Yesterday, I got a Lumix DMC-FX30 digital camera from B&H (an insane Hasidic camera and electronics juggernaut, here in NYC, complete with conveyor belts and free kosher cola) in preparation for my impending trip to Hawaii. I’m loving this gadget. It’s more than small enough to fit in my pocket, at 7.2 megapixels with Leica lenses, it takes some bad-ass photos. My last camera was circa 2001, so this thing is a huge step forward from the pretty crappy quality I was used to putting up with. There’s a big mess of presets for different photo-taking scenarios built in to the camera and last night, I was trying them out on my uber-tubby cat, George. I noticed that the “Pet” preset wasn’t really working out with him, but I had much greater success and quality photographing him with the “Baby” preset. Read into that what you will.

Yesterday, I was given a free CD of the band, “Velvet Revolver“. Pansy-ass cock-rock is absolutely not my thing, but I figured I’d listen to it just for kicks. As I was peeling off the plastic wrapping, I noticed that SONY/BMG was the publisher of the album. Antennas fully perked, I checked out the fine print and sure enough, I had one of those completely fucked up, root-kit installing, DRM-up-the-wazoo CDs of doom and destruction.

Now, since I run Linux, I’m immune to the evil these CDs inflict. On the flip side, I may be immune, but it doesn’t really matter since the CD won’t even play on my computer since I don’t use Windows or Mac which work with DRM. As a result, this CD went straight to the fucking trash bin. No way am I going to sell it or even give it away. It’s fucking poison and the only reason I’m not rip-shit mad about it is that I got it for free and I could give a rat’s ass about the band.

Call me crazy but I’m sure as fuck not going accept or pay money for a CD that will infect my computer with DRM enforcing software and leave a back-door that can open me up for a viral infection and compromise my personal data just to listen to a fucking music album. Furthermore, I’m not going to use an OS who’s terms of use stipulate that in order to use my computer, my rights go out the window and I have to drop panties and bend over my keyboard and self-sodomize myself with my mouse in order to appease the corporate gods because while I may have purchased my computer, the operating system and the CD, they own my soul and have patents on my DNA and therefore all rights and ownerships are forfeit.

Fuck that shit with a rusty screwdriver.

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I don’t really watch much television. Law & Order, Grey’s Anatomy, The Daily Show and the random historical documentary or something similar pretty much sums up my time spent in front of the TV when not watching a DVD. I have nothing against it. I could watch those Roman and WWII warfare documentaries all day and I’m a sucker for the “History of the Bible” and “Life of Jesus” bullshit shown almost non-stop on the History Channel and others. I just get distracted or forget to watch them.

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