Sunday, January 29, 2006

Lawsuit Watch

Writers and directors will be interested in this. There's a lawsuit about an off-off-Broadway production that raises the question of what a director contributes to a play and to what extent that contribution is a copyrightable creation. This article in the New York Times will tell you about the dispute.

• Posted at 10:51 PM · LINK

Tipping Question

A lot of classy, intelligent people read this weblog so I thought I'd tap into your wisdom. Here's a situation I encounter almost every time I'm checking out of a hotel...

I call downstairs for assistance with my luggage. A person we'll call Bellhop #1 comes up with a cart and gets my suitcases. I tell him or her (it's usually a him) that I want to check them for later retrieval. He says fine and we go downstairs. He deposits my bags in a room near the Bell Desk and then either he or someone we'll call Bellhop #2 gives me some little tickets with which I will claim them later.

Hours later, I go back to the Bell Desk and give my tickets to Bellhop #3, who retrieves my bags. He hands off to Bellhop #4 who winds up helping me into a cab or car and loading the suitcases into the trunk.

Okay, here's the question: How many of these guys do I tip? My habit has just been to give a hefty one to the last guy and assume it'll be shared with all the others, even if the first couple were on a different shift. Is that the right thing to do?

• Posted at 9:23 PM · LINK

Quick Plug

Aardwolf Publishing is bringing out METHo.d. — thirteen dark tales by author Clifford Meth with art by Steve Lieber, Al Milgrom, Jordan Raskin, Michael Netzer, Wm. Messner-Loebs, and the Cockrums, along with an introduction by Peter David. The cover and book design are by Jim Steranko, his first notable project in years. Go here for more details.

• Posted at 3:07 AM · LINK