What a Dick Move

I am an ENORMOUS fan of Philip K Dick’s writings (no small thanks to Richard Linklater) and i’ve always been thankful that his family has been so protective over his legacy.

THIS, however… is troubling to me:
http://gothamist.com/2010/01/06/philip_k_dick_daughter_threatens_la.php

I mean… i DO see her point. Even though the word nexus has been used for other products in the past… this phone runs on “android” and that may indicate some intentional reference to the Nexus 6. But i think we’re entering dangerous territory here… How long will it be until every phrase imaginable is copyrighted?

I hate to think that the heir to the estate of my hero is now joining the ranks of AutoZone (who sued Brittney Spears, claiming ownership of the phrase “in the zone“) … or AOL/Time/Warner (who can sue you if you don’t ask their permission before singing “Happy Birthday to You.”)

I wonder why she’s never considered suing Cisco over their “Nexus 7000″ line of switches.  A switch is a decision-making device… not exactly a true-to-form “android” but then again neither is a smart phone. The name is Nexus and it has a number right after it. Same list of offenses.

Come on Isa… do your homework. You could be suing WAY more people than this. There’s a “Valis” Rock Band… and a “Valis III” video game… why not THEM? Start googling every meme your father ever put on paper and see what comes up.

Or better yet… DON’T contribute to the commoditazation of the english language. That would make me much happier.

Tags: blade runner, entitlement, google phone, lawsuit, Morality, nexus one, philip k dick, science fiction

…with Kindness

Sometimes the battle between good and evil transpires in small and unexpected places… like the back of this TP dispenser in Santa Cruz. I’m sure the original graffiti artist did not expect their work to turn into a collaborative piece, but so it has become.

Tags: graffiti, kindness, Morality

The Case for Working With Your Hands

Props to Resynthesize for finding this…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?_r=1&em
a FANTASTIC article in the New York Times about the intrinsic (and often overlooked) value of working with your hands. Authored by Matthew B Crawford, whose new book, Shop Class as Soulcraft sounds equally impressive.

“In the boardrooms of Wall Street and the corridors of Pennsylvania Avenue, I don’t think you’ll see a yellow sign that says “Think Safety!” as you do on job sites and in many repair shops, no doubt because those who sit on the swivel chairs tend to live remote from the consequences of the decisions they make. Why not encourage gifted students to learn a trade, if only in the summers, so that their fingers will be crushed once or twice before they go on to run the country?

On a related note, I recently read a piece suggesting that art students are subject to a similar style of “life-training.” For example: when you set out to draw a portrait, there are no set rules for where to begin or what style it should be rendered in. When you are moving the pencil, you are making hundreds of tiny decisions per second without any detailed instructions. Only you can decide what strokes are “right” or “wrong” or when you are “done.” In this respect, art teaches us confidence… how to make your own decisions and stand behind them… and just like in a repair shop, if you screw something up, the feedback is instantaneous, tactile and measurable. You can’t fudge numbers or lay people off at the end of the quarter to cover up the fact that your kerning sucks.

For this reason, it’s a shame that the art programs are usually the first to get cut when the budget is looking lean. But I digress… if you have time, read this article.

Tags: art, corporations, establishment, Morality, philosophy, present moment, Shop Class