{"id":15,"date":"2012-02-01T03:13:30","date_gmt":"2012-01-31T21:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=15"},"modified":"2012-02-01T10:14:03","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T04:14:03","slug":"the-death-of-a-big-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=15","title":{"rendered":"THE DEATH OF A BIG ONE"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Well now it\u2019s the last day of January 2012 and I\u2019m late again with this blahg.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong>\"ScottWas that me who said I\u2019d be posting two blahgs a week?\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe I should have said two a month.\u00a0 <\/span>I could give you some excuses but they wouldn\u2019t be good ones.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s just agree that I\u2019ll write some blahgs, you\u2019ll read them, and we won\u2019t talk about the schedule.\u00a0 <\/span>That way we all won\u2019t be disappointed.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The blahg this time will not be full of pictures, audio, or video.\u00a0 <\/span>I was trying out a couple different topics but I kept coming back to the same one.\u00a0 <\/span>If you\u2019ve been online and read the news, then you\u2019ll probably realize that the Internet is running scared.\u00a0 <\/span>The news has been full of information about legislation in the United States to clamp down on illegal downloading of copyrighted material.\u00a0 <\/span>Somebody\u2019s losing money somewhere and they\u2019ve got some big lawyers or lobbyists trying to get that money back.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m not against this and the pirating of movies and music is a big time thing.\u00a0 <\/span>Personally, I go to the movies a lot (and always seem to have someone texting on their cell phone in front of me) so I see first run movies as they should be seen.\u00a0 <\/span>I also own hundreds of DVDs of movies and TV shows.\u00a0 <\/span>But I\u2019m not going to preach.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Recently, The Big One, Megaupload, was taken down by the FBI.\u00a0 <\/span>If you\u2019re not familiar with Megaupload then let me simplify it by saying that millions of people upload files to this site and then send or post links to other people so they can download these files.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, some of the files are illegal copies of films or television shows and of course music.\u00a0 <\/span>Megaupload was also paying people for files that were downloaded multiple times.\u00a0 <\/span>This was probably their undoing because popular copyrighted material was probably being posted and subsequently downloaded.\u00a0 <\/span>If you look at the long list of charges levied against Megaupload they include money laundering and racketeering.\u00a0 <\/span>More was going on there than meets the eye.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I personally have used Megaupload when file sharing with other Sinatra fans.\u00a0 <\/span>I never posted legally licensed or professionally published material.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve been collecting Sinatra concerts and recordings for years and there are hundreds of unreleased concerts or audience tapes in my collection.\u00a0 <\/span>Many have been traded with other collectors and links posted to and downloaded from Megaupload.\u00a0 <\/span>I will not apologize for this.\u00a0 <\/span>Every time a new Sinatra CD or DVD is released, I buy it if it contains previously unavailable material.\u00a0 <\/span>Bootleg concerts, to me, are whole different kettles of fish.\u00a0 <\/span>It gives me the opportunity to hear something I\u2019ve never heard before and to share that experience with other Sinatra fans.\u00a0 <\/span>I couldn\u2019t go to the 700 + concerts in my collection but someone went and is sharing their experience with me.\u00a0 <\/span>If a particular concert gets officially released then I\u2019ll buy it.\u00a0 <\/span>Until then, I\u2019m not changing my opinion.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I have on occasion downloaded a CD from an artist when I wanted to hear it before purchasing it.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong>\"Songs<\/a>Case in point:\u00a0 <\/span>Songs I Heard by Harry Connick Jr.\u00a0 <\/span>Someone posted a link to it and I gave it a listen and enjoyed it so much that I ordered an official copy.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong>\"Songs<\/a>It\u2019s a great album full of songs from our youth.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve also listened to some CDs from a download that I didn\u2019t care for and was glad I didn\u2019t rush out to buy it.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s like hearing a song on the radio.\u00a0 <\/span>If you don\u2019t like it, don\u2019t buy it.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes you find out that the CD is not well mastered and you don\u2019t want to waste time and money there either.