CELEBRATE SAINT JORDI DAY FRIDAY APRIL 23rd
Buy a rose or a book for a loved one, sample fine wine, party and meet people. Saint Jordi day is a Spanish tradition that begins on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 from 8-10 pm
at Book Beat. Sponsored by Elie’s Wines in Royal Oak and Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park.
We will have a great selection of poetry and quality literature, gift books and many bargain priced remainders. There will be books, wine tasting, food and more. SPRING FIESTA!
Sanit Jordi Day will also be celebrated at the Ferndale Public Libary on Sunday, April 18th from 2PM-7 PM. This will be a wonderful pre-Saint Jordi celebration with Michigan authors, readings and more!
Our friends at ELIE WINES in Royal Oak brought the first St. Jordi day celebration to Book Beat in 2006. It was an enthusiastic success, with Catalan poetry being read and delicious wines sampled, roses and books were joyously given away. This “World Day of the Book” with its Spanish origins and its link to romance and love, is something we at Book Beat and Elie Wines have continued to celebrate as a yearly tradition here in the Detroit area.
In Barcelona; almost 5 million roses will exchange hands and much kissing will take place. Very nice tradition.
April 23 is a symbolic day in world literature. Declared as International Day of the Book by UNESCO in 1995, this celebration of books and literature draws it’s inspiration from a Catalan tradition, the Festival of the Rose.
Legend has it that Saint George, Patron Saint of Catalonia and international knight-errant, slew a dragon about to devour a beautiful Catalan princess. From the dragon’s blood sprouted a rosebush, from which the hero plucked the prettiest rose for the princess. Hence the traditional Rose Festival celebrated in Barcelona since the Middle Ages to honor chivalry and love. In 1923, this lover’s “festa” became even more poetic when it merged with “el dia del llibre”, or The Day of the Book, to mark the nearly simultaneous deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, the two giants of literary history, on April 23, 1616.
On this day in Barcelona, bookstalls and street festivities run the length of the picturesque La Rambla, the old city’s main boulevard and, according to the Spanish author Garcia Lorca, “the only street in the world which I wish would never end”. Read more about this tradition at: DRAGON’S BLOOD & BOOKS- A SPRING FESTIVAL
“In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright day would be celebrated on this date because of the Catalonian festival and because the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Josep Pla, the birth of Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Manuel Vallejo and Halldor Laxness
Enjoy St. Jordi’s day! Links to INTERNATIONAL BOOK DAY:
- World Book and Copyright Day at UN
- World Book and Copyright Day at UNESCO
- Message of the Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day — 23 April 2005
- About World Book Day in the UK and Ireland
link source: Wikipedia.
Photo above: Casa Batllo, by Catalian architect Antonio Gaudi, completed in 1907, it is said to represent the triumph of Sant Jordi (St George) over the dragon, with roof tiles representing the dragon’s back. Gaudi is one of the worlds genius architects whose masterpieces adorn Barcelona as jewels of the city. Photo Credit: L. Loydi.com
Shame on your for stealing someone’s photo!
Shame on you for stealing the creative work of others.
I considered this fair use of a Gaudi image under editorial,
non-profit and educational use. I try and post authorship for web images when they are easily available. I am also a photographer and aware of your objections. Consider the image permanently removed, and my apologies for lifting your great image and offending you.
The photographer\\\’s contact details were easily available from the website you stole the picture from. So why no credit? Fair use? I think not!
Are you the photographer or the photographer’s mother? I admit that this Gaudi image was taken from a Google search and it was the first one of Casa Batllo that turned up — it was an image that is associated with St Jordi Day, something Gaudi was well aware of and hoped to promote in his work. It is a traditional festival we are also trying to help promote. We have been working with a Barcelona consulate to help grow awareness of this special day across America.
Instead of being in full-on attack mode, think about what you really want. Is it recognition for the photographer? What was stolen, your pride? What’s his/her name? I will put it in headlights! As I said before, the photographer’s name and contact info was not attached to the image or the page it was on. I already apologized to you, and will cease using the image. If the use offends you, why not take it off google’s search? This image came up in a general search for Casa Batllo. Maybe attack google next time. There are also more than a dozen images of the exact same Gaudi site taken by other photographers, that show the same or similar angle to the one in the photo I used. Did the photographer (or you) gain permission from the other photographers who previously used this angle and approach? Did you research that too? Gaudi images as you probably know are fairly common. Casa Battlo is a national treasure and images of it would fit under fair use law for educational use — and what about poor Gaudi whose work that image exploits? Has anyone compensated his estate or the preservation of his estate?
My hope is that photographs will help drive awareness of Gaudi preservation.I suggest photographers who are sensitive to other’s posting their photos across the internet should install a watermark or plainly visible copywrite notice inside or on the border of the photograph. It’s not a difficult thing to do, and it lets other users know that they cannot profit from the image. No one made a dime from that image and maybe that has you angry too, I don’t know.
Next time that happens to you, lighten up, remove your fangs for a minute and contact the site and seek an explanation. Be congenial, perhaps it could end up in a profitable sale for the photographer or something even more grand. You never know who you may be dealing with or how that connection may effect you in the future.
I am neither the photographer nor his mother. Why should you thing that I was?
Your excuses for stealing the image are at best irrelevant, at worst … frankly … pathetic.
The facts are that you broke the law. You should be thanking your lucky stars that all you got was an angry reaction from the photographer instead of a lawsuit which would haul your sorry ass across the coals.
i agree with debbie the law has been broken and no excuses. since when has copyright depended upon a) profit and b) similar images existing? A. never! why should a photographer have to disfigure images with watermarks etc on his own site just to stop scumbags like you stealing intellectual property?
btw google search always includes a link back to the original image site (and states it may be copyrighted) so no excuse there either.
you could (maybe should) get into a lot of trouble over this.
