Matt sent this to me with a note saying "This is long but pretty good." It's not that long, and it's very good. Not that you didn't know most of what the writer says; not that you don't feel the alarm every time you read about the DMCA and its almost comically obvious array of bad consequences every time you are faced with them; but the note of alarm here from someone other than a devotee of open-source software or an early fan of Napster; someone who can point to the way the university culture has been wrong-footed, very badly -- that note of alarm is worth paying attention to one more time. Because the previous alarms aren't bringing the police.
Posted by BT at August 06, 2002 05:27 PMSo, will I get the Wombat File shut down if I post this excerpt from George Orwell's 1984:
"Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere."
Or better yet, this excert from Barnes & Noble's Book Talk?
"Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones has mounted its own invasion of children's books shelves as well; if one combined the week's sales of titles like the Attack of the Clones Movie Scrapbook with other children's titles from the same film, the total would be among the top ten children's books for the week. Expect even more children's movie book hits now that Stuart Little 2 is in theaters. Titles including Stuart Little 2 Movie Storybook and E. B. White's always-popular original Stuart Little are already selling strongly."
time for some culture-jamming, folks! The Academy Strikes Back!
Posted by: art on August 6, 2002 08:37 PMAck! I'm going to be sued by my employer!
Posted by: BT on August 6, 2002 09:43 PMIn tangentially related news, the governor of Illinois yesterday signed into law (effective immediately) that selling or distributing depictions of animal cruelty is illegal.
Police, journalists, people using it for educational purposes, and rodeos are excepted.
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/N08072002,l.asp
I saw this right after a commercial where a guy asks for a book at the library, gets told they no longer have it, then gets arrested. The tagline? Be glad you live in America. Freedom.
Posted by: BoxJam on August 7, 2002 02:04 PMI wonder what is meant by "depictions"? Are Itchy and Scratchy outlawed? Or is animal-on-animal cruelty still OK?
Posted by: BT on August 7, 2002 03:51 PM