Risto is a Finnish entrepreneur, publisher and editor living in Stockholm. Sweden.
Devin is an American business coach, consultant and writer living Boston, Massachusetts.
They've been talking endlessly about almost everything since they met while working at the same publishing company in Stockholm in the late 90s.
This is their blog.
» Devin Wilson
» Risto Pakarinen
» Here&There:
Thursday, July 28, 2005
We've moved
All right, so, we decided that we need tobe able to use trackbacks and categories in an easy way. Yeah, we moved to
http://thereandback.blogsome.com
Same dudes, new stories, lots of fun.
See ya there.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Your example is a perfect one.
I think there are a couple places to look.
First, at how the relationship/assignment was designed from the beginning.
When they said, "a small compensation" did you ask what, exactly, that meant?
How much, for how many hours of work etc.
Clarity from the beginning helps on this stuff. Especially when the whole thing is being called a "favor".
I don't think we're talking signed contracts here, but clarity on both sides is good.
Second, did you realize that what you would be delivering to them was of such great value (because it is for all the reasons you put in your post) BEFORE or AFTER you said yes and started doing the work? If you had that insight before the work started, then I'd say you left too much on the table for them.
Do 150 pushups and lash yourself with a wet noodle ;-) ...
And next time you can negotiate stronger from the beginning and ask for a fee that matches the value you'll be delivering.
If you realized it after you started the work, well ... then now you know and, again, next time you can negotiate for a better fee and learn from this situation (which is always good. And I still think you should do 150 pushups so that you'll be even more HUGE when you negotiate with your next client).
I also think that you could still influence the outcome of this agreement by telling them the work has taken longer than you expected and that for you to feel good about the high-quality work you are giving them you want $$$$ for it. OR, you can say something like, "I'm going to honor our original agreement and give you this work at the original fee since I'm interested in creating a long-term relationship with you. But so for the future, my fees are $$$$. I look forward to doing amazing work with you, blah blah blah."
That's my 8-minute response back at ya.
PS -- thanks for the example, it helped me get clear on similar situations I've been in.
PSS -- this whole thing around recognizing value before negotation and starting a project is crucial and I have much to learn in that arena.
PPSS -- Sox are still in first place.
Seeking advice
Just saw an interesting post on Seth Godin's blog about advice. I agree with him, companies should buy more advice.
Keyword here is buy.
Because, often, I find that it's the "small favors" and "little advice" that the companies don't want to pay anything for, even if the value of the advice may be big for them. Case in point: a publishing company in Sweden asked me to evaluate a few translation companies for them by comparing their Finnish translations to the original English text. And of course, "there's a small compensation for you, it's just a short text and it won't take much of your time."
Well, it has taken me 37 years to become this fluent in Finnish and English and journalism and marketing to be able to do this for them. Obviously, it is an important decision for them for which they will definitely charge their customer for and which they will use in the marketing (since they can say that they use a good translation company for the multilanguage magazines).
So I guess I am asking advice here. How to make them see my advice is worth paying for?
Oh, the check's in the mail, coming your way. :)
Monday, July 25, 2005
Pitch fever
Interesting site.
"Finnjewel Oy gets you unstuck whether you have hit a roadblock with your marketing, internal communication, brand building or personell development. We will help you improve your communication with your audiences and find the proper messages and channels, whether it's a magazine, a flyer or a T-shirt. Satisfaction guaranteed".
I'll go back to the sites you recommended. :)
Pitch it
Check out this post at Strange Brand.
Perfect timing for me as a narrow down my new business focus.
If you wanna skip going to Strange Brand and just hit the sites it talks about, go to:
Elevator Pitch
Only 30 Floors
Fascinating and useful -- a great combo.
:::::::
& back... (because I've already been there).
Silly
Used car salesmen, eh? I wonder if there is another profession that has as bad a reputation as the used car salesmen. I mean, nobody ever says that they wanna become car salesmen. And yet, how we define ourselves with what we do for living.
