The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter February 12, 2004
eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers For Since 1971
Part 1
In this week's Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter:
1) Editorial
2) News and Comment
3) Notes and Queries, Reviews and Features
4) Mailing list information
Editorial
Hello,
Good day to one and all, unless you are Australian, in which case it
might not be so good. More news this week on the Australian copyright
change proposals, and Michael Hart visits Europe. In our A to Z we
reach X - is there anything out there? Find out below.
Happy reading,
Alice
Send feedback and suggestions to the newsletter editor at: newspglaf.org
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submit scans of the title page and verso page (even if the verso is
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You'll hear back within a few days.
2) News and Comment
Copyright proposals will affect Project Gutenberg of Australia
Following our report in November about the free trade talks between
Australia and the USA an agreement between the two countries has been
reached this week. You can find the full details here:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/negotiations/us.html
Part 8 will affect PGOz, and this states that amongst other items
there will be " An increased term of protection for copyright
material", this will bring the Australian copyright terms into line
with the USA ones and effectively wipe 90% of etexts from PGOz.
The Australian press today picked up on this issue with The Age
printing this story:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/10/1076388365432.html
Several Project Gutenberg volunteers are planning a writing campaign
to representatives within the Australian parliament. If you would like
to know more about their efforts you can find information on the
newsletter website www.gutenberg.net/newsletter
Michael Hart visits Europe
Before you ask he's not here to sightsee. Michael has a fairly
comprehensive program whilst in Europe to talk about Project Gutenberg
and issues such as copyright and etext production.
Michael's European tour started today (Wednesday). This morning
Michael accompanied Nicholas Pettauix to a radio interview (available
here in French: http://media.rtbf.be/radio/alademande/face/MA_face.mp3
). Whilst Michael was not able to speak himself to the journalist
presenting the program, it appears that Michael and Nicholas have been
successful in persuading the editor of Editions Luc Pere
(http://www.lucpire.be) both to contribute to and use Project
Gutenberg. Hopefully, another 1200+ titles will be available through
this cooperative effort. Michael will be visiting UNESCO Paris
tomorrow and representatives of the French Parliament on Friday.
Other news this week
Statistical roundup
11318 Total 02/11/04 Week #5 (36/323)
99 New This Week
86 New Last Week
82.20 Weekly Average
99 New This Month
411 New This Year
11.42 Average per day this year
3571 Projected Total for this year
50 New this week last year (02/05/03)
249 New this month last year (Feb)
287 New this year last year (2003)
$ 0.88 Trillion dollar cost/book
$ 1.42 Trillion dollar cost/book last year
7030 Etexts This Week Last Year
5 Production Weeks this Year 47 to go.
36 Production Days this Year 323 to go.
2 Production Months this Year
2282 eBooks in last 6 months (08/13/03 - 02/11/04) 26 weeks (32 - 5)
12.61 Daily Average for the last 6 months (181 production days)
2006 eBooks in the prior 6 months (02/05/03 - 08/06/03) 26 weeks (5 - 31)
11.02 Daily Average for the prior 6 months (182 production days)
5569 eBooks in the last 18 months (08/15/02 - 02/11/04) 78 weeks (32 - 5)
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Thanks to Stephen Darragh
---------------
As mentioned in part 2 of this weeks newsletter:
Phaethon, by Charles Kingsley 11025
[Subtitle: Loose Thoughts for Loose Thinkers]
For those wishing to know: the Rev. Charles Kingsley wrote this fictional
account of Socrates and the youth Phaethon to counter what he saw as a
drift away from traditional church teaching that was taking place in his
age (i.e. the English Victorian era). Like a number of Kingsley's works
it caused trouble when first published with critics attacking it.
Literary and General Lectures and Essays, by Charles Kingsley 11026
For those wishing to know: another volume from Macmillan and Co.'s Works
of Charles Kingsley. Odds and ends essays and a tribute to Rev. Frederick
Denison Maurice. Kingsley was probably the best known of Maurice's
"disciples" and many of Kingsley's famous works seek to expand Maurice's
teachings via the medium of the novel.
