So here is an interesting article About AP wanting rights or money or something over that famous Obama picture. The thing that is weird is someone from AP helped write the article. Go to yahoo and check out the story or if you don't want to here it is. That assumes that they don't sue me for passing the story along.

NEW YORK - On buttons, posters and Web sites, the image was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: A pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE.

Designed by Shepard Fairey, a Los-Angeles based street artist, the image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers, has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay.

The image, Fairey has acknowledged, is based on an Associated Press photograph, taken in April 2006 by Manny Garcia on assignment for the AP at the National Press Club in Washington.

The AP says it owns the copyright, and wants credit and compensation. Fairey disagrees.

"The Associated Press has determined that the photograph used in the poster is an AP photo and that its use required permission," the AP's director of media relations, Paul Colford, said in a statement.

"AP safeguards its assets and looks at these events on a case-by-case basis. We have reached out to Mr. Fairey's attorney and are in discussions. We hope for an amicable solution."

"We believe fair use protects Shepard's right to do what he did here," says Fairey's attorney, Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University and a lecturer at the Stanford Law School. "It wouldn't be appropriate to comment beyond that at this time because we are in discussions about this with the AP."

Fair use is a legal concept that allows exceptions to copyright law, based on, among other factors, how much of the original is used, what the new work is used for and how the original is affected by the new work.

A longtime rebel with a history of breaking rules, Fairey has said he found the photograph using Google Images. He released the image on his Web site shortly after he created it, in early 2008, and made thousands of posters for the street.

As it caught on, supporters began downloading the image and distributing it at campaign events, while blogs and other Internet sites picked it up. Fairey has said that he did not receive any of the money raised.

A former Obama campaign official said they were well aware of the image based on the picture taken by Garcia, a temporary hire no longer with the AP, but never licensed it or used it officially. The Obama official asked not to be identified because no one was authorized anymore to speak on behalf of the campaign.

The image's fame did not end with the election.

It will be included this month at a Fairey exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and a mixed-media stenciled collage version has been added to the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

"The continued use of the poster, regardless of whether it is for galleries or other distribution, is part of the discussion AP is having with Mr. Fairey's representative," Colford said.

A New York Times book on the election, just published by Penguin Group (USA), includes the image. A Vermont-based publisher, Chelsea Green, also used it - credited solely to Fairey_ as the cover for Robert Kuttner's "Obama's Challenge," an economic manifesto released in September. Chelsea Green president Margo Baldwin said that Fairey did not ask for money, only that the publisher make a donation to the National Endowment for the Arts.

"It's a wonderful piece of art, but I wish he had been more careful about the licensing of it," said Baldwin, who added that Chelsea Green gave $2,500 to the NEA.

Fairey also used the AP photograph for an image designed specially for the Obama inaugural committee, which charged anywhere from $100 for a poster to $500 for a poster signed by the artist.

Fairey has said that he first designed the image a year ago after he was encouraged by the Obama campaign to come up with some kind of artwork. Last spring, he showed a letter to The Washington Post that came from the candidate.

"Dear Shepard," the letter reads. "I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can help change the status quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign."

At first, Obama's team just encouraged him to make an image, Fairey has said. But soon after he created it, a worker involved in the campaign asked if Fairey could make an image from a photo to which the campaign had rights.

"I donated an image to them, which they used. It was the one that said "Change" underneath it. And then later on I did another one that said "Vote" underneath it, that had Obama smiling," he said in a December 2008 interview with an underground photography Web site.

___

Associated Press writer Philip Elliott in Washington contributed to this report.

I wonder how this will effect that site that has the Obama stuff you can get on T-shirts and stuff.

So for those of you who watch TV I'm sure you have seen all the ads about the conversion of An Analog signal to a digital signal. I think that it is a bad Idea for a few reasons. The first one is that I don't think a digital signal is better. Anyone who has Digital Cable knows what I mean. There is what is known as a digital glitch and maybe it is just me but it is way worse then a fuzzy or snowy picture. For those of you who watched the superbowl at (e:Drew)'s place there was a time when it happened for some reason and you saw how nasty it was. I have had that same thing happen when watching fox. The second reason I think it is a bad idea is that this hurts the poor. Yes people can get a rebate for $40 and get a box so they will be able to watch TV but the rebate doesn't cover the entire cost of the box. How is someone who doesn't have enough money for cable and can't get a new TV going to have money to do this. I think that this is a way to try and get the economy going. By the way has anyone even heard of any of these companies that make these boxes I haven't.

