Brian May, the legendary guitarist for Queen has been named Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University after receiving his doctorate in astrophysics from Imperial College London earlier this year.

Technology and gaming are certainly having their effect on the world of the guitar. Our last story about the Gibson self-tuning guitar is a case in point. Then, there's the Guitar Hero phenomenon.

I once played with a guy who had a T-Shirt that read "Tune It Or Die!" Even knowing that it was a joke, I still took a couple of extra seconds to make sure my axe was completely in tune before counting off the first song.

Jimmy Page broke a finger last weekend in a mystery accident, causing the much-publicized and long awaited Led Zeppelin reunion concert to be delayed.

A group of 1,730 guitarists has set a record for the world's largest guitar ensemble, Indian newspapers are reporting. "Rhythms of Meghlaya" strummed Bob Dylan's Knocking on Heaven's Door for over five minutes to eclipse the previous record set in Kansas in 2006 when 1,721 guitarists played Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water.

Michael Shenker, formerly of UFO and the Scorpions is now offering guitar lessons, according to his MySpace page. You'll have to travel to London if you don't happen to live there already. The cost is "about" $500 per hour. Steep, for sure.

OK, OK so it isn't advancing the world of the guitar, but oh, man is it funny!

Apparently Santeri Ojala, the Finnish media artist who created this and several other player parodies has become a bit of an internet celebrity, with interviews in Wired magazine and a huge buzz among musicians of all stripes. A friend of mine who is a keyboard player showed up at rehearsal talking about it, for instance.