Archive for February 2013
THE EMPIRE STRIKES OUT
It was some ten years ago, while the Boston Red Sox were still mired in the 86-year championship drought brought on by the Curse of the Bambino, that their president Larry Lucchino hung the moniker “Evil Empire” on the New York Yankees. The Yankees, as Lucchino should have anticipated, took it as a compliment and good naturedly…
Read MoreCEASE AND DESIST LETTERS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE–CONAN DOYLE EDITION
Leslie Klinger is the author or editor of two dozen books and numerous articles on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Recently he edited a collection, called A Study in Sherlock, containing original stories based on the Holmes’ character and other elements of Conan Doyle’s originals. Although the entire Sherlock Holmes canon is in the public…
Read MoreHOLY UTILITARIAN FUNCTION, BATMAN
In a short-lived, much-reviled sitcom of my youth, My Mother the Car, the title character was a restored 1928 Porter touring car, the reincarnation of star Jerry van Dyke’s mother, who spoke to Jerry through the radio and—as per the theme song indelibly lodged in my memory—“helped him through everything I do.” I am not aware of any…
Read MoreLITTLE ORPHAN ANNOYANCES II
Back in October 2012 I posted a link to the Copyright Office’s notice seeking public comment on “the current state of play for orphan works” as part of its continuing review of the subject and “in order to advise Congress as to possible next steps for the United States.” That notice included a very fair…
Read MoreTHE INTERNET OF THE 1920s
I had the pleasure of speaking with Meridee Duddleston of WRTI-FM, Philadelphia, about the impact of radio on the music industry in the first half of the 20th Century. You can hear the interview here.
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