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WHAT'S UP
<23:05 EEST>
I
recently read a report on WIPO's 1993 symposium on copyright in the
digital world (published by the Finnish copyright institute, written by
Kristiina Harenko, and foreworded by the infamous Jukka Liedes). I came
across it in the university library while
searching for completely unrelated coursebooks :) One interesting point
stood out from the usual pro-IP fluff.
It was argued that the definition of a creative work should be narrowed down drastically, for example down to individual instrument sample level. That way you could clearly identify the copyright status of a remix, because the status of each sample would be more or less intact, even if the identity of each original song was mashed up. In fact the wording was a little vague and the concept of a sample was not used, but in my impression that is what was meant, at least when taken to the extreme.
However, there was the important counterargument that a small sound sample is not really a copyrightable work. More importantly, it was emphasized that the purpose of copyright is to protect creation rather than data.
This is the kind of intellectual-property idea that I, for once, agree with. I keep saying that the job of an artist is to create art. That's what counts and what they should be paid to do. A copy of data is worthless in itself. This idea works in live shows because there you have people paying for the actual act of making art.
It's so simple an idea that it's not even funny: people should get paid for work, and not paid for non-work. An artist slacking off, waiting for royalties to ka-ching into their bank account, is not doing work.
<01:47 EEST>
I'm one of those proverbial small furry animals. And I have nothing
exceptionally active to do at the moment. I've just finished reading a set of
four coursebooks. It's a tad too late to ask any of my weird friends at
JYT for a drink (housemate's just gone to bed), but too early to go to
sleep with my current cycle.
I blame it all on last weekend and its late enjoyable social nights. In fact this surge of activity around midnight is a blessing for the coming Thursday night with another JYT party. On the other hand the reason why I've been swotting with coursebooks lately is an exam on Friday at noon, a time that is horribly inhumane for one of us small furry animals.
This is probably a faint reflection of what Tua has been experiencing in her manic phase. Though I don't feel the urge for meat (the kind you eat, as in digest) quite yet. Some of this Unruhe probably traces back to the organism dance fo Friday. On one hand it has left me with a nice and meditative pansexual afterglow. On the other (I'm referring to hands figuratively, of course), I feel like I could be disturbingly horny if I were living in a romantic relationship. Since that's not the case, energy is pounding itself through my laptop's keyboard into violent verbal masturbation.
But there's not much more to say. The heavy breath of the organism is here at the back of my mind, but I have no words to describe it any deeper. Except that Rinneradio Roks the Music Response as the Chemical Brothers Surrender. That is the soundtrack of our limbic lives at the camera obscura of the green commune. And then they dance and sweat and smell like hell.
<22:04 EEST>
It's been a powerful weekend from Friday evening to Monday morning.
There's a lot to say but as usual I can't be arsed; if I can convey the
strong impressions I've had, it will be a lot.
The main axis in which the atmosphere of experiences has fluctuated strongly, has been that between dissociation and association. And it's often been hard to tell which end we're dealing with. During Friday night's house party with JYT members and related friends, I found myself forming a part of a dancing organism. It was probably the most intimate and bodily dance experience I've ever had, and at the same time one of the strongest mentally. I still can't figure out what really happened or how or why, despite the attempts to unravel it later with a couple of participating friends. It's one of those things that cannot be planned and just happen when you have certain kinds of people together in a certain kind of environment — something of a genuine improvisation, as opposed to organized impro exercises or shows.
Dissociation continued on Saturday as I had a night free from parties, and I took the time experimenting with Salvia Divinorum for the first time. A rather small dose, taken sublingually, produced rather mild effects spread over a couple of hours. Something I was quite expecting, as I didn't feel like smoking anything. The effects included slight heightening of sensations, typical for low-level psychedelics, and a feeling of mental dissociation. It was somewhat tiresome, but not in the mind-clouding way of hash or beer. On the other hand, focused thinking was shattered to pieces. I'm sure it will be quite interesting when smoked, as the effects of a couple of hours will be concentrated into a few minutes ;)
Association was the theme on Sunday night, as I turned up at Ilokivi to help fellow JYTians with some technical issues. Which didn't quite work as planned :) On the other hand I was assigned to shoot the play Woyzeck on video, despite my explanations of a lack of experience with motion-picture photography. I think I did mostly well, armed with a still-photography background, but I also screwed up a few bits ;)
The night went on after the play with some socializing with the JYT guys, and I managed to stay up with two of them until about 5 am. It seems I've found yet another ally among the motley crew of student theatre.
<21:14 EEST>
It's a progressively smaller fraction of movies I see that find their way into my reviews here,
but the few outstanding ones merit at least a little notice. This time
it's Captain Blood,
a captivating pirate film from 1935. The script, directing and acting make
up a perfect comedy-sprinkled drama that needs no fancy effects to
impress. Though it must be said that the battle scenes have nothing to
be ashamed of when compared to today's pirate stories.
Speaking of people with monstrous attitudes, I must say a few words about the nice fact that Finland's representative in the Eurovision song contest this year will be the heavy metal act Lordi. I think it should now be painfully obvious to everyone and their dog that all things metal and rock are hopelessly middle-class and old-fashioned. The rebellion that was there perhaps sometimes in 1960s is long gone, as fans have grown up into docile consumers and the music has ossified into a well-defined format.
On the other hand, I very much appreciate the fact that the usual daftness of Eurovision participants is refreshed by something with at least a hint of attitude. Besides, I think it fits in perfectly with the kind of music that Finland is most famous for these days. I for one welcome our new teratoid overlords.
<01:54 EEST>
Freedom!
I've resigned from my research studentship at the Physics department. I feel like I'm ending a relationship with a glamorous woman whom I fancied for a long time, only to realize that she is not my type at all.
I've begun a new kind of student life, reading coursebooks and attending video lectures of educational studies. It's a way towards teacher qualifications, but I've also found the subject interesting in its own right. Probably mostly due to novelty, but I'm finding that my wholistic approach to studies might be better suited towards social sciences. It's weird and fascinating at the same time; I'm dealing with questions that I've pondered for years and years, while being determined for a hard scientific career for most of that time.
As for movies and related artforms, Woyzeck is currently showing at JYT. (I have no part in it, perhaps for the good of it ;) The story is a somewhat uneven mix of the traditional and the fantastical, having been written in pieces and never quite finished, but the production looks and feels surprisingly solid. I've yet to see it again, to witness its evolution since the premiere, and to understand what's really going on. There's a rather obvious love story emerging from the nicely OTT artistic hassle, but there are probably lots of meanings that have escaped my attention so far. Which is not surprising considering things I've yet to notice about the real world too :)
Another interesting piece I've just seen is the movie Salo or 120 days of Sodom. I was expecting something profoundly disturbing, and that's indeed how the story was. But it was actually quite a well made film, not too explicit, and hence enjoyable in some levels. The quality and cinematic ideas worked pretty well to compensate for the ewww factor. But again I find myself asking what really happened, and why? There were a few small references to a Nazi/Fascist regime that would probably explain a lot if I knew more of the history :)