O+F, by John Moncure Wetterau 11005C
Possibly our shortest title ever
Celebrating Prishan
Prishan has become this week the our first Distributed Proofreader to
have proofed 100,000 pages. On behalf of Project Gutenberg and
everyone here at the newsletter.
Congratulations!
Prishan has had a forum thread dedicated to this momentous occasion and from
there we reproduce the words of Juliet Sutherland,
"I'd like to take this occasion to recognize not only all the careful work
that this milestone represents, but also your contributions to our community.
You've kept us thinking, amused, and always learning. We've watched you
become ever more fluent in English. We've learned about all sorts of holidays
and traditions from India. And you've shared some very poetic and mystic
moments with us."
Well done Prishan, from all of us who dare to follow in your proofing steps.
Distributed Proofreaders Update for February 11, 2004
At this time last week the total of Gold texts at DP stood at
3,175. This hour--since we do need to count by the hour now--the total
has reached 3,260. That amounts to 85 projects completed and ready for
posting to PG. The previous week matches that figure near to
exactly. To set this into the context of where the column needs to go
I will share with you my own perspective on how important an
accomplishment 85 completed projects a week is. Bear with me for this
ride? We have somewhere to get to today.
This past Sunday was a rounded year since I joined up with Distributed
Proofreaders. On that day in 2003 the total of Gold texts for the
previous month was 119. February's total would match that number,
evidencing a slight up-tick by doing so in 28 days. In only a year's
time we have witnessed a month's total production being achieved in
little over a week's time. How did DP manage this? Well, the answer to
that is a little more elusive than we might like it to be. Simply put,
it is true enough to say that this result rests upon a broad
combination of factors and innovations. As there is much to be gained
from a finer analysis of this success, we are going to looking into
the facts of DP's production efficiency through the rest of this
month. That the site coders and admin's have provided us with some new
tools for deciphering this progress will make the investigation all
the more interesting.
But before we start exploring this study, it is important that we step
back a little ways from the day to day work which brings us all
together. Numbers are what we use to measure our progress and they are
essential guides to steady improvement. What numbers alone cannot do
is inform us of an eventual value of the product of our collective
labors. Today is the 11th of February, halfway through the day DP has
posted 125 books to PG. So for every day this month DP has transmitted
10 unique books into a form that allows them to be freely distributed
throughout the world. If the present rate of production were to lock
steady from now until New Year's eve, we will enrich the digital
public domain by over 3,650 individual volumes in 2004.
I stress that to the point of obvious redundancy for a specific
reason; to remind us all of the central plot to this tale which we
have all become players in. As a lifelongstudent of history it has
long stood out to me that one of Humanities most costly flaws is that
we forget. Forgetfulness seems to be hard wired into us. Yet I
believe, in my more optimistic moments, that this might just be a
saving grace and not the eventual cause of our doom. What saves us,
quite often in the most critical moments, is each other. What I may
forget you can easily refresh in my memory. This act of common
humanity is so very essential to survival and progress. When it comes
to the great social issues of our time there is no doubt to the
imperative nature of this mutual care and exchange. The contextual
question is whether or not such significance can be equally accepted
within the PG/DP communities. I believe that this is not merely a
possibility, but a necessity.
What you are now reading is a second version of this week's DP
Update. More than halfway through writing the first edition--which I
must say, was 'quite good'--I deleted it. This was not an accident but
a very firm intention. The path I was writing along was simply a wrong
turn and I needed to go back to the fork in the road and take a
completely different journey. If you are still reading, I assume that
you want to come along? Good. I'm in the mood for noble company today.
The heart of my unease with the initial version was that I was
completely omitting any reference to the recent developments in
Australia. This is really not such a hard thing to for a DPer who does
not hail from 'Down Under.' It could almost be forgivable, just as the
low murmur of a response to the Free Trade Agreement in the DP
forums. See, the thing is we do not and can not work on the texts
which are produced for PG Australia. So, for 95%+ of the DP community
... "Out of sight is out of mind." as far as this issue is
concerned. For my part, recognizing that Alice would be covering the
PGAU news front, I blissfully turned to all the upbeat, positive news
of this week, for there is plenty of it. "After all, it is PGAU not
DPAU, right?" . . .
