DRM SUCKS

DRM is an umbrella term that refers to any of several technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to and usage of digital data or hardware.

I was buying tunes on Itunes until I had an experience of making some mix CD's and bam my friends needed my password to access a few tunes I had bought.

Now Apple seems to be taking a long look at DRM.

Here is a great article on Salon by Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow.

LINK TO ARTICLE

everybody wants some...........

The Van Halen saga continues - I remember working at MuchMusic we would report every couple months that Diamond Dave was back in Van Halen, only to get this note, like the one released today. Some things are just not meant to be. I was looking forward to Eddie Van Halen's kid playing bass.


Van Halen Reunion Postponed?
The Van Halen reunion tour featuring the return of former lead singer David Lee Roth has been postponed indefinitely.

Tickets for the 40-date tour, which was announced on the band's web site on February 2, were expected to go on sale this weekend.

However, a source closed to the band tells USA Today the tour has been put on hold, but declined to give a reason for the delay.

A publicist for Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen says reports of a cancellation should be not be taken as fact until an official statement is released.

Earlier this month, Roth said he hoped the band's reunion would last beyond their summer tour.

Regardless of future tour plans, Van Halen will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12. The ceremony could feature Van Halen performing with both Roth and his replacement, Sammy Hagar.

big news

STEVEN HARPER CONCEDES LEADERSHIP TO BILL GATES!

wild news. oh, gates is American.
damn.

ok.............. then


GEORGE W. BUSH CONCEDES LEADERSHIP TO BILL GATES!
(note -that is a Bill Gates lookalike in the above pic)

Oh well, maybe Gates can run China.

Disinfo

So, I work on a show at the CBC called The Hour. One of my favorite segments is the Disinfo segment that air every Monday. I have been involved in shooting them in New York. I don't like whoring work stuff on this blog but the Disinfo stuff is so damn wild and interesting. If you are into half-truths and conspiracy, then you will enjoy these.


The MSM totally missed this. It's hard to believe but genetic engineering on humans has already begun. In March 2001 a New Jersey reproductive facility announced that they had created genetically altered children.




And to loosen you up after that -- another crew from NYC -

Hunter Not Forgotten

2 Years ago today Hunter S. Thompson died. I always thought it would have been crazy to live a day in his shoes.

'Politics is the art of controlling your environment.' That is one of the key things I learned in these years, and I learned it the hard way. Anybody who thinks that 'it doesn't matter who's President' has never been Drafted and sent off to fight and die in a vicious, stupid War on the other side of the World -- or been beaten and gassed by Police for trespassing on public property -- or been hounded by the IRS for purely political reasons -- or locked up in the Cook County Jail with a broken nose and no phone access and twelve perverts wanting to stomp your ass in the shower. That is when it matters who is President or Governor or Police Chief. That is when you will wish you had voted."
- Hunter S. Thompson

this is good

- now I migh think about getting on board.


XM, Sirius announce merger
Following months of speculation, the two satellite radio operators will combine in a merger of equals; Karmazin will be CEO.
By David Ellis and Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com staff writers
February 19 2007: 5:21 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Rivals XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio announced Monday they would enter into a merger of equals, creating a satellite radio giant.

XM (Charts) and Sirius (Charts) said they would each own half of the combined company, which would offer listeners a much wider variety of programming, including sports, news and high-profile entertainers such as shock jock Howard Stern.


Shock jock Howard Stern has been widely credited for much of Sirius's success, helping the satellite radio operator finish 2006 with more than 6 million subscribers.

There's no better time to pen an ode to TV, radio and print than on Valentine's Day. Sure, new media's sexy. But old media isn't going away. (more)
Steve Jobs vs. the music industry

Apple's CEO is boldly challenging the four big record labels to change their ways. Will they listen or is this just a PR move to get people to buy more iPods? (more)
YouTube without the lip synching dudes
Sling Media wants to make it easy to post live TV to the Web. Will it fly? Only if the company gets networks on its side, says Fortune's Stephanie Mehta. (more)
As part of the deal, XM Chairman Gary Parsons would remain chairman of the combined firm, while Sirius' Mel Karmazin would assume the role of CEO. XM chief executive Hugh Panero will remain as CEO until the merger is completed.

The two companies, which have a combined 14 million subscribers, said they had not yet determined a new name for the combined company or where its headquarters would be located.

"This combination is the next logical step in the evolution of audio entertainment," Karmazin said in a statement.

