Let's talk about 'Plagiarism'

*rant warning--rant warning*

Okay.. I mean to talk plainly and frankly about 'plagiarism' here. It's *my* Facebook and if you don't like what I have to say, by all means---there's the door!

Now then ... I would first like to give due credit and respects to those who are here as my friends--my Educators and fellow authors. They've all worked hard to get where they are.. and I respect that. (Incidentally--I always will!)

HOWEVER.....We have slid right across the poop deck, across starboard side and right over the edge of the plank when it comes to the topic of 'plagiarism' in today's society!

First of all--let us agree on this much: There are a whole lot of books, with a whole lot of stories, with a whole lot of characters that are set and made known by a whole lot of words--commonly known as a whole lot of letters that are arranged by various linguistic characteristics into a whole lot of dialects and languages... *whew* (oh and if any of those words are trademarked--by all means--due credit--*again*)

Alright.. books and stories filled with words. Yes. One in particular--"The Twilight" Series by Stephenie Meyer.See this link to read some background on this matter:http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32289030/ns/today-today_books/?gt1=43001

Okay.. back? Groovy!
Alright.. plagiarism--in particular with respect to "Twilight" and its subsequent books by the very talented Ms. Meyers! Apparently a person named J. Craig Williams is threatening to sue in Federal Court, Ms. Meyers on the basis of certain 'similarities' that may (or most likely may not) exist between the relatively unknown and obscure "The Nocturne" written by a teenager and released in 2006--and Twilight.

Oh.. I'm sorry have you not *heard* of "The Nocturne"??? Oh, then I would say count yourself amongst the other millions of readers in the world that have NEVER EVEN HEARD of this story! (But of course, Williams is insisting that somehow, someway *maybe it's that Alice Cullen preternatural ability thing*-) that Ms. Meyers is guilty of 'plagiarizing' this earlier story.

So that's what really "Grinded My Gears" (oh and due credit to Family Guy for that quote!)

Plagiarism--oh dear kiddies--Once upon a time, (with due credit to whoever conceived of that nice little way to start a story) plagiarism was the act of lifting someone's words and then claiming them as your own (usually for an assignment.)

It was such a simple world then, wasn't it?
I mean.. for example: "It was a dark and stormy night..." written by Patricia Scott-Anderson, would be plagiarism of Charles Schultz's work which was the opening of Snoopy's novels...
Hmmmm.....
Wait a second...
Was Charles Schultz the first one to use those words strung together in that simple line--or did he plagiarize someone else?
Hmmmmm... in all the dawns of human history--did ANYONE ELSE STRING THOSE SAME WORDS TOGETHER...?? I wonder....

In any case, the person who plagiarized usually knew they did when they did it. Let's call it a crime of passion or...a misdemeanor of decorum... or simply an Oh S*#%t moment, when they realized that a paper was due in less than 12 hours and they had ---nada--... desperation.

However, today--apparently--you can now so fully claim a "thought", a "wondering", a "story theme" as to be able to accuse another person of having somehow lifted those right out of your brain and depositing them in the receptacle known as THEIR brain and then transmitting these thoughts via various neurosynaptical processes on to paper and ---Et Voila!--Plagiarism!

I am an author.
I am an author that is being published (complete with an ISBN even!) this very month.
I have poems that use the words 'gray' and 'pain' and 'beautiful boy'.
I hereby give any one of you permission to use those same words--cause guess what folks---
I DIDN'T INVENT THEM!

I am an author--but I do not deem myself so very, very creative as to be the first person who has ever lost a child and then written a poem about it. Shockingly enough, I'm probably not even the first parent that has ever lost a child, written a poem about it and THEN.. been blessed to have them deemed worthy enough of a publishing agreement!
Imagine that!???

With all that said---Let's cue up the elevator music and consider for a moment--the world and work of Carl Jung--who believed that there were many Archetypes that were part of a Collective Unconscious that constantly interact with humanity.Let me translate that for you a bit: We are all part of one big melting pot and nothing we do, nothing we think, nothing we feel, nothing we experience is--new. We are not inventing, anything because we control--nothing.

Huzzah!

Vampire stories. Yes.. They've been around a while--these blood drinking beings that interact with humanity in the darkness of the night. Any vampire tale, that involves a human and a vampire--is going to have the same melting pot of imagery and quite possibly words--why? Because we didn't invent them!
Anne Rice's vampires--
Bram Stoker's vampire--
Angela Carter's vampire
and yes....
Williams' vampire

They are *one and all* pulling from the same melting pot (aka the Collective Unconscious) for the imagery that forms the story. The feelings, are not new--they are part of the collective experience of all humanity. The situations--uh oh, not new there either--because people have been married and divorced, living and dead, sun up, sun down, since the dawn of humanity!

