Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

Link to Boing Boing

Fresh Greens: Bull Semen Hair Conditioner

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 04:51 AM PDT

treehuggertreefrog.jpg Each week, our friends at TreeHugger share some of their most curious and provocative posts with us. We're doing the same over on their turf. Enjoy! -- The Boingers
A poisonous cloud of endosulfan blew through the Sierra Mountains and into crucial frog habitats. What happened next? You thought Fiji water was evil because it is shipped halfway around the world in plastic bottles. Here's another reason for it to deserve your ire. An oldie but a goodie: our green guide to sex! (PG-13 photos are safe for work, unless you work around kids) An iPhone app for controlling your car? It's real. Just not your car...yet. Had a bird poop facial or Bull Semen conditioning treatment lately? What other horrors are we massaging into our heads? You won't get fries with that. Bicycle discrimination at the drive through. After sending skinny nude models to protest fur, PETA calls overweight women "whales" in a new ad campaign. Sounds like PETA has a body image problem. Does it need a hug?

How free ebooks are good for well-known and obscure writers

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 04:35 AM PDT

My latest Guardian column, "Why free ebooks should be part of the plot for writers," talks about how free ebook releases benefit well-known and obscure writers alike.
Releasing a book as a free download isn't newsworthy in and of itself. It was, once upon a time, especially when that book had the backing of a major publisher. Publishers are often characterised as being conservative about the net, so it was surprising when it happened. These days, many writers have convinced their publishers to dip their toes in the water on this, and it's simply not notable when it happens again.

Which is not to say that free downloads have no role when it comes to promotion, publicity and marketing. Their main effect is to magnify any good feeling your book has generated, by making it simple for people who love the book to get it under the nose of their social circle.

Why free ebooks should be part of the plot for writers

Gallery of sculpted sandwiches

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 04:38 AM PDT


The Insanewiches blog catalogs elaborate sculpted sandwiches that resemble domino games, racecars, wireless mice and many other objects.

Insanewiches (Thanks, Marilyn!)

Visualizing up to ten dimensions

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 04:30 AM PDT

Bowloftoast sez, "This is a short animation that takes the viewer through a progressive description of all (and all possible) dimensions, up to and including the 10th. It is an elegant introduction to the fundamentals of string theory and a mind-blowing toe-dip into the pool of the metaphysical."

Imagining the Tenth Dimension (Thanks, Bowloftoast!)

How to harvest honey from a bee hive

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 05:51 PM PDT


Kirk, the leader of our Backwards Beekeepers club here in LA, shows how to harvest honey. Film made by fellow bee club member Russell Bates.

Backwards Beekeepers TV: The Honey Harvest

Mark Dery: Post Mortem

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 10:11 PM PDT

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Mark Dery is guest blogger du jour until August 17. He is the author of Culture Jamming, Flame Wars, Escape Velocity, and The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium. He's at work on The Pathological Sublime, a philosophical investigation into the paradox of horrible beauty and the politics of "just looking."

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Worshippers of Morbid Anatomy: Just as I'm warming to my task, my time on the Boing Boing marquee is over. I'd hoped to squeeze in posts about the pornographic rapture of Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (don't you love the sweetly sadistic smile playing at the corner of the cherub's lips as he hovers, poised to plunge the golden spear of holy desire into Theresa's "very entrails," leaving her "all on fire with a great love of God," moaning with the "surpassing... sweetness of this excessive pain"?) and about the hallucinogenically beautiful sculptures in the Borghese Gallery, carved from seemingly infinite varieties of marble: snow-white Carrara, perfect for modeling the soft swell of a breast, the curve of a flank, a chin-dimple; busts of cardinals made of pink marble mottled with white blobs, giving their heads the appearance of being sculpted out of, er, headcheese; marble the color of blood sausage, marble the color of raw salmon, marble green as mint jelly, purple as eggplant, marble flickering with blue and gray veins, Pentelic marble, Parian marble, and let's not forget Phrygian marble, a psychedelic rock that the Victorian writer Henry Hull described as "one of the most curious, as well as handsome varieties of marble with which I am acquainted," a mineral delirium of "banded layers of silicious limestone of various shades of green, verging on blue or gray, alternating with others of a pure white...contorted, waved, or foliated in a remarkable manner..."

