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Spanish Flu of 1918: how bad was it?

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 03:08 AM PDT

With all the scare talk about Coughing Pig Death, plenty of people are calling up the horrors of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. And to be sure, the 1918 flu was a tragic, awful calamity. But just how bad was it, statistically speaking?

It's estimated that about 28 per cent of Canadians and Americans contracted the Spanish flu. Worldwide, an estimated 2.5 per cent of the sick died of complications, which made the pandemic one of the most lethal flu outbreaks in recorded history. Certainly it was one that imprinted itself upon human consciousness for several generations.
But there's another way to look at those statistics. You might observe, for example, that they mean that even during the worst ravages of the 1918 flu, 97.5 per cent of those infected survived and recovered. Or that 72 per cent of the population -- even in the absence of the sophisticated public health planning and infrastructure that Canada and the U.S. have since built -- was not infected during the pandemic.
So, even if we had a repeat of the 1918 flu, the chances were seven out of 10 that you wouldn't catch it and if you did, the odds were better than nine out of 10 that you'd survive.
That was during the worst pandemic of the modern era and one which occurred in the days before the instantaneous communications of radio, television and the Web enabled quick public health responses.

Too much knowledge can exaggerate the danger of a pandemic (via William Gibson)

Previously:

Podcast of the story that Michael Bishop wrote for his son, Jamie, killed in the Virginia Tech shooting

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 03:05 AM PDT

Tony Smith of the excellent StarShipSofa podcast sez, "StarShipSofa is very honoured and humbled to be allowed to bring Vinegar Peace, a SF story written by Michael Bishop for his son Jamie Bishop who died two years ago at the Virginia Tech shooting, to a wider audience. I know I speak for the SF community when I say our hearts and prayers go out to Mike and Jeri and all the families who have to live with this grief every day."

Michael Bishop says:
I wrote "Vinegar Peace" -- in August of 2007 -- because I had to. Our 35-year-old son, Jamie, died on the morning of April 16, 2007, as one of thirty-two victims of a disturbed shooter on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Jamie, an accomplished digital artist who did lovely covers for four or five of my books, was holding forth in Room 2007 of Norris Hall in his German class more than two hours after his eventual murderer had slain two students in a dormitory on another part of campus. The administration failed to issue a warning -- a warning that might well have saved many lives -- in a timely fashion. However, some of its members secured their own offices and notified their own family members of this initial event; and so the worst school shooting in the history of the United States claimed our son, four other faculty members (including a man, Dr Librescu, who had survived the Holocaust and who held a table against his classroom door until all own students could escape), four of Jamie's students, and twenty-one other young people in Norris Hall, not to mention the first two victims in West Ambler-Johnston dorm. Another twenty-eight students were wounded by bullets or injured leaping from upper-story windows. Some of these young people will live with their injuries the rest of their lives. In any case, "Vinegar Peace" grew from this disaster and from a grief that I can't imagine ever laying totally aside. Jeri and I mourn Jamie's loss every day in some private way, and we think continually of all the other parents and loved ones of the slain and injured who will carry a similar burden with them until they die. We think, too, of the parents and loved ones of the dead and wounded from the United States's optional war in Iraq, who long for their dead and who pray for their injured with an intensity not a whit different from our own. How ironic that our son died on American soil. How sad the wasted potential and disfigured lives resulting from violence everywhere. And forgive me the inadequacy of these remarks. Clearly, I wrote a story because I could not address either my outrage or my grief in any other way.
Mike Bishop

Aural Delights No 82 Michael Bishop (Thanks, Tony!)

Previously:

VA Tech: Jamie Bishop, son of sf writer Michael Bishop, among ...

Warner Music claims Lessig is a pirate, has his presentation taken off YouTube

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 03:00 AM PDT

Last night, Larry Lessig tweeted that Warner Music had sent a takedown notice to YouTube over one of his presentations, claiming that it infringed their copyright. Lessig, of course, is one of the nation's leading legal scholars, particularly when it comes to fair use and electronic media. His presentations are filled with examples of companies like Warner sending bogus takedowns over fair-use inclusion of their copyrights in YouTube videos. And there's a burgeoning body of law that affords stiff penalties to companies that send these bogus takedowns.

Oh, this should be good.

