Nearly 70 percent of the world's Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii ) have been killed in the past 10 years by an infectious cancer called devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). So far, no cure has been found, and the disease has spread to almost every corner of the remote island off the southeastern coast of Australia, the only place on Earth where they live in the wild.

But now a colony of devils living near Cradle Mountain in northwestern Tasmania has displayed immunity against DFTD, and scientists say this could be the hope the species needs.

Former members of Transmission Games have established Trickstar Games, a new development studio based in Melbourne, Australia.

“Trickstar Games is Australia’s newest, but most experienced games development studio… a core assembly of some of the greatest development talent in the country,” the company said on its website.

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· English bowler jumps three places after 10-wicket haul
· Derek Underwood last English spinner with more points

Graeme Swann's maiden 10-wicket haul has made him the first England bowler in six years to rise to second position in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers, behind Dale Steyn of South Africa.

The 30-year-old off-spinner recorded match figures of 78.3-19-217-10 to bowl England to a 181-run victory over Bangladesh in Chittagong, giving his side a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

The wickets have moved Swann up three places in the rankings, making him the first England bowler to claim second position in the bowling table since Steve Harmison in December 2004.

In the past eight months Swann has played 10 Tests, taking 45 wickets, including 14 against Australia and 21 against South Africa. His total of 783 points puts him in 28th position in the all-time England Test bowlers list – the last English spinner to have more points was Derek Underwood in 1977 and the last English off-spinner with more points was Fred Titmus in 1965.

• Graeme Swann
• England Cricket Team
• Cricket

Montreal's bike share scheme registered more than 1m rides in its first month, can it be as popular in the UK's capital?

For a man who may be on the verge of revolutionising the urban cycling experience, Michel Dallaire has spent relatively little time on two wheels.

Dallaire, who designed the Bixi bicycle sharing system due to launch in London this summer, regards himself as a skiier rather than a cyclist. His longest ride was a "really painful" 36 miles, and negotiating London's traffic seems a terrifying prospect.

"The traffic in London with these huge buses, two storeys high and they drive so fast," he said. "The bicycles sometimes are just in front of these big buses and they ride 40km, 50km in the city and of course on the wrong side of the street."

But Dallaire's Bixis, the frames marked with their disinctive silver swoosh, seem unstoppable, moving on to Boston, London, Melbourne Australia and Minneapolis after its hugely successful debut in Montreal.

The sharing scheme registered more than 1m rides in its first four months in Montreal. The Montreal parking authority, which runs Bixi, put 2,000 more bikes on the streets and added more docking stations. The bike system could end up being the most widespread design of Dallaire's 43-year career.

"I saw people I knew who I never imagined would be on a bike in town, and some people cycling for the first time," said Suzanne Lareau, the president of Velo Quebec, the cycling advocacy organisation. Many users have their own bicycles but are afraid of getting them stolen if they ride into town, she said.

Others say the Bixi gives them a sense of freedom. They can duck out of their offices for a quick lunch, ride into work without fear of being caught in the rain on the way home. In the summer months, it's another transport option along with buses, and metro. "It's part of a cocktail of transport," said Catherine Mayor, spokesman for the Angus Technopole, a green redevelopment project on the site of an old locomotive shop.

Membership costs $78 for a year, or $5 a day. The first half-hour rental is free, with prices rising thereafter. Dallaire attributes at least part of the success to the uniform design of the Bixi, which turned the bicycles and docking stations into part of urban landscape. He said the sturdy look of the bike inspired confidence - and prevented vandalism.

Dallaire, who worked with a local manufacturer DeVinci as well as Velo Quebec, also hid the cables inside the bike's main frame to prevent them bind tampered with.

London's bicycle sharing scheme will not be identical to the original Bixi, which uses solar power and modular design for the bicycle docking stations, which are shut down during the winter months.

The docking stations, which hold six bicycles, are mounted on alumnium plates which can be picked up by cranes and plunked down on pavements, allowing the authorities to easily shift bicyles to areas of high demand. London's docking stations will be permanent, and use power from the electrical grid.

