Man alive, Allan stopped by tonight - we watched "Free Culture", a speech Lawrence Lessig gave in 2002. It is probably the single most important lecture on copyrights I will ever have the pleasure of listening to. The talk, both disturbing and insightful, hinges on these main points, which he refers back to repeatedly:

1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the past.

2. The past always tries to control the creativity that builds upon it.

3. Free societies enable the future by limiting this power of the past.

4. Ours is less and less a free society.

"Free Culture" is a monumental look at how the music, movie, and software industries are eroding and ultimately destroying our ability to build upon the creative works that we grew up on. If you have any sense in your head, please go watch the Flash-based presentation (the audio and overhead slides in sync) or read the transcript.