Comments for John Law http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:50:32 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Does Burning Man Belong to Everyone? by MINDFLYER58 http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8606 MINDFLYER58 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:50:32 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8606 Left Over Deadheads - Mad Max - Mardi Gras - Neo Kiddie Hippies There's really nothing original about this - Come on, anyone can burn things - Create something from the ashes - That's real Magic Left Over Deadheads – Mad Max – Mardi Gras – Neo Kiddie Hippies
There’s really nothing original about this -
Come on, anyone can burn things -
Create something from the ashes – That’s real Magic

]]> Comment on Does Burning Man Belong to Everyone? by MINDFLYER58 http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8605 MINDFLYER58 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:41:41 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8605 How about a little fire Scarecrow - Really none of you saw Wickerman ????? Come on Now How about a little fire Scarecrow –
Really none of you saw Wickerman ????? Come on Now

]]> Comment on Does Burning Man Belong to Everyone? by MINDFLYER58 http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8604 MINDFLYER58 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:33:33 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8604 Just like all this Intellectual Property BULLSHIT - I'm quite sure neither of the 3 put the words Burning Man into the english language or any other language - I am also quite sure they are not the first to burn a man wooden or otherwise - If I remember correctly, Richard Pryor did this in the early 80's - Come on give credit where it is due. Just like all this Intellectual Property BULLSHIT -
I’m quite sure neither of the 3 put the words Burning Man
into the english language or any other language – I am also quite sure they are not the first to burn a man wooden or otherwise – If I remember correctly, Richard Pryor did this in the early 80’s – Come on give credit where it is due.

]]> Comment on A Fable by Marky Sarky http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/10/a-fable/#comment-8603 Marky Sarky Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:29:06 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/10/a-fable/#comment-8603 Let me say straight off that I've never been to Burning Man. I'm very far away from the US, for a start. However, through the magic that is the net, I've been able to keep track of how the event has developed and grown since the mid-90s. One of the biggest changes I have noticed (and again, I must reiterate that this is from afar, please keep that in mind when considering what I have to say) is that the spirit of the event - the ethos/headspace/vision - seems to have drifted from focus. Some of this I put down to the corruption of pure ideals within the expanding dynamic, by which I mean that as the event grows and attracts a greater number of participants who are, for want of a better word, square, so the simple principles become increasingly complex over time. It's a numbers game, and if there is one startlingly obvious pattern I have noticed over the years, it is the rapid explosion in the popularity of Burning Man. As the numbers rise, so the challenges grow. Operating a freakfest within the confines of the laws and norms of established civil society is almost an impossibility. Sure, you can get away with it for a while, but inevitably the word gets out, or someone screws up, a picture leaks to wrong audience, and there is backlash. Accommodations are made to ensure the safety and viability of the event. Eventually, for an event which sought to define its own identity and culture and reject the culture of validation so craven elsewhere, bad publicity becomes a concern. The focus shifts. Equally, as the percieved value of trademarks and brands expand in sympathy with their popularity and marketability, so what was once a simple concept becomes ensnared by the legal and commercial facts of life. There's an old saying by a legendary raver from Manchester which goes something like: 'The spirit that gets the fook out before the cakes start ta luv it starts the one after', a sentiment that, although described differently, is along much the same lines as many comments I have read about Burning Man: by the time something beautiful becomes known to the world, some of its beauty - perhaps the very essence of it - must move on, as by nature the beauty is best viewed intimately. Eventually, as Chinua Achebe put it so succinctly, the centre cannot hold. Things fall apart. But ah - what beauty is spawned, to go on to greater things. All the best; MS Let me say straight off that I’ve never been to Burning Man. I’m very far away from the US, for a start. However, through the magic that is the net, I’ve been able to keep track of how the event has developed and grown since the mid-90s.
One of the biggest changes I have noticed (and again, I must reiterate that this is from afar, please keep that in mind when considering what I have to say) is that the spirit of the event – the ethos/headspace/vision – seems to have drifted from focus. Some of this I put down to the corruption of pure ideals within the expanding dynamic, by which I mean that as the event grows and attracts a greater number of participants who are, for want of a better word, square, so the simple principles become increasingly complex over time. It’s a numbers game, and if there is one startlingly obvious pattern I have noticed over the years, it is the rapid explosion in the popularity of Burning Man.
As the numbers rise, so the challenges grow. Operating a freakfest within the confines of the laws and norms of established civil society is almost an impossibility. Sure, you can get away with it for a while, but inevitably the word gets out, or someone screws up, a picture leaks to wrong audience, and there is backlash. Accommodations are made to ensure the safety and viability of the event. Eventually, for an event which sought to define its own identity and culture and reject the culture of validation so craven elsewhere, bad publicity becomes a concern. The focus shifts.
Equally, as the percieved value of trademarks and brands expand in sympathy with their popularity and marketability, so what was once a simple concept becomes ensnared by the legal and commercial facts of life.
There’s an old saying by a legendary raver from Manchester which goes something like: ‘The spirit that gets the fook out before the cakes start ta luv it starts the one after’, a sentiment that, although described differently, is along much the same lines as many comments I have read about Burning Man: by the time something beautiful becomes known to the world, some of its beauty – perhaps the very essence of it – must move on, as by nature the beauty is best viewed intimately.
Eventually, as Chinua Achebe put it so succinctly, the centre cannot hold. Things fall apart.
But ah – what beauty is spawned, to go on to greater things.

