The Latest from Boing Boing

Cold dead hand of Frank Herbert reaches up from grave, stabs Dune Second Life megafans in the back Posted: 09 Apr 2009 10:35 PM PDT Mitch sez, "The small Dune roleplaying community in Second Life got a legal notice from Trident Media Group, the New York literary agency that handles the Frank Herbert Estate, via Linden Lab, which develops and manages Second Life." Among the smaller of these is a group dedicated to Dune, the classic Frank Herbert sci-fi franchise of novels, movies, and other IP. Their leader, Vooper Werribee, counts 130 members who enjoy roleplay in the sands of an Arrakis based in Second Life, taking on the personae of sandworm-riding Fremen, Harkonnen-hating Atreides, and so on. (He believes only 20% of these are currently active.) Notwithstanding those paltry numbers, last weekend Werribee and other members received legal notices from Linden Lab via Trident Media Group, a New York literary agency which maintains the Herbert Estate. "In particular," the notice reads, "Trident Media Group has complained about your use of characters, concepts and other material associated with 'Dune' in the Second Life environment." Those include roleplay locations entitled "Sardaukar Mask", "Fremen Domain", and "Bene Gesserit Retreat". The Lindens' notice ordered Werribee and his group to remove such titles and objects from Second Life within two days, or the company would do so itself. Good going Trident! There's 130 Herbert megafans who won't be so quick to enjoy, proselytize and spread your client's work next time. Keep it up and you'll soon have the whole world turned off Dune! Enforcers of Dune: Frank Herbert Estate Targets Dune Roleplayers In Second Life (Thanks, Mitch!)

Homemade 3D printer goop made from maltodextrin costs 1/50 of the real stuff Posted: 09 Apr 2009 10:29 PM PDT A University of Washington engineering professor has come up with a new goop for his 3D printer that costs 1/30 - 1/50 of the authorized goop, using a mix of clay, sugar and nutritional supplements, then open sourced their formula. Basically, these guys are the inkjet cartridge refillers of the 3D era: About five years ago, Mark Ganter, a UW mechanical engineering professor and longtime practitioner of 3-D printing, became frustrated with the high cost of commercial materials and began experimenting with his own formulas. He and his students gradually developed a home-brew approach, replacing a proprietary mix with artists' ceramic powder blended with sugar and maltodextrin, a nutritional supplement. The results are printed in a recent issue of Ceramics Monthly. Co-authors are Duane Storti, UW associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Ben Utela, a former UW doctoral student. "Normally these supplies cost $30 to $50 a pound. Our materials cost less than a dollar a pound," said Ganter. He said he wants to distribute the free recipes in order to democratize 3-D printing and expand the range of printable objects. Glitzy three-dimensional printers have become common in the industrial world, churning out fast 3-D prototypes of everything from airplane parts to running shoes. But the machines also are becoming popular among artists, hobbyists and educational institutions. 3-D Printing Hits Rock-bottom Prices With Homemade Ceramics Mix Can't see the video? Click here

Snoop Dogg's Live Webshow on Ustream Posted: 09 Apr 2009 09:18 PM PDT I'm still digesting what this means for the future of the internet and entertainment, but something about this feels like (a) the end of all media or (b) the beginning of all media to come. Snoop Dogg has a webshow on Ustream. As I blog, it's live right now. The show consists entirely of him sitting in a chair in his house, smoking a shit-ton of weed, and playing really good old-school music. Sometimes, singing along for a bar or two, or talking back to the chat room intermittently in Snoop-isms. Then, walking away entirely, leaving the webcam fixed on a poster of Snoop on the wall for, like, a half hour at a time. Seriously, that's it. Where the evolutionary arc of reality TV finally ends. Like Father Hood, but with all the plot stripped out. Someone smarter than I will be writing a media analysis column about this soon enough. I don't have anything pithy to say yet, just -- do observe. And, Josh Harris saw it coming. Snoop Dogg Live.

