The BitTorrent protocol's wide use for copyright infringement has led to the questioning of the legality of BitTorrent.
Copyright enforcement
BitTorrent trackers have been subjected to raids and shutdowns due to claims of copyright infringement. BitTorrent metafiles do not store copyrighted data, so it has been claimed that BitTorrent trackers, which only store and track the metafiles, must therefore be legal even if sharing the data in question would be considered a violation of copyright. Despite this claim, there has been tremendous legal pressure, usually on behalf of the MPAA and RIAA, to shut down numerous BitTorrent trackers.
In December 2004, the Finnish police raided a major BitTorrent site, Finreactor. The case is before the courts, and 32 people, in September 2006, mostly administrators and moderators, are facing charges. Software and media companies are seeking damages worth 3.5 million euros (about 4.6 million USD) in total. Two defendants were acquitted by reason of being underage at the time, but they are being held liable for legal fees and compensation for illegal distribution ranging up to 60,000 euros. The court set their fine at 10% of the retail price of products distributed.
Suprnova.org, one of the most popular early BitTorrent sites, closed in December 2004, purportedly due to the pressure felt by Sloncek, the founder and administrator of the site. In December 2004, Sloncek revealed that the Suprnova computer servers had in fact been confiscated by Slovenian authorities.
LokiTorrent, arguably the biggest torrent source after the demise of Suprnova, closed down soon after Suprnova. Allegedly, after threats from the MPAA, Edward Webber (known as 'lowkee'), webmaster of the site, was ordered by the court to pay a fine and supply the MPAA with logs (the IP addresses of visitors). Webber, in the weeks following his receipt of the subpoena, began a fundraising campaign to pay legal fees in a legal battle against the MPAA. Webber raised approximately US$45,000 through a PayPal-based donation system. It is unclear how much of that money went to the MPAA. Following the agreement, the MPAA changed the LokiTorrent website to display a message intended to discourage filesharers from downloading illegal content. Webber did not comment on this change.
On May 25, 2005, the popular BitTorrent website EliteTorrents.org was shut down by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At first it was thought that a malicious hacker had gained control of the website, but it was soon discovered that the website had been taken over by the US government. Ten search warrants relating to members of the website were executed. Up until today six admins of the EliteTorrents.org website pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement of a pre-commercial release work.
On October 24, 2005, a 38-year-old Hong Kong BitTorrent user Chan Nai-ming (陳乃明, using the handle �惑天皇 Lit. The master of cunning, while the magistrate referred to him as Big Crook) allegedly distributed the three movies Daredevil, Red Planet and Miss Congeniality in violation of copyright, subsequently uploading the torrent file to a newsgroup. He was convicted of breaching the copyright ordinance, Chapter 528 of Hong Kong law. The magistrate remarked that Chan's act caused significant damage to the interest of copyright holders. He was released on bail for 5,000, awaiting a sentencing hearing, though the magistrate himself admitted the difficulty of determining how he should be sentenced due to the lack of precedent for such a case. On November 7, 2005, he was sentenced to jail for three months but was immediately granted bail pending an appeal to the High Court.The appeal was dismissed by the Court of First Instance on 12 December 2006 and Chan was jailed immediately. On 3 January 2007, he was bailed pending appeal to the Court of Final Appeal on 9 May 2007.
In June 2006, the popular website Newnova.org, an exact replicant of Suprnova, was also subject to closure.
The Pirate Bay torrent website, formed by a Swedish anti-copyright group, is notorious for the "legal" section The Pirate Bay was back online in less than 72 hours, and returned to Sweden, accompanied by public and media backlash against the Swedish Government's actions. A film, Steal This Film (Stockholm, Summer 2006), relating to these incidents has been produced. The Pirate Bay is now, supposedly, going to counter-sue the Swedish government for millions of Swedish kronor (SEK) lost from having their website shut down.
On May 29, 2007, A federal judge ordered TorrentSpy, a torrent website, to begin monitoring its users' activities and to submit these logs to the Motion Picture Association of America. TorrentSpy's attorney, Ira Rothken, has stated that TorrentSpy would likely turn off access to U.S. users before it started monitoring anyone, since such monitoring is in violation of TorrentSpy's own privacy policy.
HBO, in an effort to combat the distribution of its programming on BitTorrent networks, has sent cease and desist letters to the Internet Service Providers of BitTorrent users. Many users have reported receiving letters from their ISP's that threatened to cut off their internet service if the alleged infringement continues. HBO, unlike the RIAA, has not been reported to have filed suit against anyone for sharing files as of April 2007. On the other hand, in 2005 HBO began "poisoning" torrents of its show Rome, by providing bad chunks of data to clients.
