I do not download illegally, nor do I condone it.

I do not want to clutter my shelves with DVDs and CDs that I watch or listen to maybe once or twice. I have (purchased) perhaps a couple hundred CDs of various kinds of music, and less than three dozen selected DVDs, some instructional and some classic movies or performances.

For example, I have the platinum, director's cut edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, all three movies complete with special features, in a boxed set. I purchased this from Amazon, who offered it for less than the list price and had it delivered to my door by United Parcel Service.

My wife and I rarely go out to movies. It's the hassle of going to a theater, parking the car, paying a wad of money to get in, have some kid kicking the back of your seat through the whole film, and concluded that the movie was a bit of a stinker. We subscribe to NetFlix. And we can also get DVDs of some movies from the public library. We can then sit on the sofa together and watch a movie on my laptop (17 inch wide screen) sitting on the coffee table, or watch it on our new 26 inch flat-panel TV.

And if the movie IS a stinker, we just stick it in the provided envelop and send it back to NetFlix or return it to the library. We don't have to clutter our shelves with something we'll never watch again.

I'm sorry if this works a hardship on local shops, but I see nothing unethical about our watching and listening habits. What the shops—or movie theaters—need to do is offer us something that is more convenient and/or less expensive than what I now do.

Sorry. But not really.

Don Firth