To do in SF tonight: Yuri's Night! Posted: 09 Apr 2009 02:46 PM PDT (Image: Laughing Squid / Scott Beale) As Boinged previously, the annual global space party Yuri's Night is happening in hundreds of cities around the world, all week long. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I know a fair number of BB readers are, you'll want to drop whatever you're doing tonight and head over to Yuri's Night Bay Area at the California Academy of Sciences. I believe my old pal Steve Nalepa is on the turntables! Don't know if there are still tickets available, but this will be really great, if you can still get in on late notice. Event founder and organizer Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides explains, There will be DJ's, planetarium shows, talks by NASA Ames Center Director Pete Worden and Q&A with NASA Astronaut Steve Robinson who has flown into space 3 times- once with John Glenn and once on the first flight after the Columbia accident. By coincidence, the woman who runs special projects at the Academy and who is hosting YN used to water his parents plants in Moraga, CA...small planet. More info here. Also, check out the "art installation" that Ace of Cakes (the Food Network show) made for Yuri's Night NASA Goddard on Saturday! The piece will stay on display in their visitor center- but the sheet cake they send has all already happily been eaten. Previously: Yuri's Night "global space parties" happen from April 4-12. Yuri's Night Bay Area: photos and video - Boing Boing Yuri's Night Bay Area 2008 call for artists, scientists - Boing Boing Yuri's Night: spacemen branded me with Yuri Gagarin's head ... Yuri's Night "space raves" around the world on April 12 - Boing Boing Yuri's night: Houston, we have contact. - Boing Boing Can't see the video? Click here

Steam powered iPod generator Posted: 09 Apr 2009 01:57 PM PDT Thomas built a steam powered iPod generator. From Jake von Slatt's Steampunk Workshop: I coupled a Lego Technic Motor to a Jensen #75 steam engine to make a crude generator. From there I built a 5V regulator circuit and soldered in a female USB connection to power any USB device. Since I wanted to use it to charge my iPod, I put in a diode and a .5 amp fuse to provide some circuit protection. Attached are some pictures of it and here are some links to videos of it in action. Unfortunately you can't see the charge light on the ipod, But as you can hear, the iPod really loads the engine. I was somewhat surprise it could hack it. What a cool idea. Just think if they could scale up this idea and use steam to generate electricity for entire cities!

Copper bandaid bracelet Posted: 09 Apr 2009 01:52 PM PDT Naz sez, "You guys ran a link on copper band aid a while back; I sent the link to my boyfriend who welds lighting, sculptures and jewelery so he got the idea to make that into bracelets." Ben-Hur Bandaids. (Thanks, Naz!) Previously: Copper bandaid - Boing Boing

Crazed Costume Shop Owner Pwns Local News Guy Investigating Cyberstalking Charges Posted: 09 Apr 2009 02:27 PM PDT This is quite possibly the best piece of internet video of all time, or at least this week. Police in a Rhode Island town filed charges against 59-year old costume shop owner Ann Bruno for allegedly "cyberstalking" a competitor. A reporter with the local NBC News affiliate attempts to question her about the internet harassment charges. Ms. Bruno responds in character, while wearing several layers of costumes. It's like the dude walked into an acid trip. If I'm not mistaken, this even includes a smidgeon of ukelele. The original video on the NBC affiliate website is here, but a ganked, embeddable YouTube version is here and embedded above. (Thank you, John Andrew Walsh!) UPDATE: Oh dear god, there's a followup segment, on the same local news channel, where the anchordüde interviews local police. Do watch, below (Thanks, Matty Kirsch)

Floating rocks Posted: 09 Apr 2009 01:35 PM PDT Robyn Miller has been following the odd phenomenon of floating rocks. Floating rocks are an event rarely captured on film. Very little is known about them, other than they float only for a short time, sometimes only minutes, before slowly returning to the ground. Previously: Photos of extinct long-horse - Boing Boing Unretouched photograph of long horse - Boing Boing Can't see the video? Click here

HOWTO set up a molecular biology lab for less than $1000 Posted: 09 Apr 2009 12:50 PM PDT Dave Ng sez, "Whilst doing a bit of homework for a chapter I'm writing, I tried to cost out some equipment needed to set up a molecular biology lab. Although a lot of this would require the use of your credit card to buy enzymes and unused plastic ware (not too expensive this part), you would also need some routinely used equipment/hardware that would be on the expensive side. "However, if you turn to eBay, you can get a lot of this equipment at bargain prices (without even needing to bid). Anyway, a lot of the common equipment needed , as purchased through eBay, would total to less than $1000 (not including shipping that is)." Using eBay to set up a molecular biology lab: costs less than $1000! (Thanks, Dave!)

