Dope shortage? Maybe it's cause the media are smokin it?

Somebody's been smoking a bit too much. Check out this article in Canada dot com. Pot half-full: 50 per cent drop in Vancouver Island marijuana cropThey "estimate" that a single plant can yield "up to two pounds" (my those are large plants) and that "amounts to about 100 joints". Huh? Let's do the math here. Say 2 large joints per gram, 28 grams per ounce, 16 ounces per pound that's 448 grams. Well that's more than 100 joints isn't it? That's more like 896 very large joints. I don't use or condone the use of pot but someone's math is way off here. Okay. You got me. I've smoked my fair share in the very distant past.

More on Cell Phones.

This is gonna be a bit harsh. Maybe I'm off my head for thinking this. Or, maybe it's just time that someone stood up for the average consumer once again.

Every cell phone has a unique IMEI and Serial number. With the combination of these two number they KNOW where and when the cell is used again. You may get it blacklisted from your current provider BUT, once it's unlocked, they can use it at any other provider. And, now you have to either buy a new phone from them at retail, buy a new phone and pay a penalty including renewing your contract or you have to search craigslist for a new phone. This is WRONG! They are profiting from your misfortune. A blacklisted phone should be blacklisted globally or at the very least regionally. There is no reason at all that a blacklisted phone should be available for use by any other provider unless license is given.

With legitimate software and many hardware items that are computer related, you have to transfer license in order to maintain any sort of support. That means downloading updates or generally using a software or hardware that is registered to someone else.

With a car you have to transfer license in order to legally insure it.  This isn't something new. It's inconvenient but wouldn't you be happy to know that you could find your phone simply because someone tried to use it. Wouldn't it be nice if any incentive to steal your phone went out the window because they can't profit from it unless it's pieced out into parts?  Hey, I'd even pay a fee to recover my phone. Wouldn't you? Why aren't these provisions already made?

Someone is profiting from theft. That is ILLEGAL. They call a person who buys stolen goods a fence. So, what do you call a person who benefits from the sale of stolen goods?  A thief or indirectly, an accomplice The cell phone companies are accomplices to crime. They need to be brought to justice.

Let's help each other out to change this. Recovery of stolen goods is a NECESSARY service that should be provided WITHOUT QUESTION. Especially since it would be so simple to incorporate into an existing database.

Do you have a beef with the cell companies regarding a stolen phone? I want to hear about it. The more the better.


Perhaps it is time for a class action law suit. I'm dead serious. These corporations are taking advantage of us. Not because we are stupid but because they think that we are. And, they think that we don't have to cahones to speak up about it.

A New Low

Bruno Mars.

Need I say more? Seriously. Who signed this guy? Does he have an uncle in the music industry? He's a no talent hack. His songs are mediocre at best. I thought we got past that with Jewel. Even Jewel had one good song. Even if she didn't write it as it's credited.

Come on. You know that Jewel didn't write that song don't you? You've probably seen this before but here it is again:

Okay. So we know that Jewel didn't write that song from her own experience. We can tell that just from listening to her other songs. Prime example:

Alright. Sorry to put you through that. "You stood in the doorway besides some comment on the weather". Yeah. Classic. No. Not at all. Sappy. Not even poetic. Whiny. It just lends itself to butchered mockery.

Getting back to Bruno Mars and idiotic Lyrics: The Lazy Song? Marry You? It's high school drama? Even then, there are better writers in most high schools. Better song writers. Better musicians. Seriously. You don't have to go further than youtube.

Not a one of them over 20. The singer couldn't be 18.  These kids are not only good musicians, they write intelligent lyrics.

The Pop world needs to get a clue. Stop dumbing down the music. Stop force feeding feces to the masses. They don't enjoy it because they like it. They simply have no choice. There are no other options. Musicianship is trivial to these music execs. It's all about the numbers.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not all shred head. I firmly believe there is crap in all genres. Here's another high school band but something about them screams POSER! This should make you laugh out loud and maybe puke in you throat just a bit.

Truth be told, they're a pretty decent band but that video. UGH! It's a stinky ball of cheese.


Let that stew for a while.

iPhones and Theives.

Alright. Maybe I'm a little choked because my iPhone is gone.......again. I mean, this is the second time in 6 months. I'm seriously pissed off. It's not just that it's inconvenient. It's entirely unnecessary. Every cell phone has an IME number and a serial number. If I call in my iPhone stolen that should automatically go to a national or at the least, regional list so that anyone trying to hook up that phone will be nailed right away. Unlocked or not. If the IME and serial number are on the list, they shouldn't be able to activate it. PERIOD.

But, you and I know this isn't going to happen. Why? Because, the cell companies make a killing off of people replacing their lost and stolen phones. Why does everything have to be a cash grab? Why cant good service  and quality products be the draw?

No. Instead they profit from the misfortune of people and the dishonesty of others. Because, they could turn the phone in to a lost and found or return it to a Rogers store but that brings them nothing but a clean conscience. Instead they take it to some dusty little shop to get it unlocked, then sell it for cheap. Hey, they can even turn an iphone in to an Apple store and they will "fix" it for them so they can use it again. Thanks Apple. You guys rock. 

