Piracy

I've been avoiding writing about this subject for a little while, I just wanted to see how the tides were turning as it were.  I'm not writing about the Somali pirates but the Swedish court case against The Pirate Bay by the draconian International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

The guys who set up Pirate Bay have been found guilty of breaking copyright laws and been sentenced to serve a year in jail and fined £3M in damages.  They will appeal against the verdict and I for one hope that they manage to overturn the ridiculous charge.  Everyone who uses sites like The Pirate Bay know full well that there are no copyrighted files on their servers, they merely show you where to find them.  I fail to see how this is breaking a copyright law.  It's like charging an electronics website that sells DVD recorders because they sell equipment that has the potential to mass copy billions of films.

Let's face it, everybody has downloaded copyrighted material or has some kind of unpaid software on their computer somewhere.  It's just the way things are.  Making scapegoats out of these guys from Pirate Bay will not stop what is going on. So why bother fighting against the tide of public opinion, why not embrace it and find a way of getting people to pay for what they want to download.  I for one would pay a small amount for a film or a TV show, but the prices are currently way to high for my budget and when you hear about the amounts of money some films are generating it makes you see how greedy these copyright owners are.

Fair enough, you can argue that downloading copyrighted material stops future investment in new films and music and that the artists involved need recompense for the time it takes to create things.  I argue that they are already sufficiently remunerated for their time, most times in the millions so why are they whinging? If the material is worthy I would rather buy it than download it anyway simply because of the quality issue.

We all know that this isn't a new thing either.  When I was a kid I'd record songs from the radio onto audio cassette, yes kids, music was once available on plastic tape, plus I have recorded hundreds of films onto video from the TV. So what is so different from doing the same thing by using your computer? Nothing.  The companies involved are not losing any money because they would never have received it anyway and the last time I checked I don't fund terrorists, although I'm not sure what happened to that pile of enriched uranium I used to keep in my shed.

Although I know that there is no such thing as a free ride in this world I'm glad that there has been a backlash of public opinion on this subject, I especially like the demonstrations in Sweden where thousands of people went out onto the streets to support Pirate Bay.  

In saying this let me relate a little tale about the new upcoming film Wolverine which is due out this Summer.  Someone in the post-production labs leaked the film and within hours the work-print copy of the film had been downloaded millions of times.  As I understand it, this copy of the film has no music, limited special effects and has yet to be tightly edited.  Some people in the industry have already stated that the film is now unmarketable and will surely do very badly at the box office.  Even Hugh Jackman was said to be heart broken over what happened as he thought the film was going to huge!

I personally feel that nothing has changed for this film.  The people that go to the cinemas will still go to see it, the people who buy DVD's will still buy it if they feel it's worth their hard earned cash.  The broadcasting rights will still be sold and undoubtedly the film will still make multi-millions for all involved.  In fact I'll stake my reputation on it as I have seen the trailers and the film looks pretty awesome.

What do you reckon?

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Holodeck

For those of you who love Star Trek, here's a nifty little video for you of what I would regard as the beginnings of a future holodeck.

Amazing 3D immersion technology from IDEO Labs on Vimeo.

Early days yet, but I reckon this shows a lot of promise.

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Take Care Online

I read this little snippet on FML today and I burst out laughing.

by oxbbabexo

Today, I was talking to a guy I met online and have known for 4 years. I've fallen in love with him twice, one of those times being currently. He was supposed to visit this summer. I got an email from him saying he's really a 17 year old girl from Chesterfield, MO. FML.

It made me think about all those people I chat to online and if they are who they say they are.  I have been quite privileged over the last few years as I have met quite a few online friends, to name a few, Kazart, Chandramoon, Moomin, Fundy, Squilla, Honeychild; I even met and fell in love with one and lived with her for a year or so, plus I have spoken to many of you through Skype and even a few landline calls.  

So the above horror story has not applied to me, yet…. 

Oh, by the way, if I left you out up there, you must have been so boring I couldn't remember you, hehe, no not really, I just spouted a few names off the top of my head. 

