The Joys of Viacom

So now this is happening to my inbox today...

For those that don't know, I've uploaded a number of "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" clips on to youtube and Viacom is claiming copyright and taking them down.

I have no problem with copyright claims as such - companies need to make sure A) no one else is profiting off their intellectual property and B) they need to make sure that they ARE.

The problem I have with this is that neither of these was happening.

Firstly, none of the blocked videos are monetized. I never displayed a single ad or made a single dime off of Viacom's content. I uploaded for free, people watched for free and no one made any money out of any of it.

Secondly, and much more importantly, show me the revenue stream Viacom reaps off of old episodes of Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. Can I watch it on a streaming service? Does Viacom have their own Youtube channel with ads? Are there Late Late Show DVDs available for purchase at Best Buy? No. Viacom was not making a penny less with these videos available for fans to watch and is not making a penny more with these videos struck down. The only difference is they were able to take something away from their customers.

When a giant company takes something from someone for their own profits, some call that "greed". But what is it when a giant company takes something from someone and no one benefits in any way?

Best of the Worst - Halloween Episode

In this year's Halloween episode of Best of the Worst, the gang watches "Vampire Assassin", "Hack-O-Lantern" and "Cathy's Curse".

Even though it's a Halloween episode, the scariest thing about it is alcoholism.

Late Night - New Halloween Costumes 1989

Perhaps my favorite Halloween tradition (at least as an adult). New Halloween costumes on Late Night/Late Show.


And yes, that is Macaulay Culkin in the McDLT.

JonTron - The Halloween Turducken

JonTron thinks that Halloween needs a signature dish and suggests the "Frankenstein of Poultry" - the Turducken.

It doesn't make sense but just go with it.



So the premise... we have set meals for other holidays but not Halloween. For Thanksgiving, it's turkey, for Christmas, it's ham. Hold up. Is it ham for Christmas? I always thought Easter was a ham meal. Is it ham for Easter and Christmas? Because if it is, that ruins the premise that each holiday gets a meal - a unique meal, anyway.

Or are other families eating something else for Easter? My family eats ham for Easter, turkey for Thanksgiving and steak for Christmas. I can understand that probably my family is unique but I'm still not convinced there are rules.

In England, the agreed upon Christmas meal is turkey. That's standard, I know. But then they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, obviously.

Game Grumps - Halloween

Well the countdown to Halloween is on. And while I'm more of a Reformation Day guy myself, I'll be posting Halloween-related things up to the day itself.

Today the Game Grumps play cheap, low-rated games on Steam.

First up is the horror classic Lost Base Escape.



Next, they play the horror-themed game Tungulus for some spectacular Tungulage.

This episode is a bit slower but some of the best horror thrillers are slow sometimes.

Conan - Clueless Gamer with David Bakhtiari

Conan plays the game "Assassin's Creed: Origins" with David Bakhtiari plus one additional football player (for some reason?). It annoys me that every Clueless Gamer these days must have a celebrity involved. It's taking something good and unique and mellowing it down to almost another celebrity interview segment. Do they think that Conan playing a video game with Aaron Bleyaert isn't funny enough, it needs to have extra star power?

That said, it's still funny.