Bredonborough A good morning after
12.35
Bredonborough.
A good morning, after several strange mornings; and a good morning in the home study I…
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Clearly, a reader’s home study. Morning reading I…
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Will Hutton (p.186) on bank bonuses: Banks carelessly ran down the capital… paying it out in dividends and bonuses. The Bank of England calculated that if, between 2000 and 2007, they had paid out just 20% less, they would have reserved more than the state paid out in bailout capital.
Who made the decisions that led to ordinary people having to meet the catastrophic consequences of those decisions? Who is accountable for taking those decisions? What are those accountable-persons doing to make amends?
A personal meeting at 10.00 with a visitor from the GC family, a member of SSG VI. Discussing inter alia:
The next step.
Good to practice hundreds, even thousands of times, small default-strategies which can then be readily employed at times of exceptional difficulty.
Help. If we ask for help, we can’t proscribe the form that Help might take; and the form that Help takes may even be unwelcome. But, better not to ask for Help unless we are prepared to follow its promptings.
The unexpectedness and surprisingness of creative arisings which, afterwards, cannot have been otherwise.
A bridge between East and West.
Convergences and transitions.
Settling external positions with a clear record of events; ie completing our various undertakings in a good way, that we may move forwards freely, cleanly, clearly.
A very good touching base and catching-up.
12.45 A call to David at DGM HQ on the latest situation with UMG.
In addition to the transitions generally underway there is, in Bredonborough at least, also a generational shift taking place. Several shops on the High Street have closed - the traditional hat shop, the traditional clothes shop/s, the kitchen shop (one of two). H & J, who take care of us here in the house and garden, have just told me that they are retiring at Christmas. This is a loss to us, but also the right move.
17.56 Lunch and a return to e-flurrying.
To the gym c. 15.40. Back to e-flurrying and a standard contract sent to a pal, that I dealt with, has come back with more dopiness. To the sender of the dopey standard contract…
i have been hands-on with standard contracts for 43 years. conventionally, if i am given a standard contract, i return it, shredded, to the most senior person in the company who sent it to me.
my patience is up on this one. your general material release can be sent to general people, not a specific person in a specific context and situation.
so please, make the amendment to reflect stills and i'll be happy to recommend it to my pal. may i say, were i myself the contributor, your contract would have been already returned in many pieces!
The standard contract refers to the videos my pal contributed to the programme, when in fact they contributed no viddies at all. Only still images (pix) were provided. So why put a provision in the contract for a non-existing situation? Another e-letter to the standard-contract provider…
Subject: Re: Amended contributor and material release forms -
re: the material release form...
For the purposes of this letter, the “Material" shall mean the still photograph/the moving footage/videotape recording taken/provided by you or as per “Material” description above.
... which refers to still images; ie scanned original photos.
why is there reference to the moving footage/videotape recording taken/provided by you.
i wasn't aware that my pal provided you with moving footage?
From the standard-contract provider…
Your pal didn’t provide us with moving footage; as it’s a general material release which we issue to all contributors who are providing all kinds of material it includes footage but I have specified in the line below the address that the only material that your pal is providing are stills of himself. If you are concerned by it I can remove this and re send the form.
One story told to me of Richard Branson (by someone who had close dealings with him in the early years) is that Richard Branson was asked why the Virgin Records Standard Contract was so slanted against the artist. The reply attributed to Mr. Branson: Because someone will sign it. I don’t know whether the story is accurate or not. I was, however, a recipient of the Virgin Records Standard Contract; which I tore up, placed the pieces on the desk of Virgin Records Power Possessor No. 1 in front of them, with the words: Will you please consider this my formal response to your proposal?
18.19 E-flurrying enough. A small rabbit is awaiting some adoration, and so is my guitar.
