We know you’re busy. Even with every social media, web, and RSS tool at your disposal, you can occasionally miss out on some of the week’s most insightful content.

Never fear. We’ve taken a moment to round up the best Mashable resources from this past week and present them here for your weekend enjoyment.

From in-depth how-tos, to app lists, to valuable business guides, browse below for a veritable smorgasbord of value you may have passed over.

Social Media

• The Ultimate March Madness Social Media Guide

  Everything you need to keep up with “The Big Dance” on the social web is in here. Check it out, and secretly adjust your brackets as needed.

• How Musicians Are Using Social Media to Connect with Fans

  Music sharing and distribution on the web is nothing new. But some artists, bands, and labels are going the extra social mile to get their music heard. Here’s how they’re doing it.

• 6 Ways Law Enforcement Uses Social Media to Fight Crime

  Dick Tracy’s gadgets have nothing on today’s socially-savvy police departments. Find out how they’re using social networks to catch criminals, prevent crime, and keep the public informed.

• Why User Competency Matters in Social Design

  When building a website or social platform, never forget to ask yourself, “What is the user good at?” It’s often key to success or failure.

• 4 Easy Ways to Engage Your Facebook Fans

  Is you Facebook Fan Page lacking a little engagement “oomph?” Has your fan growth leveled off? Try these four dead-simple ways to get folks sharing your brand again.

For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Mobile

• 9 Killer Tips for Location-Based Marketing

  If your business is thinking about jumping into the location game, now is the time to do it. This post has everything you need to get started.

• 12 iPhone Apps for Surviving Conference Season

  If you’re currently at SXSW, or headed to any number of big conferences this year, keep your iPhone close, and these handy apps even closer.

• 5 Things You Need to Know About Location-Based Social Media

  Location-based social media is still relatively young, but the future is bright for users, marketers, and businesses alike. Here are 5 important lessons to take away from the current LBS landscape.

For more mobile news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s mobile channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Business

• 14 Essential iPhone Apps for Small Business Users

  The iPhone probably wasn’t originally made for business, but it can crunch a mean spreadsheet and more with these indispensable apps.

• 10 Essential Social Media Tips for B2B Marketers

  The B2B potential of social media is often overlooked. If you sell to fellow business owners and you’re looking for an in on the social media action, don’t miss this post.

• 4 Ways to Effectively Use Social Media as a Catalyst

  Social media is not the beginning or end of a marketing effort. It should be woven into every aspect of your business plan. Take in these four tips on how to make that happen.

• The Small Business Guide to Google Apps

  Is your business ready to make the leap into the cloud? Smart integration of Google Apps for Business can really benefit your team and workflow. See how in this post.

For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: business, features, Features Week In Review, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, social media

Greetings, PlayStation Nation! It’s time for a proper introduction. I’m Sid Shuman, and I’m the newest recruit of the PlayStation.Blog team! You might know me from my 11 years with GamePro, where I served as writer and senior editor covering my favorite topic in the world: video games!
In my new role with the PlayStation.Blog, I’ll be working with fine folks like Jeff Rubenstein and Chris Morell (a fellow partner-in-crime from my GamePro days!). My day-to-day focus will be updating and maintaining PlayStation’s official Twitter account (Follow us: Twitter.com/SonyPlayStation) and Facebook page (Facebook.com/PlayStation), as well as helping moderate and maintain our new PlayStation.Blog Share, where you can submit your own great ideas to the PlayStation team. We read every one of them!
I’m proud to be a part of a PlayStation team and, especially, to be serving you. So without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the week’s posts on the PlayStation.Blog. See you on the internets!

• Wakeboarding HD Coming to PSN March 25 — If you love Jet Moto, Hydro Thunder, SSX, or Crazy Taxi, you owe it to yourself to check out this gorgeous hi-def PSN title. Dodging sharks while busting monster wakeboard trick combos: yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s a win.
• ModNation Racers Release Date, Pre-Orders and Box Art! — Zoom, zoom, zoom! I played this nimble kart racer at GDC 2010 for the first time, and was pleased by the tight controls (epic drifting!) and the adorable character designs. Better yet, the track creator is one of the best user creation tools I’ve ever seen. This one deserves your attention.
• God of War III Launch Special Tonight on SPIKE TV + Midnight Launch Events! — The Game To End All Games is (finally) here, and the midnight launch festivities couldn’t have been more epic. Catch up on the Spike TV special, too, hosted by GameTrailers’ Geoff Keighley and featuring a special appearance by God of War III director Stig Asmussen.
• PlayStation.Blog God of War III GDC 2010 Meetup Recap — Epic game + epic fans = epic community meetup. San Francisco will never be the same after our record-shattering God of War community event, featuring a blistering Challenge of the Titans competition, countless raffle prizes, and a special God of War III play session. Intense!
• Coming to PSN this Week: Patchwork Heroes — In this charming PSP game, you carve pieces off gigantic airborne battleships using a saw. Epic AND cute: what’s not to like? The theme song deserves extra points, too.
• God of War III Out Today! — The wait is over: Kratos will have his revenge. The first level alone is enough to take your breath away. What are you waiting for?
• New Limited Edition Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP Entertainment Pack — This limited edition PSP Entertainment Pack is a killer deal. Fully loaded with a 2GB Memory Stick, free PSN movie voucher (US only), exclusive DLC, plus the slick “Spirited Green” PSP-3000. And, of course, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, the latest chapter in Hideo Kojima’s powerful series.
• Meet The Tester Cast Members Luge and Doc in PlayStation Home Tomorrow — Regular viewers of The Tester might have wondered whether Doc and Luge had “a thing” for each other. If you made it to our in-Home meetup with these popular contestants, you’d have gotten the chance to ask them for yourself!
• 3D Dot Game Heroes Walkthrough — If you’re elderly enough to remember the 8-bit and 16-bit generation, 3D Dot Game Heroes will be right up your alley. It’s both a tribute to, and a parody of, the Golden Age of Gaming. Let Atlus’s Aram Jabbari give you the full tour!
• Introducing PlayStation.Blog Share — Since starting with the fine folks of the PlayStation.Blog, Share has been a near-obsession of mine. The concept of fans contributing fresh ideas to PlayStation, and voting on them, is a powerful one. Have you Shared today?
• This Week in PlayStation Home: Twisted Metal, Resistance, inFAMOUS Content + Musicality Apartment, PlayStation.Blog Meetup and More!!! — Home gets hotter with a slew of content updates. And in another first for the PlayStation.Blog, Chris, Jeff, and I held a virtual meetup in the Central Plaza and Theater to meet and greet fans and give out sweet exclusive items. We hope to make these Home meetups a more frequent event — stay tuned!
• UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Motion Comic Bundle, Rika and Pinkerton Skins Launch on April 1 — Readers have long clamored for access to the Rika Raja and Daniel Pinkerton skins for Uncharted 2’s multiplayer mode. The wait is over! Read how to claim the booty in this blog written by Arne of Naughty Dog!
• echoshift Add-on Levels Free Through April 1 — There’s still time to grab seven free add-on levels for this brain-twisting PSN puzzler, but only if you act fast.
• make.believe: thatgamecompany — thatgamecompany is famous for introducing Flower and flOw to gamers worldwide. But where did this innovative independent game studio come from? How did they get started? All secrets are revealed in this short, beautifully shot documentary video.
• PlayStation Comics Store Update — Comic geeks, rejoice! The PlayStation Comics Store grows ever-larger: highlights include Dragon Age # 1, Star Trek: Nero # 3, and The X-Men (1963) # 6 through #10. Remember: reading is fundamental!
• The Tester – Episode 5 Available Today — With only three episodes left, The Tester is heating up! If you’re a newcomer to the show, there’s never been a better time to check it out. There’s only three episodes left! No spoilers!
• PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap Coming to PSN this Spring + PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe on UMD — Dylan “Mr. PixelJunk” Cuthbert gives the skinny on eagerly anticipated updates to the smash-hit PSN game series. With PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe hitting the PSP on UMD for only $20, and PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap getting a beefy upgrade on PSN, now’s the time to dive into this celebrated retro-styled series.
• First MAG DLC free, coming next week — Zipper Interactive wasn’t kidding when they said their support for MAG had only just begun. Rejoin the fight with potent new Flashbang Grenades, new Light Machine Guns, and a double-XP weekend starting March 25th. All hail MAG!
• PlayStation.Blog Moves East next week. Come Meetup with us! — Meet Jeff and the PlayStation.Blog team in Boston and New York next week! Of course, we’ll have cool prizes and gaming swag to hand out. But the real attraction will be hands-on sessions with PlayStation Move, our state-of-the-art motion controller coming later this Fall!
• PlayStation Network Video Content Update — Lots of scrumptious new video content to peruse this weekend on the PSN Video Store, including Twilight Saga: New Moon, Ninja Assassin, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, and my personal favorite History Channel TV show, MonsterQuest (This week: Sasquatches!).
• No April Fool’s Joke – Heavy Rain Taxidermist DLC Available April 1 — Gain a different perspective on Heavy Rain’s storyline with this standalone side story set in a very bad part of town. Can you evade certain death while hiding in an urban den of horrors?
• ModNation Racers: Redesigning Kart Racing — Building a Better Kart Racer: Get a better ‘handle’ on ModNation Racers’ controls and feel with this informative new video.
• Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake Trailer and Interview — Learn more about the exclusive new content planned for the PSP version of this team action-RPG, including new modes, new maps, and a beefier (cakier?) story mode. Viva la girthiness!
• LittleBigPlanet: Sack It To Me – The Hedgehog Edition — Holy crap! Sonic the Hedgehog is hitting LittleBigPlanet and we’ve got the full scoop straight from the developers.

