Yesterday we heard from Kirk House who put together a large video file of Tsunami footage. He’s using our installation of Blog Torrent to track it– we are very, very pleased to help this happen. It’s a perfect example of what p2p can do. Check it out. Here’s what Kirk says about the effort:

I put together a compilation of media totaling 164MB and uploaded it to your demo page.  Look for TsunamiTorrentV1.  It’d be nice if this whole blog video news thing catches on so I no longer have to sit through self important anchor people to get video.  I put a link to your site in the ReadMe.html file included with the other files.

…

I’m going to do a follow up torrent as more media emerges on the Tsunami.  It’d be good if bloggers with video cameras could unite and come up with a single video every day that updates viewers, maybe one designated blogger could narrate, distributed storyboarding software, etc.

Hey, have you finished stuffing the RIAA and MPAA stockings with coal this holiday season for the sake of music? We all must send coal. There was a good article about it on CNet.

Friends of ours in Philly are setting up an awesome show about media that they need an amp for? The show is set for January 15th (with a Downhill Battle, Prometheus Radio component). anybody got an amp to lend, please email my friend wendy (at) phillyaccess (dot) org.

Remember how Orrin Hatch has been the major labels’ darling in the Senate, trying to destroy filesharers’ computers, send them to jail, and make iPods illegal?

Well now it looks like his music career is taking off: see Hatch’s ‘Soul’ Music a Hollywood Hit in the Salt Lake City Tribune.

I think it’s safe to say the royalty checks don’t count as campaign contributions.

It’s also safe to say that “Souls Along the Way” wasn’t included because the Ocean’s 12 music director has a secret passion for Mormon music.

It’s a long story, and it mostly happened before we started being interested in this stuff, but we hear the RIAA basically turned Hatch from a Napster fan into Pawn Numero Uno by playing to his vanity. I mean, he’s received plenty of regular campaign contributions too ($174,928 in the last cycle) but with stunts like this “put the Senator’s song in a movie” thing they’re getting a lot more than their money’s worth.

Somebody’s gotta start using Bittorrent to distribute videos of these candidates’ stump speeches. Real soon.

This year has been a whirlwind of attacks on online rights and the public domain. The big gorillas on defense are the EFF, Public Knowledge, and the up-and-coming IPac. To show our gratitude for their valiant efforts, we put together a page to encourage end of year donations. And for every $100 donated, we’re pledging to send a lump of coal to the RIAA and MPAA: Take a look and be generous.

In related organization news, Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) has just launched a solid new site about media consolidation, called Hear Us Now, and they’re linking to some of our pages. The Hear Us Now page also has some good copyright info that they’ve suggested we integrate into Copyright Curriculum (it’s a wiki, so please jump in).

Went and felt awesome at the Pixies the other night in a large modern box called the Tsongas Arena. When you’re listening to a live version of “Tame” on your stereo and you wonder if the screaming is coming at impact or if that feeling that something crazy is going on is really going on, it is (at the show). The Pixies just open their mouths, hardly physically rock out (they mostly smoke and stand) and a thousand people can’t control themselves. Oh my god, that was the best show I have ever been to. I have no experience from their first round of shows, so I don’t know what the hell is going on.

Besides the idea that shows illumine music’s purpose in society, I went to a show in Providence a week ago where Dear Nora and The Blow were younger and extremely sincere – the new indie and punk rock ethos is to make music you can talk about. But paying for music and getting it immediately in the room you’re standing in is worth it and it’s why music is just gonna win.

We’re getting mad love from the internet today. You may already know about U2’s special edition iPod. Well now there’s a remixed version for sale on eBay:

The Unauthorized U2 vs. Negativland iPod

Because, you know, Negativland had an album called U2, which they and their label SST got spectacularly sued for. The lawsuit was interesting enough that they wrote a book, Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2 that detailed their travails. So why not have a Negativland U2 iPod?

And if you read down to the bottom, the seller (Francis Hwang – who we’ve never met) is donating the proceeds of the sale to Downhill Battle.

Awesome.