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April 08, 2004

Dead Disney

Posted by nerdling | April 8, 2004 10:52 AM

"Dead Disney"
George Thompson / Burlesque of North America

I thought this was a really great image to illustrate the first of a rash of interesting articles from my morning surfing: "The Mouse Who Would Be King", about two books on the effect that Disney and the Empire of the Mouse have had on copyright law. Both are hopeful for a future that likely won't happen, though Lawrence Lessig's summary of digital copyright law is downright chilling. The future of creative work is stifling and not getting any better.

"When the Edge Moved to the Middle": Thurston Moore on the legacy of alternative music and the influence of Kurt Cobain. Touching and lucid explanation of the phenomenon that is Nirvana and what "alternative" rock actually is/was to the people who lived it.
In a strange related note, I just found out that Thurston and J. Mascis were in the New York Superscum, one of the backing bands that preceded the Murder Junkies, GG Allin's backing band at his death.

I don't know how many people have been following the story, but the vote on Measure 04-A in Inglewood (building a new Wal-Mart Supercenter next to Hollywood Park) was defeated.

The Inglewood vote against Wal-Mart, 60 percent to 40 percent, was a victory for a coalition of unions, churches and community groups who said the development would have driven local retailers out of business and gutted the city's legal, environmental and planning powers.

Despite the fact that the vote was defeated, as mentioned in the article, the primary impetus for the negative vote was the fact that Wal-Mart was trying to circumvent state and local regulations for development by putting the issue on the ballot after local government turned it down. Unfortunately the opposition didn't come from concerns about Wal-Mart's anti-union policies, concerns over zoning and development issues such as traffic, or the fact that Wal-Mart offers low wages and limited options for healthcare, which translates to a potential victory for future Wal-Marts when they comply with regulations.
(For an insight into what it's like to work at Wal-Mart, check out Nickel & Dimed).