Wrong! And on that 'wrong' my index finger tapped the Delete key.
To put it succinctly I will lift a quote from the recent thread in the
DP forum about PGAU: "Apathy is illiterate--it would not care if the
public domain were to go extinct. .... So it is on those who actively
create with the PD to start making a loud noise. .... If people are
not outraged by the present lock down on the PD it is not always their
fault. It may be as simple as ... they just do not know about it." -
Henry Craig
Now I have known Henry for ten years, and in that time I have listened
to that view repeated in many ways. Perhaps this is why the words kept
nagging at me as I started writing earlier. If so, that would make my
decision no less valid. Henry's right. If we care enough to commit our
time, talents and creative energy to enriching the fields of the
Public Domain, then we should be willing to stand up and defend that
field when it comes under challenge.
Now, let me be clear with you ... I am not talking about radicalism
here. I am not endorsing anything different than what we already do;
apply ingenuity to collective effort for a cause we all believe in
which benefits people throughout the world. The distinction I propose
is that we raise our perspectives just a little higher on the
horizon. By this, I mean that our concern and care for a book project
extends beyond the time when it is posted to PG.
At the present level of production DP masters the means to produce
over 3,600 books a year for Project Gutenberg. That is 3,600 books for
everyone in the world with access to the Internet. If you go digging
around in the basement of the forums you will find within my earliest
posts, a call to embrace the historic significance of DP. This was
itemized on several levels. We have used a decent amount of ink in
past columns for the uniqueness of DP among distributed projects. The
foundation of this distinction rests upon the fact that DP is
'distributed' through people, not electronic processors. This truly is
historic, and it is not possible to know from today the long term
utilization borne from the fruits of this 'proof of concept.' The
recent decision to incorporate the DP model within the Rastko archive
network of Europe is assuredly only the first of many innovative
examples to come.
The other historic development unfolding at DP is what needs a little
more attention in light of recent events. The changes to trade agreed
to this week in Australia are likely to have a profound impact on the
network of Project Gutenberg archives. How we deal with this as a
distributed community will depend a great deal upon our self concept
and the estimation of our strength and influence within this age and
for ages to come.
We produce 10-12 books a day, every day for the education, enrichment
and simple entertainment of the world public. Who else presently is
doing that? I don't see anyone out there coming close. As impressive
as this is, I say 'hold on a minute' and raise your eyes up. Expand
your sense of who we are. Add to what DP produces, all the works by
the Independent developers allied to PG. Take also into consideration
the work of PG Australia, and the work now beginning at PG
Europe. Combine this with the vast enrichment that is already being
added through DPEU by the advent of character sets beyond Latin1. Look
higher still and see the ever-increasing support of the National
libraries and international cultural organizations along with the
contributions by contemporary authors. Consider all of this, the next
time you use the word "community" to describe what we are building at
DP. Consider all of this ... because this is the DP community.
The next time you are in a library and you come across a book that
strikes you as a great addition to the PG archive ... think about what
you are doing for a few moments. The next time you are scanning some
pages, running some OCR, or uploading 25 megs of .png files ... think
for a few moments. The next time you are proofing a page ... running
GUIGuts or Verifying a finished project ... think about the countless
individuals your work will be touching. Most importantly, the next
time you download a completed text from PG ... think. Yes, at every
point of contact and participation in this wonderful endeavor we
should all pause for some moments, lift our eyes beyond the day's
horizon and consider the enormous range of Humanity that we are
connecting with.
The work of Project Gutenberg IS unique to our time, and it is
historic in nature. From the spark of inspiration that landed on
Hart's shoulder some thirty years ago ... to the retired grandmother
of six who will log on tonight in North London to proof a few pages of
Wordsworth on DP ... to her great great grandson, not yet born who
will carry the entire PG library in a hand held device on a summer
vacation to the Moon some year ... we are all connected. And should it
come to pass, like a shadow out of Mordor, that the work of PG
Australia is removed from the public domain ...then too shall we all
be connected.
