For anyone interested in podcasting, I highly suggest that you check out Podsafe Audio. Podsafe Audio is interesting in that it is a collection of music that is shared under a Creative Commons license. In other words, it is music that can legally be used in mashups of all types, but with a focus on podcasts. Even if you’re not interested in podcasting or copyright, Podsafe Audio is a good place to find socially aware and progressive music by smaller artists (usually unsigned, but some signed). Organized by genre, it’s a great way to experience a wide variety of music.

In response to a fellow student's blog question, I thought I'd broadcast this ASAP:

Do not upload anything you don't want someone anywhere to read!! Not at all, not anywhere!! Not here, not now not because it's a class, never!! Actually, don't print it if you don't want it read, either, even under an assumed name. Exactly the wrong person will order it from Amazon 20 years later, for some other reason, looking for something completely different.

Change the person's name. Change the hair color, distinguishing characteristics, state of origin, name of local city and streets. If the people are recognizable, make them at least deniable: "No, I didn't write it." Or "No, it wasn't about you. The story's set in Squalidelphia."

Our brief discussion about copyright law and the internet at the end of class today left me with some questions about our final project: is it legal to pass of real media as part of a fictional world, that is to fit it into a fictional framework?

For example, if I found a news article about an unidentied body mysteriously discovered in a Louisiana swamp, could I write a mystery in which that is the body of the victim and link to that article as part of the evidence?

Another example, if I found a particularly hilarious picture of a super wild party somewhere, could I link to it as a photo of a party I describe in a story? To go more extreme, could I state that some of the people at the party are specific characters in my text?