In Singapore, anime distributor Odex, has been actively against Internet users in Singapore since 2007. These Internet users have allegedly downloaded fansubbed anime via the BitTorrent network. Court orders on ISPs to reveal subscribers' personal information have been ruled in Odex's favour, leading to several downloaders receiving letters of legal threat from Odex and subsequently pursuing out-of-court settlements for at least 3,000 (US$2,000) per person, the youngest person being only 9 years old. These actions were considered controversial by the local anime community and have attracted criticisms towards the company, as they are seen by fans as heavy-handed.
Compromises
On November 23, 2005, the movie industry and BitTorrent Inc. CEO Bram Cohen, signed a deal they hoped would reduce the number of unlicensed copies available through bittorrent.com's search engine, run by BitTorrent, Inc. It meant BitTorrent.com had to remove any links to unlicensed copies of films made by seven of Hollywood's major movie studios. As it covered only the BitTorrent.com website, it is unclear what overall effect this has had on copyright infringement.
Legal defenses
There are two major differences between BitTorrent and many other peer-to-peer file-trading systems, which advocates suggest make it less useful to those sharing copyrighted material without authorization. First, BitTorrent itself does not offer a search facility to find files by name. A user must find the initial torrent file by other means, such as a web search. Second, BitTorrent makes no attempt to conceal the host ultimately responsible for facilitating the sharing: a person who wishes to make a file available must run a tracker on a specific host or hosts and distribute the tracker address(es) in the .torrent file. Because it is possible to operate a tracker on a server that is located in a jurisdiction where the copyright holder cannot take legal action, the protocol does offer some vulnerability that other protocols lack. It is far easier to request that the server's ISP shut down the site than it is to find and identify every user sharing a file on a peer-to-peer network. However, with the use of a distributed hash table (DHT), trackers are no longer required, though often used for client software that does not support DHT to connect to the stream.
Copyright enforcement
BitTorrent trackers have been subjected to raids and shutdowns due to claims of copyright infringement. BitTorrent metafiles do not store copyrighted data, so it has been claimed that BitTorrent trackers, which only store and track the metafiles, must therefore be legal even if sharing the data in question would be considered a violation of copyright. Despite this claim, there has been tremendous legal pressure, usually on behalf of the MPAA and RIAA, to shut down numerous BitTorrent trackers.
In December 2004, the Finnish police raided a major BitTorrent site, Finreactor. The case is before the courts, and 32 people, in September 2006, mostly administrators and moderators, are facing charges. Software and media companies are seeking damages worth 3.5 million euros (about 4.6 million USD) in total. Two defendants were acquitted by reason of being underage at the time, but they are being held liable for legal fees and compensation for illegal distribution ranging up to 60,000 euros. The court set their fine at 10% of the retail price of products distributed.
Suprnova.org, one of the most popular early BitTorrent sites, closed in December 2004, purportedly due to the pressure felt by Sloncek, the founder and administrator of the site. In December 2004, Sloncek revealed that the Suprnova computer servers had in fact been confiscated by Slovenian authorities.
LokiTorrent, arguably the biggest torrent source after the demise of Suprnova, closed down soon after Suprnova. Allegedly, after threats from the MPAA, Edward Webber (known as 'lowkee'), webmaster of the site, was ordered by the court to pay a fine and supply the MPAA with logs (the IP addresses of visitors). Webber, in the weeks following his receipt of the subpoena, began a fundraising campaign to pay legal fees in a legal battle against the MPAA. Webber raised approximately US$45,000 through a PayPal-based donation system. It is unclear how much of that money went to the MPAA. Following the agreement, the MPAA changed the LokiTorrent website to display a message intended to discourage filesharers from downloading illegal content. Webber did not comment on this change.
On May 25, 2005, the popular BitTorrent website EliteTorrents.org was shut down by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At first it was thought that a malicious hacker had gained control of the website, but it was soon discovered that the website had been taken over by the US government. Ten search warrants relating to members of the website were executed. Up until today six admins of the EliteTorrents.org website pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement of a pre-commercial release work.
On October 24, 2005, a 38-year-old Hong Kong BitTorrent user Chan Nai-ming (陳乃明, using the handle �惑天皇 Lit. The master of cunning, while the magistrate referred to him as Big Crook) allegedly distributed the three movies Daredevil, Red Planet and Miss Congeniality in violation of copyright, subsequently uploading the torrent file to a newsgroup. He was convicted of breaching the copyright ordinance, Chapter 528 of Hong Kong law. The magistrate remarked that Chan's act caused significant damage to the interest of copyright holders. He was released on bail for 5,000, awaiting a sentencing hearing, though the magistrate himself admitted the difficulty of determining how he should be sentenced due to the lack of precedent for such a case. On November 7, 2005, he was sentenced to jail for three months but was immediately granted bail pending an appeal to the High Court.The appeal was dismissed by the Court of First Instance on 12 December 2006 and Chan was jailed immediately. On 3 January 2007, he was bailed pending appeal to the Court of Final Appeal on 9 May 2007.
