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[ 31.12.09 ] At the beginning of each year, cultural redistribution takes place on a large scale, namely, when, on 1 January, the commercial rights of descendants to the creative works of their ancestors expire. From this day onwards, these works may be copied, adapted, sampled, and reorganised. They are no longer private property, but have become common property - in other words, they fall into the ... read on
[ 17.12.09 ] Good news for all online borrowers and digital readers. It’s like Christmas brought forward to mid or rather early December: the tokens have arrived - the gifts will be coming sometime later. Time will tell what we’ll actually receive. Though in the two cases depicted here, it may take a while. But promises are in place, under the tree, so to speak - the first step has been taken. A ... read on
[ 11.12.09 ] If everything new is of the devil’s making, then technical advances must, at the very least, be compared with SS troops; a simple calculation, based on a certain kind of cultural pessimism, which can be arrived at in fractions of a second. And it makes absolute sense to all those who casually spout Hitler comparisons in response to a weakly brewed morning cup of coffee. An equally simple ... read on
[ 03.12.09 ] This time the ‘medium of the week’ comes from ZYX Music: ‘With Jazzy Christmas , you can enjoy jazz versions of classic Christmas songs.’ These words are to be found at the ‘Onleihe’ blog , whose recommendations are always up-to-date and in tune with the Zeitgeist. A few weeks ago it was Nobel Laureate Herta Müller’s turn with Atemschaukel . Though admittedly, in general, ... read on
[ 26.11.09 ] First you’re battling a huge swell on the world’s oceans – and then, all of the sudden, you’re cruising through smooth inland waters. So it seems for European writers’ associations at the moment: the waves first generated by the Google Book Settlement have pretty well subsided since Google – along with its American negotiating partners – presented an amended version of the ... read on
[ 19.11.09 ] Effective immediately, readme.cc will be available not only on the internet and our computer screens, but also in printed form, running from right to left. Made possible by the Egyptian-German Cultural Centre (ÄDK) in Cairo, a non-profit organisation for education and culture that celebrated its tenth anniversary in March 2009, the project aims to mediate linguistically between cultures in ... read on
[ 12.11.09 ] In November 2008, around 500 publishers participated in BUCH WIEN 08, Austria’s first international book fair, which sought to make Vienna a hub for the trading of books between the East and the West. How successful it was should become clear at this year’s edition of the fair , which is being held from 12 - 15 November 2009. Readme.cc will once again take part in this international ... read on
[ 05.11.09 ] The poetry collection Alternative Geography by Egyptian poet Iman Mersal , recently published in Hebrew translation, has become a literary event in Cairo. The daily Al-Masri al-Youm "spotlighted" the book in its culture section, with a lengthy review of the Hebrew edition written by Mohamed Aboud, the paper's Israeli Affairs correspondent. The book was translated by Prof. ... read on
[ 29.10.09 ] True, the controversies surrounding China, Guest of Honour, at the Frankfurt Book Fair eclipsed everything else. At least that’s how it seemed on the surface. News, of course, also accumulated during the book fair on that never-ending topic to which many of us in the literary world have a love-hate relationship: e-books. New electronic reading devices seem to be springing up like ... read on
[ 23.10.09 ] In actual fact, it was a welcome change. At the Frankfurt Book Fair, which ended just a few days ago, everyone was discussing topics related to China, the fair’s Guest of Honour : China’s official delegation here, its dissidents there; who had been invited and who, disinvited; or talks cancelled at short notice that had never been confirmed in the first place. And so everyone forgot to ... read on
[ 19.10.09 ] ‘An enchanted castle in southern Austria. From the main road, you’d never suspect such a jewel lying there, hidden behind a farmstead: Hainfeld near Feldbach, the largest moated castle in Styria, former residence of the renowned orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall (1774–1856). A symbolic site at which to hold the European Literature Days.’ So reported Die Presse , one of ... read on
[ 08.10.09 ] At the European Literature Days 09 (taking place from 9 – 11 October at Hainfeld Castle in southern Austria) alongside literature from numerous European countries, musical and multi-media performances, lectures, a Styrian ‘Land of Delicacies’, a programme of events for children… (all the details of which can be found at hainfeld.readme.cc ) two new international book prizes will be ... read on
[ 01.10.09 ] In 1980, a 23-year-old curly-haired Jewish American student named Aaron Lansky decided to take upon himself a mission nobody had undertaken before: to rescue deserted Yiddish books. The language spoken by three-quarters of world Jewry in the late 19th century was almost lost a century later. Valuable books, passed on by Jews throughout the generations, books that had survived the Holocaust ... read on
[ 24.09.09 ] Mathias Enard, Lavinia Greenlaw, Finn-Ole Heinrich, Jaroslav Rudiš, Ferdinand Schmatz and many others will read and discuss literature in the historical surroundings of Hainfeld Castle in Styria under an initiative from the European literature portal Readme.cc. You can download the complete programme for this event from hainfeld.readme.cc . The ceremonial opening of the European ... read on
[ 18.09.09 ] Anyone who happened to be lucky enough to click on a remote region of the online version of one of the major Italian daily papers (such as the ‘Culture’ or maybe ‘Technology’ section) during the last few weeks was able to learn that the Associazione italiana editori (AIE - Association of Italian Publishers) has also joined the chorus of protesters against the Google Book Settlement. ... read on
Comments Reverse chronology
[ 20.02.09 - 20:51 ] [ comment by Robert Adlam ] I have one first response. Dreyfus's 'On the internet' (which isn't mentioned in this text) devotes a chapter to the emergence of 'noise' on the 'net. He shows how much of it (most of it?) is like Dylan's 'Highway 61' - a huge space for distraction and meaninglessness. So, unless there is an already established critical consciousness the 'net is only likely to consolidate the established (global) power structures and seduce people with the objects of desire.
