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Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance to Disp...

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:25:19 +0200

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance to Display the First Porsche(R) Sports CarEngine ATLANTA, Aug 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Porsche No. 1, the one-of-a-kind, two-seat sports car Dr. Ferdinand 'Ferry' Porsche developed and built after he searched and was unable to find the car of his dreams, makes its North American Concours d'Elegance debut when it joins other notable and historic vehicles August 14th at California's famed Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This occasion is a happy one as Porsche No. 1's first North American trip, to Porsche's 50th Anniversary celebration at the Monterrey Historics in 1998, was thwarted when it was damaged in Chicago on its way to California. This trip also is special as it helps commemorate Porsche's 60th anniversary. Before arriving at the Pebble Beach Golf Links(R), Porsche No. 1 had a starring role in Porsche Cars North America's 60th Anniversary celebration at its Atlanta corporate headquarters.

Wartsila-Hyundai wins ship engine order

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:24:29 +0200

Wartsila-Hyundai wins ship engine orderHELSINKI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Finnish Wartsila (WRT1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its joint venture with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (009540.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), Wartsila-Hyundai Engine Company Ltd, had won a major order from Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS: Quote, Profile, Research).The order is for 16 ship engines, Wartsila said in a statement, but did not disclose the value of the deal.The engines are for four ships, with the first engine set to be delivered in February 2010. The contract includes also an option of four more engines for a fifth vessel. (Reporting by Azer Sawiris)

Steaming Engine? Check Cooling Fan

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:23:39 +0200

Steaming Engine? Check Cooling FanQ:I was coming home from bowling the other night, and my engine started acting up. It was either steaming or smoking. I was worried, so I popped the hood and opened it up. You definitely could smell antifreeze burning, and the smoke was coming from the radiator. Do you think I have a bad radiator and need to replace the entire thing? Oh, yeah, I have a 1991 Pontiac 6000 LE with a V-6.
Ray: I'd start by checking the simple stuff first. The thing I'd suspect first would be the cooling fan.
Tom: Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that your cooling fan bit the dust at some point. Like in 1998. Or last week. You might not have noticed because as long as you're moving, air is flowing through the radiator and helping to cool the engine.
Ray: It's only when you stop, say, at a railroad crossing, to let a 200-car freight train go by, or to chat with your buddy, that you really need the cooling fan to simulate the airflow you normally get when the car is moving.Tom: So, while you sat there chatting for five, 10, 15 minutes, with no cooling fan, the engine was getting hotter and hotter. Finally, it overheated, your coolant boiled over, and that boiling coolant blew a hole in a weakened hose or maybe even the radiator itself. That explains the steam, the smell of hot coolant and the puddle under your car.
Ray: Now, it's possible that with a car this old, you may need a cooling fan, a new hose, a new radiator AND a new engine as well. So there are no guarantees here. But start with the simple, inexpensive stuff first, and take it a step at a time.

Renowned Engineer Joins Cyclone's Clean...

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:22:51 +0200

Renowned Engineer Joins Cyclone's Clean Green Engine TeamCyclone Power Technologies (PINKSHEETS: CYPW) announced today that Allan L. Brown, a renowned engineer with over 56 years experience, has joined the Cyclone team. The company has retained Mr. Brown to oversee its waste heat engine (WHE) project, a remarkable low-pressure, low-temperature steam engine that can run off heat generated from engine exhaust, inexpensive solar panels, oven heat, and many other heat sources that would otherwise be wasted and expelled into the environment. Mr. Brown's engineering and mechanical experience spans over 56 years in the marine industry where he has developed propulsion, hydraulic, electrical and exhaust systems for some of the best known names in the business. Over the years, Mr. Brown has served as: Director of Product Development for Cigarette Racing Team; President and CEO of Cougar Marine, which built powerboats that won 33 consecutive offshore races including 12 World and National Championships; Director of Product Development for Stainless Marine; Project Engineer for Gentry Transatlantic on the "Gentry Eagle," a 113' mega-yacht that held the transatlantic speed crossing record; Product Development Consultant for Teleflex Marine; and General Manager of Donzi Marine. Mr. Brown, known to his peers as Brownie, is widely regarded as a mechanical genius. Pete Smythe, Editor of Motorboating Magazine, wrote: "Brownie is generally considered to have more engineering moxie than anyone else in the high performance boat business." Hotboat Magazine wrote that "Brownie's experience in the business is second to none, with almost 50 years of high performance expertise in building, driving and designing every part of a raceboat." Powerboat Magazine called Brownie a "mechanical wizard." "We are thrilled to add Brownie to our team," stated Cyclone CEO, Harry Schoell. "I have known him for over 40 years, and I am completely confident that the talent he has shown in the marine industry can be readily adapted to our waste heat engine."

Yahoo, Google rejigger search for Olympi...

