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You also won't be invaded by aliens this week either.

You talk like it's one man one vote, or like voting registration and counting weren't been cheated in the last two presidential elections.

I turned 18 in September of 2000, and I have only had ability to vote in the last two presidential elections. Both times it has been obvious to even a lot of non-tin-hat-wearing Americans that forces outside of America's voting power control, to some extent, the outcome of the election.

It's easy to place the blaim squarly and singly on the shoulders of the public, declaring them/us "too fucking lazy to learn about politics", and saying that:

"Any political failures in the American political system are not the fault of evil corporations and politicians."

But so many Americans rely on major corporate news outlets for their education on public issues. I mean, they are journalists right? They're on TV, it's the news, it can be trusted, right? But even if you don't believe in corporate conspiracies, it's hard to ignore the claims against Fox News (News Corp) and yet it remains the highest rated news channel (even despite a recent decline in viewership).

So the uneducated Americans are uneducated why? Not because of a corporate plot? How about because of a lack of corporate responsibility, or governmental responsibility to educate the masses.

Mass media was created to reach the masses, because it's hard to get information to 300 million people who are busy trying to work and live and such, as I'm sure even you are. If the mass media outlets are not providing the people with truly "Fair and Balanced" information on the issues, how can the American people be expected to know, or even care, about what goes on?

Americans apathetic and uneducated about voting? Yes, but the system doesn't exactly tender an educated voting culture.

Almost all social problems can be viewed as either indivual problems or stuctural problems. To err solely on either side is to admit to being one of the uneducated voters.

You're right that Americans are not generally using their democracy. You're right that one cannot conclude from that that it no longer exists. Unfortunately one also cannot conclude that it does.

In the last 2 Presidential elections there is very good reason to believe that the candidate who won as President was not the one that the majority of voters voted for. If you're unfamiliar with the story, then I'd suggest reading Armed Madhouse to see the news as it was reported outside of the USA. (Specifically as it was reported by the BBC.)

You'll find all sorts of interesting information. Including a detailed analysis of how the Republican party has managed to set things up so that minority votes for Democratic candidates spoil at many times the rate of white votes for Republican candidates. With the end result being that the Democrats officially lost twice despite having a significant lead in votes actually cast. (Of course the Republicans used other tricks. For instance in Ohio, voting in Democratic districts was far harder than voting in Republican ones. Nobody knows how many people didn't vote because the long lines dissuaded them. This was, of course, far from accidental. For instance one factor was the chaos caused by Republican watchers with "challenge" lists, whose compilation was almost certainly illegal...)

Of course if there wasn't significant support for George Bush, these tricks wouldn't have tipped the balance. But as the Republicans keep getting away with ever more blatant manipulations of the vote, I'd not be surprised to see our facade of democracy disappear within my lifetime. Sadly I have to wonder how many of the sheeple will actually care. :-(

Poor and stupid are two distinct groups.

No, the truth of the matter is that there is an almost perfect correlation between stupidity [respectively genius] and poverty [respectively wealth].

Sorry, but that's the ugly truth of the matter, and no amount of whining, bitching, or moaning will change things.

Apparently this is a relatively new area of research,

Complete Bull Shit.

The Body Electric, Robert O. Becker, copyrighted 1985.

You really should read Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion. It's all about growing clones for transplants. It even talks about drug lords and even has a less than savory solution to the US's illegal immigrant problem! All for only $12.21!

In all honesty, it's a good book. Go check it out at the library. I commmand you!

Do you mean Robert O. Becker?

http://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Electromagneti sm-Foundation-Life/dp/0688069711

We now know that electronic technology has no more to contribute to computing than the physical equipments. We now know that programmable computer is no more and no less than an extremely handy device for realizing any conceivable mechanism without changing a single wire, and that the core challenge for computing science is hence a conceptual one, viz. what (abstract) mechanisms we can conceive without getting lost in the complexities of our own making.

E.W. Dijkstra

As far as money goes, when John Dillinger was asked why he robbed banks, he said "because that's where the money is."

The reason football teams have booster clubs is because they work. The same thing will work for high tech, and they have more money. Try to get some local company with smart people to get involved. They will have financial resources and expertise that you don't. I answered an ad in the local newspaper to help the students at my local high school organize a computer club. Organize the club, get local businesses to contribute, get local developers/database guys to come and lecture. Pretty soon, you'll have a club with enough going on to ask for a real class.

