Phoenix, AZ Loses Wallet; Mexico Foots the Tab

"I went out with Phoenix one night, and I should have seen it coming," says Phoenix resident William Farr. "First, Phoenix asked me for a ride to the place. Next, it was for the first drink. Then, the second. Then she had to 'go to the bathroom'. I found out two days later that Phoenix hitched a ride home with some douchebag from Scottsdale."

This isn't the first transgression, either. Mexico had a brief courtship with the desert city, and it didn't end well.

"Everything was going great. Phoenix was very cordial in the beginning. But as we moved further into the relationship, I noticed that more and more of my stuff had gone missing. It was only some produce at first; then I noticed that my farm workers weren't where I put them. I confronted her about it, and she confessed that she'd borrowed them, but immediately threw them out because they clashed with the 'ambiance' of her place. Phoenix offered to repay me, but conveniently left her wallet in her other purse."

And Mexico isn't the only one whose heart was broken by this man-eater. When asked about Phoenix, a nearby Native American nation who wished to remain anonymous had this to say:

"Oh, Phoenix and I go way back. She was tired after a long trip back from the east, so I offered my home. Pretty soon, she was stringing me along and promising me the world, all while taking 45 minute showers and watering the plants in her garden at my expense."

The anonymous source went on to describe the taxing and drawn-out legal proceedings that ultimately ended in Phoenix making off with his home. The source adds, "She offered me a place in her storage unit. It's not even climate-controlled."

So, if you're considering trying to get with Phoenix, you may want to think again. You may wake up with a sore bum. And she won't even buy you dinner.

I've been drinking again…

So, apparently, when I drink, I can't seem to hold in my socio-political sentiment. And I've decided not to fight it anymore, so here's how my drunken self would like things to be.

A. Individual freedom

People should be free to do what they like. Drugs, speech, weird sex things, all that. Here's where that line ends: when something directly affects other negatively, that's when it should be explicitly illegal. Sure, drugs are capable of indirectly causing harm to people by freeing users of inhibitions and causing them to do unsavory things; but then again, if you treat someone like a criminal they will act like a criminal. Treat them with care, and they will respond.

B. Physical Accountability

Let's face it. If you have more money, you probably have more influence, and you should be accountable for that influence. That may mean taxing the wealthy, or requiring them to donate to charitable organizations (with no political agenda). And keep in mind that this is in no way a linear scale; you can make six figures a year and still have no sway over anything… Furthermore, we should be taxing the hell out of money used for political purposes.

Also, it's impossible to prevent bad people from doing bad things. Regardless of what legislation you have in place, people will always blow stuff up. You can't always prevent insane people from doing their work by writing something on a piece of paper, but you can prevent the rights of others being infringed upon (*cough*TSA*cough).

C. Placing Value on Non-Monetary Investments

If the U.S. government had invested money they spend on defense into developing sustainable energy, who know where we'd be right now. Energy, and thus almost everything else, would be cheaper, and our economy (minus the energy companies) would be thriving.

If local governments invested in the arts, the places we live would be more attractive, more inspiring, and more thought-provoking. Arts engage communities in ways that make them more effective communities and more effective players in society.

If anyone invested more into education, we may actually have a chance at a democracy that isn't guided by the politician that creates the most seductive rhetoric, and citizens may actually understand the real societal threats to their survival rather than believing the rants of selfish, fear-mongering lunatics.

D. Take Care of Your People

I don't know why this ended up last, but it did.

Take care of your people. Regardless of what economic theory may teach us, the masses drive the economy. If they are scared, if they are undereducated, if they are afraid for their health, they won't be spending money. They won't be spending time building communities. They won't be spending time doing anything positive for anyone on the planet, including themselves. What's scary is that there are politicians that are trying to rid the world of leaders. There are people out there trying to keep the public under the illusion of threat, keep them dumb, and keep them distracted; there are people trying to keep you from putting up a fuss.

Keep the internet free. It may seem to be about raising revenues and making profit, but ultimately, those fighting against net-neutrality are all about keeping people distracted with content determined by those already at the top.

Again, place a value on education. Create a system that gives students time to ask questions rather than forcing them through a predetermined curriculum. Teach people why we do the things we do; how about a U.S. social skills class; how about a logic, philosophy, or critical thinking class? Where are these things, and why are our schools' resources limited to books chosen by those who are actively trying to destroy future leaders?

