Let's revisit piracy...
Imagine that every time a new novel came out, one person would buy it, scan all the pages, then give it away on the internet for free. I would assume that pretty soon the writers would have no incentive to write and there would be no new books.
Think about that.
But please don't talk to me about percentages of profit or how much people make at live performances, etc. That has nothing to do with the issue.
This is a toothbrush that fits over the tip of your tongue...
What took them so damn long?!
Did you move your tongue around your mouth to see what the tongue tooth brush would feel like?
A very wise man once told me that it matters not whether I was born homosexual or I just decided one day to try it and liked it. We are Americans and whether I was born with it or chose it is none of your fucking business.
The same wise man told me that I have no inherent "right" to do as I wish, and that all human behavior is governed by societal mores that have developed over time.
I agree, but my societal mores tell me that I have a right to be left the fuck alone.
The same wise man told me that I have no inherent "right" to do as I wish, and that all human behavior is governed by societal mores that have developed over time.
I agree, but my societal mores tell me that I have a right to be left the fuck alone.
An old OOMVO...
In a parallel universe far, far away...
Suggestion: Have a lot of passwords you can't remember and don't want to leave a list sitting around your office? Then open a document, paste a poem to it (or whatever) then below that, list your passwords. Only change the passwords font color to white and nobody will know they are there. You can only see it by highlighting the list.
You're welcome.
People like him is the reason 99% of the public don't commit felonies...
Tag line for Trojan Condoms: "Can't wait to get it on."
Brilliant.
Also, I cringe every time I hear the line "Gas station sushi" in that TV ad for some insurance company.
Seriously, I heard an explanation that tried to explain all of human activity.
The line across the middle indicates the comfort zone of your life line.
As time passes, you periodically edge up out of your comfort zone toward panic, then you do whatever you have to do to avoid it.
The same goes for boredom.
And the farther away from the comfort zone, the more desperate your actions.
My nephew sent me some pics of his trip to the desert with his children.
He didn't know if it was permitted, but he and each of his children added a small rock to this pile.
The same goes for boredom.
And the farther away from the comfort zone, the more desperate your actions.
My nephew sent me some pics of his trip to the desert with his children.
He didn't know if it was permitted, but he and each of his children added a small rock to this pile.
That looks very much like a cairn, which is a stack of stones (or wood) used as a marker for travelers that come after you.
He lives in Texas, so this sign is not all that unusual...
HELP REQUIRED: I loved the visual of the sun and planets showing the spiral paths of the planets. It explained a lot to me. But we know that there are satellites that are in polar orbit; meaning they orbit "north and south", passing over both poles. So, how would this look in the visual with a moving earth?
You think they did this on purpose?
"From History Channel's The Bible".....think about that just a moment.
I can only assume this is correct...
But the police are concentrated in the black communities...that's where the crime is! That's not what I say, that's what the FBI crime stats say.
My wife was the only woman I've ever met that broke all ten commandments on the first date.
(she killed a bottle of Jack Daniels)
I so hope this is true.
Watched a movie about Ed Gein. He was the real guy that many movies were based on; like, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface, Psycho, and Silence of the Lambs.
Yeah, he was that bad. Just Google that motherfucker....if you dare.
Watched a movie about Ed Gein. He was the real guy that many movies were based on; like, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface, Psycho, and Silence of the Lambs.
Yeah, he was that bad. Just Google that motherfucker....if you dare.
OOMVO...
OOMVO...
A few murals from around the world...
Had a city official ask me if I could do something like this. I told him the question wasn't whether I could, but rather why should I since it's already been done.
Do not call this a mural. Writing your name on a building gets no respect from me.
Colorful? Playful? Yes.........Art? No.....
You public art people come from a long, long line of similarly motivated creative people. Don't settle for writing your fucking name with a spray can. You are better than that...
With that said, I would like to expound. I know that there is a whole genre of street art dedicated to elaborate letter manipulation. I don't understand it. I want to understand it. All you muralists out there who follow Folio Olio, and I know you are out there, please explain it to me. I will post or not post your comments as requested.
Thanks.
A scientist was asked if he believed there was life somewhere else in the universe. He said that from just what we can see of the universe there were estimated to be 100,000,000 000,000,000,000,000 solar systems. So, the answer was yes.
Thanks.
A scientist was asked if he believed there was life somewhere else in the universe. He said that from just what we can see of the universe there were estimated to be 100,000,000 000,000,000,000,000 solar systems. So, the answer was yes.
I bet when cheetahs race and one of them cheats, the other one goes, "Man, you're such a cheetah!" and they laugh and eat a zebra or whatever.
This just ain't right, ya'll....
I still get up and turn on the news first thing in the morning...
...and if there is no news of another terrorist attack on a US city, I know it will be a good day.
"Wish I was where I was when I was wishing I was here."
NO POST TOMORROW.
7 comments:
Good morning, Ralph. I'm trying to think of what to say so that you don't think this is an advertisement or spam, and I've got nothing. But, I've read your whole blog and read it M-F and think you would enjoy this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Universe-Aliens-Everybody-Solutions-Extraterrestrial/dp/0387955011
I can't really recall you ever having an opinion on UFOs or ETs. Maybe a comic or two. And your posts about Science/scientists in general. I would really like to see what comes out of you regarding the topic of the book. I've always loved paradoxes of all kinds and Fermi's paradox, in my opinion, is the one that when it's solved will have more impact than any other thought of Man.
On a totally separate note, all the Art/art painters I've ever met put their name in the painting. Some just bigger than others.
-grape
Imagine that every time a new novel came out, the author provided it for free (at little to no cost via BitTorrent) as a pre-made digital edition alongside the pay-for print edition. Imagine she also made it very easy and straightforward to visit her site and buy the same otherwise-free digital edition and/or to simply give her any amount more than $1.