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:21:49 +0200

Yahoo, Google rejigger search for OlympicsThe Olympics are a media feeding frenzy, as everyone tries to capitalize on the huge audience for the global sporting event, and now Yahoo is trying to get in the action. The Internet pioneer said on its Search blog on Tuesday that it's launched a number of shortcuts to present Olympics-related information through Yahoo's search engine. The shortcuts package up information such as the overall medal count, a country's specific medal count, and information for individual athletes. The customized results present content including video on the search results, blurring the lines between an Internet portal and a search engine. The results also include a link that can take users to various related Yahoo Sports Olympics coverage pages, which at least at present feature a lot of advertisements by Visa. Google also is getting business out of the Olympics because NBC Universal is using its DoubleClick ad delivery technology for online video of the Olympics. Microsoft, too, has a stake: its Silverlight technology could get a big boost in adoption because NBC's video player is built using the software.

American Airlines jet makes emergency la...

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:20:36 +0200

American Airlines jet makes emergency landing; second plane loses engine powerAn American Airlines jet en route from Los Angeles to Honolulu made an emergency landing after a pilot smelled smoke in the plane’s cabin.The jet, Flight 31 from LAX to Honolulu, returned to LAX. All passengers were evacuated safely, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, and no injuries were reported. The jet was about one hour into its flight when the smell of smoke was reported, the fire department said.Television footage on CNN showed passengers evacuating the plane via inflatable exit slides.American spokesman Tim Wagner said the landing was normal, and the captain ordered the emergency evacuation. The airline is still looking into why the slides were deployed.The plane was a Boeing 757 with 188 passengers who were taken back to the terminal by bus after going down the slides, he said. American is arranging for another plane to take them to Honolulu this afternoon, Wagner said.A second American Airlines jet made an emergency landing Tuesday at New York’s Kennedy airport after one of the two engines lost power, according to American. No injuries were reported.A spokesman for the airline, whose parent company is Fort Worth-based AMR (NYSE: AMR), said the MD-80 took off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport bound for Atlanta, but the crew immediately noticed they did not have full power and made an incident-free landing at JFK.The spokesman said engine debris was found on the runway at LaGuardia, and the engine will be examined to determine the cause of the failure, according to Atlanta's WSBTV.com. There were 139 passengers and a crew of five aboard the plane.

Emergency landing at JFK after LaGuardia...

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:19:37 +0200

Emergency landing at JFK after LaGuardia takeoffAn American Airlines MD-80 bound for Atlanta was forced to make an emergency landing Monday when one of its two rear-mounted engines failed shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, airline officials said.
The plane landed a short time later at Kennedy Airport. No one was injured and the cause of the engine failure was not known Monday, said Tim Wagner, an American Airlines spokesman.
Passengers from the 140-seat aircraft were put on another American flight or on flights from other carriers to get to Atlanta, he said.
American Airlines flight 2393 took off from Runway 4 at 4:39 p.m. and airport personnel immediately knew there was a problem, officials said.

Engine maker cited for workplace safety...

ueb333 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:16:54 +0200

Engine maker cited for workplace safety violationsELROSE PARK, Ill. - Federal authorities have cited Melrose Park-based International Truck and Engine Corporation for workplace safety violations with penalties totaling more than $150,000.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an inspection in February. The agency says it found unprotected live electrical parts, improper use of electrical equipment and improper use of powered industrial vehicles, among other violations.
International Truck and Engine spokesman Ron Wiley says the citations are unjustified and the company will contest the $159,500 fine.
International Truck and Engine is a subsidiary of Navistar International that manufactures truck and tractor engines. It employs about 10,000 employees, including 1,450 in Melrose Park.