I just can't imagine deceiving anybody like that, plus I don't think I could keep up the pretence for longer than ten minutes before I'd crumble and revert to my old self.  I suspect it would take a lot of self-control to keep a duplicitous life on the go, much like someone who commits adultery or is a bigamist, but unlike them there is the safety net of anonymity about online life.  You don't have to show your face and more than likely you live a continent away from the person that you are chatting to.  

I suppose this is why some people find it easy to write utter nonsense and filth online, or to flame peoples blogs and suchlike.  I doubt very much if anybody would have the gumption to write distasteful remarks about someone who lived in the same town as them, especially more so if that person was a nutcase like some right-wing zealots we have here at Vox.  

So, anybody have any nightmare stories like that one from FML?

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Tsk

I'm finding myself in a place where I no longer know who to trust.

Do I bother to keep trying?

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Few Thoughts

It took me two hours to walk home this evening, I wasn't even drunk.

I stopped off at my favourite places when I'm feeling the need to be on my own, one is by the stream as I love to sit there in the dark and listen to the water flow, I wasn't even thinking about anything, I was just sat there.

I'm not sure how long I was there, perhaps half an hour or so, but some drunkards came along and stood around about 50m away and kept on talking and ruining my meditation. So I walked away, a little further towards home and I'm near an old graveyard, it's very peaceful there.  There used to be a bench by the gate, but a couple of years ago some kids vandalised it and now all we have are a couple of concrete pillars. I like to sit there because if you are quiet enough some foxes and badgers come up to you.  I love being this close to nature.

It's really nice there, very quiet, sheltered by a couple of old oak trees and obviously the graves of a few people.  The moon was waxing gibbous and was filtering through the still bare branches and all I could hear was the sounds of the night.

It's very calm, it's very serene.

A total antithesis of being in a pub.  I have lost all interest in being around people recently. I like sitting in quiet places and not really thinking about anything in particular, just taking in the quiet. I must be burnt out or something, but I seem to find more enjoyment in being around trees and animals than I do from being around people.  Antisocial perhaps, but you have to remember that for most of my life all I have ever done is be the life of the party. I just find it boring now.

Any therapists out there? Tell me I'm not going mad!

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Subtlety

This was an email that came through that made me really laugh out loud.  It's just one of those wonderfully obscure and subtle jokes.  I love it.

All Your Base….

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Our Ken Would Like This…

I'm only going to post a link to this insidious video, called The Gathering Storm from The National Organisation of Marriage, I simply didn't want it dirtying my little haven in the cyber world.

It was brought to my attention by way of another blog I read, but I feel it's important to pass on these messages by fundamentalists.

For those of you on low bandwidth, the video consists of a few well chosen individuals and professionals denouncing same-sex marriage.  I wont go into detail, I'm sure that you all know the drill.

For the idiots out there like Ken, I'll state for the record that I'm not gay and I don't believe in marriage, although I respect other peoples right to be either or both.  I really can't see how the hell it would impugn upon anybody's lives other than the two people involved.  Why does a doctor have to choose between her faith and gay marriage? How does gay marriage affect someone who goes to church?  Why does two people of the same sex who love each other and want to celebrate their union with a piece of paper make a difference to anyone?

It doesn't.

What you have to remember is that most of the Christian world have based their entire belief upon the writings of a few goat herders from 2000 years ago, which was then re-written by power hungry zealots at the Council of Nicea to ensure that Christianity became the richest and most powerful religion this planet has ever seen.  And I always thought that God was love, not a money driven, profit making business, which sadly it has become.

So we regress slightly, back to what Christ, the Jewish fundamentalist terrorist, was meant to have been teaching everyone. In Gods eyes we are all equal and created in its image, so I suspect strongly that gays are also created in that same image, otherwise you are implying that God is wrong. And who are we to go against the word of the Almighty! 

I suspect this has something to do with the fear of the unknown, it's easy to castigate something you don't understand, and lets face it, these people who are against same-sex marriages don't have the intelligence to tie their own shoelaces, so they jump on the bandwagon their closeted gay priest, who more than likely likes young boys, tells them to. No wonder they call congregations flocks, it's easy being a sheep.

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More Fun With An Imbecile

I'm sure Bookmole wont mind if I post some of her comments from her blog here, it has been fun over the last couple of days playing with this truly remarkable individual.  Do you think it's cruel of me to play with someone who so obviously is insane and needs special care?

