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We’ve written plenty about the infamous monkey selfie, and have even been threatened by two totally separate organizations for posting the photo here on Techdirt (which we’re about to do again):

Last week, the story got even weirder, where PETA, the animal rights organization, sued photographer David Slater on behalf of the monkey, who they claim is named Naruto. As we’ve explained in detail, the photos are almost certainly in the public domain based on all relevant copyright laws. Slater has repeatedly denied this, insisting the copyright is his (and he apparently also likes to regularly disparage Techdirt’s coverage of this story). But, still, we’re at least on Slater’s side in this particular lawsuit. PETA has much less of a claim to the copyright than Slater does (and, as we’ve noted, Slater has none).

Sarah Jeong, over at Vice’s Motherboard, likes to dig deep into wacky copyright stories, and this was no exception. Her original article on this story was basically a bunch of good questions about the lawsuit, including things like "How do they even know the monkey’s name is Naruto?" and "Can monkeys even sue?" Amazingly, PETA’s lawyer agreed to be interviewed by Sarah, and the results are totally worth reading. She starts out by exploring the question of Naruto. How do they know his name, how are they sure it’s really Naruto in the photos — especially since Naruto is a male and nearly all of the original stories about the monkey selfie claimed that the macaque selfie photo was of a female. Slater himself has said that it was a female.

Jeong doesn’t quite get to the bottom of it, but there’s at least some evidence that the monkey really was a male, and it’s entirely possible that he’s been named Naruto by the folks who study the monkeys in Indonesia. But then there’s the legal discussion. I will just give you this snippet and then tell you that you need to go read the whole thing. Also, news would be a lot more interesting if journalists did interviews like this more frequently.

Does Naruto know about this lawsuit?

[pause]

Um, the… fact here is that Naruto is unable to come into court himself and so we are standing as Next Friend. Your question is silly, frankly. The issue is as I’ve stated it.

Does Naruto know about his selfies?

[pause]

I have the same response.

Naruto certainly knew at the time that he was engaged in intentional conduct that is obvious from Mr. Slater’s own description of the situation. And Naruto clearly engaged in the purposeful intentional conduct that resulted in the creation of the selfies.

There’s more and it gets better. I, for one, can’t wait to see if someone tries to list Naruto as a witness.

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via Techdirt.
PETA Defends Its Rights To Represent The Selfie-Taking Monkey In Court

I spent a good while in the car this week. One of the pros and cons of modern vehicle technology is DVD players and TV screens. My kids have this DVD that feature’s Disney sing-along songs from the 80s/90s… and they love to play it on road trips. Every time that “Making Memories” comes on, […]
via Photography Bay
Disney’s ‘Making Memories’ is Your Weekend Photography Song

SQL is the world’s most popular language for managing and manipulating databases. Today, Codecademy launched a free Learn SQL interactive course that will teach you the basics of tables, queries, aggregate functions, and more.

Codecademy says SQL is one of the most requested languages since Codecademy started, and this course is made possible through a collaboration with Periscope, a SQL analysis tool.

Like other Codecademy courses, you learn through interactive tutorials, building on previous exercises. You can also test your knowledge with quizzes or explore deeper with additional recommended resources.

As with Khan Academy’s SQL course, this is an introductory course for those new to SQL. It’s a useful language to learn, whether you’re interested in using databases to build complex apps or you want to delve into interesting datasets for work or pleasure.

Get started learning at the link below.

Learn SQL | Codecademy

via Lifehacker
Learn SQL with This Free Three-Hour Course from Codecademy

  Five years ago, Takashi Yasui’s niece was born. It was with this new arrival, Yasui would discover a passion for photography. What started out as a way to capture his beloved family, began evolving into a serious hobby. Now, Yasui works as a freelance photographer based out of Kyoto, Osaka, Japan–and his portfolio has […]

The post Japanese Photographer Captures The Beauty Of Living In Japan appeared first on DIY Photography.

via DIYPhotography.net -Hacking Photography, One Picture At A Time
Japanese Photographer Captures The Beauty Of Living In Japan

Francisco Fuentes’ amazing visual diary of his trip to Japan is so awesomely captured and so well edited and so fun to watch that it makes me want to take a trip there immediately. It’s because every video in the series (there are 12 15-second videos) basically acts as a teaser for his time in that wonderful country.

You get to see the food (oh the food), the drinking, the weirdness, the culture, the people, the cities and so much but before you can process what’s happening and what you’re seeing, you’re already watching something else. Try to keep up! It’s fun.

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SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

via Gizmodo
This delightful video of traveling to Japan is just so much fun to watch

Did you know that the upside down squeeze bottle wasn’t invented until 1991? And that electric guitar designer Leo Fender – creator of the Telecaster, Stratocaster and more – never learned to play the guitar? All that and more on this episode of the List Show.
via The Awesomer
Facts About Inventors & Inventions

This work-in-progress is a VR demo that lets you walk around the Starship Enterprise D, which was seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is part of the ongoing Enterprise 3D Construction project, which plans to…
via MightyMega
This Virtual Reality Demo Lets you Tour The Enterprise-D

szczys writes: You see them all the time in movies and TV shows, but is that what an actual bomb looks like? Probably not… here’s what a real bomb looks like. This story stems from a millionaire gone bust from gambling addiction who decided to extort riches back from the casino. He built a bomb and got it into the building, then ransomed the organization for $3 million. The FBI documented the mechanisms in great detail — including the 8 independent trigger systems that made it impossible for them to disarm the thing. The design was so nefarious it’s still used today as a training tool.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

via Slashdot
This Is What a Real Bomb Looks Like

OSU, Police Threaten to Arrest Turning Point USA Students Over “Save the Crop-Top” Petition. Kirk: “Is Free Speech Dead on Campus?” Two Ohio State University (OSU) students and two Turning Point USA staff members say were threatened to be arrested by a Franklin County deputy and a self-identified “campus attorney” this week while they were […]
via Turning Point USA
Another Crackdown: OSU Threatens to Arrest Conservative Students