To heal the wounded

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:57:34 +0200

To heal the wounded printing book Paradoxically, the book is being issued as news photographerscomplain that they are being ejected from combat areas fordepicting dead and wounded Americans. But efforts to censor the book were overruled by successive armysurgeons general. It can be ordered from the Government PrintingOffice for $71; Amazon.com lists it as out of stock, but the BordenInstitute, the army medical office that published it, saidthousands more copies would be printed. "I'm ashamed to say that there were folks even in the medicaldepartment who said, Over my dead body will American civilians seethis," said Dr. David Lounsbury, one of the book's three authors.Lounsbury, 58, an internist and retired colonel, took part in the1991 and 2003 invasions of Iraq and was the editor of militarymedicine textbooks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "The average Joe Surgeon, civilian or military, has never seen thisstuff," Lounsbury said. "Yeah, they've seen guys shot in the chest.But the kind of ferocious blast, burn and penetrating trauma that'spart of the modern IED wound is like nothing they've seen, even ina New York emergency room. It's a shocking, heart-stopping,eye-opening kind of thing. And they need to see this on the planebefore they get there, because there's a learning curve to this." The pictures of wounded children include some of a 5-year-old shotin a vehicle trying to run through a checkpoint. Other picturesshow wounds riddled with dirt, genitals severed by a roadside bomb,a rib — presumably that of a suicide bomber — drivendeep into a soldier's body, and the tail of an unexploded rocketprotruding from a soldier's hip. There are moments that reflect the desperation in the invadedcountry: an Afghan in the jaw-locked rictus of tetanus afterhome-treating a foot blown off by a landmine. And moments thatreflect the modern American army: a soldier with unexplained pelvicpain that turns out to be a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. The book was created to teach techniques that surgeons adopted,abandoning old habits. For example, they no longer pump saline into a patient with massivetrauma to try to get the blood pressure back up to 120. "You dothat, you end up with a highly diluted, cold patient with noclotting factors, and the high pressure restarts bleeding,"Lounsbury said. Instead, they try to bring it up to just 80 or 90with red cells and extra platelets, which encourage clotting. Also, initial surgery even on a severely wounded patient may bebrief — just enough to control hemorrhaging and preventcontamination by a torn bowel. Then the patient is returned tointensive care to warm up, raise the blood pressure and restore theelectrolyte balance. The next operation is usually just enough tostabilize the patient for transport to a more sophisticatedhospital, perhaps in Baghdad or Kabul, in Germany or the UnitedStates. The book describes a surgeon who erred fatally by trying to do toomuch — a four-hour operation on a soldier who had lost a legto a roadside bomb. The effort drained the forward hospital's bloodbank, and the patient died on the helicopter to the next hospital.

Also, neurosurgeons treating a blast victim now quickly remove alarge section of the skull to relieve pressure, even if no shrapnelhas penetrated. Such patients are sometimes able to walk and talkafter a blast but then collapse and die as their brain swells.

Panasonic Teams With Brother Internation...

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:57:18 +0200

Panasonic Teams With Brother International Corporation in ... printing book SECAUCUS, N.J. & BRIDGEWATER, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, manufacturer of durable,reliable Panasonic Toughbookcomputers, and Brother International Corporation, a leadingmanufacturer of office and commercial printing and imagingsolutions, today announced that Panasonic has issued a compatiblerating to the Brother MPRINTline of printers, including the MW-140BT and MW-260 wirelessMPRINTmobile printers. This rating provides assurance to integrators andend users that the products have passed testing regardingcompatibility for field service applications. Panasonic Toughbook notebooks are designed to meet a wide range ofField Service applications, where wireless printing of receipts andother documentation is often a critical function in assuringproductivity, error reduction and customer satisfaction. Theultra-portable Brother MPRINTMW-140BT and MW-260 mobile printers, which utilize Bluetoothtechnology, provide field workers with an affordable, reliable wayto print high quality, mobile service receipts and proof ofdelivery, on demand, directly from their Toughbook notebook.Panasonic Toughbook notebooks are the solution of choice for manymobile professionals, and the Brother MPRINT printer is a perfect complement to any Toughbook mobile solution.Together they can help increase field worker productivity, savetime and improve customer satisfaction by providing on-the-spotprinting of data and transactions that are critical to yourbusiness,says Ravi Panjwani, Director of Business Solutions –Label & Mobile Printers, Brother International Corp. Panasonic partners with leading hardware companies to integrate themost advanced wireless hardware components into the full line ofToughbook products. Panasonic only selects hardware partners