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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: CinemaNow, Hewlett-Packard, iPod Nano, Netflix, Palace of Auburn Hills, Random House, Toni Morrison, YouTube
And so it begins: Random House has switched off Kindle Text-to-speech by default, angering educators and advocates for the blind in the process. Forty titles have been shut down including books by Stephen King and Toni Morrison. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/15/random-house-shuts-down-kindle-text-to-speech-for-their-titles 5/15)
Techcrunch has gotten their hands on the COOL-ER, a new Ebook reader coming out in two weeks that's sporting a (relatively) low $250 price tag and a case that looks like an over-sized iPod Nano (it's also coming in 8 Applesque colors). Interead, the small startup that built Cool-er, is obviously trying to bring Ebooks to a new market, shunning some of the features seen on the Kindle in favor of a lower price-point and a broader appeal. And it just might work. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/15/video-our-full-walkthrough-of-the-color-coated-cool-er-ebook-reader 5/15)
In an effort to boost its slumping PC sales, Hewlett-Packard began offering consumer desktops equipped with touch-screen controls. The units accounted for 400,000 of the company's PC sales last year, a fraction of the 54 million traditional desktops and laptops HP sold, so the firm is expanding its touch-screen effort into the commercial market with installations at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Detroit's Palace of Auburn Hills arena. The Wall Street Journal (5/15)
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, left, and H-P's Stephen DeWitt test a touch-screen PC at O'Hare Airport in March.
LG's new BD390, which includes integrated Wi-Fi, is "probably the best all-around Blu-ray player there is at the moment," according to this review. The system comes with Netflix, YouTube and CinemaNow on board, and, unlike other players, has made installation and setup a job that just about anyone can handle. Gizmodo (5/15)
Dell has introduced the 22-inch P2210, the 19-inch E190S and the 17-inch E170S monitors, all of which meet or exceed current energy-saving standards. The displays' price points are $240, $130 and $110, respectively, for the P2210, the E190S and the E170S. Electronista (5/14)
Filed under: MISC | Tags: Blockbuster, DVD, Land of the Lost, Lost, Movies, Netflix, State of Play, Will Ferrell
Movie rental company Blockbuster says the risk that it may not complete financing deals raises "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern. The Dallas-based Blockbuster is struggling amid the rising popularity of DVD-by-mail services like Netflix. (Iwantmedia 4/07, http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Blockbuster-may-not-be-able-apf-14864522.html 4/6)
Turner-owned TruTV has signed on as a promotional partner for a pair of upcoming theatricals from Universal Pictures: the Russell Crowe-driven "State of Play" and "Land of the Lost," which stars Will Ferrell. The deal involves TruTV running 90-second sneak peaks of "State of Play" this Sunday as well as two weeks of custom promos for "Land of the Lost," beginning in May. Variety (4/6)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Arts, Colbert Report, Digital distribution, Netflix, Philippe Dauman, Television, Time Warner, Twitter
Increasingly iconic online video-rental firm Netflix has announced that it has crossed the 2-billion-delivery mark. The company, founded in 1999, has more than 10 million subscribers and ships about 2 million discs every day. Reuters (4/2)
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes is defensive of the company's "TV Everywhere" premise. The industry "can't just blow up the revenue structure" that cable operators and programmers have come to rely upon by continuing to stream shows free online to people who don't pay. (Iwantmedia 4/3, http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/time-warner-ceo-you-cant/story.aspx?guid=%7B5D0E3B69-73D0-408D-AA5E-2DA7BE4EB96B%7D 4/2)
(Below) It's a VERY interesting discussion. In fact, I think this discussion regarding the online subscription model without commercials vs. the free ad-supported model is the most interesting discussion in the digital distribution world these days. Here's the thing. I think that most people won't pay for content unless that content is connected to a television screen. If content is provided on a monthly basis for online, that content needs to be easily connected to a television environment which these days is still narrowed to the tech elite. As the connections from online to the television increase in simplicity and allowance, I think this model will make a whole lot more sense. But unfortunately, the revenue structure can blow up. In fact, it already has. Now, it's a question of what that revenue structure will become as the pieces come back together. The race to making money is one of that I find most interesting and the most critical to content providers.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman says that there is unlikely to be a negative consumer backlash against the Time Warner-led "TV Everywhere" plan. "People are used to paying for video subscriptions. They're used to paying for broadband service, so there's nothing new there." (Iwantmedia 4/3, http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Viacom-CEO-sees-no-backlash/story.aspx?guid=%7B52C63A77%2D6EED%2D45EB%2D85D6%2D5A39F02B4139%7D 4/2)
Disney CEO Bob Iger has reservations about walling off online content on a subscription basis, particularly content from broadcasters like ABC, which he notes is free over the air and depends on advertising. Such a move "could be viewed as anti-consumer." (Iwantmedia 4/3, http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20090402-000767-1047 4/2)
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone appeared on The Colbert Report last night. In case you haven't seen it already, the video is embedded above. Stone describes Twitter as "The messaging system that we didn't know we needed until we had it." To which Colbert responds: "That sounds like the answer to a problem we didn't have until I invented the answer." (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/03/biz-stone-plays-it-cool-on-colbert/ 4/3)
Digg may have 19 million unique visitors and nearly 85 million pageviews (Comscore worldwide, Feb '09), but one thing it's never had is a decent search engine. There's no rhyme or reason to the ordering of results. A lot of stuff just seems to disappear. And the filters are overly complicated. That'll change in the near future, the company noted in a blog post today. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/02/digg-to-finally-fix-search-see-the-screenshot/ 4/2)
The new Digg toolbar product called DiggBar launched yesterday. If you want to try it out immediately, just add "digg.com/" before any URL at all (the image above is using the techcrunch domain). The toolbar is made for the new Twitter generation, which has a desperate need for very short URLs to fit in the tiny space allotted per message. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/02/diggs-toolbar-is-here-go-shorten-those-urls/ 4/2)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: CBSSports.com, Dish Network, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Television, Twitter, YouTube
Google, which has nearly $16 billion in cash and securities in its coffers, is seen as unlikely to be out of the deal market for long. The increasing popularity of Twitter is raising speculation that Google may see a need to co-opt the service to protect its own search business. (Iwantmedia 3/24, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52N0B120090324 3/24)
CBSSports.com's March Madness traffic numbers continued to climb over the weekend as an aggregate 5.6 million unique visitors consumed a total of 6.5 million hours of video throughout the first four days of the tournament – y/y increases of 65% and 71% respectively. (Cynopsis 3/24)
Netflix is taking advantage of the Facebook Connect service to allow subscribers to the movie-rental service to share their ratings and movie queues with social-network contacts. Those who opt in to the service will have their movie ratings posted on their Facebook profile pages, with those ratings linking back to the Netflix site. Reuters (3/24)
YouTube is giving Lionsgate two rich-media units and exclusivity on its home page to advertise the upcoming horror film, "The Haunting in Connecticut." The Lionsgate ad is said to be part of a $500,000 buy that includes search and display across Google's network. (Iwantmedia 3/24, http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135449 3/23)
Showtime is demoing the iTV Marketing App it has been using to market its Pay TV service to Dish Network subscribers at the Cable Show next month. Utilizing a platform-agnostic series of updatable templates, the application allows users to sample Showtime programming then sign up for the service directly from the remote. (With call-in customers costing operators and an average of $8 per call, this one should be a no-brainer.) Showtime estimates it has added 100,000 subs from Dish since deploying the app two years ago. (Cynopsis 3/24)
Apple's move to include HD video titles at its iTunes Store could pose a threat to video providers, according to this report, which suggests that audiences are getting more comfortable with viewing programming over a variety of gateways. Apple's challenge could be especially strong because it sells current TV episodes and — since it does not stream video — lacks the bandwidth-quality issues faced by Web-based providers. xchange (3/20)
MTV Network's Atom.com premiered Nick's Big Show, a weekly six-episode mockumentary directed by Luke and Jeremy Jackson (Highway 61). It stars up-and-coming comedian Nick Thune. (Cynopsis 3/24)
Popular media and BitTorrent client Vuze released a new media streaming/downloading update allowing users to convert and play HD video on a variety of devices including the iPhone, iPod, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Drag-and-drop videos from your Vuze Library to the device of your choice from the Sidebar section then use iTunes or the PS3 or Xbox 360 interface to access the titles. The software automatically converts the video the proper format. (Cynopsis 3/24)
Twitter has started to advertise a number of applications using the small box on profile pages that it first introduced earlier this month. Before today Twitter had reserved the space for links to its own services like Search, but now they are advertising a number of sites and apps, including Tweetie, a popular iPhone client. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/23/twitter-opens-the-revenue-faucet-starts-serving-ads/ 3/23)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Barry McCarthy, Digg, Digital media, Facebook, Netflix, Streaming media, Television, Television program
In the "foreseeable future," Netflix is "likely" to offer its video-streaming service separate from its rent-by-mail offering, according to Barry McCarthy, the company's chief financial officer. Netflix subscribers now can use a number of devices — not just a PC — to stream Netflix movies and TV shows, including the popular "Watch Instantly" content. Reuters (2/25)
After the uproar that ensued when Facebook tried to change its terms of service a couple weeks ago, along with its subsequent backpedaling and public assurances that users own their data, the company is trying a different tack. It is inviting users to comment and contribute on proposed changes to its terms of service. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/26/facebook-opens-up-its-terms-of-service-to-input-from-users 2/26)
U2 has Comcast – The Allmans have Onstream Media. The digital media services platform announced a deal to webcast the Allman Brothers Band's 40th anniversary, 15-day concert series beginning on Mar. 9 live from the Beacon Theater in New York via Moogis.com on a pay-per-view basis. All 15 shows can be viewed live or via archive for $125. (Cynopsis 2/26)
A super-secret Digg toolbar has been spotted in the wild. We tracked down a beta tester who gave us the skinny on its features. The toolbar lets you Digg or Bury the page you are on, and shows how many Diggs it has already received. There are also links to show related pages, as well as more pages from the same source voted highly by the Digg community or marked as up and coming. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/26/digg-is-working-on-a-toolbar-to-go-after-stumbleupon-tinyurl-and-all-the-rest 2/26)
Faced with a tough economy, Google is working harder to make money off more of its properties. The Internet giant is extending its AdWords program to searches on Google News, delivering text ads on the search results page, just as it has long done with Web search results. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10172410-93.html 2/25)
Tomorrow's Cloud Computing Roundtable is sold out. For those of you who can't join, Techcrunch will be live-streaming the event. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/26/cloud-computing-roundtable-sold-out-but-it-will-be-streamed 2/26)
Alaska Airlines has announced that they've started testing Row 44's satellite-based Wi-Fi service on a handful of Boeing 737-700s. The first trial flight will take place between Seattle and San Jose (leaves Seattle at 2:20 PT today and returns on Flight 329 from San Jose back to Seattle) and the service will be free for 60 days. After today that aircraft will shift routes. Pricing hasn't been set, but I'd imagine it's close to what VA or AA is charging for Aircell's Gogo service. (
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/26/alaska-airlines-starts-testing-satellite-based-wi-fi-services 2/26)
The two behemoths of the web are at each others' throats again. European Union regulators said yesterday they have accepted a request from Google to join in on antitrust proceedings launched in Jan. to investigate Microsoft's dominance in the web browser market. Google continues to criticize Microsoft's practice of bundling Internet Explorer with its Windows operating system, claiming it is stifling innovation for users. (Cynopsis 2/26)
The PGA finally gets its roar back this week with the return of Tiger Woods at the Accenture Match Play Championship and Turner Sports' PGAtour.com is there to provide online users with a variety of content including hole-by-hole video coverage of Tiger's rounds. (Cynopsis 2/26)
(Below) If only ever company was this innovative…
Procter & Gamble is summoning top execs from Google, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to its Cincinnati headquarters March 9 for a so-called Digital Night. The consumer goods giant is being hush-hush about the event. A P&G spokeswoman says: "It is about learning." (
Iwantmedia 2/26, http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=134879 2/25)
Social app maker RockYou, which introduced a new feature earlier this month to add IAB-compliant video ads units to products, also began testing content distribution services with Ashton Kutcher's Katalyst Media guaranteeing impressions within its apps, per NewTeeVee. RockYou was able to demonstrate 1.8 million impressions in a single day for Katalyst's special Fashion Week episode of Blah Girls. (Cynopsis 2/26)
Internet advertising could fall by 5% in the first quarter of 2009, the first contraction in online ad spending since the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, according to market research group IDC. Also, the U.S. Internet ad market could get worse before the situation improves. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123558776209174437.html 2/25)
Some 48% of respondents of a new survey from We Media/Zogby Interactive cite the Internet as their primary source of news and information. Among 18-29-year-olds, the number is 55%. In addition, Web sites are now "more trusted" news sources than newspapers, television or radio. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i195c363ab252f976cb7ec76fade882cc 2/25)
The simple e-mail newsletter is leading the way in showing how to make money online. The most noted success story is DailyCandy, purchased by Comcast for a reported $125 million last fall. Thrillist, with annual sales of up to $10 million, is launching in its 10th city, Philadelphia. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090224_035701.htm 2/25)


