Anti-Piracy Gets My Goat - A Poem

Hello all. I was a guest on AllFM's "The Marmite Files" on Sunday, which is a comedy panel show every month taking up half of the "Marmite Junction" show that day. One of the rounds is known as "PPRS" or "Poem, Prose, Rant or Song" where each contestant/guest can talk about the topic of that month's show. This month's was "What Gets My Goat".

Like any good guest, I prepared for it at 3am on the day of the show. My PPRS was about the attitude towards Internet piracy. Unfortunately, I felt it might be a little too political, and I wanted to be invited back on the show. I ended up improvising a bed time story about how computers stop working very well after 3 years.

Back to the poem though, I thought I'd share it with you now since I didn't use it on the show. Be warned that the structure is a little off (it was 3am after all) and I'm far from being as good as Danny Chivers.

Anti-Piracy Gets My Goat - by Peter Shillito

Picture one day, in the month of May, I want to see a movie.
Films a-plenty, snacks, there were many, but the prices, they were a doozy.
Tickets: eight pound? Boy how I frowned, and left feeling quite woozy.

I went home that night, following my plight, to download the film instead.
Illegal? I confess. But those prices depress and got me seeing red.
But before you go sue, here is my cue, to share with you what's ahead.
   
Statistics have shown, that those who download, buy more than those who do not.
Yet the large companies, more skeptic than bookies, treat the pirates like snot.
People won't buy without giving a try, unless they know it is hot.

What I'm trying to say, is that the Pirate Bay, should definitely not have been blocked,
It's a promotion tool, you silly fool, some artists confirm that it rocked.
But at the end of all this, some companies take bliss in constantly staying shocked.

What gets my goat, before I fetch my coat, is people treat it like theft.
It's advertising, not stealing, the original is still left.
Now if you'll excuse me, I bought a DVD, and if you haven't guessed,
I downloaded it months ago, but back then my cash flow...got a little stressed.

Addendum: Following this post, I checked the ticket prices for Crewe cinema. After they got taken over by Odeon (previously Reel Cinema), normal adult tickets are £7.10, but then there's £2 extra for 3D films, plus £1 for 3D glasses (which you can apparently re-use). Basically, that's £10.10 for a cinema ticket (and 2D films are getting fewer and fewer these days).

Anime Wants List - February 2012 Edition

RIGHT THEN! I am a student. I have a student loan. Therefore, spending money on anything that's not food, rent or bills is mighty tricky. Heck, I had to think twice about spending 99p on "Tell Your World" (the Hatsune Miku song used in the Japanese Google Chrome adverts) on iTunes UK. So I've applied for jobs at various places, some haven't responded yet (and may not at all) and some haven't got a suitable job for me. So money is generally tight.

Meanwhile, Manga UK has become somewhat notorious for their treatment of blu-ray releases (or rather, the lack and cancellations of them), leading me to look at Australian blu-rays instead. I've ordered the biggest anime release of last year that I was looking forward to from Australia: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya on blu-ray. This is likely to be the only anime I'll be buying this year with the exception of special limited editions that will actually become difficult to buy if I delayed it for too long. That is, of course, unless I get a job. We'll see how that goes.

So, I started off making a list of Australian blu-ray releases I wanted so I had a quick reference if/when I get a job/another source of income. I then started looking at other releases from American and British companies and started noting them down including if they were available as a blu-ray (and if I could play it in a blu-ray region B country). So, I shall share this list with you. I've noted on American blu-rays if they are multi-region or not (USA is region A, while Australia and UK is region B) plus some extra notes here or there. Note that some of these aren't released yet, but probably will be by the time I get a job >_<

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Anime Buys List:

Sentai Filmworks:
MM!
KOBATO.
Maid-sama
Akikan!
And Yet the Town Moves
You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle
World God Only Knows (BD A, so maybe get DVD?)

Funimation:
B Gata H Kei (BD A+B)
Dance in the Vampire Bund (BD A+B)
Full Metal Panic! Second Raid (BD A+B)
Heaven's Lost Property (BD A+B)
Is this a Zombie (unreleased BD ???)

NIS America:
Occult Academy (unreleased BD ???)
Toradora part 2 (dig up special edition)

Bandai USA:
Haruhi Suzumiya season 2 (Manga UK's edition has faulty Japanese audio)

Kaze:
Princess Jellyfish (unreleased BD?)
Persona 4 (unreleased BD?)

Madman Australia:
World God Only Knows (unreleased possible future BD?)
K-On (boxset is not yet released BD)
FLCL (BD)
Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (BD) (in transit)

Siren Australia:
Dennou Coil
Welcome to Irabu's Office (aka Trapeze aka Kuuchuu Buranko)

Manga UK:
Haruhi-chan (both parts)
Angel Beats (Siren do the BD if Manga cancel another blu-ray)

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One last note from me. "The World God Only Knows" is being released on DVD and blu-ray in the USA by Sentai, but the blu-ray is region A only (which I can't play). Madman is releasing it on DVD only, but they mentioned on Twitter that it's a possibility in the future. I'll hold out on buying the DVD in the hope for a blu-ray release from Madman. Alternatively, there may be a DVD-only release by Manga in the UK. Or, if all else fails and I save up a lot, I'll get another blu-ray player that can play region A blu-rays.

Peter Shillito