All the best;

MS

]]> Comment on Does Burning Man Belong to Everyone? by gavin heck http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8590 gavin heck Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:45:15 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8590 I went this year on my way out I went to j.l. and j.s.'s housewarming in detroit. Always a pleasure, feel free to visit baltimore anytime and as long as I've a couch, you've a place to sleep. My fav photo this year at bman (i was there tues. through sat afternoon, left before the stickman burnt) is this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/2goats/2826477398/in/set-72157607102135157/ "john law was right" heal heck I went this year
on my way out I went to j.l. and j.s.’s housewarming in detroit.

Always a pleasure, feel free to visit baltimore anytime and as long as I’ve a couch, you’ve a place to sleep.

My fav photo this year at bman (i was there tues. through sat afternoon, left before the stickman burnt) is this one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2goats/2826477398/in/set-72157607102135157/
“john law was right”

heal
heck

]]> Comment on The Smoking Gun by anwalt fuer erbrecht http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/14/the-smoking-gun/#comment-8583 anwalt fuer erbrecht Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:41:31 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/14/the-smoking-gun/#comment-8583 Nice work John, keep up the good work, thanks Nice work John, keep up the good work, thanks

]]> Comment on Does Burning Man Belong to Everyone? by rc http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8568 rc Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:47:47 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-8568 Why should only one man burn once a year? Shouldn't the idea of a burning man be stronger than the object itself.. This is like saying only one person gets to read Hamlet each year. If someone wants to make Burning Man hamburgers, or Burning Man x-flics.. so what. Everyone is entitled to creativity (or should be).. Although i think it should be illegal to have Burning Man girls gone wild forced on me by the media (or even the real Burning Man event), i don't think other people should be prevented from exploring these ideas themselves. The good ideas should be separated from the bad by people experiencing them, not by enforcement. If you want to go to the "real" Burning Man, then do some research, and go.. If you wanna go to the Burning Man 2 down the street - because you like the people there more, then you should be able to.. The "real" Burning Man is not an object or place. Its an idea. And it seems like a good one that everyone should have access to. Think of it this way. We presently living in a world where no one, anywhere, can write a computer program and call it "windows".. (Of course, who would want to now.) I've never been to BM yet... I'd like to -- maybe -- but somehow it feels stronger in my imagination. I'll savor that for a while. Why should only one man burn once a year?

Shouldn’t the idea of a burning man be stronger than the object itself.. This is like saying only one person gets to read Hamlet each year.

If someone wants to make Burning Man hamburgers, or Burning Man x-flics.. so what. Everyone is entitled to creativity (or should be).. Although i think it should be illegal to have Burning Man girls gone wild forced on me by the media (or even the real Burning Man event), i don’t think other people should be prevented from exploring these ideas themselves.

The good ideas should be separated from the bad by people experiencing them, not by enforcement. If you want to go to the “real” Burning Man, then do some research, and go.. If you wanna go to the Burning Man 2 down the street – because you like the people there more, then you should be able to..

The “real” Burning Man is not an object or place. Its an idea. And it seems like a good one that everyone should have access to.

Think of it this way. We presently living in a world where no one, anywhere, can write a computer program and call it “windows”.. (Of course, who would want to now.)

I’ve never been to BM yet… I’d like to — maybe — but somehow it feels stronger in my imagination. I’ll savor that for a while.

]]> Comment on The Smoking Gun by Twan http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/14/the-smoking-gun/#comment-7587 Twan Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:47:26 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/14/the-smoking-gun/#comment-7587 More info please. I know I'm not alone. Many are waiting. I guess it's more a passing curiosity that it is a festering concern... but still, Mr. Law... Pretty please with magnesium on top... can we get a little more... What happened? Twan More info please. I know I’m not alone. Many are waiting. I guess it’s more a passing curiosity that it is a festering concern… but still, Mr. Law… Pretty please with magnesium on top… can we get a little more…

What happened?

Twan

]]> Comment on A Fable by trademark registration http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/10/a-fable/#comment-7427 trademark registration Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:47:24 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/10/a-fable/#comment-7427 FYI, the trademark registration for burning man can be viewed here: http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78215401 It's owned by Paper Man, LLC, according to the U.S. Trademark Office records. FYI, the trademark registration for burning man can be viewed here: http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78215401

It’s owned by Paper Man, LLC, according to the U.S. Trademark Office records.

]]> Comment on Does Burning Man Belong to Everyone? by bronco http://johnlaw.laughingsquid.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-7256 bronco Tue, 30 Oct 2007 23:40:07 +0000 http://johnlawspeaks.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/does-burning-man-belong-to-everyone/#comment-7256 i'm giving this until december 4th (for whatever reasons)... if we don't pull out of this mess (i suppose i'm the one who measures this), i'm going to do everything i'm allowed to do to usurp this lawsuit. this isn't a warning or anything. i have no hard feelings. i wish everyone well. perhaps i have no legal basis... anyhoot. dec 4 is when i don't or do move forward. in the meantime and forever, i hope everyone has fun. b. i’m giving this until december 4th (for whatever reasons)… if we don’t pull out of this mess (i suppose i’m the one who measures this), i’m going to do everything i’m allowed to do to usurp this lawsuit. this isn’t a warning or anything. i have no hard feelings. i wish everyone well. perhaps i have no legal basis… anyhoot. dec 4 is when i don’t or do move forward.

in the meantime and forever, i hope everyone has fun.

b.

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