(no subject)

Seen on my friendsfriends page (and reposted with respects and apologies to Pastor Niemoller):

First they came for the Fourth Amendment,
and I did not speak out, because I didn't deal drugs.
Then they came for the Fifth Amendment,
and I was silent because I owned no property involved in crimes.
Then they came for the Sixth Amendment,
and I did not protest because I was innocent.
Then they came for the Second Amendment,
and I said nothing because I didn't own a gun.
And then they came for the First Amendment,
and I could say nothing at all.

-- by Anonymous, found on the internet

More on Sponsored Communities

I commented on this to several people yesterday; this is my feeling about this proposal.

It reminds me of the early days of cable TV. When cable was first available, programs had no advertisements, and were often shown uncut and in one piece, because subscribers were paying for it. Slowly, though, advertising crept in, and from a place where it was possible to enjoy content as it was intended to be shown, the experience became identical to that of commercial TV, with some few exceptions as to how much of the human body and how gory programming is permitted to be. But there are commercials breaking up the programs, including those verdammt "bugs", the animated "coming attractions" adverts that actually ovelay programming, taking up as much as 1/3 of the screen.

I'll note here that these days, most of my TV watching is baseball, news, Food Network, and the occasional toon. Yes, I use the TV to watch DVDs (and, more rarely, tapes), but I control those -- even the few DVDs that have unskippable ads at the beginning afford me an opportunity to get up and get a snack, etc.

I still pay for cable TV, not because it brings me entertainment unsullied by ads, but because it's the pipe that brings in the few things I do still watch plus, I'm not the primary TV watcher at home -- and, moreover, it's the pipe for my internet connection. I'm not sure I would, under other circumstances.

Six Apart's proposal feels like another step (after Plus accounts) on the same slippery slope. Not for me, thanks; tell me you need to raise rates, and I'll strongly consider it, as I like the community here and would hate to have to move elsewhere. But I will, when it gets too expensive or too annoying or both.

Here's another take on the subject and reactions to the proposal, from the inimitable azurelunatic (as seen on my friendsfriends page).

A musical quickie

Am I the last person in the world who, even with electronic formats, prefers to listen to albums in their entirety, rather than random tracks?