I still have trouble saying I am a journalist - not because I would loathe journalists. On the contrary, I respect "real" journalists so much that I don't want to call myself one, being the selfmade journalist that I am.
And yet, if I can't tell people in two words what it is I do, it sounds just weird and fishy. Because, we all would like to say, "yeah, Risto, the journalist" or "I know him, Risto, the marketing manager." We are what we do. Devin, the coach. even if we don't know what "a coach" does, it's more reassuring to hear the title.
Anyway, as this journalist is sitting by the kitchen table, watching and listening to the TV in front of him, there was an interesting piece of news from Estonia in the (Finnish) nine o'clock news. Apparently, Estonia has leapfrogged over Finland in wireless Internet connections.
For example, in Tallinn, the capital, there are 219 hubs all around the city: in cafés, in parks, around public offices and so on. For free.
Amazing! I love it!
Back to you.
PS. How do you burn the backs of your legs? Did you fall asleep?
PPS. Oh, you never told me about the workshop on evolutionary leadership. How was it?
Burn baby burn ...
Please do post photos of the fence. Perhaps we can do a virtual destruction of it. We can "spray paint" horrible things on it.
[Just got an image of the Swedish guy finding this blog and reading it and just going "tsk tsk" but not posting a comment. C'mon wussy!!!]
OK. Enough childish games [inte].
Honestly? At least these guys have a hit to have on a one-hit wonders compilation. The only compilation I could get on would be Non-hit Wonders III. Imagine that. This collection of no-songs will blow you away with its powerful silence and endless potential. If only the musicians could have made a hit, this CD would be filled with great music. But, it's not. It's filled with non-hits, by non-bands, comprised of former members who are all now bank tellers and used car salesmen.
Wow. I'm on a silly roll.
Spent the weekend in Maine on the beach and am now seriously paying for it.
The backs of my legs are so sunburned that I have to walk funny. Like a little kid who just took a dump in his diaper.
I bet Hannes walks like that sometimes [no pics necessary].
Gotta go.
'Tis Monday afterall.
There.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Almost famous
Saw an interesting commercial today. Some record store advertised "One hit wonders II", a double-CD.
Now, how rewarding is it to have your hit single on the "One hit wonders two" album?
PS. How I would love to ram our Volvo* through that fence. But no, we parked our car neatly by the driveway. I did, however, took some photos of the fence and I will post them later.
*) If you can't beat'em, join'em.
Friday, July 22, 2005
5 minutes (more like 10)
OK. I have about 5 minutes, because I’m on deadline (it’s self-imposed, but if I don’t finish this stuff today, I’m screwed).
Oh man, I LOVE these last two posts. I guess I’m an amateur of them.
First, yes, I did listen to the radio as the Sox took first place back.
And I've listened to the radio as they've extended their lead.
But I think I was cooking and eating dinner instead of playing guitar.
It feels great to be a fan. I've never been one of these crazy crazy fans.
But living in Boston, it's impossible NOT to be a Sox fan.
"A" pulls it off, but, hey, she grew up in Sweden and just so not into sports. Period.
As she said last night while we were listening to the game, "You might as well put on Chinese. That's how much I understand."
And your thing about the Swedes and the cars and the notes is hilarious.
There's this combination of being polite, but with a tinge of passive/aggressive-ness in there that used to, and still does, drive me crazy. The guy standing on the balcony going "tsk tsk" makes me want to egg his house or spray his car with shaving cream. It brings out the worst in me. I dare you to spray paint something nasty on the fence.
Or better yet. Ram your car through it, park it there, and leave a note that says "Sorry, your fence was blocking my awesome parking spot."
Swedes (I'm shaking my head ... not sure what to say next).
This I know: I love the dill chips and tall cans of Norrlands Guld beer.
OK and I love many Swedes. We all do.
Truth is, there's so much to love and hate about all the places we come from.
