Letters to the Editor
Rob Anderson
Published Letters: 309 Editor's Choice: 4
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Emm
[Read the article: YouTube's copyright checker: Soon, no more Colbert]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is theft, and there is theft. Years ago I routinely made spare copies of all my audiocassettes for my car stereo. Later, I did the same with my CDs. Was I a thief? Nonsense! But as you may or may not know, the RIAA fought the introduction of dual tape decks like hell. Know what happened? Cassette sales doubled, and entirely new markets opened up for the manufacturers of blank cassettes, cassette holders, etc. THAT is the marketplace at work.
The only people on YouTube who are genuinely infringing (and hence stealing) are those who rip whole movies using DivX and then post them in their entirety in ten minutes chunks. THAT is wrong, and should be stopped. Watching the favorite three minutes of someone's favorite episode of "Southpark" is not and will not hurt anybody. If the morons at Viacom would stop acting like the RIAA did in the late 70s they could make some serious money on sponsored postings. That they choose not to do this speaks volumes not about their greed, but their fear.
Last but not least, until an algorithm can "see" Homer Simpson in a clip about to be uploaded and "know" (or recognize) that it is Homer Simpson and thus an infringement, .MPEG blob scanning, or whatever, isn't going to work.
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In Deference To Mark...
[Read the article: Rabbit Bites: Mark Day has coffee with Chou]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...I shall hold my fire.
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Rich and Hung
[Read the article: Scott Bateman: Ode to "Crack Panda"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No need to speculate, for you are both correct - just not about this being the lamest thing ever to appear on Salon. The list of contenders for that title is as long as the oceans are wide.
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Don't Worry, Kiddies
[Read the article: Tony Cartoons: Don't look now]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Soon Joan will unleash her crack staff of derelict dorks to "create new content" for Video Dog that will make your teeth melt. And then I shall descend, Nosferatu-like, from my den and begin to FEAST.
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Whatever One's Opinion, One Thing Is Certain
[Read the article: YouTube's copyright checker: Soon, no more Colbert]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Viacom prevails, YouTube will soon vanish. While I myself now subscribe to about 40+ artists of various types, it has taken me almost two years of searching (and happenstance) to find these people. They are of a quantity and quality that I no longer feel compelled to troll YouTube for the latest "Robot Chicken" clip.
Most people who go to YouTube are not like this. They visit specifically to get the "Robot Chicken" (or whatever) clip, and with some exceptions that's all they care about. A YouTube stripped of all but original content would shrivel up and die because, frankly, about 80% of the original content is pure shit. The tragedy is that the 20% who are worthies will find their venue disappear.
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I'm Sure the Movie Is As Good As Stephanie Says It Is, But Lets Face It...
[Read the article: "The Simpsons Movie"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...Family Guy and American Dad have been eating The Simpsons lunch for years now. For example, nothing that has been on The Simpsons in about the last six or seven years can hold a candle to last season's American Dad two-parter that took apart Saudi Arabia. When my jaw wasn't hitting the floor I was laughing so hard I could barely breath. But the experience was bittersweet; I could remember a time when The Simpsons broadcast jewels like that every other week. Sadly, it's now an institution. So Vive Seth McFarlane!!!
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First JFK, Then Beer, Then Politics...
[Read the article: Requiem for a poker game]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...and now poker. Is there nothing Texas hasn't ruined???
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There Is Nothing Remotely Funny Or Entertaining About ANY of This
[Read the article: The new American way of death]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not long ago a MySpace acquaintance re-posted the death announcement of another member, and his thoughts about her passing (he had met her on a few occasions, and corresponded a bit). I was deeply touched by her story and tragedy, and managed to make it to her page. Her four closest friends were in emotional agony because together they had discovered her corpse. I messaged one of them, explaining that though I didn't know her or her friend, I might have a story that could help. My sister had discovered her father-in-law in much the same way. I told the friend of the deceased MySpace member that it had taken a while, but my sister had gotten over the memory, and that she and her three friends would as well.
The deceased woman's comments section is loaded with testimonies from friends and relatives. Her page has become a shrine to her memory, and the thought of it ending up on some shitheel site like mydeathspace.com makes me sick. I've been thinking about shopping around a freelance piece about this phenomenon, this turning of the pages of deceased MySpace members into digital memorials, and I intend to pursue that idea. Except now I will add a few sentences about how digital graveyards sadly attract digital buzzards.
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Bill Walsh Was the Architect of Some of the Most Transcendent Moments of My Youth
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I went to San Francisco State University in the 80s, and was (and remain) a rabid 'Niners fan. I will never forget "The Drive", and John Taylor's catch, and walking out into the neighborhood around UCSF (where I watched the game with friends), hearing people honking and crying out and blowing on horns. A whole city galvanized in an instant. My God, it was so sweet to be young.
And now Walsh is gone, and I'm middle-aged. I have never felt my age more acutely than today. May he rest in peace.
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Slappie and Burlap Strike Again!!
[Read the article: Red State Update: Joe Biden, mortal enemy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Striking yet another blow for unhumorous incoherence, S & B charge head first into a consumate disgrace. Their next trick? Light each other on fire, hopefully.
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I Have a Better Idea
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How about Kubrick versus BOTH of them?!
Oh, of course...no competition. Can't be boring the readers, now can we??
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Uh...Kerry?
[Read the article: Tony Cartoons: Triple word war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't suppose Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous will be getting one of your special letters, will they?? I sure hope so. Wouldn't want to have to start using the words "hypocrite" or "duplicitous" around here, would we?
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Marc Anthony Was Also Quite Good In "Big Night"
[Read the article: "El Cantante"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He played the one employee in Tucci and Shalub's Italian restaurant. He expressed a lot by doing very little. That's acting.