Category: near and dear

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music sharing and ridiculousness

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So, I spoke briefly on Friday about the girl that was sued by the RIAA who lost, and now owes upwards of $200,000 for downloading and sharing a few songs. Now, while I am do agree that there should be some regulation, and that nothing should just be totally free, I think that this whole war against those that share music has gotten out of hand (as evidenced by this case). In fact, what is forgotten, and I think on purpose for whatever reason, is that most people that download music actually end up buying most of that which they download.

Take me for example. I buy CDs all of the time. Most of those CDs are CDs that I downloaded first, in order to see what they were like. Most of the stuff that I download is stuff that I haven’t heard of, and want to check out. If I get a chance to check out something new, and end up enjoying it, I definitely want to support the artist, and 9 times out of 10, I do.

So is what I am doing helping or hurting the music industry? I would say that it is helping because I am buying the products that are being produced; and most often I am buying the minor artists, and supporting music that would otherwise never be heard. Additionally, many of the smaller artists that I find this way, would never have been discovered without my trying to find them. I also go to concerts of these artists regularly, and support them even more in that manner.

If I relied on the radio for my every music need, I would miss many of the amazing artists that I love today, and I think that not only is that a terrible shame, I think that it clearly shows that the RIAA is not about saving music… they are about their profits.

However, I still contribute to their profits. Willingly. Yet, they still come after those like me, those that love music, and just want to be able to share it with others, in hopes that they will enjoy and support those artists that they might have never heard of; that is, if I didn’t play them that “illegal” mp3.

I think this whole issue is bullshit, and it just makes me angry that big corporations get all angry when they can’t control every single aspect of something. This is especially infuriating with regards to trying to control music that I legitimately pay for… If I bought it, so back off. You got your money, now let me enjoy my CD, or even make a copy for a friend if I choose to do so; I payed for it! In the end, it is clear to me, that the RIAA is always the one that wins, because like I said, most of those suggestions lead to purchases; and most of the profits are never even seen by the artists themselves.

I gave $5 to the save Jammie fund, because I know that if I were in her shoes, I would really be freaking out. I feel sorry for her that the RIAA has chosen so ridiculously to make an example out of her. Asking her to pay a $1 for each song she shared is one thing, but what they are doing is robbery. So, here’s $5 from me, Jammie, I hope that you can raise enough to pay off the bloodsuckers that are on your back.

What do you guys think about sharing music/downloading music? Do you think the whole thing is just another greedy scandal by corporations to make as much money as possible? Or do you really think that artists suffer? What about sharing music is so bad, especially if you are like me, and you almost always go out and buy the CD? Additionally, sharing music was meant to discover new artists, which for me, it totally does… what would happen to the obscure artists if this ability was taken away? How would it effect you?

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flashback: first day of 6th grade all over again

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I remember starting 6th grade very vividly; it was a new school, and a for me, it meant a whole slew of nervous breakdowns from your not-so typical adolescent. The summer before, I developed an eating disorder because of the level of anxiety I had about going to this new, much bigger school… I was afraid of the future, and unknowingly at the time, afraid of what I would be subjected to within the walls of this new school.

Turns out, the first days would set the stage for what I could come to expect from my fellow peers, which unfortunately remains a vivid memory to this day.

First days of class, teachers go through the roll for the first time, and as with my experience, there was no exception. However, this time, there it was: “Diane Moody. Diane? Is there a Diane in this class?”, the teachers asked, almost as if she were demanding the truth. “Um, that’s Duane.”, I replied, almost muffled by the chuckles from the entire class. “Oh, okay.”, she announced, moving on without a second thought.

Sigh.

Picture me, a pre-teen boy, much less than the “jock” that I clearly needed to be, in order to cover my obvious homosexuality, being called Diane in front of the whole class; naturally, I sunk deep into my chair with a clearly reddened face. I would only hope that this would be the last inference that I was a girl instead of a boy; but sadly I would be wrong. In fact, it sadly set the stage for the rest of my tenure as a student of the public school system. One could wonder if it was that moment that solidified those many taunts into the minds of my fellow classmates. Unfortunately, I would later find out that there was much more than a simple mistake that fueled such a vigorous need, that my classmates continually displayed, to continually tear me down.

Now, cut to this week; arrival in my anatomy lab. The professor announces that the quizzes from the previous week have been graded, and proceeds to call out names of the lucky recipients. And then, just as if time had reversed itself, there it was: “And last but not least: Diane Moody!”.

Lest my ears deceive me? There I was, in the 6th grade again… trying to escape the lifelong battle I have had with others using my homosexuality and lack of “appropriate” masculinity as means to ridicule and demean me; regardless of the fact, that if in this case, it was again, accidental.