@lessig on Twitter

Previously:

Hazards of televisions and the installment plan, ca. 1960

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 02:53 AM PDT

This harrowing tale of an installment-plan purchase of a used television in 1960 gone wrong is remarkable in so many ways -- but especially in the way it highlights the forgotten history of television purchase. Imagine the idea of trading in your old set -- or complaining because the record player on your new set (!) doesn't work properly. Not to mention the idea that your set will need to be "completely rewired" in order to work properly!

The story's so lurid, I have no idea if it's true, but even if not, it's a fascinating piece of historical fiction, like the setup for an early Travis McGee adventure.

I picked out a handsome Zenith priced orginally at $1,500 and marked down to $349. I let my friend make the financial arrangements because I have no head for figures. It worked out that I would get $100 trade in for my set and the balance, $256.47 (tax included), would be paid in installments. Mr. Wright said that a finance corporation would take over my account.
Even though that seemed simple enough, it was as though a shadow had passed over my heart, warning me that something terrible was going to happen. But I shrugged the bad feeling away, telling myself I was being childish.
On the third day the set went bad....
"It'll cost you from $60 to $70 to rewire it and then it probably won't work right. They haven't even started on it yet- Besides, your record player is also on the bum. They want you to make a deposit before they start work on it."
Then the finance company sent a collector to my home.
He was tall and heavy-set and had a coarse voice like a mean tiger. He became abusive and vulgar, calling me vile names and threatening me with bodily harm. He jabbed his thumb at my face and I swear to God, he said exactly this: "I'm warning you, Shary. You've heard of people's bodies floating in the bay, haven't you. Well, they didn't jump in, see. They owed finance companies money and that's how we handle people who give us trouble!"

Installment Buying Landed Me In Jail (Mar, 1960)

Can't see the video? Click here

Miro wants you to adopt a line of code and help fund open video on the net

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 02:46 AM PDT

Miro, the open/free Internet TV service, is raising funds for its next version by asking people to "adopt" a line of source-code: $4 a month gets you "a customized page and widgets that display your line of code. Even a little photo of your new buddy, and its personalized name!"

Miro combines VLC -- a free video player that supports virtually every format extant -- with BitTorrent and RSS, creating a simple means for publishing and receiving Internet video without bankrupting independent producers with bandwidth bills. The producer serves up an RSS feed of torrent files; viewers download these in the background and receive the latest video by torrent file, sharing pieces of it among themselves. The more viewers a channel has, the faster everyone gets the file and the less the producer has to pay to serve it. Miro is free and open, and does not have any DRM.

I'm proud to have served as a volunteer on the Board of Directors for the Participatory Culture Foundation (Miro's parent organization) since its inception. In just a few short years, Miro's gone from a slightly clunky proof-of-concept to a Mac/Win/Lin cross-platform video tool that presents a credible alternative to proprietary and/or DRM-crippled systems from Hulu, Apple, Amazon and others.

We're a small non-profit in a sea of big budget, for-profit competitors, and the recent stock market crash has severely hurt the foundations that fund the bulk of our work. But we want to take this crisis and use it as an opportunity to flip our funding model on its head. If enough of our users adopt lines of Miro code, we can create an organization that is funded from the bottom-up and not dependent on the top-down.
We aren't here to make money, we're here for a mission: to distribute wonderful video around the world in a system that's more open and decentralized than ever before. To do that, we need you to help us care for a little tiny piece of Miro.
We have thousands of lines of code that are waiting for you to adopt them. Not only will you get an adorable line of code with a cute name and face, we'll also put your name in the source code and in the about box on every copy of Miro

Adopt a line of source code

Rayguns of Edison Giacattoli

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 02:37 AM PDT

Sean Michael Ragan takes us on a tour of his obsession with the toy ray-guns of Edison Giacattoli, which apparently inspired some of the prop guns in Firefly.

On the back of the box were pictures of the other guns in the TH3 line. They all looked pretty cool, but the "Super Thur LR," shown above, was by far the most drool-inducing. Alas, as every collector knows, there's always One That Got Away, and, in the five or so years I've been collecting EG ray guns, I've never even seen any evidence that a Super Thur LR was ever manufactured or sold. I've had a number of automatic searches running for years now without so much as a glimmer. If anyone out there has one, I'm prepared to pay handsomely for it. Please contact me.

The ray guns of Edison Giacattoli (Thanks, Sean Michael!)

