10 Zen Monkeys has a compelling piece on the interwebs and whether advances in communications technology is any good for writers. RU Sirius asks 10 writers to consider the question. Here are some bits of wisdom from one of the 10 writers, Mark Drey.
On writing as a commodity:
As someone who once survived (albeit barely) as a freelancer, I can say with some authority that the freelance writer is going the way of the Quagga. Well, at least one species of freelance writer: the public intellectual who writes for a well-educated, culturally literate reader whose historical memory doesn’t begin with Dawson’s Landing. A professor friend of mine, well-known for his/her incisive cultural criticism, just landed a column for PopMatters.com. Now, a column is yeoman’s work and it doesn’t pay squat. But s/he was happy to get the gig because she wanted to burnish her brand, presumably, and besides, as she noted, “Who does, these days?” (Pay, that is.)
On breaking through the clutter:
We’re drowning in yak, and it’s getting harder and harder to hear the insightful voices through all the media cacophony. Oscar Wilde would be just another forlorn blogger out on the media asteroid belt in our day, constantly checking his SiteMeter’s Average Hits Per Day and Average Visit Length.
I have become as much in awe of Technology as I am of Nature. And although I blog for free, occasional paid assignments have fallen into my lap as a result.
Clayton Holton of Dover, NH has muscular dystrophy. In the clip above he tells Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney that his doctor says he’s “living proof that medical marijuana works.”
His question for the candidate is, “Will you arrest me and my doctors?” The candidate douche bag says, I’m not in favor of medical marijuana and coldly walks away from the young man.
What a disgrace this is. There’s so much stupidity and fear in the world, but refusing to help people who are sick has to be one of the lowest forms of human behavior on record.
Scotty Greene writing for Kynd Music reviews the “final show” from String Cheese Incident on 8/12/07 at Red Rocks. I place quotes around “final” because bands often find ways to play together again.
Sunday night was surreal from start to finish, 3 sets plus 4 encores. Opening the show with a mini-acoustic set sent a message to all of us: They hadn’t forgotten where they came from. Very cool, and very enjoyable. But we were all ready for the throwdown, so let’s not kid ourselves. On a perfect Summer night in Colorado, many thousand strong, Red Rocks Ampitheatre was the scene of the crime -and we were all guilty as hell.
The setlists speaks for themselves, but a surprise visit from Keller Williams to jam his anthem Best Feeling was more than decent, as he proves time and again his talents are unlimited. Other highlights from the last two sets: Way Back Home, Restless Wind, Rain, Rhythm of the Road, Shine, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Good Times Around the Bend, and finally, Texas – all classics, played as hard as humanly possible, all hitting home time and time again.
The memories were so rich, so thick, I could almost taste them. One listen to that Restless Wind or Texas and you’ll know what I’m talking about. A couple of curtain calls and “thank you’s”, and still, we wanted more, but the band had bowed its final bow, waved its final wave, and spoken its final word. Some pretty intense shit.
I concur with Greene on the nostalgia factor. Thanks to the download from LiveCheese, I’m presently reliving my own good times with this seminal Colorado band.
Palmetto Bluff is so Hollywood. A couple of years ago, Oscar attendees received free vacations at the exclusive May River resort. Now, the property is benefitting from free advertising care of the CBS daytime soap opera “The Young and the Restless.”
On the sopa, characters Nikki and Victoria Newman are busy developing fictitious “Clear Springs,” a community taking its cues from the very real Palmetto Bluff.
Palmetto Bluff gets this free publicity in exchange for providing the show with artwork to use as a prop, which is a pretty sweet deal considering product placement deals can run into the millions of dollars.
Tom Gardo, a spokesman for the Inn at Palmetto Bluff commenting on incremental business said, “It’s been great for us.”
Crescent Resources, a unit of Duke Energy, developed the property. The Inn at Palmetto Bluff is run by California-based Auberge Resorts.
According to The New York Times, Jammie Thomas of Brainerd, Minn., got caught in the Recording Industry’s net. She “shared” 24 songs on a file-swapping site and now faces a penalty of $222,000, thanks to a federal jury in Duluth.