Gotta go.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Random notes
About four years ago, I was out driving with a friend of mine, and when we got back to our house (he was our neighbor), we saw that somebody had parked his Volvo in my friend's spot. And I remember vividly our conversation. My friend, the Swede that he is, went out to see, but, well, what could he do, except stare at the car.
He came back and said, "What are ya gonna do?"
"Beats me," I said, "it's not like we can just move the car."
"I will just write a note to the owner and put it under the windshield wiper," my friend said.
My friend, the Swede.
There is another way which I learned the hard way. We had just moved to Finland, and during the move,we parked our tiny Renault Clio in one of the spots in the backyard. I, the one who just moved back from Sweden, did what any civilized Swede would do: I wrote a note, apologizing in advance if we had parked in somebody else's spot and asked him to call me so I could move the car.
Our car stayed put for two days. To make a long (and pretty funny) story short, I'll just say that on the third day, a big old Volvo was parked where our car had been for two days, without us having moved our car. Yes, that jackass (who turned out to be our neighbor) had pushed our car to the wall in front of the car.
No, no note under the windshield wiper. Just made me want to clean his clock.
I thought of these two episodes today when I saw that somebody in our house had left a note under the windshield wiper of a Volvo that was parked in front of our house. The car was parked so that if you tried to see it that way, it blocked the driveway somewhat. (Truth be told, I might have parked like that, parking space is like gold around here).
I had to read the note. It said; "Your car is blocking the driveway to our garage. If this happens again, we will have your car towed. Kind regards (!), [address]".
The people in the apartment building next to us built a fence between our two houses so the people in our house wouldn't run to the bus using the shortcut that cuts across their frontyard. (I'll take a photo of it tomorrow, because it's ugly). I think it's the same guy who stood on his balcony around 5 pm when people came home from work, and being utterly Swedish, didn't say anything. He just went, "tsk, tsk," when people crossed their tiny lawn.
And probably went in to wrote a note to somebody.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Rox
There is something very beautiful about being a fan. I really hope you sat by the radio, with your guitar in your lap, and listened to the Red Sox claim back that first place -- instead of just nodding slightly when you read about it in the morning paper, or worse, just reading about it, and not even nod.
Being a fan is like being an amateur, in the purest sense of the word (Etymology: French, from Latin amator lover, from amare to love) although I guess the fan(atic)s take it one step to the wrong direction.
In sports, the fans have also become a business partner that needs to be consulted when the team makes decisions.
Anyway, it is rewarding to have a hobby, a pastime, something that gives you the chance to escape.
You know I've been a huge hockey fan all my life - I've read about it, played it, stayed up nights to see important games, and you may remember in 1999 how I tried to find cheap flights to New York to see my biggest idol, Wayne Gretzky, play in his last game. (Never found them, but I do have the ticket stub from the game right here, a friend sent it to me). However, sometimes it may not be good to see into the kitchen of the restaurant you're eating at. Too much info may, not kill you, just make you nauseaus.
So, since hockey has become a job, I need a new hobby. Something new to be a fan about. Something to get excited about. An amateur of.
Sox
A simple post.
The Red Sox are back in first place.
Worry not. This will not become a blog about the Sox and their drive to win the World Series again*.
Just want to honor my promise to return with a report.
There.
For a day, at least, the world is in order.
* That said, I do reserve the right to mention their standing from time to time.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
IKEA and decades
First, the IKEA catalogue.
I remember when I first heard that piece of trivia --- that the IKEA catalogue is the largest free publication in the world. Yes, my lord lovers, bigger even than the Bible. I was talking with a designer in Sweden who worked on the catalogue and he was saying how amazing it was to be doing the layout for the world's largest printed product. He couldn't believe that the large and small page decisions he was making would be seen by 100s of millions of people.
Oh and when it comes to people who read and reread the catalogue? Yeah, my Swedish wife A, as you know, will read that thing until the pages start to fall out. I wonder if she knows it comes out next week... I wonder if I want to tell her ...
