var tick_handle;
var items = []
var current_item_index = -1;

function next_item() {
    if (current_item_index == (items.length - 1)) current_item_index = 0;
    else current_item_index++;
    return current_item_index
}

function tick() {
    var idx = next_item()
    change_gracefully("item", items[idx], 1)
    tick_handle = setTimeout(tick, 8000)
}

var home = {
    news: function() {
        new Ajax.Request('/home/news', {'onSuccess': home.start_ticking})
    },
    start_ticking: function(response) {
        eval(response.responseText)
        tick()
    }
}

Behaviour.addLoadEvent(home.news)