UK copyright extension needed to motivate deceased artists.

TIN PAN ALLEY, Gowers, Wednesday (U! News) — The British Phonographic Institute has called upon the government to increase the copyright term for sound recordings in the UK to 95 years from the present 50, to achieve harmonisation with the United States. In support of this, the BPI placed an advertisement in the Financial Times in December listing forty thousand musicians who support their position — including deceased performers such as Freddie Garrity (died 2006), Lonnie Donegan (died 2002), Jimmy Shand (died 2000) and Chuck Berry (died 1997).

Without an extension of the term to 95 years, these deceased artists are not expected to bother with any further recordings, performances or even songwriting.

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Controversy over presidential "all ur base r blong 2 me" signing statement.

WASHINGTON, Friday — President George W. Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to overwhelming superiority, dominance and pwnage over all possible civil rights without a judge's warrant.

The President asserted his new authority when he signed a seemingly innocuous bill, the Fluffy Bunnies are Darned Nice Act, into law on December 20th last year. Bush then issued a "signing statement" declaring that "ps btw libreal a$$oles ALL UR BASE R BLONG 2 ME ya rly lol pwn3d n00b 1 0wnz0r j00 kekeke" and ending "fingurs xed no returnz."

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We're happy here in the happy house.

• silenttex is looking for work urgently, his previous employer having gone bust owing him a few months' back pay. Ten years' Windows admin and desktop support. Contact at that there post.

• Robert Anton Wilson has died.

• Arkady has her doll Amethyst up for auction.

The good news is that we're moving! The bad news is that we're moving!

The landlard came around this afternoon with his builder (who actually built the bathroom) and his business partner and arkady and redcountess showed him the subsiding floor in the bathroom (with sinking bath, wobbling toilet and only just legal lighting) and the carpet that had been nailed in place over the very grotty old carpet that was now infested with silver carpet moths and their accompanying worse-than-cat-pee smell.

To repair the bathroom will require rebuilding it and the carpets will need to be removed completely from the entire house and the floorboards fumigated. Arkady casually pointed out that HSE would certainly take one look at the place and declare it unfit for human habitation. The business partner quietly offered to break the lease at one month's notice and give our deposit back.

I'm on call week after next (so no final Dreadnought for me. Bugger! Visitors most welcomed, though) and the third week in February, so we'll probably aim to be out at the end of that week.

Lunch with eyeliner297 yesterday was luvverly if short. Getting smashed with the Wikinerds on Tuesday was good also. The Montagu Pyke is a hideous beer barn that must be destroyed. Everyone's jaw was dropping at Arsenal beating Liverpool 6-3, though.

I think I know what I'm doing this weekend, and it involves houses and hunting.