The Levi-Prodi law lays out that anyone with a blog or a website has to register it with the ROC, a register of the Communications Authority, produce certificates, pay a tax, even if they provide information without any intention to make money.

So that means your blog about your dog would be required to pay the same kind of fees and suffer the same kind of regulation as a blog run by the NY Times. So wrong!

Even more so, considering bloggers are treated like the red-headed step-children of the journalistic world. Case in point, the new journalist shield bill that got neutered in our own House of Congress (with more editorial thoughts here).

The original version was reasonably protective, and the term “engaged in journalism” was reasonably well-defined. But by the time our esteemed elected representatives got finished with it, a serious blogger who breaks news (but doesn’t have Google Ads on his site) would not benefit from the shield. It requires “substantial” income, even though not all good journalism is done for significant financial gain.

We’re in a world of citizen journalism now, like it or not. We need rights to protect us, not regulating bodies and asinine tax schemes. Just more proof that most politicians are idiots, no matter where in the world you live.

Say Hello to LimeSpot

On the professional side of things, there’s been some launches of note. For one, the hard work of those I’m in the trenches with every day came to fruation as Lime Spot came into being. Wondering what it all is? So are we (kidding!).

For now, it’s little more than another social networking site without as many features, but that’s soon to change and at a fairly fast clip. More importantly for the moment, it is also the new engine under the hood of the LimeWire Music Blog, as you can tell by that stylish new gray bar that tops the site.
Big ups to Dave, Michael, Jorge, Amy, Ryan, and Eric for the fantastic job building this all from scratch. I am truly humbled to be associated with you all.

I can not say this enough!

Speaking of the LimeWire Music Blog…

…it has been sent to the tailors for some changes to its threads. I’m responsible for that little bit (and there’s still much to shine, believe me!). That lovely masthead sketch is by far my favorite aspect, and it’s the first thing I’ve ever created with the aid of my Wacom tablet that I’m proud to put my name on. I fear that might feed my ego to the point where I might actually think I can…draw…or something.

Don’t forget the fun and games!

Now don’t go getting the idea that it’s been all work for me, no sir-ree! I’ve made sure I’ve had my share entertainment. Like catching an Allman Brothers concert at the PNC Bank Arts Center and two separate tapings for the upcoming season of Comedy Central Presents. I’ve even got plans to (finally!) check out Bustle in Your Hedgerow tomorrow night, which will rock me with the time tested sounds of Zepplin being jammed out by four of the most talented musicians from other groups I love.

Adding to the toy chest

And we can’t forget about the toys either. After being without a working iPod for the last few months and dead set against replacing it with one of those video ones until the next product refresh (which now looks like it’ll be on Sept. 5th), I got myself a nice little Shuffle. I love the fact that it’s too light to even be unplugged from the headphones if it accidentally gets knocked off my bag.

It also hooks in nicely to my new set of Roland TD-3SW electronic drums (and by new I mean the ones I bought a month ago and neglected to mention). Yes, I still haven’t given up on the idea that I might one day become tolerable on the damn instrument, but at least now I can practice at 3 in the morning if the mood strikes me and not worry about my neighbors calling the cops on me. Now all I need is to get a few lessons going so I can progress beyond the two or three beats I know.

And this afternoon, I picked up my copy of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. I’ve got high hopes for this game, as it’s the first “must buy” for my Wii since the day I picked up the system and “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess“. Shortly after pressing the submit button on this post, you can bet I’ll be logging in my first hours.

Looks like I’m not sleeping much tonight….

As of this afternoon, both of these are now done deals. You can pay a visit to the LimeWire Music Blog now (expect tweaks and a revised logo — the name changed while I was off on the road) and expect to see and read all about my Bonnaroo experience over the next few days at BrooklynVegan, here, and my Flickr account.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some content creating to do….

Yes Virginina, Lime Wire has a blog.

Not too bad for a first stab at ripping apart a WordPress theme and bending it to my will, but there is far more tweaking I can (and will) do in the future. Before that can happen this shiney new skin has to be extended to the Wiki and Forum that are linked up at the top of the page. Expect short little announcements up here when that happens, just like I always do when something I’m proud of launches.

There are some bright people here, and I’m just happy to be among them.

I’m not much for making New Year’s resolutions, but if I were to make some for ’06 I think it would be along the lines of “redesign all my web sites”. They’re either using very slightly modified default templates provided by the software running them or designs that are a few years old. My portfolio is so out of sync it’s not even funny.

