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Two facts relating to Ginger Nuts, and an old story

Image of Ginger Nut t-shirt

The headline says it all.

  1. Rhys McDonald has designed a Ginger Nuts t-shirt, on sale for about AU$25. This isn’t especially astounding news, but I wanted to finish the night’s blog postings with a picture and it was the only one handy.
  2. I am one of only 3 members of the Royal Order of the Gingernut — something which I’m still proud of, so I’ll tell you the old story… and show you an embarrassing photo.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far away, I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), an international organisation dedicated to the study and recreation of pre-17th century European History.

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The Internet is The Enemy

Our defence institutions need a certain amount of healthy paranoia. They have to imagine all the terrible things which might conceivably be done to us, and have plans in place to counter them. But the Pentagon goes too far when it says the Internet is an enemy. Fundamental rights are put at risk.

At GlobalResearch.ca, Brent Jessop says the Pentagon’s Information Operations Roadmap bluntly states that the Internet, with its potential for free speech, is in direct opposition to their goals. The Pentagon reckons the Internet needs to be dealt with as if it were an enemy “weapons system”.

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Sensis’ legal bullying revisited

On 19 January I wrote about Sensis’ lawyers sending legal “nastygrams” to small website owners. Professor Roger Clarke has received a response [PDF file], which we can’t copy and paste because it’s a scan of a printed letter.

Professor Clarke reckons the response is “reasonable enough (as far as it goes)”, and he won’t be taking the matter any further. His article on Lawyers’ ‘Nastygrams’ re Trademarks reminds us that lawyers’ letters often make inappropriate demands on behalf of trademark-owners.

It’s vital that people stand up for their rights, and resist corporations getting away with claims that go beyond the already excessive rights that corporate welfare laws in the ‘intellectual property’ arena grant them.

So, we all should say “the Yellow Pages® directory” to help Sensis prevent their trademark turning into a generic word. Sensis is our friend.

The funniest bit, I think, is that the lawyer’s response reckons the original letter was intended to “encourage the proper use of Sensis trademarks”. Lawyers must have a funny idea about “encouragement”: their “nastygram” was a three-page letter in pompous legalese containing veiled threats [PDF file].

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No, Australia 2020 Summit won’t be like TED

Brenda Aynsley wonders whether the Australia 2020 Summit will be something like the TED forum. No, it won’t be. TED is about engendering understandings. Australia 2020 must eventually produce some policy outcomes. Nevertheless, this gives me an opportunity to say that TED is wonderful and you should look at some of the lectures and presentations.

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Film Review: “Joy Division”

Photograph of Joy Division by Kevin Cummins

Back when Triple J’s Hottest 100 voters could choose the best music of all time, not just the current year’s releases, Joy Division‘s Love Will Tear Us Apart won top spot for the first two years, 1989 and 1990. Certain floppy-haired boys played me this melancholy pop song endlessly late at night. It was good, sure, but that significant? Having seen Director Grant Gee’s new documentary Joy Division, I now know why. I really know.

This. Is. A. Magnificent. Film.

Just watch the trailer to get a taste.

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Link Institute nominates “Link 100” for Summit 2020

Professor Klerfell, director of The Link Institute, has announced the “Link 100” — one hundred online ambassadors for the Australia 2020 Summit who will attend via Wi-Fi linked workstations. Chairman Rudd, meanwhile, has announced that the Summit will be funded from MPs’ salaries, “since it is normally the job of MPs to come up with policy ideas for Australia’s future, the MPs have decided that their pay for the week the forum will be donated to pay for the event.”