The club also answers your question: "If I can't get technology education in school, then what would be the best way to teach myself?" Working on learning something with a group is a great way to learn things. Get the club going, and then say "this month we're going to learn foobar!"

You're on your way.

Visited Office Depot last week, and near the checkout counter I saw a "Windows Vista for Dummies" book.

Maybe I was dreaming, but I swear it is true.

Look, there is no OS!

Not preinstalled on computers!

I know what I am talking about, I remember Windows 3.1 preinstalled on computers at Office Depot! At least 20 boxen up and running, with excited patrons playing with Paint, and Solitare, and wondering why Notepad did not have more "word processor" features. I did it, I spray painted with Paint, and never figured out how to print text in Paint.

(yes, I did later, my logo.16 for my knoppix remaster was made with Paint.)

Wait, I'm not through! "Dummies" books are for people that have already wrestled with the technical problem, and now have a few bucks to spend at the bookstore, and these "Dummies" books are just the ticket!

No one needs a "Dummies" book ahead of time! Especially one about an OS that they cannot get their hands on to work the examples in the book, and hence gain an understanding the the thing, in that special way that Dummies books do so well.

I clicked on the Amazon link above, and look, they have 49 new and _used_ copies for sale beginning at $5.34.

Apparently some of the purchasers of the book found out the hard way that:

1. There is no OS
2. It's not preinstalled on computers.

(lemme see, do I have a spare $5.34 here somewhere?)

--Rapidweather

I have misgivings about Microsoft as much as the next Slashdotter but given the Xbox 360 has already seen price breaks in some of its games and it has a price that I more typically associate with something that I "play" with. I think I am going with Microsoft this time. I might get a Wii as well, because I find it offers much better multiplayer games for parties.

I have misgivings about Microsoft as much as the next Slashdotter but given the Xbox 360 has already seen price breaks in some of its games and it has a price that I more typically associate with something that I "play" with. I think I am going with Microsoft this time. I might get a Wii as well, because I find it offers much better multiplayer games for parties.

.... On this topic called the Wal-Mart Effect:

http://www.amazon.com/Wal-Mart-Effect-Powerful-Tra nsforming-American/dp/1594200769

Basically, the author looks at Wal-Mart's tactics in terms of squeezing it's suppliers to get the absolute lowest price and figures that while consumers benefit from this (even if they don't shop there), it doesn't exactly make Wal-Mart "evil." But there are troubling aspects to their behaviour that gives one cause to pause so to speak (like how they treat offshore workers for example).

Having said that, I think they'll find that Apple may be a different sort of challenge. I don't think studios will cave the same way that Wal-Mart's suppliers usually do.

The book The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas has a chapter about Design by Contract. As it's a very good book (almost a classic) about lots of different things, I suggest you read it. Check out the reviews at Amazon, they are true.

Apparantly it's a big pack of chewing gum containing 17 sticks.

Sugar, Gum Base, Corn Syrup, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Glycerol, Acesulfame K, Softeners, Mannitol, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, BHT (to Preserve Freshness). Would this even be legal in Europe?

Now you have.
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=of f&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=ambidext rous+circular+saw&spell=1

Sorry about your leftist plight.

Western society is generally obsessed with technology anyway. It's not just the military-industrial complex. Read the books Technopoly by Neil Postman or Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul for a good explanation of how society has made technology and technological systems of thought the automatic solution to all our problems.

Western society is generally obsessed with technology anyway. It's not just the military-industrial complex. Read the books Technopoly by Neil Postman or Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul for a good explanation of how society has made technology and technological systems of thought the automatic solution to all our problems.

The "flaw" that SecureWorks reported did not exist. Apple wasn't told what the flaw was or really any details about it, and like a responsible company, audited all relevant code irregardless. They found three potential *crashers*. These may be impossible crashers, as in the requirements to get to that section of code means it is impossible for the data to be invalid, but they added an error check "just in case".

The problem is now days everyone considers a crasher to be a security exploit, even if it can't be used to run any code.

