Appetite for Self-Destruction

For nearly 70 years the music business and the record business were one and the same.  If an act wanted to be successful, they'd need to sign with a major label at some point.  That meant a record contract.

Never mind that the contract meant signing away massive amounts of control (and potential revenue) to a corporation driven by fickle trends in exchange for promotion:  that was the only way to go.  The labels knew it.  Everyone knew it.  It was accepted wisdom.

Artists lived under a modern-day feudal relationship with the labels.  If one was commercially viable and could turn out a few decent songs, they had a chance at making it.  Of course, it was the record company who ultimately profited the most.  Artists could expect to get a decent percentage of the revenue from live performances (as long as the label promoted them well enough to fill seats), but the label received most of the profits from the actual records sold.

And selling records was the business of the labels.  There was a good markup on records, and later cassettes.  The physical artifact was of immense value to listeners, and as long as the label had a lock on the distribution of that, they had a guaranteed revenue stream.

Then, in the 1990's, the whole thing broke.

Stephen Camp, Rest in Peace

Word comes that Stephen Camp passed away last night.  He was a former Sargeant with the Denton, TX police.  In his later years, he was a tireless 2nd Amendment advocate with both the NRA and the Texas State Rifle Association.  He maintained a valuable and enjoyable site of his own, and he was known on many of the established firearms forums for his eloquence, knowledge, and patience.

He is survived by his wife Sandra, who has requested that any donations be directed to the Denton Police Officers' Association.

The Trouble with Timetables

Howard Camping is predicting that the world will end on Saturday, May 21st.  Apparently, the End of Days will be preceded by an earthquake in the Pacific Rim at 6:00 PM.

So, true believers, feel free to get in touch with me.  I'll set up a dedicated PayPal account, and you can deposit all the money you won't be needing as of Sunday there.  I guarantee I can put it to better use than charlatans like Camping would.

Before we get all gunched up over silly numerological ramblings, let's remember Matthew 24:36:

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

It's not curtains until the Big Man Upstairs says so, and it doesn't seem like he's going to be making reservations.

Camping's made this prediction before.  In 1994 alone, he predicted that the end was coming on September 27th, September 29th, and October 2nd.  When the world stubbornly stuck around after each of those, he predicted its demise on March 31st, 1995.  That also failed to transpire.

Somebody keep this guy away from the horsie track, folks.

He's not the first, of course.  Edgar Whisenant predicted the end three times during a three-week period in 1988, and again in Rosh Hashana, 1989.  Between 1975 and 1994 (big year for this stuff), Charles Taylor predicted the end no less than thirteen times.

And yet here we still are.

(I don't know if there's any connection, but May 21st also marks the founding of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in 1863.)

Spaaaace!

Cave Johnson would be proud of the Space Personality Core.  No employee of Aperture Science has ever shown such utter devotion to a singular objective as this little guy.

His joy at the consummation of his duties is obvious, well-deserved, and enunciated with no small amount of enthusiasm.  Here's a short edit of his utterance, suitable for a ringtone.  Good luck out there, little buddy.  We're all proud of you.

Williams v. Maryland

The Supreme Court's decision in D.C. v. Heller affirmed that the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right to own guns.  McDonald v. Chicago incorporated that right against the states.  Both of those cases were about ownership of guns in the home.  The issue of carry outside the home (the "bearing" part of "keep and bear") was touched upon only lightly and vaguely.

This case may change that.

Charles Williams legally purchased a gun in Maryland.  He jumped through all the hoops.  He did everything right.  After picking it up from the shop, he dropped it off at his girlfriend's house.  Later, he retrieved the gun and headed home.  He was arrested and sentenced to a year in jail for unlawful transportation of a firearm without a permit.

Williams admits that he didn't even apply for a permit.  Why?  Because the state of Maryland has made it clear that they don't issue them.  Sure, there's a bureaucratic framework for doing so, but the process is so arbitrary that denial is a foregone conclusion.

At the moment, Mr. Williams is a criminal.  He hurt nobody.  He didn't deprive anyone of anything.  He simply committed a malum prohibitum offense that would not have been a crime if his rights were respected.

Odd Crossings

Apologies to Bruce Cockburn for stealing his chord progression.

Odd Crossings  (00:58)

We Got Him

Just in time for the 11:00 news (but a bit early for the 2012 election), the President announced that Osama bin Laden has been killed.  Navy SEALs stormed a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan early Sunday morning and bin Laden fell in the ensuing firefight.

It only took 10 years and two wars costing over $2 trillion.  While I'm glad he's out of the picture, I have few illusions that this is much more than a symbolic victory.

Abbottabad isn't some remote cave in the mountains.  It's a wealthy, metropolitan city with football stadiums situated near the Silk Road.  Bin Laden was living well there, and he had people protecting him.  Those people have money, power, and access to government resources.  Even more were willing to turn a blind eye and keep their mouths shut.  They will carry on without him.  Expect violence in the coming weeks as his lieutenants fight with one another to fill the vacuum.

This isn't over.  I don't know that it ever will be.