My biggest problem is all the wrong information that is being told to people. Time Warner by the way is full of shit. They put all these ads on saying if you have cable you are covered. Well that is a fucking lie and here is why. Remember when they had that dispute where you couldn't get anything on WIVB was that CBS and the CW. Lets say they get into a dispute with another station like NBC (yes that is coming up in the future) or ABC. What you would have done in the past was just use those old rabbit ears or go out and buy some new ones. But now with the digital conversion if NBC isn't carried and you have an old TV that won't work. I think Time Warner wants to get people not get the boxes so they have more power, I also think that there ads are misleading. They are telling people you don't need to get the box just sign up for us. But what happens if what I said earlier happens. Or what if you lose your job and cut cable how would you get any TV then well you wouldn't.

What I did was apply for two coupons and then I bought my second box today. Yes I do have cable. Here is the reason I did that. If one of the networks gets dropped by Time Warner with out the box I won't be able to get that station. With out the credit the boxes run from about $50-$80 it would cost more to get them then. The other factor is what If I lose my Job and then I don't have the boxes and I don't have the money to get them, then what? The one thing of Rabbit ears I do have is pretty old and connects with screws so I think I will have to get new rabbit ears if I need them.

I want to make it clear that I don't know about what the other cable companies are doing so that is why I didn't attack them Like I did my company Time Warner. Yes sometimes I like them and some times I hate them. Overall there has been lots of information about this through ads with websites and numbers people can call. That being said a lot of people still don't really understand what is going on with the conversion. I think that I understand it pretty well but do get why people are confused and things like HDTV and the fact that there is HDRadio and all kinds of terms just makes things messier. Here is article I found on Yahoo today about the conversion date being changed.

WASHINGTON - After weeks of debate, Congress is giving consumers four more months to prepare for the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting.

The House voted 264-158 on Wednesday to postpone the shutdown of analog TV signals to June 12, to address growing concerns that too many Americans won't be ready by the Feb. 17 deadline that Congress set three years ago. The Senate passed the measure unanimously last week and the bill now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The change is being mandated because digital signals are more efficient than analog ones. Ending analog broadcasts will free up valuable space in the nation's airwaves for commercial wireless services and emergency-response networks.

The delay is a victory for the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress, who maintain that the previous administration mismanaged efforts to ensure that all consumers - particularly poor, rural and minority Americans - will be prepared for the switchover.

The Nielsen Co. estimates that more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals still are not ready. People who subscribe to cable or satellite TV or have a newer TV with a digital tuner will not be affected.

"The passage of this bipartisan legislation means that millions of Americans will have the time they need to prepare for the conversion," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in a statement.

Wednesday's vote came one week after House Republicans blocked the bill under a special fast-track procedure that required two-thirds support to pass. This time, the bill passed the House under a regular floor vote, which requires a simple majority.

Among Democrats, 241 voted for the bill, while 10 voted against it. Among Republicans, 23 voted for the bill, while 148 voted against it.

Speaking on the House floor Wednesday, Rick Boucher, D-Va., chairman of the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, said a delay was needed to prevent the digital transition from becoming a failure.

"It is unfortunate that Congress had to take additional action on this issue, but the prospect of leaving millions of consumers in the dark was simply unacceptable," subcommittee member Edward Markey, D-Mass., added.

Opponents of a delay warned, however, that the move will confuse consumers, create added costs for TV stations that will continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals for four more months and burden wireless companies and public safety agencies waiting for the airwaves that will be vacated by the switchover.

"It's time for us to move forward on this and keep our word to the American people," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., calling for the transition to proceed on Feb. 17.

Democrats have tried to address these concerns by allowing broadcast stations to switch to digital signals sooner than June if they choose, potentially freeing up spectrum for public safety early. But it is unclear how many TV stations plan to take advantage of this option.

The Consumer Electronics Association, meanwhile, is warning that a delay could result in a shortage of converter boxes that translate digital signals back into analog ones for older TVs. Manufacturers and retailers have planned inventory based on a Feb. 17 transition date.

The new administration called for the digital transition to be postponed after the Commerce Department last month hit a $1.34 billion funding limit for coupons that subsidize converter boxes for consumers. The coupon program allows consumers to request up to two $40 vouchers per household to help pay for the boxes, which generally cost between $40 and $80 each and can be purchased without a coupon.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department administering the program, is sending out new coupons only as older, unredeemed ones reach a 90-day expiration date and free up more money. The NTIA has more than 3.7 million coupon requests on a waiting list - and those people would not receive their coupons before Feb. 17.