Courtesy of Jeremy Dunham

• MAG Free DLC and Extended Double XP March 25 – Flashbangs are coming.
• Patch Alert: MAG v1.04a – We’ve updated the Syr Daria Uplink map and nerfed spawn campers!
• SOCOM 4 and PlayStation Move Reactions – The video game media’s thoughts on our game and new peripheral.

Courtesy of Arne Meyer

• Eye of Indra Bundle with Rika and Pinkerton skins to be released in North America – Covered in full detail on the PlayStation.Blog, the Eye of Indra motion comic bundle will be available for purchase on April 1 in the US, Canada and Mexico. You can get the Rika and Pinkerton multiplayer skins by purchasing the bundle and we’ve made sure that anyone who has purchased all the individual episodes also get the skins.
• Player spawn point updates being rolled out – Over the past couple of weeks we noticed that our spawn points needed some tweaking. We announced this week that we’re rolling out updates to UNCHARTED 2 over time to our multiplayer maps to alleviate unfair player spawning during matches.
• UNCHARTED 2 wins 4 awards at the GAME British Academy Video Game Awards – Evan and Christophe were on-site at the awards ceremony in London, United Kingdom, to accept four BAFTA awards for Action, Original Score, Story and Use of Audio.
• The Art of UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves – out in April 2010 – Ballistic Publishing, SCEA and Naughty Dog are pleased to reveal the upcoming 272-page art book of concept art, production art and character models. The art book will come in three flavors for collectors of all kinds. You can pre-order now, and there’s even a limited release pre-order bonus – a 15 minute video walkthrough of 3 concept pieces.

More...

'Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity,' says campaigning group of pastoral letter to Irish Catholics

Survivors of child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland have expressed disappointment with the pope's apology for the scandal.

Victims criticised Benedict XVI's letter of apology because it did not directly address the long history of concealment by Irish bishops of sexual, physical and emotional abuse by priests, nuns and Catholic orders.

The campaigning group One in Four condemned the pope for failing to acknowledge that the church hierarchy had attempted to suppress the scandal.

"Victims were hoping for an acknowledgement of the scurrilous ways in which they have been treated as they attempted to bring their experiences of abuse to the attention of the church authorities," the group's director, Maeve Lewis, said.

"Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity to address the core issue in the clerical sexual abuse scandal: the deliberate policy of the Catholic church at the highest levels to protect sex offenders, thereby endangering children."

Lewis also accused the Pope of dodging Vatican responsibility for failing to tackle child abuse.

"If the church cannot acknowledge this fundamental truth, it is still in denial," she added.

Andrew Madden, who in 1995 became the first person in Ireland to go public with an abuse lawsuit against the church, said he did not need to hear the pope say that clerical sex abuse was a crime and a sin.

"The apology today is not for the cover-up, it's for the abuse and for the most part they didn't commit the abuse – but they caused some because of the cover-up," he said. "That's the bit they should say sorry for."

Support group Irish Survivors of Child Abuse was more welcoming of the pope's letter.

"It would appear that the message overall is one of sincerity to bring about change in the church," he said.

"We have an apology for the first time, and that's important."

But Kelly called for further explanation of the letter's mention of a Vatican investigation into the Irish church, and the suggestion some abusers should be brought before tribunals.

"Will anybody be made accountable? It would appear so from my reading of what the pope is saying, so that's positive but we need clarification," he said.

In a pastoral letter to Irish Catholics, the pope castigated Irish bishops for "grave errors of judgment" in their handling of the paedophilia scandal.

But he made no mention of any Vatican responsibility and gave no specific punishments for bishops who have been blamed by victims and Irish government inquiries for having concealed the abuse.

• Pope Benedict XVI
• Catholicism
• Religion
• Ireland
• Children
• Child protection

David Battyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Benoît XVI a reconnu la responsabilité de toute l'Eglise catholique dans les actes pédophiles commis par des religieux, parmi lesquels des prêtres, d'Irlande, exprimant sa "honte" dans une lettre samedi aux fidèles de ce pays, au ton très dur pour l'épiscopat ayant couvert ces crimes. Pas de relation entre célibat et prêtres pédophilesPays-Bas : 1.100 "signalements" d'abus sexuelsLe pape est "loin" d'avoir répondu aux attentes Des victimes d'abus préparent une plainte contre l'Eglise L'Eglise d'Irlande peut renaître avec la lettre papale La lettre officielle - site du VaticanAutriche: des victimes d'abus préparent une plainte contre l'Eglise

It's entirely possible that we've taken this whole "hate crime" idea a step too far.

Un militant comuniste iranien menacé d'expulsion du japon Nous avons appris le 9 mars 2010 l'arrestation de Jamal Saberi, militant du Parti Communiste-Ouvrier d'Iran, par la police de l'immigration au Japon et les menaces d'une expulsion prochaine vers l'Iran. Il va sans dire que la liberté si ce n'est la vie de Jamal Saberi serait gravement en danger en cas d'expulsion vers l'Iran. La Fédération Internationale des Réfugiés Iraniens (IFIR) a lancé une campagne de protestation à l'encontre des (...) - Infos globales / Répression/contrôle social, Orient, Violences policières/Crimes policiers

En ces temps de désordres politiques, certains d'entre nous éprouvent peut-être quelques nostalgies pour les idées révolutionnaires. Hauts les cœurs camarades, relevons la tête et marchons sur le musée d'Orsay à Paris. Jusqu'au 27 juin, un modèle de guillotine y tient la vedette à l'occasion d'une exposition intitulée Crime et Châtiment. Il s'agit d'un spécimen conçu par Léon Alphonse Berger en 1872. C'est Robert Badinter, l’ancien garde des Sceaux qui a fait voter l’abolition de la peine de mort en septembre 1981, qui a eu l’idée de cette exposition.

« Dans le Mal se trouve toute volupté », écrivit Charles Baudelaire en 1846. La représentation artistique de cet univers complexe, à la fois repoussant et fascinant qui est le monde du crime, fait l'objet d'une nouvelle exposition au musée d'Orsay.

