Nestled in this NYTimes piece on ethanol and the higher cost of grains:

“But food producers said that high prices for feed had already increased the price of meat, and that they were cutting the size of herds and flocks, meaning that supplies would soon be lower, and prices higher.”

Mind you that cows are born to eat grass, not feed, so the above is for the industrialization meat (where cows eat grains humans can’t possibly digest, nor would they want to as it’s all byproducts of other byproducts), still…less beef? less chicken in our diets? Can we do without?

We need some leadership from the organic side of the aisle (or the corn lobby?), someone to make the American case for weaning ourself from industrialized food, mix in the need to cut our dependence on oil, the time is ripe.

YouTube, who takes a liberal approach to safeguarding copyrights, enables the law to become trounced by the ease-of-use. If I can copy a video-clip and post it, so easily, then it can’t be wrong to do so.(?) It’s the way we are behaving, and behavior leads the market. The old media companies need to get up to speed, it’s not my fault I’ve figured a way to get their content. Hmmm.

The argument that “it’s what the people are doing, and the big media companies are jerks so screw ‘em”, doesn’t hold up to copyright law. If GoogleTube expected that users would want this type of experience they should have gone the way of Apple, make a business model that works, such as charging for downloads and sharing the revenues, splitting the ad-revenues, AND protecting their members. It’s YouTube that has thrown it’s members into the pit, not the Judge who orders them to divulge data.

To me the problem is that most everyone is broke, relying on credit-cards for the past 20 years(?) to buy stuff, and there is so much out there to get, and like most folks the temptation is too strong. Oh, you have the new Feist as MP3s, can I get those? Oh look at that, it’s my favorite TV show, just smaller. Is individual economic discipline the answer? It’s hard not to stare at a fire, but there might be better models yet tried. I’m always amazed how Wal-mart sticks it to their vendors to get the pricing they want, isn’t there a way we content-lovers can get together and figure out a way where all parties (the artists, producers, performers, studios AND the viewers) get their just rewards, at a decent price? This current model is broken, no matter how popular. Besides, they can’t catch us all…

Techrunch: “Judge Protects YouTube’s Source Code, Throws Users To The Wolves”

Mashable: “Unless you’ve been extra careful to only watch non-copyrighted videos on YouTube (yeah, right), Viacom could sue you.”

- Your blog is your fishing net. Cast it out and see what you catch. Sometimes sardines, other times, a big tuna.

- Your Twitter account is the pulse of “right now”. Sparks of innovation are born from Twitter, it’s a ticker-tape of ideas that propels you into new conversations.

Creative professionals should be using these communication tools. The market has changed and this is the direction of communications.

You have an audience that uses these technologies and you should be meeting them where they live/work/play. Yes, it takes more time, but make the time. It will add efficiency into your routine. If you’re sending out emails or print pieces, provide links to your blog, or to your Twitter account and see the traffic you gain. It’s nothing new from what you’re already doing, just in a different manner.

View what I’m doing on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jason_elephant I post what I’m thinking about, plus I use it to update my Facebook status. Read my blog posts here. You’ll see it’s part of my daily routine, and can easily be part of yours.

  Beebo Brinker Chronicles is an adaptation of Ann Bannon’s  groundbreaking pulp novels about gay life in Greenwich Village. Set in  the pre-Stonewall days, it follows the lives and loves of Laura, Beth,  Beebo and Jack as they navigate uncharted territories of desire.  Written by KATE MOIRA RYAN and LINDA S. CHAPMAN, BEEBO is directed by  LEIGH SILVERMAN. The cast features CAROLYN BAEUMLER, JENN COLELLA, BILL  DAWES, AUTUMN DORNFELD, XANTHE ELBRICK and DAVID GREENSPAN. GIRLS NIGHT OUT
Tuesday, April 8 with party by BLAT Vodka
after the show at HK Lounge. BOYS NIGHT OUT
Tuesday, April 15 with party by BLAT Vodka
after the show at HK Lounge. Sunday Nights at HK Lounge are Girls Room:
Bring Your BEEBO Program for 2-for-1 drinks!
Sundays April 6th, 20th, 27th Performances:
Tue at 7, Wed-Fri at 8,
Sat at 5 & 9, Sun at 3 & 7 Tickets are avaliable at $36.25 (Reg. $46.25). The producers of Beebo Brinker Chronicles have generously agreed to donate $5  to VLA for every ticket purchased with this special code:  Discount code: LAW340
 www.ticketmaster.com 

  For more information, visit us at
 www.beebobrinker.com 

  Now through April 27th, 2008 Schedule:

Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Wednesday to Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. *Conditions: All prices include a $1.25 facility fee. Offer valid for  select locations for all performances through 4/27/08. Not all sections  available for all performances. Additional blackout dates may apply.  Subject to availability and prior sale. Limit 8 tickets per order.  Normal service charges apply to phone and Internet orders. Cannot be  combined with any other offers or discounts and not valid on prior  purchases. Performance schedule subject to change without notice. Offer  may be revoked at any time. All sales final – no refunds or exchanges.  Offer Expires 4/27/08

E-vents to Go is supported, in part, by the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

Yes, the next episode is up! I won’t say anything…the title says it all! Just know that unless you want to get fired, do NOT play this at work! Lots of bad words and dirty jokes in this one.

The series has been going very well so far. This episode is up on Funny or Die right now, but will be up on YouTube and MySpace sometime tomorrow night.

Don’t forget to actually VOTE funny or die (prefer funny, of course) ! The vote button is on the bottom right hand corner of the video itself.

Here’s the link! Enjoy:

http://www.funnyordie.com/theretributioners

You can watch ALL the episodes there.-Steph

Saturday April 5 & Sunday April 6, 10am to 4pm.

http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/ 

The Moon Is A Dead World
A new play by Mike Daisey
Directed by Maria Goyanes
This fantastic tale weaves the secret and brutal history of the Soviet space program with an unbelivable premise: a dead cosmonaut is called back down to Earth on a radio wave when Americans hear the beating of his dying heart. A dark and hilarious fairy tale set against the Cold War, it asks what we risk in the struggle between will and humanity, who we would sacrifice to be whole, and what it means to love beyond death itself.
Soho Rep
46 Walker Street
April 7th at 7pm
Free, but seating may be limited
http://sohorep.org

Maiden USA at Bluestockings Books

Bluestockings Books is hosting a Maiden USA book talk on Friday, April 4th at 7pm….Here’s the news!

Friday, April 4th @ 7PM – Free
Reading: Kathleen Sweeney “Maiden USA”
In “Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age,” Sweeney charts the pantheon of new girl icons that have surfaced in the past 15 years. With brainiacs and athletic champions offered as antidotes to mean girls and lolitas, and with the emergence of self-representation venues on the internet, what is the significance of such contradictory imagery for the culture at large? Sweeney will also show animations created by teenage girls at Reel Grrls, Seattle.

Bluestockings Books, NYC
172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington :: 212.777.6028
http://www.bluestockings.com

Aquarium Drunkard posts Feist, Cat Power Black Sessions MP3s

Our best wishes go out to our friend Richard Solomon and his excellent posse, who thankfully, and although their office is now in rumbles, are all well and OK. Many of you might have heard about the crane that toppled in NYC last weekend, but typically we’re more than an immediate degree removed from the folks who shoulder the burden. Nothing diminishes the tragedy of the lives lost, and that is the undercurrent here, as the NYtimes focussed a piece on the history of the building that once was the home of Richard Solomon Represents.

You can learn more HERE as well.