Overprotecting intellectual property is as harmful as underprotecting it. Creativity is impossible without a rich public domain. Nothing today, likely nothing since we tamed fire, is genuinely new: Culture, like science and technology, grows by accretion, each new creator building on the works of those who came before. Overprotection stifles the very creative forces it’s supposed to nurture.

–Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Alex Kozinski (from his dissent in White v. Samsung, 1993, which can be read here)

Taking a circuitous route, I found myself at artist Nate Harrison’s site tonight, watching some of his video projects. I found “Can I Get An Amen?” (2004) particularly interesting.

“Can I Get An Amen?” is an audio installation that unfolds a critical perspective of perhaps the most sampled drum beat in the history of recorded music, the Amen Break. It begins with the pop track “Amen Brother” by 60’s soul band The Winstons, and traces the transformation of their drum solo from its original context as part of a ‘B’ side vinyl single into its use as a key aural ingredient in contemporary cultural expression. The work attempts to bring into scrutiny the techno-utopian notion that ‘information wants to be free’- it questions its effectiveness as a democratizing agent. This as well as other issues are foregrounded through a history of the Amen Break and its peculiar relationship to current copyright law.

Here’s the original song (which, ironically enough, is, itself, a reworking of the traditional Negro Spiritual, “Amen”)…

And here is Harrison’s work…

And anybody who wants the Amen Break for their own mixes can download it here.

So this place is sticking around.

I do have lots to write about but am concentrating on getting my shit together at the moment, so, in the meantime, here’s an interesting documentary for you to watch.

I found it posted at Free Documentaries. It dovetails kinda nicely with the book I just finished reading a few weeks ago: Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine, which is all about what she calls “disaster capitalism”. The film–a 2002 film by Adam Curtis, which aired on British television–is about how 20th century North American society became based on consumerism and self-interest. It’s quite a fascinating–and frightening, and frustrating–story.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Do you have any idea how much willpower I had to summon to not stick a leg out into the aisle?! It was a tremendous amount, I assure you. Tremendous.

I was sorta surprised to see any kids there because I thought the damned thing was Restricted. So I figured I must’ve been wrong about the rating. But when I got home and looked it up, nope–it’s rated R. And I am really and truly not exaggerating when I say that I’ll bet I was the only person in the room who was older than 18. If I’d realized at the time that it was Restricted, I’d've gone out and gotten my money back as well as demanded a free pass for another screening. Srsly. Shit.

So you’re gonna hafta keep in mind that the audience really did put a dent in my ability to just sit back and enjoy this film. It was hard to stay focussed on anything aside from my burning desire to annihilate the entire room.

I am somewhat amazed to see all the glowing reviews for this thing… Maybe the comparisons to The Blair Witch Project (which still successfully creeps me the hell out, as I proved to myself on the night before Hallowe’en, when I sat up late, watching it alone in the dark!) set my expectations too high. I mean, okay, there are a couple effective “boo!” scares and a couple decent “creep-me-out” moments but, otherwise, umm, it is sorta boring. And the characters aren’t particularly likable. And it sure didn’t help that every single visit from the spirit or demon (there is some debate within the film about whether it is one or the other) is telegraphed from a mile away on the soundtrack. I suppose that is supposed to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up in anticipation but all it does is make my eyes flick across the screen, looking for the first sign of the thing’s presence. So when it happens, it isn’t exactly startling–it is just expected, fer crissakes.

A lot of reviews complain about the shakycam but I didn’t find it nearly as bad as it was in Cloverfield or District 9. In fact, I don’t think I even really noticed it after the first few minutes. Then again, I may have cut that issue off at the pass by purposefully sitting in the back row, where shakycam effects are less noticeable.

Anyhow, the one thing I did like about it was that the horror (such as it is) is kept offscreen. Whether it is by hook (that is to say by design–as in Robert Wise’s The Haunting) or crook (by which I mean for practical reasons–as in Steven Spielberg’s reluctance to show much of the balky mechanical shark in Jaws), when the source of the horror is kept largely offscreen, I am of the school of belief that the audience’s fear is intensified because it cannot see it. So kudos to the filmmakers for keeping whatever the hell it is offscreen.