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– By Sara Micelotta –
Though almost everyone knows that the easiest way to shop for a best friend is to pick out something you would like for yourself, holiday shoppers often find themselves too caught up in cookie making and fabulous holiday parties to shop for the perfect gift. For this reason, we've taken it upon ourselves to help you make your season of cheer just a little bit easier—and no, re-gifting is not an option. This list of fashionably fun items is sure to wow even your most difficult-to-please friends.
1. Alexis Bittar Miss Havisham-Aster Crystal Encrusted Bracelet, $275
2. Angel Feet One Hour Reflexology Session, $115
3. New York Times Wine Club Sampler, starting at $59.95
4. Miu Miu Patent Nappa Leather iPad Case, $380
5. Baccarat Corolle Vase, $230
6. Mont Blanc Boheme Arabesque Azur Rollerball, $975
7. Hermes Bolide Travel Case, $325
8. Flowers ( we recommend Gramercy Flowers in NYC)
9. Rani Arabella Herringbone and Ribbing Throw, $995
10. Bond No. 9 Peace Offering Gift Set, $430
11. Smythson Bijou Organiser, $545
12. MOMA Membership, $85
13. Michael Aram Pomegranate Double Nut Bowl, $119

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Acara & festival
- Berbelanja
- Bunga & Pertamanan
- Film
- Fotografi
- Hewan & Pertanian
- Kegiatan Alam dan Tempat Terbuka
- Lokakarya, kelas & ceramah
- Makanan & Minuman
- Mode & Pakaian
- Pameran
- Pameran & Musium Ilmu Pengetahuan
- Pekan Raya & Festival
- Peristiwa Keagamaan dan Spiritual
- Perjalanan & Gaya Hidup
- Pertunjukan
- Seni dan budaya
- Sport & Rekreasi
Find Events & Festivals
5 October 2013 - 13 October 2013
Contact Details : www.phuketvegetarian.com
TAT Phuket office
Tel. +66 7621 1036, +66 7621 2213
Kategori : Pekan Raya & Festival
Scale : Local
Submit inquiries and request for more information for this
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local people of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples, and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song". The ceremonies are based on the strong belief and faith to Gods and the strong intention to purify both bodies and spirits. Eating only vegetable dishes is based on the intention not to kill any animals, purify bodies and minds, and enlighten the spirits. During the ceremonies, people will be in the white clothes.