that sharePanasonic's core values of reliability, quality and customersatisfaction. ”Brother’s MPRINT mobile printers, with their ultra-lightweight form factor,reliability and high quality, cut-sheet output exemplify the valuepropositions we espouse. It is for these reasons that we wanted totest for interoperability, and the compatible rating demonstratesour commitment to delivering a seamless user experience. The resultis a robust mobile computing solution that helps minimize downtimewhile increasing productivity,” said Thell Gillis, Sr. Manager, Market Development, PanasonicComputer Solutions Company. Field Service Applications With a Panasonic Toughbook notebook and a Brother MPRINT mobile printer, field service personnel can print repair reports,repair estimates, certified inspection sheets, up-to-the-minutebusiness quotes, collection receipts, payment receipts, productinformation, and work order confirmations. Field service associatescan quickly print proof of work performed using MPRINT printers at the customer site and leave the cut sheet receipts(versus curled receipts or hand written receipts) with thecustomer, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction. MPRINT Mobile Printer Features MPRINTmobile printers are ultra-light-weight, and the MW-140BT andMW-260 models are designed to interface wirelessly (Bluetooth) withPanasonic Toughbook notebooks. The MW-140BT is about the size of apaperback book, and prints on 3”x4” size output; the MW-260 is slightly larger, allowing for printingon sheets up to 4”x6” size. The MW-140BT weighs in at less than 11 ounces, and theMW-260 is about 18 ounces (incl. a lithium ion battery and a papercassette). Their compact size, internal paper cassette, and varietyof cut-sheet output media open up a world of new possibilities forthe use of mobile devices in the field. Housed in sleek silver designs, the MPRINT printers produce crisp, quiet 300 dpi printing on two differentmedia cassettes, including receipts, and 2-ply carbon copy sheets(additional purchase required). Included with each printer are anup to 50-sheet paper cassette and a rechargeable lithium ionbattery capable of printing up to 100 pages on a single charge(MW-140BT).** Also available are ruggedized cases that give fieldworkers the added convenience of wearing the MPRINT printer on a belt (MW-140BT).The MPRINT mobile printers use ThermaPlusM paper tailored specifically for mobile applications. It feelslike plain paper, is easy to write on, and helps reduce printfading. The unique carbon copy paper simultaneously prints anoriginal and a copy. It even supports capture of a client signaturefor authorization or proof of receipt. Pricing and AvailabilityPanasonic Toughbook notebooks are available exclusively throughauthorized Panasonic Toughbook resellers nationwide. Please call800-662-3537 or visit www.panasonic.com/toughbookfor more information.Brother MPRINTMobile printers are available with an estimated street price forthe MW-140BT of $399****, and $499**** for the MW-260. For moreinformation on the complete Brother MPRINT printer product line and authorized resellers, please call1-866-455-7713 or visit www.brother.com. Developers can download a copy of Brother’s MPRINTsoftware and software development kit at http://www.brother-usa.com/mprint/login.aspx.About Brother International Corporation Bridgewater, New Jersey is the corporate headquarters for Brotherin the Americas, from Canada to South America and has fullyintegrated sales, marketing services, and manufacturing, researchand development capabilities, located here in the U.S. In additionto its headquarters, Brother has facilities in California, Florida,Illinois, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Texas as well assubsidiaries in Ohio, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Mexico.About Panasonic Computer Solutions Company Panasonic Computer Solutions Company empowers the mobile workforce.The company is a unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America,which is the principal North American subsidiary of MatsushitaElectric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC). Panasonic has deliveredreliable, durable mobile solutions through its Toughbook line of notebook computers for fifteen years and has expanded theboundaries of wireless communications technology through a broadportfolio of products, ranging from fully rugged, industrialstrength notebook computers and tablet PCs to business-rugged thinand-light and ultra portable notebooks. A core manufacturer,Matsushita and its subsidiaries control the entire process ofdesign, manufacture, quality assurance, service and support. As aresult, Panasonic Toughbooks are known for having the lowestfailure rates in the industry. Government, industrial, andcommercial users—from Fortune 1,000 companies to small businesses—rely on solutions from Panasonic, wherever their work takes them. All brand company/product names are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of the respective companies. All specifications aresubject tochange without notice. Information on Panasonic’s full line of notebook PCs for the mobile professional can beobtained by calling 800-662-3537 or at http://www.panasonic.com/toughbookBased on internal testing of Brother MPrint Mobile Printers with Panasonic Toughbook media under specificconditions. Contact Brother for more information.Up to 50 pages with MW-260Additional purchase required