Previously:

Judy Garland impersonater does 40 years of Over the Rainbow in 4 min

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 03:12 AM PDT

Kris sez, "Mark has linked to the amazing Amy Walker before, when she was doing 21 dialects in a row. Now she sings "Over the Rainbow" a capella, starting out in character as young Judy and gradually morphing into old Judy."

Judy's Over the Rainbow

Previously:

Amy Walker's "21 Accents" video - Boing Boing

Real-Money Trades: turning gold-farming into a game company profit-center

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 02:24 AM PDT

Here's a fascinating interview with Andy Schneider, co-founder of Live Gamer, a firm that provides marketplaces for online game companies so that their players can engage in "real-money trades" -- sales of virtual items that are acquired through playing the game. This is presented as an alternative to "gold-farming," in which people in the developing world earn their living by amassing in-game wealth which is then sold on to impatient rich-world players who don't want to put in the hours necessary to gaining the wealth through their own play. The argument goes like this: legitimate marketplaces for "real" player-to-player exchanges will put "fake" players like gold farmers out of business. I'm skeptical: for one thing, the distinction between "real" players and "fake" players seems pretty arbitrary.

...[W]e spent a lot of time trying to understand the motivation of game players. Why do they engage in RMT? What are the hot-button issues? Does it break the fourth wall or the magic circle? Does it create an unfair advantage for players who are buying items that are giving them a performance advantage?
We looked at what these motivations are, and certainly there are players who want to get a performance advantage. But, there are also overwhelmingly more players who play MMOs and engage in RMT for social reasons.
The social reasons might be one of they want to play with friends who are leveling up faster than they are and they want to keep up, they want to play the game again from a different character class or race perspective, or they want to customize their experience - so they want to go ahead and buy the items that make them feel better about their character.
There's also the players who want to explore everything the game developer or designer has created, and they can't possibly do it because they don't have enough time.
In the end, all of these people engage in RMT because they don't have enough time, but they might have more disposable income. And that's the predominant reason why people that we see are engaging in RMT, and we certainly see all the arguments against RMT.

Real Money, Fake Property: Live Gamer's Andy Schneider on Bringing Item Sales in from the Cold (via /.)

Previously:

Hunt for Gollum: gorgeous-looking unauthorized fan-sequel to Lord of the Rings made for £3000

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 01:51 AM PDT

Trailer 2 - The Hunt For Gollum at SCI-FI-LONDON
by HuntForGollum

The Hunt for Gollum is an unauthorized 45-minute fan-film set in the Lord of the Rings universe, set to premiere at the Sci-Fi London film festival. It's the second film from indie director Chris Bouchard, whose previous effort was a low-budg zombie flick called "Human Residue," and he appears to have leveraged his success with that feature, recruiting an immensely talented group of effects wizards, sculptors and artists (it's impossible to say much about the acting and writing based on the trailers, but I hope they're on par!). The whole thing is being produced for £3000 -- but it looks like a million. The story was inspired by an appendix to Lord of the Rings, in which Tolkien explains "what Aragorn and Gollum got up to before the trilogy began."

The Hunt for Gollum (via Red Ferret)

Can't see the video? Click here

Swine Flu Q & A

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 04:23 PM PDT

Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine.

First off, I want to thank everybody who has contacted me on this. You've all had some great questions. I'm happy to report that I've been able to find answers for most of them. Hopefully, this information is useful--or, at least, educational for y'all.

Second, real quick, I want to clarify that, despite my fascination with viruses, I am not on their side. My heart goes out to the people in Mexico who have lost loved ones to this illness. I also sympathize with people here in the U.S. who are experiencing varying degrees of fear over this thing. I would much rather be talking about the science of viruses as a complete non-sequitur with no news hook at all. But, as the situation stands, I find that information (and, yes, a bit of humor) is the best way to tackle fear.

Now, without further ado, let's get on to the questions...

1. Various Inquiries About Cytokine Storm and Whether It's Going to Kill Us All
The name "cytokine storm" basically describes an over-reaction of a healthy immune system, that causes the body to attack itself. It can be triggered by many things, including viruses, although it's not common for human influenza A virus strains to cause it. Researchers suspect the cytokine storm effect played a roll in the 1918 flu pandemic, and may account for why that flu killed so many young adults, when normally, flu kills people with weak or underdeveloped immune systems: The very young, the old, the sick.