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Otto PilotBy srbissette on February 25th, 2013
Posted In: News
Binder Blood & Thunder
Overlooked & Underrated: The Binder/Grandenetti 1960s Horrors For Monsters Only Remain Beneath the Radar
The following installment is the fourth concerning the long-overlooked and forgotten "The Secret Files of Marc Vangoro" horror comics stories published in Cracked's For Monsters Only #6, 7, and 8 (1968-1969), scripted by Otto Binder and illustrated by Jerry Grandenetti. I want to again thank comics scholar Lou Mougin for bringing Binder's scripting credit to my attention in time for this series, and you can catch up with
This doesn't conclude the series, as I intend to scan and share the never-reprinted complete "Frankenstein '68″ and "Jekyll & Hyde '69″ in the near future here at Myrant, too.
But now, it's time to shed some light on Otto Binder and how this neglected pocket of work fit into the autumn years of his incredible, decades-spanning writing career…
What can one say, succinctly, about writer Otto Binder? He was a giant among the first generation of 20th century science and science fiction writers, co-writing sf with his brother Earl Binder (under the moniker "Eando Binder") from 1932-1935, before carving out a remarkable career that also included over 3000 comic book scripts from 1938-1969.
So you can easily grasp how just three stories among all Binder's sf short stories, novels, non-fiction science articles and books, UFOlogy articles and books, and the thousands of comicbooks and comic book stories he wrote might be overlooked and easily forgotten.
- I've already detailed how maligned and disposable Cracked's For Monsters Only was and remains even among diehard monster magazine devotees and collectors.
Just as For Monsters Only was completely slighted and dismissed in the otherwise exhaustive, definitive two-volume If You're Cracked You Must Be Happy overview of the Cracked magazine empire, Bill Schelly's excellent and otherwise rigorous Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder (Hamster Press, 2003) neglects to even whisper of Binder and Grandenetti's collaboration on these three stories. I am in no way slighting Bill's sterling Binder biography—it was and remains essential reading, the definitive biography of one of the most prolific and ingenious sf pulp and comic book writers of Binder's generation—but the oversight, while understandable, is unfortunate. I hope I've made the case for how and why this curious trio of stories were, and are, significant in horror comics (and genre) history.
Creepy #4, the adaptation of "Eando Binder"'s "The Trial of Adam Link" (1965), art credited to Joe Orlando.
The only citation of artist Jerry Grandenetti in the entire biography is in reference to Grandenetti ghosting work for James Warren's Creepy, working from Binder's adaptation of his own classic sf stories:
"…Binder's major contribution to Creepy was his adaptation of the Adam Link series, starting from the very beginning once more. Now Otto was not as lucky as he had been at EC, for while the artist was the same—Joe Orlando—the man's artwork was no longer top drawer. His artwork looked completely different than it had a decade earlier. Part of the difference was no doubt due to the fact that Jerry Grandenetti (formerly artist on "The Spirit") ghosted all but the first chapter for him, a fact Orlando freely admitted to Jack C. Harris at the 1965 New York comicon. This "I, Robot" series ran through six issues of Creepy, ending with a version of "Adam Link's Vengeance" much inferior to the one in Fantasy Illustrated…" (pg. 185)
The only mention of Cracked magazine (For Monsters Only isn't even hinted at) in the whole of the Binder biography is in reference to Binder's later, last contribution to black-and-white horror comics magazines, for Web of Horror:
"Before giving up comics entirely, Otto added a third phase (after EC and Warren) to his horror comics oeuvre with stories for Web of Horror from Major Publications, publishers of Cracked. Creepy and Eerie had gone to reprints, so the timing was right for a competitor to make inroads. WoH became the recipient of the pent-up creativity of a number of the best up-and-comers. With painted covers by Jeff Jones, Bernie Wrightson and others, and interior art by Roger Brand, Ralph Reese, Wrightson, Frank Brunner, Bruce Jones, the short-lived magazine allowed old-timer Otto to rub shoulders with a whole new generation of talents, many who would drive the comics industry in the 1970s and beyond.
Fandom welcomed the magazine with open arms. 'Web of Horror absolutely blew me away when it came out,' Michael T. Gilbert recalled recently. 'This seemed like a real opportunity for a new EC, spearheaded by Wrightson ([channeling Graham] Ingels), [Michael] Kaluta (Al Williamson) and Reese (Wally Wood). It was great while it lasted.'
In Web of Horror #2 (Feb 1970) Otto wrote and [Michael] Kaluta drew and lettered "Sea of Graves," about an ancient pyramid on the bottom of the sea, and "Man-Plant from the Tomb" with art by Ralph Reese. In #3, he again collaborated with the two: "Dead End" with Kaluta, and "Curse of the Yeti" with Reese, which was cover-featured. "Dead End" was an especially effective tale, with its protagonist who finds himself driving on a road into the future. He ends up unable to leave the road, until he reaches a sign that announces, "Dead End."
Unfortunately, after three excellent issues, Major cancelled it. To this day, some fans believe that Web of Horror pushed Jim Warren into getting new and better material for Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella." (pp. 203-204)
What Bill Schelly's Binder biography does provide, in grueling detail, is the context in which the three For Monsters Only stories were created.
Binder returned to writing for comics in 1964 out of desperation: he was, as Schelly put it, "dead broke," and "found a different environment than when he had left…" (pg. 177). Binder was 52 years old in 1964, and (much as I found contemporary comics when I was approaching the same age) the industry was a pretty toxic place. Nevertheless, Binder gave it his all.
Binder suffered laboring within DC Comics editor Mort Weisinger's Superman family bullpen: "…He talked me into working exclusively for DC. He said he would guarantee me $200 a week, which wasn't a huge amount, but I could still augment it with non-comics work. Mort didn't care about that as long as it didn't interfere with my production for him. But, it didn't turn out to be even $200 a week. With all the re-writes I was having to do, it was averaging at $155 a week. When I told him that, he said my figures had to be wrong. He was absolutely sure he was giving me $200 a week worth of writing. Finally, I told him I couldn't be exclusive with DC any more." (pg. 178, quoted from Binder, interview on October 29, 1973.)
Binder began freelancing for Western Publishing's Gold Key imprint, writing a Doctor Solar issue (#8) and subsequently creating and scripting 24 issues of Mighty Samson for Gold Key editor Bill Harris—at a lower page rate than Binder earned at DC. Binder's page rate at Warren scripting for Creepy was also paying, per page, less than he earned at DC, but neither Gold Key nor Warren required the constant (costly, for Binder, in lost time) rewriting Mort Weisinger did at DC.
This was a prolific period for Binder. He also scripted the Ballantine Books paperback comics adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1966, art by Alden "Al" McWilliams), the painful "camp" superhero comics Joe Simon edited for Harvey, and the similarly out-to-lunch collaboration with his old Golden Age Captain Marvel crony C.C. Beck, Fatman, The Human Flying Saucer (1966)—and, for the same publisher, Super Green Beret. The same year, Binder wrote the infamous Avengers novel The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (Bantam, 1966).
In his biography of Binder, Schelly respectfully, cautiously approaches the events of 1967—the year before the publication of the For Monsters Only trilogy of stories—with the following paragraph opening Chapter 16, "Mary":
"Author's Note: It isn't the intention of the author to dwell unnecessarily on the tragedy that overcame the lives of Otto and [his wife] Ione Binder in 1967, or in any way to exploit their personal lives by highlighting their problems as a couple or, indeed, as individuals. Nevertheless, it would be impossible to chronicle the life of Otto Binder without understanding the circumstances that eventually led him to turn his back on the comics industry." (pg. 197)
I will defer to Bill's biography for the curious Myrant reader to ferret out more details. Suffice to note, in a chapter that then begins "By the mid-1960s, both Otto and Ione had drifted into real alcoholism" and continues through Ione's "nervous breakdown," the tragic accidental death of their teenage daughter Mary on March 27, 1967, it should come as no surprise that Binder's frustration with Mort Weisinger and DC Comics reached critical mass.
I will pause here to note how little the fucking comics industry has changed (see my many references in Myrant to the cottage industry now thriving of reprint books paying not a red cent to creators or creators' heirs). Schelly writes,
"…With specific regard to the comics industry, the creative folks had never been paid for reprints of the comics strips they wrote. The fact that reprints were 'free' to the company was one of the main reasons their use increased dramatically through the 1960s… An explosion of annuals and reprints in the back of regular comic books meant, in essence, that Otto was losing work to himself. A preponderance of the reprints of the Superman family were tales he'd written between 1954 and 1960… The other issue in 1968 was the one of health insurance. The two issues were not unrelated. How could these freelancers afford to pay for health insurance independently, when their markets were filling books with reprint material—much of it written by these comic book veterans. Health insurance was especially important to Otto, because of the costs he was incurring for psychiatric healp for Ione…" (pg. 201)
[Note: Thankfully, DC later changed some of these policies—but many contemporary 21st century reprint volumes, including those costing $100 and up retail, pay nothing to the creators or creators' heirs today. And how many comics freelancers today can afford health insurance? While there have been many changes made within the industry, in all too many ways, very little has changed.]
Thus was spawned the still fateful "Writer's Rebellion at DC," which I first heard whispers about while a student at Kubert School (from Dick Giordano, at a time when Dick was involved with Neal Adams and other freelancers in trying to form a comic book creators guild or association, circa 1977-78) and finally read about in some detail in WaP!, the short-lived prozine newsletter at the end of the 1980s.
In short, Binder joined fellow veteran freelance DC writers Gardner Fox, Bill Finger, John Broome, Arnold Drake, and the sole artist on board with the writers, Kurt Schaffenberger, to petition DC management to address the situation. Binder never claimed to have been fired to his involvement with this group action, but others maintain otherwise.
Regardless, by 1969 Otto Binder and his family had moved to upper New York state, and Binder wrote to a friend, "I'm kissing off Mort Weisinger and his Superman line, as it is impossible to work with him by mail, and I cannot come down to see him every week. But naturally I'm going to praise the Lord for that, getting him off my neck…" (letter to comics fan Louis Black, quoted by Schelly, pg. 201). According to Schelly, Binder returned to writing science-fiction and freelancing for men's magazines like Saga—and, briefly, his fling with Major Publications.
Schelly and others have detailed the associative link between Binder's decision to leave comics for good and the horrific accidental death of his teenage daughter, Mary, in the spring of 1967. Jim Steranko wrote in The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 2, Binder was "through with the comics rat race" by 1969; Roy Thomas later noted, "I remember talking to Otto soon after his daughter's death… He told me that he didn't have the enthusiasm for [comics writing] any more. He hinted that with his daughter's death, it was a little too painful, and he would just as soon forget about comics…" (Thomas, interview on July 8, 2002, quoted by Schelly, pg. 205). I won't pursue this further; again, see the Schelly biography, if you care to know more.
But somewhere between Mary Binder's death, and Otto's decision, "Frankenstein '68," "Vampire Hunt '69," and "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde '69″ were scripted, drawn, completed, and published—and most likely for miserly page rates, to say the least.
It's sadly likely that Binder was just as glad nobody noticed this body of work.
Badly cropped and printed on crappy yellow newsprint in a shoddy monster magazine by a third-or-fourth-rate magazine publisher, the For Monsters Only stories were completely missed by comicbook readers and essentially invisible even to most avid monster magazine fans and collectors—and they remain so.
Chronologically—though no Binder biography I've ever stumbled upon notes the fact—Binder wrote the For Monsters Only scripts Jerry Grandenetti illustrated two years before the more celebrated Web of Horror surfaced and slid into oblivion.
Three For Monsters Only stories; three issues of Web of Horror.
I'd argue that unlike much of what Binder had scripted in the two years just prior to his For Monsters Only stories—including the painful-to-read Harvey "camp" superheroes he scripted for Joe Simon and the reviled Avengers novel that many (including Stan Lee) blamed for deep-sixing a planned series of Marvel superhero original paperback novels—Binder's "The Secret Files of Marc Vangoro" stories were surprisingly progressive and anticipated coming trends, instead of reflecting an aging creator's work seriously out-of-synch with the times. Both the "Marc Vangoro" stories and the ill-fated Web of Horror were and are significant, and—as I have hopefully demonstrated—Binder and Grandenetti's collaborative trio of stories broke new ground for fresh directions the genre would take in the coming years in all other media.
63-year-old Otto Binder died of heart failure in his sleep on October 14, 1974.
At age 76, Ione Binder passed away on May 10, 1994.
They share a modest, single gravestone with their daughter, Mary, in the George Washington Cemetery in Patterson, NJ.
All images ©original creators/proprietors, their original year of publication; all artwork and images are posted for archival and educational purposes only.


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As rapid technology innovation has connected us all in new ways, it has also given predators new methods of exploiting our children.
Child pornography refers to pornography depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child. Often this is actual documentation of a crime scene — images and videos that depict the abuse of a child that is then circulated for personal consumption. Child pornography is a global issue, but the United States remains the largest producer and consumer of child abuse content in the world.
Thirty years ago, child pornography was mainly shared via the postal service – making it incredibly difficult to find and difficult to identify like-minded individuals who shared this content. Today, almost all child pornography is traded online. Advances in connectivity, data storage, file sharing and smartphone technology have contributed to an explosive increase in this content and its reach and have made it easier for those who share this abusive content to connect and form communities.
More recently, technology has begun to play an increasingly prominent role in child trafficking. At any given time, there are between 100,000 and 300,000 children in the US alone at risk of commercial sexual exploitation. These children are often coerced or forced into selling sex against their will. Online classified sites and escort pages have become a virtual marketplace where these children are bought and sold.
We also know that live-streaming sexual abuse, online grooming and sextortion are growing in prominence.
As we work with survivors, NGOs and law enforcement around the world we regularly hear about their struggles to deploy the latest innovation in order to stop this type of predatory behavior and protect our children.
We harness the best and brightest minds in technology to drive innovation to stop predatory behavior, reduce child exploitation and help identify and rescue victims.


