This is a short story based on the speculation of what might have happened had Adolf Hitler actually been admitted to art school instead of getting rejected.
Like my previous story, Artists and Anarchists, this is released under a Creative Commons license, specifically the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license.
Here is the (long awaited?) reading of my short story, “Artists and Anarchists,” for easier consumption.
Artists and Anarchists
Format: MP3
Size: 14.1 MB
Length: 15 min 29 sec
The podcast, like the short story before it, is released under a creative commons license.
The original post may be found here.
“Artists and Anarchists” is a short story for which I’ve had the idea for sometime. This is, in fact, the first story I’ve written in a long time. It’s a rather sarcastic perspective on what the near-future might be like if some of the legal and litigious insanity of current (misnomer-ed) intellectual property laws and “content” companies’ policies were taken to an absurd extreme. The characters are not based on any real people and any resemblance to actual persons or their names is coincidental.
I’m releasing the story under a Creative Commons license. What this means is that it’s free to distribute for non-commercial purposes. It’s also free (as in speech) to create derivative works (like your own version of the Bible). So if you think the story isn’t as good as it could be, you can remix it and make it better. I’ll also be recording a podcast of the story in the near future for everyone who would rather listen to the story than read it.
So without further ado: Artists and Anarchists
If you’re curious about my inspirations for the story, here’s a short list of some of the recognizable influences:
The Modern Humorist’s Propaganda in the Internet Age “downloading Communism” poster. Original found here.
The RIAA home invasions video found on YouTube. Warning: It’s a little graphic.
Several stories and lectures, as well as a bit of the writing style, of Cory Doctorow also served as influence. I recommend checking out his website, Craphound.com, which has a lot a stories and podcasts available for free under a Creative Commons license.
Commercialism is ugly, but not all commercials are.
The music in the Audi A4 commercials is beautiful, if unfortunately short. Even better, it’s available for download here.
I also like the subtle ambient music for the A4 website. Ignore the product they’re trying to sell you that you probably can’t afford anyway and just enjoy the music at http://www.truthinengineering.com/a4/.
Song stuck in my head.
That’s not a bad thing.
Twenty-One One Zero by Phoenix
Free to download here.
That’s not a bad thing either.
Recently finished reading the free html version of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Excellent book that makes you feel like an idealistic, rebellious teenager again, mixed in with a bit of Hackers.
Even better, the nifty technological devices and methods mentioned in the book are based on available or nearly available technologies. More, Doctorow links to an Instructables page that tells you how to make the devices or execute the methods.
I wish more media would be this interactive. It’s like the equal and opposite reaction of cheesy merchandising and product placement. I don’t want a plastic lightsaber with “Star Wars” printed on it. I want a real frickin’ lightsaber! Doctorow delivers on this concept. Now if I can just get that real lightsaber, I’d be set.
Adding to his ability to write great stories (many of which you can read on his site, Craphound.com), is the fact that he releases a lot of it for free and is a big fan of Creative Commons.
DON’T TRUST ANYONE OVER 25. Including me…