A lot of the topics that Musea has talked about have recently been hot topics in the news and this month's column has a lot of updates, ideas that we talked about that are now being implemented in one way or another. (Articles supplied by Reporter-at-Large Alden Scott Crow, or Musea
UPDATE #1: We asked TV News 4,5,8 & 11 if they'd pledge NOT to show snuff films - films showing real people dying. We thought it was a no-brainer (I mean, would you want to show your mother or father's death?). None responded so the grim reaper is going prime time! Two stories: LA: Live news reports on the freeway, police have blocked off a section of road where Daniel V. Jones has pulled over his truck and began shooting into the air. Local stations broke into regular programming - in one case during kid's cartoons to cover. Six of the 7 English language stations stayed with the coverage and broadcast as Jones lit himself, his dog and his truck on fire, then get a rifle from the burning pickup and shoot himself. One news director said it right: "There is no mitigation - it was a mistake to show it. Period. We left our judgment at the door, and we became observers instead of journalists. (American Journalism Review) 2nd Story: CBS, supposedly the classy network, isn't any better. Case in point: 60 Minutes shows Kevorkian killing a patient (Who gets T-shirt rights?). Surprisingly, Dallas' own Belo Corp. (DMN/Channel 8) pulled the plug on the death scene. We applaud and NOTE that they received our letter only weeks before. Musea salutes Belo but says CHUMP-OF-THE-MONTH to CBS and the LA death squads!
UPDATE #2: Musea calls for Internet Jukeboxes. You call them up, pick out the tunes you want (with no album fillers) and voila, a CD just for you is sent to your house. Well, the idea is catching on, though reluctantly. (Corp. Art wants to SELL that filler, i.e. the whole album). Sony (see Corp. Art list this page) now has a Sony Music On Line, Sony Jukebox. It's the first Big 6 pay-for-play site. You get 10 songs for $2.50 sent to your computer. It's all way too complicated for non-computer people, but stay tuned. (Mediaweek) In other net news, Internet radio is catching on with a lot of people. Why? As a Sony recording artist says, "Internet radio is being forged by kids who all say that mainstream radio sucks." (WSJ) (Must either be Musea readers or radio listeners.
UPDATE #3: We called for a way for the net to charge small amounts to let surfers enter their sites and browse. That way, sites could make money on TALENT not ADS. Netscape (who just merged with AOL - the Mergermania continues) has just introduced software to let companies bill their customers and accept payment on line (WSJ) Also for computer users only: those CD-Roms are not selling very well except in one dept. - reference works: atlases, dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, etc. Musea has called for putting all the worlds literature on CD-Roms and getting them into every library, OR putting them all on one free website, in the public domain, and open it to all who want access.
COMIC BOOKS AREN'T FUNNY ANYMORE DEPT.:You've got your Pepsi and Coke, Democrats and Republicans, Yin and Yang, and...Marvel and DC, the two comic book titans (side note: you notice how Superman, [DC Comics owned by our Corp. Art. Behemoth Warners - see list] is now doing commercials and endorsements!) Musea says a part of the art rev will be to market and distribute all indie comix, outside of Marvel and DC's Spider-man sticky hands! That's where the good stuff is. And only then will comics be cool again. (WSJ)
UPDATE #4: Musea called them, not multi, but every purpose art centers. The Utne Reader calls them 'alternative media oases,' like the Crescent Wrench Infoshop in New Orleans that is a library with alt. books and zines, a free photocopier, and how-to programs ranging from bookmaking to making your own menstrual pads. Other shops include the Long Haul in Berkeley, CA, Chicago's Autonomous Zone, Minneapolis' Arise! Resource Center and Bookstore. They often also provide concerts, video screenings, polit meetings, etc. In Europe, similar shops called 'Infoshops' with 100 in Germany alone. Most of these grew from punk or anarchist roots. We salute. (C. Dodge/Utne Reader)
TAKE 2 Nightly News WONDER DRUG Stories and CALL ME IN THE MORNING DEPT.: While the network news are shilling for drug companies, you should know that most of the miracle drugs are not miracles, that most animal cures NEVER WORK FOR HUMANS (i.e., just about every cancer drug). People are not mice and a maximum of 10-20% of cancer treatments tested on mice actually succeed. And a lot of medical journal editors are speaking out about the misinformation. Stay suspicious and stay tuned. (Joe Nicholson/ UPDATE #5: In the article "The Box" we suggested that in the future there will be one notebook sized box that has the works: TV, Internet, computer, library, phone, jukebox, video store, etc. Intel, the chip maker, has called on all PC makers to get their act together and streamline their computer boxes. Example: No different port for each gizmo, just one universal plug. And they praised the new Apple Imac in the blue box. (USA Today)
UPDATE # LAST We can't find a hit since 1980, so how is it all those songs are reaching #1 on the charts? Well just as we suspiciously guessed, all's not well in accounting land. It seems that nowadays singles are judged just as much by radio play (heavily questionable) as they are by sales (non-existent). SO the next time you hear #1, ask for the real sales figures. We're going to! (DMN)