Let me start this post by saying that it’s not supposed to be 97 degrees in Camarillo in April. It’s especially not supposed to be 97 degrees on a day where DG performs outside at our local Celtic festival in full costume, with only two other backup dancers. AND…when she has a competition the next day.
This competition meant a lot to her. After the last one, she has been practicing, working, practicing. Beyond the obvious desire to do well and finish in the money, Nationals looms large on the horizon, and is the next big goal ahead of her dance-wise. Like our presidential candidates, momentum means a lot. This competition was DG’s Pennsylvania primary. She didn’t have to finish first, but she did need to close the gap and finish strong.
She did, too! Jumped up 7 or so places to 8th. Unfortunately they only gave trophies to the top 7, but it’s the first time I had to fight back happy tears over a non-trophy finish, because she was, in this biased parent’s estimation, brilliant.
Here’s a little excerpt of what we call Irish dancing in hell….full costume, 98 degrees outside, dancing in the sun. Yowsa. Didn’t she do a great job? This is a new dance for her — she’s working on polishing it up for her set dance at Nationals.
If you haven’t read or heard about it, Loren Feldman (1938 Media) has a new show, which is a parody of Shel Israel’s Global Neighbourhoods show, recently launched on FastCompany.tv. (Shel co-authored the book Naked Conversations with Robert Scoble in 2006).
If it were as simple as a little parody, we’d all be laughing as hard as I was at the puppet’s guest appearance on NewsGang Live today, but it’s not. This is partly because Shel Israel had not registered his own name as a vanity URL (Yes, I’ve done it for the whole family, just to reserve our little piece of the ‘Net), and Loren bought it and is using it to broadcast his shows.
Shel was understandably pissed about someone using his name on a site that wasn’t his work and said so. On Twitter. Broadcast out to everyone, which sparked a debate over personal brand, and ultimately a really thoughtful post about why he reacted as he did, what he took from the critics, and what he learned as a result. It was a truly honest response to some pretty harsh criticism.
Further complicating things, Loren’s show was picked up by a sponsor today and Shel’s hasn’t been. Yet. They are looking for one.
If peace were an objective here (though I don’t believe it is) Loren would transfer Shel’s domain namesake to Shel, buy the available ‘Fake Shel Israel’ domain (at least, available as of this writing), and continue on with what is a very, very funny parody, enjoy his success, fame and fortune.
Another possibility is the one I suggested to Robert Scoble on Twitter tonight: Shel might consider attempting a puppet-napping and interview on his own show, before handing it back in exchange for his namesake site. Or partnering with the puppet occasionally, embracing the puppet as his own, blessing the parody, not killing it.
Loren Feldman is one of those guys who runs hot and cold. His Jason Calacanis parodies were hysterical, the stuff he did over on Huffington Post, not so much. In fact, I ended up unsubscribing because they (and he) had become incredibly unfunny. And then he comes back with a raging act of genius in this puppet, yet once again hasn’t figured out (or doesn’t care) that it can be funny without being mean.
My appeal to Loren: I would enjoy the show more and the puppet even more if you settled the domain name issue. Yes, you own it. Yes, you can use it. But to me, it’s a small thing that can find a compromise solution that is less hurtful to others. It would really bother me to build up your show at Shel’s expense. Since he has made the gesture of standing down on it, perhaps there is a compromise. I hope so.
Here’s one that’s on the 1938 Media site, so I don’t feel badly linking to it. It’s my pal Steve Gillmor, trying his best to be serious:
Posted by Karoli in Jazz, Music, Video February 15th, 2008
It’s time for something mellow to slide into the long weekend. At least, it is for me. The past few weeks seem to fly by but leave me breathless by Friday, as if time accelerated but everything else stayed in the same place. This is one of Joni Mitchell’s finest, at least, it is to me. Falling into the rhythm of the music slowed me down, put less urgency on everything, less frustration. I hope it does the same for you if you’re having that kind of week.
Posted by Karoli in Music, Video February 9th, 2008
This is wild, I tell you! Instruments made from car parts, forged into what I think is one of the most innovative car commercials I’ve seen. Props to The Car Music Project!
Ordinarily I would post this on the political blog, but it’s such an unusual video, and has so many musicians that are wonderful and inspiring that I’m going to share it here. No matter which candidate you are supporting, one of the messages of the video is that we, as a collective whole, can bring about change. And the other message is one that I believe in with all of my heart: VOTE. Please, if you’re living in a Super Tuesday state, get out and vote Tuesday. If you live in a state with a caucus or primary coming after Super Tuesday, VOTE. Vote for your candidate, whoever that is, Democrat or Republican. Let’s make this primary and the subsequent general election about empowering the electorate to speak and be heard.
