Will Opus suck?

Comixpedia is supposedly about webcomics, but it seems to branch out into the dead tree side of the field as well, fer instance this article (by “damonk13”, actual names apparently being something we leave behind in meatspace upon entry to the vast, liberating cyberworld) about how Berke Breathed’s new strip Opus not only will most likely suck, but probably hasn’t actually been worked on yet.

Actually, the text of the release argues against damonk13’s claim. Those lush paintings might actually be previews of the strip — the release says “Every newspaper will be publishing a work of art that showcases Breathed's talent as a painter.”

It also says “The return of Opus in this format will [...] bring readers back again and again to see how the little hooligan copes with the world around him.” Hooligan? Since when is Opus a ruffian, a thug, a brutal person? Who wrote that copy?

Wood's expensive

Grrrr. Was all set to be productive and go out and buy some wood and build some standing shelves so I can clear off my drawing table and eliminate general clutter. I’d even found a free-range shopping cart to haul the lumber in. Turns out 45-odd linear feet of 1-by-12 white pine costs around $60 ($1.60/foot), twice what I was willing to spend. So much for that idea. I figured if Ikea can sell bookshelves for $35, I ought to be able to get my own wood and save money with my own labor. Sure, Ikea’s low-end stuff is made out of cheap particle board, but still, I didn’t expect the price differential to be that steep.

Vatican lies about condoms

I’ve seen on two people’s journals today that the Vatican is telling people that condoms don’t cut down on the spread of AIDS.

I hunted around a bit for details, and found the Straight Dope: They’re just passing around a bit of false information that the anti-sex people have been spouting for at least a decade, since 1992, when Mike Roland (editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology) wrote to The Washington Times claiming that the latex used in condoms has intrinsic pores around 5 microns in size, which would let the HIV virus (0.1 micron) float right through.

Thing is, Roland didn’t examine condoms, he examined latex gloves, which are made to much looser standards. (And even those standards have been tightened up since then.)

This would explain why lab tests have shown that no known STD can penetrate an intact condom.

And you folks in the Vatican, remember: False witness and fraudulent council both get you the Eighth Circle, so better get yourself to confession!