This story has been getting a lot of news lately but for those that haven't heard, Ryan Tate of Gawker Media decided to drunkenly email Steve Jobs this past weekend and despite the late hour he received a reply. Several, in fact. As much as I may disagree with his methods, Steve Jobs is known for replying to questions he receives at his well published corporate email address, which is pretty damn awesome. I'd hate to even see how many emails he receives on a daily basis and I'm not sure what kind of bizarre algorithm he uses to choose the lucky few that receive a reply but kudos to the man for leaving an open channel for the public.

I just wanted to apologize for the rather infrequent updates of the site and let everyone know that we should be returning to a more regular posting schedule next week. That is all.

I'm absolutely disheartened at the news that Ken Griffey Jr. is likely to be cut from the Mariners before the end of this season. Often times the greats don't have the ability to quit at the peak of their game but I honestly feel that someone of Griffey's stature should be allowed to finish his career on his own terms. Baseball is a sport that has been damaged greatly by the steroids scandals of the past few years and Griffey is one of the great players that have come through completely unscathed. When I hear that Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and the likes have injured not only their own reputations but the reputation of America's past time I cannot help but be sad but I know that there are players like Griffey that have made the right and honorable decisions. I hate that Alex Rodriguez chose to use steroids but I can't even imagine how devastated I would be to hear that someone like Ken Griffey Jr. made similar choices. Fortunately for me, Ken Griffey Jr. seems to be a class act in a sport that seems to have lost its soul.

A little known fact is that we here at Deaditor originally planned to focus on gaming in all its forms. While the site has quickly developed into a soap box from whence we shout our ill-reasoned, histrionics-laden arguments and opinions at those misguided enough to listen, we still receive a lot of press releases related to games. While an inordinate quantity seems to come from Disney Studios informing us about release dates of games that sound about as fun as trying to rush the field at a Phillies game, every once in a while something worth caring about ends up in our inbox. So, in the first edition of what is likely to be a very sporadically written column, let's take a look at Fallout New Vegas, again.

Facebook unveiled a new API called Open Graph that allows developers on third party websites to access your Facebook account in order to tell you what your friends are reading, listening to, and talking about. The flip side is that your friends will now know that you have a really sad addiction to Peter Schilling music. Facebook shares your profile by default so if you want to prevent others from finding out that you have been reading a lot about Lady Gaga lately, you should get on and change your privacy settings fast. I think the new API has a lot of interesting potential but is also kind of worrisome as the end user has less control over the information Facebook passes on to third party websites.

Today's featured artist is quite a mystery. Bristol's own Banksy has been popping up recently due to the release of his first feature film entitled Exit Through the Gift Shop. The elusive graffiti artist is known for outlandish (and risky) artistic stunts that usually involve stenciling public surfaces. His work is showcased around the world - from the 9th Ward to the Gaza Strip, New York to Moscow. Here's to Bristol's finest: Banksy.

Last week, the good people at Penny Arcade posted a response to Roger Ebert's article where he argued that video games cannot be art. In slightly more colorful words, the Penny Arcade fellows told Roger Ebert to take a long walk off of a short bridge. This debate interests me because I'm very conflicted. I'm reluctant to group a video game in with the likes of Blood Meridian. On the other hand, I can't think of a compelling reason why a video game can't be art. The question of what delineates art and not-art is an interesting one. I also feel that neither side really examined the issue with the depth necessary, so I'm going to throw my feeble mind into the mix and see if we can come up with some kind of answer.

I like quickies just as much as the next girl, but sometimes outside stimuli can trigger a pre-mature response . . . or none at all as was the case last Friday and we do sincerely apologize if you were looking for a fix. "Happy hour" has a certain inescapable ring to it that I haven't answered in a while but sometimes it's best to disconnect the fucking line. Reports abound of my cohort's whereabouts as he has yet to surface from the weekend's festivities. I'll keep you posted as he comes up for air. In the meantime, enjoy two excerpts from the catacombs. First up: BLDG BLOG.

In a fleeting instant young Gray Powell's life was changed forever, or was it? The NC State graduate may become the most notorious figure in tech history for committing one casual yet egregious mistake: misplacing a prototype iPhone 4G. But was this really a drunken mistake or a covert operation arranged by King Jobs himself? We here at Deaditor are no strangers to top secret operations and, in our expert opinion, this reeks of espionage. The iPhone 4G: a blunder of epic proportions or premeditated hi-tech hijinx? 

Since the release of the iPad a few weeks ago, articles written about the product have tended to focus on the role of this new species of gadget in the overall technology ecosystem. Depending on the source, the iPad is either the next step in the evolution of personal computing or some kind of atavistic regression into the darkness of our technological past. As with all Apple products, champions have appeared on both sides ready to stake their reputations in the defense of or the assault on the iPad. In this vein, Mike Elgan wrote an opinion piece for Computerworld defending the iPad. Though Mike Elgan's article is clearly labeled as "opinion" and cannot be held to any journalistic standards, I still expect major sites to at least publish thoughtful opinion pieces. We few, we happy few here at Deaditor are in the position where we can write opinion pieces and not be held to anything remotely resembling standards. We are, more or less, fringe lunatics given voice. The same is not true of Computerworld.