The Return

I have recently had the opportunity to travel to various parts of the country (Phoenix, Chicago, LA) this summer thanks to the incredible generosity of my parents. I am currently in the Yosemite National Park with my friends Chad and Christine and have had an amazing trip to LA for the wedding of my friends Collin and Sarah.

I had a great time reconnecting with the people that single-handedly managed to make my experience there such a memorable one. However, it is a strange feeling returning to the place I spent some of the most incredible, trying, and yet impacting years of my life as merely a visitor. California has been a place I had for so long been able to call home and yet now it has acquired a sort of distant feeling. There were some feelings of discomfort, honestly, driving around areas of such familiarity yet feeling disconnected all of the sudden. LA - in all of its glory seemed to have lost some of its mystique. In the place that I can truly call a second home, I have developed a greater affinity for the friends and family I have there than the city.

In all the return made me realize that the relationships I hold so dear and that I care to maintain are not tied together by any one city. Fostering these relationships are what I really aim to focus on in this time of transition.

Thanks to those who made my college experience such a fruitful one...

For the time being I plan to spend some much needed time reflecting in the mountains.

Keep bloggin' - Carter

The RIAA

One of my greatest passions in life is Music. Personally, I think that music is art and therefore demands one pay to enjoy it. To me, there are two sides of an argument involving online music piracy: Those who are O.K. with it and those who are not. Thanks to the RIAA (The Record Industry Association of America) it has gotten a little riskier to be O.K. with downloading free music.
The process is actually quite interesting but the RIAA can target college students using school networks to share music - but only with a little help from universities. I have to admit that when three students at Pepperdine were alerted of their alleged crimes against entertainment that I was 100% ok with due process and punishment for stealing music.
However, suing people is not the right way to combat the issue at hand. The RIAA has said it is realistic and understands that it is impossible to "wipe out" illegal downloading but can be brought to a "level of manageable control." In a sense, we know our jobs heading up Anti-Piracy at the RIAA is impossible to do but we're gonna take a crack at it anyway.
There has to be a better way for the organization that protects 90% of all legitimate music to combat the issue..someone just needs to think one up. Instead of using scare tactics - face the fact that technology has changed the music industry and deal with it.

If you're not careful, you may end up like them: RIAA Youtube Video

Intro

There are two main reasons for me starting this blog.

First, I have found Facebook insufficient. - With a majority of my friends now spread across the country it makes sense to keep people updated in an easy format. And those who want to know now can.

Second, Scott has one and he told me to try it - He has recently begun keeping his own blog from the Dominican Republic and it is a neato way to read what people would send you in an email if they only had the time to write every person one. Plus, I know enough people with nothing to do but read/write blogs that it could work out.

Beware: I am not writing this because I think I am cool. Many words have been used to describe me and blogger is not one of them. Read the Title Description above.