#Software Recording Co.

[trevlad-sounds]

Sunday 6 August Mixtape 350 “Ships Message”

2023-08-06

Ambient Cosmic Space Synth Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays. Support the artists and labels. Don't forget to tip so future shows can bloom.

Pollypraha-Tinnitus 00:00

Nyorai-Waterfall 03:28

Oneohtrix Point Never-Zones Without People 06:59

The Green Kingdom-517 10:25

Slowdive-Ambient Guitar - Demo Version 14:30

JakoJako-Deine Augen 19:49

Maxime Denuc-Düsseldorf 24:32

Chris Otchy-Francis and Gretchen 28:43

Onepointwo-Sonar Loop 30:48

Strategy-Message from Ouroboros 32:11

Bart Hawkins-Going Back in Time Moves You Forward 39:02

Eulipion Corps-Tree Ships 45:48

Lisa Bella Donna-Proto-Lakota 47:58

Franklin de Costa-Poseidon 52:37

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How lock-in hurts design

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

If you've ever read about design, you've probably encountered the idea of "paving the desire path." A "desire path" is an erosion path created by people departing from the official walkway and taking their own route. The story goes that smart campus planners don't fight the desire paths laid down by students; they pave them, formalizing the route that their constituents have voted for with their feet.

Desire paths aren't always great (Wikipedia notes that "desire paths sometimes cut through sensitive habitats and exclusion zones, threatening wildlife and park security"), but in the context of design, a desire path is a way that users communicate with designers, creating a feedback loop between those two groups. The designers make a product, the users use it in ways that surprise the designer, and the designer integrates all that into a new revision of the product.

This method is widely heralded as a means of "co-innovating" between users and companies. Designers who practice the method are lauded for their humility, their willingness to learn from their users. Tech history is strewn with examples of successful paved desire-paths.

Take John Deere. While today the company is notorious for its war on its customers (via its opposition to right to repair), Deere was once a leader in co-innovation, dispatching roving field engineers to visit farms and learn how farmers had modified their tractors. The best of these modifications would then be worked into the next round of tractor designs, in a virtuous cycle:

https://securityledger.com/2019/03/opinion-my-grandfathers-john-deere-would-support-our-right-to-repair/

But this pattern is even more pronounced in the digital world, because it's much easier to update a digital service than it is to update all the tractors in the field, especially if that service is cloud-based, meaning you can modify the back-end everyone is instantly updated. The most celebrated example of this co-creation is Twitter, whose users created a host of its core features.

Retweets, for example, were a user creation. Users who saw something they liked on the service would type "RT" and paste the text and the link into a new tweet composition window. Same for quote-tweets: users copied the URL for a tweet and pasted it in below their own commentary. Twitter designers observed this user innovation and formalized it, turning it into part of Twitter's core feature-set.

Companies are obsessed with discovering digital desire paths. They pay fortunes for analytics software to produce maps of how their users interact with their services, run focus groups, even embed sneaky screen-recording software into their web-pages:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-dark-side-of-replay-sessions-that-record-your-every-move-online/

This relentless surveillance of users is pursued in the name of making things better for them: let us spy on you and we'll figure out where your pain-points and friction are coming from, and remove those. We all win!

But this impulse is a world apart from the humility and respect implied by co-innovation. The constant, nonconsensual observation of users has more to do with controlling users than learning from them.

That is, after all, the ethos of modern technology: the more control a company can exert over its users ,the more value it can transfer from those users to its shareholders. That's the key to enshittification, the ubiquitous platform decay that has degraded virtually all the technology we use, making it worse every day:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

When you are seeking to control users, the desire paths they create are all too frequently a means to wrestling control back from you. Take advertising: every time a service makes its ads more obnoxious and invasive, it creates an incentive for its users to search for "how do I install an ad-blocker":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

More than half of all web-users have installed ad-blockers. It's the largest consumer boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But zero app users have installed ad-blockers, because reverse-engineering an app requires that you bypass its encryption, triggering liability under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This law provides for a $500,000 fine and a 5-year prison sentence for "circumvention" of access controls:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Beyond that, modifying an app creates liability under copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrets, noncompete, nondisclosure and so on. It's what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model":

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

This is why services are so horny to drive you to install their app rather using their websites: they are trying to get you to do something that, given your druthers, you would prefer not to do. They want to force you to exit through the gift shop, you want to carve a desire path straight to the parking lot. Apps let them mobilize the law to literally criminalize those desire paths.

An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a felony to block ads in it (or do anything else that wrestles value back from a company). Apps are web-pages where everything not forbidden is mandatory.

Seen in this light, an app is a way to wage war on desire paths, to abandon the cooperative model for co-innovation in favor of the adversarial model of user control and extraction.

Corporate apologists like to claim that the proliferation of apps proves that users like them. Neoliberal economists love the idea that business as usual represents a "revealed preference." This is an intellectually unserious tautology: "you do this, so you must like it":

https://boingboing.net/2024/01/22/hp-ceo-says-customers-are-a-bad-investment-unless-they-can-be-made-to-buy-companys-drm-ink-cartridges.html

Calling an action where no alternatives are permissible a "preference" or a "choice" is a cheap trick – especially when considered against the "preferences" that reveal themselves when a real choice is possible. Take commercial surveillance: when Apple gave Ios users a choice about being spied on – a one-click opt of of app-based surveillance – 96% of users choice no spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

But then Apple started spying on those very same users that had opted out of spying by Facebook and other Apple competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Neoclassical economists aren't just obsessed with revealed preferences – they also love to bandy about the idea of "moral hazard": economic arrangements that tempt people to be dishonest. This is typically applied to the public ("consumers" in the contemptuous parlance of econospeak). But apps are pure moral hazard – for corporations. The ability to prohibit desire paths – and literally imprison rivals who help your users thwart those prohibitions – is too tempting for companies to resist.

The fact that the majority of web users block ads reveals a strong preference for not being spied on ("users just want relevant ads" is such an obvious lie that doesn't merit any serious discussion):

https://www.iccl.ie/news/82-of-the-irish-public-wants-big-techs-toxic-algorithms-switched-off/

Giant companies attained their scale by learning from their users, not by thwarting them. The person using technology always knows something about what they need to do and how they want to do it that the designers can never anticipate. This is especially true of people who are unlike those designers – people who live on the other side of the world, or the other side of the economic divide, or whose bodies don't work the way that the designers' bodies do:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/20/benevolent-dictators/#felony-contempt-of-business-model

Apps – and other technologies that are locked down so their users can be locked in – are the height of technological arrogance. They embody a belief that users are to be told, not heard. If a user wants to do something that the designer didn't anticipate, that's the user's fault:

https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/

Corporate enthusiasm for prohibiting you from reconfiguring the tools you use to suit your needs is a declaration of the end of history. "Sure," John Deere execs say, "we once learned from farmers by observing how they modified their tractors. But today's farmers are so much stupider and we are so much smarter that we have nothing to learn from them anymore."

Spying on your users to control them is a poor substitute asking your users their permission to learn from them. Without technological self-determination, preferences can't be revealed. Without the right to seize the means of computation, the desire paths never emerge, leaving designers in the dark about what users really want.

Our policymakers swear loyalty to "innovation" but when corporations ask for the right to decide who can innovate and how, they fall all over themselves to create laws that let companies punish users for the crime of contempt of business-model.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/24/everything-not-mandatory/#is-prohibited

Image: Belem (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desire_path_%2819811581366%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[mothtowers]

the true essence of The Driving Crooner and part of why its so iconic is that it perfectly encapsulates how people on the internet live. being The Driving Crooner is just a stand-in for any online hobby that isnt directly profitable.

I am reminded of how PurpleEyesWTF (of "im at the soup store" fame) once mentioned his day job was updating hospital software and i always wondered what it must be like working with someone like that.

Just imagine youre just a regular person going about their life, you know a little about anime, but you dont know what the hell an abridged series is. And one day a quiet and reserved but otherwise normal-seeming co-worker invited you to their house. Eventually you ask about the ramshackle recording studio they have set up in their apartment, and they excitedly show you a video of what appears to be an anime but they seem to have recorded their own audio and replaced it with a bunch of weird dialogue you guess is funny to a certain group of people. It all seems really high effort and you kinda have to ask why they would do all this. they show you their youtube channel where theyre pulling like 8k views per video and have done like 20 episodes for at least 3 different anime series, all the while lamenting how they dont make any money. intermittently they start venting about their difficulties navigating youtube copyright law and seem strongly opinionated about it. soon they start talking to you about all the petty drama in the abridging community and namedropping all sorts of people they consider their enemies. None of this means anything to you and you feel like youve entered some strange extremely specific world and are a little unsettled by how deep this iceberg could go.

Thats The Driving Crooner, thats what its about

[my-midlife-crisis]

You said:

and this is my reply:

You said in a cocky meme that no one voted for

Anthony Fauci

Hunter Biden

George Soros

Bill Gates

Kamala Harris

Anthony Fauci is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 to 2022, and the chief medical advisor to the president from 2021 to 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci served under President Donald Trump as one of the lead members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. So in truth, you should thank Trump for allowing Fauci to be head of the task force. You may have not voted for Fauci but you also didn’t vote for that doctor in the ER that saved so many lives across town.

Hunter Biden is not and has never been a part of the government. Robert Hunter Biden was targeted by the Republicans and MAGA. Of course no one voted for him but it was the Republicans and MAGA that made his name a household name... even though you keep calling him by his middle name. It just shows how very little you know about the case… you don’t even know his real name.