Debbie: you act like mommy because your so defensive. Let the photographer speak for himself — if the photog was “shame on you Dan” let him speak his mind. No one ripped him off. Read the law statement above on fair use, you will learn something. I taught photography on the college level for years and used many images without the “photographer’s approval” — most educators do this as do bloggers and journalists. The law of “fair use” is in effect here. Any non-profit educational use of copyrighted material may be permitted if properly used and quoted. Look it up. It matters in what “context” an image, novel excerpt, or reproduction is used. One of the critical factors is if money is being made off it, if it devalues the original work, if its commercial or non-commercial/editorial use. If this dosen’t make sense to you talk to someone in the media or journalism to explain it to you. Now if you want to “haul my sorry ass across the hot coals” — lets talk off-line.
Debbie– one other point you made that needs correcting. There are photographers and artists who imitate other photographers and artists for profit. If it can be proved that a particular style (of song, photo, writing, likeness) existed first or was created prior to the imitation, it would void out the copyright of the imitation. The imitation would then be subject to penalty, if it can be proved that money was trying to be made off it.It would be up to the original holder of copyright to defend his turf.This is common stuff for recording and book bootleggers, less common in photography, but there are known examples. Andy Warhol’s flower photo is a case in point. He was sued for using a similar image that was previously taken and lost.
OK hotheads — I am quoting the law books here on fair use, now take your prozac and chill out. Is there now a posse of flakey photo nuts on my ass?
The legal concept of “copyright” was first ratified by the United Kingdom’s Statute of Anne of 1709. As room was not made for the authorized reproduction of copyrighted content within this newly formulated statutory right, the courts gradually created a doctrine of “fair abridgment,” which later became “fair use,” that recognized the utility of such actions. The doctrine only existed in the U.S. as common law until it was incorporated into the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107, reprinted here:
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—
1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The Gaudi image was used in an educational article about the traditions of St Jordi Day. Was it not used in an educational way?
Oh dear, I seem to have stirred up a hornet\’s nest here! Can you all please cool down a bit – is it not possible to have a disagreement without resorting to personal abuse, such as scumbags and morons?
I\’m the photographer whose picture was used and let me say it was not my intention to stir up such a heated debate and nor do I intend to enter into one. I must confess I hadn\’t realised that the image was being used in a blog type entry and had I looked at the site more closely first time around I probably wouldn\’t have bothered about it. So let me apologise for what was probably an over-reaction – put it down to a glass or two too many of your fine Californian wine and being in a mischievous mood.
I would just like to make a few points though….
1) I\’m based in the UK and do not recognise the \’fair use\’ law. We don\’t have it over here – according to Wikipedia this only applies to the US. How such a law applies when the image is in one country and its use in another is an interesting question though, probably best left to the lawyers.
2) Hotlinking is considered bad \’neticette\’ as it is using someone else\’s bandwidth, not your own. Search Google and click on the first link.
3) I occasionally get asked for permission for my photos to be used on websites and if the site is non-commercial I almost always allow it. Sometimes it\’s not possible though as some images are placed with an agency and I\’m under contract not to supply direct. So an email to ask permission would have been nice, in case the image is one of them.
4) Likewise, a credit and/or link to my website would have been nice.
5) Debbie is not my mother.
Thanks to you all for coming to my defence – but cool it now please.
Eh? Where did all those backslashes come from?!!
Ah, finally a voice of reason. Hi Vince. I think these discussions are useful and certainly becoming more central as we become a “net centric” society. I’m sorry for calling your defenders a pack of morons, perhaps that was uncalled for, but I was accused of being a scumbag and a theif. J’ACCUSE!- I certainly didn’t mean to offend anyone, but I do want to engage people in a discussion of these issues that I feel are timely and important. There didn’t seem to much clear thinking going on among the group, and I felt as if sharks were circling the waters…
The journalistic/ and trivia blogs are filled with photographs unattributed hotlinked or not. This has become fairly ubiquitous. Check out “boing boing”, “wit of the staircase” or any of them. I really think that all jpegs should be somehow cleanly watermarked once with an nonvisible, non-removeable date and photogapher’s credit. This might end a lot of the problems about attribution. In the USA there is a big difference between commercial and non-commercial use. I think this is a positive thing and tends to encourage the flow of journalism, parody, blogging and discussion. That’s why there so much irreverence here. It allows the movement of ideas to become more free.
You are correct about the use of “hotlinking” and “bad nettiquite” — that was something I was not aware of. This was a bad habit that grew out trying to create my entries in fast and efficient way, and did not realize how this effects bandwith and other issues. Credit for your photo was a little difficult too as the page it was on only brought up the image as I remember.Frankly, it looked like a photo album and you might consider posting a policy or credit information on each page. My blog begain about one year ago and I’m still learning things. Good luck with your photography as I know it can be a brutal field in recent times.
The backlash happens when you use your browser to change things on the page, I don’t know why it happens but with certain browsers it does, and you just need to remove them when you see it.
I hope to keep promoting St. Jordi’s day in the future and would like to use your image to help bring about this awareness. Credit will be fully given under source credits. Perhaps we could do an exhibition of your Barcelona images next April in our photo gallery and print postcards of Cassa Batllo to expand the promotion of this day. I found your image of the rooftop be an excellent illustration of Gaudi’s association with St. George. Now can we all just get along?