Univ. of Chicago: No "Windy City" credit for your work! Ever!

Tue Jul 26 20:30:57 UTC 2005

Barry, e.e. cummings expressed what you're feeling this way:

"There is some shit I will not eat!"

Best wishes and good luck!

-Wilson Gray

On Jul 26, 2005, at 2:30 PM, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject:      Univ. of Chicago: No "Windy City" credit for your work!
> Ever!
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> No one should be  humiliated like this for ten years, but here's the
> latest
> in the "Windy City"  ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHICAGO plagiarism of my work. No
> explanation. No apology. Just  go away!
> ...
> The President of Chicago should be fired for this:
> ...
> ...
> The University of Chicago
> Office of Legal Counsel
> 5801 Ellis Avenue
> Chicago, IL 60637
> Russell J. Heron
> Associate General Counsel
> ...
> July 20, 2005
> ...
> Dear Mr. Popik:
> ...
> I am responding to your e-mail message of July 19, 2005, to Don Michael
> Randel and me. My June 13, 2005 letter responded to your complaints
> (It did
> not--ed.) and states the University of Chicago's position.
> Unfortunately,  you do
> not seem to understand what plagiarism is, and what it is not.
> ...
> We will have no further correspondence with you regarding this  matter.
> ...
> Sincerely,
> Russell J. Herron.
> ...
> ...
> And that's that.
> ...
> The June 13, 2005 response stated that I had found one 1885 citation,
> but it
> can't be copyrighted, so go screw yourself. I then wrote back that I
> had
> found the second, 1886 citation that was used by the book, also
> without credit,
> It was found through many hours of hard work and travel to the Library
> of
> Congress. In addition to that, I had stated a unique scholarly
> conclusion that
> "Windy City" had nothing to do with the 1893 World's Fair, that the
> Encyclopedia  had known all of this at least a year before
> publication, and that I had
> better  work that I was generously offering the Chicago Historical
> Society and
> others  for free.
> ...
> It's good to know that the esteemed University of Chicago is fully
> supporting a two-bit plagiarist of the Chicago Reader's "Straight
> Dope." It's  nice to
> know that I can't even give my newer work to Chicago for free.
> ...
> Here's an idea for the Chicago Reader and the City Council and all
> Chicago
> institutions. The annual Barry Popik "Windy City Piece of Shit" award.
> Whenever
>  someone goes to great lengths to volunteer and help for Chicago over
> many
> years,  give 'em a piece of shit!
> ...
> You're all free to publish this.
> .,..
> Barry Popik
> _www.barrypopik.com_ (http://www.barrypopik.com/)
> ...
>
> ...
>
>
> -----------------
> Forwarded Message:
> Subj: No Univ. of Chicago response on "Windy City"  plagiarism   Date:
> 7/19/2005 6:24:58 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time  From: _Bapopik_
> (mailto:Bapopik)   To:
> _drandel at uchicago.edu_ (mailto:drandel at uchicago.edu) ,
> _rherron at uchicago.edu_
> (mailto:rherron at uchicago.edu)   CC: _jester at panix.com_
> (mailto:jester at panix.com) , _gcohen at umr.edu_ (mailto:gcohen at umr.edu) ,
> _gapersblock at gmail.com_
> (mailto:gapersblock at gmail.com) , _Ed Zotti_ (mailto:Ed Zotti) ,
> _sclements at neo.rr.com_ (mailto:sclements at neo.rr.com)
>
> To the University of Chicago (President Randel and Counsel Herron):
> ...
> You have known for at least a month that my work on "Windy City" has
> been
> plagiarized _several times_ by the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHICAGO (University
> of
> Chicago Press). The authors of that book had known about it years ago.
> ...
> I have received no reply from anyone. Please respond promptly. I
> wouldn't
> treat a dog like this.
> ...
> All I want is that you not continue to plagiarize my old work. I  want
> your
> authors, the Chicago Historical Society and the Newberry Library,  to
> apologize
> to me and to use my newer work, especially in the electronic  edition.
> Maybe
> I haven't made myself clear. AGAIN: Do not use my plagiarized  older
> work. Use
> my better, newer work (for free) and credit me. Clear  enough?
> ...
> Also, I want all of you to go to the Chicago City Council and there to
> be  an
> official apology to Charles Dana, who did not coin or popularize "Windy
> City" before the World's Fair (1893). Charles Dana must receive the
> same respect
> by Chicago that was given to a dead cow. Your city council won't
> listen to
> Barry  Popik, but they'll sure as hell listen to the Chicago
> Historical Society,
> the  Newberry Library, and the University of Chicago,
> ...
> The University of Chicago is allegedly an academic institution with
> standards. If I do not receive an understanding and good faith
> response  regarding the
> plagiarism of my work, I will be forced to seek institute  proceedings
> against you.
> ...
> Barry Popik (a bit more than miffed at this point, ten years on)
> 25 East 57th Street, Apt. 7P
> New York, NY 10022
> ...
> ...
> ...
> (SENT 6-18-2005)
> ...
>
> Don Michael Randel
> President of the University
> Administration Building
> 5801 South Ellis Avenue
> (773)  702-8001
> ...
> Gregory A. Jackson
> Vice President and Chief Information  Officer
