Book People Archive

Re: raining soup

david said:
>    It's raining soup right now for everyone to catch as they can.

i was just thinking the same thing.
(except not in such colorful language!)           :+)

i'm glad that it seems (finally!) that people
are willing to take on the copyright cartel...

as an artist, however, i feel the need to assert
that we artists don't _need_ the right to copy.

not "copy" in the word-for-word and verbatim
need-to-ask-for-permission sense, anyway...

i mean, i'm glad that y'all are willing to fight for the
_right_ to copy verbatim, especially talking snippets,
as it is clearly "fair use", let common sense prevail!,
but don't expend _too_ many resources obtaining it,
if they can be invested more wisely in another battle,
such as against patents, which are getting too stupid.

because know what?, i'm actually trying to swear off
riffing off the mainstream culture that's forced on us.
artistically, that's all so vapid that i do not want it to be
"my inspiration".   au contraire, i'm trying to _escape_ it.

copyright?   let the cartel sink in the greed of ownership.
let the quicksand of the legal system eat them up slowly.
let them use d.r.m. to wire shut access to their "product",
until the audience throws up their hands in disgust and
walks away from all of their mass-merchandised crap...

and the hypocrisy is a huge albatross around their neck.
for instance, at the same time they're telling us that we
cannot burn a copy of our favorite song, they are busy
making payola to record stations to bombard us with it,
precisely so it will _become_ our favorite song.

it's heartening to me, as an artist, to see that people are
concerned about protecting my sources of inspiration.
a focus on things besides the bottom line is refreshing.
but artistic imagination and creativity will find a way.
they always have, no matter how adverse the conditions.

so don't worry about us artists.   we'll make it.

instead, worry about _yourselves_, because that pap they are
cramming down your throat is _designed_ to make you gag,
so you won't notice or care when they pick your pocket and
use the money to buy bombs to kill people in a foreign land.

they are stealing your soul.
don't look to them for inspiration.

meanwhile, outside, it's raining soup.
stick a bowl out and catch some...

-bowerbird