Keep your citizens healthy. If your citizens are afraid for their lives, they are useless. They won't spend money, they won't work hard, they won't be happy, they won't contribute in any way. Remove the immediate fear of death, and they will move onto other, more productive things.

Finally, money does not amount to survival. You can have all the money in the world, but if you don't have food or water, it won't get you anywhere. Don't be afraid to spend money, because it is only the step between your work and what you work for. Don't be afraid to barter; money is only paper.

I've gone on for long enough, and I'm losing my buzz. So, I wish you all a good night.

The Music Industry

I can't say I'm the most well-read about the music industry, but I have been following it since about 2003, right around the time the iTunes music store opened up.

Fast-forward to today: I'm starting a music business with a friend of mine who we'll call Petunia (see left). I'm sure you can figure out his name if you look hard enough, but I thought it'd be more fun to make up a name for him.

When pitching our idea to musicians, they give us this sort of stare… this sort of I-don't-believe-there's-really-candy-and-video-games-in-your-van-and-why-do-you-smell-like-that glare.

Long story short, because of past and present practices there's been a lot of mistrust bred between the music industry, artists, and musicians. As well there should be.

There's something that music businesses are doing that other non-failing businesses aren't. They're telling their customers, "No, you have to do it like this". If you went into a sushi restaurant, and they tried to kick you out for not using chopsticks, how would you feel about that? Read on, and I promise this will make sense in a minute.

So, file sharing is bad, right? That's what the government is telling you, and that's what the music industry is trying to hammer into the public consciousness through lawsuits and scare-tactics.

Let's take another step back and look at a basic economic principle: supply and demand. The idea is that if there is more of a product compared to consumer demand, the price of that product decreases. What happens if a product can be reproduced endlessly? Logically, the price of that product would begin approaching zero. That's $0.00 for you consumers out there.

So, really, why should you feel bad or even pay for a product that can be reproduced with no effort and very little time? Maybe you shouldn't.

So, that conundrum leaves the industry two options:

1. Switch back to a medium that inherently keeps supplies limited: a physical product like vinyl, for instance.

2. Completely change the way the industry works.

Naturally, the big corporations who've made their money the old-fashioned way (namely taking about 60% of any money made on record sales) don't like idea #2, but there's really no way around it, since only a niche demographic will purchase vinyl. And we all know that hipsters don't have enough money to keep that corporate boat afloat.

Finally, yes, I hear you people out there screaming about how albums cost money to produce, and artists should be able to make money on their music. Hold that thought…

So, how about this: we move to the commission model and start treating record production as a service instead of a product. What does that mean for consumers? It means that instead of paying for the current album, you invest in the next album.

Companies like Slice the Pie do just this. They allow artists to pull in front-end funding for album production. If you budget right, you can get an album recorded and bring in enough money to sustain yourself while doing it.

The infrastructure is there. Why not give it a try?

And for you noisy bastards complaining about bands needing to make money… shut your pie hole and listen up. How about instead of selling the music once it's produced, you use it as marketing for live shows. And yes, marketing ≠ money, but marketing costs a lot as it is, and sometimes a non-monetary payoff is way better than cash in your pocket that you'd have to spend on marketing to get anywhere.

According to recent trends in the industry, live shows are where the growth is. Selling a once-in-a-lifetime experience and merch that embodies it won't be in jeopardy for a long time.

TL;DR: Treat bands like businesses, treat consumers like investors, and reap the benefits of this arrangement at live shows.

Back to real life land, where Petunia and I are toiling away to get this music business started (it's called Jivemind Cooperative Music Labs, in case you were wondering). And don't give me that look. We really do have candy and video games in our van. And we smell funny because we are poor musicians.

Now talk amongst yourselves.

Sometimes, some things just need to be said

Shake 'em up.

Sometimes the complacent need to be shaken out of it. And sometimes the outspoken need to quiet down and start living the way they're telling other people to live.

There's not much you or I can do in front of a computer alone, so I'll try not to keep you here too long. You don't need to know too much about me or the vast abyss of philosophical nonsense that fills my head day in and day out, so I won't burden you with that.

So, here's my pledge to you:

I will distill all of this down to a palatable beverage of interesting information with a garnish of thoughts on how to live a more progressive life. It will be a thoroughly shaken mixture of 1 part social ethics, 1 part arts, and a frothy dash of whatever the hell I feel like throwing in the mix.

I might forget about this blog in a week, but we'll see what happens.