Gawker is a Manhattan weblog magazine edited by Elizabeth Spiers, designed by Jason Kottke and published by Nick Denton. It is a live review of city news, and by news we mean, among other things, urban dating rituals, no-ropes social climbing, Condé Nastiness, downwardly-mobile i-bankers, real estate porn -- the serious stuff.
Funny, snarky, and full of stuff I can barely hope to do or see.Both Parties Wary of Data Mining. An amendment to a spending bill that requires the Pentagon to spill the beans to Congress on its Total Information Awareness project gets bipartisan support. Privacy advocates see it as a step in the right direction. By Ryan Singel. [Wired News]
Strange. I'd post this article just for its content, but you might remember that its writer, Ryan Singel, is my cousin. Worlds colliding and all that.11-Digit Local Dialing Starts in New York City on Feb. 1. New Yorkers will have to start using an area code when calling a local telephone number, even if it is in the same area code. By Lydia Polgreen. [New York Times: Technology]
I'd gripe about this, but of the 30 or so New York numbers programmed into my cell phone, fewer than half are in my area code, when you consider the 212 numbers for Manhattanites and all the various cell-phone area codes. So, y'know. No whining from me.Clients of Roommate Service Report E-Mail Barrage of Holocaust Revisionism. Users of a well-known roommate-matching service in Manhattan say that after signing up with the service they began receiving e-mail messages from a Holocaust-revisionist Web site run by the service's founder. By David F. Gallagher. [New York Times: Technology]
This seems pretty vile; you can bet when it comes time to move from here, I won't be using that service.Image Gate is The New York Public Library's first full working version of its new digital image database. Image Gate provides free and open access to thousands of The New York Public Library's digitized images, taken from the Research Libraries' collections. At its inception, the Image Gate database contains approximately 80,000 images spanning a wide range of subjects. This number will grow as The Library digitizes more images; this phased rollout will end in 2004, when the site will include more than 600,000 images. Image Gate demonstrates the rich potential for discovery in The Library's vast international collections of prints, drawings, photographs, illuminated manuscripts, rare books, maps, popular graphics and printed ephemera.
...Most of Reubens's collection would be considered softcore by current standards, but nestled among the many portraits of naked bronco busters and javelin throwers in posing straps—typical of the types that graced the pages of physique magazines—were a few dozen photos that could be contraband today, though they were quite legal when they first appeared.
During the '50s and '60s, no one was concerned that some models were underage, since they weren't shown having sex or even engaging in what tea-room graffiti of that era called "showing hard." Today these same images would qualify as child porn under a standard that has expanded so that it now includes not just hardcore images but photos of anyone under 18 displaying "sexual coyness" or a "lascivious" intent. As a collector of physique pictorials, Reubens could well possess such photos, because they were part of the mix.
[Physique magazines, I learned during a visit to the NYC Museum of Sex, were published as sort of above-ground gay porn. Physique mags depicted bodybuilders posing in such a way as to show off their musculature. Buyers were predominantly gay males.] Now, among Reubens's collection, Goldstein writes, "is what someone close to the defense describes as 'a few minutes of grainy footage' featuring teenage boys masturbating or having oral sex." Goldstein then asks whether Pee-wee knew this material was in his collection. Child-porn statutes generally require foreknowledge that material purchased violates the law. In this case, I suppose, ignorance of the law is an excuse. Goldstein at this point draws back from Reubens to consider a larger context. He mentions archivists who purchase entire collections without stopping to first examine every piece in what might be thousands of images. Archivists, as a rule, archive. To destroy once-legal material based on today's standards is "repugnant" to most archivists. Goldstein then steps back farther: "Is our obsession with child porn creating a climate where kids are commonly regarded as sex objects?" He doesn't use this example, but I will: Remember Miss Coppertone, the young girl from the Coppertone ads whose backside is exposed when a little dog pulls down her bathing suit? That image used to seem charming. Now, repeated news reports of pedophilia and child-porn arrests make that a little creepy. Don't believe me? Here's a link to an early version of the ad: http://www.mutoworld.com/BallentyneCoppertone.htm Now glance at the updated version on the Coppertone site: http://www.coppertone.com/ Oooooh. No more little-girl buttcrack.The Electronic Frontier Foundation established the Pioneer Awards to recognize leaders on the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and innovation in the realm of information technology.