Le parcours de l'exposition retrace l'évolution des institutions judiciaires françaises depuis 1791,

en lire plus

we have allowed religious people to claim their ideas belong to a different, exalted category, and it is abusive or violent merely to verbally question them. nobody says I should "respect" conservatism or communism and keep my opposition to them to myself – but that's exactly what is routinely said about islam or christianity or buddhism. what's the difference?     this enforced "respect" is a creeping vine. it soon extends beyond religious ideas to religious institutions – even when they commit the worst crimes imaginable. it is now an indisputable fact that the catholic church systematically covered up the rape of children across the globe and knowingly, consciously put paedophiles in charge of more kids. joseph ratzinger – who claims to be "infallible" – was at the heart of this policy for decades.

Warner Home Video has announced Edge of Darkness for release on Blu-ray on May 11, in a BD/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack. This crime thriller, an adaptation of a 1985 BBC mini-series (also directed by Martin Campbell), marked Mel Gibson's return in front of the cameras, as he hadn't starred in a movie since 2002....

Read full article at Blu-ray.com

Rassemblement à Lyon le 20 mars pour Jamal Saberi Liberté et droit d'asile pour notre camarade Jamal Saberi ! Jalal Ahmadzade-Nouei, alias Jamal Saberi, militant politique opposant au régime islamique en Iran a été arrêté début mars par la police de l'immigration japonaise pour être expulsé vers l'Iran. Il est inutile de développer longuement les risques auxquels devrait faire face notre camarade Jamal Saberi, opposant connu de la République Islamique et militant du Parti Communiste-Ouvrier d'Iran, (...) - Infos globales / Répression/contrôle social, Violences policières/Crimes policiers

Musicians, DJs and authors to reveal their favourite hangouts

Have your say on the Travel blog

HiFi, New York

HiFi is the best rock'n'roll bar in NYC.The room is covered with empty album sleeves and the juke box is hands-down the best in the city – I believe there are about 3,000 albums on it, so you can't complain about them not having your song. There is a fantastically affordable happy hour and a great local crowd. Like the rest of the East Village, it can get a bit much on weekend nights, but most of the time it's my favourite bar in town.
· 169 Avenue A, +1 212 420 8392.
Craig Finn, lead singer of the Hold Steady

Pegu Club, New York

The entrance to the Pegu is an unassuming doorway on the south side of West Houston Street. It's only when you are up the stairs that the glory of this place hits you. It is like going back to the great clubs of the 20s, when the staff were pretty and jazz and cocktails ruled. On a recent visit, two amazing Django Reinhardt-style guitarists were swinging through 30s classics. Cocktails are taken seriously here – the art of proper, classy drinking is almost a motto. At the weekend it can get pretty busy as it is becoming the "in" place.
· 77 West Houston Street, +1 212 473 7348.
James Pearson, artistic director, Ronnie Scott's, London

Po' Monkey's, Mississippi

It was a balmy night in September when I visited Po' Monkey's juke joint. It's a ramshackle hut powered by a single cable in the tiny town of Merigold, deep in the Mississippi delta. A poster on the door warned: "Bring your liquor inside but not your beer." The walls were cluttered with posters and age-old postcards, while toy monkeys swung from the rafters. It was low lit – smoky but inviting, with beer and whiskey flowing freely. Terry "Harmonica" Bean took to the tiny stage, elbow to elbow with the crowd, and delivered a mind-blowing, foot-stamping performance that will stay with me forever. Delicately soulful cries came from his ageing gruff voice, while stupendous bluegrass melodies oozed effortlessly from his antique steel guitar. This was raw blues at its authentic and spine-shivering best.
· +1 662 514 7488, 15km from Cleveland.
Dan Hipgrave, co-founder of Original Music Company (originalmusictravel.com), which launched this month and specialises in music-themed holidays

The Spirit Store, Ireland

The Spirit Store in Dundalk, County Louth, is on the edge of town beside a small harbour. There's a small, friendly bar downstairs which opens around 4pm, but it is the live music upstairs that is the main draw. You would be hard-pressed to find anywhere as welcoming to an artist and more genuinely music-driven in its programming of events. That's why I keep going back there to play, and why many other artists who have outgrown the 120- or so capacity venue keep returning. So many venues and promoters are about the money but Derek Turner, who books the music, is driven by something much more.
· +353 42 9352697.
Duke Special, musician. His DVD box set, The Stage, A Book & the Silver Screen is out now

The Hideout, London

Not exactly a venue, not exactly a bar, entrance to Trishas/The Hideout/that door on Greek St (as it is variously known), is obtained by boldly knocking on what appears to be the entrance to a flat above a shop, striding through a starkly lit corridor and down a flight of stairs, before mumbling an explanation to the owner as to why you don't appear to be in possession of a membership card – having accidentally put it through the washing machine normally does the trick. Inside, you'll find a cupboard-sized, candle-lit cavern which can be hired out for private music showcases. But stumble in unannounced after hours on a weekend and you might also find a doo wop or jazz band sandwiched into the corner between the usual crowd of transvestites, metropolitan hipsters and veteran Italian locals.
57 Greek Street, Soho, London.
Krissi Murison, editor, NME

The Shed North Yorkshire

I first played at this blink-and-you'll-miss-it shed in the tiny village of Brawby back in 1998. It only held 64 people and we scraped our legs on the front row's knees. It has since moved to Hovingham village hall, though it retains its name. The man behind The Shed, Simon Thackray, has presented events from the Fish and Chip Van Tour with a trombonist, to mixed media knitting installations – saxophonist Lol Coxhill playing free jazz in a skip to coach trips for folks in knitted Elvis wigs touring sites of Elvisian interest in Ryedale. My own band, Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys, started a tradition of Christmas gigs at The Shed, where we play morose songs and have a riotously miserable time. The Shed was the inspiration for my village hall tour around Britain, which I am currently writing up as a book. And, after 235 villages, The Shed is still the loony best.
· 01653 668494.
Hank Wangford, writer and musician. His CD, Whistling in the Dark, is out now

A38, Budapest

For me, the greatest gig of 2009 was at A38, a huge old ship that used to lug coal up and down the Danube. The lower deck is now a state-of-the-art live music venue, but bits of engine room equipment are still there. Even though the boat is held down in dry dock by 100 tonnes of concrete, the bottles still jingle on the shelves of the bar when the parties get wild. The booking policy is great – they've had cutting-edge electronic artists such as Ikonika, Dorian Concept and Foreign Beggars play recently. And nothing compares with the signature dish of the restaurant on the upper deck: rooster stew, complete with the crest and testicles of the bird.
· +36 1 464 39 40.
Mary Anne Hobbs, Radio 1 DJ. Her show is broadcast on Thursdays 2-4am

Wild At Heart, Berlin

Wild At Heart is a whisky-soaked, no-nonsense rock'n'roll joint in Berlin's old anarchist district, Kreuzberg: a seven-nights-a-week venue painted blood red, crammed with Elvis memorabilia, Hawaiian gods and a lifetime's supply of hard liquor. For 15 years it has presented bands from all over the world – mostly punk, rockabilly, psychobilly, 60s garage and surf. I spent a memorable evening there talking to TV Smith from the Adverts and another with Wreckless Eric, both of whom started out with punk label Stiff Records in 1977, and I've played there with my band, the Flaming Stars. The music's loud, but the welcome is friendly, and the club also runs the Tiki Heart cafe and clothes shop next door, where you can eat, drink and kit yourself out in a spectacular variety of rock'n'roll clobber.
· Wienerstrasse 20, +49 30 610 747 01.
Max Décharné, singer in the Flaming Stars and author of A Rocket in My Pocket: The Hipster's Guide to Rockabilly, to be published by Serpent's Tail in June

