Art Machine
Just another former infatuation junkie

Via Boing Boing comes this link to Joho the Blog’s “20 Things I’ve Stolen.”

The idea is simple. Under the “if value, then right” argument, if something can be shown to have value, then the creator of that object has the right to demand compensation for its use. This is used to justify some of the more heinous acts of companies like the RIAA or MPAA – the idea being that if you rip a CD or DVD to put on your iPod, then you have recognized further value than was initially included in your original purchase, and the creator (or the MPAA/RIAA, since the creators don’t usually see a dime in those cases) has the right to demand that you pay them for that further value.

Joho’s got 20 things he then confesses to “stealing” under this argument – including a Ding-Dong (by saving half for later snacking instead of consuming it all at once) and the lyrics to a song (by saying “What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been” without using air quotes).

I’ve made a list of ten things I’ve done that violate the “if value, then right” argument – can you think of at least ten that you’ve done?

1. I have used a porcelain piggy bank to hold down papers on breezy days in addition to using it to hold change.
2. I have used a hammer to knock errant objects other than nails into their proper place.
3. I have used a pocket knife not only for cutting, but also to clean under my fingernails.
4. Conversely, when found without a pocket knife, I have used fingernail trimmers to cut yarn and small threads.
5. To get a near-perfect circle while working on a design project in college, I placed the base of an Arizona Iced Coffee bottle on the paper and traced around it – using the container as a makeshift stencil.
6. Additionally, I refilled said container with water after the iced coffee was gone, and later gave it to a friend who needed a similarly-shaped bottle for a play she was staging.
7. On many occasions as a child, I placed a sock not on my foot but rather on my hand, tucking some of the material between my thumb and forefinger to fashion a crude puppet.
8. My bookends have not only propped up books, but also DVD’s, CD’s, and – on a couple of occasions – my door.
9. I have purposefully purchased items not only for the goods themselves, but also for the many uses I knew I could put their container to.
10. The bag I carry my still camera and its accessories in is, in fact, an old bag for a long-lost Kodak Super-8 film camera.

From the Los Angeles Times: The peso is looking good, especially compared to the dollar.

The official market rate—meaning for large transactions at banks—had the peso at 10.005 to the dollar this morning, down from 10.07 on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg data. Last August the dollar still was worth more than 11 pesos.

The last time the dollar bought fewer than 10 pesos was in October 2002.

For U.S. tourists the greenback already has crossed that line, because most bank exchange rates are much less favorable than the official rate. Wells Fargo & Co.’s online currency center today was quoting 9.2 pesos per dollar.

Which leads me to wonder – what is Mexico doing to reach out to Canadian and European tourists? After all, as the American economy reacts to debacles such as Indymac, the mortgage crisis, rising indebtedness and a predatory credit system, it won’t be long before Americans won’t be able to afford the luxury Mexican spring breaks that have been all the rage for a decade or two (or three, or four…).

Munroe has achieved the same power in the internet world that Oprah enjoys in television.

Consider. A book is released. Oprah wants people to buy said book. She goes on television and says, “Hey, buy this book.” And millions of people go out and buy the book.

Randall Munroe comes up with one of those “wouldn’t it be funny if” ideas. He draws a comic about said funny idea. People go out and execute it.

For instance: This video based on XKCD’s recent parody of the Discovery Channel’s “Boom De Yada” song.

I’m sure that many ElfQuest fans – like me – are not planning on holding our breaths given the series’ history in Hollywood, but this seems hopeful.

“Elfquest,” the cult comic by Wendy and Richard Pini, is heading to the big screen courtesy of Warners Bros. and Rawson Thurber.

Thurber will write, direct and produce the feature, whose format is undetermined.

“Format is undetermined” piques my interest, in particular. The Pinis (no typos, no typos…) have been insistent in the past that their story be told in animation, but Wendy has recently come out in favor of pursuing a film in other formats, as well. While I would still love to see an animated movie, I can’t help but ponder the possibilities. A CG movie? Or could Warner Brothers possibly be looking for something to hitch their “We can pull off a Lord of the Rings, too” wagon to?

Of course, I also find it funny that WB finally picks up ElfQuest only after their contract to publish with DC Comics expires.

UPDATED: Over at Wendy Words, Wendy Pini sheds some light on the undetermined format:

There’s almost nothing to say about the movie itself, yet. It will probably be a combination of CGI and live action. It will probably take about two years to make. Rawson is writing the script and producing as well as directing (a la Guillermo del Toro on Hellboy). Richard and I will be acting as consultants all the way through.

From the Congressional Record – Lois Capps, D-CA:

Madam Speaker, I rise in response to recent calls for new offshore drilling. These arguments for new drilling hit a dry hole for several reasons.

First, we are already drilling offshore. Eighty percent of the known offshore reserves are in areas where leasing and drilling is allowed. Today, the oil companies have nearly 6,000 untapped leases in the Gulf of Mexico alone.

Second, with 3 percent of the world’s resources and 25 percent of the world’s demand, there is no way we are going to just drill our way out of this problem.

Third, even the Bush administration admits consumers would see little savings at the pump from new drilling.

Yesterday, Guy Caruso, head of the Energy Information Agency, said this about the impact of new drilling: ``It would be a relatively small effect, because it would take such a long time to bring those supplies on. It doesn’t affect prices that much.’’

Democrats have a better plan. Let’s pass legislation that moves America in a new direction on energy by closing the Enron loophole on Wall Street speculators who are driving up prices. Let’s reduce mass transit fares and build the infrastructure there, and let’s force Big Oil to use it or lose it on drilling permits.

I urge my colleagues to join with me in bringing America to a new, more affordable energy future.

Every time I watch a show on Hulu these days, I wind up seeing this public service announcement.

Seriously, have the people who made this ad ever been high school students? The kids at the school I went to had no problem saying things like this in person—even to the kids who were supposedly their best friends—and being completely serious about it. It’s a way of asserting dominance and marking territory, and I’m sure that if you honestly look at adult life, too, you’ll find that the same thing happens there, largely because those adults have risen to maturity being told that their own violence, stupidity, and petty meanness as adolescents was “just part of growing up.” And, indeed, it was. The behavioral part that was ignored, justified, and tacitly endorsed by the adults in their lives.

That’s the message I’m getting lately. Kind of funny, since I just got a gig hosting a movie review show for local TV. I’m being encouraged to publish an e-mail address people can send to to agree or disagree with my reviews, but maybe I wouldn’t be able to take the abuse…

Take this track – which I just can’t seem to get out of my mind, but is getting universally bad reviews from the folks on Amazon.com. I dig it, though.

It’s a bluegrass rap. It’s by Snoop Dogg, so if you’re at the workplace some of the lyrics might get you in trouble. Otherwise – enjoy.

I honestly cannot understand why more press releases don’t contain something like this.:

We are working on a fix for this and your breasts should be back to normal soon.

Priceless.