Starting on Thursday Dec 4, 2008, Wikimedia Commons will witness a massive upload of new images. We are anticipating about 100,000 files from a donation from the German Federal Archive. These images are mostly related to the history of Germany (including the German Democratic Republic) and are part of a cooperation between Wikimedia Germany and the Federal Archive.

The Federal Archive is making the photos available under a CC BY-NV-SA 3.0 Germany license and has apparently cleared its rights to do so. The photos are not of the highest resolution, about 800 pixels on the longest side. Regardless, this is an enormous addition to the commons. Flickr’s collaborations with US museums was on the order of a few thousand, maybe it is up to ten thousand or so. The Federal Archive submission is an order of magnitude or two beyond that.

I think this gives greater cause for the Wikimedia Foundation to exercise the GNU FDL window granted them in a recent updated by the Free Software Foundation to move their content to a Creative Commons license. I have to imagine that the CC license on these photos at a minimum bypasses some of the reuse issues for images in wikis presented by the particular conditions of the GNU FDL.

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Check out the project’s web site. You can view video streaming in from their collection point on the Internet Archive. They also host a wiki, forums, a calendar, and project milestones much like a collaborative software effort.

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As with all of Cory’s other works, you can download an electronic version now. The ebook is available in both plain PDF format and plain text and released under a CC BY-NC-SA license.

I strongly encourage you to buy a copy to support Cory’s work. I’ve already ordered mine and have a space reserved right next to my copy of Free Culture and the Indie Band Survival Guide.

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She is staging her own rush on the Amazon charts in just a few days, on August 25th, to celebrate the book’s launch with Swarm.  In anticipation of the book’s official launch and her attack on the charts, she has released the book as a PDF formatted electronic edition with a new short story set in the same universe.

She previously released the book a chapter at a time, with original artwork and links to audio easter eggs, as part of her enhanced feed to help promote the podcast.  This new electronic edition compiles all of the original chapters into one file, along with the new content.

I chatted with Mur briefly and asked her if she’d considered Feedbooks as well which I’ve written about here previously.  She was traveling but promised to look into it on her return.  While the PDF is a huge reward for existing fans and an incentive to potential ones as a free edition, I think it would be a superb addition to Feedbooks for those of us who use mobile devices or dedicated ebook readers.

If you are a fan of the novel’s podcast, either of the previous ebook editions, or either of the previous print editions, help Mur by purchasing the Swarm Press edition this Monday, the 25th.  If you are going to Dragon*Con, I encourage you to get the overnight shipping and take it with you.  Mur has a signing session at the convention and I am sure she’d be pleased to sign any or all editions you happen to have.

If you haven’t read or listened to Playing for Keeps, check out the web site and try one of the existing, free editions now so that if you enjoy it, you’ll consider helping Mur with her rush on Amazon.

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I downloaded the file when I saw the story in April. Since then, though, I encountered a print copy in my favorite quasi-local independent bookstore, Constellation Books. If I was unaware of the free, CC licensed electronic version, though, I doubt I would have thought to pick it up. That’s one sale earned without even one word read.

That being said, I am thoroughly glad I did pick this book up. I am surprised to read Kessel categorized primarily as a science fiction and fantasy author. These stories truly span the gamut, though some do fall within the bounds of SF/F. Those that do are distinct and the best word I can use to really put my finger on that distinction is literary.

The stories are mostly character driven though there are some, like “Stories for Men” and the quarter of which it is a part are equally if not more idea driven. The more though provoking stories are written with a deft hand so that you never feel as though you are being lectured at.

Go ahead and give the free edition a look and see if you agree with me that Kessel’s work is well worth the read. And worth picking up a print copy.

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Brave Men Run – A Novel of the Sovereign Era is a wonderful piece of fiction. I’ve only recently read it (sorry Matt, very full reading list) and have to agree with whoever described it as a comic book story if John Hughes wrote it.

He recently signed a deal with Swarm Press, a new imprint, to publish a new paper back edition. That edition will hit Amazon on July 13th.

Mur Lafferty has a great interview with Matt that explains the history of the book as part of a larger creative project he started as well as his thoughts on signing a publishing deal as an enthusiastic DIY advocate. If you subscribe to many podcasts, you may have heard Matt speak elsewhere about the forthcoming edition. Since Swarm is a small press imprint, Matt’s promotional skills developed as an independent creator will be put to good use getting the word out.

The core of his promotion is another launch rush on Amazon with full details on his web site. If the novel sounds interesting, or you’ve read or heard it previously, you can help by purchasing a copy of the book on Amazon on the 13th. To encourage and reward fans, Matt will be sharing streaming video every hour, on the hour starting around 7AM PDT in which he’ll relate live updates on the book’s progress on Amazon’s charts and he’ll be reading new short works by many well known authors in podcast fiction circles set in the Sovereign universe.

We wish Matt the best of luck. This is a wonderful work from an author who epitomizes the best of open content. I, for one, plan to be an Amazon on Sunday and choking the tubes watching his live stream.

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The short synopsis is that several teens are snagged in a Homeland Security net after a tragic catastrophe in San Francisco and the novel details their dedicated efforts to take back the Bill of Rights through technology and hacking techniques that exist today. Cory deals well with these hefty issues of civil liberties and technology hacking in the interest of activism. The print version of the book includes how-tos with each chapter giving more information in a hands-on fashion about the technology and skills demonstrated throughout.

