Sunday, March 18, 2012

Greedy Dictatorship

I'm bothered by ACTA. It is ridiculous that there can be any law (or international treaty) that can be forced on people against their will. It would make sense if we had a dictator. Or maybe it shows that democracy is just an illusion. Democracy should motivate politicians to always pick the most popular option, so they could get re-elected. In reality it's not like that at all. I'm starting to think that a democratic country is not ruled by the people - it's ruled by money! Money and the rich people. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against rich people. They earn their money with an unusual skill set or personality and there is nothing wrong with that. The dream of being rich is a great motivator for people and often people who don't need to worry about paying their pills are the ones who have time to see the bigger picture and help improve the society.

But some rich people are greedy and evil.  There are greedy and evil people among people of all social backgrounds but people with very limited resources can do less harm. For example, I feel very uncomfortable with banks making ridiculous amounts of profit while poverty becomes more and more widespread. Some of that money should have been invested back in the society. I also hate monopoly and how it influences prices. Similar to monopoly, I hate it when all the biggest companies make an agreement to sell some product type for an outrageous price. It basically what Hollywood movie companies have done. They have decided that it costs about $10 to see a movie and about $20-$30 to own a copy. It's way too much, considering the low level of quality they offer. And now people have no say in this. Sure we can watch an indie movie in stead... Wait a minute, those cost about as much money. How about local movies? Those cost EVEN MORE! I haven't seen any Estonian movies from the last 10 years because I'm not willing to pay $30 for an obscure low-budget movie.

Actually I'm being silly. I don't even KNOW most of the Estonian movies because it's irrelevant knowledge. I don't have access to the movies anyway and there's no point in simply checking up what different Estonian actors do to earn their wages. If I can't see the movie, I couldn't care less.  The few times I've seen new Estonian films being sold in the movie store, they cost at least as much as the newest most expensive multi-million dollar Hollywood movies.

As far as Hollywood companies care, I don't have access to their movies either. I can't go the the cinema because it's not worth leaving the 6-month-old exclusively breastfeeding Liisa to someone else to look after. Liisa is great when she's when me, but she's difficult with everyone else. When I get home, she giggles non-stop for at least 5 minutes. It's especially remarkable because of the contrast: Liisa giggles joyfully while Erkki is so exhausted from carrying her around the apartment for the entire time that I was gone. I know Liisa gives other people a hard time when I'm not at home so I wouldn't want to leave home for 3-4 hours just to see a movie that probably sucks anyway.

Movies are shown for only a couple of weeks in the cinema and that's only if the movie even reaches my home town. A few years ago there were only a handful (2-4 at a time) of movies being shown. Now it's actually 11 different movies in the big cinema! That's actually pretty good. At least it's a good start for people who can go to the cinema (unlike me). It doesn't help anyone who wants to see "Groundhog Day (1993)" or "Shawshank Redemption (1994)", but it's a good start. I'm sure there are millions of people worldwide who would love to see those old movies. Some of those people would even pay to see those movies. Physical real-life movie stores are limited with actual space (rooms, heating and shelves), so it would be impossible to sell all the movies ever made in a real store. Too bad it isn't possible to make a virtual shop where the space is unlimited   ... Oh wait. It IS possible. Just some people never bothered to do it. At least not here.

Some people are just so damn greedy, they are willing to turn away money!  There is no legal way to see most movies. Hollywood knows that old movies aren't really worth much so there's not much profit in selling them. Thus the only option for people to see old movies is to download them illegally. I have no problem with piracy as such. (OH MY GOD, Lock up the door, Lawyers are coming to get me!!!)  There aren't even any "lost profits" to calculate if the product wasn't being sold anyway. It's not morally wrong to WATCH A MOVIE! In my opinion, it's borderline immoral to watch a downloaded movie while it's still being shown in the cinema, even if you think it will probably suck. I mean, if you're in such a hurry to see it, consider supporting the makers of the movie by seeing it in the cinema. The problem is that only the most popular old movies are available even for pirates and even those often have bad file quality.

Why it's even an issue is that a lot of excellent culture is being lost and forgotten forever. Hollywood companies have decided that they never want anyone to see their movies ever again. Not only do they make their old movies unavailable for viewing, they actually go around prosecuting anyone who makes them available. The analogy would be when a writer grows tired of his earlier works and tells his manager to stop selling his earlier books.  And then goes insane and starts going around burning down book stores that might still have a copy of his book.

And the sad part is that there is nothing we can do. Downloading movies and music is a bigger crime than killing someone because it's not people who influence politicians and laws. Laws are being written and lobbied by rich people who are too greedy to see the big picture.

Pirate Party, if you're ever created in Estonia as well, you have my vote.

Other news: I found Mickey!  I actually found the mysteriously hidden stuffed toy! It was well hidden in Siiri's room, in a cupboard where we keep leftover diapers. I had looked there, but obviously not well enough. Siiri was overjoyed, as was I. Several days later she still sometimes happily announces, "Mommy found Mickey!". It's her favorite toy again and she often sleeps with Mickey by her side.

Siiri has gotten even better at that sleep thing. Usually the final step is for me to lie by her side until she dozes off. A year ago I would have sworn I would never do that, "Nearly 3 year old has to be old enough to fall asleep by herself!". Now I know that it's simply the fastest way to get her asleep and as such, it's well worth the effort. I only lie there about 10-15 minutes, browsing the Internet (I love my HTC!  ), and shush Siiri when she does or says anything that would make her less sleepy. Really, counting sheep or even just counting numbers doesn't help anyone fall asleep if they count out loud!

Liisa is growing fast. She's now 6 months old and 7,8 kg and 68 cm. She's very social and very calm. The best part: she lets me sleep! Liisa goes to sleep about the same time as Siiri, then wakes up when I go to sleep and want to eat and then falls asleep and sleeps until the morning. Her morning can sometimes begin at 7 a.m., but usually it's around 8:30, which I can live with. I haven't written much about Liisa, but the truth is, she's perfect.  I don't have any problems with her crying or breastfeeding. She is doing well and she's really cute. She has now learned to stretch her toes to her mouth and her socks are often damp from being chewed on. She's showing signs of teething, but no teeth are visible and she it doesn't wake her up at night. She had two vaccine shots a couple of days ago and now has a slight fever. Once it's gone down, I'll start with solids. Then Siiri will have a problem: she's afraid of noisy machines. Over all, life is good.