> Administration Building
> 5801 South Ellis Avenue
> (773)  702-2828
> ...
> Henry S. Webber
> Vice President for Community and  Government Affairs
> Administration Building
> 5801 South Ellis  Avenue
> (773) 702-3627
> ...
> Kineret S. Jaffe
> Secretary of the Board of  Trustees
> Administration Building
> 5801 South Ellis Avenue
> (773)  702-2305
> ...
> Re: The Encyclopedia of Chicago & The Electronic Encyclopedia of
> Chicago,
> and the "Windy City" entry
> ...
> ...
> To the University of Chicago:
> ...
> I have received the (transcribed below) correspondence from the Office
> of
> Legal Counsel of the University of Chicago. It did not respond to all
> that I had
>  said, and I was highly insulted.
> ...
> The facts are that I had long ago made the scholarly conclusion -
> unique
> among all Chicago historians - that "Windy City" did not come from New
> York
> City, but from towns in the Midwest. Long ago, I had a first "Windy
> City"
> citation of 1885. This was not merely one random citation, but a
> scholarly opinion
> at the time. My scholarly opinion, and mine alone, based  on my work.
> This 1885
> article was reprinted and mentioned without  credit or compensation.
> ...
> Your counsel fails to discuss at all that a SECOND "Windy City"
> citation,
> "Louisville (1886)" was also mentioned in your Encyclopedia. This  is
> ALSO my
> work, again used without any compensation or any credit. The
> combination of one
> citation not credited to me, plus another citation not  credited to
> me, plus
> a scholarly conclusion - well, it all smells.
> ...
> I have said repeatedly that I do not want any money from Chicago for
> all of
> my work and miserable treatment, but that I want respect. If I do not
> get it
> from your University and your city, you are absolutely shameless.
> ...
> YOU must approach the Newberry Library and the Chicago Historical
> Society,
> the co-authors of this book and the author(s) of the online edition of
> this
> book. It's quite nice of your counsel to say that I must do this. But
> YOU  must
> do it first. And you must tell them that, ten years after I was
> rejected  with
> a form letter by the Chicago Historical Society, they now take my
> outdated
> work without credit! How would YOU feel????
> ...
> You must tell these esteemed authors that I've traced "Windy City" to
> Cincinnati, and the work is quite remarkable, and they should use it
> for  free.
> ...
> And you must tell them that all of you must approach the Chicago city
> council, and there must be an official city apology for the
> longstanding Charles
> Dana "Windy City" myth. It must be the same sincere apology that they
> gave to a
> dead cow.
> ...
> If you and Chicago do not do this and still treat me with a single
> crumb of
> kindness after ten years, then please tell me the advertising rates
> for a full
>  page ad in your student newspaper. Again, I await the response of your
> counsel,  but also all of you, as scholars and human beings.
> ...
> Very truly yours,
> ...
> Barry Popik
> (ridiculously kind scholar, but this is pushing it)
> 225 East 57th Street, Apt. 7P
> New York, NY 10022
> (212) 308-2635
> _www.barrypopik.com_ (http://www.barrypopik.com/)
> ...
> ...
>
> (SENT 6-19-2005)
>
> ...
> Russell Herron
> Associate General Counsel, Office of  Legal Counsel
> Adm 503
> ...
> To Associate General Counsel Herron:
> ...
> I have addressed my response to your official position to the
> President of
> The University of Chicago.
> ...
> Here's a little bit more detail for you. The Dictionary of Americanisms
> (published by the University of Chicago, over fifty years ago)
> contained an 1887
> "Windy City" citation from the Louisville Courier-Journal. So, in
> service to
> Chicago and specifically the Chicago Historical Society and the
> Encyclopedia,
> I made many trips to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. I
> checked
> out every page of the tiny newsprint of the Louisville Courier-Journal
>  for
> 1885, 1886, and 1887. I then found "Windy City" a year earlier in the
> Courier-Journal, in 1886. This was part of my evidence that completely
> destroyed  the
> NYC "Charles Dana myth."
> ...
> This was new information, MY INFORMATION, not easily available
> anywhere. The
> editors of the Encyclopedia of Chicago knew about it all at least  a
> year and
> a half before publication. Your statement--"...the entry does not
> include
> any text or other material that was plagiarized (i.e., copied without
> proper
> attribution) from your writings."--is not correct.
> ...
> You should contact your esteemed authors, the Chicago Historical
> Society  and
> the Newberry Library, and tell them that I am not pleased that they
> have
> taken my old work and scholarly conclusions without credit or
> compensation.  The
> online Encyclopedia of Chicago must be corrected with my newer work,
> and the
> long-overdue City of Chicago apology to Charles Dana is, well, long
> overdue.
> ...
> If this is not done and I am still not treated kindly and with respect
> that
> I've long-since deserved, Chicago will regret it.
> ...
> Very truly yours,
> ...
> Barry Popik
> 225 East 57th Street, Apt. 7P
> New York, NY 10022
> (212) 308-2635
> _www.barrypopik.com_ (http://www.barrypopik.com/)
>