Well, except for that one moment.

I got a call today from a friend of mine who told me about an upcoming event at the Revue Cinema in Toronto where he is on the board of directors… I have a lot of respect for the folks running the Revue, as they are really encouraging local independent filmmakers with their Drop Your Shorts series of screenings and, now, hosting the Zombie Short Film Festival on October 30^th.

From the festival FAQ:

What are the criteria for submissions?

Your film must be shorter than 25 minutes long. It also has to involve zombies in some way.

I have a terrific zombie film, but it’s longer than 25 minutes. Can I enter it anyway?

Sorry…but we need to be firm on the running time, in order to accommodate the viewing needs of our jury and the logistics of the official screening. You are welcome, however, to split the film into shorter segments and enter them as separate submissions, if you wish.

What format should my submission be?

Please submit a DVD in NTSC format, so that it will be playable on a North American DVD player.

When is the submission deadline?

Midnight. October 1, 2009.

Submissions can be from anywhere (not just Canada).

…I’ll bet my friend Craig wishes he’d gone ahead with that zombie-LDS missionary film he’s been pondering for years. Perfect venue for it.

Toronto Star film critic Pete Howell takes an annual pre-festival poll of film critics, industry folks, festival programmers, bloggers, and buffs to get a feeling about which films are the most highly anticipated at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. He limits you to 3 films, and your justifications are limited to a single sentence for each.

This year’s fest starts today and runs to the 19th, and I’m heading to town from tomorrow ’til the 14th. Normally, my visit to the festival is planned around the films I wanna see. This year, however, my visit to the festival is planned around a concert I wanna see.

And that’s the Minus 5/Baseball Project/Steve Wynn IV show at the ’shoe on Sunday night.

When Pete asked me for my 3 films, though, I chose them without regard to whether or not I would actually be able to see them at the festival. That was beside the point. The point was to choose 3 films I was really keen to see. Which I did. But, as it happens, I won’t be able to see any of ‘em while I’m there. Argh!!

A Town Called Panic
This puppetoon plays as part of the Midnight Madness programme. It is based on a Belgian tv show of the same name, created by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier. As a kid, I was much more apt to pull the cowboys and indians and horses out of the toy box than the Barbies, so it really does look like my childhood toys got together to put on a show. It is stop-motion animation that is charming in its crudeness (I’ll post a couple eps of the show here so you can check it out yourself). In fact, it is, perhaps, that very “backwardness” of the look of it that makes it so appealing to me. Well, that and the absurdity of it.

Life During Wartime
Writer/Director Todd Solondz has made some films I love and when he describes this as being somewhat related to two of my favourites (Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness), I am curious to see what he does with the characters that recur. Darkly humourous (what some more gentle souls might call scabrous) satire is Solondz’s gift… the screenplays are so smart, the narrative structures so interesting, the honesty so startling.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Well, you already know how I feel about Werner Herzog… He actually has two films appearing in this year’s festival. One of them makes me a little nervous–something called Bad Lieutenant, which may or may not have anything to do with Abel Ferrara’s film of the same title (it certainly appears to be related), starring the frequently execrable Nic Cage. It could be great or it could be horrendous. I can’t quite picture it being anywhere in between…

But Pete would only let us pick three films, remember, so I reached for the other new Herzog instead. I hadn’t even heard of it before it was announced for TIFF.

It is based on a true story (which will certainly not stop Herzog from inventing most of the story–on a search for the ecstatic truth, the real truth is just a starting point for him) about an actor who takes a role much too seriously.

David Lynch is the producer. Lynch and Herzog: now, there’s a match made in either heaven or hell, depending on your P.O.V.

There is a local non-profit organization called Rebound:

Sarnia-Lambton Rebound is committed to supporting young people in reaching their full potential. We support youth who are experiencing difficulties at home, school or with the law. Our unique program design incorporates trained community volunteers to act as mentors and positive role models to youth.

