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I’ve always prided myself in taking the straight and narrow when it comes to such things as intellectual property. All the songs in my iPod and computers are either ripped from CDs I own or bought from services like the iTunes Music Store or eMusic. Every single piece of software on my computers is licensed, paid for either by myself or by my employer. I have uninstalled and blocked all peer-to-peer apps from my computers so as to hinder the temptation of downloading music and movies (among other things).

I have never “theater-hopped” in my life. When I rent DVDs I don’t copy them for my own personal collection. I don’t own pirated DVDs from third-world countries or from the streets of New York. The DVDs that I own are mostly bought used from places like Amoeba, Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. The films I really like I buy new (I search for the best bargains either online or at stores). I don’t have a lot of money for such things but I pay for them because it’s the right thing to do. That probably also explains why my movie and music collections are not enormous.

Recently, I was told of a website where one can watch newly-released theatrical movies online for free (I don’t recall the name – was it davidsmovies.com?). My reaction: another website to avoid.

I mean, I refuse to even watch a pirated movie that’s playing at some house party somewhere (it’s the poor quality of the copy I object to mostly). So why should I start now?

Yesterday, someone dear to me pointed out something that challenged my consistency in this area. This person was asked if he/she had seen the latest UFC fight. The person dear to me responded, “Yes,” and that I was the one who showed a clip of the fight to him/her from a website that immediately posted the event soon after it was broadcast on Pay-Per-View. The other person’s reaction was: if I were so opposed to pirated stuff, why did I watch it?

I reasoned that it was quite different from pirated movies and the like. The event had already finished and the opportunity to pay to watch it had already passed. And it’s not like I haven’t paid for Pay-Per-View UFC events in the past. Then it was pointed out that such events get released on DVD, which people pay for. I countered by saying that they get broadcast on TV a couple of months later anyway.

Although that seemed to end the discussion, it gnawed on me that what this person was trying to point out was true. I was rationalizing. I also conveniently forgot that UFC charges for replays on UFC-On-Demand.

So I stand corrected.

Now you may wonder why I would break the monotony of posted del.icio.us links on this blog with this quite candid post. Beats me. To keep myself on the straight and narrow, I suppose.

Thanks to Steve Jobs, Disney’s largest shareholder, there will no longer be direct-to-DVD movie sequels. He is thought to have influenced Disney’s board in doing away with these “embarrassing” releases, even if they’re a lucrative part of business. I totally agree with the decision. I always thought these sequels were hokey and subpar compared to the theatrical releases. And besides, why touch the Disney classics? I don’t think we need to know what happens to Cinderella, Snow White, or Mowgli for that matter, in the “happily ever after” stage of their lives. Let the original stories stand on their own, for Pete’s sake.

• Why HD movie downloads are a big lie | George Ou | ZDNet.com I haven’t downloaded an HD movie before but I found this article (and comments) informative about new HD technologies and even things like VoIP.

Okay, this is way overdue. I was tagged by Arnold a couple of weeks ago. Without further ado, here it is:

Total Number of Films I Own on DVD And Video
I’ve been waiting to come home to tally them up: I’ve got a paltry 60. I’m not looking to build a DVD library. There are really only a few DVDs that I find I want to watch over and over (most of these are the ones I watch with the children often). I’d also buy a DVD if I know it’s hard to find. If I’d like to watch a really good movie again all I have to do is rent it.

The Last Film I Bought
Constantine. This DVD was heavily advertised in video stores in Manila. I bit. I hadn’t seen the movie, and at the local price, it was cheaper buying it than renting it in the States. My mistake: I forgot about the regional coding. Aaarghh. I’d have to wait until I get my hands on a region-free DVD player in order to watch it. I’ll probably just give in and rent it anyway. (To add insult to injury, the movie was one of the in-flight movies on the JAL plane I was on the other day but with all of the distractions, I never got to watch it in its entirety.)

Five Films Which I Watch a Lot / Mean a Lot to Me
Bladerunner - groundbreaking sci-fi film.
Fifth Element - Euro sci-fi so derivative, yet so strangely unique (Chris Tucker gotta go though).
LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring - the delicate way Jackson handled the opening Shire scene let me know that the rest of the movie, and the trilogy, was going to be special.
The Prince of Egypt - the burning bush scene gets me everytime.
Okay, this one’s a guilty pleasure: The Sound of Music *cringe* - I actually force my kids to watch it in order for me to hum along to “The Lonely Goatherd.”

(Three) People I’m Passing the Baton to
It took a while for me to answer this I’m hesitant to pass it on (Is this how memes die out?). The lukewarm potato goes to Mark, Ariel and Sunny (his movie quizzes are so good, I’d like to take a peek into his collection).

Pinoy employees at computer megastore Fry’s Electronics must have a lot of clout. Tagalog movies are featured prominently at the DVD section:

A few months back they had one whole magazine rack dedicated to Pinoy magazines: