Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Wry Hoaxes Enliven the World of Web Diarists. The time-honored tradition of literary hoaxes has taken on a new form: the Web log. By By DANIEL TERDIMAN. VERYONE seems to be writing a Web log these days, and those without day jobs have a decided advantage. So perhaps it did not seem unusual to see Bill Clinton joining the ranks. There were, for example, the jottings about a stay in San Francisco while promoting his memoir, "My Life," including a night out in which he and Robin Williams ultimately regaled their wives with a song and dance while playing a Mariah Carey CD. "We did this whole dance routine as Mariah Carey sang 'Oh, when you walk by every night, Talking sweet and looking fine, I get kinda hectic inside,' " the June 28 entry recounted. "We must've looked like two drunken sailors. Oh God, what was I thinking? That's the kind of influence Robin has on me and all his friends." To some who remember Mr. Clinton playing the saxophone on "The Arsenio Hall Show," such high jinks may have seemed plausible, if a bit odd. Likewise his ruminations on his travels, his marriage and Senator John Kerry's presidential candidacy. Delve more deeply into the postings at billclintondailydiary.blogspot.com - at once thoughtful, educated and down home - and only one conclusion can be drawn: it's a hoax.  . . . A variety of hoaxes have spiced up the so-called blogosphere. Among them are Andy Kaufman Returns (andykaufmanreturns .blogspot.com), in which an unidentified writer purports to be the eccentric comedian, reappearing 20 years after his death; Rance (captainhoof.tripod.com/blog), the musings of an anonymous Hollywood star; and Jane's Blog (jane.blogs.com), the daily diary of a starry-eyed, oversexed young woman in Los Angeles who turns out to be a fictional character on the Oxygen TV sitcom "Good Girls Don't."  . . . In the case of Jane's Blog, those who arrived at the site after clicking on a link from the official "Good Girls Don't'' site had specifically been told that the blog was fiction. But as happens so often in the blogosphere, the blog's Web address was widely circulated with no context. Visitors often failed to realize that they were reading fiction. Betsy Finston, vice president for interactive services at Oxygen Media, which developed "Good Girls Don't," said of the blog, "We try to write it in a very immediate way, and if people respond to it, that's good." [The New York Times > Technology] 8:45:07 PM    comment []

Review of "Reputation in Artificial Societies".  [Smart Mobs] 8:40:37 PM    comment []

A Benton Headline: MONTGOMERY SETS RULES FOR CABLE MODEM The Montgomery County (MD) Council yesterday approved new customer service standards for cable companies that provide Internet access, a measure experts say is among the first of its kind in the nation. Under the new law, cable companies must answer the phone within 30 seconds, complete repairs within 36 hours, and refund customers for Internet service interruptions. Officials at Comcast, the dominant cable Internet access provider in the county, said the measure is discriminatory because it does not affect DSL, the other type of high-speed Internet service, which comes into homes through telephone lines. Consumer advocates say the measure is necessary because of complaints against Comcast and Starpower, the county's smaller cable provider. [SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Amit Paley] (requires registration) 10:41:39 AM    comment []

Jul 27, 2004: Obama. There are so few times in your life when you hear a speech that has the power to change your life. Being just a few yards away from Barack Obama as he gave one of the most powerful speeches I've ever heard was simply amazing. Obama described himself a... [Kicking Ass] There's a transcript of Obama's speech at PBS (which is also hosting Real Audio of it if you want to listen). The Obama Blog points at C-SPAN's video If you missed the speech, you can watch it online here (RealPlayer required; alternatively, just load rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/project/c04/c04_dnc072704_obama.rm into your RealPlayer). and also has room for comments (as does the DNC Blog). 8:02:38 AM    comment []

Panel Sees No Unique Risk From Genetic Engineering. Genetically engineered crops do not pose health risks that cannot also arise from crops created by other techniques, the National Academy of Sciences said. By By ANDREW POLLACK. [The New York Times > Science] 7:52:57 AM    comment []

Google and Supreme Court argument revisited. Walt Crawford has released yet another edition of his library 'zine (not blog) "Cites & Insights", for August 2004. He kindly mentions me, for Google and censorware discussion. I may write more later, but one quick note is apropos today regarding Google. In discussing my examination about the Google silliness of the Free Porn, err, Justice, Department "evidence" in the "COPA" Internet censorware law Supreme Court case, he notes: These arguments took place in early March 2004. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, arguing to overturn the injunction, used a web search (probably Google) to illustrate the extremity of "online smut." Type in the words "free porn" and you get a list of 6,230,000 websites, he said: "I didn't have time to go all the way through those sites." The oral argument transcript confirmed that it definitely was Google being used: I did the same, this again is outside the record, but I did this, anyone can do this, the same experiment over the weekend. I went to Google and I typed in disable filter and you push the button and you will get a screen full of programs that will tell you step by step how to dismantle the computer so your parents won't know about it. It is that easy, and you can put it back on. Amusingly - or maybe not - Solicitor General Olsen is also wrong again here. While you can find instruction pages, they're way out of date, and so not exactly good evidence for anything. Don't believe everything you Google on the Web. Even if you're making an argument before the Supreme Court. [Infothought] 7:49:12 AM    comment []

Group Warns DVRs Endangered. A digital-rights organization is distributing instructions to build a PC-based TiVo-like recorder. It hopes to get people hooked on DVRs -- and stoke a backlash against an impending FCC rule that could cripple the machines. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] 7:48:58 AM    comment []

Free soul. The best -- (nearly) legal -- MP3 blogs out there. Plus: An exclusive free download of an "eccentric soul" song from the '70s you've probably never heard of -- but should definitely have! [Salon.com] 7:45:44 AM    comment []

Lessig, on the meaning of "parody". Everyone's seen the brilliant JibJab Flash of Bush/Kerry. The piece claims to be a "parody" of Woody Guthrie's "This Land." As any copyright lawyer recognizes, it is not a "parody" in the sense that "fair use" ordinarily recognizes it. A "fair use" "parody" is a work that uses a work to make fun of the author. JibJab is using Guthrie's work not to make fun of Guthrie, but of the candidates. (For the now classic case on this, see Dr. Suess v. Penguin Press, where a "parody" of O.J. Simpson using The Cat in the Hat was not "fair use.") Guthrie's publisher's lawyers too recognize this. As CNN's Allen Wastler reports, Guthrie's publisher is now threatening JibJab. What's great about this story, of course, is the levels of hypocrisy. Guthrie was not much for property rights himself. It's said that there is a not-often-sung verse: As I went walking, I saw a sign there; And on the sign there, It said, 'NO TRESPASSING.' But on the other side, It didn't say nothing. That side was made for you and me! But whether Guthrie believed in property rights or not, the key thing this story should do is force us to ask generally: Does a law that makes a political parody such as Jibjab illegal (even if it is not a "parody" in the copyright view of the world) make sense? (Note to citizens: We're permitted to change the law.) [Lessig Blog] 7:42:44 AM    comment []

Brian's Decision Theory Syllabus: I haven’t been doing much blogging because I’ve been doing important things like writing the syllabus for my decision theory course. Here it is. Not all the links are active yet, and it’s subject to revision, but I hope it’s at least ready for public view. [Thoughts Arguments and Rants] 7:41:54 AM    comment []