Trashy Random Ridiculousness

Professor J,

Your answer to my question (thorough as always) brings to mind something I read about some time back. Stanford technology law professor, Lawrence Lessig was questioning the corporate tactic of buying up large numbers of copyrights whether or not they were going to produce the work, just to keep someone else from obtaining it. I'm aware of another discussion, which connects more directly to the point you were making, about in our current age of sharing and information overload how reasonable is it to call any idea "original" anymore. We all hear fragmets of ideas, snippets of music, and are bombarded with visual images. And most things tend to be derivatives or adaptations of other ideas when they aren't flat out remakes or sequels which is increasingly the case.  While we'd want to protect creators from theft, nailing down where one got an idea is increasingly difficult. The problem of accurately attributing a quote pales by comparison. Imagine anyone having this discussion 100 years from now!

While I'm writing this I'm acutely aware of something. 

The internet is killing our (okay, maybe it's just my) attention span and ruining our (ahem, my) ability to think about anything for very long. While looking for an article about some serious topic I'm tempted with photos of Reese Witherspoon's drunken mug shot, Kim Kardashian's pregnancy weight gain, and some cryptic thing that has Sharon Osborne "devastated." Half an hour later, my brain has shrunken and I can't remember what I was looking for when I signed on. Statistics for something or other...

Oh look! An article about the right way to wear shorts. Well, it is spring...

I wonder if there is a Pinterest board about shorts. (Of course there is...and one about board shorts) I could however find nothing about Shorts who are bored ;), not to be confused however with Bored Short (TV).

What were we discussing? Ah, yes the fluidity of ideas. This is generally where one says "Look! A squirrel!"

On a more serious note, a sad one really, last week we were walking in a new park along a nearby river. Topping a hill and being able to see the water we commented on how lovely it was only to get closer and see a mountainous whirlpool of trash and debris trapped against some fallen logs. For any lover of the outdoors such things are disheartening. Unfortunately in our city we are quite use to seeing garbage spilling down embankments near exits or litter in highway medians. The quantity of the river trash was astounding. It consisted of hundreds of milk jugs, water bottles, several basketballs, a few soccer balls, plastic toys, and anything else imaginable that would float. Standing there looking I couldn't help but think back to our cruise last year and sailing for hours upon hours through Scandinavian waterways where we saw not ONE piece of anything floating in the water.

I mentioned this recently to a British friend who has lived in several countries. I was praising what I saw as a healthy concern for the community in those societies. She was quick to point out that when actually living in those places however, that concern for the group could become a bit tedious if not, overbearing. "It's a bit onerous not to be able to run one's bath at ten at night or have one's windows open if playing music because a neighbor thinks nothing of complaining about such things."

So, once again that delicate balance between what's good for everyone vs. the individual is hard to find.

Another recurring theme, along with squirrels, of course. ;)