Glee’s writers know where to come for the truly inspired lines: my clients Buns and Chou Chou! The two kids coined this phrase  last year friends. Jane Lynch,sure  can sing, but errr, yeah, up top it’s Florence Henderson Hair!

I read today in the San Francisco Chronicle that Gavin Newsom  is starring in his very own YouTube campaign ads. This is nothing new for Gavin, as you can see by this ad he did a couple of years ago, before he was married. A Gatsby if there ever was one, we wish Gavin the best.

I am thrilled to have Rabbit Bites selected by the Webbies as an official honoree. It is really important to us to be a part of the community on the web, and have our work recognized by them. We are humbled to be included among so many talented folks, and really appreciate the honor. Here are all of the honorees!

• Webby Honorees

  
  

  • Big Book of Lies
    http://bigbookoflies.com Big Book of Lies
  • Carpet Bros
    http://www.hulu.com/carpet-bros 60Frames
  • Childrens’ Hospital Episode 4
    http://thewb.com/video/911abe52fb… Beck Media
  • Fringemas
    http://www.fox.com/fringe/fringemas FOX Broadcasting Company
  • Imaginary Bitches
    http://imaginarybitches.com Imaginary Bitches
  • Poor Paul
    http://www.youtube.com/poorpaulpo… Eye Scream Films
  • Rabbit Bites
    http://www.rabbitbites.com quixote broadcasting
  • Target Women
    http://current.com/items/88941392… Current TV
  • The Challenge
    http://www.strike.tv/show/the-cha… WGA
  • The Common Craft Show
    http://www.commoncraft.com/show Common Craft, LLC
  • Unknown Sender (Series)
    http://unknownsender.tv Valdoro Entertainment

 My material at Rabbit Bites is clearly fair use, a satire published at sites like Salon.com that vetted the material for copyright violations. Even so, I have suffered from  automated tools that scanned YouTube  and then falsely identified some of my videos as infringing. While it is understandable why this kind of program would be desirable to copyright holders, and YouTube, it clearly does not work except with a very heavy hand, unable distinuish between fair use and abuse.  This is  very chilling to free speech.

Today, I read in ReadWriteWeb:

The organization has put
out a call to people who have had videos taken off of YouTube at the
behest of Warner and whose videos were both noncommercial and
substantially original. The EFF says it will help serve a counter
notice and offer legal protection to as many people as it can. “We
can’t promise to take every case,” they say, “but neither will we stand
by and watch semi-automated takedowns trample fair use.”

It’s limited, but at least it’s a start, and puts an end to bullying by companies with money for fancy software!

Wow, was it a thrill for Buns and Chou Chou to be touched by one of their idol favorites today. Love Ya Kid, thanks for the shout out. And kids, for the finest in entertainment of all persuasions, check out Pop Tub!

P.S here’s the video she’s talking about: American Idol Rabbits!

Come to life! I love Ringtales:

There’s been a lot of talk about YouTube’s post on killing sound on videos that use copyrighted music.  People are complaining that it’s making things more restrictive over there, but the fact is, they will already take down your video if it it uses anything with rights reserved if someone complains. 

From what I understood reading their blog, it seemed like YouTube was trying to take the lesser evil, simply muting instead of a takedown for what is already and offending piece. Somebody has to complain,say the music’s theirs, AND that they don’t want it used,  before YT mutes it. Many music authors or performers won’t complain because things like Rickrolls are promotional. They could complain mind you, but they get something out of it, so why bother.

Films that use music for some type of critique are more vulnerable.  The real problem, is the DMCA, which favors established  folks with deep pockets. A complaint puts all of the burden on the person using any music, many of whom are kids or struggling artists. Complaints can be filed frivolously, at a whim. Satire is a particularly vulnerable area  because it is often critical, and there is a grey area as to what should be considered fair use. If you see something uncritical or unflattering of your music, that uses a piece of that music,  just complain. The complaint will probably be stifled unless the person wishes to defend themselves. If they are poor (and aren’t we all these days), they probably won’t. This is a mute on free speech that squashes dissent.

Nuglah is one of the best on youtube, hands down. So funny. Glad to see he is doing well with the views. The kid cares, and it shows!

All of you out there should check out Absolutely Small .  What is Absolutely Small you ask? Well it’s part art, part toys, all good!  At Absolutely Small they are dedicated to making “approachable, enjoyable, and live-with-able art and art toys.”  In addition to that, they also have a blog, and videos detailing the adventures of their mascot Chickenpants.  So what are you still doing here? Go check em out!