I'm a neophile. That means that I like new stuff. I like change, I like things to differ from the ways they were before. For the most part, if things stay as they are (which a lot of people hope and pray for), then there's stagnation--no evolution. With everything the way it has been for the past month and more--everything from the terrorist attacks to the economy to the derezzing of even more websites--it began to strike me that we might be in for a very intriguing ride. And also that we might be seeing a Paradigm Shift of the proper noun category--that is, big changes, across the board.

"We are cursed to live in interesting times," so a Chinese proverb says. I've felt for years that all the times were interesting, but especially so now. I really feel like we're on the verge of something that could actually turn out to be good for us as a species.

Consider the recent rumor regarding the Recording Industry Association of America. It said that they wanted to be able to literally hack into your machines and erase your illegally procured MP3 files. How they would tell the difference between the copy of "Annie Waits" by Ben Folds I have on my hard drive and the live version of Seal's "Whirlpool"--which did I have a license to have a copy of and which did I not--I have no clue. What's amusing is not that this rumor was spread around, but that many believed it--why? Because you know the RIAA would do that if they could. In a heartbeat. But regardless, while some (well, most) have been decrying this as insane and out of control (thinking it true), I've been chuckling quietly to myself. Why? Because you're looking at the last gasps of older regimes that are on their way out, and they know it, and it terrifies them. And me, neophilic whacko that I am, I love it.

Now before I continue, lest anyone think that I'm one of these bloody info-anarchists, I'm not advocating the destruction of intellectual property. I'm a writer for pity's sake, and that would be professional suicide on several levels. The notion that you could shut down Napster was asinine and doomed from the start, and when the guy with the undergraduate degree in English realizes this--you have to wonder about the people with their MBAs. All they've done is driven the MP3s away from the surface. They're talking about making unrippable CD's. Right. That'll last for all of two weeks before somebody cracks them. They missed their chance and now they're welcome to suffer.

Oh sure, I sound like a crackpot--but that's just because you're on this end of the paradigm. As much as the recording industry hates the fact that we can now go and sample their products, their claims that it's hurting their bottom line are completely unsubstantiated. I alone accounted for about 20% of their growth in profit during the time that Napster was up. "Oh look, another song! Cool, lemme listen--Jesus, this is good. Now I've got to go buy another damn CD!" Is it any wonder that more and more artists are striking out on their own, trying to find independent, alternate forms of creation and distribution?

And in moviemaking--as much as Cardinal Fitts hates digital video, and as much as he has reason (and good reason, mind you) to fear the democraticization of the film making process--I'd rather have too many films out there than not enough. If every one in twenty films is actually brilliant, then give me twenty thousand films to choose from. That means I've got a thousand classics waiting to be seen. And a thousand broken films waiting to be fixed--The Phantom Edit, like it or not, is something that's going to continue to happen. And considering the short film Duality was twice as exciting as Episode One--fine with me.

Catalyst has become an e-Book believer in the past couple of weeks. He's reading more than he's had time to in a long while, thanks to books he's downloaded onto his PDA. He thinks that books are doomed. Even I think he's a crackpot, but then again, I'm on this side of the paradigm.

Anyway, here's the thing: all of this is going to happen. And it's going to happen sooner than we expect. Even in this time of apprehension and fear and loathing, I'm actually excited about the prospects. In five years, things are going to start getting even crazier than they are now. To the neophobes amongst you: just be aware that evolution and growth can be painful. And be patient. Oh, and wear a helmet.

Be good.

=Widge.

P.S. Box Office Poison.

Jesus, you know, I really used to be good at this stuff before I put my predictions down in writing. Oh well, suffer through with me. I screwed up the order of the films, and they completely underperformed against my expectations. From Hell came in first, then Riding in Cars, THEN Training Day which has pretty good legs. Castle, which I thought for sure would be a winner given the present environment, was in fourth. Ow. I'm going to go with 13 Ghosts in the mid-teens in first, followed by Bones and then From Hell. I'm going to opt for the horror flicks that are not really grounded in reality, since after Castle did poorly, I assume people want true escapism. Hopefully On the Line, the N'Sync movie, will die on the vine. I fear it.

Additional info taken from Variety and Hollywood Reporter.