File Sharing circa 1984

The debate is not new.

The RIAA and Congress have pirates in their midst...

For those not up on the news, new legislation has been proposed call SOPA for short to stop what is commonly referred to as online piracy (funny how words are created as weapons devoid of any real substance).

But there are no saints among us, not even among those very organizations that seem to be the purveyors of purity when it comes to how music and movies make the rounds.

"Representatives and/or their staffs have been engaging in online piracy themselves, using computers located in the House office building, the website TorrentFreak.com, which tracks BitTorrent usage, reported on Monday.

“We found more than 800 IP addresses assigned to the U.S. House of Representatives from where content has been shared on BitTorrent,” the website said. Among the illegal downloads, it noted, were a number of self-help books, including, “Crucial Conversations — Tools for Talking when Stakes Are High;” TV shows like FX’s Sons of Anarchy; software including Windows 7; and even porn movies like Gangland Cream Pie (“just the tip of the iceberg,” said TorrentFreak)." (Source)

And from the report that not even the almighty RIAA is free from such a tarnish to their illustrious name:

"A few days ago [Torrent Freak] reported that no less than 6 IP-addresses registered to the RIAA had been busted for downloading copyrighted material. Quite a shocker to everyone – including the music industry group apparently – as they are now using a defense previously attempted by many alleged file-sharers. It wasn’t members of RIAA staff who downloaded these files, the RIAA insists, it was a mysterious third party vendor who unknowingly smeared the group’s good name." (Source)

And the battle rages on...stay tuned.

In the meantime, don't believe the hype that they care about the artists being paid. By and large they only care about protecting their own, uh, assets in a declining business model that is evolving into something they fail to understand.

Power resides with the people.

Don't be afraid of the thought police. You know what's right.

The Mix Tape circa 1984

The letter in my Windham Hill albums (see sidebar on your left) got me thinking...

The mix tape.

My youthful salvation...now a historical artifact.

And they still play though I lack a way to play them (the cassette player in my car got destroyed with one of those cassette adapters to use the mp3 player).

Sorry, no tuneage here. I'd love to rip these to digital but do not have a means of doing so. Maybe one of these days when I replace the Harman Kardon cassette player I sold off a few years ago.

Just unearthed my amplifier from high school. Couldn't wait to get out of school, jump into my Mazda GLC (which later caught on fire), roll down the windows and crank up The Ultimate Jam (see photo above).