Outage gives BlackBerry a black eye InfoWorld - 34 minutes ago By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service The second lengthy BlackBerry outage in less than a year has one consulting company advising clients not to rely solely on the popular smart phones for critical e-mail messages.
LONDON (Reuters) - If you think you spend too much time stuck in front of a computer screen, spare a thought for bleary eyed gamer Eric Furrer. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 10:55 am
By Evan Ackerman The only reason I find the E-Light Entertainment Light at all remarkable is that it looks like a tesla coil. Seriously, that’s it. What it’s designed to be is a combination... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 10:30 am
neo writes "Chris Rapier has presented a paper describing how to dramatically increase the speed of SCP networks. It appears that because SCP relies on a single thread in SSH, the crypto can sometimes be the bottleneck instead of the wire speed. Their new implementation (HPN-SSH) takes advantage of multi-threaded capable systems dramatically increasing the speed of securely copying files. They are currently looking for potential users with very high bandwidth to test the upper limits of the system."
Just another reminder not to text and drive. From the SFGate "A woman who crashed into a line of cars at a construction site in Shasta County and killed another driver was sending text messages on... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 10:11 am
Users of social network sites like Facebook will soon be sharing their exact whereabouts with their friends in real-time, owing to new technology that uses the mobile phone as a tracking device, experts... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:43 am
By Evan Ackerman Your favorite mostly realistic eco-friendly concept car, the Chevy Volt, was supposed to (as of the LA Auto Show) be released in 2010 for somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. I’m... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:18 am
A man learned to make remote-controlled tornadoes and kept them in a box, then went looking for a place where he could sell his wares. He found it in a store on a sandbar off the island of Dejavu, a...... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:14 am
Changes in climate and strong demand for Colorado River water could drain Lake Mead by 2021, triggering severe shortages across the region, scientists warn. Researchers at San Diego's... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:10 am
Conservationists welcomed an Indian government plan to create eight new reserves to protect the country's dwindling tiger population, and called Wednesday for more action to prevent... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:06 am
German astronaut Hans Schlegel said he's feeling great and well enough to make a spacewalk Wednesday, after sitting out the mission's first outing because of illness. But he refused... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:02 am
Several users are reporting an issue where tiny bubble-like distortions appear underneath the iPhone screens glass layer. Some reports from a pertinent thread on Apples Discussion boards : -- I... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:02 am
If youre like me, overwhelmed by the number of news sources you have to consume daily just to stay current (I confess to a love-hate relationship with my RSS reader), then Kevin Pomplun has a product for... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 9:00 am
A fossil found in Wyoming has apparently resolved a long-standing question about when bats gained their radar-like ability to navigate and locate airborne insects at night. The answer:... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:52 am
By Anonymous Metal Filler for Powder Coating Prep A single-component metal repair and patching compound that requires no mixing, applies easily, can be sanded and then powder coated and baked or simply painted is available from Alvin Products. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous MarineLine from Advanced Polymer Coatings, Ltd., Avon, Ohio, has enjoyed great success in the Korean shipbuilding market. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Hingst, Jim Wrapping up the wrapping essentials. Last issue, I began covering the necessary tools that should be in every vinyl installer's toolbox. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous Hamburg, Germany-based Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has founded a new subsidiary in Bangkok, Thailand. Germanischer Lloyd Industrial Services Thailand Ltd. will be active in the country's upstream, midstream, transmission, distribution and utilization markets. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Sheble, Nicholas In April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published regulations known as the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, requiring high-risk chemical plants to begin implementing tighter controls on security and material handling. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous 40 Today, we typically only extract 30-40% of oil contained in most reservoirs, reports ARC Advisory Forum. By boosting recovery rates just a few percentage points, organizations can dramatically increase long-term supply. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous Representatives of SafeLawns.org recently completed a two-week project that involved - with partners National Park Service and EPA - plowing a section of the National Mall, then adding compost before reseeding the area. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous A new study suggests that parasitic sea lice infestations caused by salmon farms are driving nearby populations of wild salmon toward extinction. The study shows that the affected pink salmon populations have been rapidly declining for four years. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Brent D. Wistrom, The Wichita Eagle, Kan. Feb. 13--City seeking opinions on special tax district Wichita City Council members agreed Tuesday to set March 18 as the date for the public to weigh in on a major redevelopment project downtown. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Joyce, Peter J THE CISCO NETWORKING ACADEMY IS HELPING TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF QUALIFIED IT WORKERS AND FUTURE LEADERS IN THE FIELD. Ten years ago, Cisco began working with schools on a pilot initiative called the Cisco Networking Academy. