Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:25 PM

No, I'm not asking for anything, but this morning LISNews pointed to a SUNY Buffalo Libraries Gift ideas for academics that has some pretty neat links. All kinds of disciplines, all kinds of merchandise. I'm having fun just poking around and browsing (then again, don't I always?)

By the way, it's not worth a separate post, but J.K. Rowling has debunked the rumor that Book Six will have 38 chapters, saying only that "it has fewer." [For the record, Book Five had 38 chapters, Book Four had 37, and Books One, Two and Three had 17, 18 and 22 respectively. So, they were getting longer, but apparently no more.]

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:35 PM

Yesterday I wrote about the Quantum Leap DVDs replacing the music due to licensing issues.

This isn't the first time I've heard of that happening; I remember (but decided not to blog) several 2003 posts by Mark Evanier about similar changes made to WKRP in syndication. As he explained:

If you think there's something different about those WKRP episodes from their original network runs, you're right. A lot of the songs being played on the radio station have been changed from genuine hits to generic knock-offs. It costs money to use an Elton John or Beatles record on a TV show but at the time WKRP was originally produced, ASCAP charged less for a taped show (like WKRP) than for a filmed show, so the producers spent the money. Some time in the mid-90's, the discount went away and whatever company then owned the show (it's changed hands a few times) decided the rates were now prohibitive. They went in and replaced the real rock records with fake ones from some inexpensive music library. Even worse, when a line of dialogue (like a disc jockey intro) referred to one of those songs, the dialogue was redubbed, often by someone imitating the original actor. There are a few places where this kills a joke or damages the storyline.

The purist/archivist/historian in me has been upset, but ultimately, the background music in sitcoms isn't that important in the broader scheme of things.

But today, my mother emailed me something that just takes the cake:

'Prize' Series Shelved
Many television and theatrical documentaries that employed archival footage can no longer be shown, nor can they be released on DVD, because the makers of the films licensed the footage for relatively short periods, Wired magazine reported on its website today (Wednesday). The publication observed that among the documentaries that have had to be shelved is the multiple-award-winning Eyes on the Prize series, about the civil rights movement, which aired on PBS. Jon Else, who produced the series and is now director of the documentary program at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, told Wired: "It's a scenario from hell. ... [Licensing agreements] are short because it's all we can afford. The funding for documentaries in this country [is] abysmal."

Here's the link to the full story. Wired explains:

Securing clearance rights to archival footage is a growing problem for independent filmmakers -- and documentary filmmakers in particular. Filmmakers must pay for the rights to use every song, photograph or video clip included in the film. Since many documentary films are made with small budgets, filmmakers often can only afford to buy rights for a limited amount of time. That leaves many filmmakers essentially renting footage, and rendering their work unusable after a certain number of years unless they can find more funding to clear the rights again.
<snip>
"Anyone who intends to make products for mass media is really hostage to the terms of copyright," said Pat Aufderheide, one of the authors of the study and a professor at American University.

I know librarians have been at the forefront of many issues surrounding fair use and copyright. However, I hadn't heard about this particular aspect before.

As a footnote, Wired also mentions that "VHS sets are available used on Amazon.com for the eye-popping price of $700 to $1,500." I've been hearing a lot of stories the last few years of library thefts (maps and illustrations, for example). Might want to make sure your copies are secure.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:15 AM

So, last week's big news was that Google made deals to digitize and index libraries at Harvard, Oxford, University of Michigan, Stanford (no surprise since that's where Google started), and the New York Public Library.

There's been some concern over a private company holding all this important data, rather than a public institution. After all, while Google's current leadership has generally held up their code "Don't be evil," we have to acknowledge they're a publically traded company, and today's management won't necessarily be in charge for ever.

As Jessamyn sums it up:

most of the issues that are wrapped up in this one event -- issues like privacy, commercialization of information, ownership of information, copyright and the future of libraries -- have already been playing themselves out, in smaller ways, in libraries everywhere. The fact that one publicly-traded company has been able to use their vast resources to leverage co-operation with prestigious libraries just forces us to examine a lot of these issues together, and all at once.

Anyway, that's just background for what I wanted to post. This morning, according to LISNews:

Ten major international libraries have agreed to combine their digitised book collections into a free text-based archive hosted online by the not-for-profit Internet Archive. All content digitised and held in the text archive will be freely available to online users. Two major US libraries have agreed to join the scheme: Carnegie Mellon University library and The Library of Congress have committed their Million Book Project and American Memory Projects, respectively, to the text archive.

Interesting times, indeed.

