Medieval Music and Songs of the Troubadours by Musica Reservata

Bought on iTunes today: Medieval Music and Songs of the Troubadours by Musica Reservata. I had some of this on cassette tape years ago. Actually, that was my first introduction to secular medieval music. I'm glad I now have a digital version.

This recording by Musica Reservata is less polished than some of the other medieval music out there, but that roughness gives it a gusto sometimes lacking in the more polished recordings. While listening to this recording, I imagine I'm hearing a performance by a group of wandering medieval minstrels.

Artwork on Cover of KIDS'MAGINATION MAGAZINE, ISSUE 8

My fantasy artwork "In the Dragon Realm" now appears on the cover of Kids'Magination Magazine, Issue 8. Check it out!

Composition-wise, I consider this one to be a part of a series of artworks that includes "Morning Stars Sing in the Speculative Realm" and my cover artwork for Shelly Bryant's Under the Ash. All three have, as a base of the image, a dragon or serpent lurking in a hollow beneath the ground. "Morning Stars Sing in the Speculative Realm" came first (completed March 2010), followed by "In the Dragon Realm" (completed April 2010) and then the cover art for Under the Ash (completed May 2010).

The other two in this "dragon/serpent under the ground" series had been published a while ago (December 2010 for the Under the Ash cover art, and August 2011 for "Morning Stars Sing in the Speculative Realm"). "In the Dragon Realm" was supposed to have been published in another venue back in September of 2010, but that never panned out. I'm glad it has finally seen publication in Kids'Magination.

A Rejection, With Comments...

Sometimes, I think it would be better if editorial teams didn't comment on rejections. Case in point: a previously published artwork of mine was just recently turned down, with comments to the effect of "the lined drawing detracts more than enhances" (WHAT?), and the artwork didn't "wow" them or "grab" them enough to reprint it in their zine. (One of the three members of the team actually thought the artwork wasn't bad, and said they could go for it .)

Of course, the venue ended the rejection letter with a pretty standard "opinions differ" disclaimer. Opinions differ alright; the editor that originally accepted the piece for publication obviously disagreed with these opinions. On the other hand, some opinions are just plain off. The comment about the lined drawing seems particularly amiss, considering that my colour artwork consists of line drawings coloured in digitally. As colourful as my colour artwork may be, the line is still the thing.

I know some say it is wrong to comment about rejections, but the comments made in some rejections are just plain wrong. This very same venue did publish a reprint artwork of mine in the past, so you would think they would be aware of my style. Guess not.

Perhaps I must write another place off my list of potentials. Not that the place pays much for art. Anyway, I'm undoubtedly better off concentrating on composing artwork for people in the publication business who appreciate my style (like the author who is having me illustrate her books - she seems to appreciate my linework).

Does Troy Not Want Businesses?

Troy PD and the powers that be in the city seem to be dragging their feet in regard to the investigation of the suspicious fire and subsequent break-ins at Flavour Cafe, which happens to be my favourite cafe. The owner can't begin rebuilding until he gets the results of the fire investigation handed over to his insurance company. The Troy PD says that an investigation like this can take months, but they apparently haven't interviewed all of the people who saw suspicious activity the night of the fire. They interviewed the owner of the cafe several times.

Mind you, I was under the impression that there were two separate suspicious fires in Troy the night of the fire at Flavour Cafe, although officials claim the fires were unrelated. Oh, really? I also think there have been a number of suspicious fires in the region over the past several months. Perhaps there is a serial firebug in the area, a firebug that the Troy PD hasn't caught yet.

Of course, it was Friday the 13th. Maybe that date inspired two separate sicko firebugs to set fires at two different locations. Maybe Troy was lucky it saw only three fires that night (the third was accidental).

I'm very disappointed in how Troy is handling this. You would think they don't want businesses in Troy, a city that needs all the businesses it can get! Do they want yet another empty building in Troy, a city plagued with vacant storefronts? There are loyal Flavour customers in Troy and its surrounding environs. Maybe the city should wake up to that fact - Flavour had become something of a Troy fixture.

Link to the latest about Flavour, the fire, and the break-ins:

http://www.news10.com/story/16967492/troy

Link to the initial news story about the fires that night:

http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/570077/overnight-fires-in-troy-under-investigation/

If Law Doesn't Rule...

Anarchy seems like a cool anti-establishment idea, 'til you realize that, in a lawless society, those without rules will probably be the ones who rise to the top.

If law doesn't rule, might will. Need proof? Look at the rise of feudalism in western Europe following the demise of the western Roman Empire. A system developed where armed thugs wielded secular power because they had the ways and means to wage war. Those who fought were supposed to protect those who prayed and those who worked, but it didn't always work out that way.

In a Litigious Capitalistic Society...

In a capitalistic society, don't expect a company to have the best interests of its former employees in mind. Expect a company to have the company's best interests in mind. Expect the company to be most concerned with the bottom line.

In a litigious society, don't expect a company to sit back and let a former employee sell unlicensed material, material developed while the employee worked for that company. Expect that company to sue to protect its property. Expect that company to ask for monetary restitution.

Is such a lawsuit always morally right? Perhaps not. Is it legally right? Probably so, assuming the contract/employment agreement states as such, and assuming the company's lawyers are well versed in what legal rights the company possesses.

In a nation where companies routinely rape the land, poison the waters, destroy the forests, pollute the oceans, and produce products in overseas sweatshops, don't be surprised when a company tramples the little guy for doing something the company perceives as being wrong. Actually, trampling on the little guy is a relatively minor evil compared to the greater evils of corporate America.

More on Contracts...

All the time, I enter into contracts that give publishers exclusive rights to the materials in question for a limited time (usually six months to a year). I understand that I do not have the right to sell such material elsewhere until such time as the rights revert back to me. It would be foolish of me to try; I would be in breach of contract. I would be in breach of an agreement I entered into willingly.

Understand what you are signing, folks. Understand what rights you retain, and what rights you give up (even for a limited time).

If you think a company is trying to get you to enter into an unethical agreement, don't enter into that agreement. If you think a company is trying to get you to sign an unfair contract, don't sign it. If you don't understand a contract, get someone to explain it to you before you sign on the dotted line. Don't enter willingly into an unfair contract and then complain months or years down the line that the terms are unfair, and express your anger and frustration over those terms by doing something that is in breach of contract.

Do two wrongs make a right? Is it really worth doing something wrong, something that could come back and bite you in the ass, to make your point?

What ever happened to personal responsibility? It's never the fault of the poor creators who enter into these agreements, is it? Are creators that bloody stupid?