There were setbacks too. In July last year, La Presse reported that one in five bikes had been vandalised. Roger Plamondon, the head of the parking authority, refuses to release figures for theft or vandalism, saying he does not want to encourage copycats. But he admits the early days were a challenge.

"We had people trying to sell them in a garage, we had people trying to sell them for the aluminium," he said. "But we had people calling us and telling us come and pick up the bike, the bike is not supposed to be there."

A spokesperson said thefts in the early days were at 3% to 5%. About 50 of the 5,000 bicycles are under repair at any given time.

Dallaire was called in to modify the locking system, and the authorities say the changes cut down on thefts. He now thinks he can tame London commuters - if not the city's streets - predicting the same response to the Bixi as in Montreal.

"It has really changed the dynamic of the social community," he said. "It has changed Montreal. It's more friendly, people are more together - and it is so practical."

Paris, Cardiff, Blackpool, Reading, Copenhagen city bike, Lyon, Hammersmith and Fulham and Nice and Vannes.

• Cycling
• Ethical and green living
• Canada

• Daryl Hannah brings ethanol-powered Kill Bill Trans Am to EcoReview TV show
• Mitsubishi sends first i-MiEVs to Australia, will go on sale in a few months
• Reports: Toyota to increase - or maybe decrease - Prius production

AutoblogGreen for 03.17.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A year on from the collapse of distributor Red Ant, legal documents have revealed that game companies have lost almost AUS $10 million (£6m / $9.1m) to the Australian company, with former staff still AUS $250,000 out of pocket.

It has also been revealed that before the company went into administration, Red Ant loaned more than AUS $2 million (£1.2m / $1.8m) to companies and trust funds including Mad4Games Australia, Green Monkey and White Commerce Trust – all owned by Red Ant managing director Julian White, who also received a AUS 700,000 loan from Red Ant.

In a report published on GamesIndustry.biz today, White said that all loans to companies that he was a director of were for business purposes only, and the companies were now in debt to the bank. White's explanation that the personal AUS $700,000 loan was repaid "by dividends" does not tally with the sum registering as outstanding on legal documents.

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PayPal has seen the future, and apparently it lies out East. The eBay company has just announced plans to double its presence in the Asian-Pacific region by the end of 2010, and made a couple of other, separate announcements to underscore its focus on Asia.

At PayPal’s new international headquarters in Suntec City, Singapore’s technology hub in the middle of the nation’s central business district, the company said that it plans to double the number of employees in Asia Pacific from 1,000 currently to more than 2,000 by the end of the year. The company plans to add more than 100 new jobs at its international headquarters in Singapore alone, as it represents all of the company’s business outside of the United States.

New jobs will be located at all seven offices in the region including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. For its Singapore business headquarters and development center, PayPal will be recruiting Singapore-based professionals with expertise in technology, product development, infrastructure design, risk and engineering.

PayPal says it has processed more than $6 billion of total payment volume (at spot rate) in Asia Pacific in 2009, an increase of 38 percent from 2008. Since its establishment in the region in 2006, the company has struck dozens of partnerships with Asian companies including this morning’s announcements today with DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, and China UnionPay, China’s bankcard association.

As part of PayPal’s plans to help grow the e-commerce ecosystem across Asia Pacific, the company also announced that the PayPal mobile payment software development kit (SDK) will be made available to developers in the region. That way, developers can add a checkout button to accept mobile payments without the need to collect financial information from customers with just a few lines of code.

The mobile SDK, which will initially support iPhone app development, will be available in the second quarter of 2010 to developers in the region.

Lonely Planet's Tom Hall answers your questions on worldwide travel. This week: making the most of a New Zealand break and Morocco with a toddler in tow

I'm going to New Zealand to perform in April, I have about five or six days there before I have to base myself in Auckland for the shows. I'm planning to go on my own, and want to get the most out of the South Island in those few days. What would you suggest as a whistle-stop tour of some of the most dramatic and beautiful sights of the Island?