In June 2006, the popular website Newnova.org, an exact replicant of Suprnova, was also subject to closure.
The Pirate Bay torrent website, formed by a Swedish anti-copyright group, is notorious for the "legal" section The Pirate Bay was back online in less than 72 hours, and returned to Sweden, accompanied by public and media backlash against the Swedish Government's actions. A film, Steal This Film (Stockholm, Summer 2006), relating to these incidents has been produced. The Pirate Bay is now, supposedly, going to counter-sue the Swedish government for millions of Swedish kronor (SEK) lost from having their website shut down.
On May 29, 2007, A federal judge ordered TorrentSpy, a torrent website, to begin monitoring its users' activities and to submit these logs to the Motion Picture Association of America. TorrentSpy's attorney, Ira Rothken, has stated that TorrentSpy would likely turn off access to U.S. users before it started monitoring anyone, since such monitoring is in violation of TorrentSpy's own privacy policy.
HBO, in an effort to combat the distribution of its programming on BitTorrent networks, has sent cease and desist letters to the Internet Service Providers of BitTorrent users. Many users have reported receiving letters from their ISP's that threatened to cut off their internet service if the alleged infringement continues. HBO, unlike the RIAA, has not been reported to have filed suit against anyone for sharing files as of April 2007. On the other hand, in 2005 HBO began "poisoning" torrents of its show Rome, by providing bad chunks of data to clients.
In Singapore, anime distributor Odex, has been actively against Internet users in Singapore since 2007. These Internet users have allegedly downloaded fansubbed anime via the BitTorrent network. Court orders on ISPs to reveal subscribers' personal information have been ruled in Odex's favour, leading to several downloaders receiving letters of legal threat from Odex and subsequently pursuing out-of-court settlements for at least 3,000 (US$2,000) per person, the youngest person being only 9 years old. These actions were considered controversial by the local anime community and have attracted criticisms towards the company, as they are seen by fans as heavy-handed.
Compromises
On November 23, 2005, the movie industry and BitTorrent Inc. CEO Bram Cohen, signed a deal they hoped would reduce the number of unlicensed copies available through bittorrent.com's search engine, run by BitTorrent, Inc. It meant BitTorrent.com had to remove any links to unlicensed copies of films made by seven of Hollywood's major movie studios. As it covered only the BitTorrent.com website, it is unclear what overall effect this has had on copyright infringement.
Legal defenses
There are two major differences between BitTorrent and many other peer-to-peer file-trading systems, which advocates suggest make it less useful to those sharing copyrighted material without authorization. First, BitTorrent itself does not offer a search facility to find files by name. A user must find the initial torrent file by other means, such as a web search. Second, BitTorrent makes no attempt to conceal the host ultimately responsible for facilitating the sharing: a person who wishes to make a file available must run a tracker on a specific host or hosts and distribute the tracker address(es) in the .torrent file. Because it is possible to operate a tracker on a server that is located in a jurisdiction where the copyright holder cannot take legal action, the protocol does offer some vulnerability that other protocols lack. It is far easier to request that the server's ISP shut down the site than it is to find and identify every user sharing a file on a peer-to-peer network. However, with the use of a distributed hash table (DHT), trackers are no longer required, though often used for client software that does not support DHT to connect to the stream.
Nery Alexander Saenz(born September 3, 1981, Leon, Nicaragua) is an Hispanic-American comedian.
Saenz was born in Leon, Nicaragua. He arrived to the United States at the age of three in 1984. He is the youngest of four children to Norma and Pedro Saenz. His mother was a homemaker and father a worker.
The youngest of four siblings in a Nicaraguan-American family, Saenz grew up watching his idols - Eddie Murphy and George Carlin - performing on stage, and that spurred his desire to pursue a career in comedy. As a child his imagination ran wild. He was always the class clown, imitating movie characters and staging his own "Blood Sport" tournaments in his bed room.
Saenz got his start in comedy when he entered a local Open Mic contest in his hometown, Miami, Florida, and made it all the way to the finals. His love of comedy and desire to make people laugh were cemented and he worked tirelessly to pursue his dream.
His hard work and dedication have made him a favorite at colleges and comedy clubs across the country. He was a finalist at the "NBC Stand Up for Diversity" showcase in 2005 & again in 2007, and has worked with many of the top comedians in the industry.
Saenz prides himself for his style of comedy. It is unique in that, although he comes from an Hispanic background, he doesn't focus on that. His topics are relatable to anyone whether he's poking fun at relationships, shopping for school supplies.
www.nerysaenz.com
Saenz was born in Leon, Nicaragua. He arrived to the United States at the age of three in 1984. He is the youngest of four children to Norma and Pedro Saenz. His mother was a homemaker and father a worker.