Mesa de Frades, Lisbon

Mesa de Frades in Alfama, the oldest district of Lisbon, is the sort of place you dream of hearing fado, the traditional soulful Portuguese music. A tiny converted chapel with tiled walls, it is full of locals and quality performers booked by owner Pedro Castro, a great guitar player. You can come for the music, which starts late – around 11pm – or book a table and come for an excellent dinner beforehand. A couple of years ago I sat here watching Carminho, the amazing young fado singer who is now the talk of Lisbon. When the music starts, the doors are shut to enclose the tiny performing space. It's what fado in Lisbon should be, but so rarely is.
· Rua dos Remedios 139A, +351 91 702 9436, mesadefrades.com. Booking is essential.
Simon Broughton, editor of Songlines magazine (songlines.co.uk/musictravel)

Il Folk Club, Turin

In the heart of Turin, off Piazza Statuto, you'll find the best of all worlds: from Wednesday to Saturday Il Folk Club plays host to Italian and international jazz, folk and world musicians. How this Italian institution – legendary in Turin for over 20 years – has remained generally unknown to travellers and music junkies outside Italy is a mystery. Alongside its regular programme, Il Folk Club is also the launching point for Radio Londra, a monthly mini-festival which fuses British musicians such as Jim Mullen, Kit Downes, Brandon Allen and Quentin Collins Quartet, with local stars such as Mario Pozza, Enzo Zirilli and Dado Moroni. The bar is simple – one central room with space for about 150 people, exposed brick walls, and a stage – so the focus is always on the incredible music.
Via Ettore Perrone 3, Turin.
Sam Sollai, buyer and events coordinator, Ray's Jazz at Foyles

Gerbard, Barcelona

This little neighbourhood bar used to have a green door with panes that rattled when you opened it, but it has now been replaced with something more solid, partly to keep the sound in. It's run by Mar and Nacho, both dyed-in-the-wool culés (Barcelona supporters), and nights there are long and loud. You can hear Sam Lardner, an American resident who plays his own fusion of flamenco and bossa nova, or wonderful classical and flamenco guitarists like Daniel Figueras and Pedro Javier Hermosilla, or the Covers Project, with frontman Philip Stanton. The eating and drinking are delicious too – Galician-style octopus, traditional meatballs, pimientos de padron (small green peppers), and wine for not much more than a euro a glass. A great night out in the Alta Zona.
· C/ Ivorra 24, Sarria, Barcelona, +93 203 4988.
Rupert Thomson, author living in Barcelona. His latest book, This Party's Got to Stop, will be published on 8 April

La Casona del Molino, Salta, Argentina

Salta, in north-west Argentina, is well-known for its folk music heritage. This has given rise to the creation of pena, which roughly translates as a place where musicians and music lovers come together. Seven nights a week you can experience this at La Casona. The venue's five colonial rooms are filled to the brim with musicians, professional and amateur, folk, jazz and others, locals who come down from the Andes bearing pan pipes and drums, and some foreign visitors, all coming together to jam the local tunes. As a musician, I found great comfort in the fact that this kind of place exists in the world. And of course, many people come simply for the music.
· La Casona del Molino, Caseros.
Lizzie Ball, violinist and singer. She will be performing – and launching her album – with Machaca at La Linea Festival in the Purcell Room on London's South Bank on 27 April

Salón Rosado de la Tropical, Havana

The first time I asked a taxi driver to take me to Havana's Salón Rosado de la Tropical back in 1989 he said it was a place for Cubans, not foreign tourists – and certainly not lone women – and I'd better watch out as it could be rough. He'd obviously never been inside this mecca of Cuban dance music, where all the top bands play regularly, testing their latest material in front of the sexiest dancers on the island. In Cuba, most music venues are geared to tourists and too expensive for ordinary Cubans, who are often not allowed in anyway. Not so the Salón Rosado. This is the closest you can get to hanging out with a Cuban clientele. Dedicated to the memory of Beny Moré, Cuba's touchstone band leader of the 1950s, it started out life a Spanish cultural centre at the beginning of the 20th century. These days there's a balcony reserved for tourists overlooking the dance floor where, if you're lucky, you may rub shoulders with the musicians as they gather for the gig. Although today reggaeton and hip-hop dominate street tastes, Salon Rosado continues to offer a window on to the latest music scene and is a dancer's dream.
· Avenida 41 esq. 46, Nicanor del Campo, Marianao, +53 7 203 5322.
Jan Fairley has been travelling to Cuba since 1978 and is writing a book on women and music in Cuba

Liquid Room, Tokyo

Leading Japanese venue Liquid Room has been going for about 15 years and hosts weekly bands and DJs from Japan and around the world. The website may say it closes at 12, but the last time I played there, as The Orb, they didn't let us out till 6am. There's a beautiful cafe upstairs and the friendly enthusiasm of Tokyo clubbers has to be experienced to be believed. The last time I played there I took a bag of Space Dust (the sweet!) which made me very popular.
· Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, +81 3 5464 0800, liquidroom.net.
Alex Paterson, co-founder of The Orb and HFB, his new project. HFB's first three EPs are available from 12 April on Malicious Damage Records

New Africa Shrine, Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos is not your classic tourist destination; it's a prohibitively expensive city of 14 million people and a crime record to frighten even the toughest traveller. But Nigeria's notorious capital does have one musical landmark worth going the extra mile for: the New Africa Shrine. It's named after the legendary club run by the late musical activist Fela Kuti, which was razed by soldiers. Fela's daughter Yeni and her musician brother Femi have built up a nightclub that can hold thousands and has live music throughout the week. It's not for the faint-hearted, but the Shrine is probably the safest place in Lagos: it has its own police force. You'll get a warm welcome, and hear some of the best live music in the region.
· Pepple Street, Ikeja.
Rose Skelton, music and travel journalist specialising in West Africa

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MORT SUR LE TARMAC : DEUX REQUÉRANTS TÉMOIGNENT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Eu... RENVOIS FORCÉS - Un requérant d'asile nigérian de 29 ans est mort mercredi soir à l'aéroport de Zurich-Kloten alors qu'il allait être renvoyé dans son pays par vol spécial. En grève de la faim, il a succombé à un malaise peu après avoir été ligoté de force. « On nous a traités comme des animaux », témoignent Julius et Emmanuel, deux compatriotes qui ont assisté au drame. L'avion pour Lagos n'a pas décollé. L'Office fédéral (...) - Infos globales / Politiques migratoires/migrants & sans-papiers, Violences policières/Crimes policiers

Carrier pigeons still viable

The FBI has once again suspended work on parts of a massive computer overhaul that many say is vital to fighting crime and terrorism....

Case Study: WhatsUp keeps Legoland turnstyles ringing

There have been plenty of efforts to try to curb "cyberbullying," often through laws that try to make it illegal to be a jerk. Unfortunately, the concept of cyberbullying is so vague that this creates tremendous problems and unintended consequences. And, on the whole, it seemed unlikely that any such law could withstand First Amendment scrutiny. However, it appears that the First Amendment isn't always the First Amendment we thought it was.

A California appeals court has ruled that cyberbullying threats are not protected free speech. Now, you can understand why people might like this conceptually. No one likes a bully. But making it against the law to bully is incredibly risky, and almost certainly leads to a very different kind of bullying.

In this particular case, a kid set up a website about himself, and his fellow students posted comments mocking him. It was cruel, though you would think that the simple response would be to take down those comments. Instead, the family went to the police -- who said that the comments "did not meet the criteria for criminal prosecution and were protected speech." The family followed by suing six students and their parents for hate crimes, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Now, there's no doubt at all that the comments were over the line and incredibly mean. However, it looks like there was a perfectly reasonable process outside of the courts to handle this. Apparently, the father of one kid who made some of the worst comments made his son apologize, grounded him and took away his internet access. It seems that wasn't enough. Those who were sued filed an anti-SLAPP motion under California's anti-SLAPP law (one of the strongest in the country), but the judges said that the text was not protected free speech and thus did not fall under the anti-SLAPP provisions. One of the kids, while admitting his own conduct was over the line, said he was just joking around, and trying to top others in responding to the website. The judges, clearly, did not find the joking to be funny. Indeed, it was not funny, but that doesn't mean you should lose your free speech rights.