Also any tips for good day trips from Auckland which'll get me back in time for my 8pm show each night would rock.
Chris Cox, by email

New Zealand catches many visitors out. It is a big country and those who come with a couple of weeks to see the whole place often go home frustrated. In this case, you're aware of the time limitations, so are best off treating this as a quick dash from Auckland to Christchurch with stops and detours on the way. Take the Overlander train down through the North Island from Auckland to Wellington. You'll cover a lot of land and it beats the plane - you'll have seen enough of the inside of metal tubes by the time you get there. The need to get to the South Island means there's not much time in Wellington, but if you have a few hours stop by the excellent national musesum, Te Papa. The area around Picton, where the ferry from Wellington docks, is a good place to start with the South Island. Don't rush away from what is one of New Zealand's most beautiful areas - you should try for a day hike on the Queen Charlotte Track, offered by several hiking companies based in Picton.

From Picton you can travel to Nelson, gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. You won't have time for much more than a day here but there's an excellent one-day sea kayaking trip run by Wilsons. The lovely Awaroa Lodge, accessed only by boat, has some good late-season offers and there's no shortage of good value budget accommodation around Nelson.

From here flip over to the east coast - Inter City have the best bus network - and have a half-day's whale-watching off the waters of Kaikoura. From here move down to Christchurch and hop on the wonderful TranzAlpine rail service. This train comes complete with an open observation car for admiring the spectacular mountain views. Rather than continue on to Greymouth, get off and stay overnight at Arthur's Pass, which is a superb place for trekking and sampling small-town life before heading back to Christchurch for a flight back to Auckland.

One day trip from here I'd recommend is taking the boat to Rangitoto Island and walking up this dormant volcano. The views of the city are excellent. Other suggestions for day trips are welcome.

My boyfriend and I have booked two weeks in Montenegro for the end of May/beginning of June. Our friends either don't know where it is, or don't know why we're spending so long in such a small place. But I once spoke to someone on a campsite in Greece who was its biggest fan and told me I had to go. So we are. Despite what my friends say.

We're on a tight budget and would love a mixture of coastal beaches, good fresh food and some lovely walks (rambling but maybe not full-on hiking). Our aim is to get healthy, relaxed and energised. Could you recommend anything to fit the bill?
Zoe Daniels, by email

Montenegro is located in south-eastern Europe, sandwiched between Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania and the Adriatic Sea. It's small enough to move around over the course of your stay and get a good overview of the highlights. This coast is what gives the country its appeal, with the Mediterreanean's longest fjord slicing into the Bay of Kotor. The city of Kotor, located within the fjord, is an excellent base from which to explore the coast. There are popular resorts here like Budva - which has a fascinating abandoned old quarter - Herceg Novi, Tivat and Ulcinj. They won't be crowded at the beginning of June but you'll find your own smaller coves with a bit more space and privacy without too many problems.

Hiring a scooter or bicycle can take you off the beaten track. Durmitor National Park offers some of the best hiking in the Balkans and getting here from Kotor involves travelling by road or a combination of rail and road, along some of Europe's most spectacular roads. Even with all this you may feel that there's not quite enough to fill two weeks. In this case, consider side trips to Dubrovnik, Sarajevo or Belgrade - the latter being the final destination for Montenegro's only train service. Balkanology is an excellent place to get more information on the country.

Not being traditional "book and beach" sorts, my husband and I are hoping to reclaim our former adventurous spirit. We would love to venture further than the villas we've limited ourselves to for the last few years, now that our daughter is decidedly more travel-sized.

