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Did you hear Michael Greene's speech at the Grammys? At first it seemed like it was going to be just yet another recording industry weasel with an obligatory goatee congratulating himself on stage. But it quickly turned into a lesson on the harms of the illegal Internet downloads. "This illegal file-sharing and ripping of music files is pervasive, out of control and oh so criminal. Many of the nominees here tonight, especially the new, less-established artists, are in immediate danger of being marginalized out of our business. Ripping is stealing their livelihood one digital file at a time, leaving their musical dreams haplessly snared in this World Wide Web of theft and indifference," says Greene. Was this appeal-cum-address effective or appropriate? Were you more sympathetic to the RIAA or artists afterwards?
posted by emptyage at 11:49 PM PST - 79 comments

I support the war in Afghanistan because I believe the Al Qua'eda network is an enemy that must be eliminated. I stand almost alone in my community and in my family in this belief. A former punk describes how she re-examined her beliefs after Sept. 11 and found out that what the extreme left were saying was as tired and reactionary as those from the extreme right. This piece posted on Blogs of War was turned down for submission in Punk Planet as not being timely enough...or was it because it was too moderate. After yesterday's post on Punk=Capitalism is this a meta trend?
posted by AsiaInsider at 11:43 PM PST - 34 comments

Not Just a Birthmark. "I was chemically altered at embryonic stages of my life by conglomerate CEOs to display their logo on my forehead. This I am sure of. My parents remain unaware. My life remains affected each and every day. Those viewing my face think only of Nike shoes, even if they fail to recognize it. Who knows when this madness will end, or how far its fingers have reached." (found at Sound the Sirens)
posted by lostbyanecho at 10:58 PM PST - 4 comments

Creative storytelling at Flight404.com. Visited this link a long time ago from the forever-in-hiatus K10K when it was a white splace page with a vector drawing of a plane, now it's a great online story.
posted by hobbes at 10:45 PM PST - 12 comments

"A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Energy Department to release thousands of records on Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force, criticizing the government for moving at 'a glacial pace.' " Is anyone else interested in this? This is honestly the first time since Bush took office that I've felt optomistic about much. Anyone old enough to remember the look on Nixon's face as he stepped on to Marine One for the last time, when he turned to give the victory sign? The Vice President surely remembers, I wonder if he's thought of it lately?
posted by jack-o at 8:15 PM PST - 32 comments

Coleman Confidential. No joke. Gary Coleman was just in my office a little bit ago and while he was here, he talked about this section of a site he promotes where he answers email. But some of the answers (let alone the questions) are ridiculous! I don't know what's funnier, him in person or the answers to these questions. Good reading when you've got little to do.
posted by whoshotwho at 4:49 PM PST - 10 comments

I'ma write a little letter, gonna mail it to my local DJ... Don't bother they're writing their own. Books, rather, but writing just the same. If, like me, you can remember when the radio was a magic box full of surprises rather than boredom, you'll want to read IndyWeek's reveiws of these two books by disc jockey's:college and pirate radio stalwart Jesse Walker and Richard Neer of the legendary WNEW-FM in NYC, the station that ignited my love affair with rock and roll(I still harbor pipedreams of hosting a show with Scott Muni.) These tomes may be partially exercises in nostalgia, but they may also hold clues on how to recapture what radio once was.
posted by jonmc at 3:57 PM PST - 10 comments

Fetapets: for busy city dwellers who can't deal with the hassle of living pets. No it isn't a joke.
posted by akmonday at 3:37 PM PST - 21 comments

It is one of the biggest critters in the ocean and has never been seen alive...until now. The ultimate goal is to get living juveniles to aquariums on land and raise them until their bodies grow to about ten feet long. I'd pay to see one.
posted by piskycritters at 1:46 PM PST - 29 comments