That day has not come yet. What has been agreed to on paper, is not
yet law. Think about it ... that's all I ask. I did, and it changed
every word you have read today. Think about it ... because thoughts do
change things--they change us. If we change, then the world can
change. We learnt this week that the future is no longer what it used
to be. What it might now be leaves a heavy feeling in many hearts of
those who are close to us in this work. What can we do about that?
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once wrote, "The future belongs in the
hands of those who can give tomorrow's generations valid reasons to
live and hope." I tend to believe we fit that role. I don't feel that
to be a boastful claim, but rather an acceptance of responsibility.
Do what you will with the time that is yours then. Just be assured of
one thing ... you won't be alone. The rest of us will be right here
with you. Very often the best choice of action is to do exactly what
you already are doing. If your heart leads you to participate in one
or more of the projects which support Project Gutenberg then you are
likely already doing what you should to help make this vision a
sustaining reality. We all matter. Every task we take on from
proofing a page to writing a column makes a worthy difference and
counts for the long term. If you feel an urge to go an extra length
sometime, consider the power in thinking about the larger context of
the work which today places in your hands. When you come to your own
realization of the significance of that work try reminding others
close to you in subtle ways just how significant their share
is. Simply then, let us not forget why we are here together. We all
love most is what we hold cherished memories of and we tend to
preserve what we love. Refreshing our memory from time to time then is
very closely related to this line of work. That's my piece for now.
February is the shortest month, but you will not know it from how full
the next two newsletters are going to be. As we start our in-depth
exploration of what makes DP purrrr so finely, we will discover
together many wondrous details never before published anywhere. You
can expect the secrets of the DP masters to be revealed in these very
pages!
How does Jon Ingram scan like that--does he really have four arms?
Where did Big Bill actually get the magic proofing font from and what
manner of ciphers are hidden within its unusually shaped characters.
Have Curtis and Dave truly discerned the identity of the figure on the
'grassy knoll?'
How in the world did Prishan manage to proof the equivalent of twenty
years of the Encyclopaedia Britannica at the same time as he
shepherded 35 books through Post? Are the rumors true? ... does he
actually belong to a secret Guild of free & associated Post Processors?
All this and more will be revealed by month's end. Don't miss a word! ...
stay right here and I promise to make up some true stuff for you.
Really, stay close by. This is an important month for all of us. We
may need some extra hands on staff at the newsletter, and I am sure to
keep everyone up way past their normal bedtime, but we'll see that you
stay informed. There are many developments going on for DPEU and PGEU
this week. It is an exciting week across the continent, I am doing my
best to keep up with all the latest tips. It is going to take a
special issue to cover all the news as MH wraps up his tour of
Europe. We will be working time and half to bring you all the details
as we get word of them. In the meantime check in at the forums of DPEU
to keep up on the progress of events. While you're there lay down some
support and take on a few pages. After all, that's how we make history
around here ...
one page at a time.
Until next week, all the best in the world for you!
Thierry Alberto
Radio Gutenberg Update
www.gutenberg.net/audio
channel 1 - Sherlock Holmes "The Sign of Four"
channel 2 - Robert Sheckley's "Bad Medicine"
Both are high quality live readings from the collection.
Testing of Radio Gutenberg audio books on demand is currently taking
place.
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3) Notes and Queries, Reviews and Features
Romantic Love Literature: Short Essay and Shorter Quiz
By Tonya Allen
Romantic love has been a strong theme in literature from its
beginning. Two of my favorite love stories are among the oldest--the
story of Pyramus and Thisbe, and the story of Baucis and Philemon,
which can both be found in PG's etext of Bulfinch's The Age of Fable.*
PG's collection includes many love stories; a quick search reveals
dozens of titles or subtitles containing the magic word "love". Some
of the latest additions include The Love Affairs of Great Musicians,
Vol. 1 (Vol. 2 will appear shortly), with a lovely HTML edition; The
Garden of Bright Waters: One Hundred and Twenty Asiatic Love Poems;
The Elegies of Tibullus: Being The Consolations Of A Roman Lover Done
In English Verse; A Love Story, by A Bushman; and Literary
Love-Letters, by Robert Herrick.