We've never been to Morocco before and thought it might be a safe option for all of us to spend a week, but we're not feeling quite brave enough to organise it all ourselves. Daisy will be nearly three in early September when we're thinking of going. Are we being overly ambitious? We can easily get to most airports by car but prefer Gatwick as it's the nearest.
Paulina, Carlos & Daisy Talamanca, by email

In some ways Morocco is exactly the right place for a trip like this. The flight, which is the most difficult part of a journey with a toddler, is short in comparison with other destinations offering a more exotic kind of holiday. It remains an affordable destination but has a sufficiently developed infrastructure to make getting around possible by road or rail. And in September it will still be warm but with neither the crowds of European visitors who flock here during the school holidays nor really revved up for the winter season which makes coastal destinations like Agadir popular. You're all likely to get a kick out of exploring the experiences, colours and smells of somewhere new together.

There are, of course, potential downsides. A near three-year-old won't share your sense of wonder at the winding passageways of the medinas of Fes or Marrakech - though their eyes will be out on stalks as you explore the Djemma el Fna, the latter's enormous night-time gathering space packed with food stalls, story-tellers and performers. They also won't get much out of day trips into the Atlas Mountains and may be frustrated at a holiday that involves only a little beach or playground time. Here's a hint: have a look in big modern shopping malls for facilities designed for families. Opinions among readers will, I imagine, be divided as to whether the experience of such a different culture balances out these downsides. Aim to stay somewhere with a pool so that you've got somewhere to retreat to - Best of Morocco are specialists who can advise further.

My wife and I want to go to Sydney and Melbourne and have a stopover in Hong Kong on the way out. If possible we'd also like a stopover on the way back but we're not sure where. Any tips and do's and don'ts? I'm keen not to drive for ever in Oz so info on internal flights and trains would be useful.
Declan Jones, by email

Flying with British Airways and Qantas is the best way to maximise the variety of stopovers you can make. You can take your pick of easy Asian hubs and usually fly out via one and back by another. On a recent trip to Melbourne, I had the choice of visiting Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul and many other locations which were served by one or both airlines. You can also fly with the national carriers of countries you are considering stopping over in, for example Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific, but this will limit your choice of where you can stop. Trailfinders can advise and help with bookings. Hong Kong (discoverhongkong.com) and Singapore (visitsingapore.com) combine a high frequency of flights with the shortest routes to Australia so are the most popular options. They're also easy places to explore in a couple of days, so I'd recommend these for starters and suggest saving less common stopovers for another time. Book accommodation ahead so you don't waste time when you arrive, and don't try to pack too much in. Part of the benefit of a stopover is taking a little time to get over the rigours of the journey.

In Australia, you can fly between major cities and tourist destinations on Virgin Blue and Jetstar, which both operate along low-cost carrier lines. You'll get the best deal if you book ahead. Taking a flight one way and a train the other is a good way to see Australia. Countrylink offer day and night services between Melbourne and Sydney.

• Adventure travel
• New Zealand
• Morocco
• Montenegro
• Australia

Internet measurement company ComScore is ramping up its presence in Australia and hoping to provide accurate data on browsing from mobile phones by taking direct feeds from all mobile networks.

Eaton has appointed Richard Jenman as sales director - power distribution for Australia and New Zealand.

The recent Abu Dhabi Media Summit was every bit as entertaining as one would expect it to be when entertainment industry heavyweights get together and plan strategies for a new and improved “get tough” approach to piracy.

First up was James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and chairman and chief executive of News Corporation’s European and Asian operations. He compared online piracy to “stealing (a can of) Pringles or a handbag,” arguing that there is “no difference” between digital and physical piracy.

“There should be the same level of property rights whether it’s a house or a movie,” he added.

Murdoch is apparently unaware that there is a tremendous difference between physical and digital piracy. The latter doesn’t rob people of irreplaceable property only possible profits. Copyright holders are still free to sell digital property as many times as they wish or can. In fact, numerous well-respected studies have found that illegal file-sharing actually increases their ability to do so!

But, for Murdoch this doesn’t seem to matter. He wants law enforcement to target illegal file-sharers as they would ordinary thieves.

“There should be the same level of sanctity as there is around property. Content is no different. They’re not crazy kids,” he continues. “No. Punish them.”

