Author: Sam Anderson

Charge me twice, shame on…

There’s an old saying:

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me!

I suggest a corollary:

Charge me once, shame on you.  Charge me twice, shame on me!

Well, Apple and iTunes have done it!

Apple recently announced at MacWorld that the iTunes store is going to start selling only DRM free music.  And – of course – for those who had already bought music – there is an upgrade option!

So I logged into my iTunes account today and this is what I found:

itunesplus

Yes.  This looks like a great deal – for only $15.30 I can upgrade 87 of my songs to DRM free!  No more entering usernames and passwords, and no more Apple big brother tracking my music. (well, except for the signatures they embed in the file still…)

But hey… wait a second… I ALREADY bought this content!  Why do I have to buy it again?  I’m not getting hardly anything different – but somehow they’ve found a way to justify charging me again for the same stuff.

I have written about this before – I think the world and internet should move toward a pay for content approach: any content, any device, any network.  Who’s with me?  Why should I buy the same content over and over again?  (This is for you Disney film lovers who keep buying the xxth Anniversary Edition of each film when it comes out, and who’ll do it again when they release them on BluRay.)

W.E. + S.C. = Truth and Beauty

As bad as this week can get, nothing can change the bright hope for the future that I am carrying in my heart – the hope for next Tuesday when American Idol Season 8 will premiere on the Fox network!

It’s me and Simon, back again, for one more season of AI!!!

For those of you who are new to my blog, let me explain a bit of the history.

I didn’t really get into American Idol until Season 5.  I followed Season 2 closely, but checked out during seasons 3-4 because I was too busy getting my college education (and I really didn’t like any of the contestants). When I picked up watching in Season 5, I decided that it wasn’t enough for me just to watch – I had to also make my correct opinions known to America so they could make an informed decision on who they should pick as their Idol…

…And thus, this blog was born!

While I can’t say I’ve reached any kind of Idol-Gossip celebrity status, I do pride myself on one thing – Me and Simon are right.  Always.  Period.  We know what we want when we see it, and we know who should win even if they don’t.  (And we both seriously regret letting Sanjaya on the show…  Worst mistake of our collective careers!)

So, prepare yourselves dear readers.  WhiteEyebrows.com will turn into American Idol central on Wednesdays and Thursdays here in a few weeks.  Thankfully, I don’t get serious about blogging until the Top 24 are announced, but I can’t help but post a few of the funny videos during the auditions either.

W.E. + Simon Cowell = Truth and Beauty

Rip ‘Em – And Other Paternal Phrases

My Dad and Granddad, like most other Dads, had a plethora of special phrases that he used on us kids while we were growing up.  Here are a few that will hopefully make you smile:

Rip ‘Em
As you left the house in the morning for school, this phrase was meant to encourage you to do your best and get good grades in school. (eg RIP ‘EM today at school!)  If you did well on a particular assignment or project, that might also be a “rip ’em.”  (eg That math test sure was a rip ’em.)  It has to be said loudly with a certain tearing quality in the voice.

Continue reading Rip ‘Em – And Other Paternal Phrases

Simple Truths: Productivity

This post marks the beginning of a new series: Simple Truths.  This series will offer short snippets of observation about my life or the lives of others.  Hope you enjoy it. (It’s for those readers who hate reading long-winded posts, and for those days when I just can’t muster the energy to write one.)

There’s a simple truth in this world: I’m more productive when there’s more to do.

I don’t know why it is, but if you give me a list of 25 things to do, I will get 20 of them done, but if you give me a list of 2 things to do, none of them will get done.

New Years Resolutions

I hate the words “New Years Resolutions.”  Hate ’em, hate ’em, hate ’em.

Why?  Well, I think because they sound so committal!  I mean, to resolve something connotes much more of a firm stance than I can truly muster toward any goal.  “Be it resolved…” just sounds like something you’d hear on some kind of official, meaningless government document, anyways.

Not to mention the fact that the “New Years Resolution” is most widely defined as a goal you set at the beginning of the year that you break by the end of January or February.  I mean, we practically write failure into the definition when we set a “resolution.”

So a few years ago, I started writing a simple document every year titled “Stuff I’d Like to Do in 200x”.  In this document, I just wrote a bunch of stuff – anything that came to mind at the time – that I would like to see happen in my life.  I have found this to be a very effective way to goal set.  Mostly beause it puts me in the mental state to make those things happen in my life or to recieve those blessings that I think I want.  Not everything happens on my list, and many things become year over year pursuits, but at least I make more progress on them than I do my one or two “new years resolutions” that are often broken before they even get started.

Best Posts of 2008

I realize I haven’t promoted any posts to my “featured posts” area for some time now, and since it’s the end of the year, it seems a fitting time to give you, my readers and stalkers, an opportunity to vote on which posts you might like to see as a feature.

What is the most memorable post this year on WhiteEyebrows.com?  And why?

Happy New Year!!!

WhiteEyebrows