The youngest of four siblings in a Nicaraguan-American family, Saenz grew up watching his idols - Eddie Murphy and George Carlin - performing on stage, and that spurred his desire to pursue a career in comedy. As a child his imagination ran wild. He was always the class clown, imitating movie characters and staging his own "Blood Sport" tournaments in his bed room.
Saenz got his start in comedy when he entered a local Open Mic contest in his hometown, Miami, Florida, and made it all the way to the finals. His love of comedy and desire to make people laugh were cemented and he worked tirelessly to pursue his dream.
His hard work and dedication have made him a favorite at colleges and comedy clubs across the country. He was a finalist at the "NBC Stand Up for Diversity" showcase in 2005 & again in 2007, and has worked with many of the top comedians in the industry.
Saenz prides himself for his style of comedy. It is unique in that, although he comes from an Hispanic background, he doesn't focus on that. His topics are relatable to anyone whether he's poking fun at relationships, shopping for school supplies.
www.nerysaenz.com
Summary
New Inn Tennis Courts is a small, all weather multi use sport facility found in Pontypool, Torfaen, South Wales. It contains two tennis courts, a small football pitch and basketball court. All games are played on a concrete surface.
Although the facility is not anything that would make the area proud and draw in viewers, it is home to the legendary local tennis courts team: N.I.T.C. F.C (New Inn Tennis Courts Football Club).
The Team
The Team is made up of around 11 regular teenage players , all hailing from the area, at the facility, who, between them and in different combinations have put together an unbelievable unbeaten run against the other regular players at 'the courts' who are foolish enough to challenge them.
Formations
N.I.T.C. F.C rotate their formation and positions depending on the combination of players available at any one given time, although all the individuals have positions that they prefer and often play in.
A rush goalkeeper rotation system is often enforced that allows all players to experience the outfield action and a chance to score, rather than restricting one player to goal keeping duties.
As of late a more balanced formation has been used, leaving two players on the wings and two central midfielders; attacking and defending in the so called ‘Claude Makèlèlè Role’
The Style of Plays
The style of play also varies depending on the players available, the opponent, the stage in the game and the conditions.
The Players: Although all of the team players link well together, some stronger individual links have been built up which allows some players to link superbly in a fashion that is usually referred to as 'Sexy Football'. This style of football is usually only executed when the most die hard regular players can link without interruption, greed or mistakes caused by less experienced players, who are said ‘not to be on the same wave length’.
The Opponent: Even though all opposition will suffer the same loss at the end of the game, some more arrogant and more disrespectful opponents are dealt with in a much more aggressive style than would be so if they were respectful and skillful.
The more aggressive style usually consists of a much faster pace football, humiliating skill moves or possession play and in some cases verbal or physical taunting; all of which results in a much more punishing result for the opponents.
The Stage in the Game: Early on in the game N.I.T.C. F.C can sometimes underestimate or laze about in order to conserve energy against lesser (all) opponents. However, this can change in an instance sue to a sudden opening in the difference and stunning opportunity and perhaps worst of all an early opposition goal that suddenly jolts the team into life and into an incredible scoring run.
As the game goes on, players can sometimes drop out due to tiredness; however, by this stage, the game is already over and won by New Inn. This lets the remaining players relax a bit and just wear down the opponents with a slower paced, yet more deliberate, possession play game, until the opponents finally realise that there is no hope and decide to retire.
The Conditions: In wet conditions, play tends to be slower and more tentative as players are cautious of the slippery surface. This results in less ‘Superman’ run play and more passing.
Hot conditions also take their toll as players tire more easily and have to rest. A heavier goalkeeper rotation system is then used in order to give everyone more of a chance to rest in goals while others run – this allows all players to play at a much higher level of performance than the less wise opponents.
Training Games
When the team is not engaging in a match, they usually train using a number of different games to test skill levels:
‘Head, Flicks and Volleys’: The most popular and common training game is a great way of improving both volley skills, set up play and goalkeeping. All of which could prove invaluable in matches.
The game is played by any number of people and for any length of time depending of the number of starting lives; the most popular of which being 10 (long game which is not usually finished), 5 (average length) and 3 (quick fire game to ensure a winner).
‘Endzey’s’: A fairly usual game at the club, which is only available when the whole court is available, is ‘Endzey’s’. This game is an excellent way of improving long shooting ability and goalkeeping.
‘Red Arse’: A sometimes painful game which usually follows on from a short game of ‘Head Flicks’. The game is an excellent way of perfecting ‘venom shots’, accuracy and also bravery. It can also be used as a punishment.
‘Free Play’: This style of training can consist of anything. Goalkeepers are not always used, sometimes replaced by a cone if available, and outfield players will just try and score the most spectacular goal possible. The game is sometimes restricted to shots from the opposite half by a scared goalkeeper.
This method of training is a great way for developing all skills but is the main training aid for ‘Sexy Football’ as players learn to link and read the others thoughts.
Jargon
This section focuses on explaining the typical and common phrases used by the team members.