At Sarnia-Lambton Rebound, we are committed to developing evidence-based services and programs. We stay current with the latest literature and research to ensure our programs are delivered in the most effective manner. Rebound provides a series of six youth and three parenting programs that focus on building confidence, making healthy decisions and improving communication.

Now, Tristan never used the services of Rebound but he went through a rough patch where he might’ve actually found them pretty useful. As it happens, when it was decided that the family would ask for charitable donations be made instead of flowers at his funeral, T’s big bro Mike suggested a couple of local youth-support organizations that he thought T would like. Rebound was one of them.

Tristan was an avid golfer. He could hit that ball straight and he could hit it a mile. He played every summer–for years in the youth program at Greenwood Golf Course (where his grandma and grandpa had taught him to play) and then, later, in a similar program at the Sarnia Golf and Curling Club, where his parents got a membership. A few months ago, one of Tristan’s golfing buddies mentioned to my sister that it would be kinda neat to hold a golf tournament in T’s memory. That got the wheels turning…

So, on August 21st, Greenwood Golf Course will host a memorial golf tourney, in Tristan’s name, which will raise funds for Rebound. Lunch & registration is at noon, Best Ball shotgun start at 1pm, dinner at 6-ish, and there will be a silent auction along with prizes and raffles and gifts. A representative from Rebound will join us to tell everybody about their organization. $75 for golfers (incl. lunch & steak dinner, along with the golf), $25 for non-golfing diners. The field is pretty much filled up, although, as I write this, there is room for one more foursome and there are a couple foursomes that have a spare spot. There may still be a few dining-spots open, too. But it certainly looks like we’re going to sell out.

We really didn’t know what to expect when we first started to plan this (honestly, I have done little–my sister really took the bull by the horns and she’s had lots of help from my brother-in-law and our parents and many friends), but I don’t think any of us realized what kind of response we were gonna get from people who wanted to take part and people who wanted to chip in any way they could.

Local and national businesses and organizations have been stunningly generous when family & friends have approached them about donating items for auction or prizes. Folks would approach friends or family they know in the company or actually do cold calls and it’s amazing to see the response. Area papers have covered the story and the local radio station K106 is sending its Rockpatrol. RBC Dominion surprised us a couple days ago by offering to sponsor a hole-in-one contest in which someone could win $10,000 if they get a hole-in-one on the sponsored hole, and Rebound would get a thousand bucks, too. Holy shit! One of Tristan’s other aunts works for Hockey Canada and she has procured some pretty cool Team Canada swag for the silent auction–including a stick signed by all members of the gold-medal-winning 2008 World Juniors (including Maple Leaf Luke Schenn and 2009 NHL #1 draft pick John Tavares). Local restaurants have chipped in gift certificates, local businesses donated services and gifts, and local professionals–from Tristan’s tattooist Pete St. Marseille (that’s his “Carsy” tat on Pete’s portfolio) to his dentist Dr. Guy Kohlmeier!–have been so eager to help! He is fondly remembered far and wide, which is wonderful for us and such a great comfort.

As the lone non-golfer in my family, I will be helping with other volunteers to register golfers, sell raffle tickets, monitor the RBC-sponsored hole, and any other kind of running around needed while folks are golfing. I’m really looking forward to the day, although I know that it will be a very emotional one for me.

Most days are like that, though. Still. I don’t foresee an end to that for a long time. I miss him desperately.

The wristbands? I had those made up for the tourney. They were originally suggested by Tristan’s friend Casey, who thought a lot of T’s friends would love to have something like the “Livestrong” bracelets (which T wore) to remember him by. The colours–also suggested by Casey (a clever young woman who should go into the field of marketing!)–are the colours of T’s team, the Wallaceburg Lakers. My sis suggested the text Carsy 16 1989-2008–“Carsy” being his hockey nickname, “16″ his jersey number, and the dates self-explanatory. I added the ankh in the middle because of the silver ankh he always wore on the chain around his neck. It has kinda become our little symbol of him. Eternal life.