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Designer track lighting
such as gorgeous flex track lighting can be a stunning addition to your home lighting layout. With a
liitle imagination and pre-planning you can use these delightful fixtures in most any room of your home.
Designers love track lighting as it so flexible in that it can go in rooms where space is limited in particular rooms that are narrow but in mostly any room of the home that you care to mention. Designer track lighting comes in all sorts of shapes from curved to straight and there is even a flexible version.
Pictured here are some lovely white track lights that work together well in this delightful living space. They throw out a good amount of light and as you can see go nicely with the decor in the room. Because they are so narrow they suit rooms of all shapes and sizes which is one reason why designers love them.
One of the aspects of this type of lighting that I like is that you can buy the track in different lengths so if say you wanted to increase the size or add more lights you can without any bother.
Below are some of the models found in this range..
Some of the available finishes..
Designer curved track lighting as depicted above is kind of quirky looking but it is amazing how popular these lights are. Track lights can cover a wide area of a room as you can see which is a big advantage if say you only have one electrical point in the ceiling as they only need the one electrical point.
If you are good at DIY then installing this type of lighting is`nt too difficult a task. If you have any doubts whatsoever though I highly recommend that you employ the services of a qualified electrician to install ALL of your lighting fixtures.
Read through the manufacturers installation instructions carefully and reread them if necessary so that you avoid mistakes. Remember to turn of the electricity from the mains before undertaking any electrical work. A good tip is find some large pieces of card and write in big letters TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY! Then place the cards in plain view so that you can`t possibly make any mistakes in the way of electrocuting yourself by leaving the electricity on. It is vital that you use an electricity detector which detects whether electrical current is present before you commence work.
If you have any doubts at all, as mentioned, do employ the services of a professional, qualified electrician to undertake the task for you. If you are going to install the lighting fixture yourself follow the instructions to the letter and do check and double check that the mains electricity is switched off before commencing the installation.
I like the look of this model, it is staggered which makes the most of ceiling space and illuminates quite a wide area. There are 6 lights which are halogen type but if the owner replaced them with LED`s he or she could probably reduce the energy costs dramatically. Basically you could run 6 LED`s at under half the cost to run 6 halogens.
Small two to three light models can be picked up for under $100 but it is definitely a good idea to shop around if you are thinking of buying one of these models as prices can vary. Remember also that many online retailers often sell the same products but at varying price. For example retailer (a) might sell a track light for $175 but retailer (b) might sell the exact same track light for $125, so shop around if you want to get the best bargains.
Pendant track lighting is commonly found in contemporary kitchens such as this delightful looking one. Kitchen island lighting such as this can often be the type that can be lowered and raised so that you can adjust the height of the lights which is very handy.
The thing I love best about modern kitchen lighting is that they are not in your face as it were, they are very modest as is the model depicted here. An obvious advantage of this type of track lighting is that the shades can be cleaned quite easily and the light bulbs can be changed without too much trouble also. With some you can buy new shades at a later date if you want to upgrade them which is another aspect I like about these delightful fixtures.
The obvious fixture types to use as designer track lighting are flex track lighting (short for flexible track Lighting) and also Monorail
Track Lighting. These models can be manipulated in
to shape, curved around, bent up or down etc and come in a variety of impressive colors and finishes and also sizes. There is a certain limit to what you can do
with them though. You you must not over-bend them for example but they are quite
easy to bend into shape.
One Final Advantage..
One final excellent point about designer track lighting that the heads are
interchangeable, so that you can quickly change the
look of your fixture by replacing the
heads with different shaped or different colored
This is excellent for any design element because it gives more options to you and allows you to add even more of your own style and mark to your lighting scheme. Don`t be afraid to experiment and I am sure you will be delighted and whatsmore probably amazed at the outcome;-).
designer track lighting > track lighting fixture
designer track lighting > lighting fixtures tips and designs
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All Rights Reserved


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Please call 800-633-7377 for a personal consultation between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
You can also call the appointment center to schedule, change or cancel an appointment or ask questions.
With the goal of advancing pain management, Anesthesia Research investigates novel interventions that assure patient safety and comfort throughout the perioperative period. Focused areas within the department include:
An integration of bench, animal and clinical studies form the foundation of our research program. Currently there several key research initiatives underway.
The development of treatment algorithms within the Pain Division lends itself to the systematic study of treatment outcomes which in turn suggest the refinement of best practices. Pretreatment psychometric testing, biological markers, and examination findings have been used to predict long-term functional outcomes in spinal and neuropathic pain treatments. Research is being conducted to develop normalized scores for the BSI-18, a screening and outcome tool for use in a chronic pain population. Medication management protocols are being coordinated with the development and implementation of these screening algorithms. Database development is underway for both the acute pain service and chronic pain service to facilitate outcomes research.
Previous investigations into pain predisposition in animal and bench models have led us back to the hypothesis that the development of chronic pain states in humans is in large part genetically predetermined. A collaborative effort with genetics researchers at Oakland University has been funded. This project involves the establishment of a database linking posttraumatic outcomes to genetic profiles. It includes an undergraduate laboratory course (BIO 491 ST: Clinical Genetics Research) where students learn the fundaments of clinical research from the bedside and the bench perspectives: a translational research experience. A grant has been submitted for NIH funding.
We are interested in improving our ability to evaluate all patients for pain in accordance with the 5th Vital Sign Initiative. Patients who are unable to communicate through self-report are vulnerable and therefore liable to suffer unrecognized and hence unrelieved pain. After studying observational scales in toddlers we turned our attention to adults. The development of the Postoperative Observational Pain Scale for Older Adults (POPS) has been completed and submitted for publication. Validating this tool in the cognitively impaired will be the next step in this project.
Finally, we plan to return to the study of postoperative pain in toddlers. Distinguishing between anxiety, delirium and pain can be challenging in this age group. A study designed to improve pain management and postoperative cognitive function will be used as a vehicle to improve our methods for assessing pain and anxiety in the PACU of the Center for Children's Surgery.
Although we have engaged in a number of diverse projects covering anesthesiology, acute and chronic pain, our niche in sponsored clinical trials has been orthopedic postoperative pain states. Our strategic plan includes continued expansion into the areas of demonstrated expertise including: muscle relaxants, awareness/depth of anesthesia and its effect on postoperative cognitive dysfunction, and nausea, orthostasis and autonomic control. We have had success in multicenter trials at Beaumont in the development of novel drug delivery systems: sustained-release epidural morphine, now called DepoDur and E-TRANS, now called IONSYS. We continue to participate in trials for conditions such as postoperative nausea, postoperative cognitive dysfunction, complement inhibition following bypass, opioid-induced constipation, and catheter-induced infection, and novel agents for postoperative pain control.
Clinical questions arising in daily practice and quality assurance issues provide the basis for much of the intramural research strategic plan. Examples of this process not previously mentioned include the use of an NK-1 antagonist to prevent intractable nausea and vomiting following sustained-release epidural morphine (submitted for publication), outcomes following shoulder surgery using continuous interscalene regional analgesia, an algorithmic approach to the analgesia in opioid tolerant acute pain inpatients, and tendon-bone healing in the presence of COX-2 analgesics.
Anesthesiology Researchers, including nearly a dozen sub-investigators in the Anesthesia Departments at Beaumont Hospitals, were leaders in the development of protocols and successful completion of clinical FDA trials leading to FDA approvals for DepoDur, IONSYS and Nucynta (tapentadol). DepoDur is a sustained-release epidural morphine that allows for 48 hours of relief following a single injection, thus eliminating the need for a catheter and pump system. This is especially important in patients who are unable to use epidural infusions for postoperative pain control due to the need for anticoagulation as is the case in total joint replacement surgery. IONSYS is a novel delivery system for patient-controlled analgesia that is a small (credit card sized) system which adheres to the skin. It allows for the painless, needleless introduction of pain relieving medication directly through the skin when activated by the patient. Again, the elimination of pumps and catheters provides added convenience and mobility for postoperative patients. Tapentadol is a novel oral analgesic with a dual mode of action: opioid agonism and norepinephrine reuptake inhibition. This dual action allows for a dramatic reduction in gastrointestinal side effects compared to equivalent doses of opioid analgesics.
Research awards have been received in the form of non-commercial grant funding from the following organizations: DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, Beaumont Foundation, Oakland University/Beaumont Hospital, Pfizer (unrestricted grant for basic science), and Merck (unrestricted grant for clinical science). Papers and posters have been selected for special recognition including the following awards and honors: Citation Award (American Pain Society) and selection for AnalgesiaFile (Dannemiller Education Foundation). Our outstanding clinical nursing staff has also been recognized as leaders in the field and selected as coordinator leaders to train other sites around the country.
Craig T. Hartrick, M.D., DABPM, FIPP
Director, Anesthesiology Research
Postoperative pain, Neuropathic pain, Regional Anesthesia, Pain Measurement
Craig Ramsdell, M.D.
Associate Director, Anesthesiology Research
Aerospace physiology, Nausea, Obstetrical analgesia
Roy Soto, M.D.
Director, Anesthesia Education
Awareness, cognitive dysfunction, muscle relaxants
Yeong Tang, M.D.
Chief, Cardiac Anesthesia - Troy
Cardiac anesthesia, postoperative nausea
Cecile Pestano, RN, BSN, CCRPAssociate Nurse Manager, Clinical ResearchPhone: 248-964-3440Fax: 248-964-3112Email: email@example.com
Copyright © 2015 Beaumont Health System. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Site Map


