11 December

Still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor…

I admit it: I watch American Idol. And it was always pretty clear that Kellie Pickler was perhaps less than a genius, but her charity appearance on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? is still shocking. At least it answers the question. Decisively.

Let’s see:

  • Europe is a country.
  • France is not a country.
  • She’s never heard of Budapest, but she’s pretty sure they speak French there.

Did I miss anything?

It doesn’t really help that Jeff Foxworthy repeatedly calls Hungary “hungry,” but I have a hunch that he did at least know it existed, even without the assistance of his notecards. Is our educational system really this bad?

At this rate, what is the RIAA going to have left to protect?

riaadevil.jpgI’ve already made my opinion of the RIAA known, but this latest development is truly unbelievable.

Apparently, the RIAA now feels that CDs you’ve ripped for your own personal use are unauthorized. What ever happened to the long-standing clause in copyright law that allows the holder of content to make up to five copies for personal use? What of the fact that it’s built right into the stupid DRM that the RIAA has forced Apple to implement on iTunes that you can put purchased music on up to five computers (and, implicitly at least, an unlimited number of iPods synced to those computers)?

It is patently absurd that any kind of legal case to this effect could be made in the current technological climate. According to the RIAA, just about everyone who owns an iPod (or a similar device) is a thief, even if they’ve paid for every single song on the device.

Well guess what: fuck you, RIAA. We are not thieves, we are your customers. But maybe we shouldn’t be.