Posts Tagged ‘YouTube’
‘Ten Strikes’ is False Alarm for YouTubers
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Word is spreading fast about the Ten Strikes Bill, which, if passed, would make it a felony to stream copyrighted content online without authorization. Rumor has it that YouTubers could land up to five years in jail for posting last night’s karaoke rendition of a copyrighted song like “Sweet Caroline.” But don’t rush home to delete your YouTube account just yet.
The bill’s sponsor, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) says this rumor is a misinterpretation of the bill. In order for someone to actually be prosecuted the bill states that “the total retail value of the performances to the infringer or to the copyright owner would exceed $2,500.” These terms would not apply to a 12-year-old lip-syncing an Usher song. Linden Zakula, Klobuchar’s communications director, says that this legislation focuses on people who, for example, videotape movies in the theater and willfully post them online for “private financial gain.” The Ten Strikes Bill is meant to “go after the worst of the worst,” he says.
Blogs such as DemandProgress.org are asking people to write their congressman to oppose the bill. Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer based in Silver Spring, Md., says, “There’s strong tension between the First Amendment freedom of expression and intellectual property rights.” He says that people are concerned about losing their Internet rights and the feeling that they have “a truly free society.” But YouTubers can rest easy; some innocent karaoke won’t land you a spot in the slammer.”
—Rebekah Lowe
Shopping Even All Men Could Love
Posted by Natalie Kaar / Friday, August 26th, 2011
Hello there, shoppers! It’s Friday, and Irene is threatening us this weekend; I say have a little extra fun today.
Here’s a little head start … Cisco presents “The Future of Shopping.”
Don’t know about you, but I sure won’t miss static-filled hair and deodorant marks.
Happy shopping!
–Natalie Kaar
Synetic Theater Hosts Second City and Former VA Resident This Weekend
Posted by clara / Thursday, July 14th, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Second City's Chris Witaske, Mark Piebenga, Kate Duffy, Lyndsay Hailey and Tim Stoltenberg. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Performing for a brief two nights only, Second City will make their appearance at Synetic Theater in Crystal City Friday July 15 and Saturday July 16. Touring with the company is Lyndsay Hailey, former resident of Richmond, VA.
“I love Virginia!” she says. “I wish improv comedy had more legs in the state and I’d be there.”
Hailey didn’t always know she wanted to have a career in comedy. In fact, she went to college to study marketing and after working on the set of One Tree Hill she started auditioning. “Comedy kind of found me,” Hailey says. “I always had a part of me that wanted to be on stage but never did.”
After a stint with an improvisation troupe in North Carolina, Hailey picked up and moved to Chicago where she soon became a member of Second City. Some of her favorite characters are written by legendary comediennes Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch. “I’ve auditioned for Saturday Night Live twice,” Hailey says, “and I’ve gotten really close. That’s a big dream of mine.”
She’s got a YouTube channel, which has drawn the most traffic from her “Captain Juggles” music and “A Diamond Lasts a Real Long Time” skit. “I found the ‘WHORE’ choker and it all unfolded from there,” she says. “That combined with the fact that I’ve always had a thing against those diamond commercials, and the girls who swoon over a piece of jewelry.”
This weekend, catch her and the rest of her Second City troupe in “Best of Show.” Hailey says that though their performance is mostly a combination of great archive material and some cast original material, their general theme is that technology is taking over the world. She’s got her very own original piece in the second act, which she says she wrote “for Virginia and the Virginia culture.”
Photo Courtesy Lyndsay Hailey
As though it needed to be said, Hailey reassured that the evening would be enjoyable. “I can guarantee you’ll be laughing,” she says. Tickets cost $40 and are available online www.arlingtoncomedy.com.
–Clara Ritger
Loudoun County sponsors 6th annual teen activity
Posted by clara / Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
It is not too late to start expanding your teen’s stomach. This Saturday, June 25, is YouthFest 2011, where sponsor Manhattan Pizza is hosting a pizza eating contest. All participants’ admission is free… and they have the chance to win a pizza party. Sign up by emailing kristin.garrett@loudoun.gov.
Image: Shutterstock/dwphotos
The big highlight of the festival are the performances by The Maine and YouthFest Battle of the Bands contestants, including winner Lightspeed Rescue. Plus, admission is only $5 for those not gorging on the Manhattan contest.
Here’s a link to one of The Maine’s music videos: http://youtu.be/N1RltuCpYoE
Parking is free in the garage, and the festivities last from 3-8 p.m. in the Brambleton Town Center. For more information visit http://www.loudounteens.org/YouthFest.aspx
–Clara Ritger
Posted by Warren Rojas / Friday, May 6th, 2011
Austin food blogger/cookbook author/veteran reveler Hilah Johnson feels your post-Cinco de Mayo pain. And her tried-and-true prescription for a speedy recovery includes:
(Video: Hilah Cooking)
Simón!
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
(Video: YouTube)
This Chris Tucker-in-training (LOVE the exaggerated head rolls) makes Klondike heads seem totally soft.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
For those who haven’t heard, Peruvian cooking–the charge being led by rising star restaurateur Gaston Acurio–is the “IT” flavor on the tip of everyone’s tongues.