A separate measure, part of the economic stimulus proposal working its way through Congress, would add $650 million in funding for the coupon program.

Democrats on Capitol Hill and at the FCC have also questioned whether the government has provided enough on-the-ground support to help consumers hook up converter boxes - or whether enough call center resources have been arranged to handle what could be an avalanche of requests for help.

"The country is not prepared to undertake a nationwide transition in 12 days without unacceptably high consumer dislocation," acting FCC chairman Michael Copps said in a statement. "We've got a lot of work to do, but we now have an opportunity to do it better."

The National Association of Broadcasters also welcomed the delay. The group said it will provide new television spots to promote the June 12 deadline, and work with stations to coordinate additional analog shut-off tests to raise awareness and help consumers prepare.

One other thing that is odd for places like Buffalo is that Canada is changing to digital also but they are doing it at a different date that I don't remember when it is. So for people who want to get those channels they need a box that can take both analog and digital signals I think that is called a pass through box but not sure about that.

Before I talk about the game I just want to thank (e:Drew) and (e:Janelle) for having the super bowl party, it was a good time. Oh yeah and the house is pretty nice and the set up for the game was cool. It was nice to see some (e:peeps) there . I didn't know any one who wasn't from the site but a few people looked like I have seen them someplace before but no idea where I would have. For those of you who didn't watch the game home you had fun also. That chili was pretty good, not that I have ever had one I didn't like. Oh and that brown dip with the beans was pretty good also.

There have been teams that I have really liked that have won Superbowls like The 49ers, Raiders and Redskins so it is tough to base how good the game was on the result. I also remember really enjoying the Bills one until "Wide Right" but don't really remember any of it. In terms of how good a game it was I can only compare it to games that I have seen and compared to what I can remember it was a pretty good game. Of course though watching a game in a group vs. by ones self is always different. I didn't read the article on line since I didn't have time but some writer called this the 2nd best Superbowl of all time and The Steelers best.

I watched a bunch of Pregame before I went to the store to get stuff. I found it interesting that Micheal Phelps smokes or smoked weed, and now it is an issue. Hey maybe it is just me but I assumed it has smoked it for years. He is a white boy who listens to not sure if it would be hip hop or rap and I assumed he has been to plenty of parties with weed. It is to bad he said he is sorry. I know being an athlete can make things like smoking weed tough to admit but as long as he didn't use it a performance enhancer who cares. I get that people think of him as a role model but he isn't he is an athlete.

Here are some shots from my way to the party.








Then before the game like any other party with (e:strip)pers everyone was pretty much in the kitchen so here are the candid shots I got.

















Then it was time to eat and watch some pregame stuff.





















The next batch should be from the game. You will notice that there are pictures of the game going on. I assume that they look good I will see just when everyone else does when this is published. In theory they should look good since it isn't a TV screen with lines it is something projected but who knows.

















The Boss at Halftime seemed pretty good to me, but I'm not a big Springsteen fan.


















Some more pictures from the game and the activities































I admit I didn't answer if it was the best Superbowl game ever and I knew I never really could, it would be to hard to do. I know that it was a very good one, and that there where some pretty good ads on. I'm sorry that I don't have a link for people who want to watch them again or watch ones maybe they missed, not sure what my favorite one was. All in all the Superbowl is a great event for many reasons and it was nice to see everyone there and again thanks to Drew and Janelle. Here is the final thing of pictures of the 6 time world champion Steelers.

So last Night HBO had an interesting line up on. They Had "Meet The Spartans" I thought it was funny yes in some places it goes a little bit wacky. But all in all it was very good. The only thing I didn't like is it was PG-13 and I thought I heard a swear bleeped or at least it sounded mudled or something. There must be an R version or a Not rated version someplace. Carmen Elektra is smoking hot and we could have seen more of her then the fans got to see. But all in all it was pretty good. That was followed by Lisa Lampinelli (not sure how to spell her name). She is known as the Queen of Mean and is brutal but I found her pretty funny it was a great show. By the way she pretty much makes fun of everybody. Is she raunchy yes but she is funny, if you have seen any of the roasts that they show on Comedy Central she was most likely one of the people on it. I have all ready seen 300 so I didn't watch it. But I find it interesting that the had the Parody and original lined up like that.

