Jeremy McCoy

For years, the Motion Picture Association of America has been pushing legislation to ratchet up copyright enforcement. In 2008, the association helped push through the PRO-IP Act, which allowed the federal government to seize domain names used for copyright infringement and created a new federal copyright czar. This year, the MPAA is a leading force in the campaign for "rogue sites" legislation, which would give the federal government broad powers to target sites with minimal judicial oversight.

Last year, Viacom, whose Paramount subsidiary is an MPAA member, told the Wall Street Journal that "a new wave of digital piracy could threaten the US media business" if it lost its copyright infringement case against YouTube. Similarly, the MPAA has argued that "when profits are reduced, the studios have fewer dollars to invest in movies, and when there is less money to invest they make fewer movies and the diversity and variety of films we love become more limited."

So we were interested in this CNN story on the 20 biggest CEO pay raises. The winner? Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman. He got a raise of $50.5 million in 2010. That represents an impressive 149 percent pay increase from his 2009 compensation of $34 million.

Indeed, Hollywood has had a long streak of record-breaking box office results. And Dauman isn't the only CEO reaping the benefits. Disney CEO Robert Iger made $29.6 million in 2010. Not as much as Dauman, but a tidy sum nevertheless. In addition, the entire US copyright industry is in rude health. Indeed, it has significantly outperformed the US economy through a nasty recession.

To be fair, Viacom is a publicly traded company, and if Viacom's shareholders believe Dauman deserves a $50 million raise, that's their business. Maybe he deserves a raise. Also, most of the compensation is in the form of stocks and stock options, which fluctuate from year to year, so he won't necessarily get that $50 million in future years.

Still, it makes us wonder about the merits of spending even more taxpayer dollars (and trampling civil liberties) to better protect Viacom copyrights. Making movies seems pretty profitable as it is. And it seems a bit counterintuitive for a company that says its business is threatened by piracy to be so lavish with executive compensation.

Neither the MPAA nor Viacom were willing to comment on this story.

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This quote comes from actor John Barrymore and is a healthy reminder that age can often be more of an attitude than a tally. It turns out scientific breakthroughs are no longer dominated by the very young. In fact, the average age is 48. Singer Susan Boyle also made a name for herself at age 48, and there are several more examples. Aging isn't necessarily easy, but it doesn't mean you're down and out. Count your dreams and accomplishments, not your years.

Photo remixed from an original by Dan Holm.

Quotations About Age | The Quote Garden

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You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.  Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

It's been quite a day for all you cinephiles out there. First Canon outed its pair of Cinema EOS cameras, and now RED has finally released the Epic's baby sister Scarlet. Scarlet packs a similar punch as her older brother, so she takes 5K (5120 x 2700) resolution stills at 12fps, or can shoot your next cinematic masterpiece in 4K (4096 x 2160) at 25fps. The Scarlet also can use all of the Epic's accessories and comes with a Canon mount so there's plenty of glass to choose from, too. Best of all, Scarlet can be all yours for the low price of $9,750. That's right, for the price of a used Honda Civic, you can shoot video that essentially looks as good as those made by pros like Peter Jackson and John Shwartzman (assuming you've got their moviemaking skills). We're about to get our hands on one, so stay tuned for our first impressions.

When she's all by herself, Scarlet cuts a rather petite figure. She weighs the same as an Epic, but trades her elder brother's ebony exterior for one that is, according to RED founder Jim Jannard, "battleship gray." Not the most feminine color, but we must admit we like the two-tone appearance when you start adding on extras like a RED remote or an external view screen. Unfortunately, we didn't get to shoot any video with Scarlet, but we did get to hold her for a bit and found the build quality to be top notch. The camera has a solid feel, and while we wouldn't want to lug it around all day by hand, it's easy enough to maneuver for several minutes at a time. We're hoping we can do some serious shooting with Scarlet with sometime soon for a fuller impression -- RED aims to start shipping them on December first -- but given her low price point and copious cinematic capabilities, we imagine her dance card will be filled for quite some time.

RED makes the Scarlet official, 5K stills and 4K video for $9,750 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whipped cream has a short shelf life, but if you're looking for a simple trick to extend it and make a tasty dairy-free snack topping, Instructable user annahowardshaw has a dead-simple recipe for coconut whipped cream.

The basics of the instructions don't differ from your average whipped cream recipe, with the only change being using a can of chilled coconut milk instead of whipping cream. The results are supposedly just as thick, but with the added benefit of being dairy-free, which means a longer shelf life because the ingredients won't seperate. Find the full instructions over on Instructables.

Coconut Whipped Cream | Instructables

It seems like every laundry detergent makes claims to keep colors lasting for a long time, but according to DIY blog Apartment Therapy, the easiest trick is to add a tablespoon of salt to the load.

The premise is that the chloride in salt helps keeps clothes bright by sealing in the color across repeated washings. We've already seen salt's power to remove bloodstains, but it turns out it's a great protector of clothes as well. If you have some brand news clothes you'd like to protect, How Stuff Works recommends using a 1/2 cup of salt to prevent color bleeding on the first wash.

Use Salt to Keep Colors From Fading In Your Fabrics | Apartment Therapy

Canon has more on the way from its newly launched EOS Movies lineup than just the C300, as shown by this new prototype DSLR. Promised to be "ideally suited for cinematographic and other digital high-resolution production applications" this camera packs a 35mm full frame image sensor capable of shooting Motion-JPEG encoded 4K video at 24fps. The press pics show it fitted with both EF 50 and new Cine 24 lenses, as Canon looks to blend the success of the 5D MK II with RED-rivaling video capabilities. The director of House shot an episode on that camera already and called it the future, which appears to be arriving sooner rather than later. Check out the press release after the break for the spec breakdown, just don't expect to hear anything about a name, price, or release date.