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How to Say No (in 25 Bad A** Ways).
I've mastered the fine art of saying yes.
I will say yes, for the most part, to anything you ask me to do; I love you, you see and I want you to be happy.
And I am bendy and flexible and so I will warp myself into all sorts of shapes and sizes to make sure that I honor the yes that I gave you (you know…because I'm a good person.)
It doesn't matter how stressed or how out-of-my-way I have to go to make it happen; I would rather put myself out then let you down.
But sometimes, my yes is really a no.
My body can turn my yes-into-a-no, as can my facial expression, or the tone of my voice. If you are clever, you'll hear the no in the yes and if you are honest (unlike me, it would seem) you will call me out on it.
Why is saying no so difficult?
As soon as a no pops into my head, I fill with guilt and send myself into a dungeon full of negative thoughts—for example: I am a bad person…You won't want to be my friend anymore…I'm not doing my part to save the world.
(Really, there is no rationale to where my mind will take me when it comes to saying no; needless to say, I am a work-in-progress.)
This year, I commit to being completely, compassionately, lovingly honest (even when it's hard…especially when it's hard) because I'm not honoring myself—or you—when I don't say what I mean.
I will say yes when I mean yes (truly, madly, deeply, from my heart yes) and I will say no when I mean no (without holding guilt for doing so).
And when I am in doubt and my courage wavers, this list will surely help:
And for the record, I've learned that there is as much love in saying no as there is in saying yes.
How to Say No: Strategies to Preserve Sanity. ~ Megan Bruneau
How to Say Yes to Change & Mean It.
(Source: tazzmarazz.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest)
Incorrect source, offensive, or found a typo? Email us (please put title in subject bar of email so we'll be able to fix). Or do you want to write for Elephant?
{Waylon H. Lewis C Enterprises 2015: Use Rights in perpetuity. Ownership remains with author.}
21 Responses to "How to Say No (in 25 Bad A** Ways)."
#23 kicks @ss…
I love this article! I tend to say yes on some occasions when I really should say no. The tendency dwindles with age, however
Thanks Jennie!
Nice work Bryonie. This is good. I'm going to go with a 15/16 combo. Cheers, B
Thank you! Great combo.
Bryonie, your article rings true with my recent decision to separate with my husband. It is a light hearted way for me to look at my new found ability to speak my mind/my heart, and finally say no. Fuck no.
I needed some humour. Thank you.
Hi Chelsea…you are most welcome…I'm happy that this lifted your spirits…and keep speaking your mind/heart. xo
Saying NO is a way of setting healthy boundaries. A wise man I once knew said that the meaning of the word "NO" is one of the most important lessons that we can teach our children. One of the reasons that Americans have such an aire of entitlement is they haven't heard NO quite often enough.
NO NO NO NO NO NO! Feels good to say NO, yes?
I so agree wit h you on your statement about Americans having such an air of entitlement because they don't hear the word NO enough. Especially now our schools teachers and parents are sheltering our children from the real world, and they are not being taught the meaning of the word NO. Then when our younger generation enter the real world and reality they do not have the proper skills and tools and therefor that sense of entitlement really comes in, they feel they don't have to work for anything and that they should be given everything because that's what they have been taught all through school. It is sad.
Thank you! The article was AMAZING!!! I loved it!
Excellent – thank you!
No 21 preceded by 'Thank you for offering me this wonderful opportunity but….'
[…] one day becomes two, before you know it you have cleared your schedule for almost an entire week. Five days; an eternity in the land of the movers and […]
[…] Saying no is often the way to say yes. […]
Okay, this was funny, but I made the mistake of sharing this before I read the whole thing…why hide the "ss" in the title if the solution is to use the word "fuck" a lot…was hoping for something more useful… A little disappointed, A LOT embarassed…my fault, I know.
Sorry that it was a surprise Chrissy. I'll add a graphic language warning. ~ Bryonie
Bryonie, I love this! Its something I struggle with (and to read this today when I am in a stage of utter burnout from overdoing is great.) I love how you wrapped it in humor!
I heard every word you said: none of them i liked …
#16 with the word "Oh" starting it, delivered like Samuel L Jackson is my favorite no


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via Disney Channel press release:
Disney Channel has ordered additional second-season episodes of the hit comedy series "The Suite Life on Deck" and will bring aboard a new character played by actor Larramie "Doc" Shaw ("House of Payne"). The series is in production in Hollywood and is a spin-off of the Emmy-nominated "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." It stars Dylan Sprouse (winner of the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite TV Actor), Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song, Debby Ryan and Phill Lewis.
In making the announcement, Gary Marsh, president, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide, said: "With this second-season extension, the cast of 'The Suite Life' makes Disney Channel history by becoming the longest running continuous characters on our air - 138 half-hour episodes. We are thrilled for them, and for the brilliant, inspired production team that made this extraordinary run possible."
A ratings juggernaut since its September 2008 premiere, "The Suite Life on Deck" ranked as TV's #1 series among Kids 6-11 and the #1 scripted TV series among Tweens 9-14 for all of 2008. Since then, "The Suite Life on Deck" has enjoyed smooth sailing with original episodes holding a commanding lead in the timeslot (Friday 8:00 p.m.), ranking as TV's #1 program among the key kid demographics, virtually doubling runner up Nickelodeon among Tweens 9-14 (1.7 million vs. 878,000), and defeating it by a whopping 58% among Kids 6-11 (1.9 million vs. 1.2 million). In addition, "The Suite Life on Deck" is #1 in Total Viewers (4.1 million) on all cable, outperforming #2 rank (Fox News and Nickelodeon) by 24%, or an impressive 800,000 viewers. Premiere to date, "The Suite Life on Deck" improved its primary Friday 8:00 p.m. time period, surpassing year-ago averages by 32% in Total Viewers, by 46% in Kids 6-11 (1.9 million vs. 1.3 million) and by 55% in Tweens 9-14 (1.7 million vs. 1.1 million).
In addition to its Friday (8:00 p.m.) telecasts on Disney Channel, beginning June 15 encore episodes of "The Suite Life on Deck" will join the lineup on Disney XD, where "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" also airs daily (7:00 a.m.).
In "The Suite Life on Deck," identical twins Zack and Cody Martin and London Tipton have embarked on a new adventure -- a semester-at-sea aboard a luxurious cruise liner, the SS Tipton, with friend and classmate Bailey Pickett from Kettlecorn, Kansas. More often than not, their antics make cruise director Mr. Moseby want to walk the plank. Episodes debuting in Fall 2009 will introduce a new character, Marcus Little, a former singing sensation whose career ended when his voice changed, so he's now making a fresh start by studying world music at Seven Seas High on the SS Tipton.
Larramie "Doc" Shaw starred as Malik Payne on Tyler Perry's "House of Payne," for which he received a 2009 NAACP Image Award nomination, the 2009 Young Artist Award and a 2009 NAMIC Vision Award for Best Performance in a Comedy. He is a native of Atlanta, Georgia.
"The Suite Life on Deck" is executive-produced by Danny Kallis ("Smart Guy," "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper"), Pamela Eells O'Connell ("Family Matters"), Jim Geoghan ("Family Matters") and Irene Dreayer ("Sister, Sister," "Smart Guy"). "The Suite Life on Deck" is produced by It's A Laugh Productions in association with Disney Channel.


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Plans for Costa Coffee in Bingham approved - despite strong opposition
Posted: January 22, 2013|
A COSTA coffee shop will open in Bingham despite more than 1,500 residents signing a petition against the chain coming to the town.
Council planning officers at Rushcliffe Borough Council have said yes at meeting to the shop opening at the empty Odd Bins unit in Eaton Place, at the entrance to Bingham's precinct.
They recommended that planning permission should be granted subject to conditions which included opening hours of 7am until 6pm on weekdays, 8am until 6pm on Saturdays, and 9am until 4pm on Sundays.
Bingham is currently home to four coffee shops and much of the opposition to the plans for a new chain shop has come from people who say they value the independent trading of the town. A total of 1,606 people signed a petition against the plans.
To view the minutes from the meeting, go to the council and democracy section at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk and click on the meeting of January 17.
Did the council make the right decision? E-mail firstname.lastname@example.com


