Fix build errors

fn item/fn pointer are now different things.
see: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/20178

Derefing on MessageItems doesn't work anymore.
API break: spawn deprecated in favor of Thread::spawn
Include examples and include them in README.md

Also fixes a compilation error in the properties example
Merge pull request #2 from infinityb/master

Runnable examples, build fixes