Viacom Accuses Guy Of Copyright Infringement For Showing Video Of Viacom Infringing On His Copyright
I just simply can not stop laughing about this.... it's gotta be one of the funniest news stories in a long time!
Ben S. was the first of many folks to submit to us this incredible story of Viacom's latest ridiculous claim of copyright infringement. As you're most likely aware by this point, Viacom is in the middle of a nasty $2 billion lawsuit with Google over what it alleges are videos that infringe on Viacom's copyright appearing on YouTube. Of course, in making those claims, Viacom has been known to be a bit too aggressive in taking down videos -- including some that clearly did not violate Viacom's copyright. This latest case, however, may be the most ridiculous.
VH1 is a Viacom property that has a popular TV show called "Web Junk 2.0." It basically just takes the more popular/funny/stupid clips that show up on YouTube every week and shows them on TV along with some goofy commentary from the show's host. I'd always wondered if Viacom compensated the owners of those videos -- especially given the company's position about YouTube. It turns out that neither Viacom nor VH1 compensate the video owners, or even ask their permission. It just assumes that it can use them. Most turn out to be perfectly happy (not surprisingly) to get this sort of free publicity. One guy thought it was so cool that he recorded the clip of Web Junk that featured his own video and posted that on YouTube so he could blog about it. And, in an incredibly ironic move, Viacom sent a takedown notice to YouTube forcing it offline. Just to make it clear: Viacom used this guy's work without permission and put it on TV. The guy then takes Viacom's video of his video and puts it online... and Viacom freaks out claiming copyright infringement. Effectively, Viacom is claiming that it's infringement of Viacom's copyright to display an example of Viacom infringing on copyright.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Last night I got a parakeet that wasn't doing too well but was the cutest little boy in the world. He was so sweet. This morning he was curled up in the corner of his box and I gave him a pet and he moved but he wasn't very active.... He passed about an hour ago.... I didnt even have him for 24 hours and I'm a wreck.... when the time comes for Lisa, Cracker, or Bacardi to pass I really pray that there are people around me..... I can't even imagine
Thursday, August 16, 2007
NetFlix Hopes Good Customer Service Will Keep Mail Boxes Stuffed With Red Envelopes
This is why I stick with NetFlix.... There is a lot to be said about quality customer service and, sadly, it is rarely found anymore.
This is why I stick with NetFlix.... There is a lot to be said about quality customer service and, sadly, it is rarely found anymore.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Oh.... my.... God!
Verizon argues with fire chief that there was no fire
Ok, Verizon has become very good at pulling the wool over their customers' eyes. Our bills had never been changed and there have never been unneeded fees as well as other things that just plain never happened. They get away with this a lot......
..... but trying to cover up that there was a fire? Does anyone else think that thir ability to fool people has gone to their head?
Verizon argues with fire chief that there was no fire
Ok, Verizon has become very good at pulling the wool over their customers' eyes. Our bills had never been changed and there have never been unneeded fees as well as other things that just plain never happened. They get away with this a lot......
..... but trying to cover up that there was a fire? Does anyone else think that thir ability to fool people has gone to their head?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
I just have to take another moment to give a lot of credit to where credit is due. My banking experience at Commerce Bank has been more positive than I could have ever imagined. I have never seen a bank willing to actually put themselves in their customer's shoes and waive frustrating fees. Any bank I have ever dealt with tries to milk their customers for all they can get them for.... manipulating the ways transactions post for the sole purpose of assesing the most NSF fees, for one example. Commerce is completely the opposite... they actually look for ways to not charge their customers. I have had situations where they would make a deposit available sooner because of a paticular situation I was in. My most recent situation was a transaction not posting to my account on the day that it was supposed to.... this was the fault of the sending party and not Commerce Bank at all. As a result, a check card transaction overdrew my account. I accounted for the $35 NSF fee and today I just found out that when a check card transaction pushes you over the limit, they don't even charge you at all!