Fake People Tell Fake Stories About The Threat Of Gay Marriage Posted: 09 Apr 2009 02:48 PM PDT Baratunde’s Posterous posted this unwonderful video produced by The National Organization for Marriage, describing it as "Fake People Tell Fake Stories About The Threat Of Gay Marriage." I don't know if the people are fake or not [UPDATE: They are actors], but they are assholes. One woman whines plaintively, "My freedom will be taken away," if gays are allowed to marry. What -- her freedom to be intolerant? UPDATE: Here are the audition tapes that show these people are actors. Can't see the video? Click here

RIP Dave Arneson, 1947-2009 Posted: 09 Apr 2009 12:14 PM PDT Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, has died. From Ed Grabianowski's post on Robot Viking: It’s tempting to say that Arneson brought the “fluff” to D&D, while Gygax was the “crunch,” but that’s really too simplistic. It is safe to say that Arneson’s ideas on storytelling, experience levels and rules flexibility shaped virtually every aspect of the RPG as an industry and an art form. Yet he never achieved the widespread fame that Gygax did, perhaps because his personality wasn’t the kind that drew attention. By most accounts, he was easy-going, good-humored and never took himself too seriously. I’ve always thought of him as the George Harrison of D&D.

Make your own paranoid British terrorism poster! Posted: 09 Apr 2009 11:25 AM PDT James Holden's anti-terror billboard generator invites you to remix the infamous British police poster that asks you to inspect your neighbours' trash and report them if you don't like what you see: "This odious billboard appears in my town, encouraging me to rat on my neighbours because I don't understand what they throw away." Anti-terror billboard (Thanks, Phillip!) Previously: UK's top snoop gets finked out by her neighbours - Boing Boing London cops declare war on photography - Boing Boing Let's Get Ready to Snitch On Our Neighbors! - Boing Boing Remixes of the paranoid London police "anti-terror"/suspect your ... Dumbest salvo yet in the war on terror, courtesy of the London ... David Byrne's snapshots of UK police posters. - Boing Boing Suspicious beard terrorist poster parody imitates life - Boing Boing London cops declare war on photography - Boing Boing Do not discard brain -- war on terror poster - Boing Boing

Mark Ryden's Tree Show book comes with special goodies Posted: 09 Apr 2009 10:37 AM PDT The limited edition book that catalogs Mark Ryden's Tree Show series of paintings comes with a host of goodies, including a pennant, a micro-portfolio, a badge, a book mark, and a wood pencil. It goes on sale 04/16/2009 and will cost $395.00. The Tree Show Special Edition Exhibition Book

BB Video: Music in Video Games, a conversation with Peter Kirn and Matt Ganucheau Posted: 09 Apr 2009 01:02 PM PDT Download the MP4 here. Flash video above, click "fullscreen" icon inside player to view large. YouTube channel here, subscribe on iTunes here. Get Twitter updates every time there's a new ep by following @boingboingvideo, and here are blog post archives for Boing Boing Video. Today's Boing Boing Video episode is a conversation with Peter Kirn of Create Digital Music and Matt Ganucheau of Expression College about music in games: new tools, new forms of composition, and new ways of thinking about the role music and sound play in the gaming experience. We conducted this interview during Boing Boing/offworld's marathon live coverage of GDC, and this video clip -- part one of a two-part conversation -- includes the work of Ganucheau's students in a class about composing music for videogames. One of the works we show is from a young student named Jason Bowers. Here are more details on working with Space Invaders as a teaching tool for interactive music. And here is Max/MSP, the music software used. Previously: * Social Games, and The Quest for Virtual Poo. * Doctor Popular's Awesome Yo-Yo Stylings * Hideo Kojima on Metal Gear Solid Touch (games) * Jane McGonigal on Emotion, Gaming, and Dance. * Jane McGonigal - Games Can Change the World. * Jane McGonigal's Game Developers' Conference talk on Making Your Own Reality * BBV @ GDC live stream archives, at Ustream.tv * Boing Boing Video and Offworld.com Live at GDC09: offworld.com archive * Boing Boing Video and Offworld.com Live at GDC09: boingboing.net archive [ Special thanks to Joel Johnson for editorial help on this episode! BBV Live @GDC09 credits and thanks: Production Team -- Jolon Bankey, Derek Bledsoe, Daniela Calderon, Eddie Codel, Xeni Jardin, Allison Kingsley, Matty Kirsch, Alice Taylor, Wesly Varghese. Special thanks to Wayneco Heavy Industries (accommodation and studio facilities), Virgin America Airlines (air travel), Celsius (thermogenic energy beverage), Ustream.tv (streaming video host). Moral support, production assistance, additional talent, and good vibes provided by: Domini Anne, Scott Beale, T.Bias, Jeremy Bornstein, Brandon Boyer, Chris The Van Guy, Peter S. Conrad, Marque Cornblatt, Wayne, Bre, and the entire de Geere family, Marcy DeLuce, Cory Doctorow, Joel Johnson, Kourosh Karimkhany, Jim Louderback and the Revision 3 team, Karen Marcelo, Rocky Mullin, Alicia Pollak, Jackie Mogol, Taylor Peck, David Pescovitz, Micah Schaffer, and Teal. ] Can't see the video? Click here