To the person who stole my phone: I hope you get a severe case of genital herpes, complicated by a severe case of syphilis. May you have gonorrhea so severe that only by peeing your pants would you dare to urinate.

Here's some reading in the meantime.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368102,00.asp


http://iphonetheif.blogspot.com/2010/01/iphone-theif-bust.html

Here's more:

"Apple / AT&T Condone iPhone Theft?

By ThinGuy on Aug 29, 2008

Less than a week after getting my wife an iPhone 3G, it was stolen.  Here's what I've learned.  Neither AT&T nor Apple care that your phone was stolen.  AT&T will not black list the IMEI or SIM, meaning that whoever stole the phone can go right down to AT&T and get the phone switched over to their account with ZERO questions asked.
Apple will not black list the serial number and will allow it to be registered with iTunes, just by plugging it into the computer.
Even if you deactivate your phone service, the iPhone (either model) basically becomes a fully functional iPod Touch.
Condoning theft is a strong accusation, but it would be simple for either AT&T or Apple to brick the phone.   Furthermore they refuse to offer insurance on the iPhone (far more expensive phones are insurable) which begs the question why?  I'll tell you why, because AT&T get a new customer with the stolen phone locked into a two year contract, the theft victim has to continue paying for two years with no option but to pay full market price ($499 USD) to replace their phone AND get locked into another two year contract.  Luckily you can drop the 3G data plan at will, and luckily we still have her old Motorola RAZR.  Otherwise, we'd be out of luck and spending at least $150 USD on the most basic of phones.
The rotten cherry on top of this crap cake story is that I bought the phone with my Corporate American Express Card since that's the card I have on file with AT&T to pay my bill with.  American Express offers a great service called Buyers Protection that covers you from damage or theft in the first 90 days.  It's complimentary service available on every American Express Card...EXCEPT the Corporate Card.  Nice.
I've given both Apple and AT&T a lot of my hard earned money and they flat out don't care.  I honestly think "iPhone Theft" is viewed as another revenue stream for them."

http://blogs.oracle.com/ThinGuy/entry/apple_at_t_condone_iphone

Music Production and Social Media

 This is just a mirror of my post on http://recording.org

I went to a short presentation today regarding the use of social media to promote your band.

The host was our local Chris Brandt . Previously of Music BC.

There was a lot to be said, twitter was mentioned along with facebook, youtube, wikipedia.

The core idea was that you need to promote yourself in as many places as possible in order to gain the attention of passersby. Nothing really new here I suppose. It's common sense but sometimes we need someone else to clue us in to what should be common sense but slipped under our radar.

It's not just the people you know but the people they know and so on. The web is called the web for a reason. It branches out and connects to sites that may not be entirely related to your promo but if you can catch the eyes of onlookers.

The cool thing about twitter is that there's the retweet button. Great that others can tweet your posts and broadcast your ideas well beyond your current network. That's awesome.

Similarly there's facebook by which you can tell your friends and if they like or post a comment on your profile, every one in their network will see it. Cool. Facebook has other things. Paid advertising et al.

There's really no way that I could possibly summarize all the topics discussed. Unfortunately, this time I didn't bring my laptop nor even a piece of paper to write on.(Funny. I had three pens in my pocket). All my notes were mental.

All this being said, I still think there is a downside to the social networking. A lot of people think that social networking is like a silver bullet. There's no magic here. The truth is the bottom line is still the bottom line. If you have a good band and write good music, it's going to get someone's attention. Promoting it is good but make sure the material is up to par in the first place.

The downfall of the information age is that ANYONE can promote themselves as a musician. That's great but then again some of the people out there make me sick to my stomach. The fact that some of these people are getting famous for what they do floors me. A few examples were brought out. Particularly this kid:

Granted, good for him that he's made a name for himself.........for what? Lip syncing? This is the example of promotion that we should look to?

The point however is well taken. If you have the right promo, you can sell anything. And, love it or hate it that kid has millions of hits. He even got 50cent to drop in on one of his videos. Now I personally could care less if 50came to my door asking to use the bathroom but he's famous and now this kid is famous.

Dissecting that just a little further, where did the kid get all those hits? He had to have a fanbase to begin with. So, where did all those fans find out about him? Well, he put the name of the song up in his title.

Which brings us to another subject, covers. Covers? Why not? 80% of Led Zeppelin's first album was covers. Does anyone think less of them because of that? Okay, maybe some of you do. The point though is that you have to draw the crowd first. People have to get a taster if they are to decide whether or not the rest of your product(Yes I said product) is something they would be interested in.

This kid and others like him are an anomaly though. There's lots of talented people out there doing covers and not all of them are getting the attention they deserve.

Speaking of Zeppelin, let's take a look at Virtual Zeppelin:

Yup. A paltry 30000 hits. Ok, 30 thousand hits is nothing to shake a stick at but in comparison to millions it's paltry.

