Mything the Point

John Amos had an excellent article in the Orange Review this past week (sorry, no link -- I'll see if I can get permission to reprint it here). Amos was talking about how Bible stories are no longer a part of our common heritage, and how that stunted a modern reader's understanding of classic literature.

His column comes on the heels of a recent experience my wife had. She's a social worker and took a new worker out on a child protective services call with her. Two divorced parents were fighting (literally) over custody of their children, and my wife explained that she was going to use the Judgement of Solomon to break the deadlock. She was met with a blank look.

On the way back to the office afterward, the worker revealed that she had never heard of Solomon, and had no idea what my wife was talking about.

According to Amos, that kind of ignorance is becoming increasingly common. While most people are fully conversant with pop culture references, Bible stories are almost unknown. Ditto for Greek mythology and other bulwarks of Western civilization.

One of my favorite books in elementary school was "D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths." I discovered it in 6th grade and read and reread it many times. It very simply (and with a lot of pictures) told the stories of the Greek gods and heroes. What a cool book. It's where I learned about Athena springing full-grown from Zeus' head, and Pandora's box, the punishment of Sisyphus, Jason and the Argonauts, Hercules, and the rest.

I've since read other more extensive tellings, but it gave me a good grounding in classical literature (just as Sunday School gave me a solid background in the Bible).

So why is any of this important?

Because these stories can still speak to us. I've used the illustration of the Sword of Damocles before -- and it was a perfect illustration of my point. I'm not a good leader, and when people insist on putting me in charge of their committee, I warn them it's like Phaeton taking the reigns.

Stomping out terrorism is likeHercules fighting the hydra -- cut off one head, and two grow in its place. Hercules defeated the monster by doing something different, and perhaps there's a lesson for us as well.

If you're not familiar with Greek mythology, pick up a copy of D'Aulaires' book, or Edith Hamilton's "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" and treat yourself. They're both enjoyable reads, and you'll be surprised at how much more conversant you'll be about other fields that reference Greek mythology.

The psychological condition of narcissism references the story of Narcissus (as does the flower that shares his name). Vulcanization refers to Vulcan ( the Roman name for Hephaestus) in describing this fire-based process. The Achilles' tendon is located at the one spot this Greek hero was vulnerable. The word "tantalize" comes from the myth of Tantalus -- and there's many more.

So I'm with John Amos on this one. Sure, its great to be able to catch that reference to "Jerry McGuire" (you had me at [fill in the blank]), but that's a much shallower form of cultural literacy. Having a working knowledge of Greek mythology will just make you a better-informed person in many ways.

And the Bible? Well, a thorough knowledge of that book can be even more rewarding.

- Ralph

The Mason Brothers -- Jarring the Music Industry

Recently I posted about advice I gave to some parents who asked how their son could break into the music business. I didn't tell them what they wanted to hear, which was how to get signed to a major label. Instead, I offered up some examples of how to go about building an audience in this post-major label era, citing Jonathan Coulton and Geoff Smith.

I also told them something else neither they nor their son really wanted to hear -- that you have to get out there and promote yourself every way you possibly can. The advantage of the Internet is that most of the ways to do this are free. The disadvantage is that they're all labor-intensive.

I was fortunate to get a copy of "The Sun, the Moon & the Sea," the new acoustic album from the Richmond, Virginia-based Mason Brothers. It's a well-crafted album of solid songwriting with some truly inspired arrangements. There's a nice balance between the guitars and the vocals that sit just right.
So how are the Mason Brothers getting the word out about "The Sun, the Moon & the Sky?" They're working the Internet every way they can -- and the results are starting to pay off. If you're looking for the Mason Brothers, you'll easily find them. And that's good -- because as their profile rises, more people will be seeking them out.

In addition to their website, you can also check the Mason Brothers out on Myspace.com. They also have a band blog, entitled "Hood up, Hazards on" to keep the conversation with fans going. And they've worked hard to make their music as available as possible online.

Want a copy of the CD? You can purchase it from CDBaby.com, or Amazon.com.

Prefer digital downloads? Well, you can find them on iTunes and Amazon.com, as well as MP3.com, eFolkMusic.com, and AmieStreet.com. That last one is interesting because bands are promoted on the site through social networking. The tracks start out as free, and as the recommendations and downloads accrue, the price starts to rise until it tops out at 0.99. In other words, the more popular a band is, the more they can earn at Amie Street.

And the Mason Brothers have social networking covered, too. MySpace takes care of some of that, but they're also on OurStage.com, and lastfm.com. You can also find mentions of them at top40-charts.com, mevio.com, MusicDirects.com, mayplay.fm, as well as various blogs.

The band's reaching out another way, too. They've placed some of their music with Youlicense.com, which makes it available for use in movies, TV shows, and other forms of entertainment. And unlike with major label artists, the band gets all the licensing money, not just a small percentage.

Now constructing websites, providing content for blogs and Myspace pages, and getting music registered with all those download sites takes a lot of time and effort. The Mason Brothers have done what's necessary to lay the foundation.

And now the band seems to be moving to the next level of Internet presence. A video of the band was just posted on YouTube. And the post wasn't from the Mason Brothers, it was from the venue, the Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville.



When other people start freely promoting a band, that's when things start to happen. There's still a lot of work for the artist to do, but as more people come on board it gets easier to get the word out. That helps sales increase. And since all the money goes straight to the Mason Brothers (as opposed to 10-12% as it would if they were signed to a major label), the total volume of sales doesn't have to be very large to start generating a nice return on their investment.

And here's the important thing. None of this works if the music isn't good, which is why major label flacks have met with indifferent success with this Interwebtube thing.

The Mason Brothers are very, very, good.

