Back in the US, back in the US, back in the USSR

I saw a lot of political mudslinging in this set of pictures dealing some with the 2004 Presidential election. However, I was surprised to see a picture from the political scene of the Soviet Union. I myself am a Russian major so this particular photo interested me quite a bit. Looking at the first picture, we can see Leon Trotsky, one of the fathers of the infamous Revolution, proudly smiling with other Party leaders. But, in the next picture, he is completely washed out. The Party even painted in the empty spaces for added realism. Simply put, the Party doctored photos where Trotsky could be seen with other officials. In retrospect, the early Soviets tried to alter history itself! This would be extremely harmful if by some chance we did not have the original photo set such as this. It would be quite unfortunate to have a skewed view of history just because a particular individual was exiled from his own country.

The Trinity Underground

Apparently, there are hidden passageways beneath the floor of the Chapel. It's true. Everyone knows about it. However, I had no idea that beneath the library, there is a place called the CLT. I never have used it, much knew that it even existed. But, I was absolutely blown away. Amongst the creepy, dimly lit hallways and stacks of old records on the first floor, there is a large, brightly lit room with objects that actually look up-to-date. Mac (better) computers, huge monitors and old projectors are everywhere. Considering that there are Mac computers down there, I will probably start working on some of my class assignments while staring at a gargantuan monitor. One of my Russian classmates, Brittany (aka Tanya) happened to be working the front desk while I was down there and she told me how much more you can do with all the technology in the CLT. You can edit videos, upload pictures and work on advanced graphic design. This could really help me create some very creative or innovative presentations for my other classes. For now, I am going to go see what is under my dorm room.

Thomas Jefferson would have used iTunes

Ironically enough, I already knew a lot about copyright. I knew copyright infringement was not exactly the same thing as plagiarism and that copyright laws allowed a person to copyright his or her work for a fairly long amount of time. However, I never knew that copyright laws were actually stipulated in the Constitution. I know they may have not had that annoying circle 'C' or 'R' symbol or anything, but they knew exactly what copyright can do for a society. I can most definitely see how these sort of laws have the great potential to promote and stimulate intellectual thought. I now have a much greater incentive to write my epic novel since I know I can get it copyrighted by the government of the U.S. of A. But, I do have to note one thing I don't necessarily agree with - the strict, harsh punishments for those who illegally download music. I will say it is wrong and I do use iTunes, honest. It is unfair that the artist can not receive a reward for his or her ingenuity. But, the punishments for downloading just a few songs is quite harsh. Ten songs can cost you thousands of dollars in a lawsuit. Moreover, these companies and music associations can even monitor an individual's computer and choose whoever they feel deserves legal punishment. Unfortunately, I find this an unfair side of copyright. I guess iTunes should have been around in 1790 to not let this happen.


Thomas Jefferson would have used iTunes by C.J. Robison is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.