Saturday, May 15, 2004

Wrap up Lessig says he spent 5 days away from his child for the purpose to promote Creative Commons.   He offered his latest book, Free Culture, free online.  He thinks it drove sales of 200,000 unites in a month.  It has since been “remixed” into an audio form, a wiki, a polish version, etc…   He calls this the feeding of free culture 4:44:26 PM    comment []

Casting call Actually, I think Robin Williams is better for Lessig and let Smirnoff play Benkler. Which actors play which profs in iLaw, The Movie. [Scripting News] 3:59:02 PM    comment []

Real time effect of Internet and Politics As we discuss the effect of the internet on politics, I find an editorial in today's Savannah (Ga) paper regarding blogs and the Berg incident in Iraq. Editorial: Whiplash and war  Savannah ... Few believe Abu Ghraib isn't an important story, and there is near-universal agreement that the culprits should be held accountable for their actions. To denounce the Berg murder is not to excuse the abuses at Abu Ghraib. To repeat: Being sickened and outraged by Mr. Berg's treatment at the hands of terrorists does not mean American misconduct is being minimized or dismissed. But Abu Ghraib is not the only news out of Iraq. While TV networks and many national newspapers focus on prison abuse to the exclusion of other stories, many news consumers are turning to other mediums for information and opinion, because they're not getting what they want from traditional outlets. .... I think the biggest take from this editorial is that in the Internet space, people want more information on topics big media is not covering.  But, the subtle message here is a regular newspaper using internet metrics to justify their position that "liberal" media is not telling Americans what they want to hear. Interesting. 3:26:43 PM    comment []

Is blogging changing politics? The answer is yes if only for the simple reason that blogging exists.  Efforts to measure or quantify the effect are futile at this point -- it's just so much noise given the power of broadcast media, and in this country, the apapthy expressed by many citizens towards the political process. That is not to say that blogging, or some organization of blogging tools, will not positively affect politics -- it's just too early yet.  [read more] 2:59:10 PM    comment []

Dignity vs Property Dr. Jerry Kang has an interesting apparatus for discussing the privacy issue.  There are reasons of dignity for managing privace (which the law protects) and there are commerce reasons for managing privacy where the market manages access.  [Read more] 12:44:16 PM    comment []

Intellectual Property [read more] 11:17:17 AM    comment []

Some Dancing allowed (but not in NYC) Frank Field did a superlative job of researching the illegal dancing issue that Prog Lessig has cited not only in this year's Ilaw conference but last year's as well. So, here is what Frank found: LegalizeDancingNYC says it's illegal *today* to dance in the New York City under the current Cabaret Laws More on the cabaret law from the Village Voice: 1926 The cabaret law is created to crack down on multiracial Harlem jazz clubs. "Most of the jazz in 1926 was being played in clubs in Harlem where there were mixed groups. And a lot of people considered jazz to be a mongrelized, degenerate music," says Paul Chevigny, author of Gigs: Jazz and the Cabaret Laws in New York City. The law defines a cabaret as "any room, place or space in the city in which any musical entertainment, singing, dancing or other form of amusement is permitted in connection with . . . selling to the public food or drink, except eating or drinking places, which provide incidental musical entertainment, without dancing, either by mechanical devices, or by not more than three persons." In other words, a venue can't have dancing without a license. Specifically regarding Georgia: See also DumbLaws.com; it only says erotic dancing on Sunday is illegal in Roswell, Georgia, but that's hardly what Larry cites. So, I hope this gives Lessig food for thought ... 11:15:16 AM    comment []