With that said---why can a person claim that they've been 'plagiarized' based on a similar IDEA??
Preposterous.
I had a teacher once tell me that it was possible to "plagiarize one's self."
Really.. REALLY preposterous if you ask me.
If I wrote it the first time, do I not have the right to reuse, refuse, recycle my own thoughts now???
Geez Louise! Everyone take a Prozac and chill the hell out!

While William's story might have fallen into the Bargain Bin never to be heard from again---how is this Ms. Meyer's fault?
So Bella gets married.Guess what? So have other humans mixed with vampires in other stories.
Bella has a baby--woo-- folks, read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles where they juncture in with the Mayfair Dynasty and --yup-- you guessed it! We have Rowan Mayfair nearly dying from an overzealous preternatural papoose and we have Mona Mayfair become a vampire!Shock of shocks!
Utter and terrible desolation!

*rolling eyes*

And the major point here my friends---is this--- (particularly if YOU are a writer--hear me well...)YOU ARE NOT SAYING ANYTHING THAT HASN'T BEEN SAID BEFORE. YOU ARE NOT WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT BEFORE. YOU ARE NOT EVEN THINKING AN ALL ORIGINAL THOUGHT--IT'S ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE!

The battle my friends, is in WHO can say it the BEST and get the LUCRATIVE DEAL that will park an Aston-Martin along side the Benz in the garage that houses three classic mustangs, a Benz, an Aston-Martin, a Lamborghini--oh, and a partridge in a pear tree!

So Ms. Meyer's said it better than someone else.
She said it at the right time, in the right place.
She handed it to the right person and got the right contract.
She had the right kind of P.R.
She had the right kind of fans.

Bully for her! :)

People that would like to ride on the coat tails of other authors who have had wonderful success, are just annoying. And yes.. this story annoyed me.

Sooo.. that's what I have to say about that.
So now.. I will go and type my unoriginal words in a rather unoriginal manuscript on an unoriginal computer keyboard and I will HOPE--that it will meet with the same success as Stephenie Meyers' "Twilight":)

Gay Marriage and the Divine Right to Stupidity

"I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator."

When you read that.. what comes to mind? A righteous man/woman? Someone you would want to see in the White House or in the upper levels of government?

Many people are looking for a leader who takes that stance--who allows religion and their following of it to govern a nation and a world. It's been around for awhile, really..Look again...

"I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator."....
Adolph Hitler

Alot of people DIED because of this man's philosophy.
Many more suffered diabolically horrendous torture and yet.. when we look at his words alone--how many would think, gee.. that's a philosophy I believe in... a person I would throw my vote behind?

So why do I write about this on a Sunday morning?
Well.. I've noticed alot of folks voting on the "Gay marriage" poll here on Facebook and other places, and most of the time, their reason falls somewhere to the religious end of things--
why should we not allow gay marriage?
Well...well..er... cause its wrong!
Why is it wrong?
Uhhh.. well... uh... cause God said so!

Well folks.. you would be falling right into line with the Nazi regime if you believe that Divine Right is enough to make law and to enforce law. Hitler and his party believed the same. By Divine decree, the Jews should die.. along with a number of righteous Christians who protected them, along with a number of homosexuals, along with any number of people who didn't believe as he did!

Yup.. that ol' "Cause God said so.." can be an awfully dangerous reason... when you consider the numbers of people worldwide who died
In the Inquisition as well--all in the name of God.
Or
in the Crusades
OR
in the genocides in Africa
OR
here on American soil, our Native American brothers and sisters
OR
here on American soil in the Civil War

Need I go on?

All of these wars and political machines were backed by "God"
or our concept thereof
of this Deity who is always absentee and not able to defend himself
against a followers that would use his name to kill, to maim, to destroy.

If we take the bible as the sole authority on right living--well then most of us should be stoning our children to death or should have been killed for our own behaviors.
Goodbye bacon, pork sausage and all that lovely pig industry!
We would all be working on Sunday as it is the first day of the week and not the Sabbath that the Ten Commandments speak of.. yup, under the "law" anyone who attends church on Sunday is breaking the commandments..
Do you wear jewelry ladies? Yah, get rid of it.. that's sinful adornment. Men, do you cut your hair? For shame for shame...

I could go on.. but I think I've made my point:
The "law of God" can be (and has been) interpreted any number of ways throughout the centuries and has been used as the catalyst for the killing of millions worldwide.