Crazy. That's my back on IKEA.
As for the 80s show and 80s nostalgia, that's a tough one. We're all loving the 80s because, as you say, it represents our coming of age. Good or bad, we have strong memories from that decade and there's nothing like popl culture to evoke the images of acid wash jeans, thin piano ties, pastel blazers, etc. I would love to have seen the show in Sweden.
And my guess is that, yes, there will be shows just like this in 20 years about the 00s. And if you and I get to work maybe we can make sure we're on the show ...
What will they be saying about us?
What are we doing now that will be remarkable 20 years from now?
Alright, that's it I have to take a break and play some guitar ;-)
On another note.
Have you ever read Don DeLillo?
If not, you should check him out. Underworld is his epic novel.
Just finished Cosmopolis, which was also amazing.
When I read him it makes me want to write fiction again.
Some people hate him. Others love him. I'm a lover.
Be well.
PS -- I'm melting it's so hot in Boston.
PSS -- The Red Sox were just knocked out of first place. That's a bad thing. Will they take it back tonight? Tune in tomorrow.
Get ready for IKEA
Harry Potter has been the talk of town, any town, this week. Well, good for him and good for JK Rowling that they picked this week, because next week another big - no, HUGE - publishing product will steal the limelight.
See, it's time for the IKEA 2006 catalogue release.
Between now and the middle of August, over 160 million IKEA catalogues will hit the market, and there are countries and households where each page will be read, reread like no other book this year.
In fact, the IKEA catalogue is the world's biggest FREE printed product.
The company will arrange special events all around the world, as well as in all of their stores - but it will not advertise.
Talk about creating buzz.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
The 80s show
Swedish TV celebrates the 1980s with their own 12-hour 80s show. The state-owned station will, in the next ten hours, send, for example, a documentary of the 1980s pop and rock stars, Purple Rain, The Best of Live Aid, Duran Duran's "Arena," Tina Turner Live in Rio, and Queen on Wembley.
Now, were the 1980s a special time, or was it just the time of my youth and fun and amazing because of that? I still think Springsteen is The Boss and that Prince is King.
Will SVT send a tribute to the 00s in 20 year's time? Featuring ... Smart car, GW Bush, Live8, Dave Matthews Band and Beyonce? Will they? Will they?
There.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
It's the Journey
Yeah. And then, no matter how many ways you try to communicate in, if the other party doesn't respond, there's no communication. Do you have friends you have just lost track of, and/or who you've just given up on .. and how do you deal with that?
I am terrible at that. I may talk tough and say that the "ball's in his court" or whatever, but it would take a lot for me to just say, or decide that "no, I ain't gonna talk to him again". I may sulk and I may not take them back Open Arms or even Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin', but I think you just Don't Stop Believing.
On a totally different note, saw this on Fast Company's blog:
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has joined VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a part-time partner. Powell will coach new business leaders and consult on international affairs.These days, every time I see the words "coach" and "business", I think of you and your business.
I interviewed Jaakko Salovaara today, he's the guy who wrote and produced Bomfunk MC's "Freestyler" a few years ago. It became the most sold single in Europe in 2000. And while he is extremely talented, the way he speaks about that success and how he got to remix Britney Spears's songs and so on, makes it all seem too easy. Too easy in the sense that he must have worked very hard, but he just says that "we just sent it to some record companies, and found people who got enthusiastic about it and then it just took off".
And then, much later, he adds that it was the fifth single off that album. What happened to the first four? Who cares? "Yeah - straight from the top of my dome/As I rock, rock, rock, rock, rock the microphone".
Keep banging those doors. This is your time.
