HoodaThunk?

In the expert opinion of a fading musician, “The internet’s completely over.”

Stack this one right up there with:

• the Bell Labs guy who dismissed the notion of charging anyone for an operating system developed in house called “Unix” because selling the hardware was where the real money was at,
• the IBM VP who dismissed the notion of selling home computers because there would only be a worldwide demand for like – what? – maybe 5 home computers,
• and Microsoft’s Bill Gates who famously said that 640K of memory in a computer should be enough for anybody (when the average laptop’s memory is now 2GB, roughly 3200 times that figure) 

The artist formerly known as “the artist formerly known as Prince” says the internet’s over:

He explains that he decided the album will be released in CD format only in the Mirror. There’ll be no downloads anywhere in the world because of his ongoing battles against internet abuses.

Unlike most other rock stars, he has banned YouTube and iTunes from using any of his music and has even closed down his own official website.

He says: “The internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it.

“The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.

“They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.”

Digital gadgets. You mean like the ones necessary to actually play a CD, a music format distinguished by its use of digitization to record the music? Those digital gadgets, hmmm?

I can see the item in this story that’s “completely over” and the Internet ain’t it. Have fun partying like it’s 1999, ya old geezer.

(Hat tip: Instapundit and Xeni Jardin at Boing Boing)

July 7th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Internet, Technology | no comments

…to the war has gone…

While I had heard the tune before – usually played during parades and on bagpipes – it wasn’t until about 15 years ago that I ever heard the words to the tune “The Minstrel Boy.” It’s actually one of the very few songs I can sing credibly (and, AHEM!, that’s debatable) and I find myself humming or singing it to myself as I go about my workday. As I caught myself doing it this morning, I realized that while I know there’s more than 1 verse to the song, I only really knew the 1st verse by heart. With the access to the information stores I’ve got, that’s really inexcusable so I performed the .027 seconds worth of search and found this wonderful passage on a blog titled, interestingly enough, Minstrel Boy.

While I recommend reading the blog entry over there – it’s got some interesting historical facts regarding this popular tune – I want to protect against “blogfade” and reproduce the lyrics to the song entirely here.

THE MINSTREL BOY
by Thomas Moore
Hear the Melody

The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you will find him;
His father’s sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;”
Land of Song!” said the warrior bard,
“Tho’ all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!”

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman’s chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov’d ne’er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said “No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav’ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery!”

The Minstrel Boy will return we pray
When we hear the news we all will cheer it,
The minstrel boy will return one day,
Torn perhaps in body, not in spirit.
Then may he play on his harp in peace,
In a world such as Heaven intended,
For all the bitterness of man must cease,
And ev’ry battle must be ended.

There’s an interesting note about that last verse over at Minstrel Boy. Go have a read.

June 17th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, History, Human Interest | no comments

Fellow Virginian Jimmy Dean dies at home; he was 81.

I saw this as a “breaking news” banner last night as I shut down my laptop but I wanted to get the story before I posted on it. Jimmy Dean – singer, actor, and businessman, died at his home just outside Richmond yesterday at the age of 81.

Born in 1928, Dean was raised in poverty in Plainview, Texas, and dropped out of high school after the ninth grade. He went on to a successful entertainment career in the 1950s and ’60s that included the nationally televised “The Jimmy Dean Show.”

In 1969, Dean went into the sausage business, starting the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown. He sold the company to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984.

Dean lived in semiretirement with his wife, who is a songwriter and recording artist, on their 200-acre estate just outside Richmond, where he enjoyed investing, boating and watching the sun set over the James River.

Dean was a familiar face on TV commercials as I was growing up at home. His products duked it out with the Bob Evans brand back in Ohio and Indiana and I recall they were pretty good. I remember doing a double-take when I first saw him in the James Bond flick, “Diamonds Are Forever” with Roger Moore. (Is that the sausage guy with the super spy?!?)

Another thing about Dean that impressed me was the care he took with his finances. With Hollywood, Nashville, and Motown replete with stories of people who hit the big time, make boatloads of cash, and waste it away until they’re completely broke, Dean was a different tale. He went out of his way to plan for the future and provide for himself and his family.

Rest in peace, Jimmy Dean, and may God grant your family strength to endure.

June 14th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest | no comments

Art Linketter, dead at 97

Art Linkletter, TV icon during the early days of TV up through the 60′s, has passed away at the age of 97. Known for hosting TV variety shows in the 50′s and 60′s, he was also the author of the best-selling “Kids Say the Darndest Things!“

May 27th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest | one comment

Cartoon Network beating both MSNBC and CNN in ratings

Interesting. The latest ratings release is showing that both MSNBC News and CNN are coming in behind Cartoon Network. (http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/10808)

Says Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit: they have more believable characters.

March 18th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest, Politics, The Media | one comment

“Mission: Impossible” actor Peter Graves dead at 83.