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If I'd had time, I would have walked you through the Museum of Pathological Anatomy in Florence and the taxidermic Eden of the Museum of Zoology in Bologna, its wall-eyed creatures leaking stuffing, unloved by anyone except the occasional devotee of what the postmodern theorist Steve Baker calls "botched taxidermy." Did I mention the bizarre, Ed Gein-ian anatomical preparations of the 18th century naturalist Girolamo Segato, in the anatomy museum at the Ospedale Carregi in Florence? (A "maker" after Boing Boing's heart, he crafted a handsome table, inset with what looked like polished stones but were, in fact, human organs, preserved, cut into geometric shapes, and fitted into a colorful mosaic. When Segato proudly presented a local noble with the results of his handiwork, the squicked-out noble declined.) And then there's the incomparable museum of teratology and pathology, just a building away in the same hospital, with its mind-altering waxes of skin diseases and its wet specimens of congenital deformities, a Boschian garden of unearthly (yet all too human) things, unforgettable, almost indescribable. And then there's the Museum of Veterinary Pathology and the Ercole Lelli waxes in the Palazzo Poggi, both in Bologna, and...and...

Postcard From Rome, Basilica Di Santa Maria In Cosmedin, Reliquia Di San Valentino

Happily, I'll be blogging about all these things at Shovelware, so if my posts over the past two weeks have whetted your interest in the Pathological Sublime, do drop by. Blogging for Boing Boing has been thrilling, if exhausting. As I said in my opening post, the collective intelligence of Boing Boing's hive mind is among the smartest readerships anywhere. Of course, every wise crowd has at least one troll-tastic Master of His Own Domain, the all-knowing and tirelessly punctilious offspring of George Costanza and Felix Unger. Nonetheless, I'm immensely grateful to those of you who took the time to offer constructive critiques, suggest alternate angles of attack on my subjects, or point me toward stones left unturned in my research. To you I can only say: mille grazie---and then some.


IMAGES (from top to bottom): Sculpture of head with tumors, Museum of Teratological and Pathological Anatomy, Florence; Botched taxidermy, Museum of Zoology, Bologna; Wax model of hydrocephalic child, Museum of Teratological and Pathological Anatomy, Florence; Postcard from Reliquia di San Valentino, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.

Galileo's tech gear

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 04:22 PM PDT

Images Armillary-Galileo-520
Philadelphia's Franklin Institute is hosting the traveling exhibition Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy until September 7. To celebrate, Smithsonian Magazine put together a slide show of Galileo's gear, er "Instruments of Discovery." This is an Armillary Sphere. From Smithsonian:
At the center of this instrument sits a globe representing the earth. The bands around it pivot on a common center and illustrate the paths of the sun and moon, known planets and important stars. The device was invented sometime in the last few centuries before Christ, but the sphere became widely used in Europe by a thousand years ago. This armillary sphere dates to 1578.
"Galileo's Instruments of Discovery"

Graffiti: "I Love Cops!"

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 02:36 PM PDT

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I spotted this graffiti in San Francisco's Mission District. I've never seen vandalism declaring one's love for the police before (assuming that "SFPD" is referring to San Francisco Police Department).

Deep Sleep Therapy and brainwashing researcher Dr. William Sargant

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 03:45 PM PDT

Sarganananan Deep Sleep Therapy was a bizarre psychiatric treatment in which drugs were used to induce a coma in patients during which the doctors would administer a variety of other mind drugs and electric shocks. The idea was that they'd awaken cured of mental disorders, ranging from depression to schizophrenia. One of the, er, "pioneers" was Dr. William Sargant in the UK who promoted the "therapy" in the 1960s and 1970s. Of course, Sargant is best known for his research on brainwashing. He's the author of Battle for the Mind: A Physiology of Conversion and Brainwashing (1957), basically a how-to of techniques for reprogramming people. He also developed methods for implanting false memories, and was involved in the Project MKULTRA, the CIA's mind control and chemical interrogation research program. Delightful guy. The BBC Radio 4 recently broadcast a documentary about Sargant's Sleep Room treatments. The program is titled Revealing the Mind Minder General


