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Graphis

Listed below are comments made by Graphis between Saturday, 30th May 2009 and Sunday, 29th November 2009.

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Facts about file-sharing 00:09am on 29 Nov 2009 I've used file-sharing sites to download music. But it's simply not true to say I haven't paid for it. Most of the music I download is music I already bought on vinyl, back in the 60'sand 70's, then was forced to buy again anyway when CD's replaced vinyl. Most of the stuff I download was never even released on CD in the first place, but has been converted to digital format by other fans. I'm damned if I'm going to pay yet again for the same songs, just so I can listen to them on an mp3 player or my computer. I can't think of any other industry that tries to make us buy the same stuff over and over again. As far as I'm concerned, if I've paid once, I shouldn't have to pay again. Mr Bowie et al is rich enough as it is, and I'm sure won't miss yet another £10 from me.

What the music industry should be doing is selling us licenses to acquire music, and then letting us use those licenses to acquire the music in whichever formats we choose, an unlimited amount of times to cover future formats. So instead of buying an album for £10, and then being stuck with just that copy, unable to replace it if it gets damaged without having to repurchase it, for my £10 I get a plastic card or digital receipt that entitles me to access that album whenever, wherever, and however I want, in whatever format I want, even if that's vinyl, CD, AND mp3.

When will they wake up and realise their old business model has died, and there's no point flogging it anymore?
Caption Competition 2:16pm on 19 Nov 2009 The British cancan never quite achieved the worldwide popularity of the French version. Nevertheless, it remains today a much-loved, even essential, tradition amongst the British, despite their puzzlement at the rest of the world's preference.
Nick Griffin on Question Time 1:08pm on 24 Oct 2009 I'm pleased the programme took place: these issues do need to be raised. They exist, and no amount of PC legislation is going to make them go away, just prevent people discussing them. It's a bit like the Victorian's attitude to sex: they tried to hide and repress it, and it just kept creeping out again in ever nastier ways.

It was to be expected there would be a bit of a furore the first time these issues were debated in public: but hopefully, when the dust settles and everyone calms down, we can have a reasonable informed debate about issues of race, religions, immigration etc etc. At the moment, we're caught in a trap: we're not allowed to discuss these issues for fear of being labelled 'racist'. Even the BBC is to some extent caught in this dilemma: it cannot, for example, for reasons of the law, allow members of the public to debate these issues on their public forums, such as 'Have Your Say'. But the British public clearly DO want to talk about these very things, and the very organisation designed to give them a voice, and that they pay for, is not allowed to! No wonder they turn to people like Griffin.

It's clear a section of the population are concerned that this country is losing a way of life it once enjoyed. That view may be all a bit 1950's Enid Blyton for some, but for others it's a great loss. The blame is not necessarily to be laid at the door of immigrants, or homosexuals, or anyone, but whatever the causes, it's simply not fair to dismiss these views as old-fashioned and due to be swept away. How a person really feels about their country is hugely important, and if they feel their country has let them down, it's a loss for all of us.

So whatever the outcome, let's finally have the big debate everybody's been avoiding: it's going to be painful, and embarrassing, and some people are going say some horrible things that will upset other people, but we can't keep pretending that everything in the UK is just dandy, because it isn't.

And for the record, I'm not a BNP supporter. I come from the white British working class that they like to say they represent. I converted to Islam a few years ago and married a Pakistani.
Map of the Week: Forgotten white working classes 7:08pm on 14 Oct 2009 This sounds really cold and heartless, and I know it, but I don't have the answer. The fact is, we need people at the bottom of the heap, according to the way our society is currently run. You just can't have upwards social mobility going on forever: we've already got the situation where young people with degrees, lured on by the promise of a brighter future, are unemployed or cleaning toilets or sweeping streets. There's less room the further "up the ladder" you go. If everyone moves up to the rank of "middle-class", with attendant lifestyle and income, who will do all the dirty jobs that need doing, and the rest of us don't want? As much as I hate myself for saying it, we need the poor, thick, and ambitionless to keep the rest of us in comfort.
What's the alternative?

Maybe we need something like National Service, but without the military aspect? A sort of "National Community Service", where all our young people have to do community-valued jobs like refuse collection, driving, cleaning, etc, for a minimum of 2 years (at a decent wage). After which, those who want to stay in the service can, while others move on, having probably gained some valuable life experience and lessons in the process.
What do women really want? 02:23am on 10 Oct 2009 There's work and there's jobs: the report makes no distinction between doing what may be hard work for no pay, and relatively easier work for pay. Many people work really hard for little reward, musicians, artists etc, they do it for love. Mothers (or stay-at-home dads) also work extremely hard for no pay.
There's also a huge difference between 'loving your job' and 'doing something you love'. The simple fact is, there's hardly anyone in the world, male or female, who has a job BECAUSE they love it, they do it to get paid. Unless they're already working in a field they love, most would give up their jobs like a shot if they could afford to, and spend their time doing whatever else they preferred.
Revealed: The minister who 'wasted' millions 5:51pm on 30 Sep 2009 I'm not in the least bit surprised by this revelation. But what completely floors me is the idea that this "research" costs MILLIONS! Why on earth does it cost so much, just to get a few academics to look over some data and give their opinion? How much were they each paid? Something like this should only have cost a few thousand, by all reasonable standards. Let's say there were 10 academics, and each received a fee of £10,000, a reasonably decent fee for a bit of freelance consultancy work. That still only comes to £100,000. Where did all the money actually go? Please let us know if you can provide a breakdown of the figures, because I'd really like to know who exactly made a mint out of this... someone did.
Caption Competition 6:48pm on 09 Jul 2009 Half Nelson
Caption Competition 09:39am on 12 Jun 2009 "Oh Lord, I know I asked Thee for a sign, but..."
Caption competition 6:21pm on 04 Jun 2009 The two bits left over after assembly, that don't seem to fit anywhere.
Map of the Week: North African migrants invade UK 01:37am on 30 May 2009 Collecctive noun should be a "flutterby". It's the only one so far that makes sense, and is after all exactly what they do. It has the added advantage of not being any kind of pun on the word 'butter'.

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