Tag Archives: music

Are Sharpies Illegal Now?

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“Copy-proof” CDs cracked with 99-cent marker pen

Technology buffs have cracked music publishing giant Sony Music’s elaborate disc copy-protection technology with a decidedly low-tech method: scribbling around the rim of a disk with a felt-tip marker. Internet newsgroups have been circulating news of the discovery for the past week, and in typical newsgroup style, users have pilloried Sony for deploying “hi-tech” copy protection that can be defeated by paying a visit to a stationery store. “I wonder what type of copy protection will come next?” one posting on alt.music.prince read. “Maybe they’ll ban markers.”

Skanky Teen Singer Barbie?

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Thank Barbie for Britney

"Ruth Handler, legendary founder of Mattel Toys and creator of Barbie, the company's most successful product, died last week, thereby prompting the most urgent cultural debate since Botox made the headlines. Was Barbie, as feminists said, poisonous for young girls' self-image and the cause of an epidemic of anorexia and bulimia? Or was she – as conservatives insisted, taking the view that 'the enemy of my feminist enemy is my friend' – simply good childhood fun?"

"Actually, both sides are wrong. Barbie may not have prompted a national crisis in female self-esteem, but she's no innocent either. The vampy fashion doll helped to bring about the sexualization of childhood, evidence of which is everywhere today. In truth, Barbie is the not-so-spiritual godmother of Britney Spears."