Nevermind the fact that there’s really no way to fight digital piracy short of DPI. A better alternative is to simply offer the sort of on-demand content delivery systems that consumers crave and cause many to turn to P2P in the first place.

People in Australia, for example, don’t want to wait an extra year to watch episodes of “Lost” or “Family Guy.” They want to be able to tune in when people in the US can. P2P has democratized content delivery in the absence of legal alternatives. Ignoring this fact and branding what are ostensibly loyal viewers or fans as thieves instead only makes the problem worse.

Also joining Murdoch at the event was Ari Emanuel, famed Hollywood talent agent and pruported model for the Ari Gold character on the hit HBO-series “Entourage.” He followed by disclosing just what steps the industry planned to take in its fight against online piracy.

“We are in the midst of talking to the president and some attorney generals and [we are] trying to implement a three strikes and you’re out rule,” he said.

He alluded to a possible “fight with ISPs” over the matter, but apparently made no mention of the probable backlash by the American people.

Unlike France or South Korea where the people seemed all too wiling to give the govt power to filter the Internet and disconnect users suspected of illegal file-sharing, the people of the US are going to be particularly leery of giving the govt control of the Internet, especially when it’s disclosed it’s only being done to benefit deep-pocketed entertainment industry heavyweights.

Even though then President-Elect Obama promised to “protect the openness of the Internet,” having a VP who’s been a longtime entertainment industry advocate, and is a co-founder of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, may prove too much to resist in the end.

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com

Random Thought! A special edition of random thoughts this week, people! It's random thoughts time! Get excited!

Link Thought! Quickie Reviews (Mar 10 2010) (The Unwritten makes a small comeback!). Is it Just Children? (or is it okay to kill everyone?). High Road/Low Road on Chris Jericho/Edge at WrestleMania (I really love this, but still have to argue against it... dammit). Wrestling 4Rs featuring my review of the first edition of TNA Impact in its new semi-live Monday night timespot (spoiler: I thought it was shit). Fuck Me? (people who comment on wrestling sites are much funnier than those who comment on comics sites). Wrestler of the Week (only two weeks left...). Art Discussion Month 2010 (it passes the halfway mark today... I'm mostly done! Also, check out Frank Teran's comment in my discussion of the Hellblazer issue he drew... it's all gossipy and fun!). The Splash Page Podcast Episode 8.1 (Tim swears, but I had to bleep it out to keep the podcast clean). The Splash Page Podcast Episode 8.2 (I swear, but I had to bleep it out to keep the podcast clean). An interview with Keith Champagne on WWE Heroes (yes, it's on this blog, but people miss things...).

Random Thought! I'm oddly comforted by the thought that, if I lived in Russia, comics would be reviewing me... (Taken from my Twitter feed on Sunday.)

Random Thought! I have no interest in that Young Allies book beyond how awesome the name Bastards of Evil is. That's not just a good bad guy team name, it's a Joe Casey-esque bad guy team name, and no one does supervillains who revel in their villainy as well as Casey these days, so nicely done, Mr. McKeever.

Random Thought! Because it gives me focus, the rest of the column will be my "I'ds of March" to follow-up on Brian's annual posting. Sure, that was yesterday, but I don't want to step on his toes, let him do his thing and I'll keep mine in this column. If I remember next year, the 15th will be on a Tuesday and mine will actually go up on the day. I did this previously, on my blog, two years ago. (Linking to that so I won't repeat myself...)

I'd... have ended Secret Invasion with Noh-Varr helping to turn the tide against the Skrulls and, then, turning on the heroes, because he intends to take over the planet himself and remake it in Hala's image. Not taking over then, Norman Osborn could still be in charge and Dark Reign happens mostly as planned, but Noh-Varr is set up as a threat, someone who isn't working for the same goals as anyone.

I'd... have brought Steve Rogers back in Captain America as a regular arc with Butch Guice as the artist, kicking off his run on the book. Not necessarily as smart a sales/business move, but I think it would have worked artistically better.

