I'd like to thank Mr. Josh for introducing me to The Bourne Identity. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you take this oppertunity to go do so. If you miss another oppertunity, you might as well pop two in your face because your life is no longer worth living. Alright, that's a little extreme. I'm sorry. Don't really go shoot yourself in the face.
Unless I don't like you, in which case I fully advocate doing so after all.
The internet is a lot more boring without a broadband connection. Maybe I just don't have the patience to do all that waiting around for things to load, but I'm quickly running out of web sites I care about visiting. If you have any suggestions, leave me a little noteroo in the comments. Try to avoid adding anything I might have to edit out, because neither of us want to bother having to do that.
Most boring. entry. ever.
I downloaded a song called "Popcorn" today which was attributed to electronic pioneers, Kraftwerk. I researched it a bit and found that it was originally written by a man named Gershon Kingsley as part of a Concerto for Moog that a moog quartet played with the Boston Pops in 1971. In '72, a German group called Hot Butter covered the song and got its international on with it. Since then, everyone and his brother has covered it, and a version was apparantly used in the movie Detroit Rock City (But doesn't appear on the soundtrack).In other words, I have no idea whether or not this version was really done by Kraftwerk. I found both the original quartet's version and the Hot Butter version, and this isn't done by either. I can't find anything that says Kraftwerk ever covered it, and - when I really listen to it - it sounds a bit too bouncy and complicated. If it's them, it's a stark contrast from their usual minimalist style.
The geek that I am, I've been periodically googling for more information about the song. As I've looked at my site statistics for the past couple of months, I've found that many, many people are doing the very same thing. The words "Kraftwerk," "Popcorn," and "Hot Butter" comprise about 98% of the search terms used to find my website. Thus, I take it there are a few people out there doing much of the same thing.
So, I've got an idea. It's not a very well-developed idea, but it's an idea. I'm going to set up a page here to compile all the information I find about this song. If you're one of the people who have come here to find out about this song, leave a comment. If we put together everything we've all figured out, maybe at some point we'll actually come up with an answer.
I've also come to the realization that I am addicted to the internet. I'm not using the term "addiction" flippantly, either. It's become like nicotine or herione, but with far less dramatic periods of withdrawal. When I had the constant dorm connection, I just became accustomed to always "being online." If there was a word I wanted to look up, I didn't reach for the dictionary. I typed it into the Dictionary.com toolbar and got a definition immediately. Weather? I knew the five-day forecast with three clicks (Two of which were to dispense with WeatherBug's incessant pop-ups, I might add).
Even when I had absolutely no reason to be online, I could rest easy that it was still there, so to speak.
Now, I'm restricted by the speed of a dial-up modem. I have to share the connection with the rest of the family. Getting online is almost a rare treat - reserved for those who have a specific task to accomplish before immediately disconnecting again. No one connects for the sake of being connected, and - by that warped viewpoint - it's almost like I'm being held back. I sign on a few times a day for no other reason than to visit the same few websites over and over again, even when I know none of them have been updated. It gives me some justification for this bizarre need to have my modem dialed in to something.
I know other people have been writing the same thing on their websites long before I was even familiar with this thing called the internet, but it's something I felt like I had to share. You can't describe the feeling or really relate to someone who's trying to describe it until you wake up one morning and realize it's happened to you.
See? I care about you every once in a while.
I don't suppose I have to state the obvious, but I'm going to anyway. I've changed the site layout again. You probably shouldn't expect this to be the last time, because I'm still not wholly content with the current situation. I'm really starting to rethink the entire site idea anyway, so please be patient with me while I go through another stupid round of changes like I seem to do every summer.
I'll get around to updating the other pages of the site eventually. In the meantime, I've started something new. I'm going to start trying to follow news stories I find interesting and post a few quotes about each. That way, those of us with short attention spans can keep up with the news to some minute degree.
From ZDNet (via Geek News Central):
The case immediately exposes the four defendants to legal action. More broadly, it could pave the way for copyright holders to more easily identify people who trade pirated files on peer-to-peer networks. While file swappers may seek to conceal their identities online, they can usually be discovered by connecting online activity to records kept by Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Verizon.At stake are subpoena powers granted under a controversial copyright law that aims to make it easier for content owners to combat Internet piracy. Unlike ordinary "John Doe" subpoenas, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to subpoena information without first seeking a judge's blessing, making it an easier and cheaper method for tracking down alleged copyright infringers.
A related story from ZDNet about Senator Sam Brownback's proposed legislation which could actually amend the notorious DMCA:
The Kansas Republican's bill requires that a copyright holder win a lawsuit in order to obtain the name of an alleged peer-to-peer pirate. That would amend the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which a federal court concluded enables a copyright holder to force the disclosure of a suspected pirate's identity without a judge's approval. This issue has come into play in the recording industry's recent pursuit of the identity of a Verizon Communications subscriber.
From Wired News:
The provision in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act that the recording industry invoked in seeking the names is unconstitutional and greatly exceeds traditional copyright and privacy laws, said Sarah Deutsch, Verizon's associate general counsel.
From The Observer:
Mr. Raines had made himself an untenable executive editor for the New York Times, not so much because of Blair affair, but because of the weakness of his position after the scandal. "Howell ruled by fear," said one not-very-sympathetic Times watcher. "And when he wasn't strong enough to rule by fear anymore, he couldn't rule."
From the Friday 06 June 2003 Birmingham News piece:
Raines' management style was controversial from the day he arrived in the top slot less than two years ago, but it was a reporter's extensive fraud that led some to openly question his fitness for the job. The reporter, Jayson Blair, resigned May 1 and Raines ordered an investigation into how the writer deceived his editors and readers for so long.Raines, a former Birmingham News writer, accepted responsibility for the Blair fiasco...
From The Telegraph:
Blair's folly, which he compounded by boasting that he had "fooled some of the most brilliant people in journalism", spectacularly undermined the Times's reputation as the nation's paper of record.
From Slate:
Those seeking to "understand" the liars' behavior tend to blame the liars' employers, making the liar the victim. The bosses pushed him too hard, or they took a young, promising journalist and threw him into the deep end—beyond his known abilities and experience—way before he was ready. Folks rush to swaddle the liar and his motives in psychobabble instead of placing the onus where it belongs.