\u00a0 <\/span>Blossom Dearie <\/span><\/strong>initially released an LP (yes I said an LP) in 1963 for a Hires Root Beer campaign singing the “Most Rootin’ Tootin’ Songs of 1963.”\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m a big Blossom Dearie fan and when I read about this LP, I tried to track it down but couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong>\"Blossom<\/a>Then I found out there was a download of the LP available.\u00a0 <\/span>I downloaded it and enjoyed it immensely.\u00a0 <\/span>When it was finally released as an import CD, I listened to sample tracks through Amazon and found that the sound quality of the CD was flat and not as good as the LP version I had downloaded.\u00a0 <\/span>That saved me money and aggravation.\u00a0 <\/span>If you look at that CD now, it\u2019s more than $100 and the original LP is fetching more than $200.\u00a0 <\/span>Crazy!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s talk TV.\u00a0 <\/span>I have had to download current TV shows because I live in the country and get 4 channels.\u00a0 <\/span>Not all current shows air on any of those channels.\u00a0 <\/span>When \u201cMonk\u201d was airing, I had to download every episode because I couldn\u2019t stream it for free in Canada.\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t want to wait a year until the episodes were officially released.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong>\"PsychThe same goes for the current show, \u201cPsych\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span>You can stream episodes online for free but not in Canada.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve been a fan of the show since it started but I don\u2019t want to wait forever to see new episodes when the season gets an official DVD release.\u00a0 <\/span>I might eventually buy the DVD sets but I reserve the privilege to download these episodes and watch them at my convenience.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>So where am I going with this?\u00a0 <\/span>Since Megaupload went down, it\u2019s been very hard to download anything.\u00a0 <\/span>Other sites like Filesonic and Fileserve are running scared.\u00a0 <\/span>They have disabled file sharing and download links are disappearing.\u00a0 <\/span>One of my favorite sites, Reelboys.org, went dark last week.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a great website to download family oriented movies about children.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a great place to find many classic films that have not been released on DVD.\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t get Turner Classic Movies channel so this was a great source for me.\u00a0 <\/span>After Megaupload was shut down Reelboys announced they would shut down because they were afraid of being targeted.\u00a0 <\/span>If you go to their website now it says:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Reel Boys\u2122 is Gone…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I like movies, music, and television but I\u2019m not your average consumer. I do a lot of try before you buy and the Internet is a great resource.\u00a0 <\/span>I think it should be like that.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, there are those who will abuse it and will break copyright infringement rules but that happens when someone rents a DVD and copies it or sneaks a recording device into a movie theater or concert.\u00a0 <\/span>No legislation is going to prevent all that.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s people like me that suffer.\u00a0 <\/span>I want my downloads.\u00a0 <\/span>I want to view or listen before committing.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s like watching movie trailers, if you don\u2019t like what you\u2019re seeing, don\u2019t pay for the price of admission.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ll continue to post tracks here but it will usually be from things that are on LP or unofficially available.\u00a0 <\/span>Call me an educator.\u00a0 <\/span>Or don\u2019t call me.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m not posting anything I don\u2019t already own.\u00a0 <\/span>If you listen to it, then you decide if you\u2019re breaking any laws.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t\u2019 shoot the messenger.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u2026I really like the title The Death of a Big One.\u00a0 <\/span>I have to admit it\u2019s not the first time I\u2019ve used that title.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ll close with the true meaning of that title.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a poem I wrote in the late 1980s.\u00a0 <\/span>Later, I expanded this poem into a short story.\u00a0 <\/span>It should really be a movie\u2026maybe somebody will download it.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the death of a BIG one<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