London Police poster mashup Posted: 09 Apr 2009 09:18 AM PDT Rex sez, "In light of the recent footage of police behaviour at the G20, I felt it was time to remix the current UK police poster campaign again. Original photo by David Byrne, as posted on BB by Xeni." Lash Out and Cover Up (Thanks, Rex!) Previously: London cop's unprovoked attack on G20 protestor BYSTANDER who then ... G20 Welcoming Committee Gets Ready - Boing Boing London cops beating the shit out of peaceful G20 demonstrators ... David Byrne's snapshots of UK police posters. - Boing Boing

Boing Boing on GOOD - Dahomey Diary: Notes from Benin (Xeni) Posted: 09 Apr 2009 08:42 AM PDT Boing Boing is collaborating with GOOD Magazine on a series of features written by BB editors. The latest installment in that series is a collection of excerpts from a journal I kept during a recent trip to West Africa. Longer form video and audio features are planned for future release through Boing Boing Video. Here's a snip, there's more, along with more stills from video (like the image above) at the GOOD link, too. A Bariba settlement near Kouandé, in the far north near Nigeria. Our car pulls as close to the center compound as the dirt path allows. We open car doors, step out into dust, through grass thatch gates. A crowd of women are dancing, drums and high trills. We landed mid-ceremony. We're here to pay respects to a healer-queen. A few steps inside her hut, bags of blackeyed peas, flour, and hard candy are stacked like cash along mud walls—payment, tribute, from villagers. We're seated on the ground, swatting clouds of flies, awaiting her audience. This is the part I'll remember forever: One by one, young girls file in, after the ceremony. White mud dots on their faces, scar lines carved in dark brown skin, constellations of scars and stars, ancestor ghost signs. They call out like birds as they step inside. The healer calls back, a long vowel. "Ehhhh," "Ehhhhh," "Ehhhh," "Ehhhhh," Again and again, then quiet. The girls lie down before her, stretched out on their sides, heads bowed into the floor, awaiting a tap from her on the left shoulder. Eventually, she taps each shoulder. They rise, and leave. Soft, resonant wood thud sounds outside now, a different rhythm. Not drums this time, but older women pounding cassava, singing, trading verses of vowels with one another, as they pound roots into mash. GOOD -- Dahomey Diary: Notes from Benin (Image: Xeni Jardin) Here are the Boing Boing on GOOD archives, which include more features from Mark, Joel, Pesco, and Xeni. Can't see the video? Click here

Shane Speal plays Guitar Rag played on cigar box guitar Posted: 09 Apr 2009 08:14 AM PDT Marvel at Shane Speal's cigar box guitar licks. Shane Speal goofing on the three-string cigar box guitar. He's been playing this instrument for 13 years. It's simply a stick shoved thru a cigar box with three strings added. Free plans are on his website. Song: Guitar Rag by Sylvester Weaver, 1923. Later made famous by Leon McAuliff as "Steel Guitar Rag."

French government nukes crazy Internet law in open revolt against Sarkozy Posted: 09 Apr 2009 08:11 AM PDT Glyn sez, "French politicians have unexpected voted against a law that would have forced ISPs to disconnect any one accused of copyright infringement. No proof that would stand up in court would have been need. The final vote was 25 to 15 in the poorly attended National Assembly session." JZ adds, "This is a formidable victory for all citizens. This vote shows that it is still possible to make oneself heard. It is a fantastic example of how to use the Net to fight against those who are trying to control it. Individual liberties, in the end, have not been sacrificed to try to preserve the corporate interests of some obsolete industries. The HADOPI law has been interred earlier than expected.Nonetheless, La Quadrature du Net asks its supportes to remain vigilant. The rejection of HADOPI doesn't mean the end of the government's attempts to control the Internet. We must continue to make use of our collective intelligence and the power of the net to preserve justice and the truth." Despite the approval of the French recording industry and prominent musicians, including Johnny Hallyday, some attacked the measure. Civil liberties campaigners and members of the Socialist party said the new surveillance powers were tantamount to "the criminalisation of an entire generation". Others had said it could end up punishing the wrong people, for instance parents whose children download in secret or employers whose staff use computers at work to break the law. Breaking ranks from many of their artistic colleagues, a group of French directors and actors including Catherine Deneuve issued an open letter of protest this week. "The law comes in response to legitimate concerns which we all share - concerns that we will see our work devalued and degraded," they wrote. "However this law ... is merely imposing a punitive system whose constitutionality is dubious and practicality unclear." French MPs reject controversial plan to crack down on illegal downloaders (Thanks, JZ and Glyn!)

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