Month: September 2003

it’s only a sin if women do it

The Seattle Times has anointed its choices for local offices and when I briefly skimmed the list, I saw what appeared to be a trend. Of the three city council members who were pilloried over some questionable rezoning votes on behalf of a (gasp) strip club, the two women are deemed unworthy to be returned to office, with the rezoning fiasco as a big factor, while the only man of the three is considered a strong, moral leader despite the recent lapse in judgment.

The big difference between the three seems to be inexperience on the part of the two women (councilman Compton has been in the game a bit longer): the Times has other issues with the two rookies, but by citing the strip club mess as a factor in all three endorsements, it raises some questions.

  1. Why are only the women in trouble for the appearance of impropriety in the rezoning debacle? Wouldn’t a more experienced hand politico be more likely to know better?
  2. Why are the candidates endorsed all men? I realize the choice has to made from whoever declares for the seat, but it just looks odd in the context of the different judgements meted out for the rezoning matter.

Rosenkrantz, Min to replace Nicastro
Judy Nicastro deserves a political thrashing for taking campaign money from the friends of a strip club, voting for a city ordinance at the request of the club and defending it all

Della instead of Wills
And Wills is up to her nose in the latest Seattle embarrassment, the campaign-finance shenanigans surrounding a Lake City strip club.

Wills voted — twice — for a rezone that would permit expansion of the club’s parking lot.

Re-elect Compton
His strengths, value and service to the community were not diminished or defined by lapses of attention and judgment during council land-use proceedings involving a Lake City strip club.

Compton argues his vote still fits the land-use facts, but readily concedes the troubling proximity of politics, money and requests for help, and the council’s failure to follow rules about outside contacts.

The RIAA != recording artists

File-Sharing Battle Leaves Musicians Caught in Middle

A few artists, like Metallica and Loudon Wainwright III, have come out strongly in favor of the record industry’s crackdown. It could be seen as a gutsy move, considering the criticism Metallica faced from music fans when it campaigned against the file-sharing service Napster, which was declared illegal.

In a new song, “Something for Nothing,” Mr. Wainwright makes fun of the mentality of file sharers, singing: “It’s O.K. to steal, cuz it’s so nice to share.” As for the lawsuits, he said that he was not surprised. “If you’re going to break the law, the hammer is going to come down,” he said.

At the same time, other influential musicians and groups — like Moby, System of a Down, Public Enemy, and the Dead — contend that the record industry’s efforts are misguided and that it must work with the new technology instead of against it.

Some interesting background in this article: who would expect the Backstreet Boys not to have been paid any royalties? Of course, they may have gotten advances that made the issue moot: entertainment industry accounting practices make WorldCom look transparent by comparison.

I wrote almost a year ago that musicians should take a leaf from the movie stars of the 20s and 30s and start their own record labels. Author paulPosted on Categories observations

How old are you?

Your RealAge is 35.2

Not that I’m putting too much credence into this,but it is interesting to see what factors are considered beneficial for long-term health. I think the test gives too much credit for some factors. Still worth the few minutes, I think. And you can create a profile that you can check back on later.

You say you want a revolution


Ars Technica: The Beatles are suing Apple… again

Now it looks like Apple Computer is in the crosshairs of the lawyers again. Rumors of a potential suit started to circulate early in the summer, but there was no strong evidence that Apple was going to get dragged into court again. Now FoxNews is saying that papers have been filed in the UK. Given the fact that Apple Computer has already been nailed once, the prospects don’t look all that great. To be sure, I don’t think Apple can brush this off with two chuckles and a “wow, how GREAT!” If a suit really does ensue, it will be interesting to see how the iTunes Music Store fits into the courts’ understanding of the music business. Is Apple producing music or are they merely selling it?

I always thought it was no coincidence that the Beatles are no shows in the iTunes Music Store. I suppose if they were making money from it, it would seem hypocritical to sue. Like this looks any more savory?

an idea for the RIAA cartel

MP3 Insider: CD price drops coincide with MP3 hardware breakthroughs – CNET reviews

Finally and grudgingly, the labels likely agree with the Forrester analysts who say that CDs are a doomed medium. This might be their last chance to sell shiny discs before consumers move on to pure digital formats. In the future, MP3 players might even be sold much like cell phones are today–as loss leaders for service plans. Perhaps you’ll even get a free iPod in exchange for signing a contract to purchase a certain amount of music from the iTunes Music Store over the next couple of years.

from Jenny the Shifted Librarian

10,000,000 legal music downloads

iTunes Music Store Sells Ten Millionth Song

Apple [Sept 8, 2003] announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over ten million songs from the iTunes Music Store since its launch just over four months ago, averaging over 500,000 songs per week.

I’m not sure which is the bigger reality check: that the forever on-its-last-legs Mac just reinvented the RIAA cartel’s business model, making them a few million dollars in the process, or that a paltry 3% of the market can be generate that much revenue in so short a time. Annualized, that’s 26,000,000 purchases. Imagine what happens when the Windows version is released?