Problem trying to get DDD to debug a simple assembly language program

I have a Zareason 64 bit laptop running Ubuntu Linux 12.10 64 bit. Have been reading an "Assembly language step by step" book and have been attempting to use ddd
to  debug. Obtained ddd from Ubuntu software center download.
Have compiled: nasm -f elf64 -g -F dwarf junk.asm
Linked: ld -o junk junk.o
The program from terminal successfully prints "Eat at Joe's!" as it should.

However, when I try to load it into ddd  the program hangs and I get a continuous hourglass. The code "displays", but I can't set breakpoints or do anything else. 
The only way I can get it to load is from the terminal, i.e ____$ddd junk.

When I do the above. I note that the terminal lists several Warnings, e.g Warning: Cannot convert string "-*helvetica-medium-r .....and Warning: could not load font....."
I believe leaving the cursor hung up also.

I've tried the unzipped file from the book site (called "eatsyscall"), and also retyping in only the executable asm (no comments) to no avail.

I can "debug" the (working) program with gdb from the terminal. Can set breaks, list, inspect registers as one should.

I've tried web sites and reading the ddd manual, but am at a loss. I suspect I'm doing something silly, but would appreciate any feedback. Could it be ddd doesn't handle 64 bit code? Note the same
thing happens, even if I use the 32-bit book version that was already compiled when unzipped?!

Thanks in advance,
Rich