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Schoeff, Mark Jr EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Employee engagement doesn't end when someone leaves the payroll, according to IBM. In fact, helping workers determine a direction before walking out the door increases their affinity for the company. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous Efforts to portray the Chicago church of which Senator Barack Obama is a member as racist and anti-American are "absurd, mean- spirited and politically motivated," said John Thomas, head of the United Church of Christ. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anderson, Steve Gen X and Gen Y lead businesses into 21st century marketing techniques Steve loved to dazzle his high school science students with cool and unusual experiments. One of his favorite experiments was to drop a couple of Mentos candies into a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous Users of the newly redesigned LS Industries' Web site, www.lsindustries.com, can learn about the company and its metal cleaning products, request information, download literature and view videos from the site's library. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous The 2008 ACTE Board of Directors Election will be held from February 1-29. Due to the positive feedback and success of last year, this year ACTE will once again have a completely electronic election. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous JANUARY 2008 January 21-23, 2008-Middle East Ocean Science and Technology Expo, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Information: +971 2 444 6011, +971 2 444 3987 (fax), e-mail j.collins@turretme.com or Web site www.meost.com. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous The interaction between people and technology is human-machine interface (HMI). Interaction can include touch, sight, sound, heat transference, or any other physical or cognitive function. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
The last thing the world needs is another social network that lets users chat with their friends, the head of Yahoo Inc.'s mobile Internet business said. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Andrew Liszewski I feel sorry for the kid who gets stuck practicing the trumpet alongside this thing. Not only are they forced to learn an instrument, but they’re also being forced to learn time... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 7:55 am
LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has joined forces with Vodafone to work on a standard telecommunications system for aid agencies around the world to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 7:52 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp has told U.S. regulators it uses reasonable measures to manage traffic moving over its broadband service as some of its customers overwhelm the network by... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 7:48 am
A six-month trial that could revolutionise the way luggage is tracked and monitored at the UK's biggest airport has started. The Heathrow scheme, run by airport... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 7:39 am
At the start of the Microsoft/Yahoo saga we reported that News Corp. was scrambling to put together a bid to compete with Microsoft, but backed down because they were unable to find outside funding to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 7:32 am
An anonymous reader writes "Wired reports that the two-star general in charge of the US Air Force's new Cyber Command is looking for hacker-types to beef up its cadre of cyber warriors — no heavy lifting required. 'We have to change the way we think about warriors of the future,' General William Lord says. 'So if they can't run three miles with a pack on their backs but they can shut down SCADA system, we need to have a culture where they fit in.' The Cyber Command is the Air Force's first new Major Command since the early 1990s. It's purpose is to be able to win an electronic war with China and other potential adversaries."
By Andrew Liszewski While they might look like they came from a grade 6 science fair project, the Z-CoiL line of shoes are apparently very real. Their most striking feature, the Z-CoiL itself, is made... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 7:28 am
Some coral reefs could be protected from global warming by a natural "thermostat" which regulates sea-surface temperatures in the open ocean, researchers said Wednesday. The research... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 6:51 am
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong health workers disinfected two wholesale food markets on Wednesday following the discovery of a dead wild bird suspected to have died from bird flu. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 6:24 am
Disney has joined Microsoft , Hewlett-Packard , software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison to create a home in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., to show off technologies of the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 5:13 am
Channel 4 has a documentary series called Living Doll: My Fake Baby, about women who keep ultra-realistic dolls, known as reborns. They dress them up and take them out shopping and for walks in strollers. Link(Thanks, Phil!)
firefoxy writes "Mozilla has officially released Firefox 3 beta 3. This release includes new features, user interface enhancements, and theme improvements. Ars Technica has a review with screenshots. 'Firefox 3 is rapidly approaching completion and much of the work that remains to be done is primarily in the category of fit and finish. There will likely only be one more beta release after this one before Mozilla begins issuing final release candidates.'"
One late night last November, Mitt Romney, campaigning in Greenville, S.C., was approached by three young women in bright matching outfits looking for a hug. Mr. Romney, thinking they were cheerleaders... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 4:36 am
Snip from the latest essay on Kevin Kelly's Technium blog, which for me has become a must-read RSS feed:
I wrote a book, Out of Control, heralding the immense power of bottom up systems. You know: smart mobs, hive mind, web power, amateur hour, decentralized webs, network effects, and collaborative work. Twenty years ago Out of Control made a wide-ranging and exhaustive case for the remarkable things which decentralized, out-of-control systems can accomplish in biology, technology, and cultural realms. Two decades later I'm still keen on the untapped potential of emergent bottom-up systems.
