Matt Walsh on the Subscription Economy Nightmare

 Matt Walsh recently released a must-watch video that cuts right to the heart of a growing frustration in modern life.

Watch Matt Walsh's video here: [VIDEO]

In The Subscription Economy Is Killing the American Dream, he exposes how corporations are quietly rewriting the rules of ownership — turning what we thought we bought into something we merely rent, often at the mercy of licensing deals and monthly fees.

Sloopin: What's Going on With the House Being Built at Dearborn and Polk?

Now if only I knew more about real estate. This structure represents a single family home to be built at Polk & Dearborn with ground floor retail space. Well now we have one way to generate some revenue in a big ole home that's bound to be expensive.

Find an old building on a main thorofare and attach a home to it. It almost reminds me of this set up I found at Curbed Chicago, an old grocery store with apartments for a family attached. The ingenuity of people and their real estate!

The abandoned Lincoln Mall

[VIDEO] I don't remember the last time being at this Matteson, IL mall before it's closing. Perhaps it was within the last decade and it look largely vacant at the time. In 2015 it was closed and Matteson is charged with finding a new use for the property.

In the meanwhile, this recent video shows us the inside of the mall. The video has an eerie soundtrack to it. The still pics you see at the end makes this abandoned place look even more creepy. I thought they were in there at almost dawn and that would make it more creepy.

Either way seems like a shame this mall lost business to the point where it is now closed.

Property and the First Thanksgiving

Just in time for the holiday courtesy of LewRockwell.com:

At Thanksgiving, Americans reflect on their blessings and hope for uplifting family gatherings of togetherness and unity, with the Pilgrims used as examples of peace, harmony, and thankfulness. However, while the Pilgrims' 1623 "way of thanksgiving" represents what we wish to infuse in Thanksgiving, Plymouth Colony before 1623 was closer to a Thanksgiving host's worst fears – resentments surface, harsh words are spoken, and people turn angry and unhappy with one another.

The Pilgrims' unhappiness was caused by their system of common property (not adopted, as often asserted, from their religious convictions, but required against their will by the colony's sponsors). The fruits of each person's efforts went to the community, and each received a share from the common wealth. This caused severe strains among the members, as Colony Governor William Bradford recorded:

You'll have to go over there to read the whole thing. I've learned over the years that Thanksgiving evolved. The history most of us are familiar with is more or less a fairytale compared with what really happened. This story underscores that.

Still I've had friends who refers to this holiday not as Thanksgiving but Thanks-taking. I don't remember exactly where this get this from, but I have an idea that the Native American Indians have an unfortunate role in this term.

Surely in our idealized version of the history of Thanksgiving we've heard about the Indians. They contributed to this big feast with the Pilgrims and with open arms. Unfortunately the Pilgrims who might have been struggling before this point probably weren't very willing to share land in this new world with their native neighbors. Thus people will call this holiday Thankstaking.

You can rebut if you wish or agree.

Regardless of this story I hope you have a joyous and restful holiday and thanks for reading today!

I think I've learned something again

On Saturday I went to the Seaway Bank Community Art Fair. There were some good work and other products to be had there. I really like one artists painting of the Chicago Skyline.

He's either got the Skyline at night, at sunset, or during the day. It was the most vibrant paintings I have ever seen. I just wish that I had $300 or so dollars to make a purchase. The paintings would have done the city proud and of course they looked like a lot of work was put into the paintings.

BTW, what have I learned on this day?

Well I had my camera with me to document the scene but a lady called me out and told me to not take pictures of her work, it was copyright infringement. The only thing I could have reasoned was that I wouldn't have made her work out to be my own. That probably wasn't the point and while I can't say I liked that, my personal policy is to respect that. The main reason being is that it's her property.

In any case I had to ask some questions and look things up about copyright infringement. It wasn't entirely illegal to take a pic of her or any artists work. Indeed I was just taking pictures, the only problem is that if I made it public, that is I post a digital picture onto this blog and someone might download that pic and hang it on the wall without having to know who that particular artist is nor would they want to make a purchase. While I'm sure this can be a scare tactic without requiring more information and because I moved on I sort of saw her explanation as baloney. It would have been enough to just ask that I not take any pictures of her work.

Of course I'm sure in situations like this, it's got to be about the money. If she could benefit by me posting a pic of her work especially if I was to sell the pic or indeed place the pic in a book. At least something that results in a financial gain for me then she'd want a part of that action. In that case I can't blame her for trying to be proactive. Though sometimes I wonder if that might hamper any sales of her works, especially if her goal is to be protective.

I don't want to run into any trifles and I'm not going to make a tense situation worse. Most of the time I find it easier to just cease and desist and not argue. If no harm was intended I hope that a situation such as this doesn't turn into a very serious one.

Oh and if there is a lawyer in the house who can further clarify this scenario and copyright infringement then by all means please do. Although I'm not asking to hire a lawyer. Just consider this a crash course more than anything else.