Continue reading Canon has a new 'EOS Movies' DSLR on the way too: 4K video, 35mm full frame sensor

Canon has a new 'EOS Movies' DSLR on the way too: 4K video, 35mm full frame sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See more epic wins on FAIL Blog’s silver lining, WIN!

We've had the opportunity to ride some crazy contraptions over the years here at Engadget, like the skateboard-cum-tank Shredder and the self-balancing two-seater from GM called the EN-V. Today we carry on that tradition with another thing that can keep itself -- and its occupant -- perched upright. It's called the Ryno, an all-electric single-wheeled scooter that looks like something Judge Dredd would throw a leg over before bringing justice to some nefarious evil-doers. It's the pet product of mechanical engineer Chris Hoffmann and, after five years of tinkering and development, it could be finally making its way into peoples' garages by next year. Join us for a wobbly first ride.

Continue reading Ryno Motors self-balancing, single-wheeled scooter test ride

Ryno Motors self-balancing, single-wheeled scooter test ride originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When the granddaddy of FPS tweets, we listen. For those unaware, that's John Carmack -- you know, the guy behind games like Doom, Quake and Rage -- confirming that Doom 3's engine, id Tech 4, is all bundled up for its open-source release, only awaiting clearance from legal. To be verbose, that doesn't mean you'll be getting down with a gratis copy of Doom, but rather with the powerhouse that powers it, a veritable boon to game developers and tinkerers, alike. The release is par for the course for the company, as id Software's been routinely open-sourcing its older engines for as long as we can remember. We'll keep an eye out for when it drops, but while you wait, feel free to read an interview with the visionary himself.

Carmack: Doom 3's engine ready for open-sourcing, awaiting 'OK' from legal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Reader is following in the footsteps of Gmail, Docs, and Voice with a clean new interface, that's easier to use and contains integration with the Google+ social network.

If you use Google Docs, Google Voice, or the new Gmail preview, you'll be very familiar with Reader's new interface. Everything is very white and clean, with a single search bar across the top and red buttons to denote the service's main features. Reader has also replaced "Liking" a story with "+1", and when you +1 a story, you have the option to share it with any of your circles on Google+. This replaces the old "following", "friending", and "sharing" features of Reader and rolls them into the new social network instead. Head on over to Google Reader to check out the new changes, or hit the link below to read more on Google's blog.

Note that the new interface is still rolling out, so if you don't see it, check back periodically throughout the day. Google says everyone should have it by this evening.

New in Reader: a fresh design, and Google+ sharing Official Google Reader Blog

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You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
 

Think ninjas are bad-asses? With a trident in his turban and a dagger in his waistband, Nidar Singh could probably take on a bunch of them with ease. I mean, come on, just look at the war shoes with toe blades.

But there's one enemy that the Shastar Vidya martial art found very difficult to vanquish: extinction.

Nidar, a 44-year-old former factory worker, is the last surviving master of the Sikh battlefield martial art and he fears that the martial art will die with him, unless he can find a successor:

[Nidar] spent his childhood between Punjab and Wolverhampton and it was on one of these trips to see an aunt in India that he met Baba Mohinder Singh, the old man who was to become his master.

Already in his early 80s, Baba Mohinder Singh had abandoned life as a hermit in a final effort to find someone to pass on his knowledge to.

"When he saw my physique he looked at me, even though I was clean-shaven and he asked me: 'Do you want to learn how to fight'," recalls Nidar Singh. "I couldn't say no."

On his first day of training, the frail old man handed him a stick and instructed Mr Singh to hit him. When he tried, the master threw him around like a rag doll.

"He was a frail old man chucking me about and I couldn't touch him," he says. "That definitely impressed me."

The BBC has more: Link

Why don’t you apply? You’re not getting paid for that office clerk internship anyway.

Nidar Singh of Wolverhampton, UK, may be the last living master of the Sikh martial art shastar vidya, which means the “science of weapons”. He himself was taught by an octogenarian in Punjab who thought that he was the last serious practitioner. Singh remembered the first day of his training:

On his first day of training, the frail old man handed him a stick and instructed Mr Singh to hit him. When he tried, the master threw him around like a rag doll.

“He was a frail old man chucking me about and I couldn’t touch him,” he says. “That definitely impressed me.”

Link -via Geekosystem | Photo: Beyond Exposure Photography

Photo: Nick Lippert

Take a look at this: a phenomenal sunrise of Mt. Rainier in Washington state, where the volcano actually casts a sky shadow on the clouds!

From Seattle's Komo News:

Mt. Rainier has quite a few tricks up its sleeve for adding additional beauty to the Pacific Northwest, from the majestic snow-capped peaks, to the mysterious lenticular cloud displays.

But another trick it pulls off during the fall and winter is to cast a big shadow on a brilliant sunrise.

It only happens when the sun rises farther to the south as we head toward the winter solstice and has to be in the exact position to where Rainier blocks the first rays of morning light.

Link
– via Bad
Astronomy

This More Funny photo definitely made me laugh.

Send your More Funny Than Wrong photos to jessica (at) margaretfeinberg (dot) com.

Some of you might remember this cartoon when I posted it some years ago. And the reaction.

But the message is good. Our spirituality can be so hobby. Part time. A compartment of our lives. Unintegrated. Shallow. Empty. Useless.

Time to wake up before the breakup!

(Download my ebook “nakedpastor 101″ for .99¢.) To download the ebook, –> click here! <–

Check out my originals and prints of my art, cartoons and Sophia drawings.

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