Julie asked for us to tell about our experience with the arts in school and where they fit in education. It’s no secret that I believe the arts should be considered as essential to students’ educational experience as reading, science and math. Here are some of the benefits our family has derived from having arts opportunities during our time with the public schools:
College Scholarship for full tuition + extra for expenses
First semester college grade report came today. 18 Units taken, 18 completed, GPA 3.667, 8 As, 2 Bs. Total units completed via AP and class attendance: 28
Part-time work for a local music company as a transcriber, making twice the hourly pay of other part-time jobs.
I don’t intend to sound braggy, because I attribute none of his success to anything I did or didn’t do. I do, however, give major credit to the opportunities he was given all the way through his public school journey with regard to music and the arts.
Long-term readers of this blog know that the subject of those bullet items is my ADHD-officially-classified-at-risk-middle-son (aka Sticks), who is a kickass drummer (at least in my motherly opinion) now attending college on a full Jazz Studies scholarship. Short, skinny and hyper, he made his mark through high school with a pair of drumsticks and graduated with honors and local recognition because he had the opportunity to learn, play, perform, and compete in the school music programs.
Studies prove that music enhances student’s learning abilities, just as physical exercise helps them to focus on their studies. But with all of the emphasis on NCLB, arts programs are dwindling, underfunded and the red-headed stepchildren of many, many school systems. By minimizing the arts we are sending a message to those kids gifted with abilities in music, drama and the fine arts that their gifts are second-class, despite the fact that kids allowed to stretch their artistic talents apply those same skills to their academic performance.
Those same musical opportunities kept me focused, connected, and successful in high school. When I went to college and left music and performance behind, I became disconnected and ultimately dropped out. I’m grateful every day that Sticks is motivated and energetic about pursuing his musical goals…I have full faith that he will succeed at it because he has experienced those early successes.
I’ve limited myself to commenting on others’ blogs during the Lane Hartwell dustup, but the newest installment has me a little confused and concerned, because it now has been taken beyond the authorized use of another person’s image and put squarely into the realm of not-for-profit organizations, which I serve as a volunteer.
According to the Richter Scales, they are a not-for-profit organization. I don’t know if that means they are a real non-profit organization with an exemption under the rules in the Internal Revenue Code, or whether they are a group who wants to be profitable but isn’t profitable at this time. They do have a CD for sale, which they note sold 8 copies during the 1 million-plus initial run of the first video. They sell their downloadable music on iTunes and CD Baby, and offer their CD for sale for a modest price via Paypal or Google Checkout. I don’t see any ads on their site or other obvious money-making efforts on their part.
Either way, it seems obvious that these are a bunch of guys who like singing, like parody, have some talent with both, and made a video to demonstrate their talents, chose the unfortunate path of using Flickr images which were not licensed for re-use, and got themselves a whole lot of publicity and a whole lot of trouble, which they have taken pains to try and remedy by re-making the video with a photographer credit page and removing the image which belonged to Lane Hartwell.
Enough history. The problem now is that it appears to me that Lane Hartwell is implacable. She writes:
In the end, the band opted not to work with me toward a fair resolution of the issue. I have to say that I’m very disappointed with the members of the band I negotiated with in good faith.
She goes on to expand upon what “working toward a fair resolution” means; namely, that the group pay her invoice for use of the image in the initial run, so that she can pay her lawyer and donate the rest.
In my opinion, Lane Hartwell is dropping an atom bomb where a simple fly swatter would have sufficed. If she were aiming at a large, profitable enterprise, I would have less of a problem with her position. But these folks don’t have any money and are essentially being punished for the transgressions of other, nameless people in the past who have misused her images, presumably for commercial ventures.
At $15/CD, I think the assertion that this group is a “commercial” group is misstated and misguided. Co-opting others who had images in that video to also claim a right to compensation seems out of proportion to the transgression.
Of course, if Ms. Hartwell wants a fair share of the $120 (that’s gross income, not profit, which is probably more like 30 cents) they made from the CD during the run, I’m sure it would add up to about $.20, which will pay for about 10 seconds of her attorney’s time. Squeezing blood out of some turnips seems somewhat intractable and mean.
The lesson for all of us is clear: Use images which you’re licensed to use and give credit, ask permission, be wise. At the same time, I could say there’s a lesson that is unlearned but should be learned by the copyright holders, too. Make examples out of the big boys; not the ones who meant you no harm, didn’t profit from the use of your content, and tried to accommodate you as best they could.
This video came through my feeds last night via Robert Scoble’s shared items in Google Reader. I think Lessig is a genius anyway, and this video just proves it, and inspires at the same time.
…living life in 19/7 time 