Soros is a supporter of progressive and liberal political causes. The man dispenses donations through the Open Society Foundations. Between 1979 and 2011, he donated more than $11 billion to various philanthropic causes; by 2017, his donations "on civil initiatives to reduce poverty and increase transparency, and on scholarships and universities around the world" totaled $12 billion. However, did you know that Trump donated $175,860 to Democrats from 1989 to 2010. Why aren’t you complaining about Trump. You and your MAGA double standards. Why aren’t you complaining about Harlen Crowe to all the gifts gave to Clarence Thomas? You didn’t vote for Crow or Thomas. Nobody did. But you are quiet when it comes to that subject aren’t you.

Bill Gates is an American businessman and philanthropist best known for co-founding the software company Microsoft with a partner named Paul Allen. The man was chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief software architect of the company. Gates was a pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s and has donated to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs. Through a foundation, he led a vaccination campaign that contributed to the eradication of a poliovirus in Africa. In 2010, Gates and Warren Buffett founded the Giving Pledge, whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half of their wealth towards philanthropy. Gates, like Robert Biden, never worked or was a part of the American government. All he did was lead that vaccination campaign in Africa and get blamed by Republicans ,who claimed he hid things in the vaccinations. Of course you didn’t vote for him… he’s never worked for the government and hasn’t snuck his way into our social security records. Welcome to the real world.

And now for the final person:

Kamala Harris.

Of course you didn’t vote for her. I didn’t vote for Trump, Pence, or Vance and yet here we are. Now, I did vote for Harris. I ignored all the splatter campaign republicans did against her. It was literally the beginning of the DEI campaign, where people like you got upset and ignored everything she has done in the past and acted like she did nothing for this country. You got so upset that you ignored that not only has she been Vice President of this country for 4 years (which is something that you didn’t do), She served from 2017 to 2021 as a United States senator representing California, she served as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 (which you or Trump never did). She has done more for this country in four years than you ever did in your whole life.

And yet, like a lemming, when you heard someone utter the phrase “I didn’t vote for her” you threw yourself off the cliff and repeated it like it meant something. It’s hilarious how you think you have some point while you didn’t vote for Elon Musk at all. Elon Musk has never been on a ballot. He’s not even an American. Elon Musk is everybody you complained about. A millionaire who donated to political parties, who hacked into government computers, is acting like some type of governor who has never been a governor, and thinks he can ignore that fact that NOBODY VOTED FOR HIM.

Thanks for playing.

[miyavilessoncollection]

[MIYAVI LESSON] MIYAVI and PS COMPANY

This article is to tell you guys how many resources MIYAVI has got from PS COMPANY and his fans, co-miyavi. In my opinion, it was a breach of trust for him to take on someone else's resources and not help the people who provided them realize their dreams, but instead marry Melody and run away from PS COMPANY. MIYAVI, he's a liar! He never liked music or even his fans!!! They were just tools for MIYAVI to marry an American. His daughter, who can't even speak Japanese, and claimed to be "American" at a jazz class in Tokyo in 2024. You can use translation software to understand the content of the article. Thank you so much. m (_ _)m

[雅学精选]八一八MIYAVI和PS COMPANY当年的那些事

MIYAVI，原名石原崇雅，1981年生，曾经隶属于Due’le quartz乐队，乐队解散后开始SOLO活动，依旧隶属于PS COMPANY事务所，2009年奉子成婚后宣布PSC脱退。 PS COMPANY的代表取缔役是尾崎友美，也就是传说中的尾崎社长了。 我少女时代因为信息不对称，我对尾崎友美的印象大致也和中文流媒体上看到的差不多，老巫婆，压榨旗下艺人，养小白脸，等等(我不删不改，就那么留着)。

我对日本粉丝跑路也是非常不理解，结婚生子怎么了？不至于这样就跑路吧。我10年前左右的文章，很多也都是这个看法。 直到我自己因为对雅-miyavi-的狂热喜爱，不计代价的大量收购有关他的日语原版纸媒后。 在大量看到他的日本活动细节和时间线后，我现在对石原崇雅其人和尾崎友美，有了全新不一样的认识。

现在我来给大家分享一下我搜集到的信息，各位看客看完后自己分辨就好。

PS COMPANY简介 先来说一下PS COMPANY （又称PSC或P缶，因为公司的日语读音很像P缶），此处主要引用wiki，同时增加一些wiki中没有的有关MIYAVI的时间线。

“制作歌手照片和官方网站，短期内连续发售音源，将CD的封面换成数种进行发售，所属乐队的定期巡回演唱会等宣传战略都很强势。

代表董事尾崎友美是从视觉系乐队的粉丝变成制作职员的。

2005年与king records合作推出PS music, 11月23日正式发行CD及DVD。之后，除了雅-miyavi-， Kagrra，的新作由PS music发售。

2007年5月、雅-miyavi-(当时)、Kagrra，、Kra、the GazettE、Alice Nine的主要部门之外、小规模的独立制作人培育部门Indie。最近的Indie PSC.中，BORN是成员。

2009年1月3日，PS COMPANY 10周年纪念演唱会“Peace & Smile Carnival”在日本武道馆举行。 门票在开售当天就售罄。

2009 年，PS COMPANY 乐队与 King Records 之间的合同似乎已经到期。 Kagrra， 2010 年的新专辑由 Crown Tokuma Music Sales 作为独立专辑发行。 之后，the GazettE 决定将由 Sony Music Records 发行，Alice Nine 将由 Tokuma Japan Communications 发行。

2009年4月5日，雅-miyavi-于日比谷野外大音乐堂的LIVE演出，宣告加入PS COMPANY十年毕业。

2009年4月8日，成立自己的公司J-glam inc.。次日于MySpace公开成立公司与结婚事实，并宣布孩子将于夏天出生。

2011 年，所属的 SuG 宣布将暂停活动并离开了事务所。

2014 年 3 月 2 日，Rave 加入了独立 PSC。

2016 年 9 月 30 日，LOTUS 因独家合同终止而从事务所离籍。

PSC旗下乐队：

PS music

Kra

Indie PSC.　

レイヴ

the LOTUS

*Indie PSC.由 King Records 的子公司 Bellwood Records进行 发行。

曾经所属的乐队

Dué le quartz

餞ハナむケ。

bis

Ash

Palette

雅-miyavi-

Kagrra,

SuG

アリス九號.

ViViD

ダウト

BORN

SCREW

the GazettE （这个据我考证只是在一个PSC下面的子事务所，其实并没有离开PSC，大概是因为这个乐队人气一直特别高，所以给了专门的管理团队）

PSC的工作环境和起家过程 PSC的事务所工作是什么样的呢，此处引用雅-miyavi-2009年在杂志中的采访（Arena 37℃，2009年3月号，我自己翻译的。这个杂志采访的时间点很微妙哦，是melody实际上已经怀了好几个月，但是还未对外官宣婚育的时候。）：

这次一边回顾着1月3日的武道馆PSC祭，一边想请您讲述从事务所成立之初就在的居民、雅所知道的10年。 -好了好了，明白了。(这时事务所的staff给我倒茶)谢谢。嗯?这是什么东西？(发现托盘背面的价签)含税210日元(笑)。”工作人员说“啊，价签还是买的时候贴的呢…(苦笑)”“明明已经在武道馆办了事务所的祭典live，而事务所却还在用210日元的盘子吗~ 噫~"大概这样的感觉(笑)" 好嘛(笑)，210日元的盘子! -含税210日元倒是可以，不过还是拿着价签用吧(笑)。但是，事务所最开始其实也只有Due’le quartz(雅所在的乐队)的4个成员和社长(笑)。我们还得自己去冈田屋寻找制作服装的素材，还有专门卖视觉系的CD店，这些我都是进了事务处才知道的。这就是我们曾经有过的的文化……(笑) 竟然是社长带着成员挨个转了一圈唱片公司啊。而且一开始只有女性staff啊。 -因为以前是全是女性，所以事务所搬来搬去的时候，连艺人都被排挤出去了。那个时候连开口说话都很辛苦呢(笑。不过，以前只有Due’le quartz的时候，我和sakiponn（前Due’le quartz的主唱sakito的昵称）、社长还有我，三个人去全国参加in store event*。那个时候，我调查了所有去过的地方的CD店，带着Due’le quartz的CD。“拜托了。”然后一家一家地去打招呼。社长以前好像在演歌系的事务所待过一段时间，这（陌拜）似乎是在那里学来的技巧。因为还是根本没人知道的地下视觉系乐队，所以总是会听到“哈？Due’le quartz？这是什么玩意？”就算是这样，社长还是一直带着我和sakiponn到处走，这真的到现在还留在心里，也因为这样我很尊敬她（尾崎友美）。

*in store event，即店内活动，是指名人或行业成员在唱片店、书店或购物中心等设施中举办的活动。 它主要作为 CD、DVD、书籍（照片书、散文等）促销活动的一部分来完成。

店内现场表演是表演音乐的店内活动。

作为活动的例子有签名会、握手会、游戏大会等，音乐家的场合也可以进行演奏和歌唱行为。在谁都可以进入的空间里不收取费用的情况很多，另一方面，拥有活动专用空间的店，也会有“只有购买商品的顾客才能入场”等限定对象的情况。

===========================

再引用一下尾崎友美自己的采访（2014年5月9日，Musicman’s RELAY）

尾崎:还有很多演唱会，但是当时即使想去都没办法。那时，母亲再婚了，继父是个很优���的人，一家人关系很好。但他说:“女孩子怎么可能去东京，福冈应该也有很多工作吧。”我想如果要工作的话只能在音乐界，但是福冈没有唱片公司和事务所，只有live house和唱片店。虽然有厂家的营业所，但都是从总公司来的，本地只有前台之类的工作。因为在唱片店工作了5年，有好几家公司问我“要不要来我家?”，但我并不是想做前台，我还是憧憬制作或者事务所。

——您是怎么说服父母的呢?

