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The tectonic conflict between the defenders of intellectual property (and its defense mechanisms – copyright, DRMs, etc.) and the forces of free expression is generating news headlines almost daily (just scan our front page) and will shape our vision of knowledge into the next digital era. Every citizen should be …

Much has been made of blogs as access to the great viral memepool, but the Internet offers other methods of getting out the word, rallying energy and enthusiasm, leading by example, and tapping into the power of linking to direct sources of information. I live in suburban Cleveland; check out …

Nothing is less funny than child endangerment, but at least you can alleviate that sick sense of helplessness by the catching the baby, over and over. Do not be distracted by the music delivery devices.

Veteran (b. 1938) tenor saxophonist-flutist Charles Lloyd’s 2-CD set Lift Every Voice on ECM is a panoramic stylistic and emotional tour de force. He strides across a huge langscape of original material; spirituals; hymns; standards; folk, love, and protest songs; speaking boldly with unadorned melody lines (you won’t think of …

The Fat Possum label continues it’s blistering run of traditional and psycho-lectric Mississippi Delta blues classics (Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, Paul Jones, Super Chikan) with the rerelease of Mississippi Fred McDowell’s Mama Says I’m Crazy, recorded in 1967 under freaky real-world circumstances: Fred couldn’t have been more excited about doing …

In 2000 owners spent like there was no tomorrow: tomorrow is here. It’s hard to fathom that the good-old days of free agency are not old at all. It was just two years ago, during the winter following the 2000 season, when the dollars flowed as never before. Even Marvin …

From the Scholastic website: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling, the fifth in the bestselling series has been scheduled for release on Saturday, June 21, 2003 in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, it was announced today by Scholastic and Bloomsbury publishers. The companies …

In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the 1998 law extending copyright protection by 20 years: a victory for supporters of the law, including large media companies and song publishers that argued the longer term was needed to protect a vital industry that contributes more than $500 billion to …

I wandered in to my sister’s living room Sunday night – she had the 29th Annual Lemming’s Choice Awards on the big screen. Tony Danza was playing the trumpet, which brought up more questions than my mind could handle: Why was Tony Danza hosting? Why was he playing the trumpet? …

Great Wall Street Journal story on two screenwriters who got a little more reality than they bargained for touring gangland with the police in East LA: There are a million stories in this town, and any one of them could end up as a screenplay. On a cool night last …