Imagine a demographic which likes the author and/or the topic of the book. Imagine them reading the book for free and liking it so much they later went to the author's site to give her some cash. Imagine a thousand people doing that. That's thousands worth of almost pure profit the author absolutely would not have had if she hadn't given the book out for free and allowed for flexible pricing.
Further imagine all sorts of people talking about the novel after getting it for free—perhaps mentioning it on their own blogs and social networks. Imagine that networked popularity resulting in still more people buying both the print and digital versions of the book. Imagine the author had a back catalog of books or other content which could also be bought very straightforwardly, and imagine people just getting turned onto her work also buying her other wares.
Could anything like that happen?
Sure seems like it can.
---
Technology for transmitting digital content will always change faster than control-oriented people can adapt to it. Perhaps the best course of action when faced with such a reality is to try using the the ease of digital sharing to one's advantage...
See also this article at Rock, Paper, Shotgun: Anodyne’s Pirate Bay Promotion Made Them Lots Of Dosh. Basically, two independent game developers advertised their game at one of the more prominent piracy databases (and they also made it available there for free download). And what happened? Surely Armageddon ensued? A snippet:
"During the three day promotion, they saw around $11,500 come in via Humble, $577 from Fastspring, around $200 from Desura and GamersGate, about $100 in BitCoin donations, and around $175 for the soundtrack on BandCamp. So that’s a total of $12,552 for the two-man indie team.
To put that in perspective, in the ten days beforehand (during which the game received coverage and thus incoming traffic) they had 40,000 unique visitors to their website, and sold around 900 copies – the three days of the promo saw double the revenue of those previous ten days."
Advertising at a place where people could just "steal" a thing increased purchases of said thing? Illustrative...
Dear Master Bates,
Still not convinced.
By listing all lottery winners, you could make a point of how logical investing in tickets are.
But that's not the point. There are very powerful - albeit slower to take advantage of the digital advantages of the internet - people who are pissed that they could be left out of the loop. These are the people who buy lawmakers.
When you couple that with cyber-terrorism (ie, shutting down the banking system) and previously bought lawmakers are more than motivated to take action.
Further, you know I'm not talking about the authors who sign on to voluntary contributions from the start. Right now, most "artists" want to SELL CD's, and so does their very powerful CEO's. These people will fuck with your internet.
I misread you.
Goons are already fucking with the internet! I agree that the old school media types—people and groups that still want to sell physical media like CDs—are buying lawmakers and attempting to sink their draconian regulatory fangs into the internet. The same sort of technophobic reactionaries prosecuted Aaron Swartz, for example.
I don't think simple luck factors into being successful online anymore than it factors into being successful offline. Luck certainly plays a big role in both realms, but I don't think it's anywhere near "winning the lotto" levels of luck. There will always be a few people who are successful more through luck than anything else, but for everybody else success requires some combo of luck, discipline, hard work, etc.
Regarding the murals: as somebody who painted both big, photorealistic stuff and just plain letters, I still don't see why would a wall painting of a giant wasp or a fake window be more art(istic)? Most people just prefer a realistic painting than something they don't understand, and this was the case since the beginning of the time;
It's funny for me that during all my art history classes I learned about public rage and dislike when some new "ism" appeared, then regardless it became recognized and a part of history.
It's the same now with graffiti: what once started as a rebellion of a bunch of kids who wrote their name everywhere (and I don't think they thought about themselves as artists) is now a contemporary art form with a lot of different "sub-styles":
-there are still some, who think writing their name is some rebellion against the system, and don't consider themselves artists
-others prefer painting on trains,
-some specialize in photorealistic stuff,
-and then there is street art with all those stencils and stickers and other similar public interventions.
Now, what's the difference between a non-figurative, colorful mural that nobody understands but think it's nice because it's better than a grey wall, or a non-figurative colorful mural that happens to have some stylized letters that nobody can see or read but think it's nice because it's better than a grey wall? For a random citizen, it's the same thing... And I'm not talking about so called "tags" aka the plain signatures that fuck up everything, but the works that the author put some time, energy or risk to paint it.
BTW, that image with the colorful/playful comment: those yellow/red works are made by the same twin brothers as these murals: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1922&bih=956&q=os+gemeos+mural&oq=os+gemeos+mural&gs_l=img.3..0l8j0i24l2.21.2672.0.2845.15.12.0.0.0.0.305.1628.1j1j4j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.7.img.mlrcuZQ8Hwo Why can't you look at those things as works from a painter who have good masterpieces and also some average ones? A lot of "own-name-writing vandals" later became recognized artists who now sell out gallery shows or work as designers, painters etc. Who says only college graduates are allowed to create art? A diploma doesn't make you an artist in my opinion...
Anyways, at the end of the day, graffiti is still a phenomena that will keep dividing the people whether it's art or not. But as long as somebody doesn't come up with an universal definition of art, it will be hard to decide! ;)
Very, very well put, my friend. Keep up the good work and this old man will try to keep up...I mean that.
A tooth (plural teeth) is a undersized, calcified, whitish structure start in the jaws (or mouths) of innumerable vertebrates and occupied to defeat down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also take teeth for the purpose hunting or in place of defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are covered by means of gums. Teeth are not made of bone, but degree of multiple tissues of varying density and hardness.
The community make-up of teeth is similar across the vertebrates, although there is respectable converting in their fabric and position. The teeth of mammals drink esoteric roots, and this pattern is also initiate in some fish, and in crocodilians. In most teleost fish, regardless how, the teeth are spoken for to the outer rise of the bone, while in lizards they are fastened to the inner interface of the jaw during one side. In cartilaginous fish, such as sharks, the teeth are unavailable by means of tough ligaments to the hoops of cartilage that construct the jaw.
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