I'd... have not marketed Joe Casey's tenure on Superman/Batman as a follow-up to "Our Worlds at War" and would have also let people know that was writing the book when the first issue came out in October and made it clear what was going on.

I'd... hire Jim Starlin to take over one of the Marvel cosmic books. With Thanos coming back, all we need is Starlin. It would lighten the load for Abnett and Lanning a bit and also give the line a little bit more diversity in writing. I've enjoyed the unified vision, but, come on, DnA and Starlin writing those characters? That would be amazing.

I'd... have hired J.M. DeMatteis to write Spider-Man: The Clone Saga. Or, at least, a back-up strip to give the series a little more flavour and breathing room. I'd have also included some extra material like one-page interviews on the story throughout the series. Small things to make it a better experience.

I'd... have not made Wednesday Comics exclusively 12-part serialised stories. Do some one-offs and short serials, mix things up a bit, play with the newspaper format.

I'd... have released the "Final Crisis Aftermath" book in a different manner, maybe not all at the same time nor with such similar titles. They all sort of blended together that way when they might have done better by making their differences more obvious and trying to target each book's specific audience more directly.

I'd... release Paul Jenkins's Hellblazer run in trades. Plus, I do a trade or two of the remaining uncollected issues from that series. The one- and two-parters that popped up over the years.

I'd... have hired almost any other artist than Philip Tan for the second Batman & Robin arc. That arc sticks out like a sore thumb and DC could have found someone much better suited to Morrison's writing -- and someone whose work doesn't look ten times worse in the middle of Frank Quitely- and Cameron Stewart-drawn arcs.

I'd... have hounded Chip Zdarsky to contribute to Strange Tales... because he's great.

I'd... hire Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk to do a second Dark X-Men mini-series later in 2010 to explore what happens to the characters without Norman Osborn in charge. That could be very interesting and act as a nice sequel to the recently-concluded mini.

I'd... have hired a writer with sensibilities much more in common with Grant Morrison than Keith Giffen to write The Authority: The Lost Year. A cool idea for a book that went wrong by hiring the wrong writer to do it. That needed someone much more in tune with the way Morrison writes.

I'd... have chosen more Spider-Woman over the motion comics animated thing.

I'd... have made those Dark Reign: The List issues actually... you know... mean something...? Like, made them count for something lasting and important within the "Dark Reign" story rather than just coming out and... not really doing much of anything.

I'd... hound and pester Craig Ferguson until he agrees to write an Aquaman comic, dammit!

Random Thought! That was fun.

***

Random Comments! Your comments. My replies. Rather obvious. Trying something new by replying to portions of comments directly. If it's confusing or people don't like it, let me know.

Bill Reed said: People actually watched Corner Gas? Really? Did they enjoy it? Does one have to be Canadian to enjoy it? Some station or another here in God's United States aired it for a bit there, and I stumbled upon it one day... it's like some kind of terrifying black hole of quality.

Corner Gas is a decent, middle-of-the-road sitcom. It only produces a couple of chuckles in an episode, but gets the odd big laugh. Or, it did when it was on. I don't think it's a uniquely Canadian thing, but who knows with you Americans?

I'm tired of this shtick already. Deadpool isn't that overexposed. I proved it with maths. Still, he does have a surprising amount of solo titles, more than I think the market will be able to support. In a year's time, he'll probably be back to one, unless the movie comes out.

Just because other characters appear in more books, doesn't mean Deadpool isn't overexposed. Something like that is relative to the character and how much exposure is too much. Spider-Man and Batman appear in more books? Fine, but we're also used to them appearing in a lot of books. There's a longtime demand for them to appear in numerous books. As of yet, there's an apparent shortterm demand for Deadpool that could easily turn against the character like happened to Punisher and Ghost Rider. Your math, while interesting, doesn't tell the whole story.

