Mike Cohen

And now Scoble. Holy shit.

by

And now Scoble. Holy shit. [Doc Searls Weblog]

Microsoft’s management has taken a hostile view of customers. Jim Allchin sees that we’re all ripping him off, so he puts in activation codes. His Hollywood buddies see that we’re ripping them off, so they put in digital rights management stuff. At the same time MSN views me as a pair of eyeballs to be “monetized” so they put spam and ads and other intrustive marketing techniques into my life.

Oh, and Microsoft views its developers, not as partners who will help give users like me better products, but as “warriors” who must be convinced to not use Java.

This is not the world I wanted to see come about. I should be able to buy a CD, turn it into digital files on my computer, and carry those files around with me. Soon, if this industry keeps going, I’m just gonna be marked as a criminal and I won’t be able to use my own property the way I’d like. Hell, I just took a really cool picture of a surfer in Hawaii. Imagine the day when it’d be impossible for me to share that with you because of the deals Microsoft and other companies are making (and what our government is putting into law).

As long as there are alternatives to Microsoft (like MacOS X) there is hope we can escape such a future.

When I buy a CD, I should be able to do whatever I want with it. I should be able to play it either on my computer or my stereo. I should be able to copy tracks to my computer to play whenever I want. I should be able to burn music mix CDs with tracks from several different CDs I own.

This is no longer about protecting artist’s rights. The artist hardly makes any profit from their CD sales, even at current inflated prices. Most of the money goes to the record companies and distributors. People are buying fewer CDs not because of file sharing but because of inflated prices and because record companies aren’t giving people what they want to hear. The record companies would rather promote a few artists while less-known artists making great music have a hard time getting heard.

by

posted by semmi ª May 19 2:21 PM | 0 comments. A fascinating analysis of the typological thinking that defined the historical outlook of the Jews for many centuries, and an explanation of why the Jewish people has the image of itself as that of a people forever on the verge of ceasing to be. But the bad is not always the worst. To prepare oneself for the bad without preparing oneself for the worst: This is the spiritual challenge of a liberal order. [MetaFilter]

A very fascinating article, and it shows why peace will never be possible as long as people’s view of the world is distorted by ancient beliefs & prejudices. Inflexible, fundamentalist religious beliefs are the cause of all of the world’s problems today. Religion needs to evolve along with the changing world. So what if certain religious die out? Many religions have died out in the past.

On the other hand, I admire the Sunshine Cathedral, a Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), for their acceptance of other religions. Their spiritual hero for this week is Rabbi Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760), founder of the orthodox Hassidic sect. If every religion could be that accepting, the world would be much closer to peace.

Matthew Engel in The Guardian:

by

Matthew Engel in The Guardian: US media cowed by patriotic fever, says CBS star.

The White House was to blame for its failure to provide adequate information about the war, [Dan] Rather said. “There has never been an American war, small or large, in which access has been so limited as this one.

“Limiting access, limiting information to cover the backsides of those who are in charge of the war, is extremely dangerous and cannot and should not be accepted. And I am sorry to say that, up to and including the moment of this interview, that overwhelmingly it has been accepted by the American people. And the current administration revels in that, they relish that, and they take refuge in that.”

He said his view of the patriotism differed from that of the administration. “It’s unpatriotic not to stand up, look them in the eye, and ask the questions they don’t want to hear – they being those who have the responsibility, the ultimate responsibility – of sending our sons and daughters, our husbands, wives, our blood, to face death.”

As I’ve said before, if our country is going to go to war on our behalf, torture suspected terrorists, tolerate collateral damage, and for that matter, execute death-row inmates — if we are going to do all that, we damn well better know the truth about it.

If we’re too lazy, numb, frightened, or self-censored to ask the important questions and share what we learn with each other, we might as well sign over what’s left of our civil rights right now. It will be a lot easier to lose them, than it will be to get them back. [Jake’s Radio ‘Blog]

Ren and Stimpy return with

by

Ren and Stimpy return with 9 new episodes in 2003!

05-16-2002 09:35 PM

by Matt Wilson

TNN originally made the announcement of a brand new adult-animation

block on their network to launch in 2003. It would be featuring

cartoons like Stripperella, Gary the Rat, and, what seemed to be the

biggest surprise, Spumco’s Ren and Stimpy..

It was then mentioned by Jerry Beck at Cartoon Research that TNN was

in talks with John Kricfalusi to direct new episodes.

And now, the deal has been secured.

John K. signed a deal with TNN this Tuesday to direct not only 9

half-hour episodes of Ren and Stimpy, but even a made-for-TV movie as

well!

Beck reports that John is already at work on the storyboarding, but

there is no information as to whether Billy West will be called back

to play the role of Stimpy, or a replacement actor will be found.

So gather together your magic nose goblin collection, your “Don’t Whiz

on the Electric Fence” home game, and your local circus midget, and

get set to enjoy Ren and Stimpy all over again, next year! Joy!

"Youth Looks Forward but Age

by

“Youth Looks Forward but Age Looks Back”.

The Technology Behind Napster is Far from Dead

“Initially, Creative Commons is building technology that helps people license their work on terms they set. The idea is to create a database that can be easily queried by those who want to make further use of such works.

One of Lessig’s collaborators in this project is Aaron Swartz, who’s become well-known in several small but important corners of the Net. He’s working on the software that will help turn Creative Commons into a reality.

I knew of Aaron Swartz (www.aaronsw.com) before I met him last week at a World Wide Web conference in Hawaii. He’s here this week in Santa Clara, and will be on stage when Creative Commmons makes its official debut Thursday. He’s an object lesson to the dinosaurs who run Hollywood and think they can control the uncontrollable. The young people of this world will ultimately decide how this turns out.

Shawn Fanning was a college student in Boston when he created Napster. Aaron Swartz is 15.” [SJ Mercury]

I guess it’s the young that will inherit the earth, not the meek.

[The Shifted Librarian]

by

posted by swift ª May 15 4:40 PM | 11 comments. Colorado boys punished by school administrators for pretending index fingers are guns.The boys were shooting at imaginary aliens. One administrator says they “demonstrated a level of aggression” that violates the school’s zero-tolerance policy toward violence.

[MetaFilter]

This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. It demonstrates the stupidity of “zero tolerance” policies. What happened to logic & reason?

I really feel sorry for kids going to school now. They’re not allowed to play or have any kind of fun. Did the school adminstrators forget the things they did when they were kids?

The Free State Project. The

by

The Free State Project. The Free State Project aims to coordinate the move of approximately 20,000 “liberty-oriented” people to a state such as New Hampshire, and then proceed towards secession by “first reforming state law, opting out of federal mandates, and finally negotiating directly with the federal government for appropriate political autonomy.” [kuro5hin.org]

Interesting idea. Since Bush proclaims this a “Christian” country and I’m not a Christian, I don’t feel that this country’s government represents me. Only thing, I wish they’d move it to a warmer climate like Florida.