Have A Safe And Happy New Year!
I love middlemen. Yes I do! Most indie filmmakers I talk to complain about distributors and “middlemen,” but they’re missing the real problem. Middlemen — publishers, distributors, resellers — can do excellent work. The problem is not middlemen; it’s monopolies.
So many middlemen insist on monopolies, we’ve forgotten we don’t need to grant them. They say that without a monopoly (aka “exclusive rights”) they have no incentive to promote and distribute. Actually a monopoly gives a middleman no incentive, because no one is competing with them. Take away the monopoly, and the middleman has to compete with other potential middlemen (including the artist). Then they have an incentive to work. Rather than monopoly, they succeed on the basis of expertise (theatrical distributors already know how to track, ship, and manage prints), innovation (finding better ways to meet customers’ existing desires and identifying new ones), and quality.
I’m very happy with the middlemen I work with. FilmKaravan, who distributes Sita Sings the Blues on DVD, promoted and placed DVDs in outlets and markets I was too lazy to reach. (They out-competed me, which is great!) GKids, who distributes the film theatrically East of the Mississippi, manages the prints professionally, finds great new venues for it, and promotes it cleverly without overspending. These middlemen do their jobs very well, and I’m grateful for the services and value they add to the film. They have my non-exclusive Endorsement.
I’m only unhappy with one middleman, an overseas distributor who uses their monopoly to block access to the film rather than facilitate it. For example, a professional conference held by their country’s national television company, and attended by important players in the film industry there, sought a one-time conference screening of Sita, but the distributor refused to lend the local print. Lending it would have helped the film tremendously, but the distributor was focused on immediate money instead of on the long-term good of the film. Because I had foolishly granted this distributor an “exclusive endorsement” in their territory, there was no one else in a position to lend a print. (What distributor would take up a film knowing that the filmmakers’ imprimatur had already been granted to a competitor?)
My endorsement wasn’t a mistake. I want that distributor to make money, and lots of it! But endorsing exclusively was a mistake: although not as bad as copyright, it’s still a kind of monopoly, and monopolies invite abuse. That is their nature. I now know that to get good work from a middleman, I can’t grant them a monopoly. They need to feel that if they let an opportunity slip by, another middleman may jump at it. Business competition improves business performance; some say it’s an essential incentive.
Middlemen will only have monopolies if artists keep granting them. They’re not going to give them up on their own. It falls on us artists to simply refuse to grant these monopolies in the first place. A copyleft license sends a clear, simple, and non-negotiable message to middlemen that they need to innovate and compete to profit from the work. Only we artists can supply the incentives they need to do their jobs well; and we can only do that by refusing monopolies.
A middleman without a monopoly is a great help to art and artists. Rather than abusing monopolies, they provide valuable services. The better they are at providing services, the more successful they become. Competition keeps middlemen on their toes, and eliminates the lazy and incompetent. Monopoly does the opposite.
In sum, the problem isn’t middlemen, it’s monopolies. Yay for middlemen! I love middlemen!
Nina Paley is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Nina Paley and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.
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Many simple projects can help add value to your home. If you’re planning on putting your house on the market in the spring, now is the time to start your improvements.
Landscaping is one of the fastest ways to improve a home’s value and appearance, but don’t overdo it. Most people who want numerous flower beds would prefer to add their own.
Painting interior rooms is another easy step you can take. If you have much wallpaper in your home, consider removing it. It can turn some buyers off. After removing elephant-themed wallpaper from a wall reaching up to a tall vaulted ceiling, I think I’ll never buy another house that’s wallpaper happy.
If your home is more than 50 years old, it may need upgraded electrical and plumbing. I once bought a house with a fuse box, but I’ll never make that mistake again.
Light fixtures are another area of concern. If all of your fixtures are dated, potential buyers will consider the cost and effort of replacing them when they make their offer.
More expensive upgrades to consider include replacing flooring and the roof and painting the exterior of your home or replacing wood with vinyl siding.
Simple Green Upgrades to Consider
If you have the budget, also think about upgrades that will attract buyers with an environmental mindset, such as installing pull-out recycling bins and an under-counter water filter. Also make sure you select Energy Star appliances and mention that if your home has a brochure. Making earth-friendly improvements could help you attract a buyer who would otherwise overlook your home.
