6 - Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

SOPA's spirit is
alive and well

NBC
B for Believe'
CuarOn elevates 'e leve'


Visuals enthrall in the show will be able carry on no insight into whether it will
these elements over a full sea- be able to hold interest over a

NBC drama from
'Gravity' director
BY ALEX INTNER
DailyArts Writer
We've seen this story time
and time again since "Lost"
premiered in 2004: a serial-
ized show
premieres c=
with a great
pilot but lacks Believe
the depth to
sustain the Sundays
storyline and at 9 p.m.
the direct- NBC
ing talent
to maintain
the visuals. After one episode,
it's impossible to tell whether
"Believe" will go the way of
shows like "FlashForward"
and "The Event," or if it will
actually be able to go the dis-
tance. The pilot creates rela-
tionships, a visual template
and a plot that is gripping, but
offers no hints as to whether

son of TV.
"Believe" follows a man
named Tate (Jake McLaugh-
lin, "Warrior") who is broken
out of death row by members
of a mysterious organization
led by Winter (Delroy Lindo,
"The Chicago Code"). They
do this to enlist his assistance
in protecting a girl named Bo
(newcomer Johnny Sequoyah)
from the evil people who are
trying to take advantage of her
mysterious powers. As they
travel, Bo helps people believe
in themselves; in the pilot she
helps a doctor who considers
quitting his job after a patient
dies.
With the setup of this prem-
ise, "Believe" starts telling a
story with a lot of information
to reveal. A lot of the plot in
the pilot is setting up a com-
plicated mythology, with many
secrets involving the true moti-
vations of the "good" and "evil"
organizations and how much
power Bo has. It's yet another
serialized series that offers

season (or multiple seasons). It
could easily get bogged down
in creating more questions,
and not building the story they
already have in place.
Thebest element of "Believe"
is going to be the hardest one to
repeat on a week-to-weekbasis.
Newly-minted Oscar winner
Alfonso Cuar6n ("Gravity")
directed the pilot, creating a
diverse, unique visual tem-
plate. While this show doesn't
come close to "Hannibal" in
terms of visual quality, its pat-
terns are different from any-
thing else on television. What's
worrisome, however, is the fact
that Cuar6n won't be directing
every episode. The show's mix
of some well-choreographed
action sequences and visually
interesting scenes involving
characters sitting around and
talking created a template that
is going to be very tough to
emulate, robbing the show of
one of it's best aspects.
Another very strong char-
acteristic of the pilot is how

RELEASE DATE- Tuesiay, Marcn18, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS DOWN 32 City in upstate 50 Truckers'
1 Uncertainty 1 Cartoon explorer New York compettion
Bitogel with a cousin 33 Asian menu 52 Careersoldier
9 Classroom samed Diego assurance 54 One way to store
supply 2 German 34 Cyhetting pica
14 Media mogul automaker 37 Turning backto 55 "Grabthis"
Winfrey 3 Eurasian border zero, as an 56 Title of respect
15ld studio letters river odometer 58 Mama's mate
16 Google rival 4 Rotten apple 40 Smear campaign 60 Sitar music
17 "The Cloister and 5 Race trackcry commercial 61 Get readyfor the
the Hearth" ahter'"And"' 4 Satirist Mort OR
athorharl" 6ote"A'd" 44Duracell size 62Gofer Ballesteros
authorCharles Holmes 4 Shortened wd. 64 Shih: Tibetan
20 Bowling building 7 Similar 49 Least plausible dog
21 Year's record 8 Region ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
22 Word from a bordering
heckler Croatia D O E A B CIS AIL D A S
23 Firmness of 9 Rinse orspin, e.g. C R a X N A 0 H M E R I T
spiritf 1ri Gufawsyllable H OT P OITA T O O H A R E
25 Makesafurious 11 Ohsessed IN OVE T0M AMFM
27 Crisp cookie fictional captain I N L 0 0 E T 0 M A M F M
31 Ditty 12Bonkers C E A S E H A I R C R E A Ml
35 Old vitaminbottle 13 Early cartoon H 0 0 R C A N S A D R E
no. clown INTIO ANG PRAYED
36 Melville novel 19 Lawman Wyatt R A N Y M 0 5
thatcontinued 24 Culinary author T A MK
theastorytfrom Romhauer PTBIOAIT M OO LO0K I
'Typee" 26RRstop A H A RIA E OIK S P AIN
37Betraylike a 27"That's J E T S E T T E R U S E I T,
stoolie disgusting!" A R C H A H L I C A N S O
38 Country music's 28 Montana
T RidgeeBoys neighbor M A H E R I RIISHSTS E
39RTeam 29 Ready to APEEP C0 P H0R
supporters, skinny-dip S Y S T S S Y Y A E S
collectively 30 Prestigious prize xwordeditor@aol.com 03/18/14
42"A I see it,"in
te rs , 1 2 3 4 s 6 7 8 a r 11 r12 13
43 Reaper's bundle -
45 LAX predictions 4 rn is1
46Windy Cty hrs.
47Caninacoler s171 a
49 Superpopular 20 21 22
51 Jessica o "Sin
53 Voice below
soprano 00 08 029i0 or 00 30 54
54 Unitot resistance
57 Desktop 3on 36on
computer that
inspired clones 38 39 40 41 42
59 Rainy-day covers
63 Compulsive 43 4 446
cleaner I I I II -1 1
65 "youto try it!" n7as90
66 Fad s 2 e
67 Placefor5
pampering 54 5s 5 6 7 s . 9 60 61 62
objection _
70 Skosh 66 6 8i
71 Lose it, and a hint7
to the last words w9 0 7i
of 18-, 27-, 48-
and 63-Across By Gail Grabowski and BruceVenzke 3/18/14
(c)2014 Tribune Content Agency,tLLt