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:50 AM

Another Wednesday, another horoscope. This one's rather intriguing:

Here's an odd paradox about your fate in 2005: You will get as close to your true home as you have ever been, and yet you'll also be teased and intrigued by a provocative mystery. Let me say it another way: More than at any other time in your life, you will feel like you truly belong here--and yet you'll often be amazed at how enigmatic everything is. I'll give you one more angle on the confounding security that will visit you in the coming months: You'll have an uncanny sense of being cared for by a mother goddess, even as you keep delving further than ever before into the riddles of your unpredictable destiny.

Meanwhile, outside the window, the sky has turned a lovely pinkish-peach.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:01 AM

Yup, just remembered one more story I wanted to blog:

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first known piece of printed pornography, described as the "quintessence of debauchery," has been sold for 45,600 pounds ($89,000), well above expectations, Sotheby's auction house said Thursday.
"Sodom," penned in the mid-1670s, has been attributed to John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester. It was described by Sotheby's as having pornography "in almost every line."
The piece, which was sold to an anonymous buyer, had been expected to raise 25,000 to 35,000 pounds ($48,000 to $68,000).
"It is one of the most notorious publications in literature and makes most pornography written 300 years later seem tame," said Peter Beal, Sotheby's book specialist.
The book focuses on the decision made by a lustful king to "set the nation free" by allowing "buggary" to be "used thro' all the land" and then details the dire consequences.

I wonder who purchased it. I only hope it's somebody philanthropic, who would consider digitizing the work and making it publically available.

The Restoration (the reign of England's Charles II, 1660 -- 1685) has a reputation as a raunchy, bawdy period. I've recently discovered some poetry from the age, including some of Wilmot's, and they're quite entertaining in a delightfully disrespectful manner. Here's another famous one by John Wilmot about King Charles himself:

God bless our good and gracious King,
Whose promise none relies on;
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:42 PM

Further Harry Potter news:

• They're saying Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be slightly shorter than Order of the Phoenix, which is the longest of the books. [Presumably, if it were shorter than Goblet of Fire (the second-longest book), they would've described it as such, which means it's probably somewhere between those two in length.]
• Expected list price is $29.99 for the US edition, and £16.99 for the UK version, though many bookstores are already announcing deep discounts.
• Less than twelve hours after the announcement (and over 200 days in advance), Harry Potter: Book Six is already the #1 topseller on several online bookstores.

Of course, I've known since the start of the month that an announcement was due sometime soon. I only wish I'd put two and two together earlier and been in a position where I could invest:

Bloomsbury shares rose 8.2 percent to a record 296 pence in London. Scholastic shares rose $1.51, or 4.2 percent, to $37.44 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. It's their highest price since January 2003. -- Bloomberg

As far as the next film is concerned, filming of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is reportedly 75% complete, and the movie is scheduled for wide release on November 18th, 2005.

By the way, as long as I'm writing about online booksellers, are you familiar with the Buy Blue campaign? I've bought all the previous British editions from Amazon.co.uk, but I'm not too happy with their bias in political donations.

Also, here are some other fun and interesting links I've been accumulating:

• Get a load of this liquor bottle we saw at a New Hampshire packie this weekend
• National Geographic's pictures of the year, all set up to be your desktop wallpaper
• This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first successful human organ transplant -- and it happened here in Boston. On NPR yesterday morning, I heard an interview with the doctor and patient -- fascinating and thought-provoking.
• The Crusades are newsworthy again. And once more we see proof of the adage that truth is stranger than fiction:

  Everybody should read Maurice Druon's seven-volume Le Rois Maudits series, if only for the great set-piece that is the execution of the last Templar Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, who cries from the stake as the flames lick around him:

  Pope Clement! King Philippe! Keeper of the Seals Guillaume de Nogaret! I summmon you to the bar of heaven for judgment before the year is out!

  Since all three did die within a year of Jacques de Molay's curse, some might say that an apology for their actions has already been made by a Higher Authority.

• Teresa Nielsen Hayden has started a thread called Marlowe in Action, which I won't describe further - it must be read.
• A filk that's both beautiful and true (and funny)

And though I wrote last week with promising news about several movies based upon fantasy books, there's cause for concern over Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. Rumor has it they're secularizing it to avoid offending the American (Christian) audience. Philip Pullman disagrees with the direst pronouncements, but even he talks about his central themes as a metaphor which can be expressed other ways than through religion. This, from a story that Ian recognized as Satanist theology.

I'm sure that the moment I post this, I'll remember some other link I'd been desperately meaning to share, but I'm about at my stopping point for the night. So I think I'll close with this blogger-relevant Ogden Nash poem, courtesy of Shelley at Burningbird.