(Image via flickr/jefield)
Post from: Blisstree
If you thought the Seinfeld Porno was gag-worthy, just wait until you get a load of Jersey Shore XXX: An adult entertainment company has announced plans to produce an X-rated spoof inspired by MTV’s controversial reality series Jersey Shore.
The porn purveyors at Zero Tolerance Entertainment are busily working on a project that will transform Snooki, J-Woww, and the rest of the overtanned and oversexed Guidos and Guidettes of the season’s most buzzed-about unscripted hit into Jersey Whores.
Filed under: Etc.
In just a few hours, the Naughties will be no more. And while we’re all for looking back on the decade that was with rose-tinted glasses, our critical eyes inevitably fall to the vehicles released in the last ten years. There was a balanced amount of successes and disappointments, but rather than come up with yet another top picks list, we decided it would be best to pose the question to you: What’s your vehicle of the decade?
Naturally, we’ve got our own picks, but at the end of the day, it’s your opinion matters most. So sound off in Comments before you head out on the town and enjoy the final moments of one of the most compelling decades in automotive history.
Enough of the top ten lists, what’s your ‘Vehicle of the Decade’? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Aaron takes a gander at the BlackBerry Storm2’s physical hardware and tests out the voice capabilities in part two of the BlackBerry Storm2 multi-part video series.
Hey guys, looking for love in the new year? How about a date with Kate Gosselin?
The reality-starring mother of eight is fresh off a divorce from hot mess of a hubby Jon Gosselin and may be looking for long-lasting love on the small screen, according to a scoop from PopEater.com. The former star of TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 is in chats with the network to star in a new dating show that would document her search for the next spineless jellyfish she can order around.
“Love her or hate her, people are fascinated by Kate,” an industry executive told PopEater’s Rob Shuter. “She has a lot of mouths to feed and Kate looking for love will certainly put bread on the table.”
Kate was recently dumped from the proposed MomLogic daytime talk show after tanking during the pilot episode alongside potential cohosts Paula Deen, Lee Woodruff, and Rene Syler.
From everyone here at The GigaOM Network, wishing you all a very happy and prosperous 2010.
My dad sent me an incredible thirty minute interview of Ayn Rand by Mike Wallace in 1959 which I just watched on my iPhone during a treadmill run. I’m a fan of Atlas Shrugged
One of the quotes I most love is John Galt’s statement “I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine.” A while ago my mom made a painting out of this quote (it currently hangs in my partner Jason Mendelson’s house.)
Regardless of my philosophical perspective, I thought this interview was fascinating. While it’s 50 years old, the format and content is timeless. I think Ayn Rand was brilliant in her articulation of her philosophy and her perspective and did an excellent job of engaging with Wallace without running him over.
As we exit 2009, I encourage you to watch this, if only to have it stimulate your thinking. I expect some of you will love this and some will hate it, but I challenge anyone to say that “it didn’t cause me to think or react.”
Reality starlet Kim Kardashian has responded to allegations that she pockets up to $10,000 per Tweet to endorse products for QuickTrim, Reebox, and promote a new line of premiunm salads from West Coast fast food giant Carl’s Jr.
“I want to clear this up because there has been a lot of talk about this. Carl’s Jr did not pay me to tweet about their salads,” the 28-year-old socialite wrote on her blog New Year’s Eve. “Yes, obviously I was paid to be in the commercial… we all have to work! But I was not paid to tweet or talk about the salads on my blog, Facebook account, MySpace account or any other online outlets,” Kim wrote.
Kim — who catapulted to reality stardom after appearing in a sex tape with R&B singer Ray J — says she Tweets in hopes of sharing her favorite items with followers — not for monetary compensation.
“I want my fans to know what products, gadgets, foods, clothes and beauty products I like and I love sharing all that with my fans. You all know I’ve posted about certain clothes and products on my blog since I started blogging two years ago.”