尾崎:离家出走。

——是吧(笑)。

尾崎:写了留言就出门了。

——你最初在东京住在哪里?

尾崎:永福町吧。

——那是多大的时候呢?

尾崎:22 ~ 23岁左右。短大毕业后，我在福冈待了一段时间，一边观察情况，一边找房子。

——你刚来东京的时候工作还没定吧?

尾崎:当然。总之只能离开。

——这种行动力真是太棒了。

尾崎:不过我也想过一定要把地址告诉我母亲。我一直觉得东京很危险，所以就在派出所前面找了个房子，在一间单间里，只要有被褥、音响、电视和电话就行了。现在我还记得，到东京的那天晚上，我去便利店站着看招聘杂志(笑)。

——(笑)。当时还没有互联网呢。

尾崎:虽然找到了事务所的招聘机会，但是我依然一边想着“不可能被在艺能界这么有名的地方录用”，一边把简历投了出去，结果还是顺利地被录用了。现在被称为“3k”*的行业，年轻人都不太愿意来，但在当时却很受欢迎。我通过了激烈的竞争，终于进入了公司。就像做梦一样(笑)。

*3k指日语的「きつい、汚い、危険」的简称。又脏又累又危险的行业。”

“尾崎:我并不是有什么特别的目标才辞职的，而是一边找工作一边去看演唱会，偶然有个歌手问我:“能不能作为工作人员来帮忙?”我就开始帮忙了。艺人们非常热情，“大家一起去主流公司吧”，虽然没有任何经验，但还是努力了。结果去了主流公司，事务所却有工作人员说了一句“不要女的”就被挂断了。

——这真是太冤枉了。

尾崎:成员们都为了能留下来而努力了……总之很不甘心，想着“不能去主流公司就不会辞职”。现在想想，是非常渺小的自尊吧(笑)?

自尊心越强，越能让人踏实做事。(笑)

——对事务所来说，应该也认为你是志愿者吧。

尾崎:的确如此。因为在那里被切断了，由于不甘心才成立了PS COMPANY哟(笑)。

——真是太帅了。顺便说一下，那个事务所现在还在吗?

尾崎:已经没有了。但是，我充满了今后要培养视觉系第一艺人的心情。”

——到成立PS COMPANY为止异常的快呢。来东京才两年吗?

尾崎:现在想想还挺可怕的。应该说是鲁莽吧。虽然也有不甘心的心情，但我想是因为喜欢视觉系才会这样的。

——即使这么想，也很难真的就做到。

尾崎:因为没有公司愿意接受，所以只能自己做了(笑)。

——是有所属的艺人创立的吗?还是建立之后才开始发掘的?

尾崎:只有一个艺人。他们既是工作人员也是艺人的ローディー*，我们谈到了我们想做这样的艺术家的梦想，就一起从召集成员开始。当时聚集在一起的成员之一是当时17岁的Miyavi-，是Due'le quartz的一位艺人。

*ローディー，也就是roadie，中文直译是路人，但是词不达意= =。主要是指流行音乐业界中，那些进行乐器安排、装载、运输、安装、调整等音乐活动，对乐器进行维护管理，对音乐人进行支援等业务的人。

有时也被称为ロードクルー(road crew)、ロードマネージャー(road manager)。专门负责乐器等器材的调整和安装的人也被称为テクニシャン(Technician)。

——Miyavi先生是如何成为成员的？

尾崎：当时我们公司里没有艺人，所以入不敷出，所以我们只做PS COMPANY主办的活动。 因为出场的艺人和Miyavi-是同学的缘故，所以就来了。 他介绍说“是大阪的朋友。。”，问“你是否愿意在我家做？”，就邀请来了。

——顺便问一下，你听过Miyavi先生弹吉他吗？

尾崎：不，我没有。

——明明没有听过，却还是邀请了吗?那是因为有V系的感觉吗?

尾崎:直觉吧。

——真是太棒了。这种直觉可不一般。活动全部是您自己做的吗?

尾崎:是的。虽然成立了事务所很好，但是旗下没有艺人。既然作为事务所成立了，就必须好好地进行音乐活动，所以有各种各样的考虑吧。那么，最快捷的就是快速活动了。话虽如此，一个刚成立不久、名不见经传的奇怪公司的活动，肯定不会有艺人愿意参加，所以我很拼命。

以前，著名艺人在日本武道馆等大型会场的演唱会之后，会有化着妆的业余艺人给演唱会结束后出来的客人发传单。于是我装成客人，把这些东西全部拿回来，如果有觉得不错的艺术家，就马上打电话问“能不能参加活动”，一个月大概做四次这种活动。所以一开始大家以为我们不是事务所，而是活动公司(笑)。

——Miyavi-也是这样，没有看过演奏却能被找到，真是了不起。

尾崎:就算现在，所属的艺人也几乎没听过曲子。见了面听到对方说“想做”，“那试着做?”，就这样。

——公司是什么时候步入正轨的呢?

尾崎:到Kra为止都是4个人一起做的。

——这样的话，真是忙得团团转啊。因为什么都要做。

尾崎:全部都要做呢。一切都是在摸索。

——4个人看管3个艺人。每个人都有各自的活动，演唱会也不是在同一个地方举行吧?

尾崎:已经一塌糊涂了。即便如此，也有一开始就留下来的员工。真的很感激呢。但是，现在想想，那样也很开心。

——你现在有多少员工?

尾崎:光员工就有40人左右吧。我经常说，企业就是人，我只是个创业者，什么都没做，我有很多真正的好员工。

——不仅是音乐家，对员工也有看人的眼光。

尾崎:我想“和这个人合作”的话就会自己去接近。对室长铃木就像跟踪狂一样纠缠不休地说“想和你一起工作”(笑)。我也知道她的头衔，但不知道她以前做过什么。这也是直觉。

===========================

看完了石原氏和尾崎氏的官方证词，我们可以大概概括一下PSC是怎么开始创业和运营的，概括下来就是： 1. 尾崎氏也是单亲家庭，是离家出走来到的东京，在创业的时候家庭没有给她任何经济援助，刚来东京的时候甚至还要想办法解决租房和打工（经济）的问题。 2. 尾崎友美本人就是粉丝，她是抱着做V系第一艺人而不是赚钱的目的进入的事务所行业。

3. 事务所内staff的生活也好，艺人的生活也好，都很清贫，早期只有尾崎一个人既是社长也是staff，还要带着乐队去唱片店，通过陌拜来推销CD。后面即使已经到了2009年，PS COMPANY 的10周年纪念演唱会“Peace & Smile Carnival”在日本武道馆举行并售罄的情况下，事务所连招待人都还在使用210日元的廉价餐具。

关于第2点，“做V系第一艺人”，这句话嘴上说说很容易，如果只是嘴上说说，不仅是各位看客，连我这种也算经历各种社会上摸爬滚打的人也是不相信的。 那我来直接考证尾崎友美当年为了雅-miyavi-这个艺能团队，做了哪些事情好了。 由于年代久远，一些小活动已经不可考证，还有些不重要的例如发CD和录唱片这些过于幕后的内容也不好考证，我下面主要考证的时间线是他的各种大型公开���动细节，包括大型演唱会，海外巡演，肉眼可见的重量级团队等。 其中很多演出以及大型活动，因为不明原因连日本语wiki上都未收录（笑），丢失的词条中，关于重点活动，我会详细解释活动细节和内容。

PS COMPANY大事记

-2002年9月22日，Due’le quartz刚解散，这一年石原氏开始solo，艺名为雅-miyavi-。后面没剩几个月了，这年基本没有太大型的活动。 -2003年4月25日，2003下剋上，场地渋谷公会堂，是一个2000多人的hall，预定票价3800日元，当日券4500日元。这场有刻VHS录影带和DVD，比较容易在网上找到信息。 2003年10月19日，成りあがり，场地日比谷野外大音楽会堂，是个3000人左右的坐席hall，无论什么时候购买，票价一律3820日元。 这场演出我要重点解说一下，虽然你看对外的官宣信息没啥特别的，但是如果你发现了支援乐队“石原軍団”的人员名单，相信你一定会和我一样惊讶。

你没有看错，真的是这4个人。

也许有人不认识第三个乐队，那是X-JAPAN的吉他手hide自己带的乐队。 成员名单和后面天天被拿出来吹的S.K.I.N., the last rockstars，可以说成员名单高度重合。

剩下那个圣饥魔的吉他手，圣饥魔在日本的地位不比X JAPAN低，虽然不是视觉系，但是也是殿堂级的乐队。

然后这几个人是真的在和雅-miyavi-平等的组乐队吗？笑。 想想看雅-miyavi-姓什么。他们只是来做support的。

不信我们来看下： S.K.I.N. GACKT from Malice Mizer YOSHIKI from X JAPAN SUGIZO from LUNA SEA/X JAPAN 雅-miyavi- the last rockstars HYDE from L'Arc~en~Ciel/VAMPS YOSHIKI from X JAPAN SUGIZO from LUNA SEA/X JAPAN MIYAVI

