On copyright and Disney, I know what you mean! I type “Disney” with some trepidation, even when I know it’s fair comment. My congratulations to the LA Times for digging into it — something we need well-funded news organizations to do, btw.

First, your comment on the subversiveness of classical music sent me back to your post of August 12th ( “Those Tasty Tuesday Hotlinks”), which mentioned the BBC2 reality series “Maestro.” Though I didn’t comment at the time, I have subsequently mentioned the series to a handful of people in conversations about what the performing arts (in general) and classical music (specifically) can or should do to become “relevant” to today’s audiences. The answer is still elusive, but I have a sense that Oregon Symphony has yet to figure it out, and that ensembles such as the Portland Cello Project (www.portlandcelloproject) or Third Angle (www.thirdangle.org) are on the right track. Last night, I went to a taping of OPB’s “Live Wire” (www.livewireradio.org) at the Gerding Theatre and had the pleasure of hearing the Portland Cello Project accompany the Dandy Warhols in a couple of cranked up tunes. If I have both the gumption and a wireless connection at the beach, I may post more about the experience over at CultureShock (http://cultureshockpdx.blogspot.com).

Second, thanks for the link to the LA Times article on the copyright for Mickey Mouse–a good read for the intellectual property rights geeks among us. It addresses a subject that may be esoteric, but has important implications for public policy and creativity (artistic or scientific). The Disney Corporation has been particularly heavy-handed in shaping this nation’s public policy regarding copyright law. Having written the preceding sentence, I suppose I should start worrying that Disney will threaten me with a defamation suit.

Now, to the task of addressing the real work I need to finish so I can truly relax with walks on the beach and a stack of books (and the Democratic National Convention on the tube, sorry to say).