• ken wrote:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

bush was a very smart man,he liked to come across as a good ole texas boy.obama is a very stupid man so he works hard at looking smart.already more then half of the country's in the world insulted or tested obama in ways they never would have with bush.'he has a great gift for oratory''one of the biggest jokes on american blogs is that he never goes anywhere without his teleprompter,the teleprompter is in charge not obama..2012 is viewed by alot of people as a time of new hope i hope my country will have a new president that can give this hope

• Bookmole replied to ken’s comment:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

You are proof positive that the human race was not made in the image of god, as he would never be so blind or so stupid.

• KingOfAnkh wrote:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

Is it really possible that Ken is for real? Surely nobody can be that misguided and still be able to find food to feed himself.

• Bookmole replied to KingOfAnkh’s comment:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

I suspect he is a troll. I hope he is a troll, the alternative (that he is a real, living, breathing human being) is too scary for words.

• KingOfAnkh replied to Bookmole’s comment:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

I think what we have in the making here is another incarnation of the Unabomber without the intelligence to buy a stamp.

• Bookmole replied to KingOfAnkh’s comment:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

Snort! Off to work now, which I am not sure ken knows how to do. He sure seems to be available at all times.

• ken wrote:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

ah just another show of liberals disdain for reality,queen of ankh how old are you??? mole,you make all the sounds of a inner-city obama lover where did you say your from,, that you can be so blind to this farce of a president and the future is amazing ..now if i can just make it to 2012 …

• KingOfAnkh wrote:

• 2 days ago

• Reply

Well, since you ask Ken I'm old enough to use capital letters and understand that people like yourself will die at a young age from complications with your high blood pressure, usually from a malady called 'Notintouchwithrealityitus', which undoubtedly you suffer from.

The horrible thing is it affects others all around you, I prescribe a six week course of broken fingers, that way you wont be able to type.

Hell, who am I kidding, you probably type with your forehead….

• ken wrote:

• 11 hours ago

• Reply

sorry bookmole!!!!!!!!! hey queen of ankh just read your post on your page pick for a new job..i really belief with your childish demeaner,lack of brains and inability to form your own opinion,the forklift job would most likely suit you,you could also try janitor at a pre-school, or maybe and i'm saying maybe here a toll booth operator ,,well im wishing you luck don't ever give up ,,remember all you have to do is click your heels to geather three times,,and stop doing that to toto,your scaring the tinman

• KingOfAnkh replied to ken’s comment:

• 10 minutes ago

• Reply

Let's begin by correcting your spelling again shall we?

Belief should have been believe in that context

Demeaner is spelt demeanour

to geather should be together

Your use of the comma is staggeringly bad and please use the space bar more often; I have also mentioned the use of capitalisation previously, but I suspect it's far too hard a concept for you to understand.

I'm sat here wondering what you could possibly do for a living, your infantile outlook on life and obvious lack of education certainly curtails your employment prospects. I could see you as an evangelical preacher, but you have to have some iota of intelligence to pull off a scam like that. Perhaps a bushwhacker hunter of some description, but I doubt very much that the lax gun laws in the US would allow a person such as yourself to own a firearm.

Then I got thinking, could he possibly be able to drive for a living? But driving entails the usage of arms and legs at the same time, something I doubt your motor-neurones could cope with.

So that leaves me with a few possible options, toilet attendant, nah, you have to have some personality to clean a portaloo, even turds have feelings.

Lettuce washer as McDonalds, again I couldn't see you doing that either, I doubt you have the capability to keep your personal hygiene to a high enough degree to serve food.

Small table, again I doubt anybody would like to see you in their living rooms, even if it is only to hold an old newspaper and to rest ones feet upon.

I'm really at a loss….

I just can't see anywhere in society that a dolt like yourself can fit in and still lead a proactive existence.

I know, soap fetcher in a prison shower, providing two services for the price of one, no qualifications necessary and the hygiene problem should be easily overcome, I doubt your personal appearance would matter either, a few years inside and I'm sure a man doesn't care about how his bitch looks.