But none of these are what the SecureWorks guys "reportedly" found. Either way, they definitely and without a doubt lied on that video. The device they attached was not a wireless device seen by the system at all. The SecureWorks guys never even stated anything, other than the community didn't have the mental capacity to understand what the exploit was.

They also said they would not release details until Apple fixed it. So I assume they'll now put up or shut up. It really all looks like a publicity stunt to sell their upcoming book.

How are you going to get monty python?

How about this way

I enjoyed this article because it relates to me. There's a reason why I don't own a gaming console. I haven't owned one since Atari 2600. Due to my four fingers on my hands, lack of thumbs, and inablility to hold game controllers in mid air, I cannot use those console controllers very well. I have to use them on tables to hold them. This is why I do better on computer games because of keyboards, mice (small light ones like those old two/three button ones), and simple small joysticks (think of those old one/two buttons one like those old school Atari 2600 joysticks). I currently have a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick, but they have too many buttons and too big for my hands, so I don't do well when flying (I avoid flying in Battlefield games ;)). :(

I also have speech and hearing impediments, so I don't use Teamspeak or any voice communications. I tried it once in Day of Defeat (original version) and obviously, no one knew I was saying (even my friends whom I talked to!). Hearing is another problem since I don't hear well with my analog bone conduction hearing aid (mono -- one microphone and can't determine audio directions). I love games that use closed caption/CC and suititles like in Half-Life 2 games (only use the dialog ones) and F.E.A.R..

The article also stole the title from one of my favorite cooking books. Damn confusing, that.

The product it is leading is Vista.

In the 1990's Microsoft spent thousands of man-hours creating a pen operating system that died on the vine. It was a pure cost to the company, no profit. But the key point is that it died AFTER the GO Penpoint operating system died. Martin Eller, one of the Microsoft staff involved, even has a quote in his book:

"This wasn't a thing about making money. This was all about 'block that kick.""

Apple makes money selling iPods, but the big play for them is the iPod halo effect to sell more Macs. Macs (and Mac software) are much more profitable than an iPod. The release of Vista, with all its associated angst, represents a big opportunity for Apple. Microsoft will fight that halo effect with everything they've got, even if they have to lost money on every single Zune. They make their money from Windows, and this is all about protecting the Microsoft market (and mind) share.

With sites like Amazon.com with its third-party sellers, and similar bargain sites, who cares what the standard retail price of an item is if you'll really be able to get it for tens of dollars less? It's been a long time since I paid retail price for books, CDs, or electronics.

1. So it happened earlier in recorded human history?
2. There was technology throughout most of human history that recorded Arctic ice cover?
3. Until aircraft, nuclear submarines, nuclear icebreakers, and satellites were invented, nobody was able to say with certainty whether the Northwest Passage existed or not, which was previously the domain of people like Henry Hudson. Indeed, until the technology existed, nobody could really map the icepack with any decent accuracy.

I refer you to these two texts (Neither is an affiliate link, btw). They cover voyages seeking the "Northwest Passage" during the 18th and 19th centuries. We know from recorded documents by the explorers that they were indeed smart enough to follow previous voyages; as they moved into the Arctic ice region, however, those explorers repeatedly found those partially "successful" routes blocked by ice, usually as far as they could see. While a ship today could conceivably break the ice all the way from one end of the ice pack to the other, it would be pointless; the idea of a "Northwest Passage" was a clear trade route to Asia from Europe without going through South America or around Africa. We didn't need technology to figure out that shifting slabs of ice aren't conducive to finding a stable, viable trade route, which also means that mapping the icepack for finding trade routes is just as futile. It wasn't just one or two ships sent to find this passage; nearly two hundred years of voyages and records show that the natural environment at the time did not allow for a "Northwest Passage," with or without technology.

1. So it happened earlier in recorded human history?
2. There was technology throughout most of human history that recorded Arctic ice cover?
3. Until aircraft, nuclear submarines, nuclear icebreakers, and satellites were invented, nobody was able to say with certainty whether the Northwest Passage existed or not, which was previously the domain of people like Henry Hudson. Indeed, until the technology existed, nobody could really map the icepack with any decent accuracy.

