by A.J. Wood

More RIAA talk…

Today I was reminded of the difference between a rant and a good argument. Tuesday & Wednesday I spouted off about the RIAA and this afternoon I caught a well thought out post over at Bitch Has Word. (Side Note – If you are not reading this blog you should be, it’s been on my link bar for a while now)

I can’t argue a lot of the points BHW made, but I did want to clarify my rantings. I agree from a legal standpoint file sharing is copyright infringement. I also agree the issue has become an issue because the Internet exponentially increases the accessibility and volume of pirated media.

Perhaps BHW is right, maybe most people don’t care about whether the RIAA is a greedy corporation or if they work in the artist’s best interests. Downloaders think “No harm, no foul” and when the pressure is finally put upon them they’ll either make the purchase or find something else to spend money on.

I know that thousands of people downloading my sister’s CD would directly impact her pocketbook. It’s only sold for $10-12, but the production costs were significantly higher than anything the RIAA would pay.

A co-worker made the point the other day that he believes in a free market economy and if you can make $20 million a picture as Jim Carrey can than more power to ya. Cause if it were a matter of trading places almost everybody would volunteer.

It’s mid afternoon and I have no idea where my point went. We can all agree the RIAA is very bad. I guess I’m frustrated because I see life as we know it becoming too commercialized. I see a growing distinction and larger gap between the Haves and the Have-nots. I want to believe that most people are decent folk and it’s easy to get caught up in the Robin Hood syndrome when it comes to taking on the RIAA. I still stand by the points I made earlier this week; they could pay a little more attention to what their customer actually want and improve on their products.

Of course, I also wonder if my site turned pay-per-view would any of you still come by?

in Editorial / News 8 comments
 by A.J. Wood

An Open Letter To the RIAA & film Industry

I caught several headlines on the CNN website about the RIAA and I have to ask the question “When are you guys going to get a clue?”

I won’t deny that piracy is a legitimate issue, but I think your actions past & present are only helping to proliferate the problem. Shaking down 12yr olds for $2k will only increase the animosity felt by consumers and you can copy protect CDs all you want that won’t boost your sales either.

Back in high school I remember my sister taught me the art of making mix tapes. (Any DJ will tell you the wrong song will clear the dance floor or completely ruin the vibe of a tape). With all the hoopla the RIAA is spinning I haven’t read too much on the opposing side about preserving fair use copyrights. I certainly don’t want entertainment media to become like software where if I own three computers Bill “You Will Be Assimilated” Gates says I have to license three copies of Windows XP for $100 a pop. If I’m forced to buy one CD for my house, and another copy for my car and a third copy for my Discman then I’ll jump on the peer-to-peer bandwagon. Because inevitably after purchasing a CD you may be inclined to make your own remixes. I know for long road trips I want to have an overall mix of Rock, Metal & Hip-Hop. Record companies don’t sign songwriters or musicians anymore, they churn out homogenized automatons programmed from piles of market research data. If fair use copyrights are going away and copy protection is the future, consumers will expect a full return policy for your crappy products.

I stand by what I said earlier, if other industries have to cut costs by downsizing employees and slashing wages how come the entertainment industry doesn’t tighten it’s belt a little? Since 2000 I’ve seen the average salary in the IT industry reduced by almost 30%. Maybe that’s why nobody’s buying your f#ckin’ CDs, middle-class two income families can barely get by. A lot of folks have seen their annual raises reduced or even put on hold because of the economy. I want to see Jim Carrey settle for $1 million dollars a film instead of $20 million. It would be nice to read an entertainment story where the cast of Friends had to take a $500k per episode pay cut due to budget constraints.

I don’t have any easy answers for you. If I did I’d charge you $20 million dollars then hold out for two months while I renegotiated a better rate.

in Editorial / News 2 comments
 by A.J. Wood

The Top Reasons Women Are Like Cats

I was wondering how I might get Acidman to read an entry about cats, but then Ryan (The Ward) gave me some inspiration. Earlier today he kicked off an entry about relationships and gave some examples of how women treat men like dogs. In the spirit of that entry here is what I’ve learned about women by observing cats:

1. When walking into a room full of strangers cats know whose lap they will sit in. Women already know who they’re going home with when they walk into a bar.

2. Cats are jealous creatures by nature and even in a multi-cat household a cat will prefer you stroke only one pussy at a time. The cat determines how long each stroking session should last and once they are no longer in the mood the session is over – period. If woman decides to invite you to a multi-partner extravaganza keep in mind it’s all about the ladies. “Also be sure to take plenty of B vitamins, that shit is exhausting”. (Christian, Nip/Tuck)

3. Cats have problems with misdirected aggression. It’s not unusual for your cat to attack you after seeing another cat walk by the window outside your home. They are unable to focus their aggression on the outside cat who they perceive as violating their territory hence the unexpected pouncing. When walking with your woman in public she may have the tendency to smack you upside the head if you’re looking at another woman.

4. Once you bring a cat into your home everything that’s yours also belongs to the cat. Don’t expect to share anything that’s already owned by the cat. When you finally decide to cohabitate with your girlfriend your things quickly will become “our” things and anything of yours that is not appropriately marked by said girlfriend will be boxed or thrown away. More specifically, just because you paid half of the grocery bill does not mean you get to drink one of her yogurt smoothies.

5. After living with a cat for a while you will discover that whenever you are busy the cat will want your attention, but the moment you want to stroke your pussy it will be asleep, hiding, half-baked on catnip or especially not in the mood. A woman will ignore you from the moment you arrive home up until you turn on the television set to watch Monday Night Football then she’ll insist on telling you about her day. Any responses shouted during commercial will be ignored as will your sexual advances later that evening.