I really can't give enough praise to Commerce Bank! If you are in a state that they are (PA, VA, DC, NY, CT, FL) then you really need to set up an account.... you'll be glad you did!
I really can't give enough praise to Commerce Bank! If you are in a state that they are (PA, VA, DC, NY, CT, FL) then you really need to set up an account.... you'll be glad you did!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
So here is an interesting observation which really isn't that surprising. I have been playing around on Facebook (yes, I have an account there now -- and no I will not be going back to myspace) and I was searching for people that went to Greensburg-Salem High School. Obviously I started with the year I would have graduated (Class of 99) and then went a few years in each direction and I realized there was an explosion of people in the class of 2001. Check out the number of people that are on Facebook by their class year:
It's obvious that younger people are more involved in social networking but I don't think it's the issue of technology that most think it is. It was really the early 90's that interest in computers really started taking off. Granted, I was interested in the 80's but the 1990's brought computers into everyone's home. I was the last person in my group of friends to actually get a "real" computer and that happened in middle school. Is it possible that it has to do with emotional attachment and filling a void that was created by technology?
The reason I left myspace a few months ago was simply because it is no longer what it was intended to be. People say it's a site to connect with people that you haven't seen in a while. When I first got my myspace account, that happened frequently but as time went on, it was obvious that it was drifting away from being that. Facebook, on the other hand, has a lot of ways to interact more but, more importantly, has important "social blocks" that help prevent it from becomming what myspace is now. For instance, there are no such things as "top friends" which means you don't have to pick favorites (which you are forced to do on myspace). You also have a lot more searching power on facebook but you are limited to who's profile you can actually view. You have to be a member of a network to see people's profiles in that network (unless they add you). You are able to search for anyone using very specific criteria but it blocks the ability to just randomly search for people and add them as your friends. Essentially, on facebook you have to know what you are looking for, where on mypsace you don't.
So what is the big deal about whether you are able to search for someone based on random criteria? Well, in almost all cases those random searches are for the purpose of filling a void that isn't being met in real life. So many people are hiding behind their computers now and they are not experiencing what life is really about. Technology is an amazing tool that allows us to connect with and keep in touch with people around the globe but at the same time, it is taking the focus of what friendship and relationships are all about. Giving someone "a hug" online will never be able to take the place of giving someone a real-life hug. We try to push the experiences that technology can give us and we create "features" that pull us away from what life was meant to be. SMS messages, email, instant messages.... we are tied to this network 24 hours a day because it's now not only on our computers but it's on our phones and other mobile devices. We are now even ordering pizza online to avoid having to talk to someone on the phone... think about it.... we're using technology to pull us away from a technology that took us away from physical interaction. Yes, phones did that. Instead of having to go to your friend's house and have a conversation you could now talk to them even though they were across town. Now that technology is progressing, telephone calls are too personal for us. Maybe this has a lot to do with why the online pornography business is booming.... we don't want to have to deal with relationships anymore so we see millions and millions of people turning to pornography which attempts to give sexual satisfaction without the ties of a relationship -- or even a friendship.
I am as guilty as the next person with all of this but I have slowly been realizing a lot of what I was stuck inside. The irony of the situation is that I lived in 3 different apartment complexes during the time I lived in Northern VA and out of all of that I met only one neighbor at only one of those. That's more than 2 years of living next door to hundreds of people and I met one. Now I live in the mountains where there are only 2 other houses visible from my house and in only a few months I know them both. Think about it -- where is technology at? It's in the cities... the higher the population is, the more technology is available. Where I live, I consider it a blessing that I can get a cable modem but in NoVA, you have countless options for getting faster internet connections and a lot less to do outside of the apartment or house. I love going to Shenandoah National Park because it helps me realize how much more there is outside of cyberspace. I realized how much I had been missing by being 100% embedded in technology and going to the park cuts me away from technology all together. To me, it is a blessing to not have cell phone coverage while I'm in the park -- it forces me to realize more about what the world is.