Copyright (c) 2009 Peter Jamison
Suffering from hair loss is common among men and women, many of which are looking for a hair loss treatment that will end their woes. The task of finding the miracle cure for regrowing hair is however daunting, as many hair loss products are available, claiming to provide the ultimate solution to the problem. Trying to sort through the available alternatives is daunting, if not extremely time consuming. This task is further complicated by the risk of side effects caused by the variety of ingredients, particularly if the product is not backed by a reputable company and has been thoroughly tested. Since hair loss is considered a natural phenomenon, as apposed to serious life threatening medical conditions, it is understandable that people look for natural hair loss remedies, but the question remains if these natural hair loss products are really effective.
Most natural hair loss products are composed of an array of vitamins and essential oils. That tingling feeling you get when you use some hair loss products does not necessarily mean it is effective, but comes from the use of peppermint oils in some hair loss products. The simple truth is that by themselves, vitamins and minerals are not enough to regrow hair. In order to find a remedy that really works, you need to find an ingredient that can truly help reverse hair loss.
Of all of the ingredients used in hair loss products, Minoxidil is the only one known scientifically to regrow hair. This single ingredient is FDA approved and causes few side effects. The most common side effect is itchy scalp, it is however not typical for most people to experience and will abate with ongoing usage. There are many products out there containing minoxidil, and finding the one that is right for you is very important. Provillus is a hair growth product that contains not only Minoxodil, but an array of vitamins and other active ingredients designed to help you restore your natural hair growth.
When you are looking at hair growth products, it is important to understand how they work. Provillus is designed to treat many forms of hair loss, including male and female pattern baldness. It is always important to talk with your physician to ensure that your hair loss is not associated with a medical condition before beginning treatment with any supplement. In the absence of a medical disorder, your hair loss is likely caused by heredity or other common problems, and a supplement such as Provillus can help. By nourishing hair follicles and stimulating them, these ingredients work together to help create new growth quickly and naturally.
Regardless of how effective a hair loss remedy is, you should not expect overnight results. Unlike all natural remedies, Provillus contains a proven ingredient that works alongside the vitamins and minerals to provide actual visible results. Minoxodil has been proven to restore hair growth in a large number of people and to help give them back the self confidence that hair loss undermined. For your hair loss treatment to be successful, it should not only focus on products with natural supplements, but also those ingredients approved by the FDA for hair regrow.
Peter Jamison has focused on hair loss and natural remedies for hair regrowth. To see Peter’s other articles or information on hair regrowth or Provillus specifically, or if you wish to contact Peter you are invited to visit =>
http://www.review-of-provillus.com/home.html
Hair loss is common problem in all persons. The normal cycle of hair growth lasts for 2 to 6 years. There are various things which cause the hair loss problem. Scalp hair grows about one-half inch per month, but as people age their rate of hair growth slows. About 30% of people have hair loss by age 30 years, and about 50% have hair loss by age 50 years. Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount as they agethis will called as androgenetic alopecia. About 90 percent of the hair on your scalp is growing at any one time. In mens the common baldness is seen due to hair loss problem. A survey has shown that about 7.9 million men and 1.6 million women in the UK have hair loss problems
Hair loss may lead to baldness when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth, when new hair is thinner than the hair shed or when hair comes out in patches. Excessive hair loss can occur if any of the stages of hair growth become disrupted. The hair loss is appear in two forms which contains the temprory hair loss and permanent hair loss. The 50–100 hairs that everyone loses each day often become tangled with the rest of the hair, but are washed out when we shampoo. Losing hair can be stressful during a time when you’re already concerned about appearance. Although hair loss is not life threatening, it is an indication of your internal health and it can cause you serious problems with an image and self-confidence.
Causes of hair loss
Stress
Some medications and treatments
Illness
Hair treatments and styling
Hereditary
Poor blood flow
Excessive shampooing and blow-drying
Due to harmonal problem in womens
Change in normal hair cycle
Treatment for hair loss
There are some treatments used for the prevention of the hair loss. We have to maintain the our proper diet and sleep, healthy health and proper hair care can prevent from the hair loss. Conventional and alternative hair loss treatments used throughout the ages include pills, creams, solutions, lasers, and acupuncture.
Decreasing the amount of pulling and tugging of the hair will prevent loose hair from falling out, but only for a short time.
To get advice and treatment for hair loss, you should always start with either your GP or a professionally qualified trichologist.
The best natural way to stop hair loss would be to change your diet.
Hair Translplant Surgery is used to treat the hair loss problem.