Peter Graves of “Mission: Impossible” fame has died:

Peter Graves, the tall, stalwart actor likely best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in the long-running television series “Mission: Impossible,” died Sunday.

Graves died of an apparent heart attack outside his Los Angeles home, about a week shy of his 84th birthday, publicist Sandy Brokaw said.

Our thoughts and prayers to Graves’ family and friends.

March 15th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest | one comment

“Avatar” apparently spawning a kid-naming boomlet

I’ve not seen the movie “Avatar” and I likely won’t see it in the theaters. As good as the movie may be – and there’s no question it’s great, technically, but perhaps not in terms of plotline – I’m a bit dismayed at the reported surge in parents deciding to name their kids after characters and terms in the movie. From The Sun:

MOVIE fans are rushing to name their babies after characters in sci-fi smash Avatar.

Choices include Neytiri – after the film’s Na’vi warrior-princess – and giant flying creature Toruk.

Another favourite is Pandora, name of the blockbuster flick’s fictional planet.

Pandora is tipped as top choice among US fans, with UK parents set to follow.

Seriously? You’re going to name your son, your precious child, “Toruk?” And when, in school, they’re going over where their names came from and what they mean, your little tyke is going to get up and say he’s named after a tiger-striped, pterodactyl-shaped, Hollywood-induced fictional flying lizard? You know, ’cause Mom & Dad were swooning over a film umpty-some years ago and thought it’d be sooooooooooo cooooooooool if they named their kid after it?

And not to get all Ivy league on anyone, but have these people never heard of Pandora before? Meaning: the millennia-old Greek myth? The woman who managed to open the container (box, jar, whatever) that contained all the evils in the world and set them free to run around in it? Yeah, that’s going to play well in school.

Folks, names have great import and their effects are felt most and longest by the people who bear the name, not the people who bestow them. Offering up your kid as a homage to a Hollywood flick that will be passe in 5 years, obsolete and well surpassed in 10, is self-indulgent not clever. Give the kids a break and leave the Na’vi to the movie screen.

January 18th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest | no comments

Polanski would be in jail if he were anyone but a Hollywood darling

That the defenders of Roman Polanski are dismissing the fact that the man raped and sodomized a 13-year-old girl – after drugging her, I might add – says a lot about them. What it says isn’t good. The staggering double-standard was described perfectly today by Father Tom Reese, Society of Jesus. A “Father Polanski”, guilty of exactly the same thing, would be in jail.

“Imagine if the Knights of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison,” Father Tom Reese, S.J., points out. “The outcry would be universal.”

Writing for the Newsweek/Washington Post website, he adds that “Victim groups would demand the award be withdrawn and that the organization apologize. Religion reporters would be on the case with the encouragement of their editors. Editorial writers and columnist would denounce the knights as another example of the insensitivity of the Catholic Church to sexual abuse.”  And then he adds:  “And they would all be correct. And I would join them.”

So would I. And I’m a Knight myself. In fact, I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say most of my fellow Knights here in my council would call, write, or march to New Haven, CT personally to make sure the Supreme Knight got the message loud and clear.

But Hollywood sees it differently. Even though this isn’t an “alleged” anything, even though the crime definitely occurred and was admitted to in court, they just can’t see their way clear to hold one of their own accountable for his sexual assault on a little girl. Like Ed Morrissey, I am adamant that he should be held accountable not only for the original crime but for fleeing justice and enjoying his freedom for the 32 years he was a fugitive. I couldn’t care less that he’s 76 years old. As has been mentioned by others, Hollywood would be calling for the man’s head if he were a plumber or a conservative talk-show host. I hope they’ll remember this when the day comes that it’s one of their daughters recovering from rape and sodomy.

September 29th, 2009 Posted by ricjames | Crime & Punishment, Entertainment, Politics, The Media | one comment

Kids say the darndest things

You can tell your family consists of real fans of MythBusters when your 7-year-old daughter warns you she’s popping one of her old balloons by yelling, “Fire in the hole!”

July 5th, 2009 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest, Science, Technology | no comments

Karl Malden, dead at 97

Man, it seems we’re losing well-knowns from Hollywood by the minute these days. Thanks to a reference at Instapundit, I see that Karl Malden died yesterday at the age of 97.

Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden died today, July 1, of natural causes at the age of 97. Born Mladen Sekulovich on March 22, 1912, the bulb-nose character actor was a star of both stage and screen. Raised in Gary, Indiana, Malden briefly attended a teacher’s college, then enrolled in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre Dramatic School. Following World War II-era service in the Army Air Force, Malden’s career took off with the role of Mitch in the 1947 Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite Marlon Brando.

Malden’s movie career is impressive and the list I’ve linked doesn’t include his TV appearances. It’s been a sad couple of weeks.

July 2nd, 2009 Posted by ricjames | Entertainment, Human Interest | no comments