Keep taking the medication Ken, I'm sure the light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer, just make sure you take enough this time eh?

Sorry for spamming your blog Bookmole, I'll cease and desist now, I no longer find him amusing.

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Future Thoughts

I've spent a lot of time today searching the net for work, going through various job websites and searching through local company websites.  One thing is certain, there ain't many jobs out there at the moment.  The few that there are there mainly consist of occupations like carers and teachers, something I certainly don't have the aptitude for.

So as a final act of desperation perhaps, I looked through the training options at the job centre site, I was looking to see if there was something practical that I could do like a fork-lift drivers course or something.  There are some courses available but the funding isn't there for me, unless I take on a larger commitment; quite frankly I don't see myself being a fork-lift driver for the rest of my life.

So I started looking through stuff that interests me, like computers, design, photography, etc. Turns out that there are quite a few courses I can take which I'm eligible for.  The one that has caught my eye is a course titled 'Graphic Design & Illustration with Marketing BA (hons)'.  It's mainly a self study course with an open and flexible timeframe, it said that the duration of the course should take between 1-4 years and I could be eligible for a £4000 grant per level to cover costs and fees.  The course consists of three levels, so for people like Ken, I'll add it up for you, £12,000.  If I could dedicate myself to completing this course within a year and if I could live frugally for that time I feel this is a viable option.

So I called the Job Centre to see if I could book an appointment to talk about this option, unfortunately because they are so busy and because it's Easter weekend this week, they can't fit me in until my next regular appointment at the end of the month. Although this annoyed me slightly I feel like I have something to aim for now other than this endless searching for nothing.  Plus I'll be able to walk into that horrible Job Centre and not be made to feel like a failure if I have something that I feel is positive to discuss, not just sit there while they propose that I take on a job at Costa Coffee for £5 an hour.

My only concerns are getting approval for the course and being able to complete it within the initial year.  I'm more than qualified to take it as I have the relevant qualifications that are needed and I know my way around design practices and computers.

I hope that initially this will make me more attractive to design companies but eventually I'd like to start my own freelance online business offering web design and photoshop work.  I think this would be a very good first step on getting my arse into gear and finally finding a job I'd like to do.

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Unbelievable

I read this article in The Times today, I was utterly taken aback. 

Apparently a girl in Arizona is facing expulsion from school because she took her birth control pills at school.  Personally I couldn't see the problem here, especially with the problem of teenage pregnancies. But as I read further into the article I was agog with the stupidity of what is going on in American schools.

Kids and young adults are not allowed to take any form of drug into school regardless.  Not even a cough sweet!  Okay, I see the need to take a tough stance on illegal drug taking in schools, but why the total ban on medicines? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Let me give you an example that is very close to home for me should my family be living in Arizona.  My niece had a liver transplant when she was a toddler, she is currently having to take a concoction of different anti-rejection drugs and medicine to combat seizures she gets because of the amount of drugs she has to take throughout the day.  She will have to do this for the rest of her life.  So this poor girl who has already had to go through so much in her life would have to be home-schooled because of her condition.  She would be denied access to learning simply because of her health. Denied access to creating friendships and learning about social interaction because the state has gone too far in their battle with illegal drugs.

I also was dumbfounded that a girl was strip searched at school on suspicion of taking an ibuprofen.  I really don't think such a thing should be allowed, are we living in a despotic tyranny? Not only will this girl be psychologically damaged by what her peers were allowed to do to her, I feel it goes beyond the boundaries of what school staff are entitled to do.  In the UK a teacher could face an assault charge in they so much as touch a pupil nowadays, which is another extreme in my opinion.  So I'd expect that the staff members who strip searched this girl would be facing an sexual assault charge if they were in a school in Britain, resulting in them losing their jobs and being put on a sexual offenders list for five years.  Not a bad thing in my view.

Also, since when is sunscreen a drug? I'd expect that in places like Arizona, which I believe does have a lot of sunshine, you should be using sunscreen pretty much all of the time.  So a ban on sunscreen puts these kids at risk of skin cancer and dermalogical problems in the future. Utter madness.

Now please, I know there are quite a few American readers who read my blog, please tell me this is not the norm in America…..

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