Ulmer Riff: Recipe

My class is progressing with our mystories. In an effort to help them grasp Ulmer's approach to relay and imitation, I crafted what I call the recipe assignment. Its inspired by a visit from poet Robert Pinsky this past Spring; in response to a question on how a young poet can improve her skills, Pinksy advised: "learn to read like a good cook eats." Its not just about savoring the flavor, but about tasting the technique. Beyond understanding what something is, its about tracing how something becomes.

Ulmer uses a number of examples in his chapters, what he calls relays. Along the lines of classical and neo-classical imitation, these relays provide models for approaching the larger assignments. I've asked my students to break into groups. Each group is required to take one of Ulmer's extended quotations and re-mix it into a recipe, distinguishing ingredients, equipment, time, and step-by-step directions.

Judging by the temperature of the room, it seems to be going well.

Lessig's New Book

One of my heroes, Lawrence Lessig, has a new book out. While the website is up, the book isn't available for free yet (but I'm sure it will be soon). In the meantime, he recently gave an interview with Colbert.

I'll have to pick up Lessig's new book--I am interested in how this interview suggests a change in his argument. He seems to be completely rejecting copyright in this interview (vs. his more moderate position in earlier books). I am also a bit surprised about his "children" argument; I would think that pushing for the economic benefits of free-cultural exchange would be more persuasive to the Colbert audience. I guess its time I give Amazon more money...

Funny Doesn't Belong There

I often find myself trying to come to terms with my love of rhetoric; to the point that I try to find traces of this love littered throughout my entire life's narrative. One such trace, I tell myself, is my lifelong love of the cover song and the remix. Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed the playful cover or parody--like the Lemonhead's "My Name is Luka," Dynamic Hack's "Boyz in tha Hood," or even Alien Ant Farm's "Smooth Criminal."

So, I tell myself, this clearly expresses an early appreciation for the kairotic dimensions of context. I appreciate a playful re-appropriation. I also can appreciate it as a deconstructionist--something that alerts us to silent norms, to expectations. Such an alert must be respectful, even while playful. For instance: laughing at a funeral. The laugh at a funeral might defy social convention, but it does so (hopefully) as light-hearted remembrance and as painfully playful nostalgia. It manifests the often neglected cliche: a proper funeral celebrates a life rather than mourns a death. So, you can laugh at a funeral. You cannot order a pizza.

I think the playful cover song, one self-conscious of its recontextualization, represents this kind of properly un-kairotic laughter (to borrow DDD's term). This laughter attempts a self-consciousness tempered by obligation--to the original, to the moment, to something other. All this came to mind today thanks to Mxrk's sharing the Jim Lehrer piece:

Steve Jobs Rocks

What rocks more than Jobs' 90 minute talk? This great 60 second remix of his 90 minute talk.

I love how the entire world seems willing and able to accommodate my growing attention deficit disorder.

Stirke Up the Band

I am not quite sure that words can describe quite how awesome this is:

Make sure you make it to at least 3:50.

A Sign of the Apocolypse

I had another post written up and ready to go last night, when I came across this NYTimes article on a chef suing several posh New York restaurants for stealing her menu. I laughed it off, dismissed it as crazy, and went to bed.

But all morning the lunacy is driving me crazy. And I think its because is seems to me that capitalism is beginning to fight itself. And the side of capitalism I support is clearly losing. Let me explain.

First, let me share the portion of the article that raises my blood pressure:

Charles Valauskas, a lawyer in Chicago who represents a number of restaurants and chefs in intellectual property matters, called their discovery of intellectual property law “long overdue” and attributed it to greater competition as well as the high cost of opening a restaurant.

“Now the stakes are so high,” he said. “The average restaurant can be millions of dollars. If I were an investor I’d want to do something to make sure my investment is protected.”

Ms. Charles’s investment was modest. She built Pearl Oyster Bar for about $120,000 — a cost that in today’s market qualifies as an early-bird special.

She acknowledged that Pearl was itself inspired by another narrow, unassuming place, Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco. But she said she had spent many months making hundreds of small decisions about her restaurant’s look, feel and menu.

Let's ignore the obvious: that her restaurant was inspired by another. We've all read Lessig, we know most of our classics are adaptations of other classics, that the fetish of original thought is a perversion of some Romantic ideals injected with steriods. What really bothers me is Valauskas' comment that an investor [in a restaurant] would want to do something to protect an investment. I completely agree. Do you know what she can do? Cook a better lobster roll. Cook better fried clams. Just f#cking cook better.

Isn't that the spirit of capitalism? Free-market competition. We all have access (at least theoretically) to the materials, now who can put them to best use? Or, I should say, that was the spirit of capitalism, which is now lost under an "protect ip" culture that makes Big Brother look like a comforting Uncle. Again, Lessig spelled this out for us: applying 19th century [PHYSICAL] industrial property laws to a 21st century [INTELLECTUAL] service economy is going to stifle our society's ability to create and compete on a global level.

I understand that the design of a restaurant, like the design of a website, is work. And that work should be rewarded. That work should be protected from theft. But not adaptation. The contemporary disdain for any kind of remixing or sampling is becoming more and more reactionary to me. And now that I'm about to be a dad, I 'm thinking about what kind of world my son/daughter will inherit. If things continue like this, then it won't be one in which America is near the front of the first world. This post is one of my contributions (with teaching, with digital activism) to changing it. So, if an adult Thomas Edward or Rowan Margaret happens to find this post, daddy did what he could, which wasn't much.

Sigh. At least I got that off my chest (catharsis is good).

Another Quick One

I don't think we can be friends if you don't like this one:

Powerthirst Sports Drink Spoof - Watch more free videos

Oh, one more thing: the Celtics are in such a dismal place that Kevin Garnett, who hasn't sniffed the playoffs in recent memory, is refusing what (in theory) would be a pretty good trade. Paul Pierce would be the talented wingman that Garnett's never really had in Minnesota. Those two players would make the Celtics a legitimate contender in the East. Oh well. I still think we'll end up trading our #5 pick to the Blazers for Randolf (that way Conley can be united with Oden and the Celtics get another low post player to match up with Jefferson).

Way back machine

I spent most of my blogging brain cells responding to Casey's question on yesterday's post, so here's a breather:

This ranks high in the hall of awesomeness. "Give him ze uppercut!"