As part of my work leading the Debian Creative Commons Workgroup, helping to fix problems in the Creative Commons licenses that make them unsuitable for works in Debian, I've been very interested in the relationship between Digital Rights Management technologies and Free Software licenses. So I've written an essay on the subject of Free content and DRM, to encapsulate my thoughts on the matter.
tags: debian cc drm licenses free software free content
Piknic Electronik
We went out to the first 2006 summer Piknic Électronik this afternoon, which was quite a milestone for me. I'm now starting my 5th (!) summer in Montreal, and one of the manifold joys of being here in the summer is the fantastic Piknics.
Piknic happens on irregular Sunday afternoons in Parc Jean Drapeau, the island in the Saint Lawrence River that was the site for the World's Fair, Expo 67. The park has beautiful greenery insterspersed with fantastic buildings left over from the Fair.
Beneath a monumental Alexander Calder stabile entitle L'homme ("Man") that face's Montreal's Old Port across part of the river, the Ekip Piknic sets up musical equipment, some beer tents, a ton of astroturf, and gets the DJs started. On a good day, with sunny weather, there will be hundreds of people in the area, playing hacky sack and dancing or socializing.
There's a great mix of people, too; some folks who look really shagged out from partying at the clubs for more than 24 hours, and others who bring their babies and bottles of Chablis to drink on the green lawns surrounding the statue. There are dogs, kids, a good mix of gay and straight party people, lots and lots of dancing and smiles.
We've been going for a while, and I've always looked forward to bringing my own baby to come play and listen to the music. I feel that in a way it's introducing our daughter to the way of life we like; not just the electronic music and hipsterism, but also setting up a party or event in a place where you want to in the way that you want to and letting people come to you. That the real achievement is deciding to do it in the first place.
Anyways, Amita June loved being in the park, seeing the wa-ter, and dancing with Papa to the music. We found a good spot a little away from the main dance area -- the bass isn't so good for baby eardrums -- and played in the grass. Amita's getting really good at stepping around if she's got a hand to hold onto, so she played with the grass and the flowers and enjoyed the sunlight.
I'm feeling energized by the experience; it's a sign that summer is in full swing in Quebec.
tags: montreal piknic electronik amitajune summer electronic music calder parc jean drapeau expo 67 dance alexander calder
Scobleizer
Robert Scoble has the toughest job in show business: making Microsofties understand the Internet culture that they've become a part of. I'm not a Microsoft-lover, but I do find Scoble's writing interesting and his efforts at organizational change inspiring.
So, I'm sorry to hear that he's having a tough time of things. I think it's kind of pathetic when no-namers like me talk about big-name bloggers as if they were our pals, but I guess I just wish the best for him.
tags: robert scoble scobleizer microsoft hard times
All is vanity
One thing that a Evan Prodromou vanity search always turns up is a copy of my AM report, by Martin Michlmayr. Oh, for the olden days. Well, I guess it didn't happen exactly as has been reported.
tags: nostalgia debian new maintainer legend