What changed for the class of 2001? I think it's probably the generation that really started losing touch of the importance of spending time together and how important other people were to our lives. There is nothing wrong with the fact that more and more people are using social networks or using cell phones or any other kind of technology. I use technology all the time and it is a huge part of my life but I'm slowly realizing that it's not the use of technology, but the motive of using that technology, that is important.
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It's obvious that younger people are more involved in social networking but I don't think it's the issue of technology that most think it is. It was really the early 90's that interest in computers really started taking off. Granted, I was interested in the 80's but the 1990's brought computers into everyone's home. I was the last person in my group of friends to actually get a "real" computer and that happened in middle school. Is it possible that it has to do with emotional attachment and filling a void that was created by technology?
The reason I left myspace a few months ago was simply because it is no longer what it was intended to be. People say it's a site to connect with people that you haven't seen in a while. When I first got my myspace account, that happened frequently but as time went on, it was obvious that it was drifting away from being that. Facebook, on the other hand, has a lot of ways to interact more but, more importantly, has important "social blocks" that help prevent it from becomming what myspace is now. For instance, there are no such things as "top friends" which means you don't have to pick favorites (which you are forced to do on myspace). You also have a lot more searching power on facebook but you are limited to who's profile you can actually view. You have to be a member of a network to see people's profiles in that network (unless they add you). You are able to search for anyone using very specific criteria but it blocks the ability to just randomly search for people and add them as your friends. Essentially, on facebook you have to know what you are looking for, where on mypsace you don't.
So what is the big deal about whether you are able to search for someone based on random criteria? Well, in almost all cases those random searches are for the purpose of filling a void that isn't being met in real life. So many people are hiding behind their computers now and they are not experiencing what life is really about. Technology is an amazing tool that allows us to connect with and keep in touch with people around the globe but at the same time, it is taking the focus of what friendship and relationships are all about. Giving someone "a hug" online will never be able to take the place of giving someone a real-life hug. We try to push the experiences that technology can give us and we create "features" that pull us away from what life was meant to be. SMS messages, email, instant messages.... we are tied to this network 24 hours a day because it's now not only on our computers but it's on our phones and other mobile devices. We are now even ordering pizza online to avoid having to talk to someone on the phone... think about it.... we're using technology to pull us away from a technology that took us away from physical interaction. Yes, phones did that. Instead of having to go to your friend's house and have a conversation you could now talk to them even though they were across town. Now that technology is progressing, telephone calls are too personal for us. Maybe this has a lot to do with why the online pornography business is booming.... we don't want to have to deal with relationships anymore so we see millions and millions of people turning to pornography which attempts to give sexual satisfaction without the ties of a relationship -- or even a friendship.
I am as guilty as the next person with all of this but I have slowly been realizing a lot of what I was stuck inside. The irony of the situation is that I lived in 3 different apartment complexes during the time I lived in Northern VA and out of all of that I met only one neighbor at only one of those. That's more than 2 years of living next door to hundreds of people and I met one. Now I live in the mountains where there are only 2 other houses visible from my house and in only a few months I know them both. Think about it -- where is technology at? It's in the cities... the higher the population is, the more technology is available. Where I live, I consider it a blessing that I can get a cable modem but in NoVA, you have countless options for getting faster internet connections and a lot less to do outside of the apartment or house. I love going to Shenandoah National Park because it helps me realize how much more there is outside of cyberspace. I realized how much I had been missing by being 100% embedded in technology and going to the park cuts me away from technology all together. To me, it is a blessing to not have cell phone coverage while I'm in the park -- it forces me to realize more about what the world is.
