Re: Ownership, power, and contingency

[gb10@gte.com (Gregory Bossert)]

> I tend not to list sources on quotations on purpose - it rather
> nicely decontextualizes the language from the movie or video that
> plays in your head when you read it. It's my blow against the
> music business. Also, some of the quotations are not from songs at
> all, but from poets. Never hurts to hook the unwary into a life of
> reading the "dead" corpus of poetics. Ciaoragazzi.

Hey, Greg, I don't mean to flame, and in general I support any show of 
disrespect for business, music or otherwise;  BUT, using quotations from
any source without credit is simple theft from the author.  International
copyright law allows for short, credited quotation;  you aren't affecting 
the record companies, publishers, etc.  You *are* depriving your readers of
the opportunity of tracking your references down and maybe discovering a
new work or artist.  It is also a courtesy, at least, to your readers to
assume that they are capable of "decontextualizing" a quote themselves,
or not as they choose.  Sorry if I come on strong, but I feel the free 
exchange of information (via this newsgroup, for example) is the most important
philosophical freedom and practical mechanism for social continuity that we
have;  the withholding of any information, names included, is censorship
and very dangerous.

NOTE:  this is all my very humble opinion, particularly since I've been using
uncredited quotes in my signature.  So:

"Share and Enjoy"
"Here, put this fish in your ear"
"Go stick your head in a pig"

are all from _The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy_ trilogy (actually,
four books, a radio series, and a TV show) by Douglas Adams.

All this aside, I'm still thankful to Mr. Taylor for reminding me of the
Walter Benjamin quote and its recent _Strange Angels_ usage.

-greg -- gb10@gte.com  

"Don't ever think you can't change the past and the future.
You might not, not think so now
But just you wait and see -- someone will come to help you."
K. Bush -- Love and Anger