Through my hubby, I found a modern “blues diva” who is very talented. She also happens to be a former porn star, which is how he, ahem, came to know who she is. Candye Kane’s life story in itself is very interesting. She was on welfare as a single mother, struggling to raise her son, but never lost her dream to be a singer. She is also sex and fat positive (or size positive, your choice of words), plus very active in the GLBT[etc] community.

Anyway, her background isn’t the point for this post.

She recently released a new CD, which has gotten good reviews, but unfortunately isn’t selling that well. She sent a message to Yahoo! Music email group, which I’m a member, talking about how much she tours (which is a lot, both in the US and in Europe) but that her sales don’t reflect how many people show up to her show. She blamed peer-to-peer networks and internet music sharing for her sagging sales.

Although I do enjoy her music and admire her stances against intolerance, I have to disagree with her. I searched several P2P sites for her music. If it were P2P sites at fault, then I should have found many of her albums available, but could not find one torrent of any of her music.

Just last week, Forbes published an article about CD sales and how they are declining. More and more people are wanting their music digitally. I rarely buy the physical CD, instead opting for iTunes, to save space and to save time. If I can’t find the music I want online, I reevaluate how badly I want it, usually not getting it for quite a while, if at all. Candye’s album included.

Her new album isn’t available at iTunes, or through her site for download. It is available at Amazon, and at select stores, and dedicated fans will buy it no matter where they need to go. But if she wants to help her sales, she will eventually need to change her business model for the 21st century. Making her work available online doesn’t give away her rights to it, or give anyone the right to put it on a P2P network for anyone and everyone. And I understand wanting to support local shops. But if she doesn’t adapt to the digital and download market, it will be harder and harder for her to afford to tour and be a full time singer.

If you’re interested in hearing her music, check her out at her MySpace page. She is talented, and if she can get her music available digitally, I’ll be saving a spot for her in my iPod.

And as a side note, today is the Day of Silence for Internet Radio. Check out Save Net Radio for more details. Don’t let the radio monopoly and the RIAA dictate what kind of music we hear.

Technorati tags: candye kane, music, downloads, save net radio

Andre paid $150 to have his own page of photos he picked printed in his yearbook. He included a picture he took of him kissing his boyfriend.

Such a sweet photo, hu? Well, the school officials at East Side High School in Newark thought it was “too suggestive” and blacked it out of the yearbook. Despite that on the page opposite his, there was a girl sitting on her boyfriend’s lap, kissing him with his hand on her leg. This doesn’t fit the claim that neither homosexual and heterosexual couple’s pictures could have kissing.

It was the superintendent who thought the picture would be controversial and upsetting to parents. But it’s not their yearbook. Andre paid the money, the picture fit all the rules of the pictures (no gang signs, graphic photos), and it’s obvious that it was done because it was two guys kissing.

The school should not only apologize and give Andre his money back, but offer replacement yearbooks for anyone who wants them, free of charge.

The best thing? Students seemed to be more shocked it was blacked out, than two guys kissing. One student said:

“If they want to kiss, that’s their page. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it.”

I think it’s a good sign that younger kids are seeing GLBT[etc] as just people who don’t deserve separate treatment or to be treated inferior. It’s no where near perfect, but we have made great strides with race and gender equality in the last 50 years. Maybe I’ll see marriage equality in my lifetime.

Technorati tags: censorship, homophobia

Last year, the American Medical Association passed a resolution, asking the Council on Science and Public Health to “review and summarize the research data on the emotional and behavioral effects, including addiction potential, of video games”. The AMA has released their report, after reading and analyzing scientific studies from 1985 to 2007.

Some of their findings weren’t surprising. Concluding that “exposure to violent media increases aggressive cognition, affect, and behavior, and decreases prosocial behavior in the short term. There also appears to be agreement that definitive long-term studies are lacking.” They also stated that parents treat games no different than any other media, like TV, and limit the time exposed.

One good thing they mentioned was the positive aspects of gaming. It’s been used for training by the military and medical personnel, while also proven educational. There are lots of stories of how the Nintendo Wii is used in hospitals for rehabilitation, including injured Iraqi vets.

The one suggestion they had that really bothered me though, was this:

That our AMA strongly encourage the consideration and inclusion of “Internet/video game addiction” as a formal diagnostic disorder in the upcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV.

Now, this thinking isn’t really new. We’ve heard of people who have lost their job and even died because they were spending too much time playing World of Warcraft. But to say that gaming or surfing the internet is a mental illnes and on par with drug or alcohol addiction is a bit of a stretch. The suggestion is that it shares many of the same traits as pathological gambling. But why can’t the people who are unable to control their behavior discussed as having a personality disorder, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder? Isn’t there something more underlying in their personality than just not being able to turn off the computer?

Besides, many of my friends, including myself, would probably be diagnosed as being addicted to the internet, if not gaming also. Oh, and let’s not forget that gamers who are good can even get sponsorship and earn a salary. If only I had great hand eye coordination!

But let’s think about this. How many people do you know of can’t live without their music. Or books. Or watching sports. (The sports people can get very into it, even participating in fantasy teams, not missing a game by subscribing to satellite radio or sports tiers on cable.) Why aren’t any of them lambasted for their hobbies and told they have an addiction that needs treatment?

Games are the latest in a long line of items, including comic books, Dungeons & Dragons, and heavy metal, that are blamed for the moral bankruptcy of the youth in our society. They are, by default, looked upon negatively, and as a result, politicians and researchers only look at the detrimental aspects to gaming. And the doctors and insurance companies would just love to see a chunk of the money that could be made by classifying gaming and internet addiction formally.

No doubt that parents need to watch how much and what games their kids are playing, just like with any activity they do. And adults shouldn’t neglect their job, family, and health for an activity, no matter what it is. But let’s just leave it at that. If it does get out of hand, then treat the underlying cause. Not blame the technology.

Hat tip: Ars Technica

Technorati tags: video games, internet

Over the weekend, we finally got a chance to watch last year’s documentary Who Killed The Electric Car?. It was very interesting, and quite perplexing considering some of the reasons given as to why GM didn’t continue making the car, in light of gas prices and environmental issues today. Things like consumers demand isn’t high and they won’t sell well. Just look at Toyota and how well their hybrids sell. (My thoughts on what happened? I think the oil industry and the car manufacturers were the big players in why the program was killed.)

But today I see an article that is rather interesting. GM has an electric hybrid concept car called the Volt. And it sounds like it’s on the way to being more than just a concept, with GM awarding two contracts to vendors that will help speed up development.

I will be watching this closely. Not only would having one save money on gas, but cutting down on emissions and dependence on oil is a huge plus. I just hope it doesn’t cost a large sum of money, either shutting out people who can’t afford it, or making people get into more debt than most of Americans already are in.