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Siva Vaidhyanathan states in Salon that the most important aspect of the Eldred case isn’t that Eldred/Lessig lost, but that it will be a rallying point for consumer activism, having already helped move copyright onto the front page and into public awareness – I agree: In response to this growing …

The editors of the NY Times see the Eldred decision as an ominous step toward perpetual copyright and the death of public domain: The court’s decision may make constitutional sense, but it does not serve the public well. Under that 1998 act, copyright now extends for the life of an …

North Korea’s Kim Jong Il is every bit the deranged anacronistic puffed-up potentate that Saddam is, and he has nukes: Since Kim is an absolute ruler, he can put on any show and act in any role he wants. A well-rounded 5 feet 3, he cuts a slightly ridiculous figure …

Howard Kurtz reports in the Washington Post on a new poll reaffirming that the public wants the press to stay out of the military’s nutsack when the bombs are flying: Two-thirds of the public believes the government should have the right to stop the media from disclosing military secrets, says …

Jandek is a mysterious Houston “recording artist” who has been self-releasing albums since 1978. Some call him a genius, many more call him a psychically dyslexic agoraphobic with no discernable musical talent beyond an uncanny ability to irritate. Demonstrating that not all radio is geared toward the masses, Harvard’s WHRB …

Jackson Browne doesn’t like the way he was portrayed in the TBS JFK Jr. biopic. According to Reuters: Browne’s attorney, Lawrence Iser, said that he demanded in a letter to TBS that it “cease and desist” airing the program again “until false and defamatory scenes accusing Mr. Browne of assaulting …

It is my impression that individual critics don’t have all that much impact over the mass media arts. Movies, TV, music, mass market books are so spread over the culture and reviewed by so many different critics that even the biggest names in the biggest venues have relatively little impact …

Spike Lee has kind of drifted off from my attention sphere over the last 10 years or so, but man, does he hit the nail on the head regarding the fantasy world of “reality” TV, and I would apply his very sensible reasoning to the lottery as well: Spike Lee …

Cyberpunk legend William Gibson has a new book, website and blog. For those of you who don’t know the author of NEUROMANCER, this is a bio, and for those who do there is a discussion board. Here is an excerpt from the new book, Pattern Recognition: THE WEBSITE OF DREADFUL …

Confirming earlier speculation, Richard Parsons will become chairman of AOL Time Warner when Steve Case goes away in May: Richard D. Parsons was chosen yesterday to replace Steve Case as chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc., a move that will put the 54-year-old chief executive fully in charge of running …