Resellers set their own prices, so prices may vary. All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarksof their respective companies.EDITOR’S NOTE: Photography available upon request.

Printing money: the rise of self-publish...

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:55:47 +0200

Printing money: the rise of self-published authors printing book Mick Jagger says on the jacket: “Very original, I lovedit.” Publishing has always known the value of celebrityendorsement, but what book could possibly have summoned Jagger downfrom the mountain to engage in mere puffery? Last December, he wentinto John Sandoe, the independent Chelsea bookshop famous for itsfamous clientele, and idly asked the bookseller to recommend a goodread. The man behind the counter brandished a small, thin paperbackwith a muted, dun-cardboard cover, on which the title, author andpublisher were picked out in green lettering: “24 for 3.Jennie Walker. CB Editions.” Jagger might have loved it. The agent to whom the author firstsubmitted it, however, had not. Neither did a couple of publishers.To the rescue came CB Editions, a boutique outfit dedicated topublishing “surprising books” and run by none otherthan Jennie Walker. Or, to give “her” her real name,Charles Boyle. In other words, 24 for 3 — an intricatelywrought self-portrait of a woman as she commutes quizzicallybetween husband and lover while a Test match, with its unfathomablerules, rumbles on off stage — is that rarity, a polishedjewel of a book that, in the face of industry indifference, theauthor has successfully self-published. “I wrote the novella last summer,” Boyle explains.“I got back from holiday in late August. On the doormat, apolite rejection from an agent and another envelope with a chequefor £2,000 left to me by an uncle. The same day, I went roundto a local printer, spun him random figures. He gave me quotes. Forthat money, I could print and bind 250 copies each of four books.Thus was CB Editions begun.” Why the pseudonym? “Because of the general and understandablesuspicions of booksellers regarding self-published books,”Boyle says. (He also needed a female author on his all-male list.) Is self-published prose quite as stigmatised as it used to be? Theold assumptions that attach themselves to books written, designed,printed and sold by one and the same person are ruthlesslyone-tracked: nobody else wanted it; there must be something wrongwith it; it’s that lower-caste untouchable, a vanity project.Increasingly, however, it seems that self-published novels cancreate elbow room for themselves in a market dominated by Tesco,Amazon, the three-for-two table and Richard & Judy. Boyle’s 24 for 3 has just won the 2008 McKitterick prize,awarded to first-time novelists over the age of 40, and is beingbrought out in a more ostentatiously jacketed hardback byBloomsbury. And Sade Adeniran’s Imagine This, aself-published novel about an Anglo-Nigerian girl uprooted fromLondon to the old country, recently won the best-first-bookcategory for the Africa region of the Commonwealth Writers’Prize. “I did the usual thing that most writers do when theyfirst start out — sent it to agents and publishers,”Adeniran says. “I didn’t get the greatest response, butthe response from friends and acquaintances was really positive, soI decided to do something about it.” She joins a long and surprisingly stellar continuum. The Urtext forself-publishers is Areopagitica, subtitled “A speech of MrJohn Milton for the liberty of unlicens’d printing to theparliament of England”. Naturally, Milton printed his 1644polemical defence of free speech without the help of a publisher.William Blake went it alone. So did Virginia Woolf (with a littlehelp from Leonard). Let’s not even get started on all thosepoets who have paid for slender print runs of slim volumes, andstill do. The contemporary climate has also yielded successfulself-publishers. Jill Paton Walsh’s Knowledge of Angels wasnominated for the Booker in 1994. Alexander McCall Smith initiallypublished Portuguese Irregular Verbs, his stories about a petulantGerman philologist, in a privately circulated print run of 500. GPTaylor defiantly brought out Shadowmancer, the first in a hugelysuccessful children’s fantasy tetralogy, when nobody elsewould. William P Young’s religious parable The Shack,self-published in America, has to date sold 1.7m and is on its 14thprint run. There will undoubtedly be more of this. While technology has madeit much easier to produce books, the industry has made everythingelse harder. The death of the net book agreement, which hadprevented retailers from discounting titles, means that fewertitles are being sold more widely, at lower prices, resulting inhuge advances for some authors and correspondingly shrinking onesfor everyone else. There is also a growing insistence that booksadhere to generic guidelines. “If I had been willing to turn my book into a misery memoir,I would have had more success,” says Sarah Anderson, whofirst tried hawking the idea for a book about her experience ofliving with one arm four years ago. The problem with her idea wasthat it intriguingly embraced a cultural history of one-handedness.Nobody wanted to know. “Conventional publishers said it wasuncategorisable. They said, ‘There has never been a book likethis.’ ” Which, nowadays, seems to be a bad thing. So,this year, to uniformly good reviews, she published Halfway toVenus herself. As is the case with many self-published books,readers are falling over themselves to express bafflement at itsfailure to find a more conventional route to the market. The goal of most self-published authors is for a hit to pave theway into the mainstream, as has happened with 24 for 3. Adeniran iskeeping her last box of the 1,000copies of Imagine This under herbed as a souvenir while working on her next novel. This time, shehas a respected agent. Yet there is a cautionary example in theshape of John de Falbe. He brought out his first novel, The GlassNight, in 1995, after the usual set of rejections. It garneredenough attention, including a nomination for the John LlewellynRhys prize, for Harvill to sign him up for his second, The Bequest,in 2003. That didn’t do as well as his first — so, forDreaming Iris, a gripping memory novel about a country-housetragedy, he is back to self-publishing.

“It went to 10, 12 publishers two years ago,” de Falbesays. “I was thinking, even if somebody does take it up,they’re going to give so little money, they’re notgoing to market it and nothing will happen to it.

From the archive One black day in the li...