I refer you to these two texts (Neither is an affiliate link, btw). They cover voyages seeking the "Northwest Passage" during the 18th and 19th centuries. We know from recorded documents by the explorers that they were indeed smart enough to follow previous voyages; as they moved into the Arctic ice region, however, those explorers repeatedly found those partially "successful" routes blocked by ice, usually as far as they could see. While a ship today could conceivably break the ice all the way from one end of the ice pack to the other, it would be pointless; the idea of a "Northwest Passage" was a clear trade route to Asia from Europe without going through South America or around Africa. We didn't need technology to figure out that shifting slabs of ice aren't conducive to finding a stable, viable trade route, which also means that mapping the icepack for finding trade routes is just as futile. It wasn't just one or two ships sent to find this passage; nearly two hundred years of voyages and records show that the natural environment at the time did not allow for a "Northwest Passage," with or without technology.

That is what these are for, and if you have been travelling without them up till now, welcome back to sanity.

They are like 50 bucks and are easily hackable and have a great community. Dropping 1200 dollars for something that you might feign interest in online without understanding the tedious nature of the mechatronic engineering involved is silly.

Save yourself $4.24 by buying the book here: Brave New Ballot. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

Save yourself $4.24 by buying the book here: Brave New Ballot. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

:) Larry Niven's A Gift From Earth

Not Niven's best, but some of the concepts explored are interesting. A key one is the hypothesis that morality is dependant upon technology, and that as technology changes so too does what is moral. The book revolves around a technological revolution (the development of a means for engineering replacement organs) resulting in a moral/cultural/social one.

the point is that the concept of property *rights* is just that - a concept

And my point is that the concept of property rights is an inherent feature of reality. In contrast, rights over ideas are an artificial construct.

The further point is that imagining a world without intellectual property rights is no more sensible or productive than imagining a world without physical property rights.

So, you're saying that all of human history before 1600 (or whenever) was not sensible and productive? Look, it's been proven that it's possible to have a society without your so-called "intellectual property;" just look in a history book! The concept of a society without real property, on the other hand, has been proven not to work at any reasonable scale.

Conversely, a reasonable person would be hard pressed to make the same case for, say, Jefferson's personal letters to Adams. I might want to read them, I might gain something from reading them, but I don't have a right to read them just because they are (or contain) information. That adjudication belongs to Adams, not me (or Jefferson).

What a coincidence that you picked that particular example! Are you aware that we actually do have Jefferson's letters to Adams publically available? And moreover, that Adams' permission was not required for them to become so?

I don't know where you got these peculiar ideas of yours (although I expect they're due to publishing industry propaganda ("don't copy that floppy," etc.)), but they're far removed from reality.

To make sweeping statements about 'information' leads to partiularly touchy spots in our current information-based society. Should everyone know what the FBI or the OSI knows? Should ISPs retain reams of information on all their customers - and divulge it?

There's no doubt that there are issues with this philosophy. However, I would have to say that yes, based purely on issues of information vs. property I outlined in my previous post, all this information from the FBI and ISPs should be made available. Restricting access to this kind of information falls under the realm of privacy, not copyright.

In other words, which makes more sense: stopping somebody from learning this kind of information by charging them with copyright infringment, or by charging them with tresspass?

your premise seems to indicate that you do not acknowledge intellectual property as such

Bingo! The term "intellectual property" is dishonest because copyrights, patents, and trademarks aren't even similar to each other, let alone property. Even an "intellectual property" lawyer will admit so. Personally, I assume everyone who uses the term is either ignorant or has an agenda, and I haven't been wrong yet. (Hopefully you fall into the former category, and I'll succeed in enlightening you.)

I ask again, if I write a story or compose a song, by what machination does it become the property of 'society' without my specifically willing it so?

By the fact that you published it. If you wanted to keep it for yourself, you should have kept it to yourself by not telling anyone about it!

Basically, here's how it works: if you publish something (and giving it to a single person counts as publishing), it becomes the property of society. Just to be nice, however, copyright law allows you reqest to "rent" back the right to distribute the work for a limited period of time (and you already paid that rent by creating the work). Otherwise, the work immediately reverts (not "becomes", since it was already so by default) to the Public Domain. These, by the way, are your ownly two choices.