Based on the ages of many of the people dying in Mexico, there's been a lot of concern that the H1N1 swine flu virus is also killing via a cytokine storm effect, with the implication that this flu virus will be as deadly as the 1918 version. But, according to Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it doesn't look like H1N1 swine flu is causing cytokine storms in its victims.

The most pressing concern with swine H1N1 is not its ability to cause more severe disease, it is its ability to infect large numbers of humans because we don't possess any immunity to this particular novel virus strain. With respect to Mexico, I don't know...nor does anyone as far as I can tell...how many mild disease cases can be attributed to swine H1N1. I suspect there are a lot, in which case the number of deaths (as a percentage of total number of infected people) would be comparable to what we see with seasonal flu. I have no doubt that people have died of respiratory disease in Mexico, but I think we need much more information about how many total cases there are before we can say how virulent the virus is.

In other words, unless information gathering later tells us otherwise, you probably don't need to worry about cytokine storm with this flu virus.

2. Concerning Those Little Surgical Masks...And Other Forms of Prevention
Surgical masks can aid prevention, but only to a point. Viruses can pass through standard surgical masks. You're better off using a specialty mask with the designation N-95 or N-99. Those are available online or at pharmacies. But even that's not perfect. The virus can live for up to 2 hours outside the human body and it's likely to be on any surface an infected person might touch after sneezing, or sneeze on directly. Desks, doorknobs, computers...lots of things. Hand-washing and keeping your hands away from your eyes and face (and, if you have the flu, staying away from everybody else) are still the best ways to prevent transmission.

And, about antiviral medications like tamiflu. Those drugs could, theoretically, work as a preventative measure. But, according to Christine Layton, a public health policy analyst with the North Carolina-based non-profit research institute RTI International, that would be a REALLY bad idea. She says:

Influenza (like other viruses) can become resistant to antiviral medication. When this occurs, antiviral medications are no longer effective. The best way to prevent the development of resistant viruses (or bacteria) is to use antiviral (or antibiotic) medications only when infected with a virus which will respond to the medication."

Another great way to keep from getting swine flu: Don't got to Mexico. The State Department has said that all unessential travel to the area should be avoided. Do what they say, here. Even if it ends up costing you some money on airline tickets, the risk of picking something up---and, perhaps worse, spreading it to family, friends, and everyone you share an airplane with---just isn't worth it. You don't want to be responsible for that.

3. What About the Symptoms and Which are Deadly?
You know how everything seems to start off feeling like the flu? This, too. In fact, the cases in the US have been, essentially, no different from a seasonal bout of flu, like those many of us have already had this year. You get a fever. Your nose runs. You feel like a truck hit you. Then you sleep for a couple of days, eat some saltines, drink some pickle juice*, and you're good.

Obviously, though, this scenario is going down differently south of the border. Some of you wanted to know what, exactly, the flu was doing to kill those people. I'm not having much luck tracking down specifics to these cases, but most likely, the H1N1 swine flu kills people in Mexico the same ways seasonal flu kills 36,000-odd Americans every year. Flu can interact with chronic illnesses (such as asthma or heart disease) to make the symptoms of those chronic diseases worse--sometimes fatally worse. A flu infection can also lead to pneumonia, which inflames the lining of the lungs and fills them up with fluid--making it difficult to breathe, and sometimes causing death. Dehydration from diarrhea, and brain damage from sustained very high fevers, can also kill flu victims.

Even if you do have flu symptoms, the chances of you having swine flu are pretty low, unless you've recently been to Mexico or spend a lot of time around someone who has. In that case, you should call your doctor, rather than going to the hospital or to her office. The best way to keep swine flu from spreading is to keep it away from the public.

And, finally, remember that it's allergy season. I've got a runny nose right now, but if there's no fever and you've still got the energy to go about your regular life, it's probably not the flu at all.

*Or is that just my family?

4. Will There Be a Vaccine?
Apparently, yes. But not anytime soon. Christine Layton tells me that there are companies working on a vaccine for H1N1 swine flu, but the lag time on vaccine production is pretty gnarly. We're talking 3-to-6 months before anything can get out the door, and that's with development and production being fast-tracked. Because flu viruses tend to pretty quick on the mutation draw, the "wild" virus will likely be different from the one the vaccine is modeled on by the time it comes out. That doesn't mean a vaccine won't work, though. Flu vaccines often work on a "close enough" principal. Basically, if the virus the vaccine is based on is similar enough to the wild virus, the vaccine can still help your body mount a defense. It may not prevent illness altogether, but the illness you get might be more mild that what you'd have come down with otherwise.