• More reports of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Guantanamo, this time courtesy of the F.B.I. Seems as though the torturers are using the F.B.I.’s name to shield the blame from getting passed onto the Department of Defense. Sick, just sick. Does anyone else find it frightening that we’ve now lost the majority of our moral high ground when it comes to this kind of thing? For every “enemy combatant” left to defecate on themselves or pull their hair out, we give rise to two or three terrorists to replace them. Not the way to promote the splendors of democracy or ensure the safety of our nation if you ask me.
• The long rumored MTA fare hike is now official. Monthly unlimited cards are to jump up from $70 to $76 a month, among other hikes. Great, there’s another $72 a year that I have to give over to someone else. This wouldn’t irk me so much if the MTA’s books were open. As it stands now, lots of nasty corruption rumors have been circulating.
• The FCC has given the go-ahead to the use of in-flight broadband. Cell phone use in planes is also to be decided upon soon. Probably of interest to those who fly a lot, but considering my terrestrial nature this is just one of those curious policy things I like to make note of.
• Just the mental image this one-line post creates had me laughing out loud at work.
• The process is now officially underway for Turkey to be evaluate for entry into the European Union. There are many steps along the way. The process could take up to 15 years and there is no guarantee that they’ll be admitted.
• Gizmodo has a picture of the Varioptic liquid lens that will add optical zoom and autofocus to future camera phones.
• A write-up on how to build traffic to your blog. Not like having this personal indulgence of mine widely known has ever been a big issue with me, but maybe I can use some of this on another blog I get involved with.
• Some Australian game has bought a virtual island for $26,500 in cash, and not virtual cash either. The slice of digitized land is in the online role-playing game Project Entropia.
• First it was XM releasing their MyFi portable satellite radio. Now it looks like Sirius is gonna follow suit and raise the stakes at the same time: they are rumored to be talking with Apple about integrating a Sirius satellite radio into the iPod. It’s times like this that I wish O&A were on Sirius and not XM. That and their NFL coverage package.
• Title how to get a budget out of a client. Hopefully I’ll get to use this tip some day on one of my freelance gigs.
• Looks like we’ll be waiting until spring for the new season of Chappelle’s Show to begin. My funny bone is heart broken at the news.

And finally…

• A new drug called called Sativex, used to treat the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients, is on track to get the green light from Canadian health officials. What makes this noteworthy is that it’ll be the first cannabis-based drug approved anywhere in the world.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about blogs as of late, partially due to the freelance work I’m currently engaged in. This has also been mixed in with a bit o’ feedback and the own ideas I have kicking in my head for my next redesign. So I’m asking those of you who partake in my particular brand of madness what direction you’d care to see things head in.

• Do you like longer article-sized posts or the shorter, bite-sized ones?
• Should I get more link heavy with my posting?
• Are there any other features that you’d like to see added?
• Is everything right with the world and am I a fool for wanting to change it?

The more feedback, the better. Now that all the world knows what a blog is, the standards are being upped ever so slightly. So what if this is all just some overly-consuming personal hobby? It’s a hobby I take quite seriously, damnit! ^_^

Make sure to preheat your ovens to 425° before baking:

• Probably the funniest Strong Bad Email ever, though the spawning of a popup via Flash unnerves me a bit. In the wrong hands this knowledge could be big trouble, as Chris at decaffeinated points out.
• XM Radio is giving people a chance to listen to their broadcasts online free for three days. Hopefully Opie and Anthony’s channel is in the mix — I’m curious to hear how the new show is shaping up.
• I have been graced with the opportunity to give BrooklynVegan a new face and a shiny new logo to match. Good to be working on someone else’s blog for a change and getting paid for the honor is just icing on the cake.
• JamBase has a review of the Lynard Skynard tribute album “Under the Influence“. Sounds like it’ll be worth the price of admission.
• I have a bunch of Gmail invites that I can’t get rid of fast enough. Anybody want one? If so, drop a line. (Update: All gone! Sorry.)
• Tired of waiting for the PSP to launch, someone decided to hack together a truly portable PS2. Either someone is really impatient, or they have way too much time on their hands. Maybe both.
• With all the time I’ve missed over the past 90 days or so, I’m luck my desk didn’t look like this when I got back to the office. Some truly vindictive people live in this world of ours.
• On the home front, it has been personally observed that splitting up my weblog into two separate beasts was a good idea in theory, but bad in execution. Expect everything to fold back together in the near future (along with other changes).

That’s about it for now. Let’s see if this can be made into a semi-regular feature as the written voice is tweaked yet again.

And you know where to turn if you need help with anything. ^_^

Are you kidding me? You would have to be completely brain dead to ever get the two confused. And I’m not the only one who thinks this is a travisty. Hey Toho! You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us!

Staying on the topic of Salon for a few more seconds, I went to their home page and saw a link for a Keith Olbermann article. Seems as though he’s their newest columnist. And I had been wondering to myself where he off and disapeared to. “Los Angles to do radio for ABC” would also be an acceptable answer. ^_^