S.K.I.N.由于年代久远演出细节难以考证，我们来看看末代摇帝的好了。

这是东京场的细节和票价。最便宜的都要12000日元，最贵的要98000日元。

只要3820日元，你就可以看到X JAPAN，圣饥魔，LUNA SEA，hide的solo乐队的成员同台竞技啊（泪奔

2003年12月28日，現代奇想博覧会，东京BAY HK HALL。这是个拼盘演出，里面包括MUCC，Merry，DAIGO，the GazettE等乐队，票价为提前购买5500日元，当日券6000日元。 这场演出雅-miyavi-的支援乐队还是来自X JAPAN，圣饥魔，LUNA SEA，hide的solo乐队“石原軍団” *“石原軍団”参与的两场演出，日本语wiki全都没收录（包括几个前辈乐手自己的百科），很有意思（笑）。

2004年7月，日本脱出。这是个海外巡演，日程和场地以及票价是 7.10 韩国 QUEEN LIVE HALL，3820日元。 7.18 香港 香港湾仔会议展览中心 （这场因为非典流行取消） 7.24 台湾 17 Young party，6300日元。

由于年代久远，只能找到韩国场地的照片了，长这样。

只有4个乐手都转身困难的情况，从舞台宽度推算，一定是300人以下的场子，甚至就100人。。

*这场神奇的海外巡演，日本语wiki未收录（笑）。

你是不是很奇怪为什么我写的是日元定价？没错，这几场说是海外巡演，其实是让日本粉丝去远征的，有当时的应募券证明。甚至怕日本仔雅不懂远征，除了单卖日本仔雅，还找了旅行社打包差旅费用哈哈哈。 远征费用很贵，旅行社报价96000~99000日元。 广告页上还提到，当年的4月他去了韩国参加event，5月在台湾参加event，6月在香港参加event。

2004年8月11日 最初也是最后（？）的雅fan感谢DAY，东京巨蛋（5.5万人） 2004年8月31日 This is 王道，日本武道馆（1.5万人）。

这两场活动我要重点介绍，因为这组活动可以说惊天地动鬼神（？）了。 首先，第一个见面会的场地是东京巨蛋。

东京巨蛋，坐席全开有大��5.5万人，是日本最大的室内场地之一。

而之前最多也就开过3000人演唱会的石原氏怎么可能有这个演出动员力呢？ 没错，所以这场活动不是演唱会，是见面会。他也没办握手会，是摸头会，每个人都来见面给他摸头。 看台全部没开，就开了内场。

也就包个东京巨蛋嘛，虽然这场地得要百万场租吧，可是这不是还能卖票卖周边吗？ 然后我找到了另一页当时的宣传单，发现这个东蛋见面会居然是免费的。。

日本武道馆的那个票价也是奇低，预售就5050日元，当日购买就5500日元。

而武道馆的最终票房如何呢，有图有证据。

内场没敢开票，一张没有卖。

看台大量都是空的，最下层全空，其它部分空。

也因为这样做了个空中舞台。杂志宣传这是武道馆历史上第一个空中舞台，说的。。也没错。。

人家正常卖内场和最下层看台的，空中舞台那可全是视线盲区好吧。。

作为一个也算了��些演出成本预算的人，看到这里我的心已经在滴血了。保守估计2004年的海外巡演+东蛋见面会+武道馆演出，亏了300万等值人民币及以上（光与东蛋等体量国内场地的每日场租就差不多这个价格）。。

*这两场神奇的见面会+演唱会，日本语wiki未收录见面会，但是演唱会嘛，大约因为刻了DVD卖，所以收录了（笑）。

爆亏的2004年结束了。我们来看2005年。

2005年，又开始做海外巡演了。 7月14日，台湾 17 Young party 5500日元

7月16日，韩国 Dream theater SH CLUB 5500日元

而且又又又在组织日本仔雅去远征了，只是这次不仅旅行社不限制人头数了，均消也贵了好多，直接123000~233000日元了，几乎是上次的2倍。

其实也能理解，毕竟上个年度那几个大型项目亏损太多了，只能靠日本仔雅们的消费把亏空补回来。

*这场神奇的海外巡演，日本语wiki也是未收录（笑）。

2005年基本没啥大型活动了，也就有个事务所的大拼盘活动 2005 peace & smile，不过这个跟他本人的开支关系不大。

但是���始办一些意味不明的应援单曲和活动。如下。

2005.10.10，婚纱应援会。要求必须穿婚纱或其它婚礼正装参加活动，现场亲手赠送玫瑰花和新娘认定证书（翻译过来真的就叫这个名字）。

*这些神奇的见面会，日本语wiki也是未收录（笑）。

2006年上半年就一些日常的营业活动，不过确实在高密度发单曲，半年时间出了3张，还全都拍了很精致的MV，主要日程如下。

2006年下半年被公司送去美国游学了，让他学习英语和海外文化，虽说就几个月的留学，但是连发新cd都暂停了差不多一年。

石原氏自述是一点不懂英语的情况被送到洛杉矶去的，所以这段时间是他开始学习英语的契机。

游学的费用自不必说，肯定是公司承担的。 而且他可不是年龄很小的练习生。他每1个月不活动，这1个月他这条线对于事务所就是颗粒无收的，而且staff和他本人又不能不付工资。。所以实际上他断档学习的这几个月，对于公司是巨亏的。

这部分资讯由于他当时人在海外，有的事情日语区记录不详细，英语区的记录倒是很详细，我就直接搬运了： 2月17日，Miyavi应霹雳舞演员Mr. Freeze的邀请，在拉斯维加斯米高梅大酒店的Tabu Ultra Lounge与当地的DJ和打击乐手一起举办了他在美国的第一场个人演唱会。5月25日，在由Yoshiki在洛杉矶Wiltern剧院举办的JRock Revolution演唱会上，官方宣布Miyavi将成为s.k.i.n乐队的成员。6月29日，该乐队在加州长滩的动漫博览会上举行了他们的首演，也是他们唯一的一场演唱会。

也就是年初他游学回来，2007年5月25日加入由YOSHIKI(X JAPAN)、Gackt、SUGIZO(LUNA SEA)组成的S.K.I.N乐队。

2007年6月，开始喊起NEO VISUALIZM的口号，并邀请多位杰出艺人(Beat Boxer、Bass、Drums、Turntable、Tap、Painter)组成歌舞伎男子z。

然后2007年下半年开始疯狂做海外巡演。日程和场地直接看截图就好，全是live house。

2007年12月25日，举办2007下剋上演唱会，场地渋谷C.C.Leomonホール（其实还是2003年涩谷公会堂，2000多人的场地）。也就是回国后他在日本的动员力和2003年几乎毫无变化。。

*这段开始，日语百科几乎具体日程全删，就留了他去海外巡演的大致日程，场地全部不表，英语百科部分有所保留。

2008年又是继续疯狂做巡演，这是英语区扒下来的日程表，场地都不大，百来人的居多。

USA CIRCUIT

2008/05/14 USA Anaheim

2008/05/16 USA Los Angeles

2008/05/18 USA San Francisco

EUROPE CIRCUIT

2008/06/21 GERMANY Cologne

2008/06/22 GERMANY Berlin

2008/06/24 NETHERLANDS Amstelveen

2008/06/27 SPAIN Barcelona

2008/07/01 SWEDEN Stockholm

2008/07/02 FINLAND Helsinki

ASIA CIRCUIT

2008/07/10 TAIWAN Taipei

2008/07/12 KOREA Seoul

2008/07/13 KOREA Seoul

2008/07/18 CHINA Shanghai

JAPAN CIRCUIT

2008/08/02 Osaka FANJ-twice

2008/08/04 Fukuoka DRUM Be-1

2008/08/06 Kyoto WORLD

2008/08/08 Nagoya Electric Lady Land

2008/08/10 Sapporo mole

2008/08/11 Sendai MACANA

2008/08/13 Kanazawa AZ

GRAND FINAL

2008/08/16 Tokyo AKASAKA BLITZ

2008/08/17 Tokyo AKASAKA BLITZ

这里我再补充一下，做这种海外小场地巡演，通常做法是要拉本地赞助，也就是找本地主办进行支持，他们精算之后觉得能回本，才会愿意承担所有开支后给出秀费到艺人，否则的话如果没有演出动员能力，就只能自理场地租金、设备租赁/搬运和人员差旅，做一场亏几万很正常。按他的巡演密度和去的场地大小看，这轮巡演做出来后能把成本打平就不错。

而关于歌舞伎男子时期的录音室音源完成度和舞台人员配置完成度嘛，我就放一张图。

这是幕前所有团队的合影(上舞台的)，别的幕后支持比如贴身经纪人、调音、灯光、服装、造型，甚至录音时候帮忙的编曲、录音、混音等都不在这张合影里。 养这个团队背后是巨额的开支。

而石原现在弄的一吉他一鼓，据关系者描述，他的合计团队（幕前幕后）加一起只有7±3个这个配置，具体成员是：本人，鼓，DJ，调音，灯光，吉他技师，经纪人，根据场地情况加减3。

再补充一个我了解的常识。哪怕是live house级别的海外巡演，一般的日本乐队团队都是10人以上，比他至少多贝斯手、化妆、服装（服装这个岗经常还有2个人），有时候还自带翻译。

亏损嘛，自然是靠本土的仔雅承担（FC年费，周边，演唱会门票等），甚至可能是靠当时日本演出已经越开越大的PSC事务所家其它乐队的盈利承担。 有个小细节，大家可以去蓝鸟上看下，the GazettE的几个人全员都没和MIYAVI互粉哦。此团当时是PSC商业最成功的团。细思极恐哦。

后面，我再加几个时间线。主要是他婚育和官宣婚育的时间。

具体为什么是这个时间，我专栏另一篇关于他是否是奉子成婚的文章有具体考证，这里不表了。

结合他的演出日程，把时间线混进去看，你就可以更加体会日本粉丝和事务所的工作人员都是什么心情了。

石原氏婚育和官宣时间线

*只要石原爱理是足月的不是早产的，melody的受孕期理论上是2008.09-10这个时间段

2009.03.14 雅-miyavi-和Melody领证结婚

2009.04.05 雅-miyavi-于日比谷野外大音乐堂的LIVE演出，宣告加入PS COMPANY十年毕业。

2009.04.8 雅-miyavi-成立自己的公司J-glam inc.。

2009.04.9 雅-miyavi-于MySpace公开成立公司与结婚事实，并宣布孩子将于夏天出生。

2009.07.29 大女儿石原爱理出生

所以关于为什么他一结婚，日本本土粉丝都不是腰斩级别的跑路，而是膝斩级别的跑路，各位看官就自己思考吧。

[seoul-bros]

Six marvelous months with Park Jimin

January 2023

The year started with the announcement that Jimin had been appointed as the Global Brand Ambassador for Christian Dior (17/01). The occasion was marked with six Awesome magazine covers and the Dior Fashion Show in Paris (20/01). The fashion establishment was blown away by the response to Jimin's participation in the show.