That said, there's also a distinct possibility that, by the time a vaccine is out, H1N1 swine flu won't be a problem anymore.

5. The $64,000 Question
Many people emailed to ask why a virus that appears to be killing people in Mexico is producing illness that barely warrants a trip to the doctor here. Baby, if I could answer that, my pay grade would be a LOT higher. This is really the big, central mystery right now. And while there is no shortage of speculation, the fact is that (as of this writing) nobody has any frackin' clue. There is, however, a World Health Organization science briefing scheduled for tomorrow. Maybe we'll get some preliminary answers then. But I wouldn't bet on it.

6. "I Have Taken The Amino Acid Sequence of H1N1 Swine Flu and Turned It Into a Piece of Ambient Music. Does This Interest You?"
Yes, Stephan Zielinski. Yes, it does. You can listen to Stephan's appropriately haunting, sad and beautiful composition on his Web site.

Finally, a quote to bear in mind, from Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, as reported by the (hopefully) immortal Canadian Press medical journalist Helen Branswell:

"Anybody who thinks they know what this virus is going to do weeks, months or years from now really doesn't have a clue what they're talking about."

It's possible to take this quote several ways. I choose to look at it hopefully. Let's take worst-case-scenarios--and the people promoting them--with a grain of salt for now.

Today at Boing Boing Gadgets

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 03:34 PM PDT

Today at Boing Boing Gadgets, we introduced you to Dell's new all-in-one PC; taught you how to buy Tamiflu online; informed you of a violent robot uprising;

Joel showed us a cool photo of a 1980 Citroën Karin, Lego-inspired candles, and Avid's new logo. Oh, and a hand-cranked vibrator too.

Rob told us about sucky netbook Hackintoshesand free Peek upgrades in NY.

We also had a special theme day on running. Steven and Lisa put on their new kicks and ran to drink more beer with the GoWear Fit, and Lisa ran to start training for a marathon with Nike Plus. We also reviewed trail runners and explored whether running barefoot is better for you. Joel, who doesn't like running, tuned us into the new Pumgo pedal scooter.

Also...don't forget to check out the stylish robot.

Can't see the video? Click here

Steven Johnson's TED talk about spreading of epidemics

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 01:37 PM PDT

Here's Steven Johnson's TED Talk about The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, "his book about a cholera outbreak in 1854 London and the impact it had on science, cities and modern society."

Sarahsukulele plays "Object of the Game" on ukulele

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 01:21 PM PDT

Sarahsukulele plays "Object of the Game" on ukulele. (via Ukulele Hunt)

Previously:

Police in Denmark hug bicyclists without helmets, then give them helmets

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 06:51 PM PDT

Video of police in Denmark stopping bicyclists, hugging them, and giving them helmets. Happiness all around.

Joanna Harcourt-Smith on Douglas Rushkoff's radio show tells all about her and Leary's arrest, "torture" and compliance.

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 12:52 PM PDT

Douglas Rushkoff says:

I just had an enlightening conversation with counterculture heroine/outcast Joanna Harcourt-Smith, on my radio show The Media Squat (audio stream). She candidly addressed her and Leary’s role in becoming informants for the government, all in the context of Timothy’s imprisonment and Bush-style torture.
I haven’t fully digested everything we spoke about, but thought you should know about the show right away. There’s some new material in here, as well as a new perspective on a particularly dark moment.

Joanna Harcourt-Smith on the MediaSquat

Indie game dev quits mainstream job via Super Mario

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 12:57 PM PDT

Over at Offworld we've got news that'd make any office lackey proud: ready to dump his mainstream programming job and take the indie game dev world by storm, Rom Check Fail creator Farbs turned in his resignation in fitting fashion, by creating a playable take on Super Mario Bros that said everything he needed to say. See the post at Offworld to play the game for yourself and find links to his other collected creative output. Take this ROM and...: indie dev quits mainstream job via Super Mario - Offworld

Can't see the video? Click here

Mid-Afternoon Kitty Break

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 11:30 AM PDT

I'll admit upfront: I have no reason for posting this other than the fact that it is freakin' adorable. Well, that and the fact that my cats are probably using toxoplasma gondii to control my brain.

