Sunday, May 18, 2008

How to eliminate reprehensible content

How to eliminate reprehensible content:
*Step1. Put out the idea that if you are exposed to bad things, you may be more likely to do bad things.

*Step2. Spend 10 years going into the closets of teenage killers and finding any mainstream music, movies, games, or TV, and publish that in every major new outlet.

*Step3. Convince the public that there is a direct cause and effect from bad things on tv/audio to people doing bad things in real life.

*Step4. Convince the industry you will come out with a terrible rating system so they will voluntarily adopt a rating system of their own

*Step5. Complain that their rating system isn't accurate or judges content inaccurately.

*Here's where we are now: Step6. Setup huge fines for anyone selling content that allows an underage person to buy it (http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/news/release/2008/0512.asp) thus causing retailers to be less likely to carry reprehensible content.

*Step7: Setup the same penalties for person2person transactions. Then, for gifts. Then, for disposal (you cannot throw it away, you must destroy it).

*Step8: Start arguing that it's offensive to Muslims to even see the cover of the game on the store shelf, so could they all please be kept under the counter? Out of site of anyone who happens to walk by (more lost sales). (Don't bother saying it's offensive to Christians too, no one cares about them anymore, it's 2008, it's all about appeasing Muslims now)

*Step9: State that even with the penalties in place, children are still getting access to reprehensible content, so "age verification" needs to be built into all players.

*Step10: Setup huge fines for websites that describe how to break the "age verification" on players, because it's for the children.

*Step11: You love children don't you?

*Step12: Continue to hassle, burden, tax, hinder, sue, etc; anyone who creates objectionable content by forcing restrictions on how that content can be distributed.

*Step13: Cause a dis-incentive to create reprehensible content since with all the regulation and distribution limits it becomes more difficult to turn a profit. This will affect the smallest publishers first since they are more susceptible to changes in the market.

*Step14: Make the creating, distribution, and consumption of reprehensible content so difficult, that you create an dis-incentive for consuming it. This helps push reprehensible content to whatever new media or mediums become created since they haven't been around for as long or aren't yet understood.

*Step15: Convince politicans that they need to start reacting faster to new media and mediums, here's an idea: Rating system

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Paul and Storm, Jonathan Coulton, at the Brickhouse

Here in Phoenix last Thursday we were graced with the presence of Jonathan Coulton (Paul and Storm opening) at a venue I hadn't been to before called "Brickhouse" or "The Brickhouse".

It was a little hard to find at "1 east jackson phoenix az", basically take 7th ave South from I-10, then after a left (East) on Jefferson ST, then right (South) on 4th Ave, then left (East) on Jackson ST, then you'll see the tan building on the right, with the entrance to the parking lot ($5) immediately before it, on the West side

Once inside the ticket counter and entrance are on the street side (North) of the building, grab your tickets, get the little plastic/paper hybrid wrist strap, grab a drink (decent price $1 for soda the size of those red solo cups), and sit in the terrible plastic folding chairs. Really terrible plastic folding chairs. (I wonder if I could have brought my own chair...)

About 60% of "audience area" lined with terrible plastic folding chairs and then 40% of restaurant/bar area (called "The Chop Shop" if you google it I think). Really a nice place. I did hear someone complain of too much salt on the fries.

There was either no smoking inside, or no smoking in the "audience" area. But either way I was able to come home and "not reek" of cigarette smoke, which tends to happen to me in these venues in the past.

Paul and Storm's opening was awesome, and much of Jonathan Coultons performance can be seen online:

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/index.php/Phoenix%2C_AZ:_2008-05-15