It's actually not that far fetched an idea, Mayor Bloomberg as the 53rd President of the US. With the current Republican and Democratic platforms harkening back to outdated administrative approaches the time may be ripe for our first ever Independent President. Either way this means that 2008 will be a year of firsts. Will we have our first Italian American, Black American, Woman American or Independent American in office?
Gives me the shivers.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Podcasting
This is the future of the video medium, no doubt about it.
Like video games, no one really has the time or the money to spend on things like movies which are ridiculously expensive and require a 1.5 - 2 hour time investment and even television is expanding to a 1 hour time block standard. A busy individual like myself doesn't have the free time to follow a series like Heroes or Survivor, shows that are ripe with annoying commercial blocks and that take up time I could be spending with my family or doing something constructive. Instead I can go stream a 5-10 minute podcast that is just as amusing and doesn't have nearly as much obtrusive advertising. On top of that I can catch the webisodes at my own pace and don't have to invest in a TiVo just so I can keep up with shows broadcast on a network schedule.
Indeed, the future is very efficiently entertaining.
Like video games, no one really has the time or the money to spend on things like movies which are ridiculously expensive and require a 1.5 - 2 hour time investment and even television is expanding to a 1 hour time block standard. A busy individual like myself doesn't have the free time to follow a series like Heroes or Survivor, shows that are ripe with annoying commercial blocks and that take up time I could be spending with my family or doing something constructive. Instead I can go stream a 5-10 minute podcast that is just as amusing and doesn't have nearly as much obtrusive advertising. On top of that I can catch the webisodes at my own pace and don't have to invest in a TiVo just so I can keep up with shows broadcast on a network schedule.
Indeed, the future is very efficiently entertaining.
Monday, November 5, 2007
A word on Net Neutrality from the Ask A Ninja guys.
Let me start off by saying we love all of our friends and fans that we've made through Myspace.
But sometimes Myspace the company does some gross stuff that violates the spirit it was created under and the values of the Internet itself.
Over the last few months there has been a lot of debate over Net Neutrality, which basically boils down to one company blocking access to to another companies servers in order to gain a business advantage. This debate has usually focused on the companies that charge for bandwidth like AT&T, but recently Myspace has pioneered a new form -- blocking sites that users link to in their bulletins and profiles.
Right now if you link to anything at a site like "http://revver . com" (remove the spaces) Myspace will delete the link. Try it. That sucks right?
Revver is not the only site. There are dozens of smaller video and photo sharing sites that they are doing this to.
Why should you care?
Ask A Ninja was created because we were in control of where we posted the videos. That's a big deal because if we're forced to put them on MySpace video then FOX could take the episodes and make money off of them without paying Douglas or me anything. Which isn't fair and takes away the incentive to create cool shows for you to watch.
Why is this against Net Neutrality? Because videos from Myspace Video and Youtube are not effected. It's only these smaller, more innovative companies that haven't been sold for billions of dollars.
Here's what you can do:
Copy this bulletin. Repost it. Blog about it. Make Tom put up a little fix it bulletin saying he's sorry.
Once you've reposted this, send a message to Tom (http://myspace.com/tomanderson) like this (or even better, write your own):
I'm sending this message to request that MySpace stop blocking videos from sites like Revver. Choosing the video-sharing service that is right for me is very important and is why you built Myspace. What I like most about MySpace is that I can generally do what I want here. I like that Myspace is a relatively open platform where I can communicate with my friends (and promote my stuff) in all sorts of ways. I feel good about sharing videos from Revver because I know they respect copyright and look out for independent artists. Please bring back Revver!
For those of you who don't know Ask A Ninja feel free to check out askaninja.com. I guarantee it'll tickle your funny bone.
But sometimes Myspace the company does some gross stuff that violates the spirit it was created under and the values of the Internet itself.
Over the last few months there has been a lot of debate over Net Neutrality, which basically boils down to one company blocking access to to another companies servers in order to gain a business advantage. This debate has usually focused on the companies that charge for bandwidth like AT&T, but recently Myspace has pioneered a new form -- blocking sites that users link to in their bulletins and profiles.