Amy Fisher vs. Tonya Harding The good people at FOX have put together another award winning special. 3 boxing matches featuring Danny Bonaduce vs. Greg Williams (Brady), Tonya vs. Amy and a third bout to be named later. Isn't this a sign of the apocolypse??
posted by Lanternjmk at 12:17 PM PST - 41 comments

Seven minutes to midnight. "Today, the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the minute hand of the 'Doomsday Clock,' the symbol of nuclear danger, from nine to seven minutes to midnight, the same setting at which the clock debuted 55 years ago. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, this is the third time the hand has moved forward."
posted by dnash at 11:11 AM PST - 29 comments

Poll: Muslims call U.S. 'ruthless, arrogant' Do we nuke 'em, give them money so they will like us, tell them to fight their own wars and governments without us, plead for understanding. Or just say: What, Me Worry? Whatever.
posted by Postroad at 11:01 AM PST - 54 comments

Hacking could now lead to life in prison. Someone that kills someone you love would get less time in prison than what they are proposing for this hacker legislation. Is this punishment just for this crime?
posted by bump at 9:19 AM PST - 14 comments

Vandalism proclaimed as art by art student victims, sort of. Is the problem with art (it is easy and anyone can do it) spreading to crime? Via ObscureStore
posted by sailormouth at 9:05 AM PST - 11 comments

Heather Hamilton got fired because of her blog. (NB: foul language a-go-go)
posted by silusGROK at 8:08 AM PST - 163 comments

Capitalism, punk as fuck "Imagine this: you're 23, working in a grocery store for minimum wage and saving to start your own indie record shop. You finally get enough to open it and, though sales are slow, you have a dedicated customer base and loyal friends to work the store when you can't."
posted by Mick at 7:44 AM PST - 85 comments

KinderZimmer - Wir Sind Da Wo Oben Ist. Mix it up in in your own sort of du hast dream. I'm sure this amuses me a lot more simply because I have no clue what the majority of the words mean. Fun though. Enjoy.
posted by dreamling at 7:30 AM PST - 5 comments

Alzheimer's gene screened out from newborn. Doctors successfully made sure that the mother's Alzheimer's gene wasn't inherited by her baby. This is big news for prospective parents with hereditary diseases.
posted by costas at 6:27 AM PST - 16 comments

Virgo? Leo? Virgo-Leo cusp? Who cares! All that really matters is your Birth Playmate! (eventual nudity)
posted by johnnydark at 5:43 AM PST - 13 comments

Unemployed people are supposed to be actively looking for work, not spending all of their time answering e-mail, drawing cartoons and getting interviewed on television about being unemployed. So there is a good chance Todd Rosenberg, creator of oddtodd.com and "Laid Off: A Day in the Life," will be asked to repay the last seven weeks of his unemployment benefits.
posted by tranquileye at 5:29 AM PST - 13 comments

Was John Wayne A ... Welshman? In that case, I nominate Johnny Cash as the No.1 American icon. Unless it turns out he's English or something. [Inspired by jpoulos's, Kafkaesque's, Optamystic's and others' recent celebrations - elsewhere on MetaFilter - of the great man.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:09 AM PST - 15 comments

3dHTML. No Flash, no nothing. Wow.
posted by Su at 5:03 AM PST - 8 comments

spike milligan dies the world needs people like him.
posted by quarsan at 2:58 AM PST - 28 comments

That Russel Crowe sure is a class act.
posted by donkeyschlong at 2:57 AM PST - 26 comments

New owners purchase the San Jose Sharks George Gund III sold a majority share of the team to a group including Stratton Sclavos [Verisign], Tom McEnery [former mayor], Kevin Compton [Kleiner Perkins], Greg Reyes [Brocade], Gary Valenzuela [past Yahoo CFO], and Harvey Armstrong [MyCFO].

My only question... where is Scott McNealy?
posted by swenson at 2:47 AM PST - 2 comments

your quest for a loyal compatible sex partner will come to an end, this website has the perfect answer as well as many other answers to common difficulties
posted by johnnyboy at 2:28 AM PST - 10 comments