But throughout my boosterism I have tried to temper my celebration of the bottom with my belief that the bottom is not enough for what we really want. To get to the best we need some top down intelligence, too. I have always claimed that nuanced view. And now that crowd-sourcing and social webs are all the rage, it's worth repeating: the bottom is not enough. You need a bit of top-down as well.
The reason every bottom-up crowd-source hive-mind needs some top-down control is because of time. The bottom runs on a different time scale than our instant culture.
An anonymous reader writes "CNet's Crave reports on a potentially revolutionary digital music service set to launch worldwide later this year. It's offering free, unlimited over-the-air downloads to cell phones, with music from all four major record labels, with no subscription. And the selections that users download get automatically downloaded to their PC or Mac. Rather obviously, the tracks are DRMed, but unlike the similar Nokia service unveiled last year to much disappointment, this MusicStation Max service will have exclusive handsets from LG and no additional fees to customers. This is a little similar to an idea talked about last year, but with all four majors on-board it seems to have greater potential."
Despite deep budget cuts, the next-generation atom smasher -- the $6.6 billion International Linear Collider -- isn't dead yet. But it won't be built on U/.S. soil.
During my visit to the Exploratorium, I learned something I've always suspected: The mind is a cruel, lying, unreliable bastard. Commentary by Lore Sjöberg.
GENEVA The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on Tuesday presented a Russian-Chinese draft treaty banning weapons in space to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, an idea that was quickly... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 1:35 am
AT the Oko frozen yogurt shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn, the counter and walls are made from sunflower seeds and its awnings have solar panels. Maury Rubin said that when he opens his third Birdbath organic... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 1:35 am
The Bush administration announced yesterday that it intends to bring capital murder charges against half a dozen men allegedly linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, based partly on information the men disclosed to FBI and military questioners without the use of coercive interrogation tactics.
The admissions made by the men -- who were given food whenever they were hungry as well as Starbucks coffee at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- played a key role in the government's decision to proceed with the prosecutions, military and law enforcement officials said.
Emphasis added. The NYT's The Lede blog digs deeper, uncovers an In These Times article, and reminds us that there's also a "Starbucks, a McDonalds, a combined Subway-Pizza Hut, a Wal-Mart-like big box store called the Nex and a gift shop" on the Guantanamo base.
Yahoo's chances of escaping a takeover by Microsoft suffered a setback on Tuesday when one of its biggest shareholders endorsed the idea of a deal but at a higher price than the one on offer. The comments... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 1:00 am
Yoko Ono, widow of former Beatles member John Lennon, is suing singer-songwriter (and Suicide Girl) Lennon Murphy for alleged "tarnishment" of John Lennon's name.
Ms. Murphy's band is called Lennon, and she is attempting to register that band name as a trademark.
Getting Sued by Yoko
Current mood: angry
Category: Music
Yesterday I received notice that Yoko Ono had filed a law suit against me, asking for a cancellation of the trademark that I own for the name "Lennon." This could very well mean the career that I have worked so hard at, the one you all have believed in, may come to an end. I wanted to address the situation to all my fans because without you I am nothing and it's not fair to everyone who has believed in my music not to be properly informed of this pure bullshit.
When I first started playing music at 14, I was known for the most part as "The Lennon Murphy Band". Not a name I was very fond of, no one could ever agree on anything so it made sense. A few months later some of the shows started being marketed using my full name as well as some that just using "Lennon." There was never really any consistancy but there was well enough to justify stating that "Lennon" had been used in fact since 1997. When I signed with Arista Records in 2000 at the age of 18, a marketing decision was made to continue being known just as Lennon. In all honesty, I didn't care. I was just happy to sign a record deal, make an album, and pay my bills.
Lennon is my first name by birth and I am regualarly asked if I was named after the Beatle, having always replied no. My mother named me after "John Lennon that wrote songs, painted, and baked bread with his son". She named me for the man, not the pop star.
An anonymous reader writes "Canon has filed for a patent for using iris watermarking (as in the iris of your eye) to take photographer's copyright protection to the next level. You set up the camera to capture an image of your eye through the viewfinder. Once captured, this biological reference is embedded as metadata into every photo you take. Canon claims this will help with copyright infringement of photos online."
