An overview and analysis of some of the turning points in the history of copyright: http://news.oreilly.com/2008/08/how-copyright-got-to-its-curre.html
The article itself keeps a "centrist", non-judgemental attitude to the issue, but some of the comments point out why that might be a difficult position to maintain.

The explanations and examples are rather IT and software-oriented, but not too geeky for a "normal" person to understand.

Bonus: Legal realism

Greta Christina explains that reading about sex isn't much fun when the author is more embarrassed by the subject than you are: http://blog.blowfish.com/culture/greta-christina-tee-hee-you-said-bonk , and recommends http://books.google.lv/books?id=iNKw0XuaSxoC for a healthier writer's attitude.

Some pre- and post-DH comments on Chapter 2 of HBP* from the snarky corner of the fandom: http://community.livejournal.com/deathtocapslock/75489.html

Non-specific activities for workshops and such. Some are good, others seem too artificial, formulaic or pretentious :P http://www.idepfoundation.org/download_files/permakultur/01_Creative_Facilitation.pdf

How about some free (and guilt-free!) music?

For reading: http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-downloads.html
For listening: http://irate.sourceforge.net/

To grow into reading less and writing more, from now on I'm going to try and report everything I've read in writing (well, except the smut - no need to scare people). For you, this means more linkspam here, such as the following. Enjoy! :)

In "Action is Overrated" and "Getting Started is Overrated" of the Dangerous Ideas series, Cal Newport points out why a just-do-it mentality isn't always the best. My conclusion: before you start a lifelong chase for success, take your time to 1) choose the right path, and 2) build up the momentum of competence and passion that you will need along the way.

Meanwhile, Tina Su of http://thinksimplenow.com/ offers a recipe for choosing that elusive right path in "Life on Purpose: 15 Questions to Discover Your Personal Mission".

Links:
http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/03/07/dangerous-ideas-action-is-overrated/
http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/06/27/dangerous-ideas-getting-started-is-overrated/
http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/life-on-purpose-15-questions-to-discover-your-personal-mission/

Interest-specific bonus links:
http://thinksimplenow.com/creativity/connect-with-your-creative-writer/
http://thinksimplenow.com/clarity/5-keys-to-simplifying-any-concept/
http://thinksimplenow.com/clarity/pen-zen-bring-clarity-to-writing/

"Of all the things I've learned on the Internet, I think that the most depressing is the realization that while there are a handful of people who dislike pedophiles and animal abusers because they recognize that taking pleasure in the suffering of others is wrong, there's an asston of people who dislike pedophiles and animal abusers because it's an opportunity to take socially-approved pleasure in the (threatened or contemplated) suffering of others."
http://teratologist.livejournal.com/315131.html

I should print this and pin it to a wall or something: http://totalreadr.livejournal.com/2560.html :P

"The ONLY purpose of patents and copyrights (trademarks being a different thing altogether) is to maximize the availability of intellectual production in the public domain.
Let me repeat that: their only purpose is to help along the enrichment of the public domain."
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=563921&cid=23542123

A science news aggregator in traditional news site format (i.e., an automagically self-updating online newspaper): http://esciencenews.com/

A bit on community management: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/fromlittlethings

The World is Just Awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Q0CLlFFm0

A rather sweet touchscreen visualisation project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUaXDm4qik :)

Also: http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/

An oldish, but long and good post on age restrictions, minors and sexual content: http://ataniell93.livejournal.com/868472.html Written to address an LJ policy, but the ideas are of general value.

Greta Christina's review / summary / recommendation of "Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts" by Carol Tavris
http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2008/01/mistakes-were-1.html

A short quiz: http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofpuzzleareyouquiz/

Apparently, I'm a crossword puzzle :P

Great photos of old Russian places in winter: http://obz.org.ru/?p=256

(author's blog: http://qzmn.livejournal.com/ )

Infrequently Asked Questions by Donald Knuth
http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/iaq.html

Killing Us Softly 3 - Advertising's Image of Women
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1993368502337678412

Pretty basic stuff, but well narrated and rich with examples. Half an hour.

Live action stop motion! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJzU3NjDikY&feature=related

Incredibly cute, I think: http://www.cdolivet.net/editarea/editarea/exemples/exemple_full.html

(Er, OK. Maybe I have an unconventional understanding of "cute".)