it immediately starts develop-
ing the relationships between
the characters. Right as Jake
and Bo, who are the two cen-
tral characters, meet for the
first time, the show establish-
es a connection between the
two of them. As the episode
moves forward, they estab-
lish a rapport that's fascinat-
ing to watch. If the show gets
bogged down in the serialized
elements or the visuals lack
the exciting nature of the pilot,
this will be the easiest aspect
to maintain and may be the
component that saves the show
from falling into mediocrity.
"Believe" has a lot going
for it. Cuar6n is a ridiculously
talented filmmaker, and his
work as a writer and director
for the premiere was excel-
lent. However, he's not going
to be involved on a day-to-day
basis and once he steps back on
his involvemen, it's not cer-
tain whether the great story-
line and unique visuals will be
maintained. The pilot is well
done, but it's too soon to tell if
the series will be.
Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
EFF. 1 & 2 Bdrm apts. for Fall 2014.
$700-$1395, showings avail. M-F
I 0am-3:30pm w/ 24hr notice.
(Cappo/Deincocappomanagement.com.
Contact 734-996-1991 M-F 9am-4pm
SECURE YOUR NEW home today,
sright sir S. L. / Central Campus. All
new luxury aparments come with the
BEST service, amenities, and all at
REASONABLE RATES.
www.The2ndFloorSU.com
ARBOR PROPERTIES
Award-Winning Rentals in errytown,
r Central Campus, Old West Side,
Burns Park. Now Renting for 2014.
734-994-3157. www.arborprops.com
4 BDRM HSE, Fuller by North Cam-
pus, 1010 Cedar Bend Dr. $2400/m +
utils. 2 bath, 3 parking. Wsher/dryer.
Avail. Fall 2014 contact 734-996-1991.
4 BDRM HSE South Central Campus
1037 Packard - $2500/m+utils. 2bath,
3 parking. Wshe/dryer. Avail, Fall
2014. Contact 734-996-1991.
Michigan
lovesIits
rea er.

Remember back in 2012,
that one day when Wikipe-
dia, Reddit and a few of yout
other favorite procrastinatio
sites went dark? For some, it
was just an
annoyance
- but many
others
realized
that some-
thing big
was going
down, and ELLIOT
that web- ALPERN
sites don't
suddenly
go dark for some trifling rea
son. In a matter of days, the
bill known as SOPA - the
Stop Online Piracy Act - wa
dead on arrival from the pub
lic pressure. Cue the pride
of victory, that warm fuzzy
feeling that democracy couli
actually work when we the
people realized we needed t
bond together.
Because, really, the stakes
were high enough to warran
losing a full day's revenue fo
most websites. Under SOA,
copyright holders could shu
down any infringing site wit
a quick court order. And any
one who streamed anything
illegally - be it a song, an
album, a TV show - was lia-
ble for up to 5 years in priso
But we don't have to worr
about that any more, right?
After all, we slayed the two-
headed SOPA hydra and the
lesser-discussed PIPA. Sure
those media execs ran home
with their tails between the
legs, never to try the will of
the American people again.
Unfortunately, as many of
you could guess by the flavo
of this column, that's not ev
close to the case.
Those same lobbyists who
pushed hard for the renewet
prosecution of online pirate
have had a revelation. Why
slog through the very visible
swamp that was SOPA, when
dealing in the shadows work
just as well?
This brings us to two new
theaters of war for, more or
less, the same damn issue -
only now, there's less we cat
do about it.
At the very least, you
might have heard of this firs
battlefront: the Trans-Pacif
Partnership. The TPP mas-
querades as a behemoth free
trade deal between a dozen
or so countries, and has bee:
under constant negotiation
for almost a decade.
Why would anyone care
about trade policies? As you
may have guessed, much is
afoot underneath the true
purpose of this agreement,
which itself is murky - no
one will make the text of thi
draft available, and it took
the efforts of Wikileaks to
show us the dark underbelly
of what we're up against. Th
Verge, a popular tech websit
summed up best what we ha
to fear from the influence o1
copyright lobbyists.
"Many of the criticisms
focus on the treaty's 'enforc
ment' section, which includ'
language that critics say ml

