"Folk music was born on front porches and parlors and now it has returned in a big way -- with a little help from the Internet.

On a recent Saturday night in this Washington suburb, about three dozen people pack the home of Sherri and Richard Weil.

Concert-goers bring the chips, dip and beer. A basket is set out for the suggested $10 to $12 donation for the musicians, and the living room, dining room and family room are filled with people wanting to hear folk music.

With few venues willing to hire folk acts and few middle-class suburbanites willing to make the schlep downtown, search out parking and elbow other patrons to get the bartender's attention, folk house concerts are quietly spreading like wildfire with the help of e-mail and Internet advertising."

ABC covers the middle-aged folkie house-concert scene as mentioned here before.  Most of the coverage I've seen of this phenomena has been focused on folk music but presumably it could be put to use anywhere talented musicians could use some work.

[via BoingBoing]

"The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) tilted the balance in our copyright laws too heavily in favor of the interests of copyright owners and undermined the longstanding fair use rights of information consumers, including research scientists, library patrons, and students at all education levels. With the DMCRA, we intend to restore the historical balance in our copyright law that has served our nation well in past years. "

As mentioned here before, the DMCRA is an important piece of legislation that will be considered this year.  It aims to knock the DMCA down a peg and restore our fair use rights.  The EFF is starting a campaign to get the word out to your representatives.  Drop them a letter and let them know you want your rights back.

[via Slashdot]

""The essential intellectual challenge," he told me, "is how to make liberalism relevant for our time. How do you make the principles of equality and justice and fairness work in a time when everyone's well off? I struggle with that every day. In my darkest soul, I sometimes wonder if it takes an economic depression.""

A NY Times Magazine feature on Gary Hart, his ideas, the scandel and why people can't get past it. 

[via Political Wire]