p2p VS NewsGroups VS RIAA

So, we all have heard the hub-bub with the RIAA hammering down on all of the peer to peer services. Starting with Napster, and going to Kazaa, limeWire, and more recently to Bit-Torrent and the lesser used networks/programs. We all have heard of some little old lady getting sued for something her grand-kids did, or, better yet, some little old lady getting sued for illegally downloading ‘Tupac’ files when she doesn’t use her computer except to e-mail forwards to all of her contacts. My grandma would fit that bill, minus the RIAA attack. Priceless, but sad.

So with all of the furor surrounding the RIAA’s litigious nature, I can’t say that I’ve heard anything about people getting ‘caught’ using newsgroups to procure their daily downloads.

If you don’t know about Newsgroups, go here.

As soon as I found out about programs like napster and kazaa, I was hooked. I had kazaa running, literally, all of the time. This was in my pre-cable-internet days, so it was slow, but I knew that sooner or later, I would be able to get everything I wanted… Then it all ended. I heard about one guy getting sued, and I decided that my MP3 collection could grow no longer. I was done. No thank you, Mr. Riaa, I get the message.

A couple of years went by. I got older; added broadband internet to my telco bundle; added a wife into the mix, and all without a single leech from my good ol’ kazaa and limewire. Then one day I was enlightened by a friend about a little used (in contrast to p2p) corner of the net.
Newsgroups.

I couldn’t believe it. Could it be true? Could I have my cake and eat it too? I just wonder when the RIAA will find a way to ‘get wise’ to what is going on the usenet. A simple search shows that the RIAA is pretty “mum’s the word” when it comes to the usenet.

Are we about to see a shift of the RIAA spotlight. It seems that they have the p2p scene by the cajones. I know that not everyone who downloads from these programs is targeted, and I also know that there are ways to minimize your piracy silhouette. I am just wondering; since the crackdown on p2p is driving more and more people to newsgroups, are we to assume that the RIAA is scheming on how to get info on newsgroup downloaders too?

In short, is this the beginning of the end for the leechers?

Just a little payback.

The best way to get a telemarketer to stop calling that I have heard! I think that everyone should try this.

Click here to see what I am talking about

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Tune-up

I recently tried to hunt down a song that catches my ear every time I hear it. I rarely seek out new music, but that is probably due to my stubbornness and musical singlemindedness.

Mostly, I like acoustic type music. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to pop or rap/R&B on occasion. Not that those are bad, or instances of cultural music iconology. I merely use these as the yang to my usual ying, or vice-versa.

The song I looked for was featured in a Liberty Mutual commercial. The one where someone does something nice for someone, and another person sees it, so they, in turn perform their own act of kindness, and so on and so on. If you have ever seen that commercial, then you have already heard this song.

The band is called “Hem” and the song is called “Half Acre”. Here are the lyrics, and if your speakers are up a little, you may hear it playing in the background.

I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is the land I grew in

Think of every town you’ve lived in
Every room you lay your head
And what is it that you remember

Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you

A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking

So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our hearts were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us

But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper

That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
My home

So there it is. I just wanted to share, and I hope you liked it. I did. The mp3 you heard has been altered. The volume has been lowered so it plays as background music. The song has been re-equalized to sound better when played softly, and has an added lead in of about 15 seconds. If you want the original un-edited version, you can get it here on iTunes. Cheers.