rors similar provisions from
America's controversial SOP
and ACTA bills. This includi
provisions that ... critics
say would further establish
ISPs as a de facto copyright
police."
While all of this sounds
like something we should
start rallying against as soo
as possible, the problem
exists in the fact that the TIP
doesn't necessarily have tog

through Congress. Presidents
have had the power to "fast-
r track" trade policies before -
in and if that power is renewed,
this could get shoved into
reality before we even have a
say in it.
Another proposed practice
also seems to be strengthen-
ing of copyright law - some-
thing known as "Notice and
Staydown." While the pro-
posal is still in infancy, its
nature is somewhat ominous.
At a basic level, Notice and
Staydown means that, if a
website is sent a "takedown"
- notice regarding copyright
infringement of some piece of
media, it must then immedi-
s ately destroy all copies of that
- media and actively prevent
the media from being upload-
ed again. While this may
d seem like a fair point, anyone
who knows how copyright law
o actually works will recognize
that this isn't a solution, but
rather that it is a vast blanket
t that will affect both legal and
ir illegal distribution of art-
work.
t Notice and Staydown isn't
:h nearly the threat that the TPP
- will be, but both show that
n. Piracy actually
helps business.
ly copyright lobbyists won't stop
until copyright law is revised
ir for their interests and active-
ly enforced. Which, really, is
stupid when you look at the
evidence.
r Yes, piracy is illegal. Down-
en loading something you should
pay for is illegal. But if music
execs want to make as much
d money as they can, they'll
s stop pursuing piracy and
focus on making th'i~rfoduct
as affordable and available as
possible, because, believe it
s or not, piracy actually helps
business.
Last year, the Institute for
Prospective Technological
Studies (part of the Euro-
n pean Commission's Joint
Research Centre) analyzed
digital music piracy over five
it countries from 16,000 partici-
ic pants. The execs work under
the assumption that every
album downloaded is $10 or
more instantly evaporated in
n a puff of torrenting. But the
IPTS concluded that "digital
music piracy does not dis-
place legal music purchases,"
and even more, that "illegal
music consumption could
also, in theory, stimulate legal
music consumption." The
study found that, for every
e 10 percent increase in the
number of illegal downloads,
there was a two percent rise
7 in legal sales. Obviously, cor-
te relation is easier to establish
:e, than causation, but it seems
ve that music piracy, at the very
f least, doesn't do as much
harm as advertised.
So where do we go? It's
e- tough to figure out - but
es for the ever-optimistic side
r- of me, I'd like to think that

* democracy can still achieve
'A something for the people. So
es keep an eye out for the TPP
and Notice and Staydown,
and when any of it comes into
the public light, do what you
can to be a part of democratic
progress.
n Alpern is torrenting music.
To get him to stop, e-mail
PP ealpern@umich.edu.
go
TWEETS
TO KILL FOR
@MICHIGANDAILY

SUMMER OF YOUR LIFE! CAMP
WAYNE FOR GIRLS - Childrers'
summser camp, Pocono Mountains,
Pennsylvania 6/21-8/17. If you love
children and want a caring, fun environ-
ment, we need Counselors, Instructors
and other staff for our summer camp.
Interviews on UMich campus March
21st. Select The Camp That Selects
The Best Staff! Call 1.215.944.3069 o
apply at www.campwaynegirls.com
WORK ON MACKINAC Island This
Summer - Make lifelong friends. The
Island House oel and Ryba's Fudge
Shops are looking for help in all areas:
Front Desk, Bell Staff, Wait Staff
Sales Clerks, Kitchen, Baristas. Hous-
ing, bonus, & discounted meals. (906)-
847-7196. www.theislandhouse.com
!NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm.!
! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. !
I www.HRPAA.com !
THE 2ND FLOOR
NEW Luxury Apartments,
Right n SU/Centrat Campus
at REASONABLE RATES.
Contact us at 734-761-2680
www.Ihe2ndFloorSt.com
GET UPTO
I Month Free
on
Select Units
Why Pay over $1,500 per Bed per
Year?
Save over $10,00per Year by Leas-
ing at U. Towers. Prices starting at
$695.00
Vist" asat
www.universitytowers-mi.comO
536 S. Forest Ave.
Ann Arbor, Ml 48104
734-761-2680
*special can end at any time*

f
'f

I

&