Open Letter to the Former Pajamas Media

6 Replies

The following letter was mailed by myself to the former Pajamas Media, late last night:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I did not sign up with the former PJ media to become associated with the poor handling of the opening day criticism displayed on LGF, nor the evident lack of basic, commonsense research that went into the selection of the new name for this business.

Houblog can hardly be considered even a minor player in the blogsphere, but I have certain standards in my work; standards that led me to create the blog in the first place. I desire to build traffic and a second income, as well as learn how to be a better blogger. The lack of professionalism — indeed, the lack of a business plan — I have seen thus far has not impressed me; in fact the former is as embarassing to me as the latter has been disappointing, thus far.

Further, the self-important tone evident in some articles thus far (re: the blogsphere vs. the newsmakers) engenders a profoundly negative reaction from me.. Even the Old Media isn’t so transparent; it refers to itself in the “third-person obscure” by the use of such terms as “observers” or the ever-popular “experts.” There are better ways of doing the same thing among ourselves than what we’ve seen today–if such is even necessary.

I don’t claim to be smarter than the people in charge of the former Pajamas Media; hindsight is 20-20 and I probably would have fallen into many of the same errors. But that’s why YOU are supposed to be leading, and I am supposed to be following: you are the professionals who Have A Clue. And are Professionally Professional, you know, smart. (Yes, that’s sarcasm.) Only you’re not acting like professionals; you’re coming across like amateurs.

Especially in how Ms. Althouse got abused for treating the former Pajamas Media as she would any other story — i.e.: she didn’t exactly try to spare your feelings when she said you screwed up. She called it as she saw it, like she always does. So Mr. Johnson all but invited his readers to shower abuse on her? That’s as classy as talking about pus and semen in polite company. Don’t try to excuse such behavior by crying “Wah! But Daddy, she did it first!” We wouldn’t accept such behavior from any editor or producer in the Old Media would we? One guy makes a smarmy comment about pajamas, and we stuff it down his throat with a new business. What does that say about the fate of Charles Johnson? Consider the precedent before being stupid…is LGF to be known as “The Pus-blog of the Future?”

I’m not going to wed myself or my blog to that. I don’t hesitate to abuse people on my blog, but I AM an amateur–one with a (sometime) rantblog. I’m not running a very public business. So….. I have signed nothing since the original four month agreement last summer. That time is expired, or nearly so. I am going to give this thirty (30) days, to see if the ship can be righted. This is, to me, a three part process:

1. The obvious copyright infringement with Open Source Media must be resolved.
2. A better editorial “voice” must emerge in the original news articles.
3. All bloggers affiliated with the project formerly known as Pajamas Media need to be briefed on what such association means to us. What is the growth strategy? What is the business plan? What can we expect to get out of being in your blogroll, and what do you want in return? What editorial conditions and other ground rules apply to us?

A public apology to Ms. Althouse would be nice, but I’m not holding my breath. However, I am willing to discuss these opinions and matters with anyone at the former Pajamas Media. I am not holding my breath about that either, so I presume our next contact will be in thirty days. At that time, I will decide if I am willing to remain on your blogroll any longer. Or you may decide I don’t belong there now. Association is a choice we both have to make, is it not?

— Ubu Roi

I doubt I’ll be publishing further e-mails (should any pass between myself and the former Pajamas Media [rubs jaw from saying that umpteen times]) but I’m not going to state that unconditionally. News orgainizations should never be a part of the news themselves, something Novak, Woodward, Mapes, Rather, and a whole lot of other Old Media types have forgotten.

You know, the Romans used to say, “Who will guard the guardians?” Now one should ask, “Who will report the reporters?”

But to that, there’s an answer: “Bloggers.”

I Think I’m Going To Be Embarassed

3 Replies

Open Source Media, the former Pajamas Media, made its debut today, to rave reviews.

Not.

Althouse says: “Open Sores Media. Swapping semen for pus, bodily fluids-wise.”

SDB says: (20051115): “It would seem that the new name for Pajamas Media is Open Source Media. How 1990’s can you get? But this project seems to have all the makings of a dot-com-boom pump-and-dump startup anyway, so that name is right in character. Back then, the game was that the company only had to look exciting and viable until the IPO. Once the VCs cashed out, usually the company did shortly thereafter.

