I believe Vend just launched their online POS yesterday to compete more directly with Shopify. Previously, they were doing well with bricks and mortar stores.
While I agree that most people don't want one person/team winning all the time, I believe that this does generate more interest, ie. Many people will take a vested interest in a baseball game so that they can cheer against the Yankees.
I think that we should try to eliminate the distinction between artistic works and technological/scientific works. They should both go hand in hand. The word technology comes from the Greek word techne which roughly translates to art. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techne
During the time that the works were collected for the library of Alexandria fewer people could read and write than can today, which made it difficult for people to write books. Today, with blogs and other works available over the internet, we have the capability to create a vast database of everything from the noblest to the most unrefined or unsophisticated works of human achievement. Anybody with access to the internet can publish their opinions online for others to agree or disagree with them in order to find the truth about things. Plus dentistry has come a long way, we deal with toothaches much better nowadays than our ancestors could ;)
I don't believe that any job exists a priori in any person. Although if I were born with a better voice I would be a better singer. Bob Dylan wasn't blessed with a beautiful voice (as opposed to Bocelli) but he is still a great singer because he had the passion to learn how to sing. Nobody is born to be a dancer or accountant, these are skills that must be learned and developed.
Thats an interesting explanation for how art comes to be. It reminds me of the novel 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', in which the author talks about the beauty and art in technology, and fixing motorcycles.
Thanks for the book recommendation, thats my favourite way to find new material to read. I've put your recommendation on my ever increasing list of books to read this summer.
Michael-Angelo (one of the greatest artists of all time) is as good an example as any. But I think that he was commissioned to do the Sistine Chapel, he didn't paint the Chapel and then charge admission to it (I think the church took care of that).
The reality is that is usually the marketing force behind an artist that generates his revenue, not actually the art itself. I have met so many extraordinary musicians that can shred the guitar and who write very clever music on a daily basis but will never make any money at it unless someone better looking than them takes their music and performs it. Since Meatloaf, I cannot think of any fat pop musicians. Art driven by profits is not always the best art. Coming from eastern Canada, Friday nights and weekends we have caleighs where anyone can pick up an instrument, sing or clap along, and nobody ever holds out for more money to perform. I do agree with your first sentence though, more time spent on art produces better art. But in the case of Carl Sagan who was a scientist, got his inspiration from his day job, which in turn helped him to produce his art (I include his Cosmos series as part of his art, I don't think we need to get into the debate of what is and isn't art). Its more of a sad reality that most art needs money to exist. I'm not calling for an art revolution or anything, I just wanted to point this out as some food for thought. Inspiration can come from anywhere.
Very true. Proper grammar is important, and this forum is as good as any place to clear up any questions so that mistakes can be avoided in the future.
I totally agree. I feel that if something is important, than the message should not be only available to people who can afford to read/hear the message, but should be readily available for anyone who is willing to learn. Whenever I read a great book, or hear a great song, I try to promote it as much as possible because I think that it is important that the artist's message is heard and understood by as many people as possible. Some of my favourite 'artists' (such as Franz Kafka and Carl Sagan) held day jobs in professional/scientific fields. I realize that their material is copyrighted, but my point is that art and learning/the spreading of ideas should be done for the sake of art itself or learning itself, not for the sake of profit. I chose those two as examples because they made their living (for the most part) by working at their day jobs, and created their art because they wanted to deliver a message, not because they wanted to get rich.