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Hey bloggers! I think it's time for a chat. I'm not a writer, I'm not a social media expert, I don't know clever things. But I am a tweeter, a twatty blogger, and I do know people. I know more about people than most. I am your target audience.
There are rules, bloggers. Unwritten rules, variable rules, rules that no one tells you about. But still, RULES. To break one is forgivable. We all make mistakes, especially when we start blogging coughEDBALLScough. Look, people blog for all sorts of reasons. I'm not going to hoik my judgeypants at anyone, to employ the literary device known as lying. But assuming you're writing a blog because you want to, here are the rules.
1. Write because you have something to say. Do not write to be read. I spill all kinds of blog twattery out on here. Sometimes in sorrow, sometimes in anger. Sometimes because I've found something interesting and want to write about it. Sometimes* I'm just twatting about. But I write because I have to, not in expectation of being read. Not for attention. Yeah, I know we've all read the stories of bloggers who have gone on to find fame, fortune & six figure book advance deals. Who end up on This Morning and Question Time. They are the exception. But you should have one thing in common with them. That you love/hate/ feel REALLY passionate about what you write.
*All the time
2. Blogging shouldn't be a chore. 'Oh! It's Saturday! I haven't written my blogpost! It'll be up in two hours, folks!'. Firstly, and I cannot emphasise this enough, NO. ONE. CARES. Secondly, if you're blogging to schedule, you don't need to blog. I know I have the very great luxury of an empty, unfulfilled and meaningless life, so I can write as and when the compulsion takes hold. Not many people are as fortunate. But if blogging is something you do, then rethink. It should be something you feel, need, must.
3. Blog stats. Ignore them. This isn't a popularity contest. I got 2k hits on a post a few weeks back, and a load of comments. A lot of those comments really pissed me off. But another post, a small, sad lost post that I didn't tweet about elicited a text from a friend. A text of solace, comfort, and understanding. Which do you think meant more? 2k hits in a day? Or a message from someone who was one of only 12 to read a post?
4. Be honest. Please. I'm a chronic oversharer. Not everyone is quite so prone to open soulbearing. But if you feel something, say so. Say why. Tell people. Say 'This fascinates me, it's amazing, it's incredible. I love X because Y.' But if I read 'This is what speaks to me', with no further explanation, no real feeling, no bloody passion, I guarantee I will have only one response. 'You big hairy arsed LIAR. Don't lay claim to thoughts and feelings you do not have.'
5. I'm going to say it again. DO NOT WRITE FOR ATTENTION. Blogging, tweeting, however you do it. Attention seeking is obvious, desperate, and pitiful. There is nothing intriguing in it. Nothing is a greater turn off. So do NOT tweet me a link to your blog, demanding I read it, demanding comments. In the context of a conversation, fine. Anything else, rude. Really fucking rude. Like a dog sticking it's nose in your crotch. If it's my kind of blog, trust me, I'll find it. I'm good like that. Another thing I'm good at is overenthusiasm. If I like you, you'll know about it. And so will everyone else. Like my hair, I have no control. If I like you and what you do, you will never find a more annoying advocate. But I am also a contrary bastard, and if you shove your blog equivalent of a toddler pasta shape self portrait in my face, I will smile, tightly, nod, and despise you for eternity.
6. Your words, your voice, your blog. I've had blogposts ripped off in the past. And trust me, it did not end well. I am not cool with that. If you've read something of mine, and it's given you an idea for a post, great. But do not fucking ever rip me off, and expect me not to notice. I will see it, I will hunt you down, I will fucking destroy you. I don't take myself seriously. But don't be fooled into thinking I don't care about my words, my thoughts, my writing, MY fucking blog. This blog is me. My voice. Do not ever take my voice. Because ventriloquists are creepy as fuck. And I will never lose my voice again.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Blog twattery
Posted by Lucy Benedict at 17:01
2 comments:
- Sam said...
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (although plagiarism obv isn't 'imitation' as such and I'm not defending it in any way!!) but I can't imagine anyone wanting to be bothered ripping my words off - it says something about how great a writer you are - so much passion in what you say. X
- 16 August 2014 at 21:19
- Lucy Benedict said...
Oh pshaw, I'm not a real writer, just someone who can't stop oversharing :-)
And your posts always get me thinking - you've been my muse a few times, quite often with a really simple observation that would never occur to me. So I'm a thieving thief who thieves too ;-) x
- 18 August 2014 at 10:21
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
DARBOY - Friday was another rough day in the hospital for Charlie Knuth of Darboy. The six-year-old is suffering from a rare and painful skin disease, and had to be rushed to a Minnesota hospital Thursday. Now, friends, family and even strangers are rallying around Charlie and his family and praying for a quick and speedy recovery.
Charlie's mother, Trisha Knuth, says Charlie was taken to the hospital when she noticed he was lethargic and extremely pale. Friday, doctors conducted a number of different blood tests.
"We're waiting on results of the lab to find out what infection is growing in his blood and what type of virus he has," she said.
Trisha says it's difficult to see her little boy in so much pain.
"He has wounds that are painful, and he hasn't had to experience in the past - since his transplant. He's just very sick," said Knuth.
Charlie's story has made it all around the world, and many feel invested in his future.
"Just everything that he's had to go through - the family, and all the money they had to raise to help him to get better.. it's been inspiring, to say the least," said Jakob Scholl, who lives in Darboy.
Trisha says she's confident Charlie will pull through, and adds that she's beyond grateful for the love and support of people all throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
"It just makes me feel like there's people there for us. To know people are praying - and then realize what he's going through means the world," she said.
- Latest


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Paradise in Destin, Luxury at its best sleeps6
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From the Highrise, walk to the beach takea bike ride along the resort�s trail. Rent a boat or Jet Ski and takea joy ride into the ocean. Feeling adventurous? How aboutParasailing? Rent a scooter and tour the city. There are a lot offun activities for you to enjoy.Onsite you will find a nice outdoor pool a fitness gym, lightedtennis court, picnic areas for cookouts, and much much more. Comeand experience all Destin has tooffer. Shopping Stores, Restaurantsand Gulf courses are within a mile.Our home was meticulously furnished for our family and yours toenjoy, the unit is located on the 9th floor, very elegant, 9 footceilings and glass surrounded walls to overlook the beach,completely costumed decorated for those who want the best. We havetop of the line appliances, full Gourmet kitchen with utensils andcookware, white cabinets and a breakfast bar with stools for addedconvenience there is also a Dining Table for 4 that opens up to theLiving Roomwhere you will find a QUEEN SOFA SLEEPER (sleeps 2) and two armchairs to enjoy a program on TV or playing your favorite tunes onthe stereo system.This is a 1 Bedroom unit that features a King Size Master Bedroomwith large closet and balcony to enjoy a lazy evening or a hot cupof coffee in the morning. If you have kids or young adults our homealso features 2 bunk beds (sleeps one perbed, child or adult.) Intotal it can sleep 6 comfortably.Majestic Sun is 24/7 monitored for your security and ours; coveredparking is available, kid friendly environment.FYI: This is a home where we stay regularly please respect it andtreat it as your home we want you to enjoy the best at the mostreasonable price, help us keep our units beautiful. Here you arefamily and we want to welcome you.Like they say in Destin Come on inaa.and relax youare on vacation.Vacation Rental Amenities*Washer & Dryer*Air conditioning*Linens Provided*Garage*Covered Parking*Entertainment Cable/Satellite TV*VCR*CD Player*Stereo System*Shared Hot Tub*Shared Pool*Kitchen Full Kitchen*Cooking Utensils Provided*Refrigerator*Dishwasher*Microwave*Ice Maker*Outdoor Features Charcoal BBQ GrillCommunications: Telephone * Wireless InternetActivities andAttractionsActivities (on site and nearby):Golf, Tennis, Theme Park (Amusement Park), Shopping, Sightseeing,Restaurants, Sailing, Boating, Parasailing, Jet Skiing, Shelling,Swimming, Snorkeling/Diving, Surfing, Windsurfing, Biking, Hiking,Fishing, Fitness Center/Gym, Cinemas/Movie Theaters, Miniature golf.Other Activities:Deep Sea Fishing, Silver Sands Outlet Mall (1 mile) Destin Commons(5Miles).
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A wonderful wrap around porch, Hot Tub, multi-level decks and an out-door shower are just a few of the unique features tolook forward to, even before you venture inside. The interior of this home has ...
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The Corning girls team was the eventual Class B winner
- Filed Under
For four area runners, Thursday's Section 4 cross country championships delivered two titles for the price of one race.
Elmira sophomore Abbey Wheeler, Watkins Glen senior Matt Gill, Corning freshman Jessica Lawson and Corning senior Sam Chauvin each won races to help their teams to victories at Chenango Valley State Park.
The Watkins Glen girls joined the boys in capturing Class D team titles. ...


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Microsoft fixes IE bug including for 'unsupported' Windows XP
Microsoft has reportedly fixed the infamous 'zero-day exploit' in Internet Explorer even for Windows XP which is no longer supported by the American company.
The bug allowed hackers to install malware on one's computer without permission, and allowed hacker to steal user's personal data, track online behavior, or gain control of the computer, CNET reported.
Usually, Microsoft issues security patches on every second Tuesday of the month but because of the severity of the bug, the patch was released on last Thursday, the report added.
Microsoft has issued a patch for the Windows XP users as well; however, the company has ended the support for the OS.
Microsoft's security group's Dustin Childs said that they have released the patch for Windows XP users but the OS is no longer supported by Microsoft.
(Posted on 03-05-2014)
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Celebrities these days are so terrified of revealing their real personalities. But you know who isn't afraid of that at all? Bill Murray. In fact, he revels in it, meaning that we can finally make it official after all these years: Murray really is the Internet's greatest mascot.
To assume that important title, you need to have many qualities, though the most important one is the ability to make a video go viral: That is the Internet's best talent, and Murray has it in spades: Just this week, a bunch of bros celebrating their friend's bachelor party in Charleston, S.C., happened to be at the same restaurant as the famed actor. The end result: Murray wound up giving an excellent speech to the group and some important relationship advice. (If you find "the one," take an around-the-world trip together. If you survive, when you get back, get married.)
Of course, Murray is famous for randomly showing up places. That video evidence often makes its way around the Web at lightning speed, and they all add up to the other things that help make someone become the Mascot of the Internet:
Be nice to people.
Just because you're a famous movie star doesn't mean you have to constantly prove how important you are. If you're in the mood to talk to a stranger and one approaches to have a drink, why not accept? (And take that stranger on the most memorable night of his life, as Murray did according to this Thought Catalog post.)
Be really fun at bars.
When people have a few drinks in them, they'll love you even more: Although Murray was already a hit when he randomly started bartending at a random place during SXSW in 2010:
Be young at heart.
Crashing a kickball game was one of Murray's greatest accomplishments — especially considering he jumped in to play.
Don't be afraid to make fun of yourself.
Sometimes movies have silly tropes, like a group of people walking realllllly slowly down a hallway. Embrace it! As did Murray, who chose to participate in a ridiculous video parody instead of signing an autograph, like a lame celebrity would.
New {fake} Trailer from David Walton Smith on Vimeo.
Most importantly: Remind people you're just a regular person.
Celebrities, we can't emphasize this enough: An audience connects when they remember you're just like them. And who hasn't shown up at a random loft party, just like Murray did in Brooklyn back in 2008?


text: > http://www.kegel.com/c10k.html Thanks for that. > I was thinking about a way to mediate between an ALT > (especially the vector ALT, found in Limbo assembly code) > and FreeBSD's KQueue approach. > My idea is to build more primitive code for Stackless, > which is able to support ALT, and KQueue like structures > as well. I'm not familiar with this 'vector alt', and google for 'limbo "vector alt"' gave nothing. Could you explain that a bit? Thanks Tom. _______________________________________________ Stackless mailing list Stackless at stackless.com http://www.stackless.com/mailman/listinfo/stackless