Luckily, I am not that 6th grade pre-teen student; I am almost 30 years old now, and I am proud of my sexuality and of who I am.

“That’s actually Duane”, I replied. Quickly apologizing, I silenced his attempts to cover up his mistake, by simply stating, “Don’t worry, it isn’t the first time that I’ve been called Diane.”

With that, I took the power that others had wielded over me for so long, and put it in my back pocket; for good. Something about that really makes me feel better about having gone through what I did; if for no other reason than to finally put it to bed, for good.

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welcome Carlito Juarez to the family!

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welcome Carlito Juarez to the family!, originally uploaded by duanemoodydotcom.

Yesterday, we spent the better part of the day at Ink and Dagger Tattoo Parlour, getting the color added to James’ amazing koi tattoo. I have to say, that Ms. Malia Reynolds completely exceeded my expectations; this tattoo is beautiful!!! She is one of the amazingly talented artists at the shop, and I am so glad that James could get tattooed by her!

James was a trooper, and managed to sit for almost 5 hours!! I have to say, that he really surprised me with that, and I am glad that he got such an amazing tattoo. If only everyone’s first tattoo could be this amazing, right?

Well, I know that is in large part thanks to Malia! As always, if you want to get amazing tattoos, be sure that you head over to Ink and Dagger, over in Decatur, because it is THE place to get tattooed in (or around) Atlanta!

This definitely makes me want ANOTHER ONE!!! HA!

Hope everyone is having a great 3-day weekend!

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twenty-nine

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So yeah… Today, I am 29.

29 years is a long time… and interestingly enough, most of it was spent in one form or another of school. Most of it was spent under the care of others, which led to confusion and frustration at this point in my life. Little of my life has been spent “on my own”, but at this point, I am really starting to have a real grasp for that concept… and it is starting to get better, with each step I take.

All of that aside, I see this as a step towards something better… I have heard that your thirties are the years when you really come in to your own, and I am certainly looking forward to them. I am looking forward to getting more school, another degree, and perhaps, a new career. I am doing just that, looking forward.

I am going to try and spend this year preparing for the next steps, all the while, trying to enjoy the moment. After all, enjoying the moment is something I have never been very good at, and is something that I am working on.

Here’s hoping that 29 is a good year for me.

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do you know who really IS suicidal, Mr Kingston?

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I am sure that you may have heard that insufferable song, Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston by now. It has rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts, and I keep hearing it creep up on the radio. What I don’t like about this song (other than the annoying way it gets stuck in your head), is that it, at best, makes light on something as serious as suicide.

I just wish that people that write songs like this, and create such things that have massive “appeal”, would consider the issue that they choose to make light of. In this case, teenage suicide is considered to be the number 2 or 3 (depending on which study you look at) killer of teenagers in the US. To me, that says that it is a serious issue that one shouldn’t make light of in a frivolous song about “beautiful girls”, and how they leave one suicidal because they don’t return affection.

I would hope that people like Sean Kingston, being a teenager himself, would realize that gay and lesbian youth are extremely disproportionately affected by suicide. Additionally, in my opinion, by making light of something as serious as depression and suicide, by relating it to being simply turned down or broken up with, is ignorant and shameful. People suffer from real issues that lead them to take their own lives, and with regards to gay youth, it comes down to a lot more than a rejection from a “beautiful girl”. I personally don’t appreciate what this song portrays, regardless of the lack of intention, because frankly, people should know better.

Yet another example of how our society lacks the ability, or even the compassion, to identify with the severity of mental health, and the repercussions of repression and hate. Yes, it is just a stupid song, but I am sure that I am not the only one that is somewhat taken aback by the manner in which Kingston throws around something as serious as suicide, like it were no big deal. Perhaps he should think about the many youth out there that not only consider it, but succumb to this each year; maybe the “beautiful girls” wouldn’t be so much of a let down for him.

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tattoo time in the moody-robinson house!

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james gets a koi
So James finally went and got his tattoo! He decided on a koi with some cherry blossoms and a chrysanthemum, and Malia‘s design was perfect. For the first sitting, she took care of all of the outline, and I think that it looks great! He was such a trooper… he did complain as it got towards the end, though. I was honestly surprised that he took it as well as he did!

Also, James and I have talked in the past about getting the same tattoo, like kanji for love or something like that, and I asked Malia if she would do a part of his tattoo on me, so that we would have the same thing to show our love and commitment. She took three of the cherry blossoms, blew them up a bit, and behold:
I got tattooed too!
I got tattooed too! I really WAS NOT planning on this, but I am really glad that I got it; I really feel like by having something like this, albeit subtle, we have something that we can share and show our love for each other. It isn’t a ring, but it is definitely a symbol of our commitment and love for each other, and I personally love it.

