Socialist Sushi

Today’s Kudzu is too good for words.

Cory Doctorow has this nice tidbit at boing boing blog:Labels are data-mining the P2Pnets

You mean the record companies would try to get a benifit from P2P? *gasp*

Really, the whole thing is funny. They artificially inflate prices, try to use lawsuits to keep their business model going, but there’s still a segment in there that sees the benifit of Kaaza, et al.

Labels are data-mining the P2Pnets
BigChampagne, a P2P metrics company that generates Billboard-charts for file-sharing nets, is the subject of a Wired article in which they reveal that their customers are the same labels whose industry association is suing everyone from 12 year old girls to university profs for using those nets.

I generally dislike the blacklist sites like SPEWS, but I love this. It’s great to see someone fighting the spammers — and winning — as well as not letting people who file stupid alwsuits get away with it. The article is definately worth a read.

Wired News: No Truce in the Spam Wars

Just months after launching a sweeping lawsuit against a group of spam opponents, the lawyer representing EmarketersAmerica.org has suddenly waved a legal white flag.

Attorney Mark Felstein last week filed a “notice of voluntary dismissal” in Florida federal court. The effort appears aimed at withdrawing the e-mail marketer group’s recent lawsuit against a handful of spam blacklist operators, including London-based Spamhaus. The April 14 suit accused the antispammers of libel, invasion of privacy, business interference and other charges, and requested a jury trial.

But rather than welcoming the seeming surrender by EMarketersAmerica.org (EMA), the defendants’ attorney Pete Wellborn said the case should go on. According to Wellborn, he wants to send a message to junk e-mailers who launch legal attacks: Don’t start what you can’t finish.

I love The Register. This article, RIAA keeps 12-year-old quiet with $2,000 bill, shows why.

A snippet:

This settlement has taught us a few valuable lessons about the RIAA’s methodology. Apparently, young teens hit the copyright infringement scale at the $2,000 mark. College students, by contrast, must cough up between $12,000 and $17,000 for their violations, as we saw earlier this year. So any parents out there with children under 12 can expect their precious tots’ crimes to cost around $1,000. That’s comforting.

It’s also clear that the RIAA has no leniency for the less well off in society. Brianna happened to live in a New York Housing Authority apartment, which provides safe, affordable housing to low- and moderate-income families. The music label executives are struggling to pay the rent on their penthouse apartments because of file-trading, so why cut the lower class some slack? We all have needs.

This is why I’m coming more and more to support indie music. Anyone know of a good source for indie Christian music?

The Doc Searls Weblog: Proof it’s getting harder to write fiction

Most people will be coded green and sail through, but up to 30 percent of Internet users will be coded “yellow” and will undergo additional screening. An estimated 5 to 6 percent will be labeled “red” and will have their Internet connections cut, their homes raided within an hour, all computer equipment seized, dogs shot, and themselves arrested and sent to the RIAA’s massive detention facility in Mojave, CA.

Mark Pilgrim has this great quote:
these days [dive into mark]

when i finally broke down last year and got a cell phone (which, incidentally, *is* one of the things i can no longer live without), the salesman made a big deal about the different ring tones. i asked “is there one that sounds like a phone ringing?” he assured me there was, then went behind the counter and rolled his eyes when he thought i wasn’t looking

I resisted getting a cell phone for years. I actually didn’t get one until just before my wedding. Amber was on her way to Albany, Ga for one of her bridal showers. It was a Friday afternoon, about 5, and I was planning to go to a book store, maybe catch a movie, just basically goof off for a few hours that evening. I was just about to leave the office when my desk phone rang; it was Amber. She had a flat tire just outside of Metter (about an hour away).

On the way out there to get her car back on the road (there was no way she could drive either to Albany or back to Savannah on the little flimsy spare) it occurred to me that, if she had called 2 minutes later she would have been unable to get in touch with me for several hours at least. When I arrived at her car on the side of the highway the first thing I said to her after making sure she was OK was, “When you get back home, go ahead and get us a couple of cell phones.” To this day, the main reason I carry one is so Amber can get in touch with me.

