Tropophilia

Faithful readers–all apologies. With the long weekend and my slow return to West Blogistan, I regret that my Monday links are…well…a few days late. But wouldn’t you LOVE some links with that Wednesday, 4-day-work-week lull? I hope so, ’cause here we go:

• We weren’t the only ones to notice Google.org’s big announcements last week. They get some NY Times love here.
• Another must-read piece from the NY Times this week (I told you I was out of the loop…) concerns the necessary combination of private philanthropy and public investment. I’m not sure that I agree with the editors’ conclusions towards the end of the editorial, but here’s a money quote to provoke you:

“Critics of government spending argue that America’s private sector does a better job making socially necessary investments. But it doesn’t. Public spending is allocated democratically among competing demands. Rich benefactors can spend on anything they want, and they tend to spend on projects close to their hearts.”

• I often hear that people of my generation will change careers more than any group before us. If you’re realizing that business classes, another foreign language, or other technical skills might be necessary to change careers, here’s a cool compilation of free education materials online.
• Speaking of careers, Sustainablog explores the wealth of new green careers and the corresponding green labor shortage.
• Ezra Klein, who writes an incredible blog that I’ve thus far deemed too political for Tropophilia, offers the most reasonable solution I’ve seen yet to the Scrabulous mess: Hasbro should just buy it.
• Finally, Mental Floss does not disappoint with folk covers of hip hop songs.

Thanks folks, and sorry again about the delay. More new original material is on the way, so keep checking back. Enjoy your Wednesday.

I would never have a reason to pick up the Weekly Standard, were it not the most appealing choice–Squash! magazine was my next best option if that gives you an idea–on the reading shelf at the gym. Fortunately, the cover story did not disappoint. This is an intriguing look at the legal issues at stake in Google’s Book Search project. The central question posed by Google’s approach to creating a digital library seems to echo their defense of YouTube and the tricky issues of copyright presented by that tool. That question, in its most basic form: is it the responsibility of the content creator (the author, in this case) or the content provider (Google) to ensure that the copyright is protected. As the Weekly Standard article points out:

“Google maintains that by giving copyright owners the chance to opt out of the program, it has performed due diligence with respect to the copyright. This turns traditional law–which stipulates that someone wanting to use copyrighted material must seek and receive affirmative permission–on its head.”

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