One judge dissented and argued strongly that not only was this a mistake, but it would have serious First Amendment consequences: I share with the majority the view that R.R.'s post, like many that preceded and followed it, was vulgar, nasty, offensive, and disgusting. But, as Justice Harlan wrote in Cohen v. California... although --the immediate consequence of [free speech rights] may often appear to be only verbal tumult, discord, and even offensive utterance[,] . . . [w]e cannot lose sight of the fact that, in what otherwise might seem a trifling and annoying instance of individual distasteful abuse of a privilege, these fundamental societal values [of freedom of speech] are truly implicated.

In concluding that the post was not in connection with an issue of public interest, the majority fails to follow relevant precedent and ignores the substantial evidence that D.C. was a person in the public eye. The majority also creates a broad and groundless exception to the protections of the anti-SLAPP statute, holding that for purposes of the statute, jokes do not constitute communications in connection with issues of public interest.... That is not the law. It also notes that while the "threats" in questions did seem incredibly distasteful, in context with all the other comments, it seems obvious that they were not real threats: Reading the sequence of posts from beginning to end, no reasonable person would foresee that any of it would be taken as a serious threat of violence. No reasonable person would believe that (at least) four people were sincerely threatening to take D.C.'s life. Taken together, all of the posts amount to nothing but a lot of adolescent sex-obsessed hyperbolic derision, sarcasm, and repulsive foolishness In fact, the judge notes that the kid who set up the website didn't seem bothered by the comments, and was apparently more traumatized by his father filing this lawsuit. Maybe the kid should sue his father?

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What the crap? A French comic? Are the French even allowed to make comics? Aren't they too busy being snooty and smoking Gauloises and wearing inappropriate swimwear? Where do they find the time to make comics, anyway?*

Well, the French can do all those things as long as they keep making comics this good, I tell ya. West Coast Blues is a cracking good crime comic, not really noir but definitely a tale of bad people doing bad things to each other. It's also, oddly enough, very wryly humorous, in a way we don't often see in crime comics here in the States. It was a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette in 1976, and in 2005, Manchette's old collaborator, Jacques Tardi, finally adapted it to comics (and then Kim Thompson translated it into English). Presumably, had DC's association with Humanoids continued, this would have been a DC book. As it is, Fantagraphics has published it in the States. Good for them!

The plot is deceptively simple, as for most of the book, we have no idea what's going and Manchette simply follows his main character around. We begin in the present with George Gerfaut, cruising around in his Mercedes in the middle of the night listening to West Coast style jazz (hence the name of the book - George digs the jazz!). After a few pages, we're introduced to another man, Alonso Emerich y Emerich, a Dominican of German descent who used to be in military intelligence. We have, initially, no idea what his purpose is, because we quickly get back to George, who is passed by two cars, one chasing the other. The first car crashes, the second car takes off, and George helps the first driver to the hospital. Then he returns to his house. A few days later, his family heads out on vacation. It takes us a few pages to realize that this is happening in time well before the opening scene, because Manchette doesn't give us any indication that we've flashbacked. That's okay, though - the transition between the "present" and the "past" is interesting because Manchette links them through George driving late at night. While we may be a bit lost initially, we quickly regain our footing.

George doesn't realize he's being tailed by two hitmen in the employ of Alonso, who goes by Mr. Taylor. Again, we don't know why they want to kill George (we can figure out it has something to do with the driver of the car, but we don't know what), but that's part of the fun. Because as the follow George to the seaside, the plot kicks into high gear. It's rather humorous - the hitmen can't kill George. Through, really, very little effort on his part, he manages to elude them. In their first attempt, he manages to grab one of the killer's balls, which of course tends to put him off. This attempt switches something on in George, and he abandons his wife and returns to Paris. The killers can never quite catch up with him, and when they do, he escapes again, killing one of them almost accidentally. Then he flees into the forest and ends up in the foothills of the Alps, where he's found by a slightly eccentric woodsman. And he simply stays there. He becomes someone else completely, learning how to be self-sufficient, hooking up with a woman, and changing his appearance by growing a beard. But the second killer tracks him down, and George ends up back in the world, ready to find out exactly why these two men were sent to kill him.

The fascinating thing about this story is the character of George. Actually, Carlo and Bastien, the two hitmen, are pretty interesting as well, but George is the central character, so he ought to be fascinating. As I pointed out, he doesn't escape from the killers because he's tougher than they are; he might be a bit smarter, but he's also really lucky. Manchette doesn't make it a ridiculous, corny kind of luck, but he does show that George happens to do things that throw them off the track without knowing he's doing it. This makes the pursuit rather odd and darkly humorous. The book is full of violent death, and it's definitely not a comedy, but just the fact that these two professional killers have such a tough time blowing away this rather inept sales manager makes it border on the surreal. Then, we think the book will be about George becoming more of an independent dude and less of a simpering whiner, as he's forced to live in the wild for so many months. But Manchette doesn't quite give us that, either. George is a complicated guy who realizes certain things about the way society is structured but still yearns for other things. By the end of the book, we're back on the freeway, but Manchette has made us see that George has changed, just maybe not enough that we would expect. West Coast Blues is, in my mind, very "European" in that regard - this is a broad generalization, but Europeans are more bound by history, both societal and personal, than Americans, so if this book had been written by a Yankee, it probably would have ended much, much differently. That it doesn't is a testament, I think, to Manchette's storytelling - he never takes the easy way out, even if George's fate might seem like he does. George has been affected by what happens to him, but in not so overt (American?) way.

Tardi's art is quite stellar, as well. He's amazingly detailed, but he doesn't pull any tricks on the reader - his work is very straight forward. He relies on very strong storytelling skills, as he simply takes us through George's story. We get a great sense of place from Tardi, either in the urban settings or, even more impressively, in the rural interlude George experiences. Tardi does masterful work with the characters, too - they look and move like people, stumbling when you might expect it, breaking bones when you'd expect it, acting like human beings. His best work might be with Carlo and Bastien, as George remains very low-key throughout (except for one brief scene). Carlo and Bastien, however, have a fun relationship, and Tardi helps with it. Manchette gives them good banter, but Tardi manages to portray their care for each other even as he keeps their faces impassive. It's a very verbose comic, but Tardi matches Manchette with panels that demand a great deal of attention - this is a visual feast as well as a literary one.

I suppose the only problem one might have with the book is its somewhat excessive narration, because often Manchette simply tells us what the pictures already do (and Tardi adapted it to comics, so why he didn't cut some more of it is beyond me). Occasionally, the narration is absurdly excellent - when Manchette lists all the weapons Carlo and Bastien have in their car, for instance, it's a comic mini-masterpiece - but occasionally, we can tell exactly what's going on and don't need to be told. Again, this is a comic adapted from a book into French and then translated into English, so there are many filters for it to go through. I don't have too big an issue with the words, but I should caution you that it feels bloated every once in a while.

Other than that, West Coast Blues is a very good crime comic. The fact that it has a slightly different sensibility than most American crime fiction makes it refreshing, and the fact that Manchette has a wry sense of humor about the material works well, too. And it looks great. And Ed Brubaker thinks Tardi is great. Dare you go against Ed Brubaker????

* Before you jump my shit, I'm joking. I am well aware of the long French tradition of comics, and cut my teeth on Asterix and Obelix before I had even heard of the X-Men when I was but a lad. Chillax, people!

Next: Can it be more Tardi? Well, of course it can!