HONG KONG A series of arrests here for posting sexually explicit images of what appear to be some of Asias best-known pop stars has led to a division among Internet users over free speech, and questions... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 12:36 am
Aiming to address the privacy concerns of disenchanted users, Facebook.com said on Tuesday that it was trying to make it easier for people to delete their accounts permanently from the social networking... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 12:36 am
A jury in Texas has ruled that Boston Scientifics drug-coated stents infringe a 1997 patent issued to a radiologist in Princeton, N.J., and has awarded the inventor $431 million in damages, Boston Scientific... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Feb 2008 | 12:36 am
An anonymous reader suggest at article over at ScienceDaily about the achievement of the holy grail of nanoscience: "[R]esearchers at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have for the first time used DNA to guide the creation of three-dimensional, ordered, crystalline structures of nanoparticles. The ability to engineer such 3-D structures is essential to producing functional materials that take advantage of the unique properties that may exist at the nanoscale — for example, enhanced magnetism, improved catalytic activity, or new optical properties."
christian.einfeldt writes "Microsoft has responded via the industry trade group ECMA to some of the thousands of criticisms of its submission of Office Open XML as an ISO standard. Open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver takes a look at those responses to see if Microsoft has made significant changes in either the substance of OOXML or the manner in which the OOXML specification will be maintained going forward. Ossendryver concludes that Microsoft's position has not significantly changed, but only hardened in place in advance of the Ballot Resolution Meeting which is to occur from February 25 through 29 in Geneva. While no one can say for certain whether Microsoft will succeed in having OOXML win the nod from the international community, Ossendryer thinks that Microsoft's firm stance is likely to backfire."
The Senate votes 68-29 to give amnesty to telephone and internet companies being sued for helping the government spy on Americans without warrants. The bill also largely legalizes future NSA domestic spying. The House must agree before the bill becomes law.
CorinneI writes "At the Mobile World Congress show, four mobile processor vendors demoed pre-production devices running versions of Google's Android OS — a Linux-based, open operating system for mobile phones that will sport Google applications. The biggest surprise of the demos was how well Android runs on slow devices. 'TI showed Android on a Motorola Q-like QWERTY handheld with its 200 Mhz OMAP 850 platform, where the user interface felt smooth and fast, even with little Apple-like animated transitions between screens.' HTC, Motorola, LG, and Samsung all belong to Google's Open Handset Alliance"
Apple has released an update to its Leopard operating system, fixing several minor annoyances. Users complaining about the new Mac desktop, flaky AirPort connections, camera support and software stability problems can download Mac OS X 10.5.2 starting Tuesday to help soothe their nerves.
I just bought a copy of Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days, a lovely two-CD compilation of old wax and vinyl recordings from the 1920s-1950s. The collection is exquisitely packaged by Dust-to-Digital in a clothbound, full-color book of beautiful record label artwork, archival photographs, listening instructions, postcards, and all sorts of old timey music ephemera. The music on the CDs is a delightful and eclectic trip around the world: Persian folk, American jazz, Delta blues, Chinese opera, Korean flutes, Japanese bamboo xylophones, Burmese electric guitar, and a slew of other enchanting genres. Victrola Favorites is not one of those CD purchases that's ripped and then relegated to the storage box in your garage. It's an exquisite objet d'art more suited for the coffee table than for the iPod. I only wish I had the opportunity to hear these recordings on the media they were made for. Link to buy Victrola Favorites, Link to Dust-to-Digital's Victrola Favorites page
blackbearnh notes that this week marks the 10th anniversary of the Open Source Initiative. He points us to O'Reilly's ONLamp site, where Federico Biancuzzi (who frequently interviews notables in the Open Source community for O'Reilly) has a collection of interviews with some of the founders of the OSI, including Bruce Perens and Eric Raymond. "Eric Raymond: There is a pattern that one sees over and over again in failed political and religious reform movements. A charismatic founder launches the movement, attracts followers, and enjoys significant successes; then he dies or leaves or attempts to name a successor, and the movement disintegrates rapidly. One of the classic, much-studied cases is that of John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Community, 1848-1881. It was especially clear in that case that its succession crisis and eventual collapse was due to over-reliance on Noyes's personal leadership. At the time I co-founded OSI in 1998 I judged that FSF would very likely undergo a similar crackup if it lost RMS, and was determined to avoid that if possible for OSI."