But these ring tones… they drive me nuts. And why is it that people get these expensive phones, then leave them sitting on their desk and walk away? And why is it that people who do this always have the volume set LOUD ENOUGH TO WAKE THE DEAD?

So I understand what Mark is saying. I don’t have the phone because it’s a fashion accessory; I have it so certain folks — my wife, my family, close friends, church members — can get in touch with me. I don’t want it to play songs, I want it to ring. I don’t want it to make random beeps and boops; I took a lot of time figuring out how to turn most of that crap off… now my phone only makes noise if someone is calling me.

And — believe it or not — I don’t always want to be reached. This is the main reason I resisted getting a cell phone in the first place. People would “but then people can always call you!” Yeah, well, that sounds like the outer rings of hell to me. And those rings probably sound like a bad MIDI version of Beethoven’s 5th or something.

While I’m in rant mode… the one feature I can’t stand on any phone is callwaiting. Is this not the rudest invention ever? You’re talking to someone and there’s this beep and suddenly the person is telling you, in some form or fashion, “Hold on a sec, this may be someone more important than you.” I think I’m going to adapt the attitude of one of my uncles, who refuses to be placed on hold. Even if it’s his boss: “Can you hold for a second?” “No, I’m busy. Call me back.”

It shouldn’t be that difficult, you know, to keep in touch with people. Just regular rings, talking to one person at a time, etc… how boring am I?

Amber got to see Derek Webb in concert last night. According to her he talked as much as he sang, which doesn’t surprise me at all. It seemed to bother some people, probably because they made the mistake of thinking you come to church to be entertained.

He talked a lot of sin and repentance. This doesn’t surprise me, either, given the tone of his album. I’ve noticed that neither of the Christian radio stations in my area will play his songs, most likely because of the controversy of his calling the church a whore.

The problem with getting offended by that is that it’s exactly what the Bible calls the church on several occassions. See Ezekiel 16.

I guess you should be offended by that. But the reality is that your feeling should cause you to turn from your ways, not shoot the messenger. Why is the church in America so weak? Because we act just like everyone else; instead of examing ourselves we decide try to ignore the truth others are showing us.

My wife tells me that as they were leaving someone we know said, “He’s kinda hard on himself. Hasn’t he ever heard of the “joy of the Lord?” I imagine Mr. Webb would reply that our friend has probably heard too much about it. Without repentance, without giving yourself completely to Christ, you’ll find no joy in him. I’m thrilled to find someone who will rise about the musical hand-holding that has plauged the CCM scene for too long.

What a crappy way to start the day:
Singer, Songwriter Warren Zevon Dies

I was first turned onto Zevon in high school by my French teacher. I enjoyed his music then, and still do now. Some catchy tunes with the most bizarre lyrics, Zevon showed a talent for keeping people off balance, and I loved it.

I’m sure there are other people writing gloriously twisted lyrics, but I doubt many can do it with the joy Warren Zevon seemed to take from it. It takes a special person to be twisted and happy, and he always struck me that way. His death leaves a void that may not be filled.

Just some quick links before I have to get back to work 8)

Two from Doc:
Don’t Screw with a connected customer
eDecmocracy Explained

More Stupid Lawyer Tricks

Lessig’s going off the air til his child is born.

Saw a notice just now about indie films being distributed just on the internet. This should prove interesting. I mean back in the dot-com days we all heard we were gonna watch films online. Uh huh, yeah.

Ripped shamelessly from Slashdot:

thisisnotalovesong.com hosts something of a first - a film that is being distributed over the Internet because independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters. At a time when everything on seems to be a sequel it would be nice to have something original on the silver screen, but unless you live near the 5 cinemas in the UK where this is been shown you will have to do with your own small screen. The film is being distributed in Windows Media format, either streamed or for download. The code you pay for (2 to 3 UK pounds) allows you to watch as many times as you like. The catch for most of you reading is that it is only for people in the UK. More coverage is available from the BBC.

Even though I feel the same about most movies as I do about Radio and TV, I still like watching em. Watching more indie flicks, but there’s just not much opportunity in the Savannah area. I hope this thing does well; I’ll probably sign up, even though it’s just Windows Media Format.

Update The Reg has a good article: Full Monty writer premieres new film on Net