Well, I’m sick. But it was well worth it. I’ve been wrestling with a cold for about a week, and the fight is over, with tissues and sleep consoling me in my surrender.

The decisive battle came last night, at a surprise birthday campout for Anthony. Liz did a fantastic time organizing it, and everyone had a blast making music, cooking, eating, drinking, swimming and playing volleyball. (Come on, a weekend wouldn’t be complete without a little volleyball…) I wrote a little ditty for the birthday boy, and A.J. entertained the crowd with his could-be-a-smash-hit “I Wanna Be in A Healthy Relationship.” I’m not sure how surprised Anthony actually was, but he was certainly really happy about it all, which was reward enough for the lying and scheming.

Dad spent some time in New York over the past few days. We didn’t get to spend much time together, but stayed up late talking a few nights (strategic victories for the cold, no doubt) and he left me a note since he was gone when I got back from the campout:

Lukio
STAY STRONG!!!
Be True
All we really have is choice
Be Decisive
Be Compassionate
Be Yourself
I love you
Dad
Michael

Words to live by.

A.J.’s moving to South Carolina to perform in a Shakespeare Festival this summer. Our overlap in New York was serendipitous, a thread of Charlottesville and UVA that wound its way back through my life. I hope our paths will cross again.

Molly and I did some work on the duet on Friday night after a late night guitar jam Anthony, Liz and A.J. (perhaps another point of weakness in my cold defenses…). It’s coming along really well.

On the way to the guitar jam on Friday, I had my first public musical performance in New York City. It was on the back of the 14th Street Crosstown bus, and I played “Hang On Blue Skies.” Despite the jovial nature of the event (we were just screwing around), I got really nervous after I started playing. On the way off the bus, a stranger sighed with dismay to see the music stop.

Intellectual property and copyright law interests me greatly, and I was glad to see this piece on Creative Commons in the Times. The new organization addresses the intention of copyright (to motivate the creators and innovators of our society) as well as the goal (the actual benefit and sharing of these ideas with the public). It’s perfect that a solution for the problem of creativity be itself creative.

It seems less perfect, though, that the solution to a problem of capitalism be capitalistic. That’s the story of Chesire, a small Ohio town being purchased in whole by a utility company seeking to protect itself from threatened lawsuits. The ethics of this one are a little muddy, because as the article points out, this is an excellent opportunity for some of the residents of the town to improve their lives, and it’s hard to fault them for wanting to do so. At the same time, this utility essentially bought itself out of compliance with the law, and that’s not a winning way to run a society, unless your goal is environmental ruin and class conflict.

Enough of the news, though, it’s time I return to my tissues and bed.