I am not a crook!

Those FBI warnings you can't skip on the DVDs I've spent good money on irritate me no end, so I got a big kick out of this image:



I especially identify with the caption that reads:

OK, enough already.
I'm a legit customer,
I paid for the damn DVD with my hard-earned cash.

When all I want to do is watch the frakkin' movie, why can't I just skip to that point without all the accusations that I'm a thief?

HT: LifeHacker

2/21/2010: /film reports on a "pirater" and says:

It’s a stern reminder that those FBI warnings you see before EVERYTHING can actually have some real-world consequences

but by the time I see the warnings I've Bought The DVD Already! They are harassing the wrong people, I'm tellin' ya. The paying customer is not the one to hassle. If I had to read warnings about how it was illegal to steal clothing every time I got dressed, or wait for the finger to quit shaking in my face every time I wanted to open a food package, or listen to warnings about the evils of vehicle theft before I start my car each time it would make just as much sense. I'm sick of it! Send the criminals to jail. Fine. Just quit making life hard for the law-abiding DVD purchaser.

Little Brother

Little Brother is a 2008 science fiction novel by Cory Doctorow. The author has made it freely available using a Creative Commons license. Here is the link to download it for free. It's available in many different formats, all hosted at that site. For example, the link to the pdf file is here.

I've seen talk of this bunches of places and can't remember now where I first heard that it was available for free online, but it was some time ago and may well have been from SFSignal.

The image at the top of the post is from the author's website.

Ben Hur (1907)

This Ben Hur is the first time Lew Wallace's book Ben-Hur was adapted for film. The book can be read online. This film is directed by Sidney Olcott (From the Manger to the Cross).

I'm at a loss to find Jesus in this film.

This short film is at youtube in 2 parts. Part 1:

Part 2:


Bible Films Blog has a post. They say that the film makers "didn't stage it's own chariot race, as the 2 later re-makes would do. Instead they took a camera down to an annual chariot race competition and recorded part of that."

from wikipedia:

This movie is most notable as a precedent in copyright law. The movie was made without the permission of the author's estate, which was common practice at that time. The screenwriter, Gene Gauntier, remarked in her 1928 autobiography how the film industry at that time infringed upon everything. As a result of the production of Ben Hur, Harper & Brothers and the author's estate brought suit against Kalem Studios, the Motion Picture Patents Company, and Gauntier for copyright infringement. The United States Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the film company in 1911. This ruling established the precedent that all motion picture production companies must first secure the film rights of any previously published work still under copyright before commissioning a screenplay based on that work.

There is a 1925 version of this story.

Fair Use Victory for "Expelled"

Yoko Ono has lost her bid to limit fair use of Lennon's song in Expelled:

US District Judge Sidney Stein found in favour of the film-makers based on a "fair use" doctrine.
...
In a statement Ono said: "It is a pity that this decision weakens the rights of all copyright owners."

but it doesn't weaken the rights of copyright holders, it merely upholds the increasingly limited Fair Use doctrine. Copyright law includes provision for "fair use" of copyrighted material. The copyright holder doesn't get to decide if Expelled can make use of the material if it fits under "fair use". That's what the "fair" part is. We have rights, for pity's sake. I'm glad the rights of Ben Stein, et. al. were upheld. This is yet another example of the copyright holder not being the best judge of what constitutes fair use of their material.

More on the Expelled movie here.

If you buy it, it's yours.

What a concept! Today is "First Sale Day" according to BoingBoing, who points out that today is the 100th anniversary of the decision by the U.S. Supremes upholding your right to treat things you own as if, well, as if you own them. As a frequent buyer at my local used book store I applaud the wisdom of the ruling, and I cherish my right to buy and re-sell books, CDs and other items. I hope we can keep this right as it applies to music and movies and not lose it to over-zealous copyright holders, clueless judges and elected officials bought and paid for by corporate interests.

Good Copy Bad Copy

a documentary about the current state of copyright and culture:



HT: CreativeCommons.net

Get the RIAA

Here are 7 ways to stick it to the RIAA.

DRM is a daft, annoying way to prevent users from copying music and videos they’ve legally purchased.

Get your music DRM-free.

Visualizing DRM

Pictures of why DRM doesn't work.

HT: BoingBoing

A Fair(y) Use Tale

The Dunwich Horror

Listen online here. (HT: SF Signal)

H.P. Lovecraft wrote The Dunwich Horror in 1928, and it is considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos. The story can be read online here.

I discovered Lovecraft in high school and read the paperbacks I could find. The Cthulhu story has arisen anew as a way of parodying the popular Christian fundamentalist ideas promoted by such as Jack Chick. The Chick tract parody, from which the picture above was taken, is priceless. Some see reminders of Cthulhu in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

3/15/2008:

The Chick tract parody linked above is gone, but it is currently available here and here and an image of the parody tract is here. Fair Use is dying under the oppression of corporate protectionism.

More on DRM

BoingBoing has some suggestions on how to observe the day.

When you buy music with DRM someone else decides where you can play it.

Take Back Your Rights: Fight DRM

What would a world with DRM look like?

Once that camel gets its nose in the tent the abuse will increase over time until freedom as we know it will be only a memory.

Day Against DRM

10 Things You Can Do from DefectiveByDesign.org:

Work your way through these actions (some or all) and spread the word that DRM is Defective By Design. Your target is to get the word out to at least 100 people today. and that is easier than you think. Just look at the ideas below and see that you can have some fun and have an impact on the future story of DRM.

* Email your friends and family, use our prepared text. This is the big one - attack that address book!!
* Add this text to your email signature for the day.
* Post on a forum or message board that you subscribe to.
* Download and print this sign and hang one at your desk, the office water cooler, or in an elevator.
* Download and print this leaflet and give it to coworkers or others you see today, maybe even distribute them on your lunch hour or during your commute.
* Sign the Bono petition. We are getting ready to get his answer.
* Google bomb DRM by adding this link to your website or any web page you can edit.
* Digg the day of action
* Watch these videos on YouTube send them to friends and rate them.
* Photograph your actions and post them to Flickr tagged with "dayagainst drm defectivebydesign".

There's much more at the Defective By Design site.