Birthday Wisdom

In honor of my big day - 54 - I am sharing some wisdom from virtual peers through the years. I have always thought of myself as a wise and sane soul. Hopefully as I am getting older and maturing into my age, this becomes more into focus for me in my perspective of myself and the world. The idea of hindsight benefits us all. ANd I found it smartly told in this chronology by CBC Radio. Tidbits told with humor, reason and experience. Not all of them apply, but maybe some do. Give it a watch.

 

Tilted Thinking

In homage to the State Fair, I am passing on some Midway memories for you. I think my earliest recollections of amusement rides were the Tilt A Whirl at Erie's Waldameer and the Wattsburg County Fair. It was the first ride along with the Scrambler and Merry Go Round that I remember from both. Totally old school. I have vividly burned in my head the image of someone in the car behind me getting sick and projectile vomiting on the ride as I heard it splattering on the side of my spinning car until the carny stopped the ride for us all. I also dreadfully recall the maniacal jerk at the Minnesota State Fair who got some kicks out of giving us all a 15 minute ride of torment which ruined the rest of the day at the fair as we just laid in a grassy knoll and waited for the waves to subside. 

 

That is why I was most enamored to read in a current magazine that the ride is a local invention from right down the road in Faribault. Herbert Sellner, woodworker extraordinaire, grabbed a patent for an "amusement apparatus" in 1927. It started when he was entertaining his young son on a chair placed atop his kitchen table. They operate on the chaos theory of math with 4-7 cars rotating around a fixed point on an adjustable platform. The weight distribution in each car can vary the intensity of each ride. Ironically one of the 2 oldest remaining original rides in the country still exists in Conneaut Lake Park where I also spent summers of my childhood. That one was put into operation in 1949.

Do You Copy.....?

Usually when I write a blog post, it comes from a place of strong opinion. However in this case it is a veritable Pandora's box with no obvious solution. It is the subject of copyrights, royalties and streaming rights.

It has been rearing it's ugly head in the world of drum corps and marching band where I have several links. But also at work in the world of theater, cabaret and music too. Napster scandals were just the tip of the iceberg. We hear about Spotify and Taylor Swift - but these are just the big players. If you are not aware: How many of you remember recording your high school band concert and selling it as a vinyl record? Or videotaping your high school production of Oklahoma and selling dubbed copies to the cast? Not anymore! Yes your schools still have to pay a hefty royalty to TamsWitmark, but that only allows you the rights to perform the production for a meager weekend or two. Anything more than that is an entire can of worms.

In the marching world of color guard, DCI and Bands of America, all three have had to renege on their entire video catalogues of historical archives. We used to be able to pay an annual fee to stream the 1976 Blue Devils or buy a Legacy Series set of the 1983 Championships. That is all on hold for an extended time until lawyers and publishing companies can come to an agreement on what was paid in advance and what is due going forward. Very sad to say. There might be some small profits to be made on this, but I am thinking the Aaron Copland estate is not making any sort of big bucks on his Appalachian Spring that was first published in 1944. Either there are some very greedy descendants or a publishing company in NYC that is trying to suck blood from paper.

The current rights to music extend from 70 years for works prior to 1977 and up to 120 years for music since then! That is over a century of legal hassles. And this is just for performance purposes and speaks not at all to the discussion of sharing via any sort of digital platform. I find this ridiculous. Although I don't begrudge anyone the rights to what is theirs, but considering a normal life expectancy..... I have also found that in a parallel track to patents, a new drug carries only 20 years until it can be reproduced without penalty. I know a different egg, but still there is a 100 year discrepancy which I find quite curious.

So the bottom line, is who should get what? It just seems silly to go after Seneca High School, the Madison Scouts, Black Watch color guard, or the Minneapolis Figure Skating Club who are not seeking to dethrone a publishing empire or pirate a composer. Where does this conversation even begin and who has a rightful place at the table against corporate law? Discussion encouraged.

Fashion Plate

I would hardly call myself a GQ type, although I am an advocate and subscribe to the magazine. I do enjoy dressing up with my own unique flair, but have never really been a fashion plate. It seems to come and go in phases. Days that I feel like putting on a nice pair of cufflinks even for work and coordinating a bright pair of socks to make a statement. Sometimes the right hat and certainly a rack of colorful button down shirts. But during these summer months it is whatever pair of shorts are on the pile and a pull over in the right palette to match. I'm sure as weather cools the inspiration will kick in again.

I can tell by looking at old photos that I was a dapper child. Then I made some bold choices to say the least in high school and college. After that, maybe an occasional trend or something that caught my eye. Maybe because I was often wearing a costume, I didn't feel the need for self expressions as much? But I do like a dress up for the Ivey's or even a date night.

Thus this Mode.com video short. Of course you can't but notice the hunk in his underwear at the onset. But it is a clever time lapse as he dons era after era. I guess I would say I am drawn to the 20's 30's and 40's. Or maybe all of them - even the bad 70's. Does this make me a fashion plate?