan Wolk's Threat To Sue Us
Re: Re: Good reason for judicial reform
On the post: Our Response To Arthur Alan Wolk's Threat To Sue Us
Re: Fan Mail
On the post: Our Response To Arthur Alan Wolk's Threat To Sue Us
Is name-calling defamation?
In any case, I hardly need to go so far as to call Mr. Wolk anything. He's apparently doing his best to call down the power of all the interwebs upon his own tiny head. One has to wonder what sort of rose-colored lens he looks through when viewing his own actions because, as the readers of this site are well aware, he will likely soon start to suffer the ill effects of his own actions, and I suspect he may regret them very soon.
On the post: Secret Service Descends on Artist For Mildly Creepy Public Photography
Re: Having been caught out with the "byline" trick,
Your excuse is pathetic, as is your attempted defense of Apple. They deserve every bit of criticism they receive, and more IMHO.
On the post: Does Google Design AdSense Contract So You're Almost Forced To Break Its Terms?
I'm glad to see you guys covering this
Lame, Google... what happened to "Don't be Evil?"
On the post: A Look At Rupert Murdoch's History Of Internet Failures
Re:
You would love to fail like him, huh? Will you still feel that way in 20 years when his empire has crumbled around him and his failures have bankrupted his family? Would you love to be remembered as a dinosaur of a previous age who utterly failed to respond to the world changing around him? Would you love to be the 'riches to rags' failure story of the 21st century?
All of these things will happen, and Rupert Murdoch will be viewed as a total, complete failure. History will not be kind to him, not would it be to you, if you were worth remembering.
On the post: Mainstream Press Seems To Think Fighting For Civil Liberties Is Childish
The US Press abandoned its responsibility...
Murrow has been turning over in his grave ever since the press started giving government a free pass on eroding our civil rights.
On the post: The Myth Of Razors And Razor Blades
Re: Razors as Metaphor
On the post: The Myth Of Razors And Razor Blades
Re:
I too can make a blade last six months or so. Check out this link on sharpening your used, dull blades. It really works; I do it every week and have not bought blades for about two years.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5709307_sharpen-disposable-razor.html
Disposable razors are a total rip-off. I smile to myself every time I sharpen one of mine, knowing Gillette just lost a sale.
On the post: Why Are Supporters Of Canadian DMCA Against Original Thought In Writing In Support Of The Bill?
They're terrified
I doubt the interns at the Canadian legislature (Parliament? I am unfortunately ignorant about Canadian government setup) actually read all those letters word-for-word anyway, but it just shows you that the industry groups who support the CA-DMCA are well aware that the arguments against the bill are logical and sensible, while the arguments in favor of the proposed law are anything but sensible, fair, or reasonable.
On the post: Response To The White House's Request For Feedback On IP Enforcement
Re: Re: MIKE one quick question ....
It should be intellectualproperty@omb.eop.gov
Cheers
On the post: Response To The White House's Request For Feedback On IP Enforcement
Well done, Mike
I'm going to send in my own email, but it's going to say:
"What Michael Masnik said."
Cheers
On the post: Book Publishers Circulating 'Talking Points' To Counter Arguments That Ebook Prices Need To Go Lower
I'm an avid reader...
I haven't purchased a major-label CD or DVD for almost ten years. I got so fed up with the **AA groups and their anti-consumer practices that I decided I wouldn't support their efforts. I have bought a few CDs from indy bands on small labels or who produce their own CDs, but that's it. I am still carrying on with this boycott and will keep it up until the music labels and movie industry come to their senses.
To date, I've been purchasing my ebooks legally. I think they're too expensive, but the book publishers haven't acted like complete assholes just yet... but I certainly see it coming.
I will stop purchasing my ebooks legally if the publishers keep this shit up. As a digital-age consumer, I am not stupid and know full-well where I can acquire ebooks for free. I haven't done so yet, but if the publishers choose to pursue a similar anti-consumer path like the music and movie labels/publishers have, then I will have no problem with boycotting them also.
Book publishers, I hope you're listening. Don't make the same stupid mistakes that the RIAA and MPAA members have done. You'll regret it. I know I'm not alone.
On the post: French Government Looking To Set Up The Great Firewall Of France?
Smart citizens?
I would love it if I were mistaken, but I am a cynic.
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