Open Source Culture

The best article I have ever read comes from Jonathan Lethem in the Feb 2007 edition of Harpers magazine. In it he describes how most art is derived from some other piece or form of artwork. He challenges the idea of plagiarism by plagiarizing others in the normal way that most writers and artists do, without knowledge of it. He gives some great examples. My favorite is jazz music. Jazz, for a large part, was born of mixing phrases and ideas either taken from other musicians or derived from other artworks. This brilliant amalgamation of ideas creates a new take on what is already good. Lethem also mentions T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland as an example. Eliot derived his masterpiece from the work of other artists and writers that he was influenced by. He gave a modern "shout out" to artists that deserved it. Shout out, a phrase that requires mention of DJ culture and hip-hop music. Once again, artists are finding and championing works that matter and should be heard. Back to jazz, some musicians were charged with using ideas that weren't theirs. Composer Dizzy Gillespie said, "You can't steal a gift." The thinking behind this is that you share and trade ideas with fellow artists. If someone has a better take on your idea then more power to them, but they better come back to you with some originality.
This ideology of sharing ideas plays into how we approach intellectual property. The very idea of open source speech and ideas would have just simply been radio and writing as earlier as the 60's. Lawyers took over and suddenly ideas were worth more than the court cases that proceeded them. A crippling anxiety of what you can use stifled artwork. Now, thankfully, people are realizing that ideas should be shared, especially in third world countries where they are needed. We now have the technology to give people good and altruistic advice and organizations such as the WTO are making it harder for them to receive it.
This came to mind after the plagiarism debate of Barack Obama using lines from his friend Deval Patrick. I think that it was definitely a form of plagiarism. I also feel that the use of someone else's ideas is much more prevalent than we think and would like to know. If you carefully dissect most texts you will find some use of words, intentional or non-intentional, that have been used elsewhere. But this is not a book or a law review. This is a movement and Barack Obama's rhetoric and ideas definitely come from many places and he decides on which ones are the best. I think that most ideas are derivative of something, credited or not. If he pulled long texts from others and dubiously used them as his own I would be outraged. Instead he was influenced by someone who, he knew, would not mind using his words and ideas. To me that is not as much plagiarism as it is a nod to someone you respect. These are phrases and ideas. When someone is happy you used their idea, quoted or not, then those false claims of ownership don't matter. Thanks for the Harpers buddy.

dream i had

the first few buildings resemble my feelings
archways of dirty relief
pragmatic solutions to impossible problems
strength of vocabulary
sadness in broadcast
a dark alley
is illuminated by
the eyes of those who understand
then i woke up and it was too late

James 2

Favoritism Forbidden
1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"[b] also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

Faith and Deeds

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

soliloquy

first dances the troubled mind
around the pools of sorrow
don't submerge the feeling inside

entering the friendly fire
a war goes unjustified
before the entire world
world sees lights of night
bombarding the hopeless cities
will our kids see this as a
horrific crime
or just think it is pretty

well its too late
to redeem our values, our magistrate
when will he realize
our war was a huge mistake

To Do List

Leave no broken hearts
Wander around with nowhere to go
follow your own trail, wherever it may go
write a poem about nothing
and then send it to yourself
draw a picture
and call it art
find meaning in life
and then lose it in a card game
leave no broken hearts

andrews p.art project

So if anyone knows me they know that i love cereal. Kellogg was a genious! Its easy, nutrional, it can be a meal and a snack. Apparently there is a resteraunt in Chicago that only serves cereal. Anyways, after eating about 8 boxes a day, I have a lot of empty cereal boxes left. I decided to come up with a way to creatively recycle them. Other than being a nice container for wheaty and grainy goodness, the cardboard is very sturdy and printable. They are also shaped so that they are easy to cut and take apart. Perfect! I have been thinking a lot lately about the poor state of our nation. With an undiscerning president, a corrupt administration, and new laws that further strip us of our civil liberties(The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act for example), it is time to start sending a message that we want change. So my little cereal boxes instantly graduated from sugar bomb container to political art in a few easy steps. After cutting them apart I found some artwork and some quotes and made some printable templates. I set my printer to heavyweight matte and the magic ensued. After printing them out I found some high traffic(and legal) spots to put my messages. Differences start small and ideas are sometimes worth more than the packages they come in. aw

State of state

Come gather round people wherever you roam and admit that the waters
around have grown. And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the
bone. If your time to you is worth saving then you better start
swimming or you will sink like a stone. bob dylan