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May 19, 2009

China's Greatest Living Playwright Should Stop Stealing From Me

Me, last year:

Power makes human beings stupid.

Now here's Sha Yexin, who frankly I hadn't heard of until today, but who is apparently a big deal in China:

[P]ower makes people stupid.

I don't think the fact that this observation has been made thousands of times in human history should affect my lawsuit against Mr. Yexin for one trillion dollars.

—Jonathan Schwarz

Posted at May 19, 2009 04:11 PM
Comments

I hereby inform you that I copyrighted the word "stupid", and you're both in violation. Aforementioned and hereinafter.

Posted by: abb1 at May 19, 2009 04:28 PM

Why the obscenely low amount?

Posted by: empty at May 19, 2009 04:38 PM

His section on not writing for power is superb. (I read that piece yesterday, and will post on it later tonight.)

Posted by: Batocchio at May 19, 2009 04:47 PM

"hereby inform you that I copyrighted the word "stupid","

I invented the concept--what you call it is of no importance. You'll be hearing from my lawyers, however.

Posted by: Donald Johnson at May 19, 2009 05:15 PM

Mr Schwarz, I think may be you owe him a few grands (I will not suggest a few millions)!! After all, he is publicising your observation and that of thousands of other individuals for FREE!!!! What can you get ( or where can you get anything) for free except of course unwanted or unasked for advice or opinion???

Posted by: Rupa Shah at May 19, 2009 05:43 PM

Here at US Plus, WE own the idea of stupid.

Posted by: Mike Meyer at May 19, 2009 05:58 PM

Sha Yexin has just issued an apology:

I didn't read Jon's blog last week, and didn't have any idea he had made that point until you informed me just now. i was talking to a friend of mine Friday about what I was writing who suggested I make this point, expressing it in a cogent -- and I assumed spontaneous -- way and I wanted to weave the idea into my new play. but, clearly, my friend must have read jon s without mentioning that to me. we're fixing it on the web, to give jon credit, and will include a note, as well as a formal correction tomorrow. i'll also ask jon if he'd like a part in my new play: the role of Chiang Kai-shek is still open.

The plot thickens.

PS Maureen Dowd has just issued another apology for lifting her recent apology to Josh Marshall from some Chinese playwright, someone she said, "frankly I hadn't heard of until today" -- words that echoed in the blogosphere as suspiciously similar to those uttered by a famous blogger that Ms Dowd could not possibly be unfamiliar with.

Stay tuned. It's going to get ugly.

Posted by: Bernard Chazelle at May 19, 2009 06:12 PM

Can he settle the lawsuit for $500bn is US Treasury bonds?

Posted by: Aaron Datesman at May 19, 2009 08:49 PM

It's Mr Sha, okay?

ALL Chinese surnames are in the FRONT! I merely anglicized mine for convenience sake.

Posted by: En Ming Hee at May 19, 2009 10:37 PM

Walt Disney's refrigerated head would be so proud of you.

Posted by: Jonathan Versen at May 19, 2009 11:13 PM

Dammit, that's Ted Williams's refrigerated head. Get your facts straight!

Posted by: bill at May 19, 2009 11:19 PM

Dammit, that's Ted Williams's refrigerated head. Get your facts straight!

Posted by: bill at May 19, 2009 11:19 PM

power, huh.

great.

what am i going to do with all this extra red wine?

Posted by: hapa at May 19, 2009 11:41 PM

It's Mr Sha, okay?

I am a very powerful man.

Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at May 19, 2009 11:50 PM

I merely anglicized mine for convenience sake.

I have to admit that I wish Chinese people (and others whose surnames come first) would stop doing that, as it really isn't convenient. I know Chinese surnames come first, but it's often difficult for a mere round-eye such as myself to tell whether a given name has been anglicised or not, which leads me to having to write salutations such as 'Dear En Ming Hee', which seems stilted.

So, stop it, Mr Hee! (Or is that Ms Hee? Okay, that's another problem. Maybe I should sue someone...)

Posted by: NomadUK at May 20, 2009 03:08 AM

This will only hurt Maureen Dowd because so many people don't like her. Plagiarism hasn't hurt Doris Kearns Goodwin, who continues to be on the talk shows, C-Span history shows, even Jon Stewart recently. Also, I don't think people are shunning Steven Ambrose, either.

Posted by: catherine at May 20, 2009 12:09 PM

This will only hurt Maureen Dowd because so many people don't like her. Plagiarism hasn't hurt Doris Kearns Goodwin, who continues to be on the talk shows, C-Span history shows, even Jon Stewart recently. Also, I don't think people are shunning Steven Ambrose, either.

Posted by: catherine at May 20, 2009 12:10 PM

My only concern is that Conan O'Brien makes a seamless, stress-free transition from NY to LA.

Posted by: Dennis Perrin at May 20, 2009 12:18 PM

From the Noam Chomsky piece you linked to below:

The inspirational phrase "city on a hill" was coined by John Winthrop in 1630, borrowing from the Gospels, and outlining the glorious future of a new nation "ordained by God." One year earlier his Massachusetts Bay Colony created its Great Seal. It depicted an Indian with a scroll coming out of his mouth. On that scroll are the words "Come over and help us." The British colonists were thus pictured as benevolent humanists, responding to the pleas of the miserable natives to be rescued from their bitter pagan fate.

I swear I read this years ago right here at ATR. Is even Noam Chomsky stealing from you now? The bastard.

Posted by: SteveB at May 20, 2009 12:30 PM

1) To steal a line from Joseph Conrad, "Mr. Ambrose, he dead."

2) Great illustrated novella about Dick Cheney's frozen head (among others) here: http://www.wetmachine.com/item/1389

Posted by: johnny at May 20, 2009 01:32 PM

Be advised that Google's affiliate, Google Owned Divestitures ("GOD"), holds all rights to the use of the phrase "power makes people stupid," having acquired such rights per recent class action settlement from the public as illigitimus non carborundum equitable legatee of Friedrich Nietzsche, who made this statement in Twilight of the Idols when addressing, as briefly as anyone ever possibly could, the subject of What the Germans Lack:

"It costs a lot to come to power: power makes people stupid. The Germans--once they were considered the people of thinkers: do they think at all these days?"

See Neitzsche's Political Skepticism, Tamsin Shaw, note 94 at page 33 (Princeton University Press, 2007).

Posted by: Law Department at May 20, 2009 04:38 PM

nancy pelosi was briefed about this.

Posted by: hapa at May 20, 2009 04:58 PM