I've been looking to do this as well. Right now I've got a couple Stanton STR8-80's (with the stock needle/cartridge, wish I could afford better ones) hooked up to a pre-amp (brand/model escapes me) and running into my integrated sound card. I know there's quite a few areas where I could drop in better components and improve the process, I just don't have the cash for it. I get acceptable quality out of it, no problems with clicks and pops, as I keep my vinyl and needle clean. When I come across problem vinyl I've found a few methods to reduce them. This tutorial has some really elegant ways to isolate the clicks/pops out of the soundtrack, invert them and add them back to the waveform, as well as a catalog of his experience with making the conversions

I recently came across this turntable, that you can hook up to your computer via USB. No idea what goes on inside it to make that conversion, but reviews seem to generally be positive about the resulting quality.

Where do we get the social stigma associated with "meeting someone online"?
As a species we are oriented toward the visual and faces for recognition, status and bonding. There was an interesting four part series with John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley The Human Face from 2001 that covered some REALLY interesting face factors.
That, of course, is missing in the online world. Sure you can see a picture, but it's not the same. There is a subliminal information loss that lowers your ability to really "know" someone when you are in the online world rather than face to face.
Face Time, as it turns out, really IS important

The band His Name Is Alive, around the time of their 1995 album Stars on E.S.P , actually did produce a number of wax cylinders due to frontman Warren Defever's interest in retro recording technology. Too bad the average joe doesn't have a player for them.

Are you high? Ask your parents about soda shops, bowling alleys, drive-ins, etc. Then, go read Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam - it's a great look at what he calls the collapse of the American community, because of a lack of these "third places". Good read.

[ Emphasis mine. ]

Combine that with her brother's testimony that she was an active participant in her husband's treason (by typing his notes, although he later recanted this to a reporter, he claimed he lied for more lenient treatment for his wife and children;) her husband's silence rather than coming to her defense; and add the fact that both Rosenbergs (not just Julius) were secretly recommended for Soviet medals.

Now, I'm not a modern day McCarthyite. (Senator McCarthy was a vain, self-serving bastard who didn't care who he trampled upon for personal gain. I think he may have had a hint at the existence of VENONA, and leveraged these rumors to cast suspicion upon anyone who got in his way.) Regardless, the case against Ethel Rosenberg was strong. It was strong enough to have her executed even without the VENONA decrypts being brought up at trial.

Three engineering students from Cambridge University plan to send an unmanned craft into space for £1,000 ($1,880) They should hook up with that teenager who was building a nuclear reactor in his backyard.

I like bioware's RPG skills and this would fill a niche in my weekday caltran 2 hour commute. With NVW2 coming out in october and an estimated 2-3 months play time, I hope they can get something out the door by christmas.

The real question is will all this ozone depletion see the rise of mutations giving rise tothree breasted aussies and swedish women? If so, than I am all for it.

It seems to me that the "core group" they are referring to do exist and in my experience play many more hours per day, with some playing the whole weekends away. They exhibit classic signs of addiction like only associating with people who play the game on a daily basis and hiding the "playing of the game" from family and friends who do not partake in it.

The book you are speaking of is titled: State of Fear and is one of the best books I have read recently.
http://www.amazon.com/State-Fear-Michael-Crichton/ dp/0066214130

It paints a very diffrent view of what is really happening in terms of climate change.

From Publishers Weekly:
If Crichton is right-if the scientific evidence for global warming is thin; if the environmental movement, ignoring science, has gone off track; if we live in what he in his Author's Message calls a "State of Fear," a "near-hysterical preoccupation with safety that's at best a waste of resources and a crimp on the human spirit, and at worst an invitation to totalitarianism"-then his extraordinary new thriller may in time be viewed as a landmark publication, both cautionary and prophetic. If he is wrong, then the novel will be remembered simply as another smart and robust, albeit preachy, addition to an astonishing writing career that has produced, among other works, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure and The Andromeda Strain. Crichton dramatizes his message by way of a frantic chase to prevent environmental terrorists from wreaking widespread destruction aimed at galvanizing the world against global warming. A team lead by MIT scientist/federal agent John Kenner crosses the globe to prevent the terrorists from calving a giant Antarctic iceberg; inducing terrible storms and flash floods in the US; and, using giant cavitators, causing a Pacific tidal wave. Behind the terrorists lurks the fantatical, fund-seeking chief of a mainstream environmental group; on Kenner's team, most notably, is young attorney Peter Evans, aka everyman, whose typically liberal views on global warming chill as Kenner instructs him in the truth about the so-called crisis. The novel is dense with cliffhangers and chases and derring-do, while stuffed between these, mostly via Kenner's dialogue, is a talky yet highly provocative survey of how Crichton thinks environmentalism has derailed. There are plenty of ready-to-film minor characters as well, from a karate-kicking beauty to a dimwitted, pro-environmentalist TV star who meets one of the nastiest fates in recent fiction. There's a lot of message here, but fortunately Crichton knows how to write a thriller of cyclonic speed and intensity. Certainly one of the more unusual novels of the year for its high-level mix of education and entertainment, with a decidedly daring contrarian take, this take-no-prisoners consideration of environmentalism wrapped in extravagantly enjoyable pages is one of the most memorable novels of the year and is bound to be a #1 bestseller. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Only one chapter of the Silmarillion had to be penned outright by Christopher Tolkien, and it is the shortest one.

