Monthly Archives: January 2012

RIAA Issues Statement On MegaUpload Shutdown

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RIAA issued a public statement regarding to last week’s shutdown of MegaUpload on their blog yesterday:

Fortunately, shutdowns of these types of hubs for illegal activity are not unprecedented. In October of 2010, Limewire (the most popular P2P service at the time) was shut down, and just like this week, millions of users were forced to find new sources for their content. Although some contingent of users remain fixated on stealing music rather than using any of the myriad legal – and often free – services available, we have seen strong evidence that many users quickly switch to legal sources. According to the NPD Group, Limewire users left by the millions in the months after the shutdown (see here). And just like this week with Megaupload and its ilk, the shutdown of one major source led to decreases across other similar services as well.

[...]

Collectively, this evidence strongly suggests that the shutdown of illegal sites helps create a thriving and diverse digital marketplace. It encourages users to go to legitimate sites, and enables great new services to be launched – like Spotify, which launched in the US last year and quickly signed up millions of new users. It’s always reassuring when the data we see in the market reflects what we thought was just common sense.

Why Closing Megaupload Matters [RIAA]

Well, if they say so. Anyway, Julian Sanchez offers some common sense counter-arguments here.

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Do We Become More Conservative As We Age?

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Contrary to popular belief, people generally do not become more conservative as they age:

Amidst the bipartisan banter of election season, there persists an enduring belief that people get more conservative as they age — making older people more likely to vote for Republican candidates.

Ongoing research, however, fails to back up the stereotype. While there is some evidence that today’s seniors may be more conservative than today’s youth, that’s not because older folks are more conservative than they use to be. Instead, our modern elders likely came of age at a time when the political situation favored more conservative views.

In fact, studies show that people may actually get more liberal over time when it comes to certain kinds of beliefs. That suggests that we are not pre-determined to get stodgy, set in our ways or otherwise more inflexible in our retirement years.

Do people become more conservative as they age? [DiscoveryNews]

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Exercise Hormone May Fight Obesity, Diabetes

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Looks like you may be able to drop the regular workout sessions soon. Or not:

A newly discovered hormone produced in response to exercise may be turning people’s white fat brown, a groundbreaking new study suggests, and in the process lessening their susceptibility to obesity, diabetes and other health problems. The study, published on Wednesday in Nature and led by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, provides remarkable new insights into how exercise affects the body at a cellular level.

Exercise Hormone May Fight Obesity and Diabetes [NYTimes]

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Happy 65th Birthday, David Bowie!

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David Bowie turns 65 years young today. Happy Birthday and thanks for all the amazing music, Sir!

Anyway. Some 45 years ago, he excitedly replied to his first American fan letter:

On September 25th of 1967, aged 20 and yet to make much of an impression on the music scene, David Bowie was so enthused to receive his first piece of American fan mail that he immediately typed out a reply from the office of his manager, Kenneth Pitt. The fan in question was 14-year-old Sandra Dodd, a young girl from New Mexico who had come to own a promotional copy of Bowie’s first album as a result of her uncle running a radio station. Immediately impressed, she decided to write to Bowie, telling him his music was as good as that of The Beatles and then offering to start a fan club on his behalf.

Here’s full transcript of the letter Bowie sent to Dodd:

25th., September 1967

Dear Sandra,

When I called in this, my manager’s office, a few moments ago I was handed my very first American fan letter – and it was from you. I was so pleased that I had to sit down and type an immediate reply, even though Ken is shouting at me to get on with a script he badly needs. That can wiat (wi-at? That’s a new English word which means wait).

I’ve been waiting for some reaction to the album from American listeners. There were reviews in Billboard and Cash Box, but they were by professional critics and they rarely reflect the opinions of the public. The critics were very flattering however. They even liked the single “Love You Till Tuesday”. I’ve got a copy of the American album and they’ve printed the picture a little yellow. I’m really not that blond. I think the picture on the back is more ‘me’. Hope you like those enclosed.

In answer to your questions, my real name is David Jones and I don’t have to tell you why I changed it. “Nobody’s going to make a monkey out of you” said my manager. My birthday is January 8th and I guess I’m 5’10″. There is a Fan Club here in England, but if things go well in the States then we’ll have one there I suppose. It’s a little early to even think about it.

I hope one day to get to America. My manager tells me lots about it as he has been there many times with other acts he manages. I was watching an old film on TV the other night called “No Down Payment” a great film, but rather depressing if it is a true reflection of The American Way Of Life. However, shortly after that they showed a documentary about Robert Frost the American poet, filmed mainly at his home in Vermont, and that evened the score. I am sure that that is nearer the real America. I made my first movie last week. Just a fifteen minutes short, but it gave me some good experience for a full length deal I have starting in January.

Thankyou for being so kind as to write to me and do please write again and let me know some more about yourself.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed, ‘David Bowie’)

I will be playing Low all day today.

Photo credit: N/A

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