When We Copy, We Justify It; When Others Copy, We Vilify Them
 
You may recall that at.tv featured the first three of Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix project highlighting the problems and history of intellectual property and how copying and derivative works are a core element of culture and invention.
 
The fourth and final installment in the series has just been released, and it’s a great summary look at the general problems with intellectual property law today.
 
 
 
Never mind the economy, stupid: this election is all about sex
 
By obsessing about birth control, abortion and homosexuality, the GOP has turned its back on mainstream America. The hysteria du jour will pass but it has done us the service of exposing essential truths about American politics today, if only we pay attention.
 
A small group of reactionaries, obsessed with controlling the sex lives of other people, has hijacked the GOP and commandeered American politics.
 
 
 
Where Children Sleep
 
A remarkable photographic series by James Mollison captures the diversity of and, often, disparity between children’s lives around the world through portraits of their bedrooms.
 
The project began on a brief to engage with children’s rights and morphed into a thoughtful meditation on poverty and privilege, its 56 images spanning from the stone quarries of Nepal to the farming provinces of China to the silver spoons of Fifth Avenue.
 
 
 
The Various Ways In Which Capitol Records Screwed Kenny Rogers

 
It’s fairly shocking to see how dedicated major labels are to screwing their own artists.
 
One former major label executive pointed Digital Music News to ‘institutionalized policies’ towards shady accounting and hidden charges under the banner of ‘cost reduction,’ and we keep seeing evidence of that. Which might explain why so many artists are now suing their major label parents for millions, and even threatening to put them out of business.
 
 
 
Inside the Eastern Rise of Weibo, China’s Twitter
 
Weibo may be the “Twitter of the East,” but it’s gaining Western eyes, thanks to celebrity users and a viral rumor about Kim Jong-un’s death. Weibo has taken over the Chinese social-media scene, compelling everyone from Tom Cruise to Jeremy Lin to sign up and start sharing. The social network comes with rules—don’t post pictures of your Hermès bags and, whatever you do, don’t mention Tibet. Vanity Fair takes a look at what Weibo’s stream of Chinese consciousness reveals about the society that spawned it.
 
 
 
Fascinating Interviews Cultural Icons Conducted with Themselves
 
In an interview with himself, The Doors frontman Jim Morrison noted that the self-interview is the “essence of creativity.” Does the idea of a self-interview seem too self-absorbed or controlling? Possibly — but Flavorpill found that the format allowed for a lot of self-deprecating humor, artistic expression, and compelling self-reflection. Perhaps after Andy Taylor’s recent tweetfest in which he was interviewed by several hundred people simultaneously, I think it would be interesting to contrast it with an interview done by himself.
 
 
 
Internet On, Inhibitions Off: Why We Tell All

 
Internet flaming and its benign equivalent, online honesty, are a surprise. Two decades ago, most people thought the anonymity of the online world would cause an epidemic of dishonesty, just as they thought it would lead to geeky social isolation. Then along came social networking, and the Internet not only turned social but became embarrassingly honest.