There.
let it enhance
here's where I am on this. electronic communications --- blogs, email, websites, text messages, etc. --- are at their best when they enhance a relationship and allow two people, or groups of people, to know each other better and to share genuine thoughts and information. i suppose it becomes a problem when they replace other forms of getting together (like having dinner or a beer) and become the only outlet for communication.
then again. you and i can't get together for dinner or a face to face conversation right now, so has this blog replaced our other forms of communication? not really. it's just part of our current communication arsenal. phone, email, IM, blog, text messages --- we use them all depending on the urge. wow. i like that. AND ... there are times when i wish we could have a beer face to face.
it's an interesting thing to pay attention to.
went to the MacWorld conference in Boston yesterday. pretty cool. you would have liked it as a recent Mac convert. all i left with was a T-shirt, some pens and a severe case of technolust.
iThere.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
I was kind of thinking of telling you this but...
I don't think it's sad that we read blogs to know how our friends are doing. It's sad if that's the only thing we ever do, but I think it is interesting to read my friends' blogs simply because often they write about something that they have been thinking about, but that we wouldn't necessarily talk about if we met right now.
Now, I don't actually read any diary-type blogs so that may explain it. To me, it's like reading columns that my friends have written about whatever they write about. (And a little edit here: J just said that she likes to read There&Back even if we talk about stuff all the time, every day).
Although, I was just talking (!) about this with a friend of mine. How, in our two years in Finland, we weren't ever invited over for dinner to a friend's house - for example. Not once. Now the same people are amazed that two years went by so quick. So, it may be a cultural thing. To me, as a Finn, a blog is a safe enough way to know how my friends are doing, but I don't have to make any effort to keep in touch. What if I didn't know what to say? How embarassing. For both of us!
Just kidding. A little.
Anyway, after talking to this friend, I decided that we will try to be more outgoing in the future.
But you know what? I am actually going to go to bed now. I have been working until 1 am every day for the past week, to a point that it's become a habit. I can just sit here, and stare at the computer, even after I have finished workind, to see if there's a buddy online to chat with, a Web site to see, or just emailing my friends here and there.
Almost desperate to communicate.
When I could just turn off my Mac :) and talk about life with my beautiful J. (See edit above :)
Like this. :)
Back.
blog as life tracker
so here's a thought. the last couple days, i've checked on this blog to see if Risto has posted. just checking in -- partly to see how our new project is building, but more because i'm curious about what he's been thinking about lately.
i do this with a number of different friends. i use their blogs to know what they're up to, what they're thinking, what's been happening in their lives. and part of me thinks... how sad is that! that we go online to what is essentially a public diary to find out what our closest friends are thinking and doing. and another part of me thinks... how cool is that! that we live in an age where all you need to do click a few links and you know exactly what friends and family are up to.
see i could email Risto (although now I won't need to because he'll probably see this post ;-)
or i could call him.
and we both do that when we want to.
so, what's my point? i'm not sure. i think i have questions.
have blogs and email reduced the amount of direct interaction you have with your friends and family?
or has it enhanced that interaction?
have you learned more about friends and family via email and blog posts than in face to face conversation?
here's a somewhat related thought.
the other day, risto, i realized that when we last met up in New York, we were able to connect and find each other on the exact city block using only email and text messaging. we never spoke on the phone in the weeks and days leading up to that meeting. and we didn't need to. we're both confortable enough with the technology that we fully trust it to work. we hadn't seen each other in more than a year and there we were on the streets of New York like: hey. hey. wanna get something to eat? it was fantastic. we found each other in new york the same we used to when we both lived in Stockholm. simply and easily.
do other people experience things like this? this was a moment when tech was astounding in its ability to connect and enhance life. now. what if one of our phones died. or didn't work. we would have been screwed. so it goes both ways.
i have meetings to attend and calls to make. that's a good thing.
be well.
there.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
I scream, you scream we all scream for ice cream ... and for great service
First of all, I wish I had been there because I would have gladly consumed the two extra scoops of chocolate ice cream. I'm always willing to help out, as you know.
Second of all, even after eating those two scoops of chocoloate, I would have gladly gone back for some Aprikoosi and Banaani. I might have even thrown in some Minttu.
