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U.S writers dominated the talk after the announcement of the Man Booker Prize shortlist for 2014, with both Joshua Ferris and Karen Joy Fowler nominated for their novels To Rise Again at a Decent Hour and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. It is the first year that American authors are eligible for the £50,000 prize, previously limited to novels by citizens of Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth. 

Can Howard Jacobson win the Booker Prize for a second time? [Getty/Stuart WIlson]

The chair of the panel, AC Grayling, said: "As the Man Booker Prize expands its borders, these six exceptional books take the reader on journeys around the world, between the UK, New York, Thailand, Italy, Calcutta and times past, present and future.

Continue reading: Americans Stand Out In 'Booker Prize Shortlist', But Can They Win?

Watch Dogs has finally hit town to the tune of positive reviews from the majority of the critics. It’s not The Last of Us – you couldn’t move for all the double-digit reviews for Naughty Dog’s masterpiece – but it’s certainly an enjoyable romp with a beautifully realised, intricate Chicago to traverse and explore.

Ubisoft’s third-person, open-world, hacking adventure sees Aiden Pearce take centre stage – he’s a hacker with a vendetta and, luckily for him, Chicago’s entire technological ecosystem seems to be running off through one OS, meaning he can effectively control everything from traffic lights to security cameras, not to mention emptying anyone’s bank account within seconds. 

Continue reading: Great But Not Perfect - Watch Dogs Arrives To Glowing Reviews

Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, were treated in hospital following a terrifying attack by a saw-wielding man during a meet-and-greet event with fans on Sunday evening. They sustained cuts on their hands and heads, while a male staff member was also cut on his hand.

The man, who has been identified as Satoru Umeta, an unemployed 24-year-old, was arrested by local police. He instantly admitted to attacking the women. AKB48's manager was reported as saying the two girls' surgery was successful and they should be able to leave the hospital by today (Mon, May 26).

Continue reading: Two Members Of AKB48 Treated In Hospital After Being Attacked With Saw

These, ladies and gentlemen, are the perils of illegally downloading software. Ubisoft’s hugely anticipated title Watch Dogs, which comes out tomorrow (May 27) on multiple platforms, is causing problems for those that decided the anticipation was too much and pulled it from thousands of seeders via a torrent.

It’s difficult not to laugh at the irony of it all, considering the game is focussed on hacking, illegal activity and the consequences of committing crimes – both on a moral sense and in the visceral sense. 

Continue reading: Watch Dogs Download Leaves Torrenters With Bitcoin Mining Virus

A great opportunity in the real estate world has emerged, if you have a bucket of cash and a penchant for iconic castles, that is. Dracula’s Castle, or Bran Castle as it’s officially known, is on the market, and presents a huge opportunity to make loads of money, or so say the people trying to shift the thing…

First thing’s first: we don’t know how much it costs. The Archduke Dominic apparently offered it to the Romanian government for $80million (£47million) but the people selling it - Herzfeld and Rubin of New York – won’t divuldge an exact figure. $135m-ish sounds about right. 

Continue reading: Dracula's Castle Is Up For Sale In Romania. It Has No Bathrooms.

On Tuesday, a famous Monet painting, depicting water lilies, was sold at auction in NYC for $24 million. In a bizarre twist of events, the gallery which sold the painting, didn’t see a dime of the profits. DC’s Corcoran Gallery of Art – which has apparently been pressed for funds of late, stood to earn a fee from the sale, but only if the sale price exceeded $25 million. Even with the $3 million buyer’s premium, the sale didn’t meet the complex conditions laid out by the contested estate of Corcoran benefactor Huguette Clark.

Monet's 'Water Lilies' auctioned in NY for $27M http://t.co/xZqN3xky6e pic.twitter.com/HW1vvxs5Z0

— keshie (@kesh1e) May 7, 2014

Continue reading: Rare Monet Painting Sold In NYC For $27 Million, Gallery Doesn't See A Dime

In a very real life depiction of how fragile a start-up business can be, music streaming app Bloom.fm has gone from 1.1m registered users in the U.K to closure after a key investor pulled out, leaving the promising company with no time to find alternative funding. A blog post expressed the employees’ sadness.

"We’ll keep this short because we’re pretty shell-shocked. It’s game over for Bloom.fm. Our investor, who’s been along for the ride since day one, has unexpectedly pulled our funding. It’s come so out of the blue that we don’t have time to find new investment," explained the post.

Continue reading: Streaming App Bloom.fm Goes Kabloom As Investor Pulls Out

You’re walking around London – Farringdon to be exact – with a skinny Latte in one hand and a free copy of the Metro in the other. Everyone is minding their own business, thinking sternly about what to buy from the miniature supermarket with really long queues. Then suddenly, a man is on all fours, being walked by a women holding a leash.

Of course, Twitter became awash with pictures of the startling site, and most people, cynics, decided that a PR team was definitely involved. Stuff like this doesn’t happen without some sort of marketing message behind it, the locals assumed. 

