I seriously pondered whether or not I would ever understand Japanese Humor....for months. I could never ever see it the way I'm sure people on that wave length see it...Japanese People....and who knows what type of people find this funny in Japan...is it hip, young, mainstream,old, etc.......

Then I watched the Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job....it just clicked.

I honestly feel closer to whatever subsection of Japanese culture this appeals to....I love it

I know this is a serious topic, but the co-author of the study was named Hyman Gross. So awesome.

The karma argument can go both ways. I'm sure none of the TV's they shut off were being used by companies that aren't in need of karma adjustments...and the people being paid for trying to convince me that a motorola phone will improve my life aren't exactly angels.

It was funny and rude. It can be both.

I have the cradlepoint router, if someone wants to use my connection they can ask via chat from the router, pretty nifty. They can connect to my network and it loads a chat page. No one has asked yet. I would say yes if someone did.

I use a sprint wireless card(canned Time Warner after a massive F up and generally shitty service) and the above router as my only source of net. It bogs down pretty easily so I keep mine closed....maybe all of you fancy high speed having mofos can be so generous....but when your bandwidth ain't so wide....

My dad swears by this sharpener. He collects and trades knives online. He bought me one but I have yet to open it.

In people vs. conglomerate situations I like people.... As a person I generally side with people...as do most other persons...peoples...but people are stupid, in general.

I just think that a lot of them get mixed up, how tech savvy are the people negotiating this contract, who is consulting them on whats appropriate.... should boing boing ever have its ad revenue sliced into by the WGA for posting a link to a piece of content, or embedding it?....

Just because the fat cats tried to sue youtube for a billion dollars doesn't mean that they are making a billion dollars....I think everyone agreed way back that youtube pulling clips of the Daily Show sucked....and that the billion dollar lawsuit was completely unfounded. Now the writers are saying "it is worth a billion and we want to get paid every time someone online sees something we've written"

no one agreed with that last year. Plus I garauntee every person in this post as at one time or another taken money out of the WGA's pocket personally....but now that people are lined up against a big bad corporation we side with them immediately.

I think that neither party is all or even half right, and somehow we should all learn a lesson from this....and use linux or something.

It's not like they are in negotiations over 1 simple thing. Is it at all possible that the writers, amongst their list of demands, have something in there that just isn't realistic?

Again I am all for making sure people get what they deserve, but its funny to see people so blindly side with the WGA as if they have been working for cookies up until this point.

It's really easy to think that Studios are run by money hungry old out of touch execs and all writers are hip and cool and underpaid.."Those fat cats want to keep all the loot!"

but remember Micheal Bay movies have writers, as do Bruckheimer movies...

Not everyone writes for the daily show and not every writer striking really knows what its about.

The Alliance of Motion Pictures & Television Producers (AMPTP)....yeah it sounds slimey but still...they have sent an open letter to the LA and NY times with their stance....which is not just "WE WANT ALL THE FUCKING MONEY"

read it here
http://www.amptp.org/index.html

some interesting things....

"""
The Writers Guild is proposing to change the formulas for digital downloading. For electronic selI-through (like buying a movie on iTunes), the Guild is seeking at least a 700 percent increase over what writers currently receive, and more than a 200 percent increase over what they receive for Internet "pay per view."
"""

Now the writers could be getting paid squat, a 700% increase of squat is doable...but I live in LA and I work in the same circles....no one living in LA who is not digging ditches and makes a living as a writer is making squat...not saying they don't deserve more and that negotiations aren't in order....but if they are asking for revenue from potential Tivo replays it gets kinda sketchy....for example...
"""
A second issue of concern for writers and producers is this: what happens when content is streamed over the Internet for free?

The AMPTP has offered to pay writers a percentage of the revenues the producer receives from licensing streamed content on the Internet. However, the Writers Guild is asking that writers get a percentage of what the Internet site owners receive in advertising revenues connected with the streaming content, even if producers are getting none of that money themselves.
"""