As for the service, you bring up an interesting point. Don't know if it's about fear of mistakes or fear of punishment, but no matter what it is, it leaves you, as customer, wanting a different experience. In this case, the product sounds like it's good enough that you'll keep going back despite the non-thinking or fearful staff. But many times all it takes one negative experience at a place and you'll never go back.
I was recently at a burger joint on Harvard Square and almost walked out after placing my order because the boss, who was also frantically running the grill, was yelling at one of his staff so offensively and loudly that it was ruining my experience of being in the place. He'd yell for a minute or two ... pause to catch his breath ... and then start all over again. The guy he was yelling at was humiliated and the rest of the staff were rolling their eyes and apologizing. I really wish I'd said something and left. I wanted so badly to quit on behalf of the guy who was getting yelled at. Just go up to him and say, "You know what? You quit. Right now. I'll pay you whatever you would have earned tonight." And then walk about.
But, alas, I stayed and ate a New Yorker (that'd be a burger with all the fixins plus thousand island dressing ... delish). And I've been back since, without any yelling going on.
Not sure how that relates to your story. I guess it's like this. The product better be very very expectional (or remarkable as Godin would say) if the customer is going to tolerate a negative experience.
Have you ever sent back a bottle of wine? Walked out of a restaurant because the food or service was horrible? Switched banks or cell phone operators because of horrible service? It feels great when you know you're doing it for the right reason.
Gotta run. I'm off this weekend teaching a workshop on evolutionary leadership, synergetic creation and enlightened action ... I'll go into greater detail on it later (hard not to talk more about topics like that!). This is a pilot program --- official release will come later this year.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Scoop scoop song
Welcome back - and hope you had a good trip with the in-laws. Fourth of July and everything.
Meanwhile in Finland - yes, we're in Finland now, and we're sweating our butts off, it's hot here - I was talking to a friend about whether the Finns are a extra nervous and scared of making a mistake. Case in point: we were in Kaivopuisto, hanging out, talking and bouncing off ideas and laughing and enjoying our vacation (although, I will be working later tonight, and tomorrow, and a little on Thursday) when we finally decided to have another ice cream.
Now, our 2-year-old son loves ice cream, but man oh man, you should have seen the scoops. Good ole Red's has a competitor in Helsinki! Anyway, I thought it was too much for him, so I asked if I could get just one tiny scoop of chocolate ice cream.
"No", she said. "We can't do that".
"Ok, whatever, one scoop of chocolate, please," said I.
She then took the cup, and filled it with three scoops of chocolate ice cream.
I paid and said, "So, basically, you could have given us just one scoop, right?"
"No, we can't."
"You just gave us three, not one."
"Yeah, well, you can have just a tiny scoop," said Girl #2, "but you'd have to pay the same price."
I didn't want to argue or make the young girls uncomfortable, so I just thanked them, and told them that I thought their ice cream was the best in town. (Still do).
Now, back to my conversation with my friend. Were the girls afraid of the Boss-man, or were they just afraid of making a mistake? And since not doing anything most often gets you off the hook, they just tried to squirm out of the situation.
It's not uncommon in a service situation and I sure wish more companies demanded that their people use their brain at work and made sure they felt comfortable with making - what seems like - bold decisions on the spot.
I also wish I could have more of that orange-flavored ice cream. Right now.
Breakin' the law
Now, this is interesting. And doesn't surprise me at all. I remember when I
lived there that the Swedes I knew were prolific file sharers. They didn't
seem to give much thought to what they were doing. It was simply the way you
obtained entertainment in all its forms. A Swede recently moved into our
building and one of the first things he told me was that he had a 160 GB
hard drive filled with great music. I could copy the whole thing if I was
interested. I'm not.
I had Limewire for a while and would grab tunes sometimes. I would usually
download a new song to see if I wanted to buy the whole album. And could
start to feel the hook to download everything from software to music to
movies. But now I never use it. I do copy CDs sometimes for friends and
family and don't feel bad about that at all. And I gladly accept a burned
copy of a CD. That just feels like the old days of making copies and mixes
of cassettes.