Continue reading: Eden Avital Alexander - The Woman With A Man On A Lead - Explains Stunt

The comic book icon Archie is set to go to comic book heaven when he dies saving a friend when “Life With Archie” #36 hits shops on July 16. Few details are known, but it’ll certainly please fans that if Archie had to go, he would go out a hero.

Over the last few years, the series has been creating possible future scenarios for Archie and his friends so fans can imagine what Archie would be like in high school and college, and as an adult. Issue 36 will be followed by issue 37, funnily enough, which will end the series. Both issues feature covers by top comic artists including Francesco Francavilla, Fiona Staples, Walt Simonson, Jill Thompson, Mike Allred, Cliff Chiang, Adam Hughes and Alex Ross.

Continue reading: Archie Will Die “As He Lived” In Series Finale: ‘Life With Archie’ #36

If someone asked you what the most expensive selfie in the world was, your mind would probably search out an imaginary Rihanna picture framed in diamonds, or something taken by an astronaut, or film star. But the real deal exists, it’s not quite as frivolous, and the UK don’t want it out of the country.

Kelly Clarkson Felt The Wrath of the UK After Trying To Take Jane Austen's Ring Out Of The Country

A self-portrait of Sir Anthony Van Dyck, described as “the world’s most expensive selfie”, in Britain, has become the subject of an ambitious fundraising campaign to save the painting, which has been sold to a collector who wishes to see it leave the country. It was painted by the Flemish artist shortly before he died, possibly of plague, in 1641, and has been described as “one of the finest and most important self-portraits” in British art.

Continue reading: Britain Tries To Save Van Dyck Portrait - The Most Expensive Selfie In The World

A job has opened up at Lastminute.com, and it appears to be the best thing ever. The travel site is looking for a ‘spontaneity champion’ – aka holiday tester – to travel to - and rate – locations. And get paid to do so. Go on holiday, take a picture, write a blog; get some money.

Get paid to do this: apply now

Ridiculous.

Continue reading: Are Lastminute.com Hiring For The Best Job Ever? Probably

Ironically, during Frieze – one of the biggest and most expensive weeks for art lovers – some bargains are there to be had. There were Banksys going for $60 a pop, and now you can grab a Picasso for £85 – well, a chance to win a Picasso, that it.

Pablo Picasso's La Liseuse At A Press Preview at Christie's

'L'Homme au Gibus' (Man With Opera Hat) is being put up as a raffle prize to raise money for charity, and the Spanish artist’s grandson - Olivier Picasso – thinks it’s a great idea.

Continue reading: Got £85 Laying Around? Buy A Raffle Ticket...For An Original Picasso!

Ben & Jerry's has demolished Hollywood porn make Caballero Video in a court case that will see the end of videos such as Boston Cream Thigh, Peanut Butter D-Cup and Fudge Babes.

Caballero had attempted to make money with titles based on the well-known Ben & Jerry's ice creams, though it's ended badly. The studio's products also featured the same clouds and cows used the ice-cream company's branding and Ben & Jerry's launched a court case in 2012 claiming 10 titles besmirched its name and infringed trademark.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a US federal judge had ordered the company to freeze its marketing and take the movies off the shelves whilst the case was decided, deciding to force Caballero to scrap the movies permanently. 

Continue reading: Ben & Jerry's Destroy Hollywood Porn Studio In Ice Cream Court Case

Facebook sensation Grumpy Cat is set to make her film debut as her agent signs a deal with Broken Road Productions.

The feline, whose frowny features have been plastered all over the social networking community captioned by headlines suggesting varying degrees of displeasure, is set to become the new Garfield  after her agent Ben Lashes landed her a movie deal; although Lashes admitted to mashable.com, 'She hates movies'. And it's not this moggy's first foray into the world of celebrity having been crowned Queen of Social at this year's SXSW festival (though one doubts this cheered her up at all), and recently completed her upcoming first book Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book: Disgruntled Tips and Activities Designed to Put a Frown on Your Face which she is due to promote soon.

Watch Grumpy Cat At His Grumpiest!

Tardar Sauce, as she is known by her owners, looks so unusually moody due to dwarfism and having an underbite, but it's clear she's not letting this get in the way of her showbiz career. Todd Garner from Broken Road Productions told The Guardian, 'This started off as a picture of a cat, but rare is an image that evokes that much comedy. You read all of the memes and the comments, and one is funnier than the next. We think we can build a big family comedy around this character.

A Papa John employee's racist voicemail to a customer has gone viral, leaving chairman and CEO John Schnatter to apologize profusely on Facebook. After delivering a pizza to a man and his wife in Sanford, Florida, on Sunday evening (June 26, 2013) the delivery man "butt dialled" the customer and left a voicemail laden with racist slurs, complaining about the $5 tip, reports ABC News.

In the message - posted on YouTube - the customer shows the pizza delivery receipt explaining that he tipped 21 per cent "as usual." However, in a voicemail message that lasted four minutes, the employee uses the N-word and other racial expletives which he incorporated into a song about the customer. "I guess that's the only requirement for being a [insert N-word] in Sanford," says the pizza guy, "Yeah, they give me five bucks there - fine outstanding African-American gentleman of the community." His fellow co-worker laughs in response.

