Men to Boyz
 

Originally posted by ltl/fb

Boys? So you're saying it's not the size of the car; it's how fast it recovers on your curves?

And One Last Shocking News Item
 

Kevin Cosner- The Big Chill

Yes, I think we have hashed and rehashed the legal illegal thing to death now, so moving on.

It has been proposed that much like a small fee has been added to blank tapes, a small fee should be added to blank cds. In return, based upon some equation I couldn't begin to understand, a portion of that fee is returned to the different companies that are most likely having their songs downloaded.

I believe that particular plan had some kinks to work out as of yet, but it is the best one I have heard so far, because fact is, they are no more going to stop file trading then they are going to stop underage kids from drinking and smoking cigarettes, or many people from smoking pot. And frankly, trading files is easier and cheaper to do than those things.

Already as a response to the lawsuit/prosecution fear numerous private servers have popped up. It is in a way a reversion to the past of having to search for locations where the songs are, and that was a pain in the butt (I am speaking prior to napster) but the difference is there are already huge networks of people trading files, and it is easy to find one another if you want. They are harder to shut down than a simple ftp web site, and once you find them, the file trading continues happily. These folks are also about as anonymous as you can get and it will be very very difficult to trace them. By the time the companies figure out how to trace the people, they will have moved on to still better software.

Actually what the suits will prevent is the occasional user who doesn't know how to go about finding these secret groups. The people doing the mega file trading however will easily continue.

These suits are much like a bandaid slapped on a gaping wound. Sure it stops a tiny bit of the blood under the bandaid, but most of it, still pouring on out. (Hey, enjoy your breakfasts on that image ok?)

I think Germany has a system like that. It's basically a tax on blank tapes, CDs, and recording machines. It's atrocious, because it doesn't address the problem. Instead it's a tax stream given to record companies. It's therefore approximately equivalent to handouts to farmers. It also is borne most heavily by those that least use the system, since it's essentially a flat tax. I have plenty of CD's that I legally purchases. I am permitted (so far as I can tell under the copyright laws) to make a mixed CD of songs I have purchased for my own use. I should not have to pay anyone to do that, having laid out $15 for the CD. Bilmore, with all of his illegal downloads, makes a CD and pays the same? That's fair.

BTW, to timmy Manfred. Don't bet on anthony powell. that's a sucker bet. take Michael Powell.

Actor's peak
 

Originally posted by Jack Manfred

Looks? Or memorability?

Looks:
Kim Bassinger in Batman
Dylan McDermott in Destiny Turned On the Radio
Gabriel Byrne in The Usual Suspects
Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter
River Phoenix in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon

Memorability:
Sigourney Weaver in Aliens
Tim Roth in Little Odessa
Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski
Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter
Gene Hackman toss-up Hoosiers or The Conversation

Bit of a leap there from handouts to farmers to calculating how much is being downloaded and paying companies based on it. But no it isn't perfect, and I too have some real concerns about its viability. I said it was the best I have heard so far, perhaps someone will think of something better soon. Other than stopping file trading, because that simply isn't going to happen.

There either is or was proposed a tax like this in Canada, and it has some of the problems you mention. I don't think a flat tax across the board would work well, I think there would have to be a way to get around it say for bands who want to make their own cds, but I am not sure how that would work. That is one of the big problems, taxing people who have no intention of using the tapes and cds for anything illegal.

Here are some articles against the Canadian version. http://www.ccfda.ca/subsections/eng_library.html

And no, it isn't fair, but presently no one is getting paid for it at all. And that isn't fair either. There has to be some way to balance the different interests. I think the best solution is to have something such as Apple has developed, many people will be willing to pay if it is easy to use and reasonably priced. Some people will never be willing to pay, and those are the people exchanging huge amounts of files.


And Bilmore, stop with the illegal filetrading, what kind of role model are you for your many children doing all that? Sheesh.

Speaking of timely, http://www.napsterbits.com has come out with the 3rd episode in its series.

Meet the firm
 

And meet the cheesy web site

Someone posted about this on the midatlantic board, but I found it amusing so I figured I would share. I like the flying saucer looking planet. I also like the name. The Firm? Do they read too many novels? Lack imagination? What?

See Jeffrey and Bruce
See Jeffrey and Bruce with clients
See Jeffrey and Bruce with ugly web site
See leagleaze laugh
laugh leagleaze laugh

The Real Reason Women Hate Plastic Surgery (Goddamnit, Say What You Really Mean)
 

I wasn't playing the class card. I was playing the gender-attitudes card, because I thought yours were grade-school "women who have a legitimate gripe I don't agree with are just catty about prettier women" sexist. In my experience, pigs come in all classes--often worst from the higher-ups.