I started with the . It's not perfect, but the 2nd edition helped a lot, and the projects are decidedly garage oriented.

Lego Technics sets got me started with mechanics at a young age, and the book (my yellow covered, dog eared, marked up 1st edition) pushed me the rest of the way. I grabbed the books on the Rug Warrior from the MIT crew as a second step, though I didn't pursue them.

The Parallax BOEBot is wonderful too. it's a lot more expensive, but it's an all in one kit that can get you a light reactive robot in an afternoon.

You're looking at three main bits to get the whole thing up and running:

• The body - motors, gears, etc
• The electronics - basic concepts, sensors, motor drivers, and if you get into more complex stuff, computerish things like microcontrollers
• The software - basic AI

(obviously there's some overlap here)

If you have limited experience with these things, a kit from somewhere like Lego or Fischertechnik is an excellent place to start. These will take care of the hard stuff, letting you get straight in. Its also a good way to test the waters - see if you really want to get into robotics (it can become addictive and expensive very quickly).

If you want to do it yourself, I recommend these books by David Cook:

• Robot Building for Beginners
• Intermediate Robot Bulding

See also http://www.robotroom.com/

I tend not to get into the body building much, preferring off-the-shelf stuff. Basic Lego Technic sets have served me well, and I'm currently using Tamiya gearboxes and bases. I'm far more interested in the computer side, building small microcontroller-based computers and writing the software from scratch.

You're looking at three main bits to get the whole thing up and running:

• The body - motors, gears, etc
• The electronics - basic concepts, sensors, motor drivers, and if you get into more complex stuff, computerish things like microcontrollers
• The software - basic AI

(obviously there's some overlap here)

If you have limited experience with these things, a kit from somewhere like Lego or Fischertechnik is an excellent place to start. These will take care of the hard stuff, letting you get straight in. Its also a good way to test the waters - see if you really want to get into robotics (it can become addictive and expensive very quickly).

If you want to do it yourself, I recommend these books by David Cook:

• Robot Building for Beginners
• Intermediate Robot Bulding

See also http://www.robotroom.com/

I tend not to get into the body building much, preferring off-the-shelf stuff. Basic Lego Technic sets have served me well, and I'm currently using Tamiya gearboxes and bases. I'm far more interested in the computer side, building small microcontroller-based computers and writing the software from scratch.

This is the premier robotics magazine for at home and undergrad folk. Everything else is rather specialized.

Yeah, I tell you what: ever read the Young Jedi Knights series? Fucking literary masterpiece; makes Ulysses look like it was written by a drunk third-grader.

Is this it? I'm fairly sure I read it in college - the professor went on at length about Tolkien's translation being one of the reasons that the thing was still read today.

It is really a shame they are out of print now.

In W. Gibson's latest novel "Pattern Recognition", there are a series of videos/short films posted anonymously on the internet. Noone knows who is posting them and why; Marketing companies all hunger for a chance to get some of the hype surrounding the posted short videos. I won't ruin the ending for you, but it is a story of marketing types and anonymous artistic video postings.

This is very applicable to what is happening on YouTube now; self-made work are being fostered by these types of user generated content sites. The problem is the viewer has non idea if those self made works are sponsored by companies, or if they are just 'solo artist in a room somewhere' type of works.