Why Piracy Is Rampant!
From the June 21st edition of the Las Vegas Penny Press...
Bubba Brown had an exceptional week in school. Mama had the migraine from hell. Bubba Brown had to be out of the house. Mama suggested I take him to a movie. Given that it was 110, it made more sense than the park.
We went out to see the newly premiered Surf’s Up,, the latest animated tour de farce.
Do you want to know why DVD sales and rentals stay up, while theater attendance is down?
One adult and One child admission: $16.00
One large popcorn, one bottled water, one small (32 ounce!) drink: $15.75.
Nearly $32 before we sat in our seats. In two months I’ll be able to rent the DVD at the grocery store for 99 cents a night.
The movie was fair. The twenty or so of us in the theater seldom laughed out loud at the amusing premise of a band of surfing penguins. It would have been funnier if they hadn’t tried to tell the tale in the style of an MTV reality show. That took what should have been a pretty funny movie to only mildly amusing.
Yes, I feel bad for the theater operators with all these stinky movies that they’re obliged to try to sell tickets to, but believe me when I say they’re doing their part to maximize profits. From the loop of music snippets that drive people who actually like the music to their web site to purchase the tunes, to the 20 minute “pre-movie” infomercial for a variety of things - that night it was Cartoon Network, the National Guard, and one of the new cars (truly memorable, eh?), to the 15 minutes of “previews of coming attractions” that began at show time. All these had “Revenue production” written all over it.
Now if Hollywood made something worth watching.....
-----------------------------------------
The revelation that Clark County needs another thousand teachers doesn’t surprise me. Here’s a news flash: Teachers don’t make squat for what they have to do. Between the waste in the system and the layers and layers of bureaucracy that eat up budgets, we have a disaster in the making that could be avoided.
Charter Schools, Vouchers, and parental choice can make all the difference. Bubba Brown is held back because we don’t have the big bucks to send him to the school he deserves. As a result, he has to put up with all the non-English speaking kids who require extra attention. He excels but because he is so far ahead of his, class, he becomes the class clown.
-------------------------------------
Good riddance to Mike Nifong, the North Carolina prosecutor whose politically motivated prosecution of those Duke U lacrosse players earned him a one way pass to the unemployment line and disbarment from the legal profession.
But he can take heart that he’s now perfectly qualified to be a spokesperson for political causes. Just like Al Sharpton.
--------------------------------------
Another sign that the problems in Washington go deep is the fact that the Jefferson Memorial is sinking. It appears that some unsound decisions as to where to build the monument 60 years ago have resulted in portions of the structure sinking into the mud. Parks Service officials are trying to figure out how to save the monument. Shoring up the Monument -- just like the economy -- isn’t going to be easy. Or cheap.
-------------------------------------
The fight between Google and eBay is the latest in the search giant’s problems. Google tried to move it’s Google Checkout into a position to be used as a payment option in eBay auctions. The auction giant responded by pulling a chunk of it’s advertising out of the Google Adwords program.
What many people don’t know is the hidden secret.
Google is beginning to lose placements across the web for failure to pay affiliate sites. A number of sites that drove lots of traffic through Google Adwords are suddenly seeing payments denied for reasons that are specious at best. The “pay per click” model is not dissimilar to radio and television “direct response”. You are solely at the mercy of the company placing the advertising (in this case Google) to accurately report clickthroughs and to pay as agreed.
Some sites say Google isn’t doing that. More than just a few dissatisfied customers.
I’ve pulled all my Google links down from my websites. Never generated a nickel. I’d rather have the white space than give away free advertising. (Note: I still have Amazon links up that haven’t generated any money either, but at least there I can spotlight books that I approve of, rather than random links....)
The bottom line: Google is in my mind a fading giant that still has a lot to prove.
-----------------------------
Rosie to replace Bob Barker? At last week’s Daytime Emmy Awards Barker gave O’Donnell his mark of approval. At least that’s what we think it was. Maybe he was just suggesting that she participate personally in his Spay and Neuter program (an action which I would personally endorse)...