For those who find all this hopelessly sentimental, may I recommend
The Dog: A Nineteenth-Century Dog-Lovers' Manual, a Combination of the
Essential and the Esoteric; The Botanic Garden. Part II. Containing
The Loves of the Plants; or Aphra Behn's Love-Letters Between a
Nobleman and His Sister. Let's not forget The Love Sonnets of a Car
Conductor, and The Love Sonnets of a Hoodlum, both by Wallace
Irwin. Or how about Malignant Self Love, or Narcissism Book of Quotes,
both by Sam Vaknin.
Sadly, another of my favorite love stories, Pushkin's Yevgeny Onegin,
is not in PG..... yet. For now, one can read the original Russian and
the English translation side by side at this site:
http://www.pushkins-poems.com/Yev001.htm
OK, here comes the quiz, shorter than usual but I hope you enjoy
it. Just match the quotation with the title. It's multiple choice this
time.
1. It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear
a) The Song of Solomon b) Othello c) Romeo and Juliet d) Love for Love e) India's Love Lyrics
2. He got on to the bed, and wrenched open the lattice, bursting, as
he pulled at it, into an uncontrollable passion of tears. 'Come
in! come in!' he sobbed. 'Cathy, do come. Oh, do - ONCE more! Oh!
my heart's darling! hear me THIS time, Catherine, at last!' The
spectre showed a spectre's ordinary caprice: it gave no sign of
being; but the snow and wind whirled wildly through, even reaching
my station, and blowing out the light.
a) The Love-Tiff b) Wuthering Heights c) A Phantom Lover d) Love Among the Chickens
3. The moon was high and magnificent in the August night. Mrs. Morel,
seared with passion, shivered to find herself out there in a great
white light, that fell cold on her, and gave a shock to her
inflamed soul.
a) The Love Affairs Of A Bibliomaniac b) Women in Love c) Sons and Lovers d) Love at Second Sight
4. Et elle restait seduite pourtant, elle songeait invinciblement au
chevalier Ivanhoe, si passionnement aime de deux femmes, Rebecca,
la belle juive, et la noble lady Rowena.
a) Une page d'amour b) Strates amoureuses c) Amour d) Ivanhoe
5. Und liebt mich meine Luise noch? Mein Herz ist das gestrige, ist's
auch das deine noch?
a) Nina Balatka b) Die Laune des Verliebten c) Kritik der reinen Vernunft d) Kabale und Liebe
*(All the titles mentioned here are, of course, in the PG collection,
and can be found using the wonderful new search on this page:
http://www.gutenberg.net/find.shtml).
A to Z - 'X'
Following Tonya's piece on romance (xxxxxxx), you might expect that
Project Gutenberg probably doesn't have much that fits into this
category. There are three authors in the catalogue Xueqin Cao and Xun
Yue, both of whom are Chinese and Xenophon, 431-355 BC.
Greek historian, essayist, and soldier, the author of Anabasis Kyrou
(The Persian Expedition), a tale Greek mercenaries who fought their
way back from the gates of Babylon to the Euxine (Black Sea). Among
Xenophon's other works are Hellenica, a continuation of Thucydides'
history of Greek affairs from 411 to 362 B.C., the Memorabilia of
Socrates, and the Cyropedia (Education of Cyrus), a historical novel
about Cyrus the Elder, the founder of the Persian empire.
Xenophon was born in Attica and grew up during the war between Athens
and Sparta (431-404 B.C.). At an early age Xenophon become a friend of
Socrates, whom his father Gryllus defended. In his own writings
Xenophon focused mostly on practical subjects or history, without
showing much enthusiasm for philosophical speculations. In the
Memorabilia he gives much lighter version of Socrates' teachings than
Plato, who was also his contemporary. Xenophon portayed Socrates as a
cheerful, down-to-earth character, who, like Aesop, solves moral
problems with pragmatic attitude.
