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Damn you. now that song will be stuck in my head all day... and my co-workers will think I'm crazy from the unnatural smile my face.

Link to the lyrics...
http://www.thebards.net/music/lyrics/Always_Look_Bright_Side_Life.shtml

I don't think the government is protecting "one side" in the case of the RIAA because the RIAA does not represent one side; it represents a cartel that dominates the recording market, but is neither a group of artists nor is it all of recording.

The fact is that the price of music distribution has gone down dramatically. I've been able to produce and distribute an album all my own, legally, for example, with legit pressed shrink-wrapped CDs and digital sales through iTunes and Sony Connect and everything. The digital studio I produced this with was all of $1k, and the distribution costs for 100 CDs are well under $500. I'm not raking in a ton of cash this way, but let's face it, this is well within the range of Joe Schmoe.

Where the RIAA comes into play is that the bulk of the royalties made from playing these recordings that I have made don't go to me. They go to the RIAA. The blank CDs have a tax levied on them that goes to the RIAA. This is my competitor in the market. The government is taking money from the poor to feed the rich here. I'm on the same "side" of the CD sales equation, but my ability to generate revenue is affected by the fact that these companies claim to own me, when I have signed no contract giving them these rights.

Now, does that sound to you like a "free market?" Me neither.

On the other hand, my CD is crap, so it's not like I'm getting my panties all in a wad about this. But if I actually put some effort and had some talent into this sort of thing, or depended on it for a living like many musicians do, I'd be outraged.

We'll drink a drink a drink To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink
The saviour of the human race For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.

Mr. Frears had sticky-out ears
and it made him awful shy and so they gave him medicinal compound
and now he's learning how to fly.

Brother Tony Was notably bony
He would never eat his meals And so they gave him medicinal compound
Now they move him round on wheels.

We'll drink a drink a drink To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink
The saviour of the human race For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.

Old Ebeneezer Thought he was Julius Caesar
And so they put him in a Home where they gave him medicinal compound
and now he's Emperor of Rome.

Johnny Hammer Had a terrible stammer
He could hardly say a word And so they gave him medicinal compound
Now he's seen (but never heard)!

We'll drink a drink a drink To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink
The saviour of the human race For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.

Auntie Millie
Ran willy-nilly
When her legs, they did recede
And so they rubbed on medicinal compound
And now they call her Millipede.

Jennifer Eccles
had terrible freckles
and the boys all called her names
but she changed with medicinal compound
and now he joins in all their games.

We'll drink a drink a drink
To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink
The saviour of the human race
For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.

Lily the Pink, she
Turned to drink, she
Filled up with paraffin inside
and despite her medicinal compound
Sadly Picca-Lily died.

Up to Heaven
Her soul ascended
All the church bells they did ring
She took with her medicinal compound
Hark the herald angels sing.

Oooooooooooooooo Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'll drink a drink a drink
To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink
The saviour of the human race
For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.

http://www.thebards.net/mp3/BrobdingnagianBards-Li ly_the_Pink.mp3

Always look on the Bright Side of life

You're making your comment in jest, I know. You actually have a good counterpoint to his article: His claim is that the life skills WoW teaches are bunk, and you point out that "making money" is a life skill in the USA.

Why not look at his points one by one? He repeats himself twice, so he really just has 3 objections:

Time > Skill

He's right that a great talent can do as much in less time as a mediocre talent. That's just to get the same quality of work.

My best friend is in a band. He and I both admit that I have more musical talent in my left arm than he has in his whole body. The difference is that I'm a slacker, and he's constantly working at it. The result is that he has more and better CDs than I will ever make. His Ability far exceeds anything I've ever accomplished in any context.

And that's how it goes: Ability is a combination of effort and talent, and the coefficients favor effort: The mediocre talents who put in great effort always get ahead of the great talents who put in a mediocre effort in the real world.

I also feel that this is more fair; God has not seen fit to distribute all talents evenly, so claiming that talent is the most valuable thing (moreso than effort or ability) is tantamount to saying that blond hair and blue eyes are more valuable than black hair and brown eyes.

So here, I have to agree with what WoW teaches.

group > solo

I'm an introvert, just like the author. I am not a hermit. A few years back, I took the Dale Carnegie course -- you know, that Dale Carnegie?

The knowledge I gained changed my life. Learning the skills of how to get along with others didn't mean abandoning the introverted lifestyle. The main thing to realize is that people skills are learned skills, not inherent abilities. Even if you're an introvert, that doesn't mean you want to be a hermit or die alone -- and it also doesn't mean you can't learn how to deal with people effectively.

Your so-called "superior" may be an idiot jerk to you, but he got his position because he isn't a jerk to the right people. And if you look at the superiors who are great managers, they aren't great because they know more about your field than you. They're great because they are easy to get along with and know how to let you do your job well.

Take a look at the great bands that were great together, but when they split apart the solo acts all seemed wanting. Or how your family is not just a number of people, but seems to have a life of its own. Very few people really want to be completely alone, but some of us are just not very good at it; it would be a problem, except that anyone can get better at it. I know that I did -- or at the very least, I recognize my mistakes when I make them now. :)

So once again I find that WoW is teaching the right things with real life.

Terms of Service

I don't really have an opinion on this, because I am not a subscriber. :)

Work, in the real world, is more valuable than skill, and it also seems more fair that it should be that way. And well-made groups are more valuable than the sum of their parts -- especially families. In the end, I'd say the top two lessons he says WoW teaches are very important lessons and are the right things to teach.

A fitting one, as the sun prepares to set on SCO.

"A free song from another bland RIAA-sponsored band?"

The Brobdingnagian Bards are about as indie as you can get, and they have over 25k downloads on iTMS. In fact, any independent artist selling through CD Baby has the option to have albums available on iTMS.

For $2000 down, $50/month, and a bit of dedication, anyone can expand their fan base, make high-quality albums, advertise, get gigs, and make money as a musician.

From The Brobdingnagian Bards website on their "About Us" page:

You'll even find us in an office fixing your computer.

Yep, sounds like they are making lots of money to me.

Pro-quality digital audio board: $250

Sure, and I can create "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" on my iMac. I'm not arguing that you can't record, produce, and release music cheaply. I'm arguing that you can't produce "high-quality albums", "get gigs" that pay enough to live comfortably on, or "make money" without a professional studio. If you don't like the recording company's politics, just buy the studio time yourself and work with a professional to do the final remastering. Now you have high quality audio that you can advertise and distribute however you want. But please, please, stop spewing this crap onto the web that sounds like it was recorded via Mr. Microphone or Fisher Price

Slightly Askew -- pining for the fjords

"24-track digital multi-track recorder($3,500) ; 40-channel mixer/sound board($6,000) ; studio musicians ($???/hour) ; booth construction (ca. $10,000) ; sundries such as cables, media, beer, etc. ($1,000)"

auroral activity *may* be observed approximately north of a line from...
central/southern california to arizona to new mexico to texas to louisiana to mississippi to alabama to georgia and possibly northern regions of florida to south carolina.