‘Sexy Football’: Type of football that consists of impressive link ups and clever skills. Previously referred to as ‘Champions League’.
‘Superman’: Type of football that consists of one player running unsupported with no intention of passing in attempt to pass as many defenders as possible. This tactic is usually frowned upon by other player who feel they were in better positions.
‘Venom’: The type of shoot that uses all of the power of the attacker to perform. This type of shot is less accurate but when on target, is practically unstoppable.
‘Stinger’: The name given to a shot that strikes the keeper or defending player with enough power to cause physical discomfort or a stinging sensation in the hit body part; usually hands.
‘'Ave It!!!’: A phrase that describes a powerful shot/kick that doesn’t necessarily hit the target but rather a shot or kick that is hit without real concern for direction or the resulting damage. This type of kick usually results in the ball sailing over the boundary fences and beyond.
‘Stunning’: Phrase used to describe a spectacular goal or piece of skill that is usually uttered by a supporting team member in amazement.
‘Touch’: Word used to express ones want to receive pass from a team mate.
‘Claude Makèlèlè Role’: The position taken up in central defensive midfield that allows the player to roam freely around the edge of their own box to block and prevent oncoming attacks.
Advertisements
The club is currently experimenting in increasing the already enormous popularity of the club in a number of different advertisement formats;
Internet: As the team has yet to acquire or be offered a suitable television deal, they are currently restricted to Internet advertising. Currently, the club is using the popular internet blog site 'Bebo', exact link to be found below, and this page to advertise. Although, in future they would like to expand to greater heights, perhaps producing their own website.
Logo's: On member of the team is currently trying to formulate a suitable club logo to improve on the clubs corporate image and professional presentation.
New Inn Tennis Courts is a small, all weather multi use sport facility found in Pontypool, Torfaen, South Wales. It contains two tennis courts, a small football pitch and basketball court. All games are played on a concrete surface.
Although the facility is not anything that would make the area proud and draw in viewers, it is home to the legendary local tennis courts team: N.I.T.C. F.C (New Inn Tennis Courts Football Club).
The Team
The Team is made up of around 11 regular teenage players , all hailing from the area, at the facility, who, between them and in different combinations have put together an unbelievable unbeaten run against the other regular players at 'the courts' who are foolish enough to challenge them.
Formations
N.I.T.C. F.C rotate their formation and positions depending on the combination of players available at any one given time, although all the individuals have positions that they prefer and often play in.
A rush goalkeeper rotation system is often enforced that allows all players to experience the outfield action and a chance to score, rather than restricting one player to goal keeping duties.
As of late a more balanced formation has been used, leaving two players on the wings and two central midfielders; attacking and defending in the so called ‘Claude Makèlèlè Role’
The Style of Plays
The style of play also varies depending on the players available, the opponent, the stage in the game and the conditions.
The Players: Although all of the team players link well together, some stronger individual links have been built up which allows some players to link superbly in a fashion that is usually referred to as 'Sexy Football'. This style of football is usually only executed when the most die hard regular players can link without interruption, greed or mistakes caused by less experienced players, who are said ‘not to be on the same wave length’.
The Opponent: Even though all opposition will suffer the same loss at the end of the game, some more arrogant and more disrespectful opponents are dealt with in a much more aggressive style than would be so if they were respectful and skillful.
The more aggressive style usually consists of a much faster pace football, humiliating skill moves or possession play and in some cases verbal or physical taunting; all of which results in a much more punishing result for the opponents.
The Stage in the Game: Early on in the game N.I.T.C. F.C can sometimes underestimate or laze about in order to conserve energy against lesser (all) opponents. However, this can change in an instance sue to a sudden opening in the difference and stunning opportunity and perhaps worst of all an early opposition goal that suddenly jolts the team into life and into an incredible scoring run.
As the game goes on, players can sometimes drop out due to tiredness; however, by this stage, the game is already over and won by New Inn. This lets the remaining players relax a bit and just wear down the opponents with a slower paced, yet more deliberate, possession play game, until the opponents finally realise that there is no hope and decide to retire.
The Conditions: In wet conditions, play tends to be slower and more tentative as players are cautious of the slippery surface. This results in less ‘Superman’ run play and more passing.
Hot conditions also take their toll as players tire more easily and have to rest. A heavier goalkeeper rotation system is then used in order to give everyone more of a chance to rest in goals while others run – this allows all players to play at a much higher level of performance than the less wise opponents.
Training Games
When the team is not engaging in a match, they usually train using a number of different games to test skill levels:
‘Head, Flicks and Volleys’: The most popular and common training game is a great way of improving both volley skills, set up play and goalkeeping. All of which could prove invaluable in matches.
The game is played by any number of people and for any length of time depending of the number of starting lives; the most popular of which being 10 (long game which is not usually finished), 5 (average length) and 3 (quick fire game to ensure a winner).