The International Pioneer Awards nominations are open to both individuals and organizations from any country.
I attended the Pioneer ceremony in San Francisco last year, and I hope to be there again this year in NYC. Did you realize that I've met (or just seen in person without meeting) many of the people about whom I blog?20-Year Extension of Existing Copyrights Is Upheld. The Supreme Court ruled that the extension Congress granted to all existing copyrights might have been bad policy but fell within Congress's authority. By Linda Greenhouse. [New York Times: Technology]
The Times piece has the advantage of less opining and more fact. I've really linked only to commentary up to now and not straight reporting. Justices Breyer and Stevens dissented in this 7-2 opinion. Anyone who's followed Justice Breyer's career even superficially (that'd be me, of course) should be unsurprised by his dissent. Breyer makes a powerful case against copyright extension in his 1970 Harvard Law Review article, "The Uneasy Case for Copyright: A Study of Copyright in Books, Photocopies, and Computer Programs," (84 Harv. L. Rev. 281)."...when Congress authorizes the entertainment industry to steal from you -- well, that's the American way." Full story
Court Deaf to Public-Domain Pleas. The Supreme Court's decisive ruling to uphold a law extending copyrights for 20 years will force public-domain advocates to compete ever more fiercely with the powerful entertainment lobby. Michael Grebb reports from Washington. [Wired News]
I have to keep bringing this up, because it's important. In 1881, Carlo Lorenzini published The Adventures of Pinocchio. Pretend for a moment that current American copyright law applied, internationally, to work published in Italy. Pinocchio would be protected for the life of the author, plus 70 years. Lorenzini died 1890. Under current copyright law, Pinocchio would have entered the public domain in 1960. The lovable puppet, however, was free of copyright restrictions in 1940, when Disney adapted the book into an animated film. Disney and other movie studios have tapped deep into the public-domain well for over a century. Now, they've won a battle to keep you and me from the doing the same.Music and Computer Companies Agree on Antipiracy Plan. The big record companies said today that they would not seek government intervention to prevent digital piracy. By Amy Harmon. [New York Times: Technology]
But really, does this change anything?First came Victoria's Secret. Next up on the U.S. Supreme Court's trademark agenda: Barbie dolls.
At its private conference on Jan. 24, the Supreme Court will consider whether to grant review in dozens of cases including Mattel Inc. v. MCA Records Inc., No. 02-633. The Court will also meet in conference Jan. 17.
Mattel, which has manufactured and sold Barbie dolls since 1959, is asking the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said MCA did not infringe the Barbie trademark when it marketed a Danish rock group's song "Barbie Girl."
Full article here. Does anyone remember that dumb song? These Goliath vs. Goliath battles are interesting to watch.LAS VEGAS - For several days last week, the cavernous convention halls here became battlefields in the copyright wars. On balance, the entertainment cartel didn't seem to be doing very well. full article
Dan Gillmor comments on new products, pending legislation, and court cases that appear to be weakening the hand of the copyright cartel.I'm no paedophile, says Who star. Pete Townshend admits downloading child porn but says it was for research, amid reports a rock star's details were passed to police. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition]
Crazy thing is, I really want to believe him.Where the Girls Aren't. Computer science has become the new math -- boys only. Is it nature or conditioning? By Karen Stabiner. [New York Times: Technology]
Global Media. Big media barons are routinely accused of dominating markets, dumbing down the news to plump up the bottom line, and forcing U.S. content on world audiences. But these companies are not as big, bad, dominant, or American as critics claim. And company size is largely irrelevant to many of the problems facing today's Fourth Estate. By Benjamin Compaine. [Foreign Policy]
Well-reasoned, well-researched. Worth a look.We are aiming for quality over quantity for this party. It will be fun, and you will meet someone new, and you will be kissed by a stranger, and you will be frightened, and exhilarated, and leave as dawn pinks the sky, your hair smelling faintly of gunpowder, tiredly smiling, aglow with the realization of what is possible and if that is not the best way to start a new year off right then eat some glass or move to Massachusetts, cause you have no hope.