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:55:29 +0200

From the archive One black day in the life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn printing book The writers' union is a powerful body. It has several thousandmembers. It runs a newspaper, a publishing house and severalliterary magazines. It gets money not just from membership dues butalso from a percentage on books published, plays performed and soon. It owns houses in Moscow as well as in the country. It does notact simply as a friendly society providing old-age pensions andhealth insurance for its members. It gives a writer who is not introuble many advantages that his western colleagues might envy. Itcan give him accommodation in a rest-house where he can work inpeace. It enables him to make contact with his readers throughlecture tours in factories and offices. And so on. But if a writerrefuses to conform, he not only loses all these perks; he isdeprived of the possibility of exercising his profession at all. In principle, membership of the union is not indispensable in orderto get published. After all, a young titan must to some extentfirst make his name before he can become a member. But for anestablished author to get thrown out of the union is the formal andofficial stamp of disgrace. A writer can in fact be squeezed orsilenced while he still holds his union card, because theideological section of the party's central committee, eitherthrough the ministry of culture or the writers' union, has thedecisive say on what is to be published and in how many copies.When ideological questions are involved, the circulation of a bookis not determined by popular demand. A book may be sold out in aday and still not get a second printing, or it may not be publishedat all. The government's censorship office, the Glavlit, can holdit, suggest alterations, and in one way or another prevent it fromseeing the light of day. The case of Alexander Solzhenitsyn is a depressing illustration ofthis control. His first famous book, “One Day in the Life ofIvan Denisovich,” was allowed to go to press only after MrKhrushchev himself gave the green light in 1962. His memorableshort story, “The House of Matryona,” was publishedafterwards. But since then the conservative critics have gained theupper hand and Solzhenitsyn has been unable to get his bookspublished in Russia since the early 1960s. Prominent writers are a privileged section of Soviet society. Menlike Boris Pasternak can survive a period of disgrace by living ontheir savings. Young men can take a job outside literature and goon writing in their spare time. Those who refuse to conform canwrite for the “drawer”—for posterity—or, inthe case of the younger rebels, for underground publication. Theycan all show their work to their friends. Manuscripts circulatingin this way sometimes find their way abroad. This is what happenedto Solzhenitsyn's later works—“Cancer Ward” and“The First Circle.” They were published in the westwithout the author's blessing, but his dissociation from theirpublication abroad was not strong enough for the Sovietauthorities, who made it the main charge against him. Expulsion from the union may not be enough to frighten writers.This is why Sinyaysky and Daniel were put on trial and deported inFebruary 1966. There is a ghastly logic in this return to stalinistmethods. What is or is not published in the Soviet Union has apolitical significance. The appearance of Ehrenburg's“Thaw,” Dudintsev's “Not by Bread Alone”and “On Sincerity in Literature” by the criticPomerantsev were all signs of political relaxation after Stalin'sdeath. The publication of “One Day in the Life of IvanDenisovich” was also a symptom; so is the present silencingof Solzhenitsyn.

In a country where there is no open political debate literaturetends to provide a substitute. The mistake of Stalin's heirs was tobelieve that they could allow more freedom to novelists and criticswhile stifling debate outside the literary world. Stalin simplyfrightened everybody into obedient orthodoxy. It may be hoped thathis successors, although resorting to his methods, will not be ableto frighten people the same way. But the conservatives now in powercan gag the most creative of Russia's writers.

Shock print-run end for lensman

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:54:10 +0200

Shock print-run end for lensman printing book THE wife of the late Tasmanian photographer Peter Dombrovskis saysshe is shocked but humbled by panic over her decision to stopprinting much of his works.Liz Dombrovskis yesterday confirmed she would be closing West WindPress - legendary for printing her famous husband's work - to spendmore time with her grandchildren. "Basically I'm retiring. It's time to move on to the nextchapter of our lives," she said. "We sent a letter out to all of the shops and businesses thatstock the books, cards and calendars to let them know and they'vebeen contacting us panicking." But Mrs Dombrovskis has assured fans that current stock - includingthe latest book Simply Peter Dombrovskis- would not run out until late next year. Prints of his world-famous images can still be ordered through thecompany. Mrs Dombrovskis said she had faith in the next generation ofphotographers.

"There are a lot of really good younger photographers startingto emerge and I am sure they will appreciate the gap being left byus," she said.Click here to read the full story in The Mercury

Book Extract: Bright Shiny Morning by Ja...

