Disclaimer All contents of this site are ©Copyright 2006- 2011 by Adam C.F. MacDonald. All rights reserved.
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July 24th, 2009 | Filed under: News, The Written WorldA recent error in copyright has had an unfortunate impact on a few of Amazon Kindle’s customers. Without more detail I think it’s safe to say this won’t be the norm, and particularly where the text in question was 1984… well, I expect this wasn’t planned.
Sam Jordison in the Guardian the other day has put up his hand to ask questions about what this means for eBook readers in general. If the trend in publishing is to move to the Web, with or without DRM (queue Cory Doctorow) then how can customers be assured that their purchases are safe? Or more importantly, how will they know their privacy will be respected, their habits protected (e.g. lending books to family and friends), and most importantly, that their texts will not be censored or interfered with in any way (e.g. abridged and edited versions, and preferred translations over others)? These in my mind are some of the vital questions for the future of publishing.
July 8th, 2009 | Filed under: EverydayI recently learned there’s a re-make of The Prisoner in the works. Patrick McGoohan passed in January of this year, so sadly he will not be involved. No idea if he had any input. Apparently, Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen are both working on the 6-episode TV mini-series for the AMC channel in the US. That gives one hope. The Prisoner is both an iconic piece of television, but also absurdly hard to summarize, since it directly used the absurd to help enforce the terror and moments of dislocation the drama is supposed to bring. It will be interesting to see how it’s re-written and updated for our times.
July 6th, 2009 | Filed under: EverydayA radio program that’s been running for a few years off of BBC Radio 4 I think is worth highlighting. It’s “In Our Time”, hosted by writer and British peer, Melvyn Bragg. I know Bragg from the South Bank Show, the Adventure of English TV series and book, and he is a well published novelist and British commentator. Bragg and the program seem unique to me — incredibly informed, erudite, civilized sources of discussion.
The format of the weekly program is three different academics who assemble to discuss and summarize a particular topic. The themes range from Science, Religion, Philosophy, History and Culture. Some examples include programs about Infinity, Zoroastrianism, the life of Albert Camus, the Abbasid Caliphs, and Renaissance Astrology. The academics take turn in presenting a basic overview of the topic moderated by Bragg who has to keep the discussions from falling into too much detail. A podcast is available and wonderfully there’s an Archive where past programs can be streamed. It’s a great resource and very informative.
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