The same month Jimin released Vibe (13/01) , a dream collaboration with his long time musical hero Taeyang from Big Bang.

This was both artists first solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 76.

February 2023

Jimin did a live on 03/02 in which he confirmed that his solo music, although a little delayed, was likely to come out in March 2023.

On 21/02, Big Hit announced that FACE would be released on 24/03/23. The next day they published the countdown schedule and on the 23/02 the tracklist for the album.

March 2023

On 02/03, Jimin was named Ambassador for Tiffany & Co which he wore spectacularly in his photoshoot for Vogue that month.

On 06/03, Soundcloud super track Promise along with Jimin's yuletide gift to ARMY, Christmas Love were added to Jimin's Spotify profile. The era of streaming Jimin's profile had begun.

From then on, everything started speeding towards the release of FACE. The Hardware and Software images came out.

Set Me Free Pt 2 exploded into the world on 17/03. Nobody saw it coming and it caused a furore on social media. It was a clear statement of intent. I am here to stay and I am here to slay. It debuted at No.30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

FACE was released on 24/03 along with the Like Crazy MV. Speaking for myself Like Crazy blew me away. Jimin set out to make a statement with that song and I will always be proud to be the fan of such an honest and brave artist.

With the release of FACE we also discovered that hidden on the record was a very special song, Letter, in which Jungkook sings background vocals.

That last week of March saw Jimin appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show with a live performance of Like Crazy.

In the next 9 days, he gave comeback performances on MCountdown, Music Bank and Inkiagayo. He came live to thank ARMY for turning up to his shows. He won awards. He appeared on the radio, on the entertainment shows Beat Coin, Ddeun Ddeun and Pixid. He even did fan meetings.

April 2023

On 01/04 Jimin gave an unforgettable acoustic rendition of Like Crazy live on Lee Mujin Service April Fools Edition.

And then on 03/04, Jimin made history. The first South Korean to ever make No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first Asian Artist to do so in 60 years. He came live in the early hours of the morning, clearly shellshocked but brimming over with gratitude to everyone who had supported the album and the song.

Then on 05/04 the promotions were over and Jimin once again expressed his happiness and thanks to ARMY for supporting FACE.

It had been a whirlwind and I think we, as well as Jimin, were caught off guard when the promotions ended so quickly. We had a beautiful album to savour but we wanted to continue to savour it with Jimin.

The focus returned to fashion when Jimin flew to New York at the end of April to attend the Tiffany & Co Landmark opening (28/04).

He attended Suga's concert in Newark on the 29/04 and headed back to South Korea later that week. But why didn't he fly straight back after the concert we wondered?

May 2023

It all soon became clear, he had been filming the MV for Angel Pt 1 from the Fast X movie. The song came out on the 19/05 and debuted at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was Jimin's fourth chart entry in five months.

At the end of the month, Jimin made a short trip to London and we are still speculating on what that was all about. He posted photos of his trip to HP World as soon as he got back to South Korea on 27/05.

June 2023

Festa 2023 soaked Seoul in purple for nearly three weeks at the beginning of June in celebration of BTS's ten years since debut. Jimin gifted fans with a live performance of Dear.ARMY on 07/06 and....

,,,,,,on 13/06 BTS released this beautiful live version of Take Two with Jimin adding depth and colour to the song with his stunning vocals.

But there was still more to come, on 15/06 Jimin came live in high spirits and spent quality time with ARMY. It was the same day as the release of Angel Part 2.

On the 27/06 Jimin's solo profile appeared on Billboard and serves as a permanent reminder of everything that has happened in the short space of 6 months. It has been a roller coaster ride and I am still hopeful that we will still get more music from Jimin before he has to enlist. I wanted to make this post so that no one forgets what he has achieved and the permanent mark he has made on the global music industry since he took his first steps towards a solo career.

Post Date: 28/06/2023

[redeyerhaenyra]

Anselm overstimulating and breeding kinks

Anselm overstimulating you, feat!breeding kink

Summary: Headcanons of Anselm and some overstimulation with a little bit of breeding kink sprinkled in

Warnings: Woah smut! Are we surprised? Overstimulation, breeding kink, sex toy usage, exhibitionism, vibrating panties, amateur porn ASMR?? pippeting cum into a pussy?!? Idek anymore

Notes: Anselm really brings out the worst in meeeee ty for requesting nonniee

No cos this is literally his favourite thing to do

Anywhere anytime

He probably buys really expensive high tech recording software and makes you cum until you can't breathe into the mic so he can listen to your sounds whenever he likes

Adds them to his sleep playlist and listens to them like ASMR sksksksk you know he would

You swear he must have some super human ability not to come, it's like he doesn't even have sex for his own pleasure, it's all about you

Definitely buys you those vibrating panties and makes you wear them just. Everyday. All the time. Doesn't matter who you're with.

He is a master of making you come undone without even having to touch you.

He'll will tie you up so you can't squirm away from his tongue

He will randomly stick his hand down your trousers and and start rubbing your clit even as he's just like. Talking to people.

Probably brings you onto his lap because he knows, even if he can't understand why, that you get embarrassed about these sorts of things.

So while he let's you hide your face in his neck, he's still not stopping until you've cum so hard you pass out

Which you did. One time. But that's another story.

Man he probably forbids you from wearing panties anyway, so that when he stuffs a vibrator up your cunny, all your slick leaks onto the floor

He'll giggle gleefully when he sees it- it fills him with such pride

Onto the breeding kink-

For Anslem, it's all about the exhibitionism

Knowing that other people know exactly what happened to make your tummy nice and round like that

Anselm's the type of guy to have his sperm frozen somewhere

Take's a concerning amount of joy in, instead of fucking you himself, making you cum with his tongue and then pippeting more quantities of cum than his body could ever naturally release in one go inside you

He tells you it's something about the image of your pussy so desperately trying her best to keep all his cum inside, but ultimately failing

"It makes my heart ache for her." He says, tenderly stroking your clit as if to soothe it from his earlier assault

Anselm the type to kiss your pussy better

After he's fucked you raw every which way, and then plugged you up with something to keep all his seed inside you.

He expresses a strange admiration for your gentials

"Armes ding, I don't know how she puts up with me."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Matt Shuham at HuffPost:

Tina Peters, the Republican former county clerk and right-wing folk hero, was found guilty Monday on four of seven felony counts against her, and guilty of all three misdemeanor counts. The charges related to one of the most significant election security breaches in recent years. Peters, who declined to testify at trial, is the former clerk and recorder of Mesa County, Colorado, which is home to Grand Junction and around 150,000 people. She became a cause célèbre for the nationwide election denial movement after she was indicted in relation to the security breach ― maintaining that the breach occurred while she was trying to investigate Dominion voting machines, and that her actions were legal.

The jury reached the verdict after about four hours of deliberation Monday. Peters was not taken into custody at the courthouse but rather instructed to report to a probation officer by noon Tuesday. She’ll face a sentencing hearing on Oct. 3. Based on the verdict, Peters could face anywhere from 7¾ to 22½ years in prison, according to Marshall Zelinger, a reporter at KUSA-TV in Denver. “Tina Peters willfully compromised her own election equipment trying to prove Trump’s Big Lie,” Jena Griswold, Colorado’s Democratic secretary of state, said in a statement reacting to the verdict. “She has been found guilty of 4 felonies and 3 misdemeanors by a jury of her peers and will now face the consequences of her actions. Today’s verdict sends a clear message: we will not tolerate any effort to threaten the security of our gold standard elections. I am proud that justice for Colorado voters has been served today.”

After the 2020 election, Peters secretly brought a computer analyst aligned with the election denial movement into a protected software update meeting for Dominion election machines in her county, wary of state officials erasing election information. The analyst attended the update under a disguise, using the name and access badge of a local Mesa County resident. Digital images from the software update soon leaked online ― published by Ron Watkins, a key QAnon figure ― and state officials quickly descended upon the Mesa County elections office to investigate. Peters was indicted in 2022, and pleaded not guilty ahead of trial to three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and one count each of criminal impersonation, identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the secretary of state. The first seven counts were felonies, the last three were misdemeanors. Peters was found guilty Monday of all felony counts except one of the counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, criminal impersonation, and identity theft. She was found guilty of the three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one of the counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation.

[...]

