One of my drafts is a paper-like report called "On the use and abuse of E2 for its self-growth via remixing". I began writing it right after submitting my first writeup at E2 (How to love again) because I had this strange idea and didn't want to forget it.
I'm a confessed fan of this not-really-new "remix culture" that has arguably been popularized in recent years with the Everything is a Remix web series by Kirby Ferguson. The main idea of this culture is that we, as a society, are overestimating the value of "new" and "original" ideas and degrading the remix-ing of previous works; when the general process of remix-ing is (arguably) the biggest, most used engine of creativity in history.
One of the most famous examples of this statement is William Shakespeare, one of the biggest contributors to Literature. He is often cited as a master of remix, basing his plays and works on existing tales, changing the names and settings but keeping the same overall plot structure.
I don't know enough about Shakespeare to fully know whether he did remix existing tales or not, but I certainly have enjoyed remixed media and rejecting the remixing process would be kind of a double standard for me, which is one argument that I have for remixing.
I also feel a strange fascination with remixing because it's at the same time a simple concept (using preexisting media to create a new piece) without a formal way of doing it. Sometimes the actual remix method may be more interesting than the result itself, which makes it an interesting exercise on how to create art. A remixed piece can be an answer to the question "How can I combine and rearrange preexisting works?" as well as looking to express a different meaning with the same objects.
So I have decided to embark on a personal journey/experiment during which I will contribute to E2 via remixes only. The basic idea it is to Remix E2's content to create more (hopefully interesting) content. The actual remixing method, however, is still not decided. Here are some things that I will consider doing on this first remix round:
- Stream of consciousness on new writeups: I will read the title of a new writeup and will begin writing about whatever comes to mind
- Nodeshell clash:I will take two random nodeshells' titles, combine them and create a new writeup based on it.
- Fictionalizing: Write fiction based on a non-fiction writeup based only on its title
Of course, I will only submit these to E2 if the result is interesting and adds to E2's quality as a site. The observations and preliminary results of these will be presented on a future log. Eventually, "On the use and abuse... will contain all the results of these shenanigans of mine
Also, Happy Birthday America!