What I'm Reading and Watching

It's been an intense week. Everyone in my family (including me) has alternated being sick, and work this week was incredibly busy. So I haven't had much time or energy for blogging. But there have been a number of interesting links I've come across this week, and so I thought I'd share some:

• Slashdot: Ars Technica Inveighs Against Ad Blocking- The tech site Ars Technica recently implemented an experiment in which they blocked their site's content from users using AdBlock Plus for 12 hours. Comments on Slashdot are very interesting because they highlight the balance of economic interests in running an Internet publication. If you try to charge people to read your site, then people will go elsewhere. If you try to make money with ads, people won't click them and will block them. But somehow you've got to figure out how to pay your writers. Tough problem.
• The Cult of Originality- An illustrated article by artist and filmmaker Nina Paley discussing the nature of creativity. Her argument is that there is no such thing as originality, all artistic expression is derivative. It's a pretty interesting read, and really challenges the notion that anyone can "own" creative ideas. In turn, it challenges the nature of copyright, which seems to place a high value on the creation of "original" artistic works, and locks those up so that they cannot be freely shared.
• TechDirt: Utah Wants To Own State Microbes; May Demand Royalty On Any Products Developed- The title pretty much says it all. Apparently the state of Utah believes that it is owed money if anyone makes commercial use of products derived for microbes found in the state. Talk about a money grab....
• Raheem Brock Released by the Colts- It blew my mind when I saw Raheem Brock tweet a few days ago that Super Bowl XLIV was his last game in a Colts Uniform. I've heard that he asked to be released, in spite of the fact that his contract was not up. Maybe he thinks he can make more money in free agency during the uncapped year, or maybe something else was going on behind the scenes. It's sad though, because he is really great at connecting with football fans, giving us an inside look into the Colts locker room. He'll be missed.
• Google Gesture Search- This is a neat little application I put on my Droid. It allows you to draw letters on the screen to search your phone (and everything else that the phone searches- in the Droid's case, it will also search Google and nearby locations). Pretty handy to go long with voice search and the normal keyboard search.
• Tostito's "And Then There Was Salsa" Commercial- I just saw this commercial this morning. It's a really beautiful advertisement, and looks amazing in HD. I think it's a very effective ad because it's not annoying, has a lot of character, and (most importantly) makes me really want some chips and salsa! Edit: On Vimeo, this video is even more awesome! Lagged a bit for me, but was still cool.