World Read Aloud Day 2016 and Trans-Pacific Partnership

Are you looking ahead?  Remember there's lots of ideas at Storytelling + Research = LoiS ... although the actual address became a bit ridiculous.  Wish I'd known my "+" and "=" wouldn't show up.  

For lots to read, just look for the many posts here under "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" or "Public Domain" to find many wonderful stories -- and my added information about their books and authors -- now in Public Domain and deserving to be remembered.  Haven't figured out why there are 3 more in the first category.  Probably I missed putting Public Domain on 3, but 116 versus 119 posts is too daunting to check for such minor revision only I would probably notice.

Just remember the importance of Public Domain, especially when you hear about the coming agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

I had hopes for this as international partnership is needed, but I keep finding entirely too many things the U.S. Congress will no longer be able to control by legislation: our copyright mess (it passes it along to other countries), rules concerning safety and labeling of foods, access to healthcare and medicine, regulation of banks, rights or workers, future energy sources and so much more. Essentially, its scope is everything.  The history of trade agreements since NAFTA shows these types of trade agreements produce trade deficits, lost jobs, lower wages, and environmental damage.

TPP also undermines the Internet as well as weakening U.S. democracy and sovereignty. VOTE IT DOWN, Congress!

For those wanting to know more about this agreement, here's Wikipedia's look at it.   I strongly recommend you look at the Criticism section of it, especially the part about Intellectual Property as even Fair Use such as occurs on World Read Aloud Day will be affected.  The United States will probably not hear much about it until this coming summer or after our elections as a "lame duck" session is most likely.  It would be wise to keep aware of this agreement precisely because it will affect both Copyright and the Public Domain.  Digital Rights are especially going to be impacted.  This is why the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation deserves your support or at least following what they say.  That last link was to their Wikipedia article, but drop down to the bottom for External Links to their own website and useful articles at places we frequently recommend (because they host so many of our Public Domain books) like Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive.

Freedom to read and publish needs our support.

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This isn't my usual "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" post, but my usual recommendations and Copyright rant still seem worth publishing here.  Happy Reading and Storytelling!
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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories.  


At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.    

There are many online resources for Public Domain stories, none for folklore is as ambitious as fellow storyteller, Yoel Perez's database, Yashpeh, the International Folktales Collection.  I recommended it earlier and want to continue to do so.  He has just loaded Stith Thompson's Motif Index into his server as a database so one can search the whole 6 volumes for whatever word or expression he likes by pressing one key. http://folkmasa.org/motiv/motif.htm

He also loaded to his server the doctorate thesis of Prof. Dov Noy (Neunan) "Motif-index of Talmudic-Midrahic literature" Indiana University, 1954, as a PDF file.

http://folkmasa.org/motiv/NOY_%20Dov_%20Motif-Index_of_Talmudic-Midrashic_Literature.pdf

in the hope that some of you would make use of it.

You can see why that is a site I recommend to you.

Have fun discovering even more stories!

Fright Night at Fisk Farm

It's hectic right now -- oh to be able to clone myself!  Failing that, here's a local Heads Up (yes, skulls & floating heads are perfect for this time of year) then another Heads Up not just in this location, but fitting the 12 nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and ultimately it will affect the world.

 

Live storytelling is always the best, so if you are able to come, this is an evening's bargain entertainment.

Next week I plan at this time to do another Keeping the Public in Public Domain, but until then, here's an important paragraph from the Wikipedia article on the Trans-Pacific Partnership intellectual property provisions:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been highly critical of the chapter on intellectual property covering copyright, trademarks, and patents. In a press release concerning the issue, the foundation argued that copyright provisions in drafts of the TPP would likely further entrench controversial aspects of US copyright law (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and restrict the ability of Congress to engage in domestic law reform to meet the evolving IP needs of American citizens and the innovative technology sector.^[173]

LoiS here again -- That EFF link is to another Wikipedia article, but I strongly recommend you go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation site for their information.  In the meantime, click on the EFF video in the Wikipedia article.  The EFF produced it when TPP was still developing. Congress is required to vote this secret article up or down without changes.  Leaks show EFF was correct and it's at least as damaging to access to Intellectual Property as they predicted.  It really needs to get your attention.  (Like to read?  Digital Rights Management already restricts you on your electronic devices.)

This is a Wikimedia video.  Can't paste it here, but you can click on it in the Wikipedia article.

Folks, it's happening all over again, The Mouse and other Hollywood money will lock up Public Domain and this time there will be no way Congress can even manage copyright to allow features like Fair Use!