Machine translation fun

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 02:11 PM PDT

Translate Party Enter a phrase intro Translation Party and it will translate it into Japanese and back into English as many times as it takes to reach steady state. (Via Zoomdoggle)

Gizmo with a weight added for extra heft

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 01:45 PM PDT

The IDSA Materials and Process Selection Blog discovered a surprise inside a Pinnacle Video Transfer gadget: a weight seemingly added for the sole purpose of making the device heavier and less "cheap"-feeling:

This added material doesn't appear to serve any other purpose-the components don;t generate much heat and there's no noise to dampen. My conclusion is that while the components on the PCB (other than the connectors) where not all that tall, the connectors were. So this drove the final thickness of the product. I guess when you're spending $100 on a piece of video kit, you probably want it to feel somewhat solid in your hands. So this is a cheap way to add some "heft" to the product.
What's That?: Adding Dead Weight

(BB Video) Mighty Boosh, pt 3: Slashfic, Boosh books, Eleanor's NORAD link

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 01:04 PM PDT

(Download MP4 / Watch on YouTube)

Today, the third and final installment of Boing Boing Video's interview series with Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, co-creators, writers, and stars of the "psychedelic comedy" series The Mighty Boosh.

In this episode, Xeni asks Noel and Julian about fan-made romantic fiction (slashfic), the rumored connections between Eleanor and America's military defense technologies, and the neat books these guys publish. Boosh trufans may already know about the hardcover Mighty Book of Boosh, but an updated edition in paperback is coming in October.

BB caught up with the Boosh gang when they were touring the US to promote the stateside release of a three-season DVD set, also available on iTunes. Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" recently begain airing episodes in the US, too.
Coming up this week, one last little video tidbit for Boosh fans: exclusive excerpts from their recent US stage performances. Stay tuned!

PREVIOUS VIDEO EPISODES:
If you missed part 1 of our interview series with Noel and Julian (mostly about crazed fans) you'll find that here. Part 2 of the Boosh interview (mostly about music and crimping) is here.

Related Boing Boing posts:

(Special thanks to Mark Kleiman and Stefanie Fletcher for their generous support of this Boing Boing Video interview series.)

Japanese pig rodeo

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 12:38 PM PDT


The pig is an unwilling participant in this Japanese rodeo. (via Japan Probe)

@BBVBOX: recent guest-tweeted web video picks (boingboingvideo.com)

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 12:15 PM PDT


(Ed. Note: We recently gave the Boing Boing Video website a makeover that includes a new, guest-curated microblog: the "BBVBOX." Here, folks whose taste in web video we admire tweet the latest clips they find. I'll be posting periodic roundups here on the motherBoing.)

More @BBVBOX: boingboingvideo.com



Iraq: Honored female soldiers tell their own stories.

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 11:52 AM PDT

alfaro.jpg

A fascinating and beautifully produced audio and photography feature on nytimes.com profiling women soldiers in Iraq.

Before 2001, ground combat was rare for American female soldiers, but Iraq and Afghanistan have changed that. Three women who were commended for their performance in combat reflect on their experiences.
Above, specialist Veronica Alfaro. Her story is riveting, as are the others presented here.

Women at Arms: In Their Own Words (audio and photo slideshow)

G.I. Jane Breaks the Combat Barrier (related article)

(Thanks, Susannah Breslin)

Rubik's Cube album art

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 01:53 PM PDT

Report: Gay men systematically targeted for torture, death in Iraq

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 11:37 AM PDT

iraq0809.jpgA report released today by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch says hundreds of gay men have been tortured and killed in Iraq in recent months, some by the same security forces and militiamen who cooperate with the US military. HRW urges the Iraqi government to take action against the increasing victimization.

"Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed agents of hate," says Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi."