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Stream A Little Stream
By Jessica Stukonis
The 2012 Entertainment Business Law Seminar at CMJ Music Marathon began early Friday morning with a relevant, controversial panel cleverly titled "Stream A Little Stream." The panel comprised five representatives from different areas in the music industry, including major record labels, performing rights associations and digital internet radio. Together, they explored the evolution of streaming media, its effect on the delivery of music to consumers and the problems faced by companies hoping to profit from the exploitation of this relatively new technology.
The panel began by discussing the disparate treatment given to digital internet radio versus its terrestrial counterpart. In particular, the panelists focused on the two types of internet radio service provider models related to consumer control. Generally, the more control the consumer exercises over the content to which he or she is listening, the higher the fee for the service provider. For example, in a noninteractive internet radio service like Pandora (where the consumer listens to a prearranged stream of music based upon an inputted musical preference), the service provider must only pay for a single blanket license for public performance. In contrast, when the internet radio service is interactive, like Spotify (where the consumer completely controls every song he or she listens to), the service provider must pay both a public performance and mechanical royalty.
In addition to increased fees, internet radio providers also encounter obstacles using typical revenue streams, such as vocal and visual advertisements. Now that internet radio can be accessed on mobile phones and smaller computing devices like tablets, it is nearly impossible to integrate visual advertisements in an effective manner as our attention is not always on the smaller screens. Additionally, vocal advertisements are deemed disruptive to the listening experience, which can turn off potential users to use another service or an illegal alternative.
Some panelists argued that internet radio providers simply need to be more innovative and redesign their business model(s) so that they can profit from streaming radio's growing popularity. In response, other panelists said that's easier said than done. Instead, they argued that it's the current legal framework that needs revision. One panelist suggested that the European model, though still imperfect, might prove to be a source of inspiration for such revision. While there is no easy answer to this issue, there is no way to dispute the profound effect that the internet has had on our society and the way that we consume not just music but popular culture. While development of streaming technology has progressed rather quickly, it may take more time before a sensible monetization scheme can be devised.
Music Lending 2012
By Alicia Matusheski
The second panel of the day-long CMJ CLE seminar was Music Lending 101. I'll admit upfront, I do not have a background in banking or finance, so when I first read the blurb in the CMJ guide and saw the words "valuations," "asset classes" and "the underwriting process," I was a little worried about the prospect of writing a blog on these issues. However, the intriguing panelists—moderator Wayne Wald, a partner at Akerman Senterfitt, LP; Michael Poster, Partner at Vandenberg & Feliu; Eric Longley from Prager & Fenton in the U.K.; Nari Matsuura, Partner at Massarsky Consulting, Inc.; David Innes, Senior Vice President at City National Bank; and Curtis Vega, Senior Vice President in the Media & Entertainment department of HSBC Private Bank—did a wonderful job at laying out the issues.
Although the music industry has seen its ups and downs, especially over the last 10 years, lenders are providing money for artists and the rights owners of music. One thing for borrowers to keep in mind, which Mr. Vega mentioned at the beginning of the panel and continued to come up throughout the discussion, is that lenders are going back to the basics of lending and focusing on structuring the deal in a way where the lending institution is going to be paid back. Some of the things lenders consider when determining whether to lend is a borrower's liquidity, history and their collateral.
Mr. Poster emphasized that lenders are not going to lend on an unsecured basis and that the loan will typically be collateralized by copyrights, trademarks or other assets, and often personal guarantees will be required. Determining the value of the collateral is a complex analysis. Ms. Matsuura said that her company takes a granular approach, looking at the unique characteristics of the collateral. For example, if the collateral is a music publishing catalog, the lender may analyze: 1. The genre (ex. Pop may be more valuable than Classical); 2. The size and contents of the catalog (ex. whether there are any particular songs that generate the bulk of the catalog's revenue); 3. Whether the borrower is a rights owner or rights creator (it is interesting to note that rights creators are often considered passive owners and not valued as highly as rights owners might be); 4. Whether the catalog is wholly owned or partly owned; 5. How the catalog is exploited domestically and internationally and the types of media in which it is exploited (ex. Radio and TV exploitation bring different revenue).
Mr. Longley pointed out that "valuation is based on what happened in the past," which may not make sense for artists who are on the verge and may not take into account innovations in the market. Ms. Matsuura echoed this when she talked about the difficulty of valuating new revenue streams, like Pandora. She said the trick is to focus on both sides of the new revenue stream and keep an eye on the outcomes to determine valuation. Nevertheless, Mr. Longley reminded us the valuation system of looking to the past is "the best thing we've got."
The panel concluded with a wise point for people who represent artists and want to borrow money: don't forget to ask the artist, why do you need this money, what are you going to use it for and how are you going to pay it back to the lender?
Watch panelist Michael Poster discuss his panel in this clip:
Does TV Everywhere Mean Cutting The Cord, Or Getting All Tangled Up?
By Emily Gornell
"TV Everywhere" is a term coined by Comcast and TimeWarner. The definition refers to the increased distribution and consumption of digitally recorded TV programing through electronic devices and through content provider programs (e.g. Netflix and Free On Demand). The Panel discussed the impact of this revolution on copyright law and on the television industry as a whole.
The Panel focused on the recent litigation surrounding distribution of digitally recorded television programs by service providers. One panelist had represented the cable networks in their dispute against Cablevision. Cablevision has developed technology that simulates the DVR experience but eliminates the need for customers to have their own hard drive built into their television set by storing the content at the Cablevision facilities. Another panelist is currently defending Aereo in their dispute with the broadcast television entities regarding Aereo's distribution of recorded content through individualized antenna access to the recordings. This polarity on the panel led to some fascinating discussion about the future of access to digitally recorded television programming.
In the Cablevision case, the Court Of Appeals reversed the lower court decision and determined that, although Cablevision was recording and storing the programming at its facilities, when a user at home presses the record button, the user is creating the copy, not Cablevision. Therefore, Cablevision cannot be considered a copyright infringer. The panelist who is currently representing Aereo discussed how Aereo's service fits within this loophole in copyright law. Aereo subscribers effectively have access to their own individual antenna, as each antenna can only be access by one person at a time. This means that although Aereo is storing the programming, it is the individuals who are requesting the copy. If the court finds in favor of Aereo, we can expect Aereo and companies like it to expand greatly.
The Panel concluded with a discussion about how content providers can create revenue through the distribution of digitally recorded programming. They used HB0 GO as an example of a business model that will increase content provider revenue. Currently, HBO GO is only available to HBO Subscribers. However, HBO recently announced that they would be making the HBO GO application available to non-subscribers, increasing both their reach and revenue stream.
Ethics On The Borderline
By Emily Gornell
While all lawyers must be cognizant of their ethical duties, entertainment lawyers face unique ethical considerations. Entertainment lawyers tend not to live in a world strictly divided between their job and their personal lives. Often, entertainment lawyers build their clientele through attendance at various performances and events. They may have built strong, long-standing social relationships with their potential clients. When an entertainment lawyer agrees to represent a client, many ethical considerations arise. The Ethics On The Borderline Panel's main focus was on the conflicts of interest that arise in entertainment law practice.
The Panel discussed the difficulty of role differentiation in entertainment law. Whether it's differentiating between friend and client or between representing the client in a legal capacity and representing the client in a public relations capacity, it is important that the lawyer and the client are clear about the limits of the representation.
It is also important that the lawyer is clear about the representation limits when it comes to band representation. The individuals that make up the band have individual interests, which can create conflicts. The prudent entertainment lawyer will treat the band as an entity and even help them to form an LLC. This helps avoid the conflicts that would arise from the individual band member's interests.
Because blurry lines exist in entertainment law practice, it is advantageous for the entertainment lawyer to adjust the lens to make those lines clearer to avoid conflicts of interest. An entertainment lawyer must be clear about whom they represent and the issues for which they are representing their client. This can be done simply by inquiring into the client's goals for the representation and by being candid with the client about the representation limits.
To 1099 Or Not To 1099, That Is The Question
By Natalie Gonzalez
In the downturn of our economic market, workers and employers across the board have looked for ways to reduce costs and increase their income and benefits. In the past, it was not uncommon for workers to want to file as independent contractors when they could, in order to claim a write-off when filing taxes to keep more of their hard earned money in their pockets. A 1099 withholds a tax, while with a W-2 the employee will be paying that tax. But it certainly isn't the good ol' days anymore. After the economic downturn, workers have become increasingly more appreciative of the benefits they can receive as employees, especially unemployment benefits and workers' compensation. For many, these benefits are no longer just a privilege of the American labor system but a means of getting by. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department estimates a $3-4 billion loss due to employee misclassification.
But what does that mean for the magical field of entertainment? In a field that is constantly moving and changing it can become far more difficult to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Throughout the entertainment industry are various workers and staffers that, for an assortment of reasons, may not always seem to fit neatly into one of the two categories. Not knowing the difference can cost both parties a lot of money. For instance, should a staffer who is hired to work on an indie piece that will be filming for only three weeks be filling out a 1099 or a W-2? The distinction is an important one for both employers and workers who want to avoid the monetary penalties that come with misclassifying workers. Those penalties can be severe when they're coming from the IRS, your state and even your city at the same time.
According to Stephen Herbes, Esq., employee benefits and tax attorney, you need to be aware of what the IRS and state factors are in determining the status of a worker. The IRS factors closely follow the common law. Things such as behavioral control, financial control and worker relationship are considered when determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The state factors to consider change from state to state. For example, California starts out with the presumption that a worker is an employee, even if it is a work for hire. The worker would then have to meet California's 11-factor test to show that he or she is an independent contractor. A major factor in California is ownership of the work product. This differs greatly from New York, which has a multi-factor test that ranges from questions of whether the worker uses business cards with the company name to whether the company requires the worker to attend meetings and/or training sessions. Then there is the Department Of Labor, which has a seven-factor test, which assesses variables such as the permanency of the employer/worker relationship and the worker's opportunities for profit or loss.