- Ralph

The Orphan Works Act

Since I'm blogging about politics this week, there's one other piece of legislation worthy of everyone's attention -- the Orphan Works Act, H.R. 5889 and S.2913.

Orphan works are copyrighted material that has been abandoned. A book published by a defunct publisher is a good example. Although the copyright may not be expired, the copyright holder no longer exists -- and the work cannot be used by anyone else. As I've pointed out in an earlier post, this can be a real problem, especially for archivists.

As the law's currently written works copyrighted after 1922 are protected for 95 years (and ones after 1978 even longer). So everything between registered between 1922 and 1978 is off-limits until 2019 at the earliest. Which means that books, films, and recordings from the 1920's deteriorate beyond recovery, while libraries watch helplessly. They're unable to make copies of this material because it would violate the rights of an owner who no longer exists.

There's more to this, of course, which is why the Orphan Works Act is a hugely controversial bill. Currently, there are massive penalties for the unauthorized use of copyrighted material. So if you used something you thought was an orphan work, and the owner showed up, you could be on the hook for huge punitive damages.

The bill basically tweaks the law a little. It would require the user to use "due diligence" to seek out the copyright owner. If one can't be found, then they can proceed. And if later the owner shows up, then they are entitled to the proceeds and profits from the unauthorized use of their material, but not punitive damages.

Artists are up in arms. As they see it, someone could take their work, claim they didn't know it wasn't public domain, and pay them peanuts. Well, the key is actually what "due diligence" entails. The most current artwork is pretty easy to trace -- especially online -- so there's some recourse. If someone just claims they "thought" it was in the public domain when the owner steps forward, then they're still liable for punitive damages. The onus of proof is on the user that they made a reasonable effort to determine who owned the work and to contact them.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's weighed in with their view. The EFF's take on it is similar to mine -- protection is still in place for the artists, but now it's been added for users who can prove they thoroughly researched the copyright before appropriating the material.

So is this a good bill or no? To answer that question, I went to the source, read the legislation for myself and then decided. OK, I know I've made my views fairly clear in this post, but for anyone reading about this bill for the first time, I suggest you don't take my analysis on faith. Go to the source and read the bill for yourself. Then you'll have a point of reference for considering the pros and cons of this debate.

After all, the idea here is to promote more democracy in action, not democratic inaction.

- Ralph

The RIAA and the Astounding Analogy

Last post I offered up an option to the RIAA –- adapt with the times. My example was the publisher Street and Smith, and how they took their creative content (the Shadow) and continually repackaged it for whatever media the public was consuming at the time. That same publisher provides an example of what happens if you stick with the same business model through thick or thin.

Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact magazine holds the distinction of being the oldest scine fiction magazine continually in print. Started in 1930 as Astounding Science Fiction, the magazine was soon sold to Street and Smith during the heyday of the pulps. Circulation soared, with adolescent boys making up the primary readership. The market matured, and so did the magazine. Under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Astounding printed more adult fiction. Classic stories by Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and many others debuted in the pages of Astounding in the 1940’s.

After World War II, most pulp magazines died off, as the readership shifted to paperbacks. Astounding continued to thrive, however, finding a new readership among those in the fields of science and technology. In time, the magazine changed its name to Analog, citing that its stories were analogs of what could be (this was in the early 1960’s – before “analog” became the downside of “digital”).

By the 1970’s circulation began declining. Although Analog always held its own against rival publication, most adolescents were now interested in TV and movie science fiction, and never got around to the fiction magazines. Analog was sold to Ziff-Davis, and continues publication today, with a circulation of about 10,000.

The lesson for the RIAA? If you stay the course, you can still be profitable – just not as much as you were before.

If the RIAA insists on sticking to the concept of selling bits of plastic, then they should look to Analog. The market will shrink, but eventually stabilize. They can expect a modest profit, rather than the massive profit they currently enjoy.

Despite the lawsuits and lobbying, CD sales will continue to shrink. I don’t think CDs will disappear entirely. After all, the Internet didn’t kill newspapers, e-books didn’t kill paper-printed books, and although virtually everyone uses a computer at work, we still don’t have a paperless office.

So those are the lessons from Street and Smith. Adapt with the times, or be prepared to make less money doing the same old thing. And despite the RIAA’s best efforts, “none of the above” is not an option.

- Ralph

In Praise of Greenberg

Question: is the Internet always better? No. Over the holidays my dad and I, both toy train collectors, were trying to do a little detective work. We had a steam locomotive and boxcar that had survived from 1942 –- they had been part of a set, but we didn't know what other freight cars came with it.

The Greenberg Guides have been our standard reference work for years. For toy trains, especially Lionel Trains, Greenberg Guides have consistently proven informative and accurate. My father did some writing and editing for a few of Bruce Greenberg's publications, and I got to see first-hand how a pool of knowledgeable hobbyists could create reference works as rigorous in their scholarship as any specialized encyclopedia.

Most fields of collecting have a standard reference work that hobbyists use to determine rarity, value and general background information. Scott publications for stamp-collecting springs to mind.

The particular Greenberg Guide we needed was at Dad's house, so we tried to do a little research on the web and got a real education. All of my searches –- even those using catalog numbers –- yielded ebay pages almost exclusively. While ebay may be a great place to buy, it's a notoriously unreliable information source. We saw mismatched pieces called "sets," common items labeled "rare," and photo captions that were just plain wrong.

The adventure prompted a discussion about the importance of accurate information to collecting. Someone who had not witnessed our online travails wondered if there was any money in publishing such works –- wasn't it easier just to post it on a website?

Sure; as long as the level of scholarship and peer review remains high. Bruce Greenberg and other dedicated enthusiasts set the bar quite high. Higher than what I found online this weekend.

- Ralph