Goodnight, everybody!

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:36 AM

It's official. Harry Potter: Book Six will be released on July 16, 2005. This has been a public service announcement.

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:49 AM

If I hadn't recorded the anniversary in my Lotus Organizer, I might not have noticed.

Today is the tenth anniversary of the day I consider my romantic relationship with Ian to have begun.

It's often hard to put start dates on relationships that grow out of friendships, but here's how I reckon our history. [Ian, feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong.]

A lot has happened since then. We've been married homeowners and landlords for over five years now. I still love Ian more than I have words to express. I can't imagine life without him, and hope I'll never have to.

You want a laugh? One of the reasons I decided to approach Ian that October was because I didn't think anything serious could happen between us. I was really only looking for some fun and a quick fling until the right guy came along. How little we knew...

So, enough about me. How did your current romantic relationship start? Where'd ya meet? How'd ya hit it off?
Seriously, I want to know. Too many of you were already established in relationships when we became friends, so I missed all the "how we met" stories. [If you've already written it up, I'll accept links.]

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:20 PM

Saw this this morning about the Quantum Leap DVDs, and wanted to warn anybody else who might be considering them:

To Whom it May Concern:

I was going to purchase Quantum Leap Season 2 on DVD for several people on my holiday gift list this year, but I have recently discovered that the original music was removed and replaced with generic background music. Since much of the music in Quantum Leap was a more a part of the plot than background atmosphere, I think this is a mistake. One song in particular, Georgia on my Mind, is intrinsic to the plot in the Season 2 finale, and returns with resonance in the series finale. Without that song, one of the most dramatic and memorable episodes of the series is significantly diminished.

I understand that the rights to music can be prohibitively expensive, and I would have been disappointed, but forgiving, if you had made any effort to let the consumer know that the music they remembered from the episodes was missing from your recent DVD release, but there is no notice of this anywhere on your packaging; it took several frustrated and disappointed buyers posting to discussion boards for me to find out about this. I would have bought a falsely advertised product had I not frequented these forums.

As they say, forewarned is half an octopus.

I'm glad to find this out before I wasted my money. Like the author of the above, I have little interest in Quantum Leap without the original music. Tzikeh also notes:

If you want to write to Universal, the email address is: USHE.ConsumerRelations@leemarketing.com

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:25 PM

Evelyn Leeper has posted her Noreascon 4 Con Report. Interesting to see her takes on some of the panels I didn't attend. Even more interesting to see differing POVs on panels that I did attend. Reading it was like a walk down memory lane, being reminded of panelist quips I had forgotten.

Since at the time folks seemed particularly interested in the panels on Judaica, I'll specifically point y'all to:

• Jewish Time-Based Mitzvoth in a Lunar Colony: my take and Evelyn's
• Alternate Holocausts: my take and Evelyn's

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:15 PM

This summer, the Stratford Festival of Canada will be performing:

• As You Like It, one of my favorite Shakespeare comedies, set in the late 1960s during the Summer of Love, with new music by the Barenaked Ladies (April 27 to October 30), and
• Marlowe's Edward II (August 4 to September 24)

<whine> Wanna go...

Other Shakespeare plays in their summer season include Measure for Measure (August 5 to September 24) and The Tempest (May 20 to October 28). But I'm most interested in the two above.

Thanks to angevin2, for giving me yet another outside-the-US travel destination for 2005. [Don't forget, 2005 is also the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes' Day!]

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:54 PM

From the Leaky Cauldron:

HBP Release Date to be Announced in 24 Hours

<snip>

Jo Rowling has announced on her site that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is FINISHED, and we should hear a release date from her publishers in the next 24 hours. Check back here for updates.

Here's what JKR says about the book:

"Although I have joked about HP&THBP racing my third baby into the world, I have in fact had all the time I needed to tinker with the manuscript to my satisfaction and I am as happy as I have ever been with the end result. I only hope you feel that it was worth the wait when you finally read it!"

So, an early Xmas present: knowing when Harry Potter Book Six will be released. Just as a refresher, last time around they made the announcement in mid-January for a late June release. Somehow, I don't expect the book to come out much before June, since publishing it during the school year could cause some serious scheduling problems with their target audience.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:05 AM

What a weekend. On Saturday, we drove up to Vermont for our niece's seventh birthday party. During the drive up, one of New Hampshire's finest pulled us over for a traffic ticket. And then this morning, trying to open the ice-stuck car door, the driver's side handle broke off (partly) in my hand. Not good.