That's new money by WASP standards.

What's the standard? Three wealthy generations in the ground?

I still like Kevin Spacey's quote from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: "I'm what they call 'nouveau riche,' but then, it's only the "riche" that counts."

The Gottis and the Hiltons and the ... dunno, Kennedys?

All trash as far as Old Money is concerned. The Kennedys are Irish Catholics, so not even WASPs. But whay I'm saying is that money will get you a lot further in Anerica than pedigree, unlike England.

wow I hate the shorthand that WASP = money

Me, too. I'm a decidedly middle class WASP.

Agitating for their rights and then stealing movies -- I dunno. Not much of a moral high ground there.

I'm not too sure where this "stealing movies" allegation is coming from.

Was that flame bait?

Paying $6 or so bux to store a movie seems like a square deal to me. I have no intention of buying furniture for this purpose, unless hard drive space is somehow now "furniture".

On the Creator-vs-Studio thing: The creator sold it to the studio. If the studio is making money, they will come back for more. The studio ain't making more, from rental.

Now, what's the best method of hooking it up so I can listen in the car?

if you have a tape deck, it's easy. if you just have a CD player, you have to use the FM thing, and around here, it's difficult.

I'm no kind of riche. Technically not much of a WASP either. (German plus mutt-mixy Euro. Also, parents were Catholic.)

xpost from Music: We found out why the contibutors all haven't gotten their copies of the book, and there are distribution issues. The book sold out. This feels very anticlimactic, because I'm thinking they must've done a very small print run. So once again, not riche yet. On the plus side, they are doing an emergency reprint.

"I'm what they call 'nouveau riche,' but then, it's only the "riche" that counts."

I have always regretted not buying an etching I saw in college. It featured a dissolute-looking '20s lady reclining on a chaise longue, with the caption "Nouveau is better than no riche at all."

But whay I'm saying is that money will get you a lot further in Anerica than pedigree, unlike England.

While this is true, I think that the point was that there is class here, that some people's money is greener than others.

I don't know from names of old money, but my point was -- a Gotti dollar and a Hilton dollar and a Kennedy dollar -- different dollars.

From an outside US PoV, I couldn't tell you who's WASP and who's not (all white Christians look the same? well, not that cold), but dude, there's a class system for sure.

I think WASP traditionally means a certain set of white-anglo-saxon-protestants, not everybody who meets that description.

the nouveaux riches in 1890 desperately wanted to be accepted by "old money". See Edith Wharton. By contrast, today the nouveaux riches are perfectly happy to hang out with each other. Donald Trump doesn't care if Mrs. Astor asks him to tea. Alva Vanderbilt (then new money) cared very much indeed.

Boston and Charleston and New York City all have established social elites that are difficult to break into; you have to have been born into the right family. The difference between the 21st century and the 19th century is that people outside those circles aren't particularly interested in breaking in. You weren't invited to the St. Cecelia Ball? Who cares? There's a better party being thrown at the brand-new country club.

Betsy, per usual, is saying this so much better than I am.

Can anyone here name a debutante from last season? Who wasn't kin? Odds are greater that your grandmother could have.

I'm not too sure where this "stealing movies" allegation is coming from.

So defeating the one view per purchase isn't stealing? I think I don't get PPV, then. I didn't realise you weren't prohibited from recording, and if you aren't, why use the term "defeat"?