Kindle for your PC

More digital news -- Amazon has launched their Kindle for PC application, and promises a Mac version coming soon.

It ties in to the launch of Windows 7 and is designed to use certain capabilities in the new software, though it also works with Windows XP and Vista. Given the size of that platform, the new application could do far more than the international Kindle to make Kindle files available throughout the world.

Separately, Wired observes: "But the thing that intrigues us is the screenshot above (along with more on the Amazon site) which shows a book with color illustrations. This may mean a color Kindle is on its way, or that Amazon is simply future-proofing its Kindle books. Either way, since when did Kindle books start to get color pictures? It would seem rather bandwidth-unfriendly to a company that restricts international downloads to save on the wireless bills."Amazon release

Romance goes digital

Is this a chance to express your romantic voice?

Harlequin has announced the launch of Carina Press, a digital-only publishing house that will sell directly to consumers and "operate independently of their traditional publishing businesses."

Angela James is joining the new operation as executive editor. Their call for submissions include both new works as well as "books that have been previously released in print form, but for which the author has either retained digital rights or had digital rights revert to them."

With an expected summer 2010 launch, Carina plans to issue new titles weekly. Harlequin ceo Donna Hayes says, "We expect to discover new authors and unique voices that may not be able to find homes in traditional publishing houses. It definitely gives us greater flexibility in the type of editorial we can accept from authors and offer to readers. As well, we hope to reach a new group of readers with niche editorial."Release

Jane Austen's letters on show

A major Jane Austen exhibition has opened in New York.

Claire Prentice, reporting for the BBC, relates that over a hundred items, including rare letters and the manuscript of a book, are now on show at the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan. Called "A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy," the exhibition opened on 6 November, and will run until 14 March.

Interestingly, some of the letters have pieces cut out of them, apparently having fallen victim to some censor in the past. Perhaps they were intimate details of health and other personal matters, but it is also very likely that they were cutting criticisms of Austen's fellow humans.

"Jane Austen was like a guided missile of social satire," colorfully explains Morgan curator Decian Kiely. "She was very frank which is why so many of her letters were destroyed."

Jane Austen's originality and sense of humor are also on display. A letter written to her niece for her eighth birthday has every word written backwards, to give the little girl a challenge.

Design Your Own Envelope

Design your own envelope --

If you are famous, that is.

The Pitney Bowes Pushing the Envelope campaign is an annual event where celebrities are invited to design an envelope, which will be auctioned on eBay for the National Literacy Trust.

The theme for 2009 is "Words that Mean Most to You."

Every one of these is a one-off work of art. The one pictured was designed by someone I have never heard of before, "Ms. Dynamite," and I particularly like the choice of words. Click here to see more!

Lifeboat survivor's diary retrieved

This evocative WW2 photo shows the last throes of the freighter SS Rhexenor, which was sunk by a German U-boat in the middle of the Atlantic on February 3, 1943.

Seventy men piled into four lifeboats after the submarine had taken one of their officers on board, and left the rest to their fate. Incredibly, the chief officer, Maurice Case, kept a diary during the following three-week ordeal, as well as navigating and looking after the 17 men in his boat as well as he could in the grueling circumstances.

The eight-page penciled document has come to light after Mr Case's war-time mementoes sold at auction.

His entry for February 4 read: "Breakfast: 1 biscuit with condensed milk, 2oz water. Midday - Biscuit, milk, 6 raisins and 2oz water. Everybody satisfied." It rained the following day, leaving the men "very wet and miserable."

On February 9 there was a 'very heavy rain storm'. He added: "Everybody wet and cold, blankets and life jackets all sopping. Issued one tablespoon of brandy, all hands."

On February 13, crewman 'Aussie' Corby died from exposure on one of the other boats and was buried at sea.

Despite the conditions and the news of the death, the men's spirits were still high by the second week. Case's entry for February 14 recorded that "thirst beginning to make itself known" among the men. On February 17 the men had an evening meal of either two prunes or nine raisins each.

He added: "All hands cheerful and keeping lookout for aircraft."

The next day the weather changed and the sun glared down. Mr Case noted at this point they made an awning for shade out of a blanket and oars. Their luck finally changed at 4pm on February 20 when the shout of land ahoy went up. Mr Case wrote: "Land sighted right ahead, could not believe my eyes but there it was. The thing now was where were we, I was hoping it was Antigua where we were making for but could not think my reckoning was so accurate."

Although heavy rain fell that night, the men's spirits were too high to be dampened. At 9am the next day their lifeboat made contact with a local fishing boat, which gave them a tow to land as well as a meal of cooked fish. Upon arriving in Antigua, the men were met by US Army officers. They were checked over at a medical clinic before having a bath and more food. Mr Case wrote: "Two members of my crew were rather weak on landing, otherwise everyone was in good health except a bit groggy on the legs."

He finished his log with suggestions on items to put in lifeboats in the future. They included fishing tackle and saltwater soap for cleansing.

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

Who knows that Sir Henry Morton Stanley, coiner of the famous phrase above, had women in his party when he crossed Africa in 1877? Or that one of his bearers, Uledi, was a strong swimmer who saved many lives?

Such interesting and little-known facts abound in a new exhibition, Hidden Histories of Exploration, staged by the Royal Geographical Society, which is accompanied by a handsomely illustrated catalogue.

If you can't make the actual venue in London, trawling the associated website is a treat. (The link takes you directly to one of the many fascinating pages.) Paintings by unknown explorers as well as more famous names illustrate the informative text, including an amazing portfolio of Easter Island scenes.

Historical thesaurus outdated already, but never mind, think positive

Just to show how quickly a dictionary can be (ever so slightly) outdated, a new word has arrived already.

It is OBAMU
And the Japanese coined it.

According to Bill Sakovich on his blog, Ampontan, he read on a mailing list for those interested in the intricacies of Japanese-English translation that the new verb, "to Obama," is becoming increasingly popular on the Kyoto University campus.

The contributor to that mailing list wrote, "It means something along the lines of to ignore anything that makes you likely to fail and surge on regardless, preferably chanting 'Yes we can, yes we can.'"

According to the Japanese University Teachers network in Kitakyushu, it means: "To ignore inexpedient and inconvenient facts or realities, think, 'Yes we can, yes we can,' and proceed with optimism."

In a nutshell, it means, "Think positive."