Nous ne reculerons pas devant les attaques des forces de sécurité Le 13 mars 2010, le procureur de Téhéran a annoncé dans une déclaration qu'avec l'aide des forces de sécurité, du ministère du renseignement et de l'équipe (terroriste) de cyberattaque des gardes révolutionnaire, il entamait, sur une grande échelle, un processus de détention des citoyens ordinaires et des militants des droits humains, sous prétexte de leur soutien à l'Association des Militants des Droits Humains en Iran et de leur (...) - Infos globales / Répression/contrôle social, Orient, Violences policières/Crimes policiers

Joëlle Aubron est sortie de prison le 16 juin 2004 aprés une campagne pour obtenir sa suspension de peine pour raisons médicales. Elle est décédée le 1er mars 2006 après avoir mené un combat pour la libération de ses camarades et contre la maladie . Jean-Marc Rouillan a eu sa semi-liberté révoquée le 16 octobre 2008 pour quelques lignes d'un interview. Le 27 octobre 2009 il a été transféré à la prison de Muret. Une demande de semi-liberté a été déposée mi-novembre 2009. Jean-Marc a été transféré à la fin (...) - Infos locales / Histoire(s) des luttes, Violences policières/Crimes policiers

A British organised crime gang who made tens of millions of pounds selling fake designer clothing across the country has been smashed in an international police operation.

We have three new screenshots for you from IO Interactive's upcoming crime shooter.

In Turkey, it's a crime to defame the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or to ridicule "Turkishness." So Google restricts access to videos that the government of Turkey deems illegal on google.com.tr.

First Canadian to be sentenced under country’s new anti-CAM law.

If you’ve been a member of the P2P world for at least a few years then you’re well aware of the illustrious body of work compiled by the infamous Canadian Gérémi Adam, 28yo, better known as maVen. He was well known for producing some of the highest quality CAMs around.

A few days ago Adam was sentenced to nine weeks behind bars plus 100 hours of community service. He’s also prohibited from entering any movie theatre for two years.

It’s the first of its kind sentence under a revision to the country’s Copyright Act that introduced tougher anti-camcording laws back in 2007.

The new law makes recording a movie without permission a crime punishable by two years in jail, and taping a film for future sale or rental now carries a maximum five-year jail term.

He pleaded guilty to two counts, under the Copyright Act, for distributing copies of the Hollywood films “Invincible” and “How to Eat Fried Worms” on the Internet under the alias maVen in 2006.

He was nabbed again in 2008 while recording the movie “Street Kings” at another movie theatre, and was charged a third time, this time under the Criminal Code.

Adam’s attorney, Richard Brouillard, told the court his client had a difficult past and noted several times during the trial that Adam made virtually no profit from his illicit activities. Instead, he devoted himself to pirating only because he wanted to become an Internet celebrity.

“(The FBI) knew the movies were coming from Montreal. That’s why they worked hard to grab him,” he added.

Canadian prosecutors were happy with the ruling.

“I think it’s a strong message that if you try to do something like Geremi Adam did, you will face the consequences. You could go to jail,” said crown prosecutor Josee Belanger.

The game of whac-a-mole continues.

jared@zeropaid.com

Un Nigérien est mort mais, qui s'en préoccupe, un revendeur de moins, une bouche de moins à nourrir.De l'autre côté des policiers, bons citoyens bien comme il faut. Ce soir, ils sont rentrés à la maison fiers. Peut-être du devoir accompli. Un homme a cessé de vivre, une vie a été tranchée. On a commis un acte de barbarie sur un être humain. Et nous... Que faisons nous ? Nous nous mobilisons une fois pour toutes ou nous retournons à nos bla, bla, bla... Avis aux associations de défense des requérent(e)ts (...) - Infos globales / Politiques migratoires/migrants & sans-papiers, Violences policières/Crimes policiers, Expulsions/Extraditions

La lutte de ceux qui se battent contre toutes les formes de pouvoir, qui tiennent tant à ce que chaque instant ne soit pas gaspillé et qui maintiennent obstinément la croyance que nous sommes capables de créer un monde libre et non-autoritaire, est aussi éloignée de n'importe quelle sorte de mythologie ou de fiction que la terre l'est de la lune. Cette lutte a, avait et aura des pertes innombrables ; les morts, les capturés et ceux qui renoncent parce qu'ils perdent l'espoir ou se compromettent (...) - Infos globales / Révoltes/grèves/luttes sociales, Dans le monde une classe en lutte, Europe, Violences policières/Crimes policiers

When we were driving out of town I said, "I hate the corpses of empires, they stink as nothing else. They stink so badly that I cannot believe that even in life they were healthy." "I do not think you can convince mankind," said my husband, "that there is not a certain magnificence about a great empire in being." "Of course there is," I admitted, "but the hideousness outweighs the beauty. You are not, I hope, going to tell me that they impose law on lawless people. Empires live by the violation of law." (Rebecca West, from Black Lamb and Grey Falcon)

Strange week this week. All Marvel and Vertigo. And lots of sex. Weird. And yes, I'm aware the fourth issue of Daytripper came out last week. I didn't get it, for some reason. I should have it this weekend. Dang. Let's move on!

Avengers vs. Atlas #3 (of 4) ("Hulk Smash!"/"Hey, Venus!") by Jeff Parker (writer, "Hulk"), Paul Cornell (writer, "Venus"), Gabriel Hardman (artist, "Hulk"), Leonard Kirk (artist, "Venus"), Elizabeth Breitweiser (colorist, "Hulk"), Brad Anderson (colorist, "Venus"), Tom Orzechowski (letterer, "Hulk"), and Joe Sabino (letterer, "Venus"). $3.99, 30 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Everyone reading this should know what I'm going to rant about. When Thor transports the Avengers and the agents of Atlas to Norway, he says, "But I know of one place on Midgard I can bring us all to!" Sorry, Thor - it's TAKE!!!!! Seriously, poor "take." No one loves it. So sad.

I love how Parker casually makes Hank Pym a dick even when he's not really trying. When the old-school Avengers find out that Bruce Banner is the Hulk (because Venus sang to him and calmed him down, turning him back to Banner), Pym says, "That's Dr. Bruce Banner! He's maybe the top physicist in the world -- well, besides me ..." Ha! And Parker makes Tony Stark a bit of a wuss, too - Marvel Boy telepathically informs Pym about what's happening, and Stark says, "He could have put the knowledge in me ... I would have gotten it." If that's not enough, in the next panel, Stark looks down at himself and says to no one in particular, "I built this suit ..." Whenever a writer is clever enough to drop stuff like that into his fairly standard superhero team-up (which this is), I appreciate it, because it just humanizes them and makes it easier to deal with the wackiness of a team from the 1960s (or a decade ago, according to Pym) joining up with a team from the present thanks to some time anomaly. They all fight the Hulk, Bob figures out what's up, and everything is set up for the final showdown. It's good, clean fun!

In the back-up story, Cornell and Kirk bring us Venus, love advice columnist. It's pretty hilarious (see the panel of awesome below), as she answers questions from Hercules, Deadpool (which is particularly hilarious), I assume Jocasta, the Hulk, Norman Osborn (more hilarity!), Kitty Pryde, and Clint Barton. It's very dependent on knowing Marvel continuity (unsurprisingly), and the only one I didn't get was the letter from Miss Dean. Help me out, more knowledgeable readers! It's a fun little tale.

Sex in this comic? Hoo-boy, you bet. It stars Venus in both stories, for crying out loud! In the first, Venus has to sing to calm Bruce down, and two superheroes get caught in the sound wave. Macking commences! And in the second, well, Deadpool's letter is the highlight, and I won't spoil it.

One panel of awesome:

Oh, Hulk, no one understands you!