The company would have a market value of roughly $13 billion, including approximately $1.6 billion in net debt.

XM shareholders would get 4.6 shares of Sirius stock for each share of XM they own.

The deal would value XM shares at $17.02, a 22 percent premium to its Friday closing price of $13.98.

Sirius and XM said as a result of the merger it hoped to offer listeners an "a la carte" option, allowing them to pick and choose the channels they wanted, such as Sirius' "Martha Stewart Living Radio" or XM's "Theme Time Radio Hour" with music legend Bob Dylan.

"The combined company will be better positioned to compete effectively with the continually expanding array of entertainment alternatives that consumers have embraced since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) first granted our satellite radio licenses a decade ago," Parsons and Panero said in a joint statement.

Speculation has run rampant on Wall Street about a possible tie-up between XM and Sirius since the beginning of the year.

Both companies, although rapidly growing, have continued to lose money despite strong revenue and subscriber growth.

No 'slam dunk'
David Bank, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said he was not surprised by the deal since the merger makes a lot of sense, but he warned the tie-up was not a "slam dunk."

Besides getting shareholder approval, XM and Sirius will also have to get the endorsement of regulators, including the FCC.

The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group that represents local radio and TV stations, urged policymakers Monday to reject the deal, calling it an "anti-consumer proposal."

"Given the government's history of opposing monopolies in all forms, NAB would be shocked if federal regulators permitted a merger of XM and Sirius," the trade group said in a statement. "It bears mentioning that regulators summarily rejected a similar monopoly merger of the nation's only two satellite television companies - DirecTV and DISH Network - just a few years back."

Bank added that as a condition of the merger the Department of Justice might impose some sort of price caps so that the combined company can't raise monthly subscription rates by a big amount, if at all.

Right now, both Sirius and XM have tiered-payment subscription packages, which start at $12.95 per month or $142.45 per year.

Calls to both XM and Sirius about what impact the merger would have on subscription rates were not immediately returned.

Executives from both companies are planning on discussing the details of the merger on a conference call scheduled for Tuesday morning.

--A member of RBC's Bank's family owns shares of Sirius but RBC does not have a banking relationship with either Sirius or XM.

conan is funny - the iphone does everything

sadness reigns

I am 33. I am a dad. I am watching MTV's, The Hills. In fact I taped it.

Sadness Reigns.

I blame my sister who is staying with us.

Sadness Reigns.

Gilles on Jazz

Like Jazz? If not surf away. Quit reading this. Move along, as they say.

Gilles Peterson is a BBC DJ/ Record label owner with vast knowledge of jazz.

He has podcast on his website that are blowing my mind. His mix of some greats from the "Black Jazz" label is his latest. Take about some moving stuff.

Highly recommended.

PASTOR TED IS CURED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So disgraced New Life Church leader Pastor Ted Haggard has released a comment that he is no longer gay. This is weird cause I turned gay at 1pm today and by 3pm I was straight again. Oh man, I feel a gay coming on, oh it is gone. My wife will be relieved.



Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard convinced he's now 'completely heterosexual'

Canadian Press


Tuesday, February 06, 2007


DENVER (AP) - One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counselling for Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual."

Haggard also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur told The Denver Post for a story in Tuesday's edition.

"He is completely heterosexual," Ralph said. "That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

Ralph said the board spoke with people close to Haggard while investigating his claim that his only extramarital sexual contact happened with Mike Jones. The board found no evidence to the contrary.

"If we're going to be proved wrong, somebody else is going to come forward, and that usually happens really quickly," he said. "We're into this thing over 90 days (since allegations surfaced) and it hasn't happened."

Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. He was also forced out from the 14,000 New Life Church that he founded years ago in his basement after Jones alleged Haggard paid him for sex and sometimes used methamphetamine when they were together. Haggard, who is married, has publicly admitted to "sexual immorality."

Haggard said in an e-mail Sunday, his first communication in three months to church members, that he and his wife, Gayle, plan to pursue master's degrees in psychology. The e-mail said the family hasn't decided where to move but that they were considering Missouri and Iowa.

Another oversight board member, Rev. Mike Ware of Westminster, said the group recommended the move out of town and the Haggards agreed.

"This is a good place for Ted," Ware said. "It's hard to heal in Colorado Springs right now. It's like an open wound. He needs to get somewhere he can get the wound healed."

It was also the oversight board that strongly urged Haggard to go into secular work.

© The Canadian Press 2007a>