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:53:26 +0200

Book Extract: Bright Shiny Morning by James Freyprinting book She is 26 years old. She is originally from Indianapolis. She haslived in LA for nine months, she moved here to become a publicist,her family did not approve. Three weeks ago she was walking througha parking garage, it was late at night, she had been on a firstdate, she had had two glasses of wine with dinner. Her date hadwanted to walk to her car, but she liked him, really liked him, hewas a year older, an entertainment attorney, someone who wanted,like her, a career and later a family, and she knew if he walked toher car he would try to kiss her. She wanted to take it slowly, tryto engage in as old-fashioned a dating process as possible. Shesaid she'd be fine. He said he would call her. She smiled and saidshe looked forward to it. She walked away. She had been in the garage many times, her office was down thestreet, it was in Santa Monica, which is a safe, wealthy, stablecommunity. The garage was fairly empty. She took an elevator to thefourth floor. She got out and started walking towards her car,which was on the opposite side of the garage. She immediately felt uneasy. She started walking more quicklysomething was wrong wrong she was suddenly terrified absolutelyfucking terrified something was wrong. She was 20 feet from hercar, 15, 10 she reached for her keys 10 feet away as she reachedfor her keys she was terrified. He stepped out from between twocars, came at her from behind, she was five feet away, her keys inher hand. Ricky hasn't had a job in four years. He used to work at a printingshop, but it closed due to advances in printing technology thatallowed small businesses to do their own printing. He went onunemployment, it ran out, he couldn't find another job, printingshops all over the city were going under. He liked sitting at homewatching television and drinking beer all day, so he stopped tryingto find another job. He needed money, was trying to figure out howto get it, when a friend, a convicted felon, called him and askedhim to buy a gun (felons can't buy firearms in California). He wentto Larry's Firearms with the friend, bought a 9mm semi-automatichandgun and a California-legal assault rifle using the friend'smoney. When he got home with the weapons, he filed off the serialnumbers. He charged his friend, who needed good weapons for hiswork, 500 bucks. That felon told another felon who told another felon. Ricky startedmaking money. Under California law, he could only buy one handgun amonth, but there was no limit on the number of assault rifles, andif needed, he could always go to Arizona or Nevada to circumventthe California law. He bought a set of files and some hydrochloricacid to make the serial numbers disappear properly. At this point,not one of the 300 firearms he has bought for convicted felons hasbeen traced back to him. He's in Larry's today with a man named John. John just got out ofprison for manslaughter and wants an assault rifle. Ricky doesn'task why, but John makes several comments about an ex-wife, a formerbusiness partner, and some missing money. Larry is showing them AKsand AR-15s, weapons that can be easily converted fromsemi-automatic to full automatic. Ricky, as per John'sinstructions, buys one of each. He also buys the parts that allowthe conversion from semi-auto to full, and a book with instructionson exactly how to do it. Ricky will have to wait a day to pick upthe weapons, and will need two more days to get rid of the serialnumbers. At that point, he will turn them over to John, and ifasked, will deny ever meeting him, speaking to him or havinganything to do with him. What John does with the weapons is none ofhis business. None. He held a gun to her head, made her drive into the hills aboveMalibu, made her park at the end of a remote fire lane. He rapedher in the backseat. He pistol-whipped her. He threw her into thedirt and drove away. It took her four hours to find help. She went to the hospital,filed a police report. The incident was reported in the papers andon the local news. There were no fingerprints. There was no DNA. She didn't tell her parents or her co-workers. She didn't want tohear I told you so, she didn't want any pity. She took her vacationand she stayed at home in bed and cried for two weeks. She calledthe detective working on her case twice a day, there were no leads. When she went back to work, she was a different person, she nolonger smiled, laughed, she ate lunch alone, she left at exactlyfive and never went out with her co-workers. The man she had datedthat night called her and she never called back, he called threemore times she never called back. She saw a therapist it didn'thelp. She saw a rape counsellor it didn't help. She saw a pastor itdidn't help. She joined a support group it didn't help. She starteddrinking it didn't help. She recognised him when he took her order at a fast-foodrestaurant. He had worn a mask and she didn't see his face, but sheknew his voice and she knew his eyes. He smiled at her as sheordered. He asked if they knew each other from somewhere. He askedher name. There was no mistaking the fact that he knew who she was,and he knew that she recognised him. He touched her hand as hepassed her order over the counter. As she walked away, he smiled ather and said I hope to see you again. She never went back to her job. She stopped leaving the house shewas scared. She didn't pick up the phone or use her computer. Shestared at the ceiling, at her pillow, at her wall. She never lookedin the mirror. This morning she woke up and she showered and, forthe first time in months, she put on her makeup and did her hair.She looked beautiful, like the girl who had arrived fromIndianapolis with dreams, with a future, with a life ahead of her.She went out for breakfast with two of her friends from work. Shecalled the man who had taken her on the date and apologised for notcalling him earlier. She sent e-mails to friends and called herparents. She told them all that she loved them. When she was done she drove to Larry's Firearms. She bought abrand-new Colt .45. She submitted the information necessary toacquire the weapon. She left with a smile. Tomorrow she's going topick up the weapon, bring it home, load it. At that point, she willmake the decision, find him and shoot him in the face and kill him,or put the gun in her own mouth and blow the back of her head away.Either way, she will think of him just before she pulls thetrigger, think of him touching her and smiling at her, think of himstanding behind the counter knowing that she recognised him. Eitherway, her life will be over. She is going to think of him touchingher and smiling at her. She is going to pull the trigger. Larry closes the shop, goes home eats dinner and drinks a six-packof nice, cold American beer. He sleeps without a care.© James Frey 2008 'Bright Shiny Morning' by James Frey is published on Thursday byJohn Murray, at £12.99 About the author

James Frey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969, and is also theauthor of the bestselling "memoirs" A Million LittlePieces and My Friend Leonard. He lives in New York. Interesting? Click here to explore further

Printing plates offer clue to artist's o...