What changed for the class of 2001? I think it's probably the generation that really started losing touch of the importance of spending time together and how important other people were to our lives. There is nothing wrong with the fact that more and more people are using social networks or using cell phones or any other kind of technology. I use technology all the time and it is a huge part of my life but I'm slowly realizing that it's not the use of technology, but the motive of using that technology, that is important.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Senses start to falter
My vision is altered
There's a blind wind running
Through the trees
My memories
They deceive so cunningly
With no reply
With no reprieve
I try to chase what I believe
Into my mind
Where I lie - that everything's fine
But if I could...
turn around
And if I could...
hear the sound
And if I could...
feel the ground
falling beneath me
I don't want to tell you goodbye
But I don't want to tell you a lie
This thing...
This aching
Tears my heart and
Cuts me down to size
I don't remember
A time when things like this
Weren't so amiss
This abyss
I can't believe I'm so naive to this.
"If I Could" by The Echoing Green
My vision is altered
There's a blind wind running
Through the trees
My memories
They deceive so cunningly
With no reply
With no reprieve
I try to chase what I believe
Into my mind
Where I lie - that everything's fine
But if I could...
turn around
And if I could...
hear the sound
And if I could...
feel the ground
falling beneath me
I don't want to tell you goodbye
But I don't want to tell you a lie
This thing...
This aching
Tears my heart and
Cuts me down to size
I don't remember
A time when things like this
Weren't so amiss
This abyss
I can't believe I'm so naive to this.
"If I Could" by The Echoing Green
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Free, free, set them free
Free, free, set them free
Free, free, set them free
If you need somebody
Call my name
If you want someone
You can do the same
If you want to keep something precious
You got to lock it up and throw away the key
If you want to hold onto your possession
Don't even think about me
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
If it's a mirror you want
Just look into my eyes
Or a whipping boy
Someone to despise
Or a prisoner in the dark
Tied up in chains you just can't see
Or a beast in a gilded cage
That's all some people ever want to be
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
You can't control an independent heart
Can't tear the one you love apart
Forever conditioned to believe that we can't live
We can't live here and be happy with less
So many riches
So many souls
With everything we see that we want to possess
If you need somebody
Call my name
If you want someone
You can do the same
If you want to keep something precious
You got to lock it up and throw away the key
You want to hold onto your possession
Don't even think about me
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
"If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free" by Sting
Free, free, set them free
Free, free, set them free
If you need somebody
Call my name
If you want someone
You can do the same
If you want to keep something precious
You got to lock it up and throw away the key
If you want to hold onto your possession
Don't even think about me
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
If it's a mirror you want
Just look into my eyes
Or a whipping boy
Someone to despise
Or a prisoner in the dark
Tied up in chains you just can't see
Or a beast in a gilded cage
That's all some people ever want to be
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
You can't control an independent heart
Can't tear the one you love apart
Forever conditioned to believe that we can't live
We can't live here and be happy with less
So many riches
So many souls
With everything we see that we want to possess
If you need somebody
Call my name
If you want someone
You can do the same
If you want to keep something precious
You got to lock it up and throw away the key
You want to hold onto your possession
Don't even think about me
If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free
"If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free" by Sting
Isn't it strange that a gift could be an enemy?
Isn't it weird that a privilege could feel like a chore?
Maybe it's me but this line isn't going anywhere,
maybe if we looked hard enough, we could find a backdoor.
(Find yourself a backdoor.)
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your privilege.
Isn't it strange that the man standing in front of me
doesn't have a clue why he's waiting, or what he's waiting for?
Maybe it's me, but I'm sick of wasting energy.
Maybe if I look in my heart I could find a backdoor.
(Find yourself a backdoor.)
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your privilege.
"Privilege" by Incubus
Isn't it weird that a privilege could feel like a chore?
Maybe it's me but this line isn't going anywhere,
maybe if we looked hard enough, we could find a backdoor.
(Find yourself a backdoor.)
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your privilege.
Isn't it strange that the man standing in front of me
doesn't have a clue why he's waiting, or what he's waiting for?
Maybe it's me, but I'm sick of wasting energy.
Maybe if I look in my heart I could find a backdoor.
(Find yourself a backdoor.)
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your privilege.
"Privilege" by Incubus
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