Anonymous Sources

This story was at the very bottom of Yahoo's Top Stories page and didn't make All Things Considered, but I think it's worth paying some attention to.  To sum up: Time Inc. has caved in and agreed to hand over its documents in the infamous case of who outed Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent.  The reporter, Matt Cooper, still maintained that he was willing to go to jail, but his editor in chief was not willing to expose his company to "large" fines.

( Some musings cut to spare your friends page )

"Whinge"

I see the word "whinge" showing up more and more on LiveJournal.  I'm trying to understand if it's just "whine" misspelled, or if it's supposed to rhyme with "cringe", and also if that extra G carries some subtle shade of meaning that I'm missing.

Please enlighten me, for this has been a minor burr in my saddle for months.  Am I just becoming a curmudgeon?  Is there a point that I've missed?  Does this usage annoy other people too?

Busking in C-U

Having posted about it in a friend's journal has put a very small bee in my bonnet about the idea of busking.  I've never tried it, but I have the idea that if I could do it, it could be a good experience for me.  But to be able to perform in public without being completely smothered by feelings of self-consciousness, I need the assurance that it's OK -- not necessarily that I'm going to get an appreciative audience, but that I'm not going to run afoul of any sort of authority, and also not actively annoying other performers or businesses.

Does anyone in the C-U area know of a place where it would, clearly, be OK?

On a wider note, does anyone have practical advice about what material I can get away with singing?  I would technically be violating copyright on anything I sang that wasn't genuinely trad, but I have the feeling that no one would object to my stealing filk.  Am I off base here?  If I sing something that is copyright by a major label with my guitar case open for tips, will the RIAA's crack copyright stormtroopers leap from the bushes, smash my guitar, and slip my name onto the terrorist watch list?