I thought we had all outgrown that kind of thing. Is nostalgia back in fashion again?”

and (20051116): “Now the fur will fly. Radio Open Source knows about and has posted about Open Source Media and their trademark infringement.

They seem more puzzled than anything, from the tone of that post. However, they should definitely seek advice from an intellectual property lawyer immediately. If they don’t defend their trademark, they’ll lose it.”

Dantes says: “My prediction: This contretemp will outbuzz the OSM launch . . . maybe. In any event, good luck to the OSM crew!”

Well, as a reich wingnut, member of OSM (sorta…), male, and general pervert (ok, that was redundant), I keep trying to find a funny joke involving taking Ann up on that deal, but I keep thinking “STD… STD…STD…”

Soooooooooo…. Ubu Roi of Houblog says: “Stop it guys, yer embarassing me.” That’s right, OSM: you’re embarassing a guy who averages 7 visitors a day and ranks as a Crawly Amphibian. Especially with the low road responses to criticism from Ann Althouse. Guys, that’s just not on. I didn’t sign up to become the New Old Media. In fact, I think I’m just going to quietly mosey along and ask to be dropped from your blogroll, ok? (As soon as I find a contact email, that is. It’s not like I’m anyone they keep in touch with…. but then again, considering how well thought out the plan has been so far, I don’t guess they had much to tell me.)

Not like I’ve got a financial stake in this, or an 18-month contract either.

Microsoft to Sony: I’ll get you, and your little DRM virus-enabler, too!!

Leave a reply

Sony realizes just how stupid its attempt to control their property rights (and sabotage a competitor’s game?) by sabotaging customer’s computers is. Microsoft chimes in to say they’re going to treat it as malware and remove it.
(Edit: fixed a double reference & clarified MS’ role)

Sony BMG’s patch does not remove the program, which installs itself on a Windows-operated personal computer when consumers want to play certain Sony BMG music CDs. According to programmers it still leaves a security hole.

According to anyone who understands computer filing systems, that is. I’m not a programmer, but even I understand that if you alter the operating system in such a way as to render any program starting with four specific characters totally invisible (nothing you can do will make it show), you just invited the world to install itself on your hard drive. Stupid jackasses. I hope someone in the military just forbade playing of all music CD’s in military PC’s. Yes, I said all. Sony’s caught, but it doesn’t mean someone else isn’t doing it too.

Hat tip to Chizumatic.

Update: 2005-11-16 10 :50:02 (again, hat tip to Chizumatic:)

Oh. My. Fucking. G-d!!!!!

When you first fill out Sony’s form to request a copy of the uninstaller, the request form downloads and installs a program – an ActiveX control created by the DRM vendor, First4Internet – called CodeSupport. CodeSupport remains on your system after you leave Sony’s site, and it is marked as safe for scripting, so any web page can ask CodeSupport to do things. One thing CodeSupport can be told to do is download and install code from an Internet site. Unfortunately, CodeSupport doesn’t verify that the downloaded code actually came from Sony or First4Internet. This means any web page can make CodeSupport download and install code from any URL without asking the user’s permission.

A malicious web site author can write an evil program, package up that program appropriately, put the packaged code at some URL, and then write a web page that causes CodeSupport to download and run code from that URL. If you visit that web page with Internet Explorer, and you have previously requested Sony’s uninstaller, then the evil program will be downloaded, installed, and run on your computer, immediately and automatically. Your goose will be cooked.

Do you understand why I have refused to have anything to do with Sony products for months now???

The Gospel According to John

Leave a reply

That’s a bit of a provocative title considering the subject he wrote about, but I’m actually not aiming for a religious rationale or even supporting a position because of religion. It’s just that I happen to think John (from Pearland) spoke the truth brilliantly and succienctly in his letter to the editor published online today, and to me that is “gospel” in the sense of absolute truth.

The Chronicle’s Nov. 14 editorial “Bitter Pill,” which whined about the passage of Proposition 2, clearly illustrated the liberal, elitist, “we know best” attitude of the Chronicle.

