Life’s been a bit of whirlwind over the past couple of weekends, with much visiting with friends, a lot of sketching, many good meals, occasionally perhaps a wee bit too much wine, and even a little knitting. The trip to London this past weekend was, as ever, both incredibly stimulating and completely exhausting. Being used to neither the pace, nor the pounding pavement of big cities I am, as they say here, “shagged”. I promised Tonia that I Will Rest Today, and I really do plan to do so. After I gently tidy the house. And do some restful laundry. And maybe get in a bit of relaxing gardening.
Full London report later this week, to include where I ate, what I saw, whom I hung out with, and what yarn I bought, as well as full disclosure on where to go in London to obtain THE BEST passport photo you will ever have taken. Seriously. If your passport expires soon, and you’re going to be in London, and you’re tired of looking like a convict in your passport, you simply must have your new photo taken at the amazing place that is passport photo picture purveyor to the stars.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t wait to share this week’s M3 video – The Revolution Will Be Animated – a mini documentary about Nina Paley, the director of the animated film, Sita Sings the Blues. Ms Paley had to pay upwards of $70,000 to use songs from the 1930’s in her animated movie. She then put the movie online for free and turned herself into a free-culture activist. I adore her work as much as I admire her stance against draconian copyright laws that are currently being drafted by Big Media across all corners of the developed world. Plus Nina just seems nice, you know? Like someone I could happily sit down and chat to over a coffee for several hours. The video is a bit longer than my usual M3 fare, but it’s well worth sixteen minutes of your time.
Wow! What a sane, conservative (in the sense of conserving and preserving culture) and potentially commercially viable response to the dilemmas created by current copyright laws. Thank you for exploding my head this morning!
Dear Brenda,
will you please block all my lace FOs for me? You seem to enjoy it so much and I am growing to hate the pile of crumpled cashmere shawls clogging up my knitting basket… and surely that’s a restful, theraputic way to spend the day??
No, seriously, sounds like you’re having a whale of a time. And hey, those places that will KEEP TAKING PASSPPORT PHOTOS TILL YOU’RE HAPPY – aren’t they just worth their weight in gold? I found a photo booth in Tokyo that would do that. I swear, I owe most of my jobs in Japan to that photo booth (all job apps are accompanied by a photo in Japan. I probalbly could have modelled if that booth had been included in the contract)
Keep on groovin…. we plebs out here in blog land might not rear our ugly heads too often but we’re here… we miss your dulcet tones and in fact, between Code Monkey (episode ??54) and Skullcrusher Mountain (episode..??)there’s no way I’m going without my Brenda-dose for long 🙂
*hugs* Vx
Morning Brenda!
I recently re-listened to the podcast where you interview Cat Bordhi and where my head exploded a few times. What an amazing woman. The video you posted today also gave me some things to think about. Another amazing woman. I wonder if copyright developed from protecting written words and that is why it doesn’t work as well for video and such in our common era. The written word is easy to steal and say it is your own. But animation is so personal to the person who created it that it would be difficult to copy it and claim it as your own. I think that creative commons licensing is an interesting solution to her issues.
I hear that the planes are starting to fly again. Hope everything is going alright in Wales and that there isn’t too much ash everywhere.
~Devon
Thanks for sharing the excellent video as well as the latest news about the technology bills. I had no idea about either. Eye-opening indeed.
Enjoying the posts. Continue healing!
I really enjoy your podcasts and have missed you. Hopefully you are doing okay. I am from Newfoundland, Canada and a member of the NL Knitters and Crocheters. We have some wonderful stuff (knitting) going on in our city of St. John’s. Hope to hear more from you soon. Take care.
Ahhhhh Brenda, You always make my day. I hope your gentle cleaning and gardening went well.
Hi,
I was recently directed to your site (and podcast) and love it. I hope you are back “on the air” by the time I get through the archives. But don’t let anyone rush you – healing is important. And I should take my own advice – I am in radiation treatment for breast cancer and keep scheduling myself into things without allowing enough ‘rest time’.