A Great Dance/Music Vid- Until the Lawyers pull it down...

In alphabetical order, many thanks to Arthur (NY) and Marushka (FL) for sending me this one. The Pilobolus dance company was created in 1971 and this is a link to their information page. They do very intriguing stuff with balance, perspective and innovation. While I am embedding the YouTube video of an appearance they did on the Conan O'Brien late night show, I have no way of knowing how long it will be until the lawyers have it pulled.



It still works as of this posting date. It is a great presentation done to the tune of the Lovin' Spoonful's song "Summer In The City".

This post's title was inspired by reading about the cat and mouse game being played by entities who paid over a billion dollars for Olympic broadcast licensing fees and folks using the internet to see stuff in real time and without commercials. I have to admit being a little conflicted on this one.

1) As a host and producer of stuff on RandoRadio I fully agree with our stance to be totally legal and pay our stipend to LoudCity dot com with the hope that resulting royalties will find their way to the artists. My research indicates that there is more than a modicum of wishful thinking in this, as the only way any performer sees a dime of this money is if they have the presence of mind to register themselves with an entity called SoundExchange (the digital arm of the RIAA). No registration, no money. As I am not a performer I have no way of knowing how diligent SoundExchange is in advising performers of this as they get to sit on a pile of money if artists aren't signed up (an artist's pre-existing affiliations with ASCAP, BMI or whatever have no standing in the digital world).

2) As a reasonably avid user of the internet (and as someone using the internet to earn money) I realize the need of open access to stuff made available on the web. Boundaries as we know them are disappearing, much to the consternation of some people. When an American business like NBC broadcasting makes a contract with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) including a huge payment for broadcast "rights", they presume to impact the existing news organizations of other sovereign nations who also put their content on the web for their own citizens both at home and abroad. The fact that others can search for and find this content on their own is just the nature of the beast. For an American corporation to demand that a news agency of another country pull its content from the web strikes me as a bit totalitarian.

2a) Then again, they could just be taking a cue from the host country who routinely throttles web content. "If you can't beat'em, join'em".

We are living in "interesting times".

Finally, the "Countdown Clock" is gone. As of 2:00 pm yesterday (18:00 UTC) I am now legally wed. The local newspaper had a good time with this, and here is a link to their article. There is some transitioning as my wife moves into "Mid-Life Crisis Center" and my ability to continue continue the "crisis" as such may be a tad dubious. But, Elk Willing, I will do my best.

Peace be with you,
Glenn Carella