he\u2019ll always be<\/span><\/p>\n

a legend to me<\/span><\/p>\n

that fat little cherub<\/span><\/p>\n

slimmer these days<\/span><\/p>\n

fer bein\u2019 the soul<\/span><\/p>\n

whose own life<\/span><\/p>\n

mattered little<\/span><\/p>\n

when tacklin\u2019 things<\/span><\/p>\n

larger than himself<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and I think<\/span><\/p>\n

ya\u2019d have to be insane<\/span><\/p>\n

not to like<\/span><\/p>\n

that kind of guy<\/span><\/p>\n

and be glad<\/span><\/p>\n

ya was born<\/span><\/p>\n

to his generation<\/span><\/p>\n

or at least proud<\/span><\/p>\n

ya knew him when<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018cause he was the only one<\/span><\/p>\n

not the only Garvin<\/span><\/p>\n

but the only one who mattered<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and that was him then<\/span><\/p>\n

BIGGER than life<\/span><\/p>\n

or ready to claim his right<\/span><\/p>\n

to be so<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BIGGER THAN LIFE, maybe<\/span><\/p>\n

but how can ya determine<\/span><\/p>\n

relative size<\/span><\/p>\n

when the BIGGER is inanimate<\/span><\/p>\n

like a snowman?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and that was it:\u00a0 <\/span>a snowman<\/span><\/p>\n

no, A BIG SNOWMAN<\/span><\/p>\n

maybe 10 feet by 12 feet<\/span><\/p>\n

but still LARGER<\/span><\/p>\n

than a GAR,<\/span><\/p>\n

sorry THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

and it was BIG<\/span><\/p>\n

maybe BIGGER than I recall<\/span><\/p>\n

but HUGE<\/span><\/p>\n

like some convention or reunion<\/span><\/p>\n

of snowflakes<\/span><\/p>\n

from grandma to distant cousins<\/span><\/p>\n

but BIG<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

little?<\/span><\/p>\n

now no one dwarfs<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

less\u2019n yer King Kong<\/span><\/p>\n

and still that hairy ape\u2019d<\/span><\/p>\n

get on his belly<\/span><\/p>\n

just so he could look up to<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

but this snowman<\/span><\/p>\n

some college boys built<\/span><\/p>\n

was BIG<\/span><\/p>\n

too BIG to live<\/span><\/p>\n

and that\u2019s what GAR\u2019d say<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018til we eventually agreed with him<\/span><\/p>\n

and he decided to stop talkin\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

and start doin\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

somethin\u2019 \u2018bout it<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

but we thought it was more<\/span><\/p>\n

BIG talk<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018cause GAR and the snow GIANT<\/span><\/p>\n

kept their distance still<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018cept fer occasionally tossed threats<\/span><\/p>\n

from safe distances<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and this went on<\/span><\/p>\n

fer whole hours<\/span><\/p>\n

and into the night<\/span><\/p>\n

till we lost interest<\/span><\/p>\n

and track of<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

but he turned up<\/span><\/p>\n

eventually<\/span><\/p>\n

at two in the mornin\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

more than inebriated<\/span><\/p>\n

and more than ready<\/span><\/p>\n

fer battle<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and he got me up<\/span><\/p>\n

outa bed<\/span><\/p>\n

to witness<\/span><\/p>\n

the culmination<\/span><\/p>\n

of his threats<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

now BIG!<\/span><\/p>\n

both of \u2018em were<\/span><\/p>\n

and I laughed<\/span><\/p>\n

hard<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and that was it!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

no laughin\u2019 matter<\/span><\/p>\n

was this fight <\/span><\/p>\n

to THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

so I shut up<\/span><\/p>\n

and watched him<\/span><\/p>\n

gatherin\u2019 speed<\/span><\/p>\n

from a block\u2019s distance<\/span><\/p>\n

and then soarin\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

head on<\/span><\/p>\n

to land<\/span><\/p>\n

end up<\/span><\/p>\n

after bouncin\u2019 off<\/span><\/p>\n

that unscathed frozen snowman<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and I laughed<\/span><\/p>\n

hard<\/span><\/p>\n

again<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

but there was<\/span><\/p>\n

death in the air<\/span><\/p>\n

and it was over<\/span><\/p>\n

in minutes<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BROKEN<\/span><\/p>\n

in little pieces<\/span><\/p>\n

and dead<\/span><\/p>\n

(as if that snowman<\/span><\/p>\n

was ever alive)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and THE GAR<\/span><\/p>\n

just grinnin\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

triumphantly<\/span><\/p>\n

and darin\u2019 all comers<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and I laughed<\/span><\/p>\n

hard<\/span><\/p>\n

again<\/span><\/p>\n

and patted him on the back<\/span><\/p>\n

and laughed some more<\/span><\/p>\n

hard<\/span><\/p>\n

again<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

but it occurs to me<\/span><\/p>\n

standin\u2019 there<\/span><\/p>\n

that this piece of history\u2019ll<\/span><\/p>\n

go unnoticed<\/span><\/p>\n

and that come spring<\/span><\/p>\n

no one\u2019d believe a word<\/span><\/p>\n

and that future passers-by<\/span><\/p>\n

will not realize<\/span><\/p>\n

a GREAT battle\u2019d<\/span><\/p>\n

been waged here<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

nor that watchin\u2019 the snow blood<\/span><\/p>\n

drain into the sewer<\/span><\/p>\n

the lone chucklin\u2019 witness poet<\/span><\/p>\n

would walk away himself<\/span><\/p>\n

more than ready<\/span><\/p>\n

to laugh down<\/span><\/p>\n

the BIGGEST of<\/span><\/p>\n

rejection slips<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well now it\u2019s the last day of January 2012 and I\u2019m late again with this blahg.\u00a0 Was that me who said I\u2019d be posting two blahgs a week?\u00a0 Maybe I should have said two a month.\u00a0 I could give you some excuses but they wouldn\u2019t be good ones.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just agree that I\u2019ll write […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[16,14,15,13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}