On Copyrights and Fair Use

 Musicians, Authors, and Artists have a lot to lose when it comes to copyright infringement.  It's so easy to mimic others; it's a social behavior in fact.  In therapy it's considered a skill, called reflective listening.  But where do we cross the line, especially where there are written and recorded artifacts?  These are some of the rules I've been looking over, mostly because I'm afraid of making mistakes online.

On the way, I found out that Leonard Cohen's family is fighting over 42 million dollars after the great composer died with a possibly ambiguous executor. More on this Estate Battle  One of my clients had words to one of his more famous songs, on her site, but has since removed it.  I guess she already knows that this quote may be copyrighted.

     When I do my art and I am really in "the zone", it feels a bit like I'm channeling something or someone, and that I'm not really working alone.  It's a weird feeling like being in a wind tunnel and getting swept up and away with very little control over who you are and where you're going.  I'm at once feeling like a "professional" and yet I wonder if I am really the one in charge.  As an artist, I often wonder if I really have the right to own my own work; no man is an island.

     I think it's fair to say that I have had a modicum of success as an artist. I'm also someone who tends to collect a lot of unfinished works in progress. Sometimes it feels like I've accumulated a couple of them daily.  I'm not sure if it's fair to say I'm a clutterer or a hoarder as much as I'm an artist with a lot of ambivalence.  But I am going to attend my first Clutterers Anonymous meeting on Sunday, the day after tomorrow. I feel a little more prepared now that I've set my alarm for it.  

     Tonight I'll do a little more bullet journaling to see what I can recall about the week.  I want to work on better sleeping habits, but it's already almost 2am.  I'm still trying to get over my cold, and I am probably over the worst of it because I don't feel as achy or weak.