Catalina Estrada at Iguapop Gallery in Barcelona, April 30th 2009

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 09:55 AM PDT

Cataline Estrada's Disarming Dreams show is opening at Iguapop Gallery in Barcelona, on April 30th 2009.

Catalina Estrada has made us used to traveling within beautiful oneiric worlds filled with colors. Worlds built out of the the warmth emanated from the dreamed land she always longs for. But the dream is broken by the cold lightning of Colombia's reality. Reality above reality they cover one another to hide and make us oversight and forget the weakest, the children.
Disarming Dreams looks for those children hidden behind the mist. These children to whom the alienation and madness of the war has condemned to float in the limbo as lost souls awaiting to be reborn, awaiting to awake and discover that they were fooled, that their rifle was always made of plastic. - Pancho Tolchinsky

LaidOffCamp NY, May 1&2, 2009

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 12:05 PM PDT

Nate Heasley, longtime friend of BB and occasional guest blogger for BB Gadgets, wrote to tell me about an event that he's helping to organize called LaidOffCamp NY. It's a two-day event this coming Friday and Saturday that is all about "hacking the job search." On Friday the event kicks off with a panel discussion and networking reception, and Saturday there will be an unconference about how to bounce-back from being laid-off, whether that's reinventing yourself, going back to school, finding your next gig, starting your own company, or just figuring out what to do with your free time. The event is free (donation suggested) and there are still tickets available. Even if tickets run out there will be an open casual-networking event on Saturday evening at the John Street Bar & Grill. Those who might want to help sponsor the event, contact Nate directly.

Two new Crehore prints: a ukulele and a guitar

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 09:44 AM PDT

Amy Crehore says: Here is a special deal for music and art lovers -

Two new artist-signed prints for only $50 each (plus shipping). "Monkey Love Song" features a ukulele and "Deja Vu Waltz" has a guitar in it.
There are only 75 prints in each edition.
Printed on Hahnemuhle acid-free photorag 308 gsm paper with the absolute finest quality printer using superior ultrachrome inks (by Sterling Editions). Comes in archival sleeve with free postcards and a certificate of authenticity. Each print is signed and numbered by artist Amy Crehore.
Ten customers will receive small, signed pencil drawings tucked in his or her order (numbers will be chosen at random).

2 new prints by Amy Crehore

Can't see the video? Click here

US customs officials think famous pianist's piano has funny smelling glue, so they destroy it

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 01:02 PM PDT

The Guardian's article about pianist Krystian Zimerman's political rant on Sunday at Disney Hall in Los Angeles (he announced that he'd no longer play in the US because of US military policies) contained this interesting tidbit:

At least some of his opprobrium appears to be personal. Shortly after 9/11, his piano was confiscated by customs officials at New York's JFK airport, who thought the glue smelled funny. They subsequently destroyed the instrument.

Polish pianist stops show with anti-US tirade

Boing Boing Video: Revisiting TechShop, as Portland Site Launches

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 09:43 AM PDT

(MP4 download here). TechShop founder Jim Newton tells Boing Boing, "I'm very excited to tell you that TechShop Portland is now open!"

And that's great news for tinkerers, builders, and makers in Oregon. TechShop is an open-access public workshop that's kind of like a health club with heavy machinery and sparks instead of treadmills. Tinkerers, inventors, and hackers pay a membership fee, and in turn receive access to professionally-maintained gear, workshops, mentors, and a community of like-minded makers.

Above, a Boing Boing TV episode from 2008 in which we visited the first TechShop site in Silicon Valley, which has been open now for several years. Jim Newton, who is a lifetime maker, veteran BattleBots builder and former MythBuster, says they plan to open a number of locations around the US -- and eventually, the rest of the world.

Here's the original Boing Boing TV blog post, with more about TechShop.

Jim Newton and the TechShop folks explain:

TechShop is a 33,000 square foot membership based workshop that provides members with any skill level to have access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a creative and supportive community of like minded people so you can build the things you have always wanted to make.
TechShop is perfect for inventors, "makers", hackers, tinkerers, artists, roboteers, families, entrepreneurs, youth groups, FIRST robotic teams, crackpots, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and anyone else who wants to be able to make things that they dream up but don't have the tools, space or skills.

Here's more on the newly opened TechShop in Portland, Oregon.

RSS feed for new episodes here, 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.

How to fit 500GB on a DVD

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 09:03 AM PDT

Brian Lawrence of GE's holographic project, explains how his team designed a system that stores 500GB on a single DVD.