The intentional misclassification of a worker who should've filed a 1099 is 100 percent of the employer and worker portions of FICA, 20 percent of all wages paid to the worker, and possible additional penalties and criminal sanctions. Failure to file a W-2 or a 1099 will cost $50 per form, while failure to provide an employee with a W-2 form will also cost $50. Then there are the additional percentages of FUTA and wages that will be part of the penalties. For those who unintentionally misclassify workers it will still cost 100 percent of an employer's share of FICA but 40 percent of a worker's share of FICA and 3 percent of wages paid to a misclassified worker.
At this point an entertainment employee's mind may be swimming with worry over accidentally misclassifying a worker, but fear not! If you're unsure of your worker's status then either the company or the worker can file Form SS-8, Determination Of Worker Status For Purposes Of Federal Employment Taxes And Income Tax Withholding, and allow the IRS to decide the status of the worker. Note, however, that the IRS determination will take at least six months.
Finally, when working with an entertainer who is a non-resident alien (NRA) there should be a Central Withholding Agreement (CWA) in place for tax purposes. You want this! It saves money; without the CWA there will a 30 percent gross loss. The CWA is between three people, no entities. Those people are the NRA entertainer, the designated withholding agent (not a U.S. company) and an IRS representative who must sign off on the CWA to make it binding. If the talent is a band and one member is American then that member would not enter into the agreement, but their personal information would still be disclosed. An alien must claim all previous U.S. taxes. Artists who have come into the country and haven't filed tax returns can't file a CWA, which is quite a problem. According to Richard Stoller, CPA, knowing the tax law can really save NRA entertainers money. It can be as simple as landing in the U.S. first. For example, if a touring artist flies from Europe to the U.S., then that artist gets a deduction on their taxes. An artist flying from Europe to Canada and then to the U.S. would not get that tax deduction.
In short, this panel showed why it's helpful to have a good CPA and tax lawyer in your corner. Doing so can potentially save you or your client a lot of hard-earned income and prevent you or your client from unwittingly misclassifying workers and being slammed with penalties, or worse, criminal sanctions.
Starting Up And Rolling Out: Fostering And Financing Innovation In Entertainment
By Ashley Rose
David Mazur, digital media attorney at MasurLaw, led a discussion on the challenges facing new entertainment companies. There is no question that innovation and new technologies have changed the business over the past decade, making digital startups an attractive investment. However, budding entrepreneurs are set to face many competitors, tougher negotiations with rights holders and consumers unwilling to pay.
Since file-sharing first emerged, we have seen the major labels struggle to accept new technology. As one panelist pointed out, there is a constant contradiction between innovation and protecting intellectual property. Mark Piibe of EMI assured the audience that great ideas, ones that fascinate the consumer and have potential to change the business, will always be nurtured no matter the cost.
Still, most established media companies now want to see that even objectively genius ideas have sustainability. The old practice of recruiting users, before finding ways to monetize, is going out of fashion.
President Obama's JOBS Act, passed in April of this year, encourages individuals to invest in startups by easing the federal regulations. Our panelists were unable to speculate whether this new legislation would be the catalyst entertainment businesses need to grow but agreed that the shift toward a "crowd-finding" model could overcome the challenge of raising capital.
Copyright Enforcement On The Edge
By Alison Cullen
Technological advances have provided new ways to authenticate ownership of digital content—fingerprinting, hashing, meta-data and watermarking have been used with varying degrees of success. But these systems require large investments of time and capital. In light of the discrepancy in size and budget of content providers, and the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, what methods should be mandatory? And which can protect content most effectively while promoting innovation?
Moderator Eleanor Lackman, Esq., partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Shepphard, began with an overview of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's requirement of standard technical measures to prevent infringement and enable content providers to qualify for the safe harbor provision. Leonardo Lipsztein, Esq., Product Counsel for Google, noted that Google's investment in content identification has exceeded the $30 million mark but urged that if excessively stringent requirements become standard, it will exclude new, smaller companies from entering the marketplace and prevent innovation.
Adam Sosinsky, Digital Media Technology and Operations Executive, noted that compliance under the DMCA is still vaguely defined, and clarification from the courts is needed. Jodie Griffin, Esq., Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge, in her analysis of the French HADOPI system, found that the most effective means for content identification and control are voluntary measures that are the result of cooperation between stakeholders. In a moment of levity, Stanley Pierre-Louis, Esq., Senior Vice President and Associate, General Counsel for Intellectual Property and Content Production, Viacom, discussed the recent "binders full of women" meme (from Mitt Romney's much-lamented comment during the second presidential debate), noting that, even with his experience in digital media, he was shocked by the speed at which content was developed and disseminated.
That swiftness is precisely what makes identification and authentication of content so challenging. But the panel concluded with hopeful thoughts, that by keeping the pressure on content providers and encouraging cooperation between stakeholders, they will develop new systems to keep pace with the problem.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong! Protecting Yourself In A Wind-Down
By Natalie Gonzalez
For this panel, the panelists gave various hypotheticals while discussing an imaginary company called Hollow Stars that was in the business of promoting an artist, developing holographic technology allowing customers to experience holographic concerts in their own home and purchasing various licenses to run their businesses.
The panelists discussed scenarios in which Hollow Stars would in some form meet its end. One example was what Hollow Stars would do if it found itself facing numerous class action suits without the money to fight the case. Unless a company in that position has someone backing it with a significant amount of money to keep it in business, a likely option would be bankruptcy. In the event of a company having to file for bankruptcy it would be a good idea to ensure all licenses have a "change of control" provision, to help ensure that their assets would still be protected.
Celebrity Estates: Death Poses New Problems
By Alicia Matusheski
As a law student at St. John's University School Of Law currently taking Trusts & Estates, I found the CMJ CLE panel Celebrity Estates: Death Poses New Problems very interesting. The panel was moderated by Gabe Wolosky, CPA at Prager and Fenton, LLP, and featured Kevin Matz, Esq., CPA, Managing Member at Kevin Matz & Associates, PLLC; Herb Nass, Esq., Principal at Herb E. Nass & Associates; and Jonathan Reichman, Esq., Partner at Kenyon & Kenyon.
This panel addressed people's (especially celebrities) rights of publicity after that person dies. Rights of publicity vary state by state—for example in New York, there is no post-mortem right of publicity, meaning after you die you may not be able to stop someone from using your name or likeness in commercial advertisements or otherwise. In contrast, in California, where many celebrities make their homes, there is a statutory right of publicity that continues for 70 years after the person's death. The panel pointed out that one way for New Yorkers to maintain their rights of publicity for their estates and their loved ones after they die is to brand their name and use and register it as a trademark. As long as trademarks are in use they can be maintained forever. Of course, something to keep in mind is that a trademark must be used to fully obtain and maintain such rights.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the state law that will apply is the state where the person was domiciled, which generally is where the person made their permanent residence. The panel discussed an interesting case about Marilyn Monroe's estate. Apparently, since Monroe's death about 40 years ago, her estate has been claiming that her domicile was New York, although she died in California. Recently, when the estate brought suit against merchandisers who were using Monroe's image without a license, the estate flip-flopped and claimed that the domicile was California, so the estate could take advantage of California's right of publicity laws. But the court, exercising judicial estoppel in the interest of fairness, rejected the estate's position, and the merchandisers are free to use Monroe's image without a license. Obviously, a person's domicile can have lasting consequences, so artist's representatives should always keep it in mind when advising their clients and may even want to consider establishing domiciliary in the most favorable state.
Beyond The Copyright Claim; Using All Your Ammunition
By Jessica Stukonis
The 2012 Entertainment Business Law Seminar at CMJ Music Marathon came to a close on Friday with its final panel, "Beyond The Copyright Claim: Using All Your Ammunition." Esteemed attorney panelists Toby Butterfield, Alan Friedman, Paul LiCalsi and Brian Murphy lectured in the Rosenthal Pavilion on alternative strategies beyond the typical copyright infringement action that can be used to protect an owner's rights in various entertainment properties. While the panel discussed myriad issues, it first focused upon avoiding possible preemption under the Copyright Act Of 1976 ("1976 Act").
Pursuant to Section 301(a) under the 1976 Act, state law claims that would otherwise be subject to the 1976 Act are preempted by the federal statute. If there is an extra element provided under the state law claim, however, there may be an argument that the two claims are not "equivalent." If the preemption issue can be avoided, these additional meritorious claims could have beneficial effects on your case. For example, adding these claims to a pending case may exert extra pressure upon your opponent, expand the scope of discovery and increase the available remedies or damages.
The panel specifically advocated for three claims that should be considered along with copyright infringement: breach of (implied or express) contract, trademark infringement and right of publicity. According to Mr. Friedman, a plaintiff's breach of contract action seeking compensation for the use of their copyrighted work should not be preempted under the 1976 Act. He further stressed that there must be a tacit agreement and understanding that the plaintiff would be paid in exchange for the use of his copyrighted work. This agreement needs to come about either by the parties' conduct or through some other business or industry practice.
Another possible claim that the panel discussed was a trademark infringement claim under the Lanham Act. Not all trademark infringement claims will resist preemption, such as when the basis of a plaintiff's claim is that the defendant attempted to "pass off" the plaintiff's work as his own by removing and substituting the plaintiff's copyright notice. One claim the panel suggested might pass muster is if the work's use suggests that the plaintiff sponsored the use or had an association with the defendant.
Mr. Murphy explained that the right to publicity claims, however, can be a little more complicated due to the fact that every state has a different standard. He also cautioned that there can be some overlap with First Amendment protection if the challenged use is noncommercial. Despite these facts, if a right to a publicity claim is based upon an unauthorized imitation or depiction of a person's name, voice or likeness, the claim should be permitted and not preempted under the 1976 Act.
Overall, this panel was the ideal way to end the 2012 Entertainment Business Law Seminar at CMJ. This year's panels were informative and enjoyable. We thank the panelists, organizers and volunteers for their time and dedication, and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2013.
Watch moderator Toby Butterfield discuss his panel in this clip:


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Posted: March 16th, 2009 under Content SEO, Video SEO.
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User Upload video web sites are fun to visit to see the strange, funny, and often times stupid aspects of people's lives. But they also can play a valuable role in your online marketing strategy.
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Posted: August 5th, 2008 under Link Building SEO, Search Engine Optimization, Video SEO.
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