A National Network

Though elections in the United States are largely run on the local level, Peters’ trial showed the truly national scope of the election conspiracy theory movement, which Donald Trump supercharged four years ago when he denied the facts of his own 2020 reelection loss ― ultimately leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress, an attempt by Trump supporters to overturn Joe Biden’s win. For one thing, Sherronna Bishop, an ally of Peters’ and a key witness in the trial, is Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Co.) former campaign manager. Bishop, a right-wing activist, introduced Peters to the national election conspiracy theory community ― among them Douglas Frank, a election conspiracy theorist who has toured the country claiming to have discovered mathematical proof of election rigging. In reality, as The Washington Post reported, Frank’s pitch involves “a bit of impressive-sounding chicanery that is light-years away from any proof of fraud.” It was Bishop who testified that Wood, the supposed victim of identity theft, had actually consented to the use of his Mesa County badge as part of the scheme ― a claim Wood and the prosecution denied.

Jurors in the Peters case heard a secretly-recorded meeting between Frank and Peters ― taped by a concerned member of Peters’ office ― in which Frank encouraged the then-county clerk to root out “phantom” ballots and acknowledged he was being paid by Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a major funder of the election denial movement. The same concerned staff member, Stephanie Wenholz, Mesa County’s front-end elections manager, said Peters had mandated that staff attend a presentation by Frank, hosted by Bishop, at a Grand Junction hotel. Wenholz said the mood at the event was “kind of like a revival” and said she felt her safety was in jeopardy at the event. Lindell himself loomed large over the trial: The Mesa County story became national news as Peters spoke at a Lindell event, deemed the “Cyber Symposium,” in South Dakota. She reportedly traveled there via Lindell’s private jet. In 2022, Lindell claimed to have donated $800,000 to Peters’ defense fund. Lindell’s cell phone was seized by the FBI in 2022 (when he was in a Hardee’s drive-through) as part of a federal investigation of the Mesa County breach. Lindell sued, but the suit went nowhere, with the Supreme Court ultimately declining to hear an appeal.

Election-denying former Mesa County, Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters pleaded guilty in election machine breaches.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Epic Systems, a lethal health record monopolist

Epic Systems makes the dominant electronic health record (EHR) system in America; if you're a doctor, chances are you are required to use it, and for every hour a doctor spends with a patient, they have to spend two hours doing clinically useless bureaucratic data-entry on an Epic EHR.

How could a product so manifestly unfit for purpose be the absolute market leader? Simple: as Robert Kuttner describes in an excellent feature in The American Prospect, Epic may be a clinical disaster, but it's a profit-generating miracle:

https://prospect.org/health/2024-10-01-epic-dystopia/

At the core of Epic's value proposition is "upcoding," a form of billing fraud that is beloved of hospital administrators, including the "nonprofit" hospitals that generate vast fortunes that are somehow not characterized as profits. Here's a particularly egregious form of upcoding: back in 2020, the Poudre Valley Hospital in Ft Collins, CO locked all its doors except the ER entrance. Every patient entering the hospital, including those receiving absolutely routine care, was therefore processed as an "emergency."

In April 2020, Caitlin Wells Salerno – a pregnant biologist – drove to Poudre Valley with normal labor pains. She walked herself up to obstetrics, declining the offer of a wheelchair, stopping only to snap a cheeky selfie. Nevertheless, the hospital recorded her normal, uncomplicated birth as a Level 5 emergency – comparable to a major heart-attack – and whacked her with a $2755 bill for emergency care:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/27/crossing-a-line/#zero-fucks-given

Upcoding has its origins in the Reagan revolution, when the market-worshipping cultists he'd put in charge of health care created the "Prospective Payment System," which paid a lump sum for care. The idea was to incentivize hospitals to provide efficient care, since they could keep the difference between whatever they spent getting you better and the set PPS amount that Medicare would reimburse them. Hospitals responded by inventing upcoding: a patient with controlled, long-term coronary disease who showed up with a broken leg would get coded for the coronary condition and the cast, and the hospital would pocket both lump sums:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/13/a-punch-in-the-guts/#hayek-pilled

The reason hospital administrators love Epic, and pay gigantic sums for systemwide software licenses, is directly connected to the two hours that doctors spent filling in Epic forms for every hour they spend treating patients. Epic collects all that extra information in order to identify potential sources of plausible upcodes, which allows hospitals to bill patients, insurers, and Medicare through the nose for routine care. Epic can automatically recode "diabetes with no complications" from a Hierarchical Condition Category code 19 (worth $894.40) as "diabetes with kidney failure," code 18 and 136, which gooses the reimbursement to $1273.60.

Epic snitches on doctors to their bosses, giving them a dashboard to track doctors' compliance with upcoding suggestions. One of Kuttner's doctor sources says her supervisor contacts her with questions like, "That appointment was a 2. Don’t you think it might be a 3?"

Robert Kuttner is the perfect journalist to unravel the Epic scam. As a journalist who wrote for The New England Journal of Medicine, he's got an insider's knowledge of the health industry, and plenty of sources among health professionals. As he tells it, Epic is a cultlike, insular company that employs 12.500 people in its hometown of Verona, WI.

The EHR industry's origins start with a GW Bush-era law called the HITECH Act, which was later folded into Obama's Recovery Act in 2009. Obama provided $27b to hospitals that installed EHR systems. These systems had to more than track patient outcomes – they also provided the data for pay-for-performance incentives. EHRs were already trying to do something very complicated – track health outcomes – but now they were also meant to underpin a cockamamie "incentives" program that was supposed to provide a carrot to the health industry so it would stop killing people and ripping off Medicare. EHRs devolved into obscenely complex spaghetti systems that doctors and nurses loathed on sight.

But there was one group that loved EHRs: hospital administrators and the private companies offering Medicare Advantage plans (which also benefited from upcoding patients in order to soak Uncle Sucker):

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8649706/

The spread of EHRs neatly tracks with a spike in upcharging: "from 2014 through 2019, the number of hospital stays billed at the highest severity level increased almost 20 percent…the number of stays billed at each of the other severity levels decreased":

https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/OEI-02-18-00380.pdf

The purpose of a system is what it does. Epic's industry-dominating EHR is great at price-gouging, but it sucks as a clinical tool – it takes 18 keystrokes just to enter a prescription:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2729481

Doctors need to see patients, but their bosses demand that they satisfy Epic's endless red tape. Doctors now routinely stay late after work and show up hours early, just to do paperwork. It's not enough. According to another one of Kuttner's sources, doctors routinely copy-and-paste earlier entries into the current one, a practice that generates rampant errors. Some just make up random numbers to fulfill Epic's nonsensical requirements: the same source told Kuttner that when prompted to enter a pain score for his TB patients, he just enters "zero."

Don't worry, Epic has a solution: AI. They've rolled out an "ambient listening" tool that attempts to transcribe everything the doctor and patient say during an exam and then bash it into a visit report. Not only is this prone to the customary mistakes that make AI unsuited to high-stakes, error-sensitive applications, it also represents a profound misunderstanding of the purpose of clinical notes.

The very exercise of organizing your thoughts and reflections about an event – such as a medical exam – into a coherent report makes you apply rigor and perspective to events that otherwise arrive as a series of fleeting impressions and reactions. That's why blogging is such an effective practice:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/09/the-memex-method/

The answer to doctors not having time to reflect and organize good notes is to give them more time – not more AI. As another doctor told Kuttner: "Ambient listening is a solution to a self-created problem of requiring too much data entry by clinicians."

EHRs are one of those especially hellish public-private partnerships. Health care doctrine from Reagan to Obama insisted that the system just needed to be exposed to market forces and incentives. EHRs are designed to allow hospitals to win as many of these incentives as possible. Epic's clinical care modules do this by bombarding doctors with low-quality diagnostic suggestions with "little to do with a patient’s actual condition and risks," leading to "alert fatigue," so doctors miss the important alerts in the storm of nonsense elbow-jostling:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5058605/

Clinicians who actually want to improve the quality of care in their facilities end up recording data manually and keying it into spreadsheets, because they can't get Epic to give them the data they need. Meanwhile, an army of high-priced consultants stand ready to give clinicians advise on getting Epic to do what they need, but can't seem to deliver.

Ironically, one of the benefits that Epic touts is its interoperability: hospitals that buy Epic systems can interconnect those with other Epic systems, and there's a large ecosystem of aftermarket add-ons that work with Epic. But Epic is a product, not a protocol, so its much-touted interop exists entirely on its terms, and at its sufferance. If Epic chooses, a doctor using its products can send files to a doctor using a rival product. But Epic can also veto that activity – and its veto extends to deciding whether a hospital can export their patient records to a competing service and get off Epic altogether.

One major selling point for Epic is its capacity to export "anonymized" data for medical research. Very large patient data-sets like Epic's are reasonably believed to contain many potential medical insights, so medical researchers are very excited at the prospect of interrogating that data.

But Epic's approach – anonymizing files containing the most sensitive information imaginable, about millions of people, and then releasing them to third parties – is a nightmare. "De-identified" data-sets are notoriously vulnerable to "re-identification" and the threat of re-identification only increases every time there's another release or breach, which can used to reveal the identities of people in anonymized records. For example, if you have a database of all the prescribing at a given hospital – a numeric identifier representing the patient, and the time and date when they saw a doctor and got a scrip. At any time in the future, a big location-data breach – say, from Uber or a transit system – can show you which people went back and forth to the hospital at the times that line up with those doctor's appointments, unmasking the person who got abortion meds, cancer meds, psychiatric meds or other sensitive prescriptions.