Although Xenophon was an Athenian, he spent much of his life in
Sparta. When democracy was reestablished in Athens in 401, Xenophon, a
man of right-wing political opinions, turned his back on its new
leaders and went to abroad. He joined, with ten thousand Greek
mercenaries, the expedition (anabasis, march up country) of Cyrus the
younger into the hinterland of Asia Minor. However, Cyrus's real aim
was to oust his brother King Artaxerxes II of Persia. His plan failed
- Cyrus lost his life in the battle of Cunaxa. The mercenaries were
left leaderless on the plains between the Tigris and the Euphrates,
over 1,600 kilometers (about 1,000 miles) from home. Xenophon was
elected one of the generals. In this role he took the principal part
in the struggle of the Greeks to return home through the "barbarian"
world of Persia. Less than 6,000 mercenaries survived. The Anabasis
become not only an account of the expedition but a tale of military
virtues, discipline, leadership, and courage.
After "the march of the 10,000" Xenophon entered the service of the
Tracian king Seuthes and in 396-394 he served the Spartan king
Agesilaus II, who defeated a coalition of Greek states at the Battle
of Coronea in 394. About 365 Xenophon returned home, and settled with
his wife Philesia and two sons at Scillus in Elis. There, during the
following two decades, he probably composed most of his
works. Xenophon's experiences in cavalry and love of horses prompted
two books, Hipparchikos (Cavalry Officer) and Peri hippikes (On
Horsemanship), the oldest surviving complete manual on this
subject. Xenophon starts the latter work by explaining, how to avoid
being cheated when buying a horse. In Hieron, a fictitious discussion
between King Hiero I of Syracuse and the poet Simonides of Ceos,
Xenophon presented ideas how an autocrat can secure his subjects'
loyalty.
Xenophon died in Corinth. His last book was probably Poroi e peri
prosodon (Ways and Means), in which he suggested methods for
improvement of Athenian public finance and advocated a policy of
peace.
A Hilltop on the Marne by Mildred Aldrich
This was brought to my attention this week as it was posted by Joe
Loewenstein. Joe states that 'The author had a successful career as a
journalist in the U.S. in the late 19th century, then retired to
France about the turn of the 20th century. After living in Paris a
number of years, she moved to a house in the countryside just before
the outbreak of World War I. This book is a collection of letters she
wrote during the early months of the war. Her style and command of
language are excellent, and it's hard to stop reading once one
starts. The html version includes some illustrations.'
Mildred Aldrich, was born in Providence, Rhode Island and was raised
in Boston, Massachusetts. She began her career as a journalist with
the Boston Home Journal, and later worked for the Boston Journal and
the Boston Herald. In January 1892 she founded The Mahogany Tree,
which she edited until December 1892, when the magazine
folded. Published weekly, The Mahogany Tree contained editorials,
fiction, poetry, and drama and book reviews.
In 1898 she travelled to Paris, and subsequently settled there. Whilst
living in France, she became a close friend of Gertrude Stein and Alice
B. Toklas, and was a member of their social circle. She worked as a
foreign correspondent, translated plays from French into English, and
negotiated the rights to the works of French playwrights for
production in the United States. In 1914 she retired to "Hilltop" ("La
Creste"), her cottage in Huiry, a village on the outskirts of
Paris. While at "La Creste" she published four collections of her
letters: Hilltop On the Marne (1915), On the Edge of the War Zone
(1917), Peak of the Load (1918), and When Johnny Comes Marching Home
(1919). She also published a novel, Told In A French Garden (1916). In
her later years she was supported largely by a fund that had been
established for her by Stein and Toklas in 1924. She died at "La
Creste" on February 19, 1928.
The book that has been posted encompassess 'Letters Written
June 3-September 8, 1914', and it is interesting to see an eye-witness
of the American Civil War begin to describe the events of The Great
War of Europe, how she finds this thrilling and yet tragic within the
same sentence. The author goes on to describe events within her
commune which is sited very close to the corner of Belgium, France and
Germany, as day to day living goes on. This is a book which would have
illuminated my History O'level in a way I only dreamt about all those
years ago. If only text books were as compulsive reading as this.
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Credits
Thanks this week to Brett and George for the numbers and the
booklists. Thierry, Tonya, Joe, Greg, Michael and Larry Wall, plus the
newsletter backroom staff. Entertainment for the workers provided as
usual by BBC 6Music and Andrew Collins.
pgweekly_2004_02_12_part_1.txt
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