CW said: The whole 'Deadpool overexposure' thing is really weird for me. Not because I hate the character, or I'm offended by the character being rammed down my throat, but I guess I'm from the time when Joe Kelly and Ed McGuness couldn't buy readers for his solo series. I grew up with Deadpool as a third-rate Wolverine knock-off (violent guy with an attitude) fighting second-rate characters (Black Tom?) from a second rate X-book (Leifeld-era X-Force, you suck!). That Joe Kelly was able to take the character and make something truely moving and halarious is nothing short of miraculous. The book was constantly fighting cancelation, and although it never really recovered after McGuness left the book, it was still one of the best books Marvel was publishing at the time.

Everything being published today featuring the character is a pale shadow of what was done in that first series. I don't believe that later work of any creator or of any character can diminish the original work, but what's being published as Deadpool comics these days makes me almost say he's been ruined. As it is, I see those books as being the one shining gem in a big pile of turd. And it makes me realize just how funny and vindictive the fates must be to make *now* be when Deadpool is at his most popular among the hoi poi. It's almost like something... Deadpool would come up with.

Agreed. Having read Deadpool books for reviewing purposes at CBR, I can vouch for the lack of funny. They're cute. There's maybe one funny moment per issue. Then again, humour is relative, so maybe lots of people are finding the current books very funny. I did enjoy Deadpool's recent guest-spot in Amazing Spider-Man by Joe Kelly and Eric Canete. That was great.

Mecha-Shiva said: Frisky Dingo, man... what a great show. I ran into Adam Reed at my mechanic's (I had no idea what he looked like, but he started talking to someone at the counter and I'm wondering why this guy sounds like Xander Crews then he said his name and it made sense) but lacked the balls to say hello or anything. I don't understand why Frisky Dingo (or the all-too-brief Xtacles spinoff) never got the same kind of attention as the Venture Bros. Not to take anything away from the Venture Bros., which is great, but... other than the crappy animation, I see nothing not to like about Frisky Dingo. Ka-kow.

I can understand why: The Venture Bros. do self-contained episodes. Frisky Dingo opted for episodes that told one big story, much like a comics storyarc written for the trade. That doesn't make it less good, it just makes it harder for people to get into it. That, and The Venture Bros. is better. Sorry.

Mario said: People who don't like Deadpool or constantly whine about his overexposure are simply in denial of their desire to read a comic that will have no "serious" long term effect. Deadpool comics are all about enjoyment (in the best and worse ways possible).

No, I'm all for those books. I've read recent Deadpool books and they're just not good. Not funny or entertaining.

Jason Arron's Wolvering doesn't suck.

No, Jason Aaron's Wolverine book doesn't suck. That's what made me realise that I just don't care for the character. I'd read an issue here and there and enjoy what I've read, and, yet, I felt no desire to read another issue.

FunkyGreenJerusalem said: That's because it's by an Australian director Gregor Jordan, who makes the most empty and souless films of all time. He won a big short film competition in Australia with a clever short... although apparently it's VERY similar to another short, or scene from an old film. He then made a crime film which wouldn't have gone anywhere, except it had Bryan Brown swearing a lot, and was the breakthrough (in Australia, which led to US work) of Heath Ledger. That got him signed up to a five picture film, and it's been a slow and steady output of dribble ever since. (I know his career because I keep thinking every film will be his last, and am just shocked at watching his mediocrity continue to live). Having seen The Informers the other week, don't stress Chad, just about every character in it will die of AIDS soon after the credits. (Although I think we're supposed to ignore that by combining the stories, and making them all happen at once, nearly every character had, presumably, unprotected sex with someone who had slept with another character, all leading back to the girl who dies of AIDS at the end... AIDS of course being added in, as it's not in the novel, to give the film some kind of ending).

I haven't read the collection in a while, but, yeah, I don't remember AIDS being in any of the stories. Hell, the girl doesn't even die necessarily in the book. Thanks for the background info. From what I read, the director really fucked with the script and cut it down considerably.

I loved when that book hinted that Xavier was in their heads and manipulating the X-Men the whole time. That never went anywhere.