Case in point: the airline pilot in the following clip devotes the first minute of his prearrival instructions alerting Lima-bound travelers to the signature dishes of the “gastronomic capital of the world”:
(Video: DarkAntrax)
The pilot trumpets a host of traditional specialties, from global favorites like citrus-splashed ceviche and mouthwatering pollo a la brasa to indigenous treats like suspiro (an ultra rich blend of meringue and dulce de leche) and anticuchos (grilled beef heart).
No word on which airline dispensed the patriotic dining advice. But confidence is high the exuberant travelers availed themselves of the best the country has to offer.
–Warren
Stay State-of-the-Art With Your Shopping Sprees
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, January 18th, 2010
Toshiba Blue Label 2.0 Laptop $899 (bestbuy.com)
Hi there, shoppers! This is Devon Carter, joining forces with Natalie for S.W.A.G. today. I hope your week is off to a great start, but if it isn’t, nothing makes things more enjoyable than electronics that help ease your worries and woes.
Best Buy has just the solution for your troubles with their new line of Toshiba Sony and Dell Blue Label 2.0 laptops. These light and compact computers have over five hours of battery life and are capable of wirelessly connecting to your HD -TV with the use of a Wi-Eye connector. Now you can shop online on your TV! These laptops are also great for sharing photos from Facebook and videos from YouTube with friends and family. Also, if you miss any of your favorite shows when they first air, you can download them from sites like Hulu and watch them instantly on your TV.
These laptops were developed out of Best Buy’s You Spoke, We Listened initiative, containing dozens of features proposed by us users. One example: A back-lit keyboard so you can see in the dark! Set up is easy; however, if you come across trouble, Best Buy techs and The Geek Squad are there to help. The Blue Label laptops start at $899.99 and are available at Best Buy in Fair City. The Toshiba model is available currently, and Dell and Sony versions will be out in a few weeks.
–Devon Carter
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, May 11th, 2009
Not entirely sure whether the new “Don’t Eat Alone” series I discovered on YouTube is drug-induced performance art or a last resort for folks who’ve maxed out their match.com browsing benefits.
More importantly, I doubt that even the Frank Ginsberg character from “Little Miss Sunshine” could explain what these deliciously psychotic vignettes have to do with existential essayist Marcel Proust.
DAE – Raul: I choose to believe that the odd camera bounce at the beginning and end of this clip means the videographer was this much closer to breaking free from their shackles. And I’d like to thank Raul for renewing my fear of tuxedoed gents with atrociously slicked back hair (this was my previous frame of reference):
(Video:YouTube)
DEA – Gladys: what would we see if that little black dress managed to wriggle free from those slender shoulders? A “Buffalo Bill“-style work in progress? Obsessive cutting? Perhaps it’s best we never find out:
(Video: YouTube)
DEA – Bingo: AKA, dessert with Stephen King’s Pennywise. “He’s not very clever but he’s charming” … insists his court-appointed psychologist:
(Video: YouTube)
I’ll never complain about solo-dining again.
–Warren
The much sweeter version of yourself
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
It’s the middle of the week, work’s dragging you down and you need a pick-me-up. So here are some Web Wednesday links to totally waste time perusing!
Always thought of yourself as sweet? Even if you aren’t, you will be as an M&Ms character. Head to the M&Ms site to create your own candy-coated avatar – check out my awesome guns on the right there. And if you mess up? Then click here for a soundtrack to your mistake.
There’s some indie music that I’m all about, some I’m really not – if someone can explain to me the appeal of Conor Oberst, that would be ultra-helpful. For those like me who love to discover new music, there’s StumbleAudio, a kind of Netflix of tuneage. It works in a couple different ways: You can select a channel for the type of music you like – rock, kids, classical, pop, etc. Then you hit the “Stumble” button to find something new and cool. Or it could be lame. That’s when you vote thumbs up or thumbs down, and the site starts making suggestions to match your preferences (and gives you info on where to get their stuff). Find something you want to tell everybody about? Click that “Share” button to inform your music-loving friends. And finally, toss your favorite band in the “I Like” search area so the site can match to it – putting in My Chemical Romance, for example, gave me 365 similar albums. Some bands are better than others – I have no idea who the Battery Kids are but they rock, yet it also gave me something called Talik that made me think I was in some very odd underground techno club in Germany. The unpredictability factor adds to the appeal. There are 2 million-plus tracks just waiting for you so get to it! (Thanks to Warren for the tip.)
In the end, none of the music is free, however. But who doesn’t love free tuneage? That’s what got me a little more than excited when, out of the blue, some female-fronted metal band named Mezmoria from Sweden wanted to add me as a friend on MySpace. Like StumbleAudio, that could be a good or bad sign, but this turned out to be a positive – they’re really quite good, and even better, they have three songs to download! BOOSH! I highly recommend “The End of the World” as a must-add to your iPod. (Fun fact: The band’s hometown of Västra Götalands län is the second largest county in Sweden, with a population of 1.5 million.)
Some of you in the NoVa Pop Nation have been wondering what the heck is up with Axl Rose and the forever-gestating Guns N’ Roses album, “Chinese Democracy.” The thing has almost become a running joke, yet there are signs that some songs are in sight after a decade in limbo. While certain songs have supposedly been leaked, “Shackler’s Revenge” seems to be the first official single, as a track on the upcoming video game “Rock Band 2″ (in stores Sept. 14). Wanna hear it? A few minutes of Google and YouTube searching will get you some leakage – and it’s not half bad.
Got links? Email ‘em to novapoppin@gmail.com.
And now for the video of the week:
