branta

The rationale for this conclusion seems to be that traditional copyright protections make the production of enhanced e-books too complicated, meaning that only “auteurs” who produce, write, edit, direct, and score their own material will be able to create them. The faulty assumption here is that just because a particular technology (i.e. the ability to “mash up” videos, text, music, etc. to produce enhanced e-books) exists, everyone should be able to exploit it without restriction.
Steven W. Beattie/Quill & Quire

Luxury publisher Kraken Opus mixed in a pint of Mr. [Sachin] Tendulkar’s blood with paper pulp to create the signature page for a book celebrating the renowned batsman’s career. The 10 limited-edition copies, which comes out in February, cost $75,000 each and have already sold out.
Alexandra Alter/The Wall Street Journal

When Binky Brown (Green’s alter ego) hits puberty after a strict Roman Catholic upbringing, he is plagued by religious guilt and a sexual obsession with the Virgin Mary. The rituals and associations that engulf Binky’s life give a stark insight into the difficulty of living with OCD.
Cian O’Luanaigh.The Guardian

Today, the BBC reports, a specialist will examine four vaults in Zurich believed to contain the last works of Franz Kafka — part of an ongoing legal battle to determine who owns the texts, and if they should be published. It’s a story that has taken many twists and turns…
Dan Duray/New York Observer

Regis and Kelly wrap up PEI broadcasts with thanks for Canadian hospitality. Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa wrapped up nearly a week of shows from Prince Edward Island with a beach bash and many thanks for all the Canadian hospitality. The hosts of “Live! with Regis and Kelly” began their final episode with a salute from two CF-18 fighter planes, which circled the cheering crowd.
The Globe and Mail

Growing up in downtown Tel Aviv, Avi Friedman got a sense of what a real neighbourhood is all about: urban living on a human scale. The family’s fourth-floor apartment was in a Bauhaus building that was classic mixed-use: stores at street level, apartments and offices above. School was around the corner and so was a large public market. It’s the kind of environment that Friedman, now 58 and an established Montreal architect and author, has sought out ever since.
JEFF HEINRICH/The Gazette

The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance banned “un-Islamic” Western hairstyles for men earlier this week—in particular, the ponytail, a spiky gelled hairdo known locally as the “rooster,” and the infamous mullet. When did Westerners start wearing mullets?
Jessica Dweck/Slate

Jane Friedman, executive director of Writer’s Digest, lists several tools from social media, word processing, blogging, organizing and so on that might keep you on the right path towards productivity. Or at least creative ways to waste your time while you’re not being productive.

Forget about all of those ubiquitous police surveillance cameras in your city: the new sheriff in town is that shifty Google Street View camera wheeling through your neighborhood. Even though Google Maps, has been garnering criticisms for its alleged privacy invasions, but it is actually a pretty good crime-solving tool, and it is being embraced by police all over the world.
Xavier Lur/TechXav