The jury verdict, which called for $9,250 in damages for each of the 24 songs involved in the trial, came after brief deliberations.
In a statement after yesterday’s decision, the RIAA said, “The law here is clear, as are the consequences for breaking it.”
I’ve seen a lot of stupidity in my day, but this ranks high on the list.
I’m stoked because I just discovered Leftover Salmon’s Red Rock’s show from 7/28/07 on Live Downloads. I’m listening now and the band–with Jeff Sipe back on the drum kit–sounds incredible.
I also see that LOS is busting out two more year-ending shows in Denver and Boulder.
The pre-sale allotment of tickets went in minutes yesterday, which leaves this Saturday to scramble for tix.
Listen to “Highway Song” from the band’s Red Rock’s show.
River Cities Inc. of St. Paul, MN is developing a twist on condo living. As odd as it may sound, they’re bringing adventure travel into the mix by constructing a floating community that will navigate America’s inland waterways.
Their so-called “River City” will be on the move all year, cruising the northern rivers in the summer and the southern rivers and Intracoastal Waterways in the winter. The rivers include the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Cumberland, Arkansas and Atchafalaya. Plus the Tombigbee and Intracoastal Waterways.
Amenities include a grocery store, restaurants, concierge service, a rooftop lounge, theaters, activity rooms, a library, hot tubs and pools, fitness equipment, walking tracks, a rooftop chipping course and even fishing.
A 924 s.f. condo is going for $499,000. Fractional onwnership is also available.
Chicago-based humorist Tom Sherman and The Internet are now seeing other people.
She used to impress me. She really did. I loved how she could always tell me something new. Our relationship was so exciting, so invigorating. She constantly introduced me to new people. She knew all the cool places, all the right people.
But let’s face it: she’s overrated. I overestimated her.
Top-selling British rock band Radiohead said its new album, In Rainbows, will initially be available exclusively on the band’s Web site, with fans choosing the price they are willing to pay.
The plan, announced on Radiohead’s Web site last night, appears set to challenge numerous aspects of established music-industry business models.
Radiohead hasn’t made its music available for sale on iTunes, apparently because the band wants to sell only full albums and not let users pick and choose songs.
Radiohead’s Web site didn’t explicitly say that no record company is involved in the process, but a person familiar with the situation said the process of creating, manufacturing and selling the album was being done without any record label’s involvement.
In Rainbows will be available on Oct. 10th from Radiohead.com. Pre-orders are being taken now.
[UPDATE 10.11.07] I offered Radiohead three pounds, or about six American dollars for the album. Yes, it’s less than the standard fare, but I’ve never purchased an album from Radiohead before. So they earned a new customer, and I’m willing to bet I’m one of many. I have a feeling this “name your price” approach is going to make them a ton of cash. Hopefully, Radiohead will release the sales figures for all to see at some point.
[UPDATE 10.16.07] According to USA Today, some Radiohead fans are pissed about the sound quality offered on these tracks. Tracks are encoded at a bit rate of 160 kbps, lower than Radiohead’s earlier albums but higher than a standard iTunes track download. Roger Wade, 42, of Portland, Ore., who has not ordered the download, is still unhappy with the band on both counts. “This honor-system gimmick has turned out to be sloppy at best and dishonest and devious at worst. It’s common knowledge that 192 kbps is the accepted minimum bit rate among nearly everyone who even knows what a bit rate is.” Uh, what’s a bit rate?
Media critic Norman Solomon’s book, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death has been made into a movie by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp. It’s narrated by Sean Penn.
Guided by Solomon’s meticulous research and tough-minded analysis, the film presents disturbing examples of propaganda and media complicity from the present alongside rare footage of political leaders and leading journalists from the past, including Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, dissident Senator Wayne Morse, and news correspondents Walter Cronkite and Morley Safer.
Jim Hightower suggests the book, which came out in 2005, is a must read:
If you want to help prevent another war (Iran? Syria?), read War Made Easy now. This is a stop-the-presses book filled with mind-blowing facts about Washington’s warmongers who keep the Pentagon budget rising. It would be funny if people weren’t dying. War Made Easy exposes the grisly game and offers the information we need to stop it.