Fables #93 ("The Little Murder Part Two of Two") by Bill Willingham (writer), David Lapham (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), and Todd Klein (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

It's been two months since the last issue of Fables. Strange. Anyway, I always dig the short stories of this series because they seem to contain standalone stories, but Willingham always makes sure that things get tied into the main story later. In other words, I doubt we've seen the last of the some of these characters. The story itself is not great but not bad, as Ambrose needs to figure out a way to deal with the serious transgression from last issue in a way that doesn't rip his kingdom apart. He does it, of course, but there's still some restlessness among the subjects, and that can't be good. I do like the only witness for the defense - at first, I thought it was absolutely idiotic, but once John started expanding on his story, it made better sense. And hey - those people who wish to read political intent into writers' books can kind of have a field day here, as Willingham tackles the death penalty and the idea of culture leading to what some would call crime. I honestly don't care when writers inject their political beliefs into comics (if, indeed, that's what Willingham is doing here), because this issue, while not superb, does show how much difficulty Ambrose is going to have moving forward. That's what makes this such a neat series.

Sex in this comic? Definitely. Off-panel and after the issue ends, but oh yeah, someone's getting lucky!

One panel of awesome:

Won't someone think of the ... squirrel children!

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1 (of 2) (Hercules main story/"Greek Tragedy") by Greg Pak (writer, "Hercules"), Fred van Lente (writer, "Hercules"), Paul Tobin (writer, "Tragedy"), Ariel Olivetti (artist, "Hercules"), Reilly Brown (penciler, "Tragedy"), Jason Paz (inker, "Tragedy"), Wil Quintana (colorist, "Tragedy"), Simon Bowland (letterer, "Hercules"), and Joe Sabino (letterer, "Tragedy"). $3.99, 30 pgs, FC, Marvel.

There are a few writers that I simply will not read. I've read their stuff, disliked it enough to know it's kind of a pattern with them and not an anomaly, and won't try it again. There are some writers who I dislike so much that even if they hook up with a fantastic artist, it's not enough to get me to buy it. However, if I like the writer, usually I can take lousy art, because I'm much more interested in the writing in comics than the art. If the art doesn't make my eyes bleed and tells the story serviceably, I can deal with it. Very rarely will the art on a book I want to read by a writer I like keep me from buying it. Let me tell you, I had one of those moments on Wednesday, when I looked at this book and Ariel Olivetti's art.

I can't really put my finger on why I don't like Olivetti's art. I didn't always dislike it. A decade ago, when he was still drawing using heavy lines rather than whatever the hell he's doing now, it wasn't great art but it had a kind of mad energy to it. Then he started doing more and more delicate line work, it appears he's given up on inking, and I don't know what's going on with the coloring (an Irene Y. Lee is credited with "production" on this book; does she do the coloring or does Olivetti?). It's that faux-"realistic" look that, to me, is ridiculously static and, at times, downright creepy. It's kind of the same thing that Salvador Larocca has done in the past five years or so, with color washes that drains everything heavy from the page but makes the art far too ephemeral. It's not a good look. Olivetti is fine telling a story, but the art just repels me. But I bought this anyway, because I knew that Pak and Van Lente wouldn't let me down. And, heck, they didn't. Well, except for one brief exchange. I'll 'splain.

The premise of the book is that Amadues Cho and a bunch of heroes congregate at the Parthenon to honor Hercules. Amadeus is peeved at Athena and wants her to show up, but instead the heroes do. So they all tell stories about how groovy Hercules was. Thor talks about the time he and Herc had to outdrink a bunch of giants, while Namor tells them of the time Herc beat on him to get him out of a funk. (I wonder why Namor is wearing his new, "I'm so cool" outfit in his flashback when he's wearing his old-school, "I'm so cool I can look UNcool" underpants in the original comic. I mean, will people reading this comic be that confused that he ... changed his clothes?!?!?!?) These are not bad stories, and Thor's is quite funny. Then the babes show up, talking about how hot Herc was (it's true - they all say it!). Snowbird says that they all "lay" with him, then continues: "I know there are others in the crowd who should join us ... don't be shy." At which Northstar says, "Is that the time? Gotta go!" while Namor looks on, a question mark above his head. Ha ha, Jean-Paul had sex with Herc and he's embarrassed about it! Now, this bugged me. First of all, Herc is a god. And he's, you know, Greek. I always assumed he was kind of pansexual, so the idea of him having sex with men isn't that strange. Second, Northstar is (wait for it) gay. And everyone knows he's gay! Who cares if he had sex with Herc? It felt, to me, that Van Lente and Pak were saying that a gay man would be embarrassed that he had sex with a man, while the women aren't. This would have, actually, been a perfect opportunity for another Marvel hero to come out of the closet - the joke would have been funnier if Snowbird had said that and someone like Warren or Logan had shrugged and said, "Hey, it weren't no big thing." But it's weird that Northstar is embarrassed about it. This weird feeling continues on the next page, when Alflyse starts talking about her time with Herc (see the panel of awesome below). Wolverine and Fandral looked shocked. After she's done talking, Namor too looks shocked (and Thor looks like he's fondly remembering his own experiences with the Elven Tickler, which isn't too surprising, given that he's, you know, Thor). Logan is older than a century, and he knows how to get with the ladies. Fandral is a freakin' god. Namor, I suppose, is the most stuck-up of them, so him I can forgive. But the idea in mainstream comics, it seems, is that men like the sex as long as it's not too weird, while the women kind of tolerate the sex but certainly don't do anything wacky. Pak and Van Lente are subverting the second assumption, but reinforcing the first. Are you telling me Logan never got really weird with any of the seriously crazy women he hooked up with? Are you saying Fandral never did anything bizarre to mix things up after a thousand years of the missionary position? I've seen this attitude before in Marvel and DC comics, and it's a bit strange. If someone who looks like Alflyse starts talking about how much she enjoyed Herc's mastery of the Elven Tickler, I wouldn't looked shocked, I'd be breaking out the instruction manual to figure it out!

And then Athena shows up and tells Amadeus that he's the new leader of the Olympus group, which leads into next issue. And the back-up story has Venus and Namora going around telling people that Herc is dead. It's a clever idea by Tobin - apparently Herc invested money in stuff and then forgot about it, so he has all sorts of weird holdings all over the world, some of which have done very well for him (he was an early investor in Stark Industries, for instance). It's a nice little story that features a hydra. Which is never a bad thing to see.

Sex in this comic? See above. Plus, Venus get naked in a totally non-sexual situation (one of Herc's holdings was a nudist colony), and all the people who lived in homes that Herc owned happened to be women. I wonder why?

One panel of awesome:

I love Wolverine's expression!

Joe the Barbarian #3 (of ВосемБ) ("The Dying Boy") by Grant "Yes, this is just propaganda to get you to keep rats as pets, why do you ask?" Morrison (writer), Sean Murphy (artist), Dave Stewart (colorist), and Todd Klein (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

Morrison unveils a few more secrets in this issue, as Joe is shown something that makes his journey through the strange world of more import than it already was, and a new adventurer joins the team. And of course, because it's a Grant Morrison comic, the very odd bad guys (well, I'm just going to assume they're bad guys; they could be kindly monks for all I know) are revealed at the end. There are typical Morrisonisms sprinkled throughout the dialogue, and it all moves along at a nice clip. Murphy remains the absolutely stunning star of the comic, though. The chase at the beginning of the issue is terrifically exciting, and when Joe and Jack arrive in Draka's town, Murphy gives us a full-page drawing that is simply gorgeous. When Joe collapses near the end of the issue, Murphy looks downward through his house, almost giving us vertigo. The book itself continues to get better, writing-wise, but Murphy's art is so staggering you almost don't need to read the text. That's so rare with a Morrison comic that it's almost unbelievable. But there it is!

Sex in this comic? It's about a boy in a fantasy land. Let's hope not!

One panel of awesome:

So portentous!!!!!

Marvel Boy: The Uranian #3 (of 3) ("Man of Two Worlds") by Jeff Parker (writer), Felix Ruiz (artist/letterer), and Val Staples (colorist). $3.99, 22 pgs + 18 pgs of 3 back-up stories, FC, Marvel.

