Last night I had the pleasure of attending Art Knows No Borders, an event that was both a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders and a release party for Bombardirovka, a book written by Crystal Allen Cook in 2004 while she was in Armenia on a Fulbright Scholarship. The novel is a work of fiction that,…

Jonathan Coulton; photo by Del Far under CC BY 2.0 To our community – for our next commoner letter we are featuring an artist who has really proven that the CC model works for musicians. Jonathan Coulton has made a career out of sharing his music with his fans, not just aurally, but digitally and…

The Outcomes Star System is a “tool for measuring the outcomes of work with homeless people,” specifically designed for use by homeless charities. The Outcomes Star System focuses on “an approach to measuring change” on 10 different criteria, the theory being that by following The Outcomes Star System, outreach to the homeless can be approached…

Games for the Brain is a fun site that features a number of memory, quiz, and brain games all released under a CC BY-NC-SA license. A number of the games are embeddable, making them easily available for sharing while others reuse previously CC-licensed material. Whether it is an online destination to pass time, procrastinate, or…

Lucky Dragons, an experimental music/art group based in Los Angeles, is the moniker given to “any recorded or performed or installed or packaged or shared pieces made by Luke Fischbeck, Sarah Rara, and any sometimes collaborator.” Blending an organic approach to electronic music with a background in the arts, everything Lucky Dragons produces is released…

Author Kelly Link, renowned for her work in a variety of literary genres, is specifically noteworthy to the CC community for her decision in 2005 to release Stranger Things Happen, her first major collection of short stories, under a CC BY-NC-SA license. In a recent interview with The Nation, Link addressed this decision: As a…

President-Elect Barack Obama and his staff have been posting photographs to his Flickr photostream since early 2007. Their most recent set from election night offers an amazing behind the scenes look at a historic point in American history. 20081104_Chicago_IL_ElectionNight1032, Barack Obama | CC BY-NC-SA All of the photos are released under a CC BY-NC-SA license,…

Photo by Joi Ito Etsy, the ever-wonderful “online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade”, just posted a great podcast featuring new media theorist Henry Jenkins on their blip.tv channel and their wonderful blog The Storque. Jenkins discusses fan art, a topic that is not only dear to his heart but also essential to…

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)’s Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) has released all their wiki content under CC BY-NC-SA, including their Education Network (EDNET). EDNET is the hub of APEC’s education activities in the pacific rim. Its goal is “to foster strong and vibrant learning systems across APEC member economies, promote education for all, and strengthen the…

Hi-Q, the hugely successful Romanian pop group, announced the first CC remix competition in Romania. Hi-Q’s unreleased song “Eu+Tu=Iubire” (“Me+U=Love”) will be included on the band’s upcoming album. From CC Romania: It is time for users to engage in this quest and test their talents in order to produce a song just the way YOU…