THE MEANDERWALKER

Follow-up #1:

I write (and think and talk) about (and spend a lot of time looking at) the internet. It’s no secret that I don’t really care for the Facebook — remember when the url had to be “thefacebook” or otherwise it would take you to some weird company’s page? I wonder how much money that company sold the url for? — because I think it is deceptive in appearing to its users as a “private” social networking tool. And it encourages a false mindset that you can post anything on the site and only your “friends” and only your “network” can see. It’s a bunch of junk. And there’s absolutely no way to ensure that the things you put on the internet will stay on the internet. This isn’t Las Vegas, people.

Wired just ran an article that sums up these issues pretty well. One of those issues being privacy in the advanced search tool. Even if you think your religion, sexual orientation, realtionship status, and whatever else is private so that only your friends can see it, you are very, very wrong — or just very, very misled.

Like, for example, if I wanted to see who, in whatever networks I am able to randomly join, is gay or catholic or whatever (not that these are things to be ashamed of or anything — they are just private details about someone’s life that complete strangers can have access to), I can go to the advanced search and find who those people are. If I so desired, I could look up females in the network who are interested in females who are single and who are looking for “random play” (I can’t believe that’s an option!), and a list of those people show up. I may not be able to view their entire profile, but they come up in the search, and so now I know.

Maybe it’s just me, but that’s not exactly what “private” means.

But I also just lost a Facebook poke war, so what do I know?

Follow-up #2:

I’m pretty adamant these days about not paying for music — and Rolling Stone just published an article explaining, with much more expertise, essentially what’s wrong with the recording industry and how it’s their own fault that so many recording companies are on the brink of bankruptcy. Yeah, in retrospect, they probably shouldn’t have shut down Napster afterall.

Link to Steve Perry:

“Don’t Stop Believin’” is, was, and always will be an awesome song that speaks to generation after generation and will forever serve as an anthem for anything that needs an anthem.

I didn’t watch the series finale of the Sopranos — even if I had, I wouldn’t have known what was going on — but I’ve gathered a lot of information about it involuntarily, and I’ve even developed my own opinions about what it was subtley — or not so subtley — insinuating (face it: he’s dead, you guys). And I know they used Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” in the last scene.

I also know that they had to tell Steve Perry the ending of the Sopranos four days ahead of time in order for him to let them use his song!! — he mostly wanted to make sure it wouldnt be the sound of a massacre or something.

Newsweek has an interview with Steve Perry about the song, and about its use on the Sopranos — as well as the other places it’s been used recently, including the Chicago White Sox (they suck, and should stop believin’ until they get some better free agents thrown their way) and Hilary Clinton (would have been a better campaign song than Celine Dion that’s for sure!).

By the way, Steven Perry has the voice of an angel.