WaFiTz! » Entries tagged with "History"
Bookshelf: The Pirate’s Dilemma
I recently finished reading The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Hackers, Punk Capitalists, Graffiti Millionaires and Other Youth Movements are Remixing Our Culture and Changing Our World by Matt Mason. I posted a link to Amazon to buy the book but it’s free to download (you choose the price) from the Official website. I’ll start by saying that this is a great well-researched book for anyone who is (a) a pirate (b) a creator (c) a media exec or (d) wanting to look at the history and origins of piracy in context. Mason starts off from the odd perspective of introducing us to the punk revolution. The entire first chapter is devoted to punk capitalism. Whilst I think this has it’s place in the history of piracy, I didn’t think it was necessary to devote … Read entire article »
Watford Conservative Candidate, Richard Harrington’s (@Richard4Watford) Response – Disconnection and Web-blocking
If you’re into numerology, you should enjoy this. I emailed the following standard email provided by the Open Rights Group to my electoral candidates for Watford. Dear ___, The Digital Economy Act was rammed through Parliament as the election was called. Over 20,000 people contacted their MP to complain, adverts were paid for by donations, and thousands of people watched the debate live from Westminster. I was appalled by this process. It seemed to me undemocratic and dangerous. Now, new powers have been granted without really understanding the consequences. I do not think that disconnection – for whatever length of time – should be used as a punishment for allegations of civil copyright infringements. There is no justification for interfering in someone’s ability to communicate because of a civil dispute. Such disputes require financial recompense, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions, Statistics
Bookshelf: The End of America
I picked up this book in the Borders sell off, it wasn’t one I was desperate to read, but it piqued my interest. End of America, the: Letters of Warning to a Young Patriot, by Naomi Wolf was first published in 2007 and is already starting to feel a little dated – reading it just 3 years later after a new President and the rhetoric of The War Against Terror (TWAT) is losing it’s appeal. The warnings contained however, are not dated, and will continue to be relevant to both Americans and future societies who aspire to a democratic ideal. Reading this book brought back memories for me of the last decade and my general disgust with the theme that the world had changed and would never be the same again … Read entire article »
Book Review: Charles Mackay’s Extrodinary Popular Delusions & The Madness of Crowds
“A modern-day interpretation of a finance classic” That was a long title for a short book. It’s not the actual Charles Mackay work, it’s a modernised version written by journalist Tim Phillips that basically summarises the important details and lessons that apply today, as much as (if not more than) they did back then. “Here’s the catch: we rarely spot bubbles as they occur. We can identify them with hindsight, but that’s not a lot of use if you’re investing. It takes a strong stomach, when a price keeps rising, to hold fast to your belief that it was fairly priced at half its current price.” Ch. 22 p. 45 Each chapter is broken down in to two concise pages and covers everything from the crusades to witchcraft and the dutch tulipomania to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, Bookshelf, Must Read, Worthwhile Reading
Graphic Novel Review: Maus
Last year I read Watchmen for the first time. I read it before watching the movie because I didn’t want my perception of the novel to be influenced by the movie, I wanted to compare the movie to the graphic novel. I’ve read edgy graphic novels before, but I was primarily brought up on a diet of 2000 AD and Batman. After reading Watchmen however, I made a pledge to broaden my reading spectrum and seek out more edgy, interesting and unusual graphic novels that don’t feature super heroes – particularly ones that have not yet been made into movies. I picked up a copy of 500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide and one of the first novels I decided to purchase was The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. Maus is the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, Bookshelf, Graphic Novels, Worthwhile Reading
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