So during SNL I Saw that Heroes starts up on Monday and the NBC page has info and all kinds of stuff on the shows and Super Bowl stuff and SNL. In terms of SNL they have multiple ways to watch video from last nights show. I like that they Got the real McGuiver Richard Dean Anderson to play in the mockery of his own show and all the Pepsi stuff was funny to me also. Then the entire Diaper that you can eat thing was funny. Then the Paterson stuff was funny on weekend update. All in all a great show and Steve Martin Sings a song with a band, all in all a great show I thought. By the way the 1st part of the pregame starts in just over and Hour then I guess the net work stuff starts at 1pm, go Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!

I wasn't sure if I should put this post under photos or sports and so that got me to ask a question. Would there be a way in the New Version of (e:strip) that I keep hearing is coming out soon to have multiple categories for blogs? For example if someone goes on a Vacation and takes pictures it could be travel, photos and then maybe some other one like Family if they visited family, just an idea.


So for you fans of Monster Trucks you can still go tonight, the trucks are there for two nights and they race and do freestyle and then they have some smaller trucks race and some freestyle motocross. I Had A good time. I'm not good enough to get great pictures of the trucks in action they come out blurry or dark it seems so I may not post any of those. Before the event they have a Pit Party and those are the pictures below.

But first some Pictures of Downtown Buffalo Before the show

























Ok now onto the monster trucks







































































































Hope these pictures were or are Ok. I know I had a fun time on this superbowl weekend doing something that had nothing to do with football and I hope everyone who goes to the show tonight enjoys them selves and there are no one gets killed.

Well there are many polls on Myspace and I assume face book also that I often don't do and some of them are questions. So I can't believe I'm doing this what Have I got myself into and will I even be able to come up with that many?

1. I hate the idea of taking a shower:But once in it I like it as long as possible as long as it is very Hot (no 10 min shower for me, yes I have been burned)

2. I love eating it is more about the pleasure of it then being hungry most of the time

3. I hate taking a dumb oh gross. Sometimes I wish they made a pill that had no waste and gave you all your calories and tasted like food that would be awesome

4. From my blog you would never know it but I'm shy or some form of something like that

5. I graduated from Canisius but still suck at spelling

6. In high school I played 3 sports Track, swimming and Cross Country

7. I love art and have it all over my walls but I'm messy and lazy so the floors and every place else is a mess

8. Strip clubs are awesome even though I never go

9. I think I might like porno more then I like real sex but not sure about that one

10. I have never really understood what it means to miss someone if you have them in your thoughts then how are they missed?

Um I have to make it past 10 this isn't going so good

11. I'm bi-costal (born in CA and live in NY)

12. I like art and have even pictured how to draw something in my mind but it all ways comes out looking like crap since I have no art skills

13. Can't cut a straight line with a scissors

14. I have liked multiple teams in every sport I like Except Lacrosse

15. I am happy with my body, but wish I was taller and wider and that every part of me was propotionatly the same

16. Not good at the dress up thing I need to be comfortable and love Hoodiies

17. I like to keep warm on heater vents (yes have been slightly burned but not to point of pain or any damage)

18. I think people should have a moral code and live by it, or at least try there best to follow them

19. When I first joined (e:strip) I didn't think it was a blogging site I thought it was like a site where all the elmwood stores where connected in some way that is what the name implied

20. I like blogging and am not sure why. Some blogs of mine are on multiple pages but I have no idea if anyone reads them on those other pages

ok so now it gets tough it is like when you climb a mountain from what I have heard that you can see the top and it is close and you can't move or really breath so you just sit there. But I will finish and if I get a spurt of thoughts maybe add some more.

21. I love Tattoos and would love to get one, but I don't think that is the kind of pain I could take plus needles kinda scare me a bit.....

22. My user name is Metalpeter and it is on any site where I can use it and the term has many different meanings. When I was first online I thought maybe about using something else since using something that has a sexual meaning as one of the meanings might not be the best. But then someone I talked on line with liked Peter Steele from Type O Negative so I kept it.

23. I don't know if they are still up but there are more revealing shots then my costume on line from a long time ago, and some private ones someplace else, but I'm not saying where.

24. I like Action movies and shows. But what I like more is to people's stories and I think that is why I like TV so much and like all kinds of different shows and reality TV and even things like the Tattoo shows. For people who read I think the thing about the stories is also true just the media is different.

Oh boy 25 is tough what do I say and is there any bonuses I can add?

25. As anyone who has seen my blog can tell I like to take pictures for fun but don't know what photo documenting is called when you use a digital camera and aren't a pro.


I have no idea what else to write or if I even did this right or said the things I was supposed to. Have a great weekend everyone and for you sports fans hope you enjoy the Super Bowl, oh wait they might sue me so the bowl that is super. Yes that brand name is pretty costly so hope everyone has a great time and hope to see some of you at (e:drew)'s party.

