The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Videos from stage production of Little Brother
• Comics creator stopped by TSA for carrying script about writer under suspicion by TSA
• Barometer store in England features reproduction of a "Tempest Prognosticator," a.k.a "Leech Barometer"
• Spheres of Influence: A Collection of Spherical Sites
• Photos of fireworks stand
• Roman Cat Sanctuary
• Financial shenanigans wiped out all productivity gains from digital technology
• Guangzhou Steampunk
• Michael Jackson to be plastinated?
• Natural History Magazine's Picks From the Past

Videos from stage production of Little Brother Posted: 27 Jun 2009 10:51 PM PDT Bill Massiola, who adapted my novel Little Brother for a critically acclaimed stage-play running in Chicago right now at the Griffin Theatre Company performing at the Athenaeum Theatre, sent me these three video clips from the production. I'm coming through Chicago on July 9 to see the play (it runs until July 19); based on these clips I'm incredibly excited to see more! Little Brother stage play Previously: Little Brother, the play, on in Chicago until July 18 - Boing Boing

Comics creator stopped by TSA for carrying script about writer under suspicion by TSA Posted: 27 Jun 2009 10:47 PM PDT Comics writer Mark Sable was detained and intensively questioned by the TSA for carrying a script for an upcoming comic book about a writer who is detained and intensively questioned by the TSA for writing a comic about terrorism. "Flying from Los Angeles to New York for a signing at Jim Hanley's Universe Wednesday (May 13th), I was flagged at the gate for 'extra screening'. I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then 'discovered' the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated. "The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics. "I cooperated politely and tried to explain to them the irony of the situation. While Unthinkable blurs the line between fiction and reality, the story is based on a real-life government think tank where a writer was tasked to design worst-case terror scenarios. The fictional story of Unthinkable unfolds when the writer's scenarios come true, and he becomes a suspect in the terrorist attacks. "In the end, I feel my privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium." Comics artist Mark Sable detained for Unthinkable acts (Thanks, Nosehat!)

Barometer store in England features reproduction of a "Tempest Prognosticator," a.k.a "Leech Barometer" Posted: 27 Jun 2009 09:50 PM PDT Joshua Foer is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. Joshua is a freelance science journalist and the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura: A Compendium of the World's Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica, with Dylan Thuras. Barometer World is a store in Okephampton, England that specializes in the sale and repair of instruments that determine atmospheric pressure. After two years of research, its proprietor built a reproduction of one of the most whimsical weather-forecasting devices of all time, the "Tempest Prognosticator," a.k.a. the "Leech Barometer," a.k.a. the "Atmospheric Electromagnetic Telegraph." The instrument, which uses fresh water leeches to predict incoming storms, was first exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851: A contemporary account of the invention described it as an "elaborate and highly ornate apparatus... evolved by a certain Dr. Merryweather (no epigram intended) who had observed that during the period before the onset of a severe storm, fresh water leaches tended to become particularly agitated. The learned Doctor decided to harness the physical energy of these surprisingly hysterical aquatic bloodsuckers to operate an early warning system. On the circular base of his apparatus he installed glass jars, in each of which a leech was imprisoned and attached to a fine chain that led up to a miniature belfry--from whence the tinkling tocsin would be sounded on the approach of a tempest." The more bells that rang, the greater the likelihood of an impending storm. Barometer World & Museum [Atlas Obscura] Barometer World web site

Spheres of Influence: A Collection of Spherical Sites Posted: 27 Jun 2009 06:08 PM PDT Dylan Thuras is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. Dylan is a travel blogger and the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura: A Compendium of the World's Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica, with Joshua Foer. Recently the most perfect spheres in the world were created as an answer to the "kilogram problem." Made to replace a chunk of platinum and iridium that has defined how much a kilogram weighs for 120 years (the weight of the metal has been changing ever so slowly ) the spheres are about the size of a melon and almost perfectly round. They are likely the most perfectly spherical objects on the planet. "If you were to blow up our spheres to the size of the Earth, you would see a small ripple in the smoothness of about 12 to 15 mm, and a variation of only 3 to 5 metres in the roundness" With this in mind we present you a collection of a few of the more interesting spheres found around the world. Sweden Solar System: The world's largest model of our planetary system centered around the largest spherical building in the world. The Mapparium: An three story inside-out glass globe built in 1935. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory: A gigantic spherical neutrino detector built into the largest man made underground cavity in the world. Costa Rican Stone Spheres: Mysterious spherical rock formations from an earlier era. Paris Sewer Museum: Giant wooden balls helped keep the Parisian sewers clean. The Republic of Kugelmugel: A spherical "micro-nation" in the heart of Vienna. Previously: History of giant spheres - Boing Boing Mapparium: walk-through globe - Boing Boing

Photos of fireworks stand Posted: 27 Jun 2009 04:13 PM PDT Our pal Stefan took photos of a fireworks stand. Fun! I grew up in New York State, where even sparklers were illegal. Firecrackers, bottle rockets, and other goodies will be sold out of car trunks. Scoring even a pack of firecrackers was a big win. In Oregon, stuff that explodes or shoots into the air is illegal, but in the week before the Fourth firework stands are plentiful and stuffed with eye candy.