Aubrey de Grey, founder of the Methuselah Foundation ("dedicated to the defeat of human aging") did a nice job of explaining rejuvenation research on the Colbert Report last night. (Via Gerry Canavan)
The Comics Reporter has a nice obituary about comic book writer Steve Gerber, who died Sunday at the age of 60. He's best known for creating Howard the Duck.
Steve Gerber's role as one of the best and emblematic writers of his generation can't be overstated. He was a crucial figure in comics history. Like some of the all-time great cartoonists of years past, Gerber carved a place for self-expression and meaning out of a type of comic that had no right to hold within itself so many things and moments that were that quirky and offbeat and delicately realized -- except that Gerber made it so. His Howard the Duck comics remain amusing when read today, perhaps more poignant now, laying into their broad targets in a way that communicated a kind of critical consciousness into the minds of many devoted superhero comics readers, fans that simply wouldn't have been exposed to those kinds of ideas any other way, the concept that media might lie to you, the notion of absolute self-worth in the face of a world that seems dead-set against it. Steve Gerber's superhero books were a tonic to the over-seriousness of most of their cousins, and his horror-adventure books were frequently classy and reserved in a genre that tends to reward the blunt and ugly. No creator save Jack Kirby has as a cautionary tale and a living example saved so many creators the grief of turning over their creations without reward or without realizing what they had done. Few creators in the American mainstream were as consistently fascinating as Steve Gerber. Even fewer have been as outspoken and forthright, or in that way, as admirable.
"I wouldn't describe myself as fearless, but I think you have to accept the possibility of failure if you want to achieve anything, in any field." -- Steve Gerber, 1985
pcause writes "A recent study finds that 6% of Web users generate 50% of the click-throughs. Worse news for advertisers: these clickers are not representative of the population as a whole, most have incomes under $40K, and their clicks are not related to any offline buying. (They are mostly males between 25 and 44 years of age.) The number of clicks on an ad campaign is also not strongly correlated with brand awareness for the ads' subject, according to the study. This is bad news for ad-supported Web sites and businesses, as rates should drop if the Net economy begins to take these findings seriously."
The three most recent posts on The World of Kane showcase the work of comic book artist Jim Steranko, cybernetic art pioneer Nicolas Schöffer, and Op Art creator Victor Vasarely. Mister Kane sure has good taste.
After an early life spent as petty thief, carny worker, magician, escape artist (Inspiring both Jack Kirby's 'Fourth World' character, super-escape artist, Mister Miracle; plus comic book artist Josef Kavalier in Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) and rock 'n' roll guitarist; Steranko entered the world of comics in 1966, working for Joe Simon's Harvey Thriller titles before succeeding Jack Kirby as Nick Fury artist on Marvel Comic's Strange Tales #151 (Dec. 1966).
A real estate agent showing possible buyers around a Central England house opened a closet only to find the homeowner hanging dead inside. He had apparently hung himself by a belt. From Reuters:
"It was quite a shock," said a spokesman for estate agents Hartleys. "Our agent quickly ushered everyone out, locked the property and called the authorities."
-SD-sodbusting_1.jpg)
Comment by Nathanael Greene, Senior Policy Analyst Natural Resources Defense Council
Spotted on Warren Ellis' blog. Getting Sued by Yoko
Steve Gerber's role as one of the best and emblematic writers of his generation can't be overstated. He was a crucial figure in comics history. Like some of the all-time great cartoonists of years past, Gerber carved a place for self-expression and meaning out of a type of comic that had no right to hold within itself so many things and moments that were that quirky and offbeat and delicately realized -- except that Gerber made it so. His Howard the Duck comics remain amusing when read today, perhaps more poignant now, laying into their broad targets in a way that communicated a kind of critical consciousness into the minds of many devoted superhero comics readers, fans that simply wouldn't have been exposed to those kinds of ideas any other way, the concept that media might lie to you, the notion of absolute self-worth in the face of a world that seems dead-set against it. Steve Gerber's superhero books were a tonic to the over-seriousness of most of their cousins, and his horror-adventure books were frequently classy and reserved in a genre that tends to reward the blunt and ugly. No creator save Jack Kirby has as a cautionary tale and a living example saved so many creators the grief of turning over their creations without reward or without realizing what they had done. Few creators in the American mainstream were as consistently fascinating as Steve Gerber. Even fewer have been as outspoken and forthright, or in that way, as admirable.