Can't see the video? Click here

LEDs in mouth for a bright smile

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 09:00 AM PDT

Artist Daito Manabe shows off his LED enhanced smile. (Via Japan Probe)

Disney at the 1964 World's Fair -- massive 5-disc box-set of audio rarities from the beating heart of my Disneyfetish

Posted: 29 Apr 2009 03:41 AM PDT

Jon sez, "Walt Disney Records has finally released its long-delayed box set of audio from Disney's 1964 World's Fair attractions. (Perhaps you've already sampled it.) It's a fabulous package and a must-have for Disney park fans."

This audio goes straight into the beating heart of what fascinates me about Disney: the use of immersive, mass technology to tell stories and convey value -- all the while embodying a meta-story and a set of meta-values about artisanship (all those handmade robots, sets and controllers!), technology, progress, individualism... I could listen to this all day. The 1964 World's Fair is very high on my shortlist of places to visit when I get my time-machine.

Disneyland Goes To the World's Fair is a rare behind the scenes look at Walt Disney's contribution to the 1964 World's Fair. It was here where Walt unveiled several unique attractions and exhibits that would forever change not only Disneyland, but greatly influence the future of Disney Theme Parks yet to be imagined. This 5-CD Set includes a 24-page full color booklet and more than three hours of recordings from the classic attractions and exhibits Walt Disney and his team of artists created for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Progressland: Behind-the original World's Fair scenes recordings and original music from the Progressland Exhibit, featuring a never-before released production of Carousel of Progress.
Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln: Experience the sounds of the original Illinois Pavilion. As a special treat, you'll hear the original recording sessions of the man who gave Mr. Lincoln his voice (Royal Dano) and listen to the lavish original score by Disney legend Buddy Baker also presented as individual tracks.
"It's A Small World": Includes the original demo recording of the legendary song as well as isolated vocals and a grand master mix of the varied international interpretations of the famous tune directly from the attraction soundtrack. Also included is a tour of this charming "little boat ride" with Walt Disney as your guide.
Magic Skyway: Takes you on a time-traveling "road trip" with Walt Disney as he personally escorts you hrough the Age of Dinosaurs, the ascent of man, and to the distant future.
BONUS DISC: Carousel of Progress - Alternate Universe Version

Walt Disney and The 1964 World's Fair (Thanks, Jon!)

Previously:

Can't see the video? Click here

Bolivia is to Lithium as Saudi Arabia is to Oil.

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 08:32 AM PDT

Photographer/tumblogger Clayton Cubitt says, "Bolivia is the Saudi Arabia of lithium, the metal needed for the batteries that will power our electric car future. I saw this ITN report on News Hour the other night, and was stunned by the visuals and the story."

Above, the video report from ITN which ran on CNN. Below, snip from transcript for the related PBS NewsHour discussion:

Half a world away, Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, is going for a drive in an electric car. The French auto magnate, Vincent Bollore, whose company has developed the vehicle is showing him the prototypes.
Morales is a socialist determined to uphold the rights of Bolivia's indigenous people. He says the Americans are all imperialists, so the Frenchman sees an opportunity to win favor and get the lithium.

VINCENT BOLLORE, French businessman (through translator): It's you who controls the raw materials for the 21st and 22nd centuries. You're like Saudi Arabia. It's you.

LINDSEY HILSUM: In the Bolivian capital La Paz, they're dreaming about that pot of gold. A new socialist constitution says foreign companies exploiting the country's natural resources must reinvest all profits in Bolivia.

LUIS ALBERTO ECHAZU, Bolivian minister of mining (through translator): Any company which would like to work with us will have to develop industries here, otherwise there's nothing. It's very simple: We will not continue exporting raw materials for another 500 years. That is over.

Bolivia's Lithium Resources May Prove Hot Commodity (PBS NewsHour)

Web Zen: from the street zen

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 08:17 AM PDT

graffiti archaeology
urban curators
m-city
glyphiti
geek graffiti 2007
hektor
stencilry
wk interact
written on the city
dan witz
park(ing) day

Permalink for this edition. Web Zen is created and curated by Frank Davis, and re-posted here on Boing Boing with his kind permission. Web Zen Home and Archives, Store (Thanks Frank!)

Swine Flu PSAs from1976

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 08:17 AM PDT

Jeffkrulik says:

From the voluminous shelves of the National Archives, here are vintage Swine Flu PSAs from 1976.
For those who don't remember the great swine flu scare, here's a website I just googled.