‘Endzey’s’: A fairly usual game at the club, which is only available when the whole court is available, is ‘Endzey’s’. This game is an excellent way of improving long shooting ability and goalkeeping.
‘Red Arse’: A sometimes painful game which usually follows on from a short game of ‘Head Flicks’. The game is an excellent way of perfecting ‘venom shots’, accuracy and also bravery. It can also be used as a punishment.
‘Free Play’: This style of training can consist of anything. Goalkeepers are not always used, sometimes replaced by a cone if available, and outfield players will just try and score the most spectacular goal possible. The game is sometimes restricted to shots from the opposite half by a scared goalkeeper.
This method of training is a great way for developing all skills but is the main training aid for ‘Sexy Football’ as players learn to link and read the others thoughts.
Jargon
This section focuses on explaining the typical and common phrases used by the team members.
‘Sexy Football’: Type of football that consists of impressive link ups and clever skills. Previously referred to as ‘Champions League’.
‘Superman’: Type of football that consists of one player running unsupported with no intention of passing in attempt to pass as many defenders as possible. This tactic is usually frowned upon by other player who feel they were in better positions.
‘Venom’: The type of shoot that uses all of the power of the attacker to perform. This type of shot is less accurate but when on target, is practically unstoppable.
‘Stinger’: The name given to a shot that strikes the keeper or defending player with enough power to cause physical discomfort or a stinging sensation in the hit body part; usually hands.
‘'Ave It!!!’: A phrase that describes a powerful shot/kick that doesn’t necessarily hit the target but rather a shot or kick that is hit without real concern for direction or the resulting damage. This type of kick usually results in the ball sailing over the boundary fences and beyond.
‘Stunning’: Phrase used to describe a spectacular goal or piece of skill that is usually uttered by a supporting team member in amazement.
‘Touch’: Word used to express ones want to receive pass from a team mate.
‘Claude Makèlèlè Role’: The position taken up in central defensive midfield that allows the player to roam freely around the edge of their own box to block and prevent oncoming attacks.
Advertisements
The club is currently experimenting in increasing the already enormous popularity of the club in a number of different advertisement formats;
Internet: As the team has yet to acquire or be offered a suitable television deal, they are currently restricted to Internet advertising. Currently, the club is using the popular internet blog site 'Bebo', exact link to be found below, and this page to advertise. Although, in future they would like to expand to greater heights, perhaps producing their own website.
Logo's: On member of the team is currently trying to formulate a suitable club logo to improve on the clubs corporate image and professional presentation.
Mockingboid is a cartoon drawn and written by junior cartoonist Duncan Ogg. Plotlines are centered around Mockingboid, an unorthodox bird with a Brooklyn accent, who is often clueless about the circumstances around him. As the cartoon progressed, more supporting characters were added, including Dr. Owl, Mr. Peacock, and Mrs. Duck.
Mockingboid was created in November 2005, when Duncan doodled a cartoon on the side of his 4th grade math worksheet, starring Mockingboid and his best friend Harry Canary. This cartoon was never published and has long since been recycled. In February 2006, Duncan was forming a new newspaper for his classroom, called The Weekly Messenger. A cartoon was needed for the paper, so Duncan quickly developed a storyline and drew up a full-page comic, which, when published, was a smash hit, along with the rest of the paper.
2 full storylines were developed in print, until the end of the school year, when the paper went on hiatus. Yet in the beginning of 5th grade, the Weekly Messenger went internet- and brought the comic with it, in strip form.
Mockingboid can now be seen at the web address , under “Comics.” One storyline was featured, involving a massive cable dish. Several new plotlines are in development, and according to rumour, Mockingboid will return to full-page format.
Books
No Mockingboid collections have so far been published, but one is supposedly in the works, name unknown. A first draft of the graphic novel “Mockingboid in Time and Space” was featured at the Young Authors Conference 2006 in Ferndale, Washington, and the book is preparing for printing.
Merchandise
No merchandise has been created, but according to rumour, a set of posters may come out soon, along with a stamp series. It s expected that a CD may come out soon as well.
Characters
Mockingboid
All comics are centered around Mockingboid, a moronic bird with a Brooklyn accent. Although he is a mockingbird, he is black, whereas mockingbirds are gray. Why?
“I had no idea what a mockingbird actually looked like,” said Duncan.
Most of the characters in the series hate him- he is annoying, selfish, and plays music by the “Dave Matthews Band” in the middle of the night. But his best friend, Harry Canary, who appears in the book, but has yet to show up in the comic, only thinks he’s annoying some of the time.
Harry Canary
Harry, who only appears in the book but is sure to come up soon in the series, is Mockingboid’s best friend. He only thinks Mockingboid is annoying some of the time, and tries to break Mockingboid of stupid ideas as soon as possible, as it is likely Mockingboid will get hurt in some way or another. Mockingboid is always asking Harry to go to a film with him, usually on Harry’s pocketbook. But in a recent cartoon entirely in French that was never published, Harry drew the line- no films in the middle of the night, much to Mockingboid’s dismay.