The editorial stated that the passage of Prop 2 “came across as a direct attack on gays and on their struggle for a measure of legal equality,” and slapped at the 76 percent of voters who approved the proposition by calling it an “embarrassment,” and claiming that it “sends the wrong signal to businesses that thrive on intellectual capital and creativity.”*

Talk about elitism: The Chronicle profiles 76 percent of the voters as intellectually inferior, and shows how out of step it is from many of its readers.

Get over it, you lost.

(*Edit: Dont you just love the backhanded way of saying that straight people can’t be smart or creative?)
Continue reading →

A Better Series Won’t Be Found on American TV

2 Replies

Unless it’s Firefly. Oh wait, that got canceled didn’t it? Never mind the qualifier then. Well now, this isn’t about to become Chizumatic, and I’m no Steven Den Beste, but rather than discuss the latest attempt by the city employee’s union to get me to sign up, or another whiney film critic, I thought I’d add a new category to the blog and discuss some anime.

Now I’m not exactly a full-blown otaku, but I would rather watch Japanese animation over anything produced in the USA today. I usually can’t sit still in front of a TV to watch Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network unless I’m with a friend (and frankly, as badly as it’s going downhill, I don’t want to at all), and my limited budget keeps me from buying boxed sets. For that matter, I tend to regard time in front of a TV as totally wasted, no matter what. Yet I’ll waste it in front of a computer playing the same old games. (Finally finished Homeworld2 this weekend.) Go figure.

Well, in an effort to break that paradigm, I’ve started hunting up older releases in the bargain bin, and settled on Crest of the Stars. Of course, it’s got something like two sequels, which I’ll probably buy before they get to the bin, so this strategy is of dubious benefit. I only found Vols. 3 and 4 of Crest, so I had to order #1 and 2 online. Unfortunately, I made a poor choice of supplier for vol. 2 and had to re-order. In the meantime, I bit the bullet and watched the remaining three from sheer boredom last Saturday night. (I have no life…) So I missed episodes 5, 6, &7.

I don’t think this was a major problem, as episode 8 finished up the arc from 6 & 7, and we kind of know what happens in 5. It would have made things from #1 much clearer though, and it would be interesting to know if something I figured out in #4 was stated explicitly in that episode. I hope it wasn’t, simply because it would have been more dramatic/effective to leave it until later, but after re-watching the end of the last episode, I suspect it was.

I’m not going to go into the plot much; SDB covers parts of it here and spoilers really suck. Somehow, it never stops me from reading them, though. What I will discuss, is my reaction to it and, if you will, a critique.
Continue reading →

I’ll Probably Still See the Movie

Leave a reply

This is going to be kind of disjointed, but that’s what happens when insomnia hits. Random neurons fired, producing this confused train of thought.

So I was poking around at Chizumatic, when I ran across a very odd quote that SDB extracted from an article. It seems some poor chap (the writer) is suffering from job fatigue. I say poor chap, because he’s a professional film critic. I could imagine worse jobs (arguably, I have a worse job), but that wasn’t what caught SDB’s attention… it was the idea of Harry Potter “slash fiction.” FYI, I reinforce the original author’s note, if you don’t know what the hell that is, count your blessings. I had to chuckle at him a bit though… I had the horror of learning about it in regards to Wesley Crusher from ST:TNG.

Grace says it best.

When I saw that the link went to MSNBC.com, I got curious (“What the hell is a reference to that doing there?”), and went to read it. I was highly amused by what set the poor schelp off.

Here was the last straw. I just heard last week, from an “industry� pal who must remain nameless, a story about how many zits (what they’d call “spots� at Hogwarts) had to be digitally erased from the new movie. It’s not true, of course. Or what if it is? They’re all 16 years old or thereabouts. Kids get zits. And these kids are megastars, each probably equipped with their own personal dermatologist on 24-hour standby. But it was Hollywood Gossip and therefore actual important information I needed to know. And the craziest feature of this bit of fake-out complexion reportage was its delivery to me in super-secret-double-probation hushed tones, as though these kids had been discovered with track marks on their arms or nabbed by paparazzi hanging out with Kate Moss. There is someone out there, more than one someone, in fact, who can’t get enough of breaking news like this, fabricated or un. But it was the last crack in my I-can-endure-any-amount-of-showbiz-silliness-because-it’s-my-job armor. I was officially and formally Harry Potter-Fatigued.