The fact that anonymized data can – will! – be re-identified doesn't mean we have to give up on the prospect of gleaning insight from medical records. In the UK, the eminent doctor Ben Goldacre and colleagues built an incredible effective, privacy-preserving "trusted research environment" (TRE) to operate on millions of NHS records across a decentralized system of hospitals and trusts without ever moving the data off their own servers:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/08/the-fire-of-orodruin/#are-we-the-baddies

The TRE is an open source, transparent server that accepts complex research questions in the form of database queries. These queries are posted to a public server for peer-review and revision, and when they're ready, the TRE sends them to each of the databases where the records are held. Those databases transmit responses to the TRE, which then publishes them. This has been unimaginably successful: the prototype of the TRE launched during the lockdown generated sixty papers in Nature in a matter of months.

Monopolies are inefficient, and Epic's outmoded and dangerous approach to research, along with the roadblocks it puts in the way of clinical excellence, epitomizes the problems with monopoly. America's health care industry is a dumpster fire from top to bottom – from Medicare Advantage to hospital cartels – and allowing Epic to dominate the EHR market has somehow, incredibly, made that system even worse.

Naturally, Kuttner finishes out his article with some antitrust analysis, sketching out how the Sherman Act could be brought to bear on Epic. Something has to be done. Epic's software is one of the many reasons that MDs are leaving the medical profession in droves.

Epic epitomizes the long-standing class war between doctors who want to take care of their patients and hospital executives who want to make a buck off of those patients.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/02/upcoded-to-death/#thanks-obama

Image: Flying Logos (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Over_$1,000,000_dollars_in_USD_$100_bill_stacks.png

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[feminist-space]

"Just weeks before the implosion of AllHere, an education technology company that had been showered with cash from venture capitalists and featured in glowing profiles by the business press, America’s second-largest school district was warned about problems with AllHere’s product.

As the eight-year-old startup rolled out Los Angeles Unified School District’s flashy new AI-driven chatbot — an animated sun named “Ed” that AllHere was hired to build for $6 million — a former company executive was sending emails to the district and others that Ed’s workings violated bedrock student data privacy principles.

Those emails were sent shortly before The 74 first reported last week that AllHere, with $12 million in investor capital, was in serious straits. A June 14 statement on the company’s website revealed a majority of its employees had been furloughed due to its “current financial position.” Company founder and CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles district said, was no longer on the job.

Smith-Griffin and L.A. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho went on the road together this spring to unveil Ed at a series of high-profile ed tech conferences, with the schools chief dubbing it the nation’s first “personal assistant” for students and leaning hard into LAUSD’s place in the K-12 AI vanguard. He called Ed’s ability to know students “unprecedented in American public education” at the ASU+GSV conference in April.

Through an algorithm that analyzes troves of student information from multiple sources, the chatbot was designed to offer tailored responses to questions like “what grade does my child have in math?” The tool relies on vast amounts of students’ data, including their academic performance and special education accommodations, to function.

Meanwhile, Chris Whiteley, a former senior director of software engineering at AllHere who was laid off in April, had become a whistleblower. He told district officials, its independent inspector general’s office and state education officials that the tool processed student records in ways that likely ran afoul of L.A. Unified’s own data privacy rules and put sensitive information at risk of getting hacked. None of the agencies ever responded, Whiteley told The 74.

...

In order to provide individualized prompts on details like student attendance and demographics, the tool connects to several data sources, according to the contract, including Welligent, an online tool used to track students’ special education services. The document notes that Ed also interfaces with the Whole Child Integrated Data stored on Snowflake, a cloud storage company. Launched in 2019, the Whole Child platform serves as a central repository for LAUSD student data designed to streamline data analysis to help educators monitor students’ progress and personalize instruction.

Whiteley told officials the app included students’ personally identifiable information in all chatbot prompts, even in those where the data weren’t relevant. Prompts containing students’ personal information were also shared with other third-party companies unnecessarily, Whiteley alleges, and were processed on offshore servers. Seven out of eight Ed chatbot requests, he said, are sent to places like Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.

Taken together, he argued the company’s practices ran afoul of data minimization principles, a standard cybersecurity practice that maintains that apps should collect and process the least amount of personal information necessary to accomplish a specific task. Playing fast and loose with the data, he said, unnecessarily exposed students’ information to potential cyberattacks and data breaches and, in cases where the data were processed overseas, could subject it to foreign governments’ data access and surveillance rules.

Chatbot source code that Whiteley shared with The 74 outlines how prompts are processed on foreign servers by a Microsoft AI service that integrates with ChatGPT. The LAUSD chatbot is directed to serve as a “friendly, concise customer support agent” that replies “using simple language a third grader could understand.” When querying the simple prompt “Hello,” the chatbot provided the student’s grades, progress toward graduation and other personal information.

AllHere’s critical flaw, Whiteley said, is that senior executives “didn’t understand how to protect data.”

...

Earlier in the month, a second threat actor known as Satanic Cloud claimed it had access to tens of thousands of L.A. students’ sensitive information and had posted it for sale on Breach Forums for $1,000. In 2022, the district was victim to a massive ransomware attack that exposed reams of sensitive data, including thousands of students’ psychological evaluations, to the dark web.

With AllHere’s fate uncertain, Whiteley blasted the company’s leadership and protocols.

“Personally identifiable information should be considered acid in a company and you should only touch it if you have to because acid is dangerous,” he told The 74. “The errors that were made were so egregious around PII, you should not be in education if you don’t think PII is acid.”

Read the full article here:

https://www.the74million.org/article/whistleblower-l-a-schools-chatbot-misused-student-data-as-tech-co-crumbled/

[tangentsimmer]

Anxiously Waiting... (The Sims 4: Get Famous)

Ari and her mother arrived at their San Myshuno hotel around midnight Monday morning. Junie decided to retire to bed, but Ari was too anxious to sleep. She was meeting with her record label "Dinky Beats" first thing in the morning. Ari fears they're going to drop her for not releasing music timely enough. Despite sending the label plenty of samples of her music to her label (and promising to have her debut EP ready by this summer), they want to her to release something now. Anything. It doesn't matter how talented she is: the show must go on, with or with her.

Ari sat on her hotel bed while her mother slept in the other bed. San Myshuno is one of her favorite places to be, for more reasons than one, but the dread she is feeling in this moment is clouding any other emotion.

buzz buzz

Ari looks over to her phone on the bedside table as the screen lit up with a text message:

"Has the eagle landed yet?"

It's none other than amateur music producer and tech guru, Akira Kibo. Ari and Akira met several months ago during Ari's "Moschino & Co." photoshoot through a mutual friend. Akira works for "Rainy Day Entertainment," a startup tech company based in San Myshuno. He assists with managing the software used at "Moschino & Co." And Ari finds him incredibly attractive. Suddenly, Ari's tense mood was gone and had been replaced with giddy.

"There's no way a man is making me feel like this," Ari muttered to herself, fighting back a huge grin as she composed her reply to Akira:

"Just landed in the city. Bored. Wanna have a jam sesh?"

The shift in their relationship happened weeks ago. Ari has been making waves under her current label, but she's also been sharing and trading ideas with Akira. He thinks -- maybe even more than she does -- that Ari is going to be a global superstar someday, and has been happy to help her with music producing. Ari even told him she was coming to town, but she didn't disclose why. Partly because she was embarrassed, but mostly because she still has no idea what the meeting is about. But before Ari could pull herself out of her thoughts, her phone buzzed again:

"Absolutely. Come through. ;)"

Ari knows that text was harmless; he's always teasing her flirtatiously. But still, Ari feels butterflies in her stomach. She checks the clock sitting on the end table. 1:36 AM.

"On my way."

[crazywildsillyfriskygirlygirl4]

[theholmwoodfoundation]

THE HOLMWOOD FOUNDATION PILOT EPISODE CAST/CREW - PART THREE

GEORGIA COOK - CO-WRITER AND CO-PRODUCER

Georgia Cook is an illustrator and scribe-award nominated writer from London. She has written for publications such as Baffling, Vastarien Lit, and Flame Tree press, as well as the Doctor Who range with Big Finish. Her Doctor Who Novel, Ruby Red, is currently available from Penguin books. She frequently writes and narrates for various horror anthology podcasts such as 'Creepy', 'The Other Stories', and 'The Night's End'. She can be found on twitter at @georgiacooked and on her website at https://www.georgiacookwriter.com/

FIO TRETHEWEY - CO-WRITER AND CO-PRODUCER

Fio Trethewey is a writer and artist known for their love of Doctor Who, Arthurian Legend and 80s cult classics. Alongside working for the Lancet as a Deputy Operations Manager he has written a variety of audio dramas and short stories for Big Finish Productions for their Doctor Who box sets, most recently writing for the Gallifrey War Room Series both ‘The Last Days of Phaidon” (2022), “Transference” (2023) and The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles finale "You Only Die Twice.' Fio has also contributed their prose work to various anthologies including Overdue: Mystery, Adventure, and the World’s Lost Books, Shadows Over Avalon Volume 2 and Sockhops and Seances for 18thWall Productions. Lastly, as a writer and artist to charity anthologies and raised money on a charity drawing stream for FareShare UK back in October 2020 raising $4,762.

KATHARINE ARMITAGE - SCRIPT EDITOR

Katharine is a writer, script editor and director in drama and comedy. Most recently she directed new Radio 4 sitcom 'Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT!' and wrote scripts including 'The Beautiful Game' and 'Nowhere, Never' for Big Finish's Doctor Who audio dramas.  She also wrote and directed an adaptation of 'Dracula', back in 2017, so was delighted to return to the Count's world in working on 'The Holmwood Foundation'.