(Thanks, Gord!)

Recently on Offworld

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 07:22 AM PDT

Recently on Offworld we saw Keita 'Katamari' Takahashi's Noby Noby Boy finally prepped for its first major update, with details of hair, bird, and marimba-based enhancements, and a new mode officially called, uh, 'Fart Boy.' We also saw the first video of Flashbang's GDC Experimental Gameplay session entry Shadow Physics, in which one hand controls a light source in a 3D space casting shadows on a back wall, while the other controls a shadow figure playing a 2D platformer inside that shadow. Elsewhere we saw lilt line, a new iPhone game described as a "retro rhythm racing beat 'em up action game with a dubstep flavour," listened to new chiptune/game music streaming radio feed 8bit FM, saw Daft Punk come to LittleBigPlanet, and got a sneak peek at the latest games from auteur and fantastically prolific Swedish indie dev Cactus. Finally we saw King of Kong documentary star Steve Wiebe set a new world record, coveted retro-clash Monster Hunter T-shirts and custom Bubble Bobble vinyl toys, assembled Castle Crashers papercraft, and, best of all, downloaded the new free Lite version of iPhone favorite game Drop7 -- and, with a new gameplay mode, it's an essential download for owners of the full game, too.

Britain's deportee detention system subjects small children to horrific abuse

Posted: 28 Apr 2009 06:45 AM PDT

The BBC's Mark Easton has written a scorching blog-post about the Yarl's Wood detention centre, in which unsuccessful migrants to the UK are detained, including families with young children. Details about Yarl's Wood have come to light after England's Children's Commissioner, Sir Al Aynsley-Green produced a report on the treatment of children there. Many of these children have spent their entire lives in the UK.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas justifies the inhumane treatment of children by arguing that once their parents have been sent to the substandard, inhumane Yarl's Wood, it would be even more inhumane to separate them from their children.

Another alternative might be to treat all deportees in a humane fashion.

Predictably, the BBC's comment board is filled with anti-immigration bigots who argue that the children should blame their parents for turning them into refugees who sought asylum in the UK.

My father was a refugee, born in a camp in Azerbaijan, to Red Army deserters who used stolen papers to transit Europe after WWII and secure transport on a Displaced Persons boat from Hamburg to Halifax. When I hear people talk blithely about how their society owes nothing to refugees, I try to imagine how they'd feel if they and their children found themselves living in a war-torn disaster-area, a climate-ravaged desolation, the midst of an ethnic cleansing. I wonder if they and their families were the beneficiaries of foreign aid during and after WWII. I wonder if they'd sit idly by and let their children die of malnutrition, be kidnapped and forced into child soldiery, or face mutilation from land-mines because the alternative required telling a lie to the British immigration authorities.

I try not to imagine the people who make that sort of remark stuck in a place like Yarl's Wood, denied their fundamental human rights, their children denied medical care and education -- because I don't think anyone should suffer that way.

Not even xenophobic bigots.

What sort of country sends a dozen uniformed officers to haul innocent sleeping children out of their beds; gives them just a few minutes to pack what belongings they can grab; pushes them into stinking caged vans; drives them for hours while refusing them the chance to go to the lavatory so that they wet themselves and locks them up sometimes for weeks or months without the prospect of release and without adequate health services?...
One boy of 11 told the children's commissioner:
"There was this woman, just shouting, shouting at my sister to get up. She was in bed asleep and she's only five so she was crying and the woman just kept shouting at her. She didn't have to do that. The search was bad. Why did they have to search my sister? She is only five, what is she going to have? They touch you all over and they're rough. It's rude."
The report explains how some children described officers as taking pleasure in the family's distress, including telling them that they were "going back to their own country" and laughing and making fun of them when they showed signs of distress or anxiety.
One child said that an officer had called his mother "stupid" and laughed at her crying and distress, while others were told that it was "tough" if they didn't like the officer's attitude...
What's more, many of the children complained about the lack of "comfort breaks" on the long journeys to detention. This had led to "accidents" in some cases. A chance to go to the lavatory was apparently denied "even when the vans stopped for petrol and, on at least two or three occasions, access to a toilet was denied throughout the whole journey despite urgent requests to stop..."

Children in detention at Yarl's Wood (Thanks, JJ!)

Can't see the video? Click here