Listen to the Papa John Racist Voicemail:

Continue reading: Papa John's Racist Voicemail To Customer Goes Viral [Listen]

The infamous Chinese artist and political activist, Ai Weiwei, explores brand new territory – music – with a video commenting on his detainment and 81-day stay in prison. Weiwei was arrested by the Chinese government in 2011, supposedly for tax evasion, as part of a crackdown on political dissent. Much of his subsequent work has been inspired by the detainment and earlier this year, a play by Howard Brenton recalled the events. Now, Weiwei’s new video for his heavy metal song Dumbass offers a more direct comment on the reality of his imprisonment. The music video depicts two emotionless prison guards who watch Ai as he eats, sleeps, paces, showers, and even sits on the toilet, in a cleverly constructed metaphor designed to mock state power.

"This is dedicated to all those people who do not have the opportunity to raise their voice, who will never be able to raise their voices," Ai said about the video. "This is not just one generation. In the past 60 years there have been innumerable amounts of people who have been killed or taken away from their homes, even tortured to death."

Continue reading: Ai Weiwei Continues Scathing Critique Of State Power In Original Music Video

Since Zach Sobiech was told he has a year to live, the young and talented singer has produced and released a song about his predicament, which has since been viewed over 3 million times on YouTube. He died on May 19th.

“Zach was at home and at peace with those he loved most. Zach’s life ended just as he lived, embraced by the love of his family, friends, grace and music,” the Children’s Cancer Research Fund announced on its website. “It is with heavy heart that we announce the passing of our son Zachary David Sobiech. Our family has been blessed not only by his amazing presence in our lives, but also by the love and support of our family and friends and by so many people in the community,” his family said in a statement.

Continue reading: Zach Sobiech Dies Aged 18 After 4-Year Battle With Cancer

A Booklyn gospel is suing McDonalds for allegedly serving up a big piece of glass in her chicken sandwich, which apparently ruined her voice. Jacqueline Simpson, 52, says she found a piece of glass bigger than a penny while digging into the tasty meal at a lower Manhattan branch of the fast-food franchise, reports the New York Post.

Gospel Singer Is Suing McDonalds For Ruining Her Voice

"Now when I sing, I have a hoarse, rattly voice," said Simpson, who yesterday filed suit in Brooklyn Supreme Court. "I still sing alto, but I can't sing soprano like I used to." The singer says she bit into the glass to a Broadway McDonalds near the World Trade Center back in May 2010. "I have to make a lot of calls for work, and I have to tell people that I'm not a man,' said Simpson, a clerk for the state Attorney General's Office. "Before, that never happened."

Continue reading: Singer Sues McDonalds For Allegedly Serving Up Glass In Chicken Sandwich

Fast-food chain McDonalds says it has approached Charles Ramsey after he became an internet sensation following his discovery of three women who were being held in captive in Cleveland. Ramsey, who lives in the neighbourhood where the women were found, said he was eating a McDonalds when he heard a commotion down the street - subsequently helping the kidnapped women escape.

Ramsey made a note of his fast-food chain in his initial 911 call before telling a local TV station about it too. Danya Proud, a spokeswoman for McDonalds, said that the company is trying to reach out to Ramsay through its local franchise. She confirmed that the company wanted to speak with Ramsey directly given the sensitivity of the situation rather than communicating with him through the media, "This is a very tragic situation and we can't lose sight of that," she said. On Tuesday, the fast-food company said on Twitter, "We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims & respect their privacy. Way to go Charles Ramsey - we'll be in touch."

Continue reading: McDonalds Approach Charles Ramsey After Kidnap Video Goes Viral

Fisherman Allan Saunders has been reliving the moment that a grey nurse shark chose to try and take a bite out of him of Crowdy Head in Australia.

Saunders is recovering from the incident in hospital, and revealed that the shark’s bite was so powerful that it left one of its teeth in his leg. "[It’s a] little calling card for me, thanks for lettin' her go," Allan Saunders said, according Australian Yahoo. The tooth had to be surgically removed after it got stuck in his shin bone. “I didn’t know what it was, it felt like if you’d been hit by 240 volts, like a power shock,” he said, recalling the incident, which came about as he and friends were fishing for mullet. Three grey nurse sharks ended up being caught in their nets and, though quickly released, one of them wasn’t too happy about the situation and returned to give Saunders a fright.

"[It] came back and gave me a kiss, thanks!” he laughed from his hospital bed, surely bunged up on morphine. Saunders said that he didn’t realise what had happened until he was told to lie down. "When I looked down and saw all the blood I knew I was bit, then I'm goin' ahh s**t” he said. The robust Australian plans to get out fishing again as soon as he’s made his recovery from hospital in Newcastle, though he does have a warning for anyone else on the beach at Crowdy Head: "The little kids that were swimming around there, playing, enjoying themselves, could have happened to one of [them].” It sure could, thankfully it didn’t, and thankfully Allan Saunders is still alive.

Continue reading: Australian Shark Attack Survivor Can't Wait To Get Back Out Fishing