BENJI CLIFFORD - SOUND DESIGNER/ ENGINEER

Benji is a sound designer, musician, and presenter from the UK who specialises in post-production audio design. Whether creating cinematic multi-cast productions or intimate storytelling through audiobooks, Benji ensures that you get the highest quality, professional-sounding production. Throughout his time as a sound designer, Benji has worked on many famous properties such as BBC's Doctor Who and Torchwood, ITV's iconic Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray, as well as cult tv revivals such as Terry Nation's Survivors, Space 1999, Adam Adamant Lives and Blake's 7, to name a few. Using the latest industry-standard equipment, software, and a fully loaded sound effects library consisting of thousands of recordings, Benji delivers a clean and contemporary sound regardless of your budgetary requirements. In addition to working in his own studio, Benji has extensive experience engineering in some of London's busiest recording studios. He has also helped many companies and productions continue working during remote working restrictions, ensuring high quality can be achieved even in less-than-ideal environments. Since 2017, Benji has co-hosted the weekly Big Finish Podcast alongside Nicholas Briggs. This podcast has a worldwide reach with thousands of listeners, and he has also performed it live across the UK and in the USA.

PART ONE: HERE

PART TWO: HERE

[emeraldsk]

Cookie Run Kingdom Rates... The Sequel!

Heyyy yall!

Remember this?

Well I'm doing it again, but updated!

On most parts I have multiple, so that's uhh-

Oop.

AAANYWAY here we go!

.

Favorite cookie(s) (in no specific order)

I love all of them so freaking much I AUUUGH MY DUDES.

Stormbringer is SUPER COOL. Idk her character much yet but I WILL CHECK STUFF OUT. My first legendary on my first day, she'll be my most worked on legendary. Honestly, if she gained a soul thingy like Black Pearl or Frost Queen, she'd be op soon I SWEAR- *gets dragged into the asylum*

Black Forest is here because I saw her April Fools art and I choked, stumbled, fell, and I'm dead. Now I've been analyzing her normal self and cake bride and I MMMMM. Pretty woman. And she wants to be with the player basically, and that sounds a bit like a certain girl I've been crushing on for years now... *Glances at Monika*

Pure Vanilla is the one I'd trust in 100%. He's the guy I'd look up to, rely on, just fghjkl. I just wanna meet him, geek out a bit, and then hopefully be friends. He's just a cool guy, idk what to say.

SHADOW MILK DTFYGHJ He was the reason I joined this game. His stupid arse design, voice, and personality viciously grabbed me by the throat and shoved me in this hell, blame him XD. And uhhhhhhhhh yeah he's also the side I'd join if I could LOL. Y'all ask if I can fix him, but it'd be that he'd break ME. The actions are bad, but if I can be with him, win win.

.

Least Favorite Cookie(s)

To you both... Go suck on a dik and a banana-

Custard is... Getting better now. I still don't like his voice at ALL, but I can at least handle him now. Plus, other than the voice, my BFF said that if I was exactly like a cookie, it'd be him. XD

Wedding Cake traumatized me in the cake shop, that's enough for me. To her, kiss my a-

.

Favorite Cookie(s) At The Start

THEMS <3

Gingerbrave is such a goober I love him. I wanna give him side hugs and just be like besties with him. When I was starting, his goofy bits were making me snicker, and his facial expressions make me smile. I keep remembering the 'If I fits, I sits' bit with the cutter, and I just ESRDTGFCH LOLOL (He's somewhat built cause I saw people with 2mil power Gingerbraves and I wanna try at it)

Chili Pepper. I swore it was luck, but once she spoke, I realized it was scripted. :,) But her voice is like... Rainbow Dash from MLP. And I love RD too. So her voice is very nice. Love it. Also, WHY was she not coming to me??? Sure, you see her at 5 stars rn, but I got her at the start, and then NOTHING. I literally had to waste purple coins to get the uhh group bonus thing done. She came then, and then avoided me like the PLAGUE for THE ENTIRE TIME I'VE BEEN PLAYING. How does this happen?!?!

.

My Rarest Cookie

The game says her shockingly since she's the only awakened one. Huh.

But yeah, other than that, I got an awakened Dark Cacao...

But not him.

I got the awakened form, but not him. (he's the only Ancient I don't have)

My luck is flawed.

.

Most Powerful Cookie

HE'S GOTTEN SO BIGGGGGG the last time I did this he was at 70k. Such a baby. A child. Now he's grown up.

...

I'm not tearing up, you are-

.

Do...

Do I have to explain these?

(Also yes, Candy Apple is knocked off of here. I'm at Beast Yeast 7-16, and girl she's stupid af. That ain't gonna get him to like you. That made him almost KILL YOU. Idiot.)

.

Cookie(s) I Want But Don't Have

...

Okay so uh teeeeechnically if event ones count, then I could go for like Sonic Cookie, Tails Cookie, Ariel Cookie...

But if they don't count, then just...

Them.

I have every. Single. Cookie.

Except for them.

ESPECIALLY DARK CACAO (to finish my ancient collection and get him awakened) AND ETERNAL SUGAR (my love please come home I don't wanna reach pity-)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Emily Singer at Daily Kos:

A federal judge limited co-President Elon Musk and his army of teenage Department of Government Efficiency minions' access to the Treasury Department's payment systems Thursday in response to a group of unions’ lawsuit alleging that DOGE's access violated the Privacy Act of 1974. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s order said that Treasury Department employees will block Musk and other DOGE workers' access “to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service." The order does, however, allow "read only" access of the payment systems to two “special government employees” who have ties to Musk: Tom Krause, the chief executive of Cloud Software Group Inc., and Marko Elez, a 25-year-old engineer who has worked for Musk-owned companies SpaceX and X. Krause and Elez were assigned to the Treasury Department through DOGE, and reportedly “passed government background checks and obtained the necessary security clearances,” The New York Times reported on Feb. 1. The limit on access will remain in place until the judge hears arguments from the group of unions who sued as to why she should grant a more permanent injunction on allowing DOGE access. Democrats and privacy experts have been up in arms that DOGE workers have been granted access to the Treasury’s payment system, which disburses trillions every year for Social Security payments, tax refunds, and government grants, among other things. Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to formally block DOGE workers’ access to the Treasury payment system.

Glad to see the unelected coup leader Elon Musk get put in his place… for now.

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Mega Drive - Tetris

Title: Tetris / テトリス

Developer/Publisher: Sega / Sanritsu Denki Co. Ltd. (SIMS Co. Ltd.) / Tengen / Atari Games / Mirrorsoft / Andromeda Software

Release Year: 1989

Catalogue No.: G-4007

Genre: Puzzle

Sega produced a Mega Drive conversion of their hit arcade version in anticipation of being able to win the rights to the home versions from Nintendo in court. The game had been manufactured and was ready to ship, but Sega did not end up winning the legal battle, and they were unable to be sold. The cartridges were left to rot in a warehouse and, ultimately, were presumably destroyed. A handful of copies have, however, found their way into the open market.

More than a decade and a half later, the Mega Drive conversion finally saw official release in 2006 as a bonus in Sega Ages 2500 Series Volume 28 - Tetris Collection.

The Mega Drive version of Tetris is one of the rarest and most sought-after games and the game is honored as such in the 2008 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition. Less than 10 copies are known to exist. There are, however, numerous bootlegs of Chinese origin floating around.

In August 2010, there was a prototype of the original Mega Drive Tetris for Auction on Yahoo Auctions Japan.  The auction went for very little money, in fact only 10,615 yen, which, to put it in perspective, is only a few thousand yen more than a normal retail game for the PS3 or Xbox 360. The winner is indeed a very fortunate chap.

Now, while it can't be said for sure that this proto is 100% legit, although I have no reason to doubt that it is, it can be said that this prototype does indeed carry the code for the official Japanese Tetris cartridge, NOT the hacked Chinese pirate that can be found all over the net and on every Mega Drive Tetris cartridge out there. Just take a look at the screenshots below that I personally took from a Chinese pirate Tetris cartridge and this Prototype.

This is the real title screen as seen on the prototype and official cartridge.

And here is the title screen found on the Chinese fake version, or one of multiple Chinese fake versions of it.

Both of those screenshots were taken from real Mega Drive hardware. Notice how the Chinese fake covers the Sega logo with the copyright information. Not only that, but they've also completely rewritten it as well. Another point about the Chinese fake is that the Sega logo before the title screen appears as a load of blocks, thanks to the pirates scrabbling the graphics code.

So why is the official Mega Drive Tetris so rare? The game was in development alongside the Sega System 16 arcade version and was completed and produced in full. Just before the game was due to be shipped out to retailers, a problem arose with the Tetris license, giving Nintendo exclusive rights to the game. Sega had no choice but to destroy all copies of the Mega Drive Tetris. However, 1 box of games did manage to survive. It's said that there are only 10 official Mega Drive cartridges in existence, making it one of the most sought-after and most expensive games for the system.

Despite the Mega Drive version's legal complications and subsequent cancelled release, bootleg versions of the game quickly found their way onto the unlicensed market, with reports of its availability first appearing in November 1989. Notably, a bootleg copy of Tetris is seen being played in the Jackie Chan action film Police Story 3: Supercop, which began filming around late 1991, demonstrating just how much traction this version had gained in the unlicensed market since then.

Below you can see images of the real official Mega Drive Tetris. This game doesn't belong to me, so please don't ask about it.

And here is the crappy Chinese fake that can be found pretty much anywhere.

In 2019 with the release of the Mega Drive Mini, the hardware itself came with two bonus games. One a Mega Drive reprogrammed port of Taito's Darius, and a whole new Mega Drive version of Tetris.

The Mega Drive Mini version of Tetris is a more faithful port of the System 16 version of Tetris to the Sega Mega Drive. Unlike the 1989 Mega Drive port, this port was actually licensed.