I do, however, think that I may be slightly addicted to tattoos!!! Oh well… I guess there are worse things, eh?

(FYI: Malia is one of the artists at the awesome Ink and Dagger Tattoo Parlour, which is where I have been getting my red panda tattoo from Russ. I highly recommend you go here to get all tattoo work, because Russ and Malia are the best!)

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why don’t we help the sick?

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I read this article this morning, and frankly, it made me mad. I mean, we spend so much money on so many things that we shouldn’t, and yet, we cut funding that provides for those suffering from AIDS (which I definitely think anyone can agree that is something that is important). The weird thing about these cuts, is that AIDS cases, and the needs of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS, are increasing every year. It is estimated that 40k new cases of HIV a year are diagnosed in the US alone, and of those cases, many of them are being found among the minorities and poor of this country. Adding insult to injury, the drugs, treatment, care, and supplies that they need to live on are exuberantly priced, and as such, they are in a lose-lose situation.

Since we know this, where is the (moral?) justification for cutting the funding provided for these things, that work to provide people with services? This is a clear example of how we lack a basic sense of true social security in our nation. Frankly, it scares me on another level, because it shows how, as a society, we are lacking the area of compassion, even when we have more than enough means to make it reality. What’s probably worse, is that this happens to those that are in an area where it is truly deserved; because of the nature of the system that our society operates within.

When I read things like this, I think, what’s next? Throwing old people out of their homes, and using their social security checks to beef up military contracts? When are we going to focus more on the “homeland” that we are supposedly doing so much to protect? I ask, because we constantly hear about protecting “this great nation”, and securing freedom and safety for the citizens of this country, all while we constantly shift our efforts away from the actual people that need our help in this country. It seems that we are only securing the “homeland” for a select few; those that are lucky enough not to get sick, and that have found themselves in a position of wealth without bad luck, or worse, failure.

The scary thing, is that the rich will be just fine, and the poor will just die out, if this continues. The middle class will become the new poor, and eventually, we will die out too. This is a bleak and realistic future for our country if we continue down this ridiculous track; so I ask, why don’t we help the sick? Is it inconceivable to think that, not only do we have the money to take care of every medical funding problem we currently face, we give it to contracts and a handful of corporations, instead of our own people? I don’t think that these are shocking revelations, so why isn’t it something that is being taken care of? Oh yeah… why would you give money to a poor person, when you are too greedy to do so, and instead, want it, and more, for yourself?

Earlier today I was misclassified as following current democratic trains of thought with regards to the war, and as I stated, I don’t always agree with what anyone in politics does. I find a lot of corruption, and not a lot of true philanthropic action. As of right now, I feel alone. The politicians are not people that truly represent the little guys (and increasingly, not even us “middle” guys), and funding cuts like this make it more and more clear that there is no interest in actually making this nation great for anyone other than the elite. There is no definitive compassion that comes without a bribe, an accompanying lobbyist, or greedy grin. I think that I am going to be sick the more I think about this; I just hope that I can afford to take care of myself, because my society is not willing help me out.

I feel helpless right now, and that just sucks. I am having the same feelings I had when I read Joseph’s post the other day, because it comes from the same line of thinking, only his has a specific focus on what we will do when we get older. If you don’t have the money, and your family will not, or cannot, take care of you, you are seriously fucked; the government is probably not coming to your aid. That is what these AIDS patients are facing, and I just don’t understand how that is okay. That is scary, but real, and I frankly am worried as hell.

Speaking of helpless, I read this article, and it made me so utterly sad for that kid (as well as other people that are disregarded in the name of “saving” them). Sometimes, I question what people really are doing when they say that they are working for the good of mankind; because sometimes (and more often than not it seems), it seems that they got it so wrong, that by their method of “helping”, they are causing way more harm than good. Frustrating.

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post ultrasound sydney update

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So, we had the ultrasound done yesterday… $400 to find out, wait for it… Nothing. That’s right, there isn’t anything abnormal with his abdomen, stomach, nadda. However, it may have been worth it to spend the $400, because when I got into the vet’s office yesterday morning, (I wanted to stick around and talk to them so that I could tell them a few things that I wanted checked out) Sydney was transformed into his old self. Wagging his tail, jumping up into my lap, and full of energy. Maybe he was faking it? Maybe he was a little sick, and just didn’t feel like eating? Either way, after we picked him up yesterday afternoon, he proceeded to eat treats (without having them crushed first), walk around, wag his tail, jump up on the couch, and everything he normally does.