Meet the firm
 

Not knowing them personally, I would still wager that all of it is a bit of a joke. Not the Firm themselves, but the website in its full ludicriousness. (It has looked the same for the past four years at least and certainly is the standard for online cheesiness.)

The Firm represents some of the biggest names in H'wood (and because all threads here are actually circles, Jeffrey is the post-Ashton boyfriend of Brittanny Murphy who Abba mentioned yesterday), so the cheesiness of their website is a choice, not a naivete.

BB4 anyone/Boy meets Boy/ Queer I
 

spoiler space

















BB4 finally got interesting. I was bummed that the Bulldog got taken off of the chopping block bc she has got to be the most annoying person I have ever seen on a reality tv show. Except Tina from Survivor 2, the standard by which I measure annoying. And I love FBI Jack. He is so Clint Eastwood with a southern twist. His gray body hair is a little repulsive- I may actuallly be in favor of shaving for this guy, but otherwise, he was my pick to make it to at least the last four. Stealth. So who is gonna go? I hope its David bc man is he boring.

Boy Meets Boy. THis show I like. I wish they told us how many straights there were. That Dan guy may be the first blond/blue eyed man I have found attractive since I was DVed. I totally did not get any gay vibe from this guy until he started doing the heavy eye contact thing. Is the manwhore, open relationship story bullshit to win cash? I suspected this was the case bc I jsut get something straight from him. This show is a total test of my gaydar. I also think Sean is straight bc no gay man would have that haircut and I am hoping Franklin is. So many cute guys on this show. Will be curious to see if there are any woman hating queens on this show- great that ANdra is there.

Queer Eye- This is the first episode I saw all the way through and it was great. Carson is absolutely fabulous as was that chocolate mousse. I am craving it- where can I get that recipe and where in DC can I get chocolate of that caliber? Probably nowhere. And how hot was that straight guy? I totally agreed witht he FAb five that the chick was thinking "how can I tell this guy 'no'" bc they are such a mismatch. Reminds me of JLo and her first two husbands and I dont see this lasting til then, but how dreamy was he just then? When will we get to the point where a woman who is six years older and has prospects and a grad degree would be willing to marry a blue collar man? Would this guy be willing to stay at home to raise the kids, bc that is the only way I see this marriage working. Or is he too blue collar macho to do it?

The Real Reason Women Hate Plastic Surgery (Goddamnit, Say What You Really Mean)
 

Velma, your argument is easily dismantled.

First, what is the "legitimate gripe" to which you refer? What "legitimate gripe" can anyone have with another person's decision about what to do with his or her body? How does another woman having plastic work create a "legitimate gripe" for anyone else?

Second, if such a gripe could exist, what exactly is it? Flesh it out for me because I can't fathom what on possible gripe one could have with another's personal decision regarding his or her body (and don't hand me some political pretext about plastic work degrading women as a whole - gimme a real honest gripe, if one exists).

Third, my attitude is not gender related. Men who make fun of other men who have attributes they don't usually do so from a position of insecurity. I've done it myself. We all do. We're humans and we have insecurities about certain things.

I'm not being sexist at all. I just exposed a simple truth that for some reason people don't want to admit, and I'm not surprised you've reacted the way you did. People just don't like to admit their insecurities. But they should get over it.

S(yes, GWNC - this is an obvious fact, but one that for some reason people avoid like SARS)D

So if we have hashed and rehashed the legal illegal thing to death, your "move [on]" is to spend 5 paragraphs in this post and another long post to come at the same issue from the tax angle? Sheesh. You are such a lawyer.

I have used the apple service -- it's really terrific. Recently, I searched for two obscure covers. I found one and paid $.99 for the download. The other, I filled out a form with our request and within a couple of weeks, they had it up as well.

And One Last Shocking News Item
 

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Jack Manfred
Speaking of Phoebe Cates, did she ever look better than she did in Fast Times? This could be something like a poll. Name a actor and the movie where you think that actor looked their best.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tracy Lourds-Between the Cheeks
Judy Garland-Meet Me in St. Louis
Barbara Streisand-Funny Girl
Alicia Silverstone-Clueless
Anna Paquin-the Piano

The Real Reason Women Hate Plastic Surgery (Goddamnit, Say What You Really Mean)
 

OK, I looked. No silicon boobies, no facial reconstruction (even if it IS needed), no colored hair, no fake teeth, no piercings or rings or tattoos, no plates in my lips, and, honestly, no insecurities.

Well, okay, some, but not related to my dislike of polysynthetic mating adornments.

I see you have been using your thighmaster
 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Well, I guess it started during my first year of the second grade, when I was eating lunch and caught my reflection in a spoon, and I thought to myself, 'Hey, Derek, you're ridiculously good looking! And I thought maybe I could do that for a career.