Today was an historic day for space exploration. For the first time, human technology was in operation around five planets, including Earth.
The New Horizons (Nasa) spacecraft is passing Jupiter, using the giant planet's gravitational pull to slingshot its way toward Pluto. Cassini (Nasa) is in orbit around Saturn and a number of vehicles (Nasa) continue to survey Mars.
Venus Express (European Space Agency) is in orbit around Venus.
Techno-culture blog returns.
THE trustees of James Joyce's estate failed last week to halt a 'fair use' copyright challenge being brought against it. The dispute revolves around research for a book, published in December 2003, called Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake and a planned supplementary website.
From 1988 to 2003, Carol Shloss (left), a Joycean scholar and an English professor at Stanford University, conducted research throughout the US and Europe on the creative impact of Lucia Joyce's relationship with her father.
During 1994, the estate of James Joyce became aware of the research and when asked two year later for help with the book, Stephen Joyce – a grandson of James – gave a "definitive no".
In August 2002, Joyce confirmed to Shloss that his position had not changed. He pointed out that: "Over the past few years we have proven that we are willing to take any necessary action to back and enforce what we legitimately believe in".
Three months later, Joyce wrote to Shloss' publisher saying that its claim of fair use "sounds like a bad joke or wishful thinking" and asked the publisher to "kindly bear in mind that there are more than one way (sic) to skin a cat".
The book (below) was published in December 2003, in heavily edited form. More than 30 pages (about 10%) were cut. Shloss said she then intended to place her full research notes on a website as an electronic supplement.
Fair use
On the 13 June 2006 (to coincide with Bloomsday), the Stanford Centre's Fair Use Project took up her case and filed a law suit against Stephen Joyce on four counts, one of which claimed that the Joyce estate had misused its copyrights.
Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford Centre lawyer involved in the case, said he believed it was the first case to accuse a literary estate of "copyright misuse". Anthony Falzone, director of Stanford's Fair Use Project, said: "We want an order by the court that holds that Shloss's website does not infringe on the estate's copyright. Because, among other things, it is protected by fair use".
Late last year, the estate of James Joyce applied to the US District Court for a motion to dismiss Shloss' case. In
its filed opposition to the motion, Shloss' lawyers stated: "The Estate of James Joyce has waged a fifteen-year campaign of obstruction, intimidation and threats designed to thwart Stanford University Professor Carol Loeb Shloss in her efforts to write a biography of Lucia Joyce that explores (among other things) Lucia’s unacknowledged influence on, and contribution to, her famous father’s literary work".
In its ruling delivered last week, the US District Court in California denied the motion to dismiss the case and Shloss can now proceed with her case against Joyce's estate.
EyeOfScience.com is a collaboration between science photographer Oliver Meckes and biologist Nicole Ottawa.
Using electron microscopy and digital imaging they aim to bridge the gap between the worlds of science and art by exploring forms and structures beyond the capability of human vision.
The top image is Aspergillus, a fungus found growing on bread and jam (magnification x1400). The other image is a lateral cut of human skin (magnification x50).
The EyeOfScience photo gallery contains many more wonderful images.
Just realised I have been ten years online as of yesterday. My first post was to a Usenet group called news.newusers.questions.
The screeching of a 28k modem is still fresh in my mind. Probably fresher still for some today in Ireland.
I do also remember being like a child on Christmas morning after pressing the send button.