ueb333 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:52:41 +0200

Printing plates offer clue to artist's originsprinting book Joe Getsinger, 59, of Woodbury Heights, is one of the few. Twoyears ago, he took a collection of printing plates from a friendand agreed to do some research and possibly market them. He had no idea that it would involve the works of a comic booklegend. "I knew I had a diamond in the rough," said Getsinger, an artistand retired arson investigator, who has about 5,000 printing platesthat date from the early to mid-20th century. "I was intrigued bythe plates since I did have print shop in high school and did printfrom wood block-mounted plates." In his studio, Getsinger stood by thin, metal comic strip printingplates stacked neatly in hundreds of rows. The collection's valueis unknown, but Getsinger believes the entire collection is worthmore than $1 million with printing and publishing possibilities. Getsinger has two almost-complete collections of Will Eisner'sfirst published comic strips, "Harry Karry" and "Uncle Otto." "I found these "Harry Karry' plates by a "Willis B. Rensie,' whichis Eisner spelled backward," Getsinger said. "I did some researchand also learned that these "Life in the Roar' comics by "Kane'were early comics of "Batman' creator Bob Kane. "It's like discovering the Holy Grail." Getsinger has more than 80 plates of Kane and 85 plates of comicbook legend and "The Spirit" creator Eisner, who died in 2005. Eisner's career spanned seven decades and revolutionized comicbooks. One of his works is credited with popularizing the term"graphic novel." His work on "The Spirit" laid the foundation forcomic book storytelling from 1940 to 1952 and will be released as amajor motion picture by comic book artist Frank Miller, whodirected "Sin City" and produced "300," on Christmas Day. "I always wanted to do "The Spirit,' " Miller said. "It ended upbeing a wonderful journey. "The Spirit' is a very differentcharacter than superheroes with tights. He's kind of an urbanZorro. I feel like I was able to pay tribute to Will, but dosomething new." Denis Kitchen, 61, of Amherst, Mass., Eisner's publisher for 30years and art and literary agent for the Eisner estate as well asowner of Kitchen Sink Press, recently learned of the collection ofprinting plates. "To bring it back full circle," Kitchen said, "what Joe has foundare artifacts that link Will to the beginning of his career." The mystery of the collection is how the plates survived more than70 years. Whether all of the strips were printed and where theplates came from are unknown. "Before World War II every piece of metal was melted down," saidR.C. Harvey, 71, a comics historian. "If the stuff on those plateswas never published, they are valuable." "It's an awesome collection to find that many sequential (plates),"said Richard Greene, 54, of Collingswood, a comic book and cartoonart collector. "The fact they survived is a miracle. So manynewspapers and companies would have scrapped them." There were quite a few services that would make the zinc plates forcomic artists and send that to newspapers all over the country,Greene said of how comics used to be printed. "These could have been plates that belonged to a newspaper," saidGreene, a director of marketing for a printing company inPhiladelphia. Getsinger has not been able to trace the history of the plates. "What I understand is these were in some warehouse somewhere andwere supposed to have been scrapped a long time ago, but someonefelt they should be saved and saved them," Getsinger said. "Thatperson passed it on to his son who sold it to an antiques dealerwho turned them over to me to develop whatever way I saw fit." Greene explained that when the plates were printed in the 1930s,they were mounted onto a wooden frame with other plates for type,lettering, graphics and text. "These don't look like they were ever mounted," Greene said. "Idon't think these were ever used to print a newspaper page." Cat Yronwode, who worked as a freelancer for Eisner, cataloging hiscollections, believes the plates might have come from "Wow! What aMagazine" or the Australian version of the magazine, called "Wags." " "Harry Karry' was something very dear to (Eisner)," saidYronwode, 61, of Forestville, Calif. "He had started it in highschool and at that time, he wanted nothing more than to be acartoonist and humorist. Between "Harry Karry' and "The Flame,' thecharacter of "The Spirit' has humor and there's nobility andheroism. When he got to do "Spirit,' there are comedic aspects ofHarry Karry." Because the plates display the images backward, Getsinger purchaseda small press and began printing them to see how the images wouldhave appeared in a newspaper or magazine. Kitchen believes this is the year to possibly reprint the "HarryKarry" collection. In addition to "The Spirit" movie, Kitchen saidall of "The Spirit" comic books, Eisner's graphic novels and threetextbooks are being reprinted this year. Two documentary films --one Brazilian and one American -- will be released by year's end. "For a guy not even living there is a lot of activity," Kitchensaid. "By next year, Will Eisner will be a household name." "The thing about that early work is that it was so well formed,"said Bob Andelman, author of the authorized biography, "WillEisner: A Spirited Life." "There are not a lot of people who makeart their entire lives and look back at what they did when theywere 17 as landmark stuff. In Eisner's case it was." Samuel Maxwell "Jerry" Iger, great-uncle of Disney CEO Robert Iger,was the editor of a magazine, "Wow! What a Magazine," in 1936 andan Eisner business partner. Getsinger was so excited about his discovery that he contactedRobert Iger's office and sent him a framed plate with print.Getsinger said he received a personal phone call from Iger,thanking him for the print. Iger's office declined comment. Getsinger also has about 500 plates of cartoons by Bert Link, apoker/gambling artist. Getsinger has created placemat and wallpaperprototypes for the art that can be used for casinos such as thosein Atlantic City. Getsinger has not made a decision on whether to sell the plates orpublish them. "I might auction them on eBay or with comiclink.com," Getsingersaid. "It has been quite an experience, but I just want to pay formy son to go to Drexel University."

Reach Kristy Davies at (856) 486-2917 or krdavies@camden.gannett.com