Duplolas's News Network #2

[Duplolas 1]

Issue number 2 of #DNN

 

Valve is opening a new studio in San Francisco, says a former PopCap programmer. Valve has acquired Star Filled Studios, a two-man development team that was founded by ex-PopCap and Blizzard employees, Jeff Gates and Tod Semple. According to Tod's LinkedIn profile, the acquisition happened sometime last November and Valve is currently in the process of expanding.

 

"My recent startup was acquired by Valve and we are opening a new office on the San Francisco peninsula... We are opening a new Valve office on the San Francisco peninsula."

 

This isn't the first acquisition in Valve's history. In early 2008 they acquired another California-based company, Turtle Rock Studios, and took over the development of Left 4 Dead. But that studio was eventually closed later that year and the employees were relocated to Valve HQ in Bellevue. TRS was reopened again in 2010.

 

There's no indication as to what Valve will be using their new San Francisco offices for or how large it will be initially, or anything like that. We've reached out to Valve for more information, so we'll get back to you if we hear from them.

 

Thank you to our resident investigator Barnz for the information.

 

Another article:

 

MADRID (AP) — The 80-year-old Spanish artist who became famous because of her botched restoration of a Christ fresco in a small-town church is auctioning one of her works on eBay for charity.

Celia Gimenez's oil painting "Las Bodegas de Borja" ("Borja's Wine Cellar"), was fetching €620 ($808) Thursday, doubling its starting price after 31 bids. The sale closes Monday.

Gimenez became a sensation in August when pictures spread on the Internet of an "Ecce ♥♥♥♥" ("Behold the Man") mural in a chapel in the town of Borja that she disfigured while trying to restore it. Twitter users redubbed it "Ecce Mono" ("Behold the Monkey").

The painting has since become a tourist attraction and the image has been used on T-shirts and wine labels.

A note on eBay says the auction's proceeds will go to the Catholic charity organization Caritas.