Oh, the horror! Teenagers get zits! Can’t have that, everyone knows that Hollywood stars are beautiful, perfect, wise, all-knowing, and altruistic. Just ask Sean Penn.

Magazines, trade newspapers, regular newspapers, news programs, TV shows, even an entire network, all dedicated to reporting breathlessly on what these people are doing, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty five and one-quarter days per year. Papparazzi chronicling who is doing what with whom at whichever secluded getaway. And this guy’s finally tripped out by digital zit elimination.

You know what trips me out? The realization that if I’d seen zits on any of the stars during the movie, it would have been quite jarring. It would be like that scene in the first Indiana Jones movie where Bellaq (the French archeologist) and Jones are jawing at each other over a bazooka, when a fly suddenly lands on Bellaq’s lip — and gets eaten, apparently unnoticed. It totally breaks the viewer out of the movie to see that. I mean, come on! The Germans didn’t have bazookas in the first place, and they didn’t even have panzerfausts until ’42! (Heh. Gotcha.)

It’s not that teens don’t get zits…. it’s that Hollywood and the cosmetic industry have conspired to “digitally erase” them from our zeitgeist. Mundanes like you or I get zits. Not people we see on the big (or small) screen, or in the magazines, or on billboards (except those advertising zit removal, of course).

Sad, to realize our reality is so distorted by a bunch of Film Actor’s Guild types.

Hung over from Rita

1 Reply

Well, today was yet another exhausting day. Only this time, I know what to blame it on: that stupid hurricane that didn’t even hit us. Her chaos continues to spawn trouble. It couldn’t be anything like a fundamental problem with my employer….

Discussing this problem is going to require me to come out with more information on where I work than I ever have before. While I’m going to continue discussing things in frustrating generalities, it won’t take much thought for most citizens of Houston to make an educated guess or two. So be it. I’m not going to take the final step of actually posting my workplace, because all the reasons I don’t are still valid–especially that in no way do I want anyone who reads this blog contacting me at my workplace. I don’t have the time, and you aren’t going to get special consideration. I’d make a snarky comment on the type of consideration I’m likely to give anyone who jacks with me at work, but there’s no doubt a policy against that. So the window you get on the innards of the city from my writing is your consideration, and I will continue to keep the “porous wall” up between blogging and work. (If anybody gets the urge to post their guesses in the comments, expect to find them edited or deleted, right or wrong.)
Continue reading →

Later…

Leave a reply

Sorry about no blogging today. Had to take mother to the doctor’s office in the morning, worked late, then busy as hell with errand running and on the phone. One result of the phoning: I learned that if you rent, then the landlord has the right to bring other people into your rental to show it off for subsequent renters or even to sell. Of course, if they happen to be absentee landlords, they hire someone to be their agent. Therefore if you rent, you could be called upon, by law, to allow complete strangers into your house/apartment/condo even when you are not there.

This is reason #62 why I don’t rent. But I have a very upset friend right now.

(Hmmm, note to self, get more friends; I can always blog about their problems instead of mine, and it might spawn a subject for a rant, like how the laws here in Texas really favor the landlord. Which is good if you are one.)

Is this dirty pool?

1 Reply

Several days ago, Steven Den Beste noted that Sony’s horrible DRM on their audio CD’s (now sparking lawsuits) was interfering with Blizzard’s anti-cheat spyware running under Worlds of Warcraft.

20051103: Blizzard Software created a utility called “Warden” which loads and runs when you play World of Warcraft. Warden’s job is to look for cheat utilities, but it apparently looks for — and reports back to Blizzard — a hell of a lot more than that. There have been complaints.

Now it turns out that the rapidly-becoming-notorious Sony audio DRM malware patch gives people the ability to evade Warden. Seems that if you buy and play one of those Sony CDs, then if you rename your cheat utility so that it begins “(deleted –ubu.)” then Warden won’t see it and won’t report you as a cheater.

The irony meter is pegging.

It was a humorous bit of schadenfreude as far as I was concerned. But when Whizbang mentioned it again today, an idea hit me. Then I hit myself, for not thinking of it earlier.