This isn't a bad comic, and it looks great, but it does feel more like Parker is filling in the gaps of the characters from Agents of Atlas (or, I guess, Atlas) than telling a standalone story. He fleshed out some crucial points about Bob's past, namely his connection to Uranus and what his overlords really want (and if I call them "overlords," they can't be too benign, can they?), but this feels a bit trifling, as if it could have been told in a flashback in the regular series over the course of an issue or possibly two. Three issues is a bit much. I mean, we get to see a giant 1950s Marvel monster (see below), some nice parts about Bob's life, and a groovy mad scientist, but it still feels a bit too slight. Oh well. The art is fantastic, Parker's writing is fine as ever (even if the book itself is slight), and we get to see a bunch of reprints drawn by Bill Everett. If you're a fan of Jimmy Woo's team or Parker's writing, it's a fun book. For four bucks a pop, though, it's a bit steep.

Sex in this comic? Bob gets busy in a rocket with Violet. There's nothing better than zero-gravity sex! (Or, you know, so I'm told. By my astronaut friends. Of which I have many.)

One panel of awesome:

Jeff Parker + Felix Ruiz = awesome!

Spider-Woman #7 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (artist), and Cory Petit (letterer). $3.99, 35 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Bendis writes at the end of this book that it's over, because it's way too much work for Maleev to do it, motion-comic style. Why they specifically had to do it motion-comic style isn't addressed, but apparently putting together a motion comic takes a lot more time and effort by the artist, and it was killing Maleev. KILLING HIM!!!!!! So they pulled the plug. Oh well.

I'm not that put out by it, because I was probably going to drop the book anyway after the first arc. I will defend the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil to anyone who tries to put it down (which, to be honest, isn't many people), but this just never got good. It had a nifty hook but Bendis simply didn't do anything with it, and in the end, he had to bring in the Avengers to bail Jessica out. This issue is just a big ol' dumb superhero fight with a few clever Bendisisms, but mostly, it's dumb. And Jessica is a total bitch. She's not a bitch in a charming, fucked-up way that Jessica Jones was in Alias, she's a bitch in a "Gosh, I really hope that Skrull kills her" way. She keeps calling the Asian girl "dumb" because she claims that her Skrull boyfriend is Spider-Man. Now, the way Maleev draws her, it seems like she's blind. Second, the Skrull is, you know, a shape-shifter, so even if she's not blind, he could look like Spider-Man. Jessica points out that Spider-Man "famously" lives in New York, but she's only been dating him three weeks, meaning he could be on vacation or something. So, um, Jessica? Shut the fuck up. As Abigail points out, your track record so far in this comic isn't great in the intelligence department, so if the girl from Madripoor believes she was dating Spider-Man, you're the last person in the world to call her dumb. And then, later, the Skrull tells her that the queen chose her form because "of all the people in the world ... we discovered that no one on this entire planet cares enough about you to notice you at all." Really, Skrull? Okay, from the way Jessica behaves in this comic, I see Skrull dude's point, but that's a bit extreme, isn't it? I mean, she has plenty of friends, after all. It's one of those things that sounds cool the first time you read it but then, once you think about it for more than a second, makes absolutely no sense. And then Wolverine tries to stab a shape-shifter to death. You'd think he'd know better.

So I would have ditched the book anyway, but now I don't have to. If you've been thinking about getting the trade, I'd skip it. Spend it on something, you know, good.

Sex in this comic? Not a bit. Jessica finds the Skrull in a strip club, though.

One panel of "awesome":

Really?

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #6 ("Shock and Awe Chapter 6") by Gregg Hurwitz (writer), Jerome Opeña (penciler), Jay Leisten (inker), Paul Mounts (colorist), and Joe Caramagna (letterer). $2.99, 23 pgs, FC, Marvel.

And now, Moon Knight And Me: A Love Story.

I have never made my love of Moon Knight a secret. I dig him. I love the whole multiple personalities thing, I love the whole weird network of operatives, I love the Doug Moench/Bill Sienkiewicz run with a love that is probably a little unhealthy, I love the Doug Moench/Kevin Nowlan run that followed it, I love the "Fist of Khonshu" series that followed that only lasted six issues and wasn't very good, I liked the 1990s series that also wasn't very good but lasted longer than any Moon Knight series ever, I loved the James Fry issues in the latter part of that run that were really bizarre eye candy, I loved the Stephen Platt issues that ended the run ... okay, that's a lie. I hated those issues. They're AWFUL. I loved the late 1990s mini-series that brought the character back from limbo, with Mark Texeira and then Tommy Lee Edwards on art. I loved the new series that launched a few years ago, which made our hero truly insane for, really, the first time (as much as Moench explored the idea of multiple personalities, you never got the sense that Moonie was all that crazy). And I loved the first few issues of this series, which returned Moon Knight to New York and brought back Bushman (okay, that wasn't too great an idea) and featured out of this world art by Opeña. I bought the first Moon Knight Essential volume because I didn't have the early appearances of the character. I'm going to buy the new hardcover of the Moench/Sienkiewicz collaborations before the first series launched even though I own some of them, because I love the character so much. I think that the first series is wildly underrated, as it was one of the first (if not the first) series to be released through the Direct Market, bypassing newstands and therefore allowing Moench and Sienkiewicz to tell more mature stories than mainstream comics before it. I think the character has a ton of potential that has been tapped a bit, but not enough. But that's just me.

So why am I explaining this? Well, as much as I dug what Hurwitz did in these first few issues (even though I didn't agree with bringing Bushman back and turning him into Bane), I thought this was a terrible way to end this arc and it makes me wonder if I will even buy the next arc. It makes me sad, but that's the way it is. In the first issue, it seemed as if Hurwitz was poking fun at the silliness of superheroes, but doing it subtly. I can deal with Moon Knight as satire, because it's an interesting take, especially as he's a bit, you know, out there. But as we got further into the arc, Hurwitz stopped doing that and this became much more of a straight-forward superhero comic. And I'm just not that interested in that anymore. I mean, Hurwitz brought Bushman back. So what? What happens to him? He ends up in an insane asylum. So what? Bushman's death was interesting because it pushed Moon Knight even further over the brink and set the stage for the previous series, which was excellent. Now he's back, and he's just another boring villain. Even in the mediocre 1990s series, he ruled a country, which added a bit of tension to his dealings with our hero. Now, he's dull. And we get another joke about Crawley getting hit on the head and changing his personality, back to what it was. This wasn't funny when it happened to Guy Gardner twenty years ago, and it's still not funny. I realize that I'm too close to the situation and I should be able to laugh at head injuries just like those uptight [insert ethnic group here] should be able to laugh at jokes at their expense, but it's not the fact that Crawley sustained a head injury and it changed his personality. It's that this book isn't a comedy, so tonally it was all wrong, and it's also that nobody seems to care. That's what bugged me when it happened to Guy - wouldn't someone think, "Hey, maybe we should check him out?" even if they liked his new personality more? Shouldn't Moon Knight have suggested that Crawley ought to get an MRI? It's too fraught with potential pitfalls to make it really funny, and Hurwitz didn't do(...)

Fin de la trève d'hiver, la mairie de St-Martin-d'Hères ne perd pas de temps pour expulser Fin de la trève d'hiver, la mairie de St-Martin-d'Hères ne perd pas de temps pour expulser ! Aujourd'hui lundi 15 mars 2010, c'est la fin de la trêve d'hiver. Et quand il s'agit d'expulser des sans abris, la mairie de St-Martin-d'Hères ne perd pas de temps. Ce matin, des flics municipaux ont expulsé une personne qui habitait dans un petit bâtiment vide, au milieu du parc situé à la limite de Grenoble et de (...) - Infos globales / Logement/squat, Violences policières/Crimes policiers