That was very frustrating. Xavier was perfectly happy to alter Magneto's memories and mind, but wouldn't act on a larger scale to solve the problems with mutants and humanity -- or, at least, influence the minds of the right people to move things along. Again, small-scale, status quo-feeding bullshit.

So you're praising Ellis for writing a nice outline of a story, and then publishing it as a story? From memory, the book has a scene where the main characters - all of whom have nothing original or distinguishing about them - are standing in a warehouse. The police are intercut with the heroes talking, surrounding a warehouse, and they kick down the door... but they have the wrong warehouse. That's Chuck Austen level of writing.

No, Ellis wrote a conclusion to his story, but part of it was introducing ideas that could be more fully explored in the future. And that scene happened, but it, you know, made sense in context and wasn't bad. But, I'm not going to change your mind.

Willie Everstop said: Random Thought! What the hell is up with comic characters leaving the word what out of the phrase "What the hell" lately? Is it a creator quirk or just some weird way to avoid censorship? It always seems out of place to me.

I say 'the hell?' or 'the fuck?' Just a variation on the phrase that some people use.

TimCallahan said: Hey, I was an English major and I read ALL the assigned books. (Problem was: I usually didn't read them until the day before the final, and Chaucer isn't really all that great when you read him like that. He may not be great for other reasons -- the jury is still out on that.)

I did that with Moby-Dick since it was the one book in my American lit class in undergrad that we had to discuss in an essay on the final exam. By the halfway mark, I was skipping the chapters on whales, sticking to the narrative. Good times.

Rome said: BTW, did you like the new Iron Man 2 trailer? Any thoughts on the Suitcase Armor?

Looks decent. No real thoughts or judgements since the first movie was good enough to earn the sequel a viewing. So, I'm trying not to care too much, preferring to leave my thoughts until I see the finished product with everything in its proper context.

Jack Norris said: As soon as the words "hero's journey" pop up in an argument, I automatically feel less obligated to read on in a respectful manner. It's become the fans & critics (oh, and let's not forget some creators as well) version of "because, uh... because Jesus, God and the Bible, that's why!" in the way that it's just an empty appeal to authority.

Agreed. But, the endpoint of Peter's progression into adulthood is leaving Spider-Man behind and learning about real responsibility. Just the way it is.

Mike Loughlin said: My problem with JMS' better comics (Midnight Nation, Rising Stars, Supreme Power) is that he spent an awful lot of time on set-up, and very little on delivery. I read all 18 issues of Supreme Power, but got the impression that the story JMS wanted to tell would have taken at least 50 more. Rising Stars started out great (although the art was sub-par), but ended limply. Midnight Nation is a self-contained story, at least, but they seemed to spend most of the issues lurching toward a rather predictable conclusion (I liked it, despite its flaws). I think JMS is good at world-building, but falters when it comes to structuring.

Yeah, that's why Babylon 5 was so great: he had the room to set up plots and characters and world build without it cutting short the eventual payoffs. Comics are limited by page-count and the speed at which they come out and JMS seems to need more room to work. He hasn't adapted to the medium as much as he should have by this point.

That's it. Thanks for reading. Later.

Samsung is resurrecting the ghost of the Q1 and planning to jump into the now-hot slate PC market in the second half of 2010. According to Emmanuele Silanesu, National Product and Marketing Manager for Samsung Australia’s IT division, Samsung’s slate device will contain a faster, more robust processor than the iPad and will offer more connectivity options through a diversity of I/O ports. Consumer friendly in price, the Samsung slate will be a primary device designed to replace a netbook or a notebook in your personal arsenal of mobile computers. As Silanesu explained, this is a device that “you could take to university and do a PowerPoint presentation on it, for example, or a device that could be taken home or to the office and docked.” From Silanesu’s brief revelation, we can expect the Samsung slate to feature an Intel Atom processor, contain ports for multiple video sources, support a multitude of peripherals including a docking station, sport a sub-$500 price tag, and mostly likely run some flavor of Windows. Any interest in an Intel Atom-powered slate running Windows or have we already been there, done that?Read