So... do I believe we should legalize gay marriage?
You betcha.
Why?
Well because it is wrong to deny to one group the civil rights that other groups enjoy, based solely on some moral code or law that belongs to a religious persuasion.
Why?
Because I know that many of those that seek out the protection of this law do so for reasons that are just--to have insurance and legal protection for their loved one (to which they are entitled, like anyone else).

There was a time when we didn't let a black man/woman drink from the same water fountain, sit on the same seat, attend the same schools--and yep, you guessed it..
we came up with that little nugget of wisdom from religious upbringing as well.

Religion, is dangerous... in my opinion.
When it takes away the common sense of people and the common decency that should categorize humanity on the whole.
Why do we care who people sleep with?
Who they marry?
Why is it such a cause for hatred and violence?
Are we so afraid that our entire way of life would collapse by giving status to another group?

If our entire way of life hinges upon who is F*#($ing who then our way of life is in trouble anyways.. let's face it.

It's time to wake up and smell the multi-cultural coffee--folks.
It's time to really apply that 'golden rule' and to stop picking and choosing which rules we are going to follow (or not).
This.. cafeteria-style religion, pick and choose what you want and what you don't...is HURTING PEOPLE.
And quite frankly.. I'm sick of it.

I do not care who is sleeping with who, because it does not involve me. It's called PRIVACY.
I do not care who is marrying who, as long as I have the right to marry as I will and to be happy with that person.
I do not care about what the bible says is right or wrong, as long as I know it was written by men who were just as likely to be right as wrong at the time of the writing.
I do not care who or how others worship, as long as I have the right to worship as I will, when I will.

I sure do wish the rest of the world would do the same..

Drag Me To Hell- Raimy, 2009. HELL YAH!

Alright..SAM RAIMY has a HIT. Without a doubt.

Weaving many of the traditional elements of the successful horror film genre together, with an extra firm thread of gypsy/cuendera magic curses and poor defenseless little kitties.. OH HEAVENS..

Yup.. its a HIT and truly worth the 7 bucks you'll pay to go see it in a theatre.I would sincerely doubt that watching it at home on a small screen would give the same effect as being a part of the film and part of the audience that is randomly squirming, jumping and hollering out (despite themselves) "EWWWWWW!"

*spoiler alert--if you don't want to know.. don't read any further*

Christine Brown has a real dilemma on her hands. A choice, between what is right and what is lucrative.
What can I tell ya about Christine.. but that ... she chooses. BADLY.
The rest of the movie is the series of problems that her choice brings to her, after a gypsy woman curses her at the movie's start.

So what elements really scared the pants off people today?

1. I can tell you that the effective use of the old traditional soundtrack fx--worked. From the build-up of timed heart thumping musical score--to the dead silence--to the WHAM! RIGHT IN YOUR FACE something gross, terrifying or otherwise stomach churning effect. YES. The music score was right on target in this. A+

2. So for you youngsters that have a real issue with old farts (yah, you know who you are) Your first fright is Madame Ganush and your second one is her teeth--laying on Ms. Browns Desk! Beyond that.. well Granny Ganush and her gypsy curses are just gonna haunt your dreams for some time. For sure. Nothing like Gyspy Granny slober all over you to really make your day.

3. The use of natural elements manipulation. Wind, thunder, rain--yup.. we have everything but a "bright, bright... sunshiney day!"That wind is really a problem and I'm not talking about the raise your skirt kind of problem. Ayup. The rain, particularly in the cemetary.. yah.. problematic unless you like.. *LIKE* slip and sliding with dead bodies of Granny Ganush's Past. Ayup.

4. Mixing in a lot of darker humor, just draws you in all that much more deeply. "Here, kitty kitty kitty..." Yah, that was just really baaaaaad. :)

5. Now, *I* knew what was coming at the end. But I only knew because I tend to watch horror movies with an eye (hahahah you'll know more about that eye when you see the movie!) to the subtle details that are usually a big part of the story that are gratuitously but not always noteably there in the start, right after the movie credits roll.

In any case folks--if you've been looking for a horror movie that will really give you something to be scared over.. one that is off the beaten track for the 'same ol same ol'... sit yourself down to Raimy's little fright fest==it's worth your time AND your money! Promise.

Lazy Sunday Morning

You know, I think I must be bored or something.

It's another day of sittin around, not doing much of anything at all, staring at the same four walls and apparently the same movies I've stared at a million times.

Generally, lounging around and doing nothing, isn't bothersome to me.. but lately, admittedly--it's getting to me.
Of course, there are alot of things I could be doing rather than doing nothing.. problem is I have been a bit shy on the motivation this week (five nights of insomnia for various reasons will do that to a person I guess)

In any case, my summer classes begin this week so that will be speeding up the "have to do's" portion of the summer.
Then there is of course, my writing which keeps me occupied a great lot of the time...