Correcting a hormone imbalance may prevent further hair loss.
Hair loss from menopause or childbirth often returns to normal 6 months to 2 years later.
The massage is one natural remedy for hair loss. Even electric massages can be used for the scalp. This natural hair loss remedy is aromatherapy, for which certain oils are used for the massage and the scalp gets stimulated.
For more severe hair loss, wigs and hairpieces can provide good results if you are willing to try them.
The cortisone injections in the scalp where the hair loss occurred.
Rachel Broune writes articles for makeup care. He also writes for hair cutting tips and skin care.
The App Catalog has seen impressive growth since it first went live a little over 6 months ago. Palm’s Early Access program brought in dozens of developers who have created over 1,000 applications in that time frame, and while we don’t have access to as many apps as other smartphone platforms do, there are a number of high quality ones that fit into all of the important categories.
With that in mind, we’ve created a list of the must have applications that have come our way in 2009. If you’re new to webOS (you should also see our getting started guide), or have been with the platform for awhile and are unaware of how the Catalog has grown over these last few months, this is a guide for you.
Daytime TV got steamy this final week of 2009. One Life To Live ended the year with a bang — literally!
Despite rumors of its possible cancellation, on Wednesday, the daytime drama aired the first ever gay male sex scene in soap opera history. Here’s a video of the steamy hayroll between on-screen couple Kyle (Brett Claywell) and Fish (Scott Evans):
The candle-lit encounter got nearly two-and-a-half minutes of screen time and was followed by spooning and cuddling in bed.
NBC is in discussions to revive its defunct amateur talent search Last Comic Standing, Entertainment Weekly insiders spilled this week.
The reality show, which ran for six seasons between 2003-2008, awarded one stand-up comedian a special on Comedy Central and a development contract with NBC.
Last Comic Standing will reportedly return alongside America’s Got Talent and Losing It With Jillian, a new weight-loss show with The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels, during the Summer of 2010.
Paul Telegedy, NBC’s head of reality programming, plans to revamp the show’s format and implant a new host in time for the show to air as part of NBC’s summer lineup. The series had four hosts over the course of its run, including Jay Mohr, Anthony Clark, Bill Bellamy and Fearne Cotton.
The subject matter of mental health is never one easy to handle and handle well. Director Kazuhiro Soda’s documentary Mental was not only engaging and insightful, it is also a personal film for Soda to make.
[HT to Mad Dog]
The following time codes and descriptions will give you a quick way to revisit a topic that you want to see again.
Time Codes for Part 1
0:00 Did Soda expect “Mental” to be an award-winning film and be so successful in Japan when he finished the film?
1:28 Why is the film a personal film for Soda and him sharing his personal experience with mental illness.
2:25 People suffering from mental illness in Japan and in the modern world.
4:05 The process of getting permission to shoot in the clinic. And the patients’ reactions.
5:14 Feeling very responsible for the people’s images and futures.
5:40 Talking about the sensitive story in the documentary about a lady and her baby. Soda’s thinking process and considerations.
Time Codes for Part 2
0:00 Depicting the whole story in its fuller complexity and not in an isolated manner.
1:26 An update of the patient.
1:35 Talking about how did Soda get the permission to make the film from the doctor and the clinic? And Soda’s style of making an observational documentary.
4:00 Talking about Dr. Yamamoto. Other psychiatrists’ comments after watching the film.
4:52 Is shooting a film like “Mental” possible in North America?
7:05 Soda’s experience in writing and publishing his book “Mental Illness and Mosaic” including in-depth interview with Dr. Yamamoto and panel discussions with patients appearing in the film and them watching it.
8:50 I really think Soda has done a great service to the mental health profession and patient communities in Japan and probably around the world where they have chance to watch the film.
You can also read Soda’s blog in Japanese and sometimes English here.
