Banksy Defends His Guerrilla Graffiti Art

"Even though artwork by the British graffiti artist Banksy is popular with celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Christina Aguilera, some regard the artist's street works to be vandalism, pure and simple. On Oct. 23, the Council of Westminster in London ordered the removal of a 23 ft (7 m) Banksy mural — reportedly his largest work in central London — claiming that it encourages graffiti.



In an exclusive statement to TIME, the mysterious guerrilla prankster has responded to the council's decision. "I don't know what next door is complaining about — their building is so ugly the 'No Trespassing' sign reads like an insult," the statement reads, referring to Royal Mail, a tenant of the building that has sought the mural's removal. In light of several other recent controversies over Banksy's outdoor works, this removal is further indication of the challenges that can arise when a famous artist uses private property as his canvas..."

(credit: TIME)

Woman arrested for killing virtual reality husband...what's next?!

"A 43-year-old Japanese woman [who] killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said Thursday.

The woman, who is jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy...

...She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000..."

(credit: CNN)

Snail Mail proves that 'slow' has value

"How Slow?: In making Real Snail Mail we asked ourselves 'is there a space in our speed obsessed world for a service that takes time?' Overwhelmingly, the answer has been YES! We are now asking ourselves the more interesting question 'how slow?' With emails stacking up at an astounding rate we will soon be bringing more snails into service to cope with demand.

How it works: Our snails are equipped with a miniaturised electronic circuit and antenna, enabling them to be assigned messages. Your message is collected from a despatch centre at one end of their enclosure. Once associated with the tiny electronic chip on the snail's shell your message will be carried around until the snail chances by the drop off point. Here more hardware collects your message and forwards it to its final destination."

(credit: RealSnailMail)