fear of death

"No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils" - Plato, Apology

Britney Spears - Radar (Manhattan Clique Club Edit)

Sarah Palin: Her Own Worst Enemy

Sarah Palin is her own worst enemy. On the one hand by she demands money to speak at an Iowa conservative political event most Republican politicians would fight for.

And then she chastises CBS for "providing a forum to propagate lies," saying "consider the source of the most recent attention-getting lies - those who would sell their body for money reflect a desperate need for attention and are likely to say and do anything for even more attention" (Levi Johnston in case you missed the thinly veiled reference). This in spite of the fact that she quit office after she was paid $1.25 million for her book deal of course. And after she railed against death panels (an untrue concoction of her own mind entirely).

So lets recap: She's paid $1.25M for a book deal, then leaves office, writes book, lies about death panels, calls Levi Johnston a liar, backs up this label by because he's getting money to pose in a magazine, but demands money to pose/speak in front of people?

It sounds like she's jealous of Levi's attention! Sarah Palin has certainly proved she's willing "to say or do anything for even more attention." I honestly hope Republicans don't pick her as their hopeful for 2012 - she's proven poised and ready to self-destruct at any moment. I prefer a democracy with GOOD candidate choices. Not one that's good, one that's a time bomb, and the standard mix of third-party choices. Of course if she is the nominee then maybe disillusioned Americans of various political leanings might get behind a third-party candidate in a way that's quite meaningful. But I digress....

If anyone seems desperate to stay in the media's attention I say its Sarah Palin. She did have her brief media hiatus upon leaving office... to focus on her book/collaborate with Lynn Vincent. But now she's back and ready to be the center of attention again (probably hoping to drum up more hype for her book).

DVD Sales Drop: Studios Panic

Because of the drop in DVD sales, studios are looking to ways to stop losing money. Their plan is to block dvd rentals for a month to boost dvd sales. The logic is of course reasonable. Currently upon release consumers can 1)Buy 2)Rent 3)Steal 4)Copy or 5)Borrow dvds. Most people will generally fall under the Buy or Rent category. Thus if the studios removing the Rent option for a month that will lead to less consumer choice and more demand for the Buy category (of course in actuality the demand for Stealing + Copying + Borrow will rise as well, though probably to a lesser degree). This should result in higher DVD sales.

Now I understand the interest in maintaining high profits and the concern the industry has for falling DVD sales, but I don't think that this is their only option. It is a decent option provided they make good on the speculation that they offer lower prices to rental outlets (a month after retail release) - at least that way (ideally) consumers willing to wait a bit longer (you know after it was in theaters first-run and second-run, after its been on pay-per-view, after its been available for purchase, when it finally makes its way to the rental outlets) would be rewarded with a lower cost. In practice of course whether rental companies will lower their rental fees in accordance with their price break remains to be seen. But nevertheless there are definite payoffs to such a plan.

An alternative plan could be to find a way to get their hands in the rental pot: for example charging rental outlets a licensing fee per rent a la TV syndication. Of course verifying rental numbers could be difficult. The benefits for finding a way into that market is that they can still regain profitability but not have to limit consumer choice. I mean, let's face it: a sudden shift in film distribution and exhibition could lead to consumer disillusionment and frustration if the studios don't finesse their way through the change.

At least they're trying to innovate in their own way, and seem to be doing a better job than the music industry. I gotta give 'em that credit!

T-Mobile Realizes: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

FINALLY! T-Mobile joins Sprint's game with a clear, reasonably priced rate plan. Thank you T-Mobile! I'm already happy with Sprint, but it's refreshing to see another carrier moving towards simplicity...just please stick with it. Verizon plans seem more clear and reasonable than in the past I'm happy to say.

AT&T care to join the movement? Or are you too busy battling the FCC and milking your iPhone-devotees to care?

Mozilla Firefox Mobile - Everywhere You Are

Open Source Voting

FINALLY: Open Source Voting software. Electronic voting is a great new frontier for democracy. Private companies making black box voting machines are NOT good for America. The electoral process needs to be open and transparent. I think there needs to be a paper receipt for the vote to ensure the possibility to physically backup and verify a vote (I haven't verified of the software as proposed by the OSDV produces said receipts, my internet is being temperamental). But all in all I think this direction is great!