As with his other novels, this book is available as a free download in a variety of electronic book formats, including plain text, HTML and PDF as well as ones for specific readers. The ebook is available under a very liberal CC license: attribution, non-commercial, share alike.

If you are looking for the book in your local book store, where you should be able to find it, keep in mind that it may shelved under young adult or fantasy/science fiction or both. Also up until May 22nd you can order a signed copy from Borderlands. There may be some limitations on shipping, check the site for details.

Cory is also trying something new for him, a commercial audio book offering. At his insistence, the audio will only be available without DRM. Unfortunately, this means for the moment it will not be available through the largest online reseller, Audible. iTunes audio books are all provided by Audible, as well. You can order the audiobook through the book’s site and there is also an embeddable flash widget if you’d like to help sell the book through your own site. There is also a plain text link if you are unable to support flash on your site.

The audiobook comes with a liberal license, a little bit different in that the remix/redistribution is limited to a thirty minute excerpt. That’s roughly a full chapter of the book.

Cory has included a novel feature on the book’s site. Many readers have approached him after consuming one of his free electronic editions who are not inclined to purchase a dead tree version but are willing to send him money to support a particular book. His response in the past has been that he prefers the book sale to the cash as he has a very positive working relationship with his publisher. Plus only a book sale registers in terms of how well a particular book is doing.

For Little Brother, there is a donate link on the site. What this allows you to do is support the book in Cory’s preferred fashion and he will connect your donation with a school or library who has registered a desire for a copy or copies of the book.

Visit the site and check out all of the distribution options and activities around this wonderful book.

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I was mostly pleased to see this story on Boing Boing. The full archive is not online, yet, but will be made progressively available throughout the rest of the year.

The issues are in an online only format, which is a bit of a disappointment. The layouts are better than some I’ve seen and not that I would encourage it but the URL scheme looks predictable enough that a little bit of scripting might allow scraping. I do not see any explicit permissions, such as a Creative Commons license (which is why I would not recommend spidering the archive).

Still, getting access to such a wonderful work the bulk of which has been out of print for years is a big plus, in my mind. And if I managed to bump into Richard at another con, I look forward to continuing our discussion about more free schemes, like Creative Commons, and encouraging him to think about downloadable, open formats.

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Favorites: Throwing Toasters- Grant Baciocco’s band (podcast fans will recognize him as the brilliance behind The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd) is one of my new favorites, with hysterical, non-swearing songs (he doesn’t swear but he does get mildly suggestive in his songs. Still, I play his stuff for my kid and she loves it as much as I do.) In an attempt to write a sentence without a parenthetical, I will say that Throwing Toasters music is not officially Creative Commons licensed, but during an interview Grant told me that the only thing he was adamant about re: his music is that it’s attributed to him, as any non-attributed funny song online usually ends up as a Weird Al attribution.

Favorite songs: Debbie, ScrewU, The R.A. Song, Patrick the Spoiler

The FuMP- The Funny Music Project is a podcast set up by some of the biggest names in funny music: The Great Luke Ski, Tom Smith, Worm Quartet, Sudden Death*, Rob Balder, Raymond and Scum, Robert Lund and Possible Oscar. They post two news songs a week, many of them new, and are totally podsafe (in fact they encourage podcasters’ use). You can download the songs for free at a lower quality, or buy higher quality songs. You can also get a subscription that includes all the songs at high quality, and a compilation CD mailed to you. The songs are also released via podcast (RSS feed here). This is an excellent way to learn about the hottest bands in funny music these days.

* Tom Rockwell of Sudden Death has his own weekly funny music podcast called Manic Mondays.

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New Favorite: No one actually advised me to read Nathan Lowell’s Quarter Share, but I began hearing people talk about it on Twitter (if you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m mightymur). Once podcaster and editor David Moldawer mentioned that he had never thought he could be so entertained by someone making coffee in space, I knew I had to check it out. As a former barista I love good coffee, and I love good description in general. It’s not something I do a lot of when I write, and when someone writes some deep description involving food, I could read it all day. (Although not open media, if you like horror/SF I recommend Robin McKinley’s Sunshine for good baking porn. And vampires.)

Lowell’s story of a boy named Ishmael whose mother’s untimely death forces him to get a job on a starship instead of going to University is strangely compelling. As I mentioned, his descriptions are engrossing, and his characters are well rounded. I found myself caring for Ishmael and his friend Pip rather quickly, and rooting for them. Unlike most space adventures, this is a trader story that happens in space: no aliens, no space battles, no airlock openings. The book lacks a bit in conflict, and I found myself thinking that Lowell had built a detailed RPG world that I wanted to create my own stories and conflicts within. Still, even without considerable conflict, the characters and the strength of the writing style kept me going through Quarter Share and its sequel, Half Share. Will be listening to the last of the trilogy, Full Share, soon.

Lowell’s Official Site — Quarter Share at Podiobooks.com —

Old Favorite: Tracy Hickman decided to podcast his out of print book, The Immortals, as the 10-year anniversary of its publication. Hickman is best known for his traditional fantasy stories, but The Immortals is a futuristic post-AIDS story where sick citizens are considered “pre-deceased” and put in camps in order to “wait for a
cure.” It’s horrifying and moving and clever and reminds us what actually makes people immortal. It also reminds us that Hickman is a master. Hickman describes this as a “cautionary tale” which makes it all the more frightening. Honestly speaking, a book this powerful is usually not my escapist-loving preference, but it’s incredible and I would recommend it to anyone.

Dragonhearth Productions — The Immortals on Podiobooks.com –

These works are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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