WYATT COX
Comments to americansunriseradio@yahoo.com or rant.wyattcox.net
Bubba Brown had an exceptional week in school. Mama had the migraine from hell. Bubba Brown had to be out of the house. Mama suggested I take him to a movie. Given that it was 110, it made more sense than the park.
We went out to see the newly premiered Surf’s Up,, the latest animated tour de farce.
Do you want to know why DVD sales and rentals stay up, while theater attendance is down?
One adult and One child admission: $16.00
One large popcorn, one bottled water, one small (32 ounce!) drink: $15.75.
Nearly $32 before we sat in our seats. In two months I’ll be able to rent the DVD at the grocery store for 99 cents a night.
The movie was fair. The twenty or so of us in the theater seldom laughed out loud at the amusing premise of a band of surfing penguins. It would have been funnier if they hadn’t tried to tell the tale in the style of an MTV reality show. That took what should have been a pretty funny movie to only mildly amusing.
Yes, I feel bad for the theater operators with all these stinky movies that they’re obliged to try to sell tickets to, but believe me when I say they’re doing their part to maximize profits. From the loop of music snippets that drive people who actually like the music to their web site to purchase the tunes, to the 20 minute “pre-movie” infomercial for a variety of things - that night it was Cartoon Network, the National Guard, and one of the new cars (truly memorable, eh?), to the 15 minutes of “previews of coming attractions” that began at show time. All these had “Revenue production” written all over it.
Now if Hollywood made something worth watching.....
-----------------------------------------
The revelation that Clark County needs another thousand teachers doesn’t surprise me. Here’s a news flash: Teachers don’t make squat for what they have to do. Between the waste in the system and the layers and layers of bureaucracy that eat up budgets, we have a disaster in the making that could be avoided.
Charter Schools, Vouchers, and parental choice can make all the difference. Bubba Brown is held back because we don’t have the big bucks to send him to the school he deserves. As a result, he has to put up with all the non-English speaking kids who require extra attention. He excels but because he is so far ahead of his, class, he becomes the class clown.
-------------------------------------
Good riddance to Mike Nifong, the North Carolina prosecutor whose politically motivated prosecution of those Duke U lacrosse players earned him a one way pass to the unemployment line and disbarment from the legal profession.
But he can take heart that he’s now perfectly qualified to be a spokesperson for political causes. Just like Al Sharpton.
--------------------------------------
Another sign that the problems in Washington go deep is the fact that the Jefferson Memorial is sinking. It appears that some unsound decisions as to where to build the monument 60 years ago have resulted in portions of the structure sinking into the mud. Parks Service officials are trying to figure out how to save the monument. Shoring up the Monument -- just like the economy -- isn’t going to be easy. Or cheap.
-------------------------------------
The fight between Google and eBay is the latest in the search giant’s problems. Google tried to move it’s Google Checkout into a position to be used as a payment option in eBay auctions. The auction giant responded by pulling a chunk of it’s advertising out of the Google Adwords program.
What many people don’t know is the hidden secret.
Google is beginning to lose placements across the web for failure to pay affiliate sites. A number of sites that drove lots of traffic through Google Adwords are suddenly seeing payments denied for reasons that are specious at best. The “pay per click” model is not dissimilar to radio and television “direct response”. You are solely at the mercy of the company placing the advertising (in this case Google) to accurately report clickthroughs and to pay as agreed.
Some sites say Google isn’t doing that. More than just a few dissatisfied customers.
I’ve pulled all my Google links down from my websites. Never generated a nickel. I’d rather have the white space than give away free advertising. (Note: I still have Amazon links up that haven’t generated any money either, but at least there I can spotlight books that I approve of, rather than random links....)
The bottom line: Google is in my mind a fading giant that still has a lot to prove.
-----------------------------
Rosie to replace Bob Barker? At last week’s Daytime Emmy Awards Barker gave O’Donnell his mark of approval. At least that’s what we think it was. Maybe he was just suggesting that she participate personally in his Spay and Neuter program (an action which I would personally endorse)...
WYATT COX
Comments to americansunriseradio@yahoo.com or rant.wyattcox.net
Comments