Dr. Owl
Dr. Owl is the “brains” of the operation, and always has some type of gizmo, gadget, or machine he is fiddling around with in his underground laboratory, the most famous of which was the Time Machine, which also appears in Mockingboid in Time and Space, along with a spare that looks like a giant statue of a cow. Harry Canary often frowns on Dr. Owl, as it is usually him who enables Mockingboid to embark on his zany schemes and usually does not precaution him with things that could end up spelling d-o-o-m for the world, such as a growth potion in an unpublished cartoon.
Mr. Peacock
Mr. Peacock is Mockingboid’s neighbor and main annoyance target. He’s sick and tired of Mockingboid blasting Dave Matthews Band CDs during the middle of the night, he’s angry that Mockingboid is able to collect huge unemployment cheques for simply writing letters to the editor-in-chief of the Bellingham Herald endorsing the Iraq War, and he hates that Mockingboid is constantly “borrowing” things from him, like his grill and his back patio setup and then claims it is a “weather balloon.” Will he ever escape Mockingboid? Probably not. But he can try like heck.
Mrs. Duck
Mrs. Duck is the spouse of Mr. Duck, who has never been seen in the comics. She lives 2 houses down from Mockingboid, and makes delicious pies, especially cherry, which Mockingboid stole and ate in a storyline. She considers Mockingboid to be a selfish jerk, and tries to stay away from him, but who can stay away from him when he owns an Escalade and a U2 spy plane? Nobody- that’s who. She hasn’t appeared much, but does come up in Mockingboid in Time and Space.
Mr. Chicken
Mr. Chicken lives across the street from Mrs. Duck, and is impartial to Mockingboid on the same level as Harry Canary, but does think he’s a waste of time to talk to (Mockingboid rarely makes any sense, and his heavy accent makes it even more difficult for him to understand him.) Although he hasn’t yet appeared in the comic itself, he does make an appearance in Mockingboid in Time and Space, and in one comic, his house with his name written on the door is clearly visible.
The World of Mockingboid
Mockingboid currently lives (illegally) in the United States, but his homeland is a country called “Birdland,” as everybody in the country is a bird. (No Way!) Birdland is to the left of Brazil, and it volcanic in nature, as in the center is gigantic Mt. Cockatoo. Mockingboid lived in a city on the East Coast called “New Aviary”, the largest city in the country. A map is soon to go into print of Birdland, and it includes several landmarks named after famous cartoon characters, including “Stimpy Road,” referencing Stimpy the Cat from hit animated cartoon “Ren and Stimpy,” “Ignatz Canyon,” after Ignatz Mouse from the 1920’s cartoon “Krazy Kat,” and “Pogo Lake,” after the cartoon character Pogo from “Pogo,” a comic by Walt Kelly. Some other landmarks on the map have unfamiliar names: L.G. Lookout, Moniker Lake, Memo Lake, Dom Peninsula and Walt Du Jeer Forest. These were named after characters from the non-syndicated comic “Memo,” by Duncan’s father, Doug Ogg. Another landmark was named Orson Cliff- named after Orson the Half-Eaten Banana, an invented character, who will soon feature in several books. This could also be why Birdland is to the right of Brazil- Orson has a bad habit of dooming it in one way or another in each chapter of the books.
Adaptations
A Mockingboid movie is in the works, voice talents not yet decided, and production has not yet begun. Comic books are also being developed under the Robo Comics title, which also publishes the series’ Energon, and Captain Bubbles.
Importance
Mockingboid is considered extremely important because it paved the way for many more comics created by children, and even the Weekly Messenger itself fostered many more papers. It is a big influence on all comics drawn by kids.
Mockingboid was created in November 2005, when Duncan doodled a cartoon on the side of his 4th grade math worksheet, starring Mockingboid and his best friend Harry Canary. This cartoon was never published and has long since been recycled. In February 2006, Duncan was forming a new newspaper for his classroom, called The Weekly Messenger. A cartoon was needed for the paper, so Duncan quickly developed a storyline and drew up a full-page comic, which, when published, was a smash hit, along with the rest of the paper.
2 full storylines were developed in print, until the end of the school year, when the paper went on hiatus. Yet in the beginning of 5th grade, the Weekly Messenger went internet- and brought the comic with it, in strip form.
Mockingboid can now be seen at the web address , under “Comics.” One storyline was featured, involving a massive cable dish. Several new plotlines are in development, and according to rumour, Mockingboid will return to full-page format.
Books
No Mockingboid collections have so far been published, but one is supposedly in the works, name unknown. A first draft of the graphic novel “Mockingboid in Time and Space” was featured at the Young Authors Conference 2006 in Ferndale, Washington, and the book is preparing for printing.
