Internet Piracy: Hollywood's Fault?

Most of us heard about the bills (SOPA, ACTA) that congress were trying to pass.  These bills were created to slim down the illegal downloading of movies, games, or music from the internet.  They would also limit online access further, causing a world of hurt for people online. Fortunately, the internet won and the bills were not passed.  In reality though, is piracy that bad?

Now even though SOPA and ACTA didn't go through legislature, people are still trying to shut down the most popular torrenting (most common form of piracy) websites such as thepiratebay and isohunt.  If these sights were to be shut down, piracy wouldn't be stopped.  The internet is such a vast place that a new torrent site would just spring up after an old one got cut down.

Most peoples first thought of piracy is "that's stealing!" which it is.  What I don't understand, is why actors, movie producers, and Hollywood in general is making so much money.  Then, when piracy strikes, they complain because they aren't getting enough. Is it really necessary to charge 10-15 dollars for a movie ticket?

 Most people use torrents for simplicity.  These are the reasons that hulu, netflix, and redbox were made-simplicity.  But couldn't they take it one step further, and make an all-in-one program to get all of your favorite movies?  When Steam (a popular PC game purchasing software) was created, piracy of PC games shot down.  Couldn't they make a similar thing?  If the site had all movies, a cheap rate (no DVD/Blu-Ray production costs), and allowed movies to be rented or kept forever, it would be a dream come true for everyone.

Now even if Hollywood didn't make as much cash, maybe they wouldn't make so many movies.  Instead of having hundreds of movies every year (and only 20 of them being enjoyable) they could make 50 movies that are all excellent.  If this was the case, I would be at the movie theater a lot more often because I'd know that the movie would be worth my money.

Movies of 2013

Ah the movies, complete with overly loud speakers, sticky floors, and buttery popcorn.  I only travel to the movie theater when there's a movie I really want to see (which is kind of rare), otherwise I just wait for the DVD to be released.  But this year I've heard of several movie releases that I am ecstatic for.

Now there's your basic repeats of movies like The Hangover 3, Fast and the Furious 6, and Scary movie 5, that have similar story lines and are almost the same as their predecessors.  I'm interested in a sequel to one of  my all time favorite movies, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  The title, Anchorman, The Legend Continues, doesn't give away any hints to the plot.  I'm sure it will be hilarious because it has the same cast as the original.  These actors and actresses are some of my favorites, and they play their characters so well.  Will Ferrell announced that they were making a sequel two years ago, and I've been excited since then.

My first movie I went to as a kid was Monsters Inc.  It is still one of my favorite Disney movies of all time.  I've recently been informed that a prequel is being released this summer entitled 'Monsters University.'  It features Mike and Sulley before their scaring days; college.  We all know what college means; Pranks, parties, and competition await my favorite animated characters. I can't wait to relive my first movie theater experience.

Enough with sequels.  Most of this year's movies are add-ons to previous movies. A newer movie that catches my interest is World War Z.  It doesn't seem to be your cliche zombie movie, but a more realistic tale of a zombie apocalypse.  This is one action movie I hope to make it to this summer.

I hope this year is full of exciting movies and I hope none of them disappoint me. Yes, I'm the cheap guy that doesn't like to waste cash on terrible movies.  When I spend ten bucks to see a movie (plus the treats that are required), I hope to get my money's worth.

Ending What Started the Olympics

Earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee made a shocking decision.  They took wrestling out the 2020 Olympic games.  Stunned wrestlers around the world wondered why.  Wrestling is popular in many countries and older than the Olympics themselves.

American Rulon Gardner, who upset 3 time Russian champion Alexander Kharelin in an epic championship match, was saddened by the decision to drop what he considered "a beloved sport."

Rulon Gardner winning his gold medal. (Sept. 27, 2000)

The IOC reviewed a report of each sport, analyzing 39 criteria, including TV ratings, ticket sales, drug use policy, and global popularity.  According to IOC documents, wrestling ranked low in several of the technical criteria.  Popularity with the public, worldwide TV audiences, and press coverage were the big factors that allowed the IOC to make their decision.

"It's the IOC trying to change the Olympics to make it more mainstream and more viewer friendly instead of sticking to what they founded the Olympics on," Gardner told ESPN in a telephone interview.

I understand that wrestling isn't as popular with people as other sports.  If a person doesn't understand sports, they'll most likely watch ones with simple rules.  And I know the average male would watch women in skimpy swimsuits playing volleyball rather than two sweaty guys in spandex touching each other.

Wrestling will still be in the 2016 Olympics.  And if enough support is gained, they could bring it back for the 2020 Olympics, as well as further into the future.  But, for now I guess we'll just have to stick to watching "real" Olympic sports such as speed walking, dressage (horse dancing), and synchronized swimming.