Worlds of Warcraft is the biggest thing in a niche market called “massively multiplayer online role playing game.” (Qualifier: North American market. The Asians are insane in this area.) It’s a niche that makes Blizzard probably around nine or ten million a month in revenue. Every month, like clockwork. That’s in the monthly subscription fees, meaning it’s recurring income — software sales for the game and expansions are on top of that. Before WOW was released, the top dogs in that market were Everquest and Star Wars Galaxies, and both took significant hits in their subscription base.

Both are owned or licensed by Sony Online Entertainment. Both have serious problems with hacks and “bots” (unattended players run by another program, that fight too efficiently and can “see” things the players can’t, like when a new monster spawns and what treasure it carries.)

Is it a coincidence that Sony released a product on all it’s audio CD’s that “accidentally” enables rampant cheating in a competitor’s game, thereyby spoiling it? Bear in mind that these aren’t single player games. You’re online with thousands of others at once. And in addition to the above, it’s a real bummer to be going after the monster that drops the big treasure… then someone sweeps in fighting with computer reflexes, doing 3x your damage, but taking none, so they kill the monster and loot the “phat lewt.” Or something as simple as running twice as fast as you… after “aggroing” all the monsters in the area and leading them to little ol’ slowpoke you (this is called “training,” but it doesn’t involve a montage). So now you’re dead and the other guy has the area to himself.

So just how did word get out that this interaction is possible if you rename your cheat program to start with four specific characters anyway? One wonders….

(Edited slightly at 12:25 for clarity)

Gay guys are icky, but Lesbians are a spectator sport!

Leave a reply

I mean, if the Houston Texans are going to suck so bad that the entire offensive line tops ESPN’s “most overpaid player” list, then at least the cheerleaders could could distract us with sex shows at halftime. Or at the neighborhood bar.

I’d buy that for a dollar.

Update: Here’s the original link. Hilariously, the blond gave the name of a different cheerleader (Chris Owen, I think), whose name was published in all the articles until corrections were made. She was at a wedding though (not her own, heh.) Don’t you just know there’s going to be a second fight at practice today?

I got the hot dog concession. But hurry, before there’s a run on wieners…. (*snicker* * chortle* AAAAAHHHHHHHHHGGG!!!! NOT THE HAMMER! NOOOOOOO– *wham!*)

Ow. That smarts.

Oh, and the roster seems to be a bit…. absent right now.

Update 2, 11/8/05: Unsurprisingly, they’ve been kicked off the the team. And I was close on the name of the third cheerleader, it was Kristen Owen. Seems she was 22… and Renee, the near-twin blonde was 20. Which explains how and why Renee had Kristen’s ID in a bar, doesn’t it?
–Ubu Roi

On the Mayoral election

Leave a reply

Well, it’s high time I made this post, because if I wait only a few more days, the election will be come and gone. Yes, that’s right, there’s an election on Tuesday. Probably be a very light turnout, seeing as no one has even heard of it. Still, if I want the FEC to send those gentlemen to my door, I’ve got to put this out on the web.

Most of the stuff below is from the Houston Chronicle, but as usual, they manage to miss the significant information. Mayor White has four opponents for his second term (get it right Dkosopedia); all near-total nobodies that run for offices most every election:

Gladys House, 50
• Occupation: Manager/owner, Carpet Depot
• Political offices sought or held: Candidate, Houston City Council District I, 2003; candidate, Houston City Council At-Large Position 2, 1995 and 1991; candidate, Houston City Council At-Large Position 5, 1993
• Education: BA, Texas Southern University, 1984
• Background: Native of Houston; lifelong Texas resident
Houblog Opinion: This leaves out that Ms. House is active in the Texas Legal Services Planning (providing legal services to the poor), and the founder of the Freedmen’s Town Association, active in attempting to preserve the historic Fourth Ward while dealing with the economic blight. (Or in other words, trying to maintain the low/working-class residences of the neighborhood rather than let it get overrun by cookie-cutter condos. Talk about your hopeless fights…) Ally of Lenwood Johnson during the long fight to halt bulldozing the Gregory Institute and preserve Allen Parkway Village.
Continue reading →