Merchandise
No merchandise has been created, but according to rumour, a set of posters may come out soon, along with a stamp series. It s expected that a CD may come out soon as well.
Characters
Mockingboid
All comics are centered around Mockingboid, a moronic bird with a Brooklyn accent. Although he is a mockingbird, he is black, whereas mockingbirds are gray. Why?
“I had no idea what a mockingbird actually looked like,” said Duncan.
Most of the characters in the series hate him- he is annoying, selfish, and plays music by the “Dave Matthews Band” in the middle of the night. But his best friend, Harry Canary, who appears in the book, but has yet to show up in the comic, only thinks he’s annoying some of the time.
Harry Canary
Harry, who only appears in the book but is sure to come up soon in the series, is Mockingboid’s best friend. He only thinks Mockingboid is annoying some of the time, and tries to break Mockingboid of stupid ideas as soon as possible, as it is likely Mockingboid will get hurt in some way or another. Mockingboid is always asking Harry to go to a film with him, usually on Harry’s pocketbook. But in a recent cartoon entirely in French that was never published, Harry drew the line- no films in the middle of the night, much to Mockingboid’s dismay.
Dr. Owl
Dr. Owl is the “brains” of the operation, and always has some type of gizmo, gadget, or machine he is fiddling around with in his underground laboratory, the most famous of which was the Time Machine, which also appears in Mockingboid in Time and Space, along with a spare that looks like a giant statue of a cow. Harry Canary often frowns on Dr. Owl, as it is usually him who enables Mockingboid to embark on his zany schemes and usually does not precaution him with things that could end up spelling d-o-o-m for the world, such as a growth potion in an unpublished cartoon.
Mr. Peacock
Mr. Peacock is Mockingboid’s neighbor and main annoyance target. He’s sick and tired of Mockingboid blasting Dave Matthews Band CDs during the middle of the night, he’s angry that Mockingboid is able to collect huge unemployment cheques for simply writing letters to the editor-in-chief of the Bellingham Herald endorsing the Iraq War, and he hates that Mockingboid is constantly “borrowing” things from him, like his grill and his back patio setup and then claims it is a “weather balloon.” Will he ever escape Mockingboid? Probably not. But he can try like heck.
Mrs. Duck
Mrs. Duck is the spouse of Mr. Duck, who has never been seen in the comics. She lives 2 houses down from Mockingboid, and makes delicious pies, especially cherry, which Mockingboid stole and ate in a storyline. She considers Mockingboid to be a selfish jerk, and tries to stay away from him, but who can stay away from him when he owns an Escalade and a U2 spy plane? Nobody- that’s who. She hasn’t appeared much, but does come up in Mockingboid in Time and Space.
Mr. Chicken
Mr. Chicken lives across the street from Mrs. Duck, and is impartial to Mockingboid on the same level as Harry Canary, but does think he’s a waste of time to talk to (Mockingboid rarely makes any sense, and his heavy accent makes it even more difficult for him to understand him.) Although he hasn’t yet appeared in the comic itself, he does make an appearance in Mockingboid in Time and Space, and in one comic, his house with his name written on the door is clearly visible.
The World of Mockingboid
Mockingboid currently lives (illegally) in the United States, but his homeland is a country called “Birdland,” as everybody in the country is a bird. (No Way!) Birdland is to the left of Brazil, and it volcanic in nature, as in the center is gigantic Mt. Cockatoo. Mockingboid lived in a city on the East Coast called “New Aviary”, the largest city in the country. A map is soon to go into print of Birdland, and it includes several landmarks named after famous cartoon characters, including “Stimpy Road,” referencing Stimpy the Cat from hit animated cartoon “Ren and Stimpy,” “Ignatz Canyon,” after Ignatz Mouse from the 1920’s cartoon “Krazy Kat,” and “Pogo Lake,” after the cartoon character Pogo from “Pogo,” a comic by Walt Kelly. Some other landmarks on the map have unfamiliar names: L.G. Lookout, Moniker Lake, Memo Lake, Dom Peninsula and Walt Du Jeer Forest. These were named after characters from the non-syndicated comic “Memo,” by Duncan’s father, Doug Ogg. Another landmark was named Orson Cliff- named after Orson the Half-Eaten Banana, an invented character, who will soon feature in several books. This could also be why Birdland is to the right of Brazil- Orson has a bad habit of dooming it in one way or another in each chapter of the books.
Adaptations
A Mockingboid movie is in the works, voice talents not yet decided, and production has not yet begun. Comic books are also being developed under the Robo Comics title, which also publishes the series’ Energon, and Captain Bubbles.
Importance
Mockingboid is considered extremely important because it paved the way for many more comics created by children, and even the Weekly Messenger itself fostered many more papers. It is a big influence on all comics drawn by kids.