He is also eating out of his bowl on his own, without being coxed into it. I am not sure if it is a case of “don’t take me back there, see, see!, I am good! nothing to worry about!!!”, or if he really is getting back to his old self, and it was more of an episode, rather than something actually wrong. I hope that it was definitely just a little bout of upset tummy, or something minor, and I am glad that he is getting back to normal. It’s funny, because it is almost like we took him in, and got our old Sydney back. I just hope that his eating improves, and he gets back to normal. He even wanted to play with his toys last night! What a little stinker, eh? I honestly don’t care what was going on, so long as he is better, and a happy, healthy little dog. Thanks to everyone that had kind words and well wishes; it really means a lot to know that people were thinking about us!!!

Totally unrelated to Sydney’s health drama this week, we had/have a bit of a situation at the house… Basically, a few days ago, we saw an injured cat slink its way under the deck; before we could do anything to help it/stop it. A day or so later, we were greeted with that all too familiar smell of rotting carcass when we walked our of the front door, and I was sure that the damn cat died under the porch, and we were going to have to endure that smell for at least a few more days (my cat used to drag us “presents” under the porch when I lived with my parents… yuck). The situation comes into play when yesterday, we walked outside to do something, and James exclaims, “Oh my god! There’s a dead cat in the koi pond!”. Sure enough, the carcass of that cat was tangled in the net of the pond, COVERED in maggots and flies. I almost threw up. I told James that it had to be gotten out of there ASAP, or it would kill all of the fish, and he sprung into action. He managed to clean out most of the “debris”, but I noticed this morning that there are still a ton of maggots in the pond, and we seriously need to figure out how to get them out of there so they don’t kill the fish. I am glad that the dead cat smell is gone, but jeez… that is not the alternative plan of action I was expecting; nor the one that I wanted. Yuck!

The whole cat scenario, which, by the way, is our third serious cat incident since we have lived at our house, totally echoes (although, not on the same threat level) what Lori and Brian when through this morning; people that neglect animals, and don’t get them spayed and neutered are just AWFUL fucking people. Seriously, if you don’t intend to get an animal the care that it needs, provide it with food and shelter, and make sure that it isn’t unnecessarily breeding animals that you have no intention of taking care of, you are at the very minimum, a despicable person. Perhaps we should call animal services more than we do, but honestly, they are so picky about what they will do, it really makes it more of our problem than anything. I just wish people weren’t so neglectful, and by association, cruel. It’s an animal dammit, it NEEDS you. Don’t get one if you don’t plan on taking care of it. UGH! /endrant.

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buying things will take your mind off of it…

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So James and I came home from the vet frustrated with our situation yesterday, because we really weren’t getting much in the way of answers from the people at Banfield. With our frustration, we called to speak with the vet, and honestly, she took about 15 minutes to really talk with me, which did make me feel better. She told me that we need to get the x-ray and the ultrasound, and if those don’t show anything, we need to do an endoscopy. We are taking it one thing at a time. X-ray and ultrasound are currently scheduled for Thursday, and hopefully, we will know more then.

I honestly hope that it is nothing. She thinks that it might be an ulcer or something similar, and if so, there is medication that he can take that will make him better. She also informed us that we needed to try and make him eat, which we were actually successful with last night. We are trying different types of wet dog foods, really anything, to get him to eat. We found a treat he likes, and honestly, if that is what he will eat, I will buy a bunch of it to get something in his stomach. He is still weak, but he definitely seemed better after eating last night. Also, he isn’t yelping as much anymore either; which is a great sign. Thanks to all of the well wishes and thoughts you guys, I really don’t know what I would do if anything happened to my baby, and I really hope that he will get back to his old self sooner, rather than later. I am just praying he gets better soon. I will give updates about the tests on Thursday when we get them done.

James and I were driving home from the vet yesterday, and honestly, we were just silent in the car, because we were so worried. The call with the vet changed a lot of that, but we are still concerned, and can’t think of much else. So, like the good little consumer, I have turned to a little well-timed retail therapy to help take my mind off of this week’s situation. Coincidental to these events with Sydney, two products that I have been urning for came out today:

The NEW Tivo HD receiver (the much more reasonable $300 version)
and
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I have my confirmation order number for the tivo (after getting rejected by the website, and having to call in, sit on hold, get rejected by the system, and having the customer service person (who was really sweet, and actually called back and gave me confirmation) complete the order and call my back), and I am going to pick up GH during lunch. Is this enough to make me not worry about my little man? Absolutely not. However, it really does make me feel a little bit better; even if it is momentarily.

Tonight will be some shredding at my place, and hopefully, we can get little man to eat a little more. Hope everyone is having a good day. Now, WHEN will my new tivo arrive!! HURRY!