Illegally Yours

1. considering that the revenue recording artists make off of their actual albums is not much compared to their concerts/appearances/merchandise, what is your feel on downloading songs from the internet (personally - not for profit/sale)? I think downloading songs on the internet is the result of the music industry getting too much revenue. Its imploding. Consider this, if you really like an artist, you're going to spend $15 on their cd, $75 on a concert ticket (if you're lucky), $35 for a shitty t-shirt (that cost them a buck to produce), $10 parking at said concert. Most people don't do that, because they can't afford it, or they don't feel that strongly about an artist, etc. So I don't feel the least bit bad about downloading songs off the internet. I've ranted about this many times in the past.

2. how do you feel about people downloading movies off of the internet? Same as downloading. Movies are too expensive to go see for many people. $8 a ticket, plus another $11 for popcorn and a drink, double that if you take someone with you. Meanwhile movie stars are wiping their asses with $100 bills. When I was a kid, my friends would ask, "How many times have you seen Star Wars?" or that they loved a movie so much they saw it 2 or 3 times. You can't do that anymore, you'd go broke. I think its totally a matter of economics. If movies were a nickel, would people still download them? Maybe, but who would sit for 3 hours to download it, then burn it to a DVD for another hour, then sit and watch it, or God Forbid, sit in front of the computer and watch it. Very few would endure that, if they could just pop down to the MegaloCineplex 20 and watch it.

3. what if the movie is not offered in your region (for instance, if the movie is only commercially available in europe and you live in the US ... even if you DID purchase it from europe, it would not play on your region 1 DVD player?)? Hell yeah. If I want to see it, I'll download it, if thats the only way I could see it. But really, why the hell would I want to see a movie thats only available in Europe?

4. i've heard people justify their illegal software downloads by saying things like, "oh, adobe (or Microsoft or Macromedia) is such a big company ... they're charging over $300 for this software; why should *i* pay if they're not going to miss the money anyway?" what do you think about people downloading software off of the internet? You have to look at whats behind it. You think the average kid has $600 to buy a copy of Photoshop? They charge that much because busineses will pay that much for it, not the average person. How many people have an actual copy of Photoshop or Office? If you think about it, yes they're stealing someone's intellectual property, but in reality, they weren't going to buy it anyway. So would you rather have your product on someone's computer with your logo splashed in their face everytime they opened it, or not at all? Thats why shareware is so great. You pay for it only if you like it, and if you do, you get something extra for it. If you don't like it enough to pay for it, no problem, just keep using it and giving it to your friends, cuz maybe one of them will pay for it. Bottom line, if there's a way to get it free, somebody's gonna exploit it.

there is a lot of dvd-copying software available for purchase. it is sold so that people can make a legal backup of their purchased DVDs. many people 'backup' illegally. generally, this software is not sold in the US or germany (at least not legally).

5. do you think that a software (or other product) should be illegal in the US and legal in another country? why or why not? No, it shouldn't be illegal. Plus, to the end user, if you download it from a server in Germany, its mostly the same as if you download it from a server across town. Plus, like MP3s, Movie Downloads, etc, people are going to get it if they want it. And the concept of making "backups" of your DVDs is ridiculous. Thats like when you go into the store that sells "Water Pipes For Tobacco." Are you really worried that you're going to damage your 'Pootie Tang' DVD?

6. people justify their illegal DVD backups by saying that hollywood has so much money ANYWAY, or [insert excuse here]. do you agree or disagree? why or why not? Its not that Hollywood has too much money, its that they're asking for too much money from the general public.

7. there are millions of file-sharers all over the world. in your opinion, is it in the federal government's best interests to go after people in the US who have over x-amount of files on their personal computers? Like my favorite crackhead says, "Its not right, but its OK." The government has to do something about it, because no matter how people try to justify it, its illegal. They shouldn't put those people in jail, just fine them. That would be a deterrent for the people they do catch, and a handful of people they don't catch, plus it would make those douchebags at the RIAA happy. Its not right, because the people are just listening to music. They're hurting no one... no not even the artist. MP3s and the downloading of movies should force the music business to re-evaluate how its been working for the last 40 years. It didn't keep up with new technology, so look what happened. The business model is the same as its always been. Instead of 78s, 33s, 8-Tracks, or Cassettes, its CDs. No other changes. But now they have to figure out how to work around digital downloads. One day they will. I predict they'll eventually view mp3s like playing a song on the radio. You don't pay to listen to it, but they hope its good enough that you'll buy it. The market will right itself, if you let it.

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1. Who is the first celebrity you recall having a crush on?
Princess Leia, no not in a Ross from Friends way either!

2. What was your favorite amusement park ride when you were young? I never really had a favorite. I liked all the roller coasters equally.

3. If you could change your name (first or middle but the name you go by), would you, and if so, what would you change it to? Heywood Jablome, or Hugh Jorgan, or if I was muslim, I'd be Khamir Ubitch.

4. Go to http://kabalarians.com/ and take the "First Name Analysis" test. Do you agree with what the site comes up with? I did this a few years ago. No, I don't agree. You can't get a picture of my personality just from my name.

5. Other than Johnny Carson, which former talk show host's tape archives would you most like to visit, and why? None really. Maybe Letterman just because I like him.

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #44 from Jessie: If you were in good health, would you donate a kidney to a friend who's dying regardless of what your family's opinion are and if yes or no, why or why not? Of course. If you have a kidney that he needs, and you don't give it to him, you're signing his death certificate. Its murder-by-inaction, no different if the guy was on fire and you're standing there with a bucket of water. And people will say, "If I get kidney disease I'll need both of them." Thats bullshit, if you get kidney disease, it'll fuck up both your kidneys. So you'd be screwed anyway.