Shaking My Head at this Ignorance-Wake Up People!

What’s up with corporate institutions supporting both sides of the political spectrum? Most people choose not to believe it or see it but Democrats and Republicans are managed, advised, and financially backed by many of the same people. It is so funny and sometimes disappointing and irritating how the average person does not know what their leaders, especially those in government are up to. Truthfully, some would rather not know and just live their lives in ignorant bliss until the dookie hits the fan and it comes to their front door.

This NewsCorp hacking situation has me in an uproar. I mean come on people, Obama sends troops to Libya without congress approval, now we find out this guy is News Corps leading recipient of donations. Really, Really? This does not strike anyone as odd? Hum I guess I’m comfortable with being the only person that reads, listens and interprets information. Oh not to mention News Corp is the same company that donates to other republican candidates like, Sarah Palin. We are talking about a company that is the parent company of many media outlets including The WallStreet Journal, The New York Post and Fox News.

I wonder sometimes with corporate interests owning and controlling all our news where the balance lies? As a journalist or reporter it seems like the more you cover sensational topics like Casey Anthony, The Royal Wedding or who just called who the N-word and others, the longer you stick around in your career. It was once about the research, it was once about the truth, it was once about having credible sources, and ultimately about informing and enlightening the people collectively. Now if you cover what’s going on inside and find out the truth about major figures in government or business they want to kill you or discredit you through the media and warp the public into believing ridiculousness about you.

Just take a look at what happened to the whistle blower and key witness to this News Corp phone hacking debacle. This guy is now dead and police say there was no foul play and its not suspicious at all. Wow! The world is truly ran by a MOB and if we collectively continue to go for it, do not be surprised if you or your loved ones end up sleeping with the fishes.

Success Talk From John Wooden

An inspiration to many worldwide, Coach John Wooden laid a foundation for what is truly success.  The former UCLA Basketball Coach is a champion multiple times over. To paraphrase his own words, Wooden never “ceased trying to be the best he could be”. I watched this clip from Ted.com where Wooden spoke to an audience on the definition of success.

Just his resume alone inspired his listeners. He was the coach of Hall of Famers such as Lou Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) and Bill Walton. Oh yeah and lets not forget the guy won over 10 championships. Not to mention he was 98 years old when he was giving the speech, so it made his words that more precise and real because of his life experience.

Using old stories of past experiences in his profession, he was able to reflect on what decisions made him the man he was. Tossing a few jokes here and there within his speech enabled him to get a laugh from the audience and show them that he’s not always so serious or egotistical. Rather more wise in his approach.

His ability to create his own definition for success was carved out of his experiences as an English teacher. Wooden was against using the grading system of A, B or C to measure a person success. He did not feel it was an accurate measurement of how successful a person was, in the clip he says,“I wanted to come up with something that I hoped could make me a better teacher, and give the youngsters under my supervision -- whether it be in athletics or in the English classroom -- something to which to aspire, other than just a higher mark in the classroom, or more points in some athletic contest.”

Through this adversity, Wooden was able to carve out his definition of success that he described as, “peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable”.  These are words from a legend I have admired all my life. His “7 point creed”,  and Pyramid of Success, involve principles I also try to live my life by and instill in others. Ultimately, this speech helped me develop a deeper understanding of what John Wooden meant to people in general not just basketball fans. I remember when I was a young athlete his name was always mentioned in many practices, and sports lectures. However, through living out my own life and gathering my own perspective I have found that Wooden’s life overall has so much of a deeper meaning to it than just basketball. By applying his definition to my life I can better determine what I am capable of and where I am likely to succeed. His life and what he stood for and lived by are a solid blueprint for what is success.

A lesson on Piracy and Industry Sales Value

The RIAA has resources that help explain the piracy issues facing the industry as well as offer sources that help you obtain legal content. Inside its Legal Music Services tab is a list full of online music retail stores. There are millions of legal downloads available from sites like Napster, ITunes, Pandora and AOLmusic. This provides a source for people to go to for music without the fear of being sued for illegal downloading. Ultimately, the sites are licensed by major record-companies to ensure legality and to make sure the money stays in the family. 

It’s no secret the music industry is losing money to piracy. I remember when I had a computer with a CD burner, which I would use to burn copies of music I downloaded onto writable Cd's for all of my friends. Little did I know that I was infringing on industry copyrights. Like many I could have lost everything I have before I even got anything. The same is true for most people; many of them do not know how piracy impacts the industry.

The RIAA does a good job of clarifying what Piracy is, who is affected most by it and what are the laws for it within its Piracy tab. It is astounding how much of a decline has resulted within the industry. Although digital sales are outranking the traditional compact disc, according to the RIAA the music business has increased its digital revenues by 1,000 percent from 2004 to 2010. However, digital music theft has helped the overall global market decline of around 31 percent in the same period. 

 NPD reports that only 37 percent of music acquired by U.S. consumers in 2009 was paid for. These are necessary numbers to pay attention to. If you do not know the laws, this association is there to help you understand. With the data on public record it makes it easier for everyone to recognize the problem and not just dismiss it as hearsay.

As an artist these numbers scare me a bit. I wonder how I will compete in an industry where there are more people working than it is money to pay them. This is a reason why many artist pursuing there careers independently never merge with the record companies. They have multiple ways to sell their music but yet they’re not making money fast enough. Digital downloads hurt the value of the industry too. The impulse of the consumer is not as high for an album as it would be for a single they can download off the Internet. Ultimately, it seems like the RIAA has taken efforts to help re-establish the value of the industry. Educating its consumers on a major industry issue could prove helpful overtime.