The report includes documentation of horrific and systematic torture, rape, and murder of victims. Some of it is really hard to read. One gay man who was targeted says,

They came to my parents' house a day later. I was out of the house when it happened. The neighbor's son has the same given name and so they kidnapped the wrong guy. When they found out they let the boy go, but they beat him severely-they wanted to kill him. They tortured him with electricity, they beat him with cables. He looked like a roast chicken when he came home.
In a BBC report, Iraqi gay rights campaigner Ali Hilli believes Iraq is the most dangerous place in the world for gay, lesbian, and transgendered people, and says that even during the Saddam years, there was greater sexual freedom for citizens: audio link.



Sprint executive killed when boulder drops on his car.

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 11:45 AM PDT

Thomas Murphy, 45, vice president of corporate brand marketing for Sprint, was killed on Friday when a boulder smashed through the windshield of his car, while he and his family were driving in Colorado.
134-Fallingrock.embedded.prod_affiliate.81.jpgThe Colorado State Patrol said a boulder the size of a briefcase fell off a mountain and crashed through the windshield of the family's 2007 Chevy Tahoe. Murphy was knocked unconscious, and his 11-year-old son, Ethan, suffered moderate injuries. Murphy's wife, Jennifer, placed the Tahoe in neutral in hopes it would come to a stop while it was on a steep downhill trajectory, but authorities said it took more than a mile for her to bring the vehicle under control from the front passenger seat.
Sprint executive killed by a boulder (Image: HEATHER ROUSSEAU. Story: Kansas City Star, thanks Chief Fulfiller of Needs)

Slate's Dear Prudence: "Should I score pot for my diabetic sister-in-law?"

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 11:24 AM PDT


"A man asks Slate's advice columnist, Prudence, what to do when his obese, diabetic sister-in-law asks him to get her some marijuana to ease her pain." Note that the sister-in-law doesn't live in a state that allows medical marijuana, and her husband would be very upset if he found out she was smoking pot.

Michael Jackson Etch A Sketch artwork

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 10:01 AM PDT

Mjetch-Send
Etch A Sketch master George Vlosich III created this homage to the King of Pop. He told me it took 150 hours. George hopes to get it signed by the performers at next month's Michael Jackson tribute in Vienna, and then he'll auction it off for charity. GV Etched In Time

Previously:


CreatureCast Web video series about wondrous animals

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 09:50 AM PDT


CreatureCast is a collaborative blog by evolutionary biologist Casey Dunn and his students at Brown University. They've just created their first CreatureCast Web video and it is fantastic. In this first episode of the series, Sophia Tintori discusses the magic of iridescence in squid. Tintori, who studies marine invertebrates called Siphonophorae, did the animation and audio production for the video. Fantastic work -- I can't wait for the next episode! CreatureCast Episode 1 (Thanks, Dr. Casey Dunn!)

Recently on Offworld: inside the games factory, the job-quitting game, Pong in the streets

Posted: 17 Aug 2009 08:35 AM PDT

atetris-thumb-620x413-24824.jpg If you've been long-suffering under the assumption that games are created in a mashup of impalpable art and science, our latest high-res gallery on Offworld will prove you wrong, as we go inside the factory workshops where your favorite games were built (above), from the smelting of Sonic's rings, the chiseling of the 1-Up mushroom, and the rubber-pressed rebounding blocks of Arkanoid. And in more art-overload news, we also took a look at the fantastically fragile and delicately rendered games-inspired work of Melbourne illustrator Ghostpatrol, saw some select images from French guerrilla artist Invader's new Rubikubism exhibition in London, and played with the bloom-lit pixels of Stimergy, a 36-hour game of retro-futurist picnic ant invasions. Elsewhere, One More Go columnist Margaret Robertson told us how Galleon, the criminally overlooked Xbox game from Tomb Raider designer Toby Gard, can lead us on a six-degrees journey through the games industry, found another example of a gainfully employed developer using a game to announce he was quitting his job, and watched the first official trailer for our new top iPhone pick, Spider. We also saw Timbaland and Rockstar's music creator app Beaterator officially announced for PSP and the steampunk-ian environmental strategy game Greed Corp announced for PS3, learned that Tokidoki and Upper Playground were coming to Wii racer Need for Speed, and our one shot's: Call of Duty and BioShock, the Criterion editions, and Pong on the streets, and Pong in the streets.

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