Press Review (2013-03-12)

Domestic log: We've just started Daylight Saving Time. Spring is obviously coming in a week as we are getting warmer temperature and rain to make the snow melt. I'm not complaining. I feel much better that way, although the view of all those bare trees is still depressing. I can't wait to see some green. Last week was the spring break for local elementary and high schools so the library was hellishly busy. Seeing all those poster-children for vasectomy sure makes you rethink your career plans. I am really desperate to move out of this library for a less dysfunctional one in order to save my sanity! I also heard the shocking news of the death of Toren Smith, a manga translation pioneer that played a key role in importing our favourite books this side of the Pacific. I barely knew him, having met only half a dozen times, mostly in the nineties. However my wife knew him much better than me. We've spent a sad evening remembering him as my wife was telling me a few interesting anecdotes about him.

As for the press review, the last couple of weeks were poor in big news. The winners of the Japanese Academy Awards were announced and the Conclave to elect the new Pope has just begun. You will find links to more news (including my favourite library humour) after the jump:


Anime & Manga related, Japan, Popular Culture

• Nikkei: ADK, Toei, Aniplex, Sunrise, TMS, NAS, Dentsu to Stream Anime Overseas (ANN)
• ADK, 5 Anime Firms, Dentsu to Launch Overseas Streaming Site Daisuki (ANN)
• Daisuki: Japanese Animation Official Distribution Website (ANN)
• My Neighbor Totoro: Viz's 25th Anniversary Releases (ICv2)
• Vertical Acquires New Manga (ICv2)
• Retailers: Let's Talk Manga! (ICv2)
• Ninja Division on Robotech Minis (ICv2)
• Manga Tops in Bookstores In February (ICv2)
• Manga Translation Pioneer Toren Smith Passes Away (ANN)
• Toren Smith 1960-2013 (Manga UK Anime Blog)
• Dark Horse's 25 Years of Manga: Interview with Mike Richardson (ICv2)
• Top 2012 Manga (ICv2)
• Wolf Children Wins Japan Academy Prize (ANN)
• Rurouni Kenshin New Kyoto Arc On Sale Today (ANN)
• Osamu Tezuka Biography Manga Gets Live-Action Show (ANN)

Apple, apps and mobile devices news

• Fighting Fantasy: Blood of the Zombies for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store (Link)
• Apple veut définitivement empêcher la copie de vidéos (La Presse)
• Fingerprint, NFC tech coming to iPhone 5S, report claims (Electronista)
• Le iPad: une révolution pour les enfants autistes (Radio-Canada)

Books, Digital Edition & Library

• Give eBooks a Physical Presence (Overdrive)
• Nook Sales Plummet As Digital Book Sales Flatten (ICv2)
• Revolution in Resale of Digital Books and Music (NYT)
• Le numérique, ce colosse à la mémoire d’argile (Le Devoir)
• Ebooks: newspapers should capitalise on their archives (The Observer)
• How Comics Helped My Kid Love Reading (Huffington Post)
• Random House Digital Imprints Offer Controversial Writer Contracts (Huffington Post)
• The Last Book I Loved: History Of The Peloponnesian War (The Rumpus)
• Alarm over secondary school reading habits (The Guardian)
• Paperback Distribution: Createspace vs. Lightning Source (Huffington Post)
• Auteurs et éditeurs s'accordent sur le contrat d'édition numérique (Le Monde)
• Get 700 Digital Marvel Comics For Free (Gizmodo)

Economy, Environment & International/U.S. Politics

• Daylight Saving Time: Don't forget to spring forward (CNN)
• Cardinals gather one last time before conclave to elect new pope (CNN)
• Japan marks quake and tsunami anniversary (BBC)
• North Korea Declares War Truce 'Invalid' (WSJ)
• Conclave: c’est parti! Les cardinaux réunis dans une Rome où bruissent toutes les rumeurs (Le Devoir)

Health, home & garden

• Sugar's Role In Rise Of Diabetes Gets Clearer (NPR)
• Will Body Monitoring Implants Be The Future of Healthcare? (Forbes)
• Green cleaning products can still sicken pets, experts warn (The Gazette)
• Alzheimer's blood test could give early diagnosis (BBC)
• Memory: Research Finds Links Between Recall, Future Planning (WSJ)
• Researchers print biometric sensors directly on skin, make wearable health monitors more durable (Engadget)
• Watch the Real-Life Terminator Hand Tie Shoes, Deal Cards, and Improve This Man's Life (Gizmodo)

Library Humour

Dilbert (2013/02/14)

Pooch Cafe (2013/02/14)

Unshelved (2013/02/27)

Unshelved (2013/02/28)

Unshelved (2013/03/02 -- originally appeared on 4/15/2003)

Unshelved (2013/03/11)


Local News & National Politics

• Coup de barre à l’Office de la langue (Le Devoir)

Media, Culture, & Society

• Walking Dead Creator Robert Kirkman Explains Why There Aren't Any Animal Zombies (Huffington Post)
• Lucasfilm takes 'Star Wars' animation in 'new direction' (USA Today)

Sciences & History

• La mythique «pierre de soleil» des Vikings aurait été trouvée (La Presse)
• “Paleofantasy”: Stone Age delusions (Salon)
• Comète Pan-Starrs: Dans le ciel près de chez vous! (Radio-Canada)
• British Museum's Pompeii exhibition has its emphasis firmly on life (The Guardian)
• There Used To Be Freaking Camels In The Arctic (Popular Science)
• Les maladies cardiovasculaires touchent l'humanité depuis au moins 4 000 ans (La Presse)
• Cyrus Cylinder: How a Persian monarch inspired Jefferson (BBC)
• Antarctic Lake Vostok yields 'new bacterial life' (BBC)
• 'Viking sunstone' found in shipwreck (BBC)
• L’homme qui ne descendait pas d’Adam (Le Monde)
• L'eau salée changée en source d'électricité par des nanotubes (Le Monde)
• Telltale Finding on Heart Disease in Mummies (WSJ)
• Whoops: There's No New Lifeform In Lake Vostok After All (Popular Science)

Technology, Gadgets & Internet

• Evernote issues site-wide password reset after hackers access user details (Engadget)
• Club à volonté: un sérieux concurrent à Netflix? (MacQuebec)
• Thermodo unveils a mercury-free way to measure air temperature on your smartphone (Engadget)
• How Big Data Is Changing the Whole Equation for Business (WSJ)
• Guide to Facebook's Privacy Options (WSJ)

Union stuff & Montreal's libraries

• Équité: Montréal veut imposer des règles «farfelues» aux cols blancs (La Presse)
• Avis de convocation: Assemblée Générale le 25 mars 2013 (PDF)

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