There is this interesting show I watch on Tuesdays on ABC called Homeland Security. It is really about Boarder patrol. I like it and they catch people sneaking things into the country it is pretty interesting sometimes. Well last Night Buffalo was part of the show. They showed the peace bridge and there was someone from Virgina Beach who was a missing persons who wanted to go to Canada and they wouldn't let them in because of that. They also showed the boarder guys at a Benefit for one of there co workers who has LCS I think it is. That wasn't the only part of the show but I enjoyed it. Today on my way into work I saw a car on top of a snow bank. Yes the entire car was on top of it near the entrance to a parking lot where Subway is. I have no idea how it got there, it almost looked like someone placed it there, wish I had my camera with me. At work the snow out side looked so pretty but it didn't feel that way on the way home or when I shoveled it. Friday night I'm going to see The Monster Trucks and hopefully assuming that I don't get killed at the show I will post some pictures on Saturday. Then Sunday is the Big Day the super bowl. Even if there where no teams I liked in it I would still watch it and all the pregame stuff, it is such and event more then a game now for lots of people. I was reading in the Buffalo news (sorry no link) about some Sobe Life water (Owned by Pepsi) ad that sounds pretty good. Yes some of the pregame stuff is over done but some of it is pretty interesting some times. Plus sometimes they have bands before the game and all kinds of stuff we shall see what happens on Sunday.

I have to admit I'm falling off a little bit. I don't think I'm the only one though. I'm a Football fan and so with the playoffs and the Super Bowl I think a lot of people think this is a no sports weekend. They would be very wrong. On Thursday I watched Bones for two hours and some of LA Ink and Burn Notice started up. But what I forgot and found out last night was that this week of no NFL playoffs is when they have the Winter X-games . I tried to watch them last night but was just to worn out to make it. By Friday with what I think are long days I get pretty worn out. But I did catch the end of an hour repeated this morning it was Snow Mobile best trick. Levi LaValle attempted a Double Back flip it was Amazing he did land it but didn't ride away so he gets no points it was still fun to watch, he didn't try the trick again he said he wasn't able to try it again but still amazing. To see when more sports are on . Today they are on from like 3-6PM and then more sports are on tonight and then some on Sunday.

But see that isn't where the sports end. It is also NHL all star weekend . The all star game is Sunday at around 6 Pm I would like to see some of that even though from what I have heard "Sid The Kid" is hurt and won't play. Tonight at 7pm on VS. is the superskills contest. I'm not sure what the NHL network is going to show if you have that, it might be something to look into.

I'm sure there are other sports going on but I only cover the ones that I know about and yet there is one more thing going on The Bandits play away tonight. I Haven't looked into watching it live and was going to try it tonight but with the other sports I think I will try and find out what happens tonight through the news. I'm sure there are people who like to know about other Lacrosse teams or like teams other then the Bandits so for everything NLL . That just about covers everything I can think of. So hopefully some people now know that the week off during Football there are lots of great sports to watch and remember that next year also. Oh yeah that is right I forgot next year The Pro Bowl will be before the super bowl and not on the Island. I get that they are trying to make the game mean something and not just be a fun trip. But the problem is that no one who is Playing in the super bowl will want to play in it. If you are in the playoffs and your team loses do you really want to travel someplace. Not to mention where would you have and would in be a distraction if the field is being used by a team in the playoffs or super bowl?

So for some of you who read (e:drew) page he has this great looking picture of him self it is from a website called Obamicon.me . I will admit that it can be a little bit addicting and sometimes you can have a picture look perfect and then you mess it up playing with colors to much. I haven't tried to do any pictures of multiple people yet but maybe in the future I will here is what I have done so far. I don't think I can get mine to look as cool as some peoples on that site there are some amazing ones and I include (e:drew)'s in that.

Well I hope to mess around there more and put up more pictures when I have more time.

In terms of talking about the guy I can't say much because I feel like I have said it all through comments here. What I will say is that I can't even try to understand what it was like yesterday for him and his wife to have to speak at 10 balls and I assume dance at each of them. I did see the Beyonce'e (oh what a hottie) sing a great version of that old time classic song, and thought she did a great job of it. I watched pretty much most of the live one for the youth on MTV. I think that they talked a little bit to much. But I guess part of that is that you can go on line and watch all the acts full sets. But the one thing that I did like about it was How Target kinda gets the message that to make this country better people have to help out. That seems like part of his message that The People who want change have to make it themselves but maybe I misunderstood something.