Category: Uncategorized

Nowadays, the existence of huge animation studios is a normal concept. Dozens of movies are produced each year by these companies, some of them good, most of them anonymous. But in the early 1900’s, the idea of an animation studio run by just two brothers was an adventurous idea. And that is exactly what Walt Disney did.

After serving in the Red Cross during World War I, Disney looked for an outlet for his creative expression. After a short stay as an advertising cartoonist in Missouri, he was hired by Universal Studios, one of the largest film studios in North America at the time. However, upset with his role (and money) he was making, he left and formed his own company with his brother known at the time as “The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio”.

Walt risked his safe employment at the powerful Universal Studios because he had a desire to have his own vision shown to the world. That kind of commitment to his art and his willingness to risk everything for it makes him a true entrepreneur. His creative drive didn’t stop once his studio and finance was secure. In the midst of the Great Depression, Disney Studios financed the first feature length movie produced in technicolor, costing $1.5 million dollars which was an unfathomably high number at the time for a movie.

Disney’s fearless nature has paid off in more ways than one, as The Walt Disney Company now has influence over variety of industries such as radio, theater, publishing, online news, and even music. The combined revenue of  Walt Disney studios (as of 2010) is $38 billion dollars annually.

Though the NBA Lockout is a genuine tragedy in the most over exaggerated sense of the word “tragedy” and “genuine”, what, with millionaire players battling with billionaire owners for mere percentile of league revenues, there are a few honest losers to be found in this situation.

Small businesses, local bars and restaurants rely on the forty one home games per basketball season to balance the books and support their staff and families. Without the help of an NBA basketball game to usher people inside, revenues for these humble establishments can drop as much as 20-25% for the year.

Also, arena and team employees (the ones not making six figures) are left in limbo, waiting for the go ahead from the millionaires to allow them to return to their jobs and their ability to support themselves and their loved ones.

Of course, fans and analysts might say the biggest losers in the NBA lockout are the players, who are missing their chance to get their champion rings they worked year long for (Dallas Mavericks), or emerging prospects, looking for a chance to prove themselves, and land the big payday.

I say their lottery ticket is just delayed a bit. Business will return back to normal, and their losses will be recouped in a few years, if not  months. But the average Joe, who’s livelihood depends around the running of a basketball league to entertain thousands of fans a night, might not be so lucky, might not be so easily forgiven.

To add to the evidence of the ongoing decline of legacy airlines in North America, flight attendants of airline dinosaurs Air Canada have reached an agreement with their union to go on strike at 12:01 AM Thursday, putting 6800 employees and the future of the airline in a compromising position.

This is all fine and dandy for competing airlines like WestJet, who are already making serious ground on Air Canada for Canadian air supremacy, but the government is viewing this work stoppage as an unnecessary headache for an already fragile economy. In a statement issued by Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, “We will be clear that a work stoppage is unacceptable in this time of fragile economy,” hinting at possible government intervention in the event of a strike, with references to a “forced contract” drawn up back in September in the Legislature.

Clearly, this is an infringement on the Labor rights such as access to a union and the ability to take job action. However, the government is in a tough position to protect the welfare of the greater good, and preventing the total shutdown of the nations biggest Airline is of great benefit to workers and companies alike. At what point does the government’s desire to protect the economy supersede labor rights, and has this point really been crossed?

Angry at the lack of accountability for those responsible for the destruction of America’s economy just three years ago, young, debt-ridden, and unemployed American’s took to the street as a collective known as “the 99 Percent”, referencing the gross gap in wealth distribution in the US where 400 Americans control the same amount of money as the bottom 40% (120 million).

But is this excitable energy coming from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds and cultures going to waste?

The protests lack a political orientation (so forget the left’s response to the Tea Party), any specific goals or targets (only working with vague statements involving wealth distributions and unemployment) and consistency (shameful pandering to Steve Jobs, a man who outsourced a majority of his production facilities to China).

If the “99 Percent” really want to affect change to the economic environment, they must decry the legislation that got American into this position (Bush-tax cuts, the 1.6 trillion in the Federal Reserve) and back the Democratic party, because God knows (or Joseph Smith) that Romney and Cain aren’t sympathetic. Case in point, Cain believes the people languishing in unemployment should be getting “educated and finding jobs”. That is powerful stupid.

For those of you who have never experienced it, the entire concert-going experience is a magical one. The “Christmas-came-early” feeling when you hear your favorite band is finally coming to your city, anxiously planning which piece of merchandise you’re going to buy from the table, the gradual loss of focus as the weeks turns to days leading up to the show and all in all, it’s a lot of good stuff.

So naturally the obvious extension is this: how can somebody make a gross profit off of this?

Enter Ticketmaster:

Already the primary dispenser of tickets to most medium sized to arena venues, the merger with Livenation in 2009 solidified their monopoly on the industry meaning only one thing; random service charges. Case in point, my recent purchase of tickets for a relatively cheap ticket for 28$  quickly included a 9.35$ “convenience” charge and a 5.65$ for order processing. For those of who specialize in hyperbolic math, Ticketmaster literally charges like a million dollars of fees.

Unfortunately for me, the excuse of being able to sing obnoxiously in the presence of  a stranger is worth paying the obscene charges, but for those who are blissfully ignorant to the joys and pains of the process of concert-going, keep moving; there is nothing fishy going on here.

LINK: Some Metal-head pulled out her calculator and calculated how roughly she was getting screwed.

After reading a few excerpts from blogs of my fellow classmates, and several articles on the internet,  it amazed me how little I know about the “unethical-ness” of big business and just how many corners are being cut in the name of maximizing profits and revenue.  Whether it be clothing stores like Abercrombie and Fitch, or big drink companies like Coca-Cola, unethical business is being practiced frequently, commonly perpetrated by brands we hear of daily.

But why should they stop?

These businesses make insane profit’s by employing sweatshop workers, outsourcing their factories, and ostensibly raping the land for their own bottom line with little to no repercussions.

Though it is difficult  for one person to change the culture of corporate greed and indifference, it is possible to make a statement, even if its a quiet one.

Choose to support companies that are widely recognized as practitioners of “ethical” business.