Posted in Documentary, Healthcare, Healthcare Sector, InterviewByKempton, InterviewByKempton-Arts, Japan, Video, YouTube 
Filed under: Videos
Apparently Automobile and New York Times contributor Ezra Dyer took a fair amount of flack for his snowy Audi R8 escapades, so he’s compiled his greatest motive moments of 2009 into one predictably ridiculous montage. We’d describe the antics ourselves, but a chilled bottle of champagne is goading us from afar and Dyer does a far better job:
Do not even watch this video if you have a heart condition or think you might be pregnant, for it includes the following graphic material: Goading Michael Schumacher into driving like a maniac in a Ferrari 599 GTB; shooting my Cadillac with machine guns, at night, using tracer bullets; jumping a Subaru; jumping off a sand dune without a Subaru; Lamborghini doughnuts; shots of speedometers reading x-tremely high speeds. And there’s even more. Your ticket buys you the whole seat, but trust me when I tell you that you’ll only need the edge.
The “Most Awesome Video Ever” awaits after the jump, and in keeping with the extreme theme, Mötley Crüe
provides the soundtrack – fair warning.
[Source: New York Times]
Continue reading Video: Dyer’s most eXtreme moments of 2009
Video: Dyer’s most eXtreme moments of 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
When your stuff gets stolen, FILL OUT A POLICE REPORT. Consumerist reader Alisa is figuring this out the hard way after Apple received her stolen phone for repair. Even though it’s clearly hers, they refuse to return it. UPDATED:
I got robbed on the subway in Brooklyn about 2 weeks ago, my iPhone (and some other crap)was taken. I called the police who were very helpful , they searched the area for a little bit, follow protocol and all that fun stuff.
Anyways, fast forward to yesterday when I get a email from Apple that someone had filed a request for a replacement phone due to a software malfunction from Apple CareService. I suspected that since I made an appointment with an Apple genius before, the Serial number on the phone was associated with my email. I called Apple to confirm this, after Apple and AT&T transferred me back and forth a few times I had the confirmation from the two companies the phone was mine , I had the address the service request was coming from (in the email) and a phone number (from an Apple rep).
I’m so excited that I can get my phone back! Until the cops arrive at my house, they tell me that since I didn’t file a police report they can’t do anything. I didn’t file it because in order to file one, I would have had to go to a precinct downtown (like an hour away) look through books of pictures to try to ID the thief, whose face I only saw from the side for a millisecond. And really, what would a police report do for an iPhone that was stolen on a NYC subway a week before Christmas?(plus i had a final that night) The two officers also told me that even if I had a police report it would still be up to Apple and AT&T to decide how to proceed with the situation.
So I call AT&T… and over the course of 12 hours I speak to a bunch of people who are all very sorry that this is the situation I’m in, but their hands are tied — they have to honor the warranty and it does not matter that it’s clear the phone is mine. They would need the authorities to tell them to do otherwise.
So I head to the police precinct where an officer calls the rep I spoke to last (aka the authorities speaking to Apple). The officer spends about an hour on the phone with Apple telling them that once the current holder of the phone ships the phone back to Apple, they should ship me the replacement. He gets the same answer I got—they will not do anything, they do not care that the person who has the phone currently is using a stolen phone and is not using it with AT&T (AT&T confirmed the phone # I got from the Apple rep is NOT an AT&T number).
It’s not even about the phone anymore (I bought a blackberry—$600 is a TAD ridiculous for a new iPhone) its the principle of the situation, basically Apple is siding with someone who will most likely jailbreak the phone as opposed to helping a loyal customer (I’ve been using Apple products forever—iPods, Macs and iPhones (since the first gen)) who legally bought the phone from Apple and is using it with AT&T.
The whole situation is just illogical to me.
Yeah, illogical is a good word. Absurd is another. Does anyone out there know if this is purely about not filing a police report, or is there some other reason why Apple is being such a dick about this? [Consumerist]
UPDATE: Shortly after sending the email to Consumerist, Alisa obtained a police report. Apple still refuses to do anything. Perhaps sending an email to [email protected] might remedy this situation, as this email is widely known to lead to a high level customer care service. Steve has even been known to handle some issues personally.
ActivistCash.com is a hub for providing in-depth research about hundreds of people and groups, from Greenpeace to the Center for Science in the Public Interest to the Tides Foundation. We’ve rolled out 24 new profiles, along with biographies of dozens of movers and shakers in the nonprofit world. As always, we’ve spotlighted these organizations’ work, their funding, and their backgrounds.
Visentin’s LED shower heads are pretty stunning, that is, until you realize that, not only are you completely naked in front of your guests, but you’re also splashing water all over the living room. [