But instead of mashing lips with a stranger, I'm sitting in my apartment, eating a cheeseburger and fries and drinking beer. How did this come to pass, you might ask. After bathing and shaving and brushing and flossing and perfuming and dressing, I headed out to the party. I arrived at Franklin and Bergen a little after 11 and saw several dozen people waiting outside to get in. The venue, or, I should say, the planned venue, was a converted warehouse turned artists' loft space. It didn't look like much, but hell, all it had to do was hold a party. As I neared the door, a man left the building, saying, "They can't let anyone in yet. There's a problem with the permits. You might as well wait." At that point, police and fire arrived. Cops and firemen shoved into the building and revelers hung out, waiting to see what would happen. I finally made it inside, but still only into a little holding area in the front. An organizer said, "Move into the next room if you want to get into the party. The people in there were the first ones here, so if you want in, get in line behind them." I followed her orders. I also made sure to stand near four hot young women who seemed unaccompanied, so that when it came time for kissing, I'd have my pick of the litter. We waited and waited and waited. Finally, another wave of cops came inside. Next I knew, one of the organizers came downstairs to where we were and said, "I'm sorry, the party's cancelled, you'll all have to leave." I went outside and pondered what to do next. A beautiful brunette approached and asked what was going on. I explained what'd happened. She thought for a moment and said, "Hmmmm, plan B, plan B." I was almost shameless enough to say, "Can I be your plan B?" Almost. I then left, wondering what my plan B was. I went to the C station at Franklin. On the way, I heard a woman explain, "They were busted because they didn't have the right lighting permits." This was a party with a pyrotechnic display, an open bar, food, a DJ, and a dance floor. And they were busted for having the wrong lighting permit. I entered Franklin station and waited on the platform with about fifty other disappointed wannabe partiers. We piled onto the train. A group near me announced they were heading to the High Street station and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. "Everyone's welcome!" I thought that sounded good, especially since I thought one of the women in that group was pretty cute. But then, when the train pulled into Hoyt-Schermerhorn, a wave of partiers left. On the platform, one pointed ahead of him and shouted back to the train, "Party at that guy's place!" The Brooklyn Bridge kids followed the Hoyt crowd and I thought about following also. I thought too long, for the doors closed before I could move out. So I sat, pretty much alone, on the train. When it pulled into Jay St.-Borough Hall, I crossed platforms and waited for a Brooklyn-bound F. When the F finally arrived, I looked at my watch: 11:51. I knew I'd be seeing in 2003 on the F train. I entered the train and saw a family of six seated around and across from a couple. Nearby sat a pretty blonde. As I walked on, they were conferring about the time: "I have eight minutes 'til." "I have six." "I have seven." I sat near the hot blonde--of course--and sort of made eyes at her. I think I was hoping--hell, I know I was hoping--that at the stroke of midnight she'd suddenly want nothing more than to kiss a bald man. Alas, she exited at Carroll Street, at approximately 11:58pm. Right as we pulled out from Carroll and started above ground, the conductor announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is now 12:00. Happy New Year!" The family and the couple let out a cheer and began clapping. Prospect Park was supposed to be having a fireworks display, so I got up from my seat and looked over in that direction. To my right, the mom had a couple of her kids at the other window and was pointing out to them the Statue of Liberty. Right then, we heard a loud crack and saw a white fountain of fire cascading up from direction of Prospect Park. Everyone started smiling and clapping. All in all, I guess it wasn't a bad way to bring in a new year, even if it's not at all what I was hoping for.