The Swift telescope has now managed to see something further away than anything we ever saw before according. It is a star that goes "pop" somewhere even further away than Croydon. The star got the poetic name GRB 090423. (GRB stands for gamma-ray burst.)
Scientists can find things so far away, but how good are they at finding things that matter, like a cheap and good restaurant in Monaco?
29 April 2009
22 April 2009
Intellectual Property, where is the border?
As there are no technical limitations to sharing any music, films, images or texts with everyone in the world, someone has to set up strict limit to what is legal to share - at least if we want to continue protecting intellectual property.
However, where can anyone find any natural border? Take the following cases:
I'm sure lawyers and law makers have rules that can be applied to all those cases. However, where is the "natural" border between between legal and illegal? If there is no natural border, the law will be very difficult to apply. And it will be very different from one country to another.
However, where can anyone find any natural border? Take the following cases:
- Play music for yourself in your walkman.
- Play music at home with your family.
- Play music at home with friends.
- Play music at home at a party with your colleagues.
- Play music at your workplace with your colleagues.
- Play music at your workplace for your customers.
- Play music at your workplace for your potential customers.
- Play music in marketing material for your customers.
- Send a music file to your sister in the next room.
- Send a music file to your brother in another country.
- Send a music file to a friend of your brother's in another country.
- As a music teacher, play someone's music for your pupils.
- As a music teacher, send someone's music file to your pupils.
- As a music teacher, post someone's music files for your current pupils on the web (with password check).
- As a music teacher, post someone's music files for potential pupils on the web (no password check).
- Send a music file to everyone within your corporation world wide.
- Post a music file for download by everyone within your corporation world wide.
- Publish an essay on a particular piece of music and illustrate it with written score snippets.
- Publish an essay on a particular piece of music and illustrate it with written scores that taken together cover the whole piece.
- Publish an essay on a particular piece of music and illustrate it with music sound samples.
- etc...
I'm sure lawyers and law makers have rules that can be applied to all those cases. However, where is the "natural" border between between legal and illegal? If there is no natural border, the law will be very difficult to apply. And it will be very different from one country to another.
11 April 2009
Chinese History in European Museums
There are a number of European museums with decent permanent collections of classic Chinese art, like British Museum in London or le Musée Guimet in Paris. Unfortunately, I do not think anyone matches the big American collections at for example the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or the MFA in Boston.
However, right now there are a number of interesting temporary exhibitions in Europe.
In Zürich, there is an exposition at Museum Rietberg with paintings by the Qing (清) dynasty 18th century painter Luó Pìn (罗聘), whom the museum strangely enough calls Luo Ping.
The poets Hánshān (寒山) and Shídé (拾得). Painting by Luó Pìn.
In Paris, at the Musée Cernuschi, there is an exposition with restored paintings from the 15th century all the way to the 19th century, covering both the Ming (明) and Qing (清) dynasties as well as the republican China.
The mythical figure Zhōng Kuí (鍾馗). Ink painting at the Musée Cernuschi by Lǐ Shìzhuō (李世倬) (1690?-1770?).
But the strangest exposition is probably the one at the Louvre. It contains stamps and drawings executed in 18th century Europe by European artists on commission from the Chinese emperor Qiánlóng (乾隆). Qiánlóng wanted documentation of his war 1755-1759, and for some reason, he chose to ask European artists to illustrate it. It took the European artists seven years to fulfil the request, but we do not know much on how well the work was received in Beijing.
The magnificence and level of detail of the stamps are unfortunately difficult to render on the web, and the printed catalogue is of too small size to do them justice. A visit to the Louvre is well worth it to see the originals before the exhibition ends 18th May 2009.
Nicolas de Launay after Jean Damascene. The battle at Yešil-köl-nör.
However, right now there are a number of interesting temporary exhibitions in Europe.
In Zürich, there is an exposition at Museum Rietberg with paintings by the Qing (清) dynasty 18th century painter Luó Pìn (罗聘), whom the museum strangely enough calls Luo Ping.
The poets Hánshān (寒山) and Shídé (拾得). Painting by Luó Pìn.
In Paris, at the Musée Cernuschi, there is an exposition with restored paintings from the 15th century all the way to the 19th century, covering both the Ming (明) and Qing (清) dynasties as well as the republican China.
The mythical figure Zhōng Kuí (鍾馗). Ink painting at the Musée Cernuschi by Lǐ Shìzhuō (李世倬) (1690?-1770?).
But the strangest exposition is probably the one at the Louvre. It contains stamps and drawings executed in 18th century Europe by European artists on commission from the Chinese emperor Qiánlóng (乾隆). Qiánlóng wanted documentation of his war 1755-1759, and for some reason, he chose to ask European artists to illustrate it. It took the European artists seven years to fulfil the request, but we do not know much on how well the work was received in Beijing.
The magnificence and level of detail of the stamps are unfortunately difficult to render on the web, and the printed catalogue is of too small size to do them justice. A visit to the Louvre is well worth it to see the originals before the exhibition ends 18th May 2009.
Nicolas de Launay after Jean Damascene. The battle at Yešil-köl-nör.
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