And I'm totally with you on buying CDs and being able to open up the package
and reading the linear notes while you listen to the new music. Love doing
that. Just did it the other day. See, I think a music collection is
something you earn and build on over time. I can pull out CD and remember
where I lived when I bought it. Back to the Swedes --- I was once staying
with a Swedish couple when visiting and the guy asked me if he could copy my
whole iPod into his computer. I explained that I didn't feel comfortable
with that, but that I'd be willing to burn him a big stack of CDs if he told
me what he wanted. Just feels very wrong to dump 40 GB of carefully selected
and much loved music into a computer so that he could listen to the bits and
pieces he MIGHT like.
PLUS, there are so many great alternatives. iTunes of course has tons of
music. Quality is so so, but it provides the instant gratification of a
download with the solid feeling of a purchase. And Magnatune is very cool (they have to be with a tagline that says "We are not evil"). They give 50% of all profits to
artists, have an awesome selection of music by independent artists and you
can even choose how much you want to pay for a CD. And you can stream all of
it. Lastly, 3hive is a blog that collects what I could call about the best (free) mp3s on the Web for stream or download, also all from indie artists who want distrubute their music this
way. [Be warned --- 3hive is really addicting].
So, yeah. Not so into the pirates.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Swedish pirates
The Vikings have crossed the line. They have become pirates. (Now, that was a lame metaphor, sorry). Anyway, according to this article
Swedes are among the most prolific file-sharers in the world. Industry
groups estimate that about 10 percent of Sweden's 9 million residents freely
swap music, games and movies on their computers, making the Scandinavian country one of the world's biggest copyright violators.
Only, as of today, it is illegal to download copyrighted material over the Internet. Not that anybody expects the Swedes to change their ways. In fact, it does seem that everybody is doing it, so that if somebody asks meif I heard some song, or that they just got a new album, I wouldn't even ask them where they bought it, or if I could see the disc.
While the law won't change anything unless it's enforced in a harsh way, it's got me thinking. In fact, it got me thinking so much that I uninstalled DC++ last night.
Downloading those tunes is like a drug. You need to get that latest tune, that latest movie, just to have it, just to be in a club, the in crowd.
Besides, I like wandering in a record store, and picking up random discs, maybe even listening to them. I like sitting on the subway on my way back home, reading the cover sleeve - who wrote which song, who produced it, read the lyrics - and just looking at the cover.
On a totally random thought, have you seen the CDs that look like vinyl? Just saw them for the first time. They were cool.
Have fun in Maine.
Yeeeehhaawww
Oh man, I LOVED the 6-million-dollar man. LOVED it. And Mork and Mindy. A childhood friend of mine and I used to pretened Mindy was our girlfriend. This was when we weren't playing C.H.I.P.S or Dukes of Hazard and arguing about who got to be Ponch or Luke. (Saw the trailer for the new Dukes of Hazard movie the other day --- I bet that was a blast for them to make. Who knows how entertaining it will be to watch).
So, I too have lots of TV influence from childhood. I remember watching hours of MTV with my brothers and sisters. Fighting over the controller. All that good stuff. Truth is, I always had a TV and always had favorite shows up until a few years ago. Even when we lived in Sweden we watched plenty of ER and Friends and Letterman.
But, I really have to say that it's rare I miss having a TV in the house. I listen to the Red Sox on the radio, which is an old school pleasure now in the summer, and takes care of my sports fix. And like I said we do rent DVDs, so we've watched all the Six Feet Under episodes that are out (highly recommended), next we'll do 24 and we still have many seasons of the Sopranos to get to when we feel like it.
Who know, maybe one day we'll have a TV. Or two. Or three. Maybe we'll never have one in the house ever. For now, no TV.
OK. Off to Maine for the weekend with the in-laws who are visiting from Sweden.
Back at ya.