So as much as there is good reason to use social media, the web is full of idiots. Did I say that out loud? I'm not trying to be a jerk. It just goes to show where people put there money these days. It's not about talent. It's about what's trending? That's what twitter is about. Trends.

When people search for music on youtube, they're not looking for Zeppelin or ELP, they're looking for what's hot now. If you want to get hit's you need to cover contemporary music and that means hip hop too. It's the only way you're going to draw traffic for your originals.


Opinions? You can rail me for this post. That's ok.

Virus by Thought

There's a movie out there called Pontypool. Have you seen it? It's a sleeper. Never really got any play in the theaters. I've watched it a couple of times now. It's a bit scary to be honest. Not because the movie is actually scary but the concept is scary.

I don't think this movie was ever meant to be taken straight up. It's a metaphor.

The plot of the story is based around a virus that is spread through speech. The whole movie occurs inside a radio station. Talk about a low budget. There may have been two or three camera positions used throughout the entire film. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. Still there's little need for effects in the movie. It's entirely story based. CONCEPT!

At any rate the virus spreads quickly through words. Specifically the English language. The virus causes people to become unduly violent. Soon mobs are roaming the streets infecting everyone. Now maybe the idea that a virus could be contained within speech is a bit far fetched but I don't think that's what the writer was getting at.

The analogy is plain enough. Ideas spread like a virus. The right words, spoken in the right manner to the right people can spread and cause people to do things they would otherwise never do. A more direct "translation" of the Zombie movie.

Zombie movies in themselves were a metaphor. Zombie movies became very popular during the late 60s. The Vietnam war. The Assassination of JFK. The explosion of mind altering drugs. People were learning to challenge the authorities. Some people were beginning to realize that not everything we are told is true. The people can be made to work toward a unified goal that is not necessarily in our better interest.

"it is when we understand the word that the virus takes hold. And, once it takes hold it copies itself.".

Do zombies exist? Maybe. I know that there are places in the world where peaceful people are being persecuted because their beliefs are not contemporary. It happens more often than you think.

There is nothing wrong with asking questions. Ask questions about the questions.

Is there truth? As sure as you will fall off the roof if you jump, there is truth. Finding it is another thing altogether.

Pontypool

Futureproof

Where are we going? I wonder how anyone could possibly make money in the music industry these days. It seems someone is making money. How are the big boys surviving? It's something that's just picking at my brain. Are they actually selling mp3s? It's mind boggling. Torrents aren't going away.

There are two genres that are maintaining any kind of CD sales. Country and Metal. The rest of the people seem be reliant on mp3s. That doesn't really leave much room for sales. Most people would rather steal their music than pay for it. It's really not funny. How do they get on without a physical product?

From my personal observation, there is more than just the music. Pop culture relies on the image to such a great extent. There is no respect for the artist anymore. The only real thing driving sales is people's desire to emulate their idols. Endorsement deals just like in sports. Wearing the right cloths on video. That seems to be where it's at for the new generation. So how does anyone expect to break into that racket?

Prime example, Pomlamoose. They started out with adsense I'm sure but that soon led to Ads for Toyota. Is this where music is going?

If that's the case then, I dare say music isn't going anywhere. It's regressing. Giving in to the "Man". Never have the words rung so true for me: "Rock and Roll is dead". Long live Rock and Roll? How? You can't make money at it anymore. Not without selling out. Rock and Roll has fallen into the very pit of corruption that it professes to rebel against. They're all sell outs. Endorsements for strings, software, hardware, clothes. That used to be a side deal. Now it is the deal. There is no more music industry. Just another vehicle for sales and the promotion of consumerism.

So you want to make it big? Don't count on it. Shape your product. Get your image in line. Define your clothing line. Even tattered can be mass produced these days. The holes in the jeans don't mean anything anymore. It used to be that the clothes are what you could afford. The holes were a result of being over worn.

Even guitars come new as "road worn". What a joke! What happened to integrity? What happened to the school of hard knocks? They sold that school. When the machine discovered that it was saleable, they bought it, wrapped it in a tattered package and marketed it to the masses.

More 3D TV

If you already bought into the 3d TV with glasses thing, don't say I didn't tell you so. Toshiba will have a glasses free 3D TV. That's right glasses free. That means that all those people who spent their thousands of dollars for a 3D capable TV AND glasses/transmitter along with a 3D capable Blu Ray player are already behind the times.

Thanks Sony! You guys rock!

Do you feel ripped off? I do. I don't even own a 3D TV and I feel like I've been taken to the cleaners. Where do they get off raking the public over the coals like this? How can this be legal? It's not like they never knew it was coming. They knew it but they sold last years tech to everyone anyway. BASTARDS!

There are times when it pays to be the last one to upgrade. Times like this, when you realize that something better is on the horizon. We're not talking about a long wait here either. According to Toshiba the new TVs will be available by the fourth quarter of 2011.

Toshiba's Glasses Free 3D TV