Right now if you link to anything at a site like "http://revver . com" (remove the spaces) Myspace will delete the link. Try it. That sucks right?
Revver is not the only site. There are dozens of smaller video and photo sharing sites that they are doing this to.
Why should you care?
Ask A Ninja was created because we were in control of where we posted the videos. That's a big deal because if we're forced to put them on MySpace video then FOX could take the episodes and make money off of them without paying Douglas or me anything. Which isn't fair and takes away the incentive to create cool shows for you to watch.
Why is this against Net Neutrality? Because videos from Myspace Video and Youtube are not effected. It's only these smaller, more innovative companies that haven't been sold for billions of dollars.
Here's what you can do:
Copy this bulletin. Repost it. Blog about it. Make Tom put up a little fix it bulletin saying he's sorry.
Once you've reposted this, send a message to Tom (http://myspace.com/tomanderson) like this (or even better, write your own):
I'm sending this message to request that MySpace stop blocking videos from sites like Revver. Choosing the video-sharing service that is right for me is very important and is why you built Myspace. What I like most about MySpace is that I can generally do what I want here. I like that Myspace is a relatively open platform where I can communicate with my friends (and promote my stuff) in all sorts of ways. I feel good about sharing videos from Revver because I know they respect copyright and look out for independent artists. Please bring back Revver!
For those of you who don't know Ask A Ninja feel free to check out askaninja.com. I guarantee it'll tickle your funny bone.
So I Misspelled Rhythm?
Yeah, sure as corn is shucked. Was it on purpose? OF COURSE! Well okay so it was actually a careless mistake but frankly the cavalier part of me says that I don't make mistakes. It is mistaken of course but being dead wrong in this case isn't bad for my health so I'll humor it. To distinguish between rhythm (from the Greek) and rythmn (from the Lee) let us define the two more precisely.
Rhythm (n.)
1. Movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions: the rhythm of the tides.
2. The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.
3. The pattern of musical movement through time.
Rythmn (n.)
1. To wit, the driving force behind the pathos and bathos of life.
2. A reference to Ryth, an imaginary place where theory and reality collide regularly and dramatically.
3. An unpatterned pattern, also a pattern disrupted and deflowered by the harsh light of honest skepticism.
And so we have it, a new idea is born from accident. Fairly typical I'd say.
Rhythm (n.)
1. Movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions: the rhythm of the tides.
2. The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.
3. The pattern of musical movement through time.
Rythmn (n.)
1. To wit, the driving force behind the pathos and bathos of life.
2. A reference to Ryth, an imaginary place where theory and reality collide regularly and dramatically.
3. An unpatterned pattern, also a pattern disrupted and deflowered by the harsh light of honest skepticism.
And so we have it, a new idea is born from accident. Fairly typical I'd say.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Just how wrong is wrong?
Reproductive Mechanics is a very important field for both medical and sociological study, after all a good 50% or more of our time is tied up in either trying to get some or taking care of the nine-month product of that we have gotten. I propose therefore that all US colleges and universities immediately form a Reproductive Mechanics department to offer comprehensive multi-field analyses on how the act and desire for the act drive our economy, politics, collective sub-conscious and other social engines.
Of course this would involve admitting to ourselves that we are, at base, highly sexual creatures, and some of us are highly concerned that this is not a progressive line of thinking. To those of us who are still convinced that God did not intend for us to fuck like animals I invite you to consider Star Trek -- oft touted by fans as a seminal (har) vision of the future of man -- and the first question that crosses the average fan's mind when the crew of the USS Enterprise encounters a new alien species: "Where does it go?"
So is it wrong? Or Just Plain Wrong? Alien sex that is. Question of the day.
Of course this would involve admitting to ourselves that we are, at base, highly sexual creatures, and some of us are highly concerned that this is not a progressive line of thinking. To those of us who are still convinced that God did not intend for us to fuck like animals I invite you to consider Star Trek -- oft touted by fans as a seminal (har) vision of the future of man -- and the first question that crosses the average fan's mind when the crew of the USS Enterprise encounters a new alien species: "Where does it go?"
So is it wrong? Or Just Plain Wrong? Alien sex that is. Question of the day.
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