Month: November 2003

  • Penny Royalty

    Your article about music licensing [“All Shook Down,” November] was timely and important, but I’d like to make some additional points. All business owners should be aware that playing copyrighted music without permission or a license is a violation of federal copyright law. If such a violation went to court, the violator would have a…

  • Ex Marks the Spot

    My teenage daughter hurt my feelings the other day, and this bizarre thing happened. The light in the room shifted, there was a faint static, and a tremor ran through my body. Suddenly, I was channeling my brother-in-law’s Jewish mother (odd, since she is still alive and well in Louisville). “Sophie,” I heard myself lament.…

  • Send More Leaf-Blower Puns

    Excellent article on leaf blowers [“Rake Against the Machine,” November], just one of so many completely unnecessary, stupid new power tools and technologies that we can live without. Most of the dunderheads that operate them have no idea that the leaves under the shrubbery (mulch) are necessary and protective and should be left there to…

  • Alma Mater? Don’t Know Her.

    Aw, hell. You won’t believe what I got myself into. So I’ll just tell you. I’m going to be a guest speaker at my old high school for career day. Delicious irony #1: I never completed high school.Delicious irony #2: Either they never bothered to check this fact, or they don’t care. My dilemma came…

  • Lily-Livered Amoralists!

    I was appalled to see your article on foie gras [Down the Hatch, November]. Animal activists have been working tirelessly to stop the production of foie gras because of its inhumane treatment of geese and ducks. Many states and countries have passed laws against it, and if you knew how they make foie gras, you’d…

  • End of Discussion

    It’s not just women, of course; it takes two not to tango. So why do married couples have such a hard time talking about sex? Part of the problem, I realize now, is that women are uncomfortable talking about sex apart from all the other things that go into a relationship. Men have an easier…