6. When it comes to getting your attention cats don’t distinguish between good behavior or bad behavior, but simply the fact that you are focused on them. To a cat rubbing on your leg and scratching your leather couch accomplish the same thing – your undivided attention. Women will also dictate when they want your attention in the form of a kiss (positive) or by setting fire to your DVD collection (negative).

7. Cats pride themselves on their independence. Hence, they’re not easily trained, they don’t do tricks, they don’t come when you call, they prefer to stay out all night, and when they’re home they like to be left alone to sleep. Women admire these qualities about cats and aspire to show you their grrl-power. It should be noted that this fiery independence so admired by women is quickly detested when present in a man.

Alrighty, that’s my list for now. I’ll be kickin’ around more reasons why women are like cats to update this entry. Men are like dogs, women are like cats.

in Editorial 12 comments
 by A.J. Wood

You vs. The Short Bus

It was my intention to post this rant yesterday, but lately I have been unable to dump concept/thought to keyboard. In my head I know what is it I want to say, but somehow the translation/context comes out completely different as I read over my entry.

Anyway, back to yesterday. During the usual morning jaunt to school the transmission blew in my car leaving me stranded on the highway. I suppose I could have shook clenched fists at the sky and screamed “Why O why have you forsaken me Lord?” but I saw the answer sprawled on the bumper sticker of some yuppie’s Lexus – All God’s Blessings Are For John Wayne. Apparently, I forgot to walk the dogma again…

Ryan would say I was just handed a ticket on the short bus, but after my knee-jerk reaction of getting pissed, all I could do was laugh. There was nothing at that moment I could do to improve my condition except call for a tow truck. My class wasn’t going to be put on hold because I wasn’t there, my assignments would still be due regardless of my attendance and I had no control whether the instructor would show any compassion for my circumstances. Before I got caught up thinking “How the hell will I get to work tomorrow?” I took a moment to realize the car dying in Dallas was a helluva lot better than the car dying over the weekend while Michelle & I were in Corpus Christi. Better yet, I was happy the rain had just stopped as I was leaving my apartment. Sometimes happiness comes in the finest of degrees and perception is reality.

My experience yesterday doesn’t make me any different or any more the same as the next person. Everybody has suffered through a bad day, it’s just some of us get all of ours lumped together in succession. I’ve been beat up, stepped on, turned down, laughed at, pissed on, stabbed, shot at, rejected, loved less, loved no more, passed over, come in second, chosen last and never measured up. I’ve survived bankruptcy, lasik surgery, ex-girlfriends, one night stands, fraternities, business ventures, lawsuits, identity theft and any number of bad decisions which I take full responsibility for and I don’t regret the experiences.

I won’t deny there are moments when I feel singled out by all the crap that I’m experiencing. Random badness soon weaves itself into a pattern and it’s only natural to attempt some form of rationalization. Some folks get by believing everything happens for a reason, others simply roll with life’s challenges. Personally, I’m just stubborn and I’m here before you today by sheer force of will. I refuse to play the victim when it comes to circumstance and while those close to me will attest I exaggerate problems or bitch loud when I pitch a fit, nobody can deny that through it all I manage to get things done. And that’s all I can suggest for anybody else – define your experiences, don’t let them define you.

Alrighty, that’s about all I can type during my lunch break. Will be headed to class after I get out of work and I’m still figuring out how the website will mix into all this. Nip/Tuck recap is still in the works, if I can post it from school later I will do so.

in Editorial / Motivation 3 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Linky Linky

Not much time to prattle off this morning as I’m hoping to haggle down my class time so I can get errands done before Michelle & I leave town. Yup, it’s another weekend in Corpus Christi. Actually, this will probably be the last weekend for me until Thanksgiving given the new schedule.

Acidman sums up the Ten Commandments fiasco just fine by me. I’m a man of faith, but I believe wholeheartedly in the Separation of Church & State. The U.S. government should not be seen as endorsing one religion over another. While I would agree too much emphasis (positive & negative) is being placed on a symbol the fact remains the folks praying for the monument to stay would also be protesting if that symbol represented Islam, Buddhism or any non-Christian religion.

Maybe our society is too smart to fall under any religious dogma, but then I look at other cultures that still subjugate their people to traditions that no longer hold any merit in this day & age. Of course, there are those that insist on protecting us from ourselves. What the dumb bastards at Zippo failed to realize is a high percentage of folks didn’t even know about zippotricks.com until they made such a stink about it.

I mean Carmen Electra is too busy thinking about sex to be concerned about safety hazards. Arnold Schwarzenegger had groupies just like her back in the 70’s. At least that’s what he told Oui magazine (that’s old school porn for all you young ones). Arnold was quite the stud back then, now he’s dependent on Maria and his lucky socks. (MP3 2.2MB download)

You know it’s a bad day when you visit the doctor for an earache and end up getting your penis worked on. Acidman would probably say that dude was screwed. That story made me think of this joke:

Two women are playing golf on a sunny afternoon when one of them slices her shot into a foursome of men.
To her horror, one of the men collapses in agony with both hands in his crotch.
She runs to him apologizing profusely, explaining that she is a physical therapist and can help ease his pain.
“No thanks… just give me a few minutes… I’ll be fine…” he replies quietly with his hands still between his legs.
Taking it upon herself to help the poor man, she gently undoes the front of his pants and starts massaging his penis.
“Doesn’t that feel better?” she asks.
“Well… Damn… That feels pretty good,” he admits. “But my thumb still hurts like hell.”

Heh heh heh, sure it’s an old joke, but it’s still damn funny. In closing, I’d like to pass along this advice to any gents looking to make big bucks as a male cabaret star. Don’t ever cut your act short, women take that shit seriously.

in Editorial 1 comments