Roman Cat Sanctuary Posted: 27 Jun 2009 12:24 PM PDT Dylan Thuras is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. Dylan is a travel blogger and the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura: A Compendium of the World's Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica, with Joshua Foer. From Atlas Obscura's newest team member, the terrific Annetta Black. In Rome the cats have an ancient temple all to themselves. The site is known as Torre Argentina and was excavated under Mussolini's re-building efforts in 1929, revealing extensive multi-level temple grounds about 20 feet below modern street level. The site is actually composed of several temples as well as part of the famous Pompey's theatre, where in 44 BC Caesar was betrayed and killed on the theatre steps. Today volunteers care for approximately 250 cats. After the site was excavated, Rome's feral cats moved in immediately, as they do all over the city. The gattare, or cat ladies began feeding and caring for them. Since the mid 1990s the population has grown from about 90 to the current nearly 250, and the organization has ramped up with care for sick or wounded cats, and an extensive spay & neuter program to try to keep the feral population in check. Most of the permanent residents have special needs - they are blind or missing legs or came from abusive homes. On any given afternoon a small crowd gathers to watch the cats sunbathe on ancient pillars and steps. Whether the cats rule themselves via Republic or recognize a cat Emperor is, as of yet, undetermined. More on Torre Argentina here.

Financial shenanigans wiped out all productivity gains from digital technology Posted: 27 Jun 2009 11:26 AM PDT The new report from the Deloitte Center for the Edge says that, "return on assets for U.S. companies has steadily fallen to almost one quarter of 1965 levels,at the same time that we have seen continued, albeit much more modest, improvements in labor productivity." Jon Taplin explains, "any productivity gains from the digital revolution have been more than wiped out by our corporate (as well as personal) addiction to debt. To understand this, it's important to grasp the difference between return on equity (the classic Wall Street measurement) and return on assets...By masking their absolutely dismal performance in the last 40 years in ROA, by taking on more and more debt to juice ROE, both Wall Street and America's corporate elite are engaged in a massive shell game, in which the average investor is the mark." America's Corporate Shell Game (Jon Taplin) The Shift Index (Deloitte Center for the Edge)

Guangzhou Steampunk Posted: 27 Jun 2009 10:09 AM PDT Water Brain Complete Edition（16：9） from Johann.Poo on Vimeo. Jason sez, "I did a short post today on a "Chinese steampunk animation" I found the other day. It's a 15-minute 3d animation with some great visual combos of traditional Chinese symbols/icons/patterns with the steampunk aesthetic." Chinese steampunk animation (Thanks, Jason!)

Michael Jackson to be plastinated? Posted: 27 Jun 2009 09:39 AM PDT According to the Daily Mail, admittedly not the most reputable of sources, Michael Jackson's body will be plastinated by Gunther von Hagens of the controversial Body Worlds exhibition. We'll see. From the Daily Mail: Von Hagens said that he spoke with representatives of the Jackson family 'many months ago' and it was agreed that his body will be plastinated and placed next to Bubbles, his late pet monkey who was plastinated a number of years ago and is exhibited at The Body Worlds & Mirror Of Time exhibition at the O2 Centre in London. Von Hagens also confirmed it was one of Michael's final requests to be reunited with Bubbles. 'There is no better place than to do this at the venue where Jackson was due to perform his world record 50-date tour,' said a spokesman for Von Hagens. He added: 'Von Hagens has hinted that a moonwalk pose would naturally be favoured. 'It is hoped the exhibit will be unveiled towards the end of July.' "Michael Jackson set to be embalmed at the O2 Centre after missing the deadline for cryogenic freezing" More at Morbid Anatomy Previously: Giant plastinated squid - Boing Boing Plastinated bodies decomposing - Boing Boing Plastinated fetus stolen from the Bodyworlds exhibit - Boing Boing

Natural History Magazine's Picks From the Past Posted: 27 Jun 2009 08:47 AM PDT Dylan Thuras is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. Dylan is a travel blogger and the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura: A Compendium of the World's Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica, with Joshua Foer. If you're looking for a good way to lose a day, I simply don't know any better resource than Natural History magazine's "Picks from the Past" page. The editors have assembled an inspiring selection of articles dating back to the magazine's early days at the turn of the last century. Here are a few of my picks from the picks: Insects as Food: How they have augmented the food supply of mankind in early and recent times. By John S. Patton (1921) Rains of Fishes: Do fishes fall in rain from the sky? By E. W. Gudger (1921) Monkeys Trained as Harvesters: Instances of a Practice Extending from Remote Times to the Present. By E. W. Gudger (1923) Floating Gold: The Romance of Ambergris By Robert Cushman Murphy (1933) The Pearl of Allah: The giant clam yielded its treasure only after slaying a native diver trapped when its great jaws snapped shut. Worshipped as the gift of Allah, the 14-pound pearl was finally presented to the author by a Mohammedan chief whose son he saved from death. By Wilburn Dowell Cobb (1939) Man and His Baggage: All along the rough road from savagery to civilization, man has found it an increasingly complex problem to carry the things needed for life. By Clark Wissler (1946) The Crowninshield Elephant: The surprising story of Old Bet, the first elephant ever to be brought to America. By George G. Goodwin (1951) One Man's Meat Is Another's Person: Humans may taste good, but most societies are a long way from cannibalism. By Raymond Sokolov (1974)

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