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Open Mic

Why The Take-Down of the ‘Hitler’ Parodies on YouTube was Illegal

The German film company which produced "Downfall," the movie about the last days of Adolf Hitler now made famous by a zillion Web parodies, has ordered a DMCA (Digital Media Copyright Act) takedown of all such parody videos from YouTube….

Apr 25, 2010

Love in the Ruins: Tiger, Mickelson, and The Masters

A few weeks ago, soon after Tiger Woods announced that he was returning to golf by playing The Masters at Augusta National, I wrote a piece invoking a lot of quotes from America’s favorite Southern son, William Faulkner, about what…

Apr 12, 2010

‘Idol’ Irony: Explaining Why Viewers Voted Off Who They Voted Off This Week, And Why They’ll Vote Him Off Again

Ryan Seacrest, introducing "Idol" on Wednesday night, said the results of that night’s "American Idol" show would be shocking, and, indeed, conventional wisdom says they were: America voted, and the person with the fewest number of votes was Michael Lynche. I…

Apr 8, 2010