[ 21.04.08 - 09:05 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] Internet in Sri Lanka
Amal Rajapakse and Amara Dissanayake
30. 12. 1998
- In the last three years, a number of Internet Service Providers were established in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, only in the capital and its suburbs some access to the Net is possible.
- Moreover, computer hardware costs are unbearably high and using the Net often means blocking a whole telephone line normally used by many people.
- As a study showed, only a small, well educated elite knows how to use the Internet. Even at the University most academics have no idea what possibilities the WWW or e-mail offer.
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[ 15.04.08 - 09:41 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] Power to The People: The Role of Electronic Media in Promoting Democracy in Africa
Dana Ott
30. 12. 1998
- Political decisions are always made by small ingroups practising a face-to-face communication. This fact won't be changed by the Internet.
- But the Net can affect the process preceding decision making by establishing a new channel transporting the citizens' wants to the elite. In other words, it allows to put pressure on the political establishment.
- For functioning like this the Net needs a broad platform of users which it doesn't have in Africa for reasons of an impressive rate of illateracy and extreme high telephone costs. Therefore, it is possible that the Internet becomes a medium of the elite like television is.
- At the moment no relation between connectivity and democratization is measurable in Africa. Democratization is much more driven by newspapers and would eventually be stimulated by an independent radio broadcasting content delivered by the Internet.
Read on
[ 10.04.08 - 11:11 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] "Our own ignorance about the digital third world is part of the problem"
an Interview with Robin Hamman
30. 12. 1998
Editor of "Cybersociology" magazine, Robin Hamman, feels it's important to show the digital third world how the internet can be useful to them. Once people have been given the desire to get online, overcoming the inevitable financial difficulties in accessing the net, time and again there are examples of how small, or isolated communities have used cyberspace to take steps towards being heard, and noticed, worldwide, on issues relevant to them.
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[ 07.04.08 - 10:46 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] Internet rickshaw to Dhaka - and back?
Manfred Ewel
30. 12. 1998
- The Net users of the so called "Third World" are in many cases self-trained computer experts working with old hard- and software. They are proud of belonging to the technological avand-garde of their society.
- In spite of high telephone costs, e-mail is often the easiest and cheapest way to send letters. Besides, the World Wide Web offers the only platform people of Third World countries sometimes have to publish their ideas and opinions if they don't want their statements to be distorted by government or western media.
- Finally, the Internet gives the members of technological avand-garde the possibility to communicate with competent colleagues all around the world and to integrate themselves in communities of interest instead of only participating in the usual social life.
read on
[ 02.04.08 - 10:40 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] "We have links to over 2000 web sites that contain information important to Indigenous cultures"
an E-mail talk with Shane Caraveo
30. 12. 1998
- Since the alternative net-project "NativeWeb" started in 1994, it tries to educate the public about Indigenous cultures and wants to promote communications between Indigenous peoples and organizations all around the world.
- "NativeWeb" is administrated by a network of webmasters. They all work for free.
- The main goal for the near future is to become a non-profit organization which will provide internet access to community leaders and distribute donated computers
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[ 31.03.08 - 11:30 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] "If Indian cultures are incapable of incorporating new technologies, that might mean that they have become stagnant and are dying"
an e-mail conversation with Marc Becker
30. 12. 1998
- The Internet is no longer a great leveling agent in society which creates equal access for everybody. In the last three years it has become a typical medium of capitalistic economy.
- Nevertheless, the Internet is a workable tool for political organization and education: Projects like "NativeWeb" try to open netspace for native people like the Indians of Latin America who otherwise won't be heard.
- Therefore, it makes no sense to fear that the implementation of technology will destroy a native culture. Technology wasn't the end of western culture and it won't be the end of the Indigenous cultures, too.
read on
[ 25.03.08 - 12:46 ] [ comment by Christian Eigner / Michaela Ritter ] "People do not spend all their time in Asia thinking about just food or water. People have desires, they engage with real and imaginary worlds"
an e-mail discussion with Ravi Sundaram
30. 12. 1998
While on one side the US and European techno-elites pose the web as a chimerical solution to inequality in the Third World, on the other hand their opponents use the existence of poverty and inequality in the periphery to deny any serious engagement with the technological practices there.
The web helps attacking loss-making institutions like universities, but it doesn´t really "westernize" the poor countries because communities tend to communicate first among themselves. And the web doesn´t deepen the gap between the rich and the poor, it has rather inserted itself in existing inequalities. Electronic cultures provide space for thousands left out of official, elite cultures.
read on
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