I guess I just wish that I could look at something else for a change whilst doing them!

Ah well...
So it's a lazy Sunday morning. I have my coffee in hand and I had a relatively good night sleep. So we'll see what the day brings. :)

What makes something really spooky?

One of my interests that I hope to turn into a future class at University level, is: The Elements of Fear: in Literature and Film.

Obviously, that is a big heaping helping of thought and consideration and research and I'll spare you that--for now. *heh*

But...

Today, while nursing a burning throat (gotta love strep) we decided to revisit our old pal Hannibal Lector in a triple feature of:

Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal
Hannibal Rising

To begin, I would be remiss if I didn't say that one of the scary parts of Hannibal was the rather horrid portrayal of Clarice Starling by Julianne Moore. Okay all together now: "JUST SAY NO!"
The fact is: No one was going to pull of that role like Jody Foster did in Silence of the Lambs and Julianne Moore can't do a West Virginia accent to save her soul.

But onward:

As I was watching the three movies the themes that truly made Harris' work on Hannibal Lector so frightening and memorable are probably the same themes that have always scared humanity.

Silence of the Lambs
Dark prisons, dark enclosures, sociopaths (or people who have no conscience whatsoever) and the loss of a child.

Hannibal
traitors, darkness, being hunted and then of course the ever gruesome dining of Ray Liotta's character on his own brain. Yup, that will do it every time.

Hannibal Rising
darkness, death of parents, death of siblings, cannibalism, torture, being hunted

As I survey the three all put together: It seems to me that the theme of enclosure
darkness
death and torture
cannibalism
Were the big frighteners of the triad of movies and why wouldn't they be?

In any case.. an enjoyable triple feature movie day, despite a hurting throat.
If you have any thoughts on the elements of fear in literature and movies.. please feel free to pass them on to me.

Soooo..

What REALLY scares you?

Is there any good New Mexican food--anywhere except New Mexico?

And so my friends, the trevails of trying to find a decent plate of Mexican food out here in Oklahoma, continue. *le sigh*

I guess, I was spoiled to the fire and tastes of New Mexico cuisine.. who wouldn't be--when you can find places like Sadie's and Casa Vieja right beneath the pebble in your summer sandle in the middle of Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico??

There is just nothing.. (and I do mean.. NOTHING) that is more satisfying than sitting down to a meal that is Hatch-Hot-Enough to put hair on the most conservative gringa's chest!
Ahhh yes... the chili is probably growing well by now and will yield to the sweaty task of harvesting and then to the delectible aroma of green chili turning in the large vat roasters in front of every grocery store in the state in October-November.

Pinon! Yes.. not "pine nuts" you silly gringos.. Pinon (pin-Yo-Nnnnn). You can mix and match them to most anything--including fudge! Ahhh the Candy Lady, downtown Old Town Albuquerque--complete with the 'naughty candy shapes' *heh* gotta love em!

Tamales, posole, callabacitas, tortillas, sopapillas, enchiladas, carne adovada....

(I do believe I'm making myself hungry!)

AND YET....

*tapping foot*

None of these can be found out here in the Okie area, Indian Territory, Bible-belt buckle area.. and I do... Sooooooo miss them.

And so.. I shall simply have to remember them fondly until I can make my way home to get me some! ;)

And.. we're live!

Greetings!

Hello my dear ones!
A note to let you know that my Official Site is going active this week on the internet. Please feel free to check it out:

http://mischapeters.com/PatriciaSite/index.html

At the moment it is found at the above link, however, this week it will be findable by Patriciascottanderson.com or .net

So what else is new you might wonder:

I am in the editing process with Mourning Has Broken, the book of poetry that is soon to be released by Twin Sisters Publishing. It's certainly been a journey... a long one.

Madeline
Has been queried to the Elaine English Agency in Washington, DC and I do hope to get her petite foot in the door with them soon. It's a story that has captured the attention and the devotion of a number of people already and of course.. I'm very proud of its status as the Winner of the 2008 Paul Hughes Writing Contest

Il Acquirente
Continues to evolve with the characters of Romulus, Viviane and Amanda and the secondary characters that are being introduced soon to propel the story forward.

Otherwise:
Congratulations to my daughter Rebekah Rose--on her graduations from PHS and GCTC this past week. She's an amazing young woman that I am proud to call daughter.

Kevin begins his internship this fall for the Rehab Counselor degree from ECU and I have no doubt he will be *all* smiles when he doesn't have to sit in the desks anymore! :)

It's beginning to look alot like summer in the Indian Territory.. its too hot to go outside much. I think, I'm ready for winter again. *tee hee hee*

So that's about it for now.
See ya on the web!