Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

Link to Boing Boing

BBC wants to encrypt "free" TV -- talking points debunked

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 03:00 AM PDT

My new Guardian column, "The BBC is encrypting its HD signal by the back door," describes a petition from the BBC to Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, seeking permission to encrypt its broadcast signals, something it is prohibited from doing. The BBC proposal goes like this: Hollywood studios are blackmailing us and demanding this. But the encryption won't be bad, since it'll only affect a few programmes and only in small ways.

It's simply not true. The BBC is being deliberately misleading and extremely naive here. Naive because it's just not credible that the Hollywood studios and other rightsholders will boycott broadcast TV without encryption. They made exactly the same threat in the US, saying that without the Broadcast Flag, they'd stop licensing sport and movies to broadcast TV. There's no Broadcast Flag in the US. The broadcasts of sports and new release movies go on.

Misleading because the BBC's proposal turns over control of the design of TV receivers and recorders in the UK to an offshore consortium called DTLA, effectively turning it, not Ofcom, into the British regulator. DTLA and its guidelines will determine what you can do with your TV signals, not Parliament and copyright law. DTLA prohibits the use of open source drivers, which means that this will render obsolete all cards and other devices with that can be used with free/open software. It also prohibits unencrypted digital outputs, which means that you won't be able to buy a converter box that sends a HD digital signal to your SD Freeview box, so you'll have to throw out the old box.

Be sure to check out the comments where I'm debunking the BBC's talking points directly.

Some background: licence-fee-paid television must be free to receive in the UK. Unlike cable and commercial satellite signals, free-to-air television is carried on public airwaves, which broadcasters are allowed to use for free. In return, broadcasters are expected to provide programming on those airwaves, for free. And not just free as in "free beer", but also free as in "free speech." The terms and conditions for free-to-air telly are "Do anything you want with this, provided it doesn't violate copyright law."

But big rightsholder groups - US movie studios, mostly - object to this. They'd prefer a "copyright-plus" regime, in which they get to invent a bunch of new copyrights for themselves, without the inconvenience of public debate or parliamentary lawmaking. The way they do this is by slapping restrictive licence agreements on their media, or rather licence "agreements," in inverted commas. You don't get to negotiate these "agreements," they're imposed on you, and are sometimes even invisible to you.

The BBC is encrypting its HD signal by the back door

UK Border Agency's pseudoscientific "race-detection" DNA/isotope tests has scientific experts "horrified"

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:52 AM PDT

The UK Border Agency has scientists "horrified" at a weird, eugenics-flavoured proposal to test asylum seekers' DNA to determine if they are truly and purely of the "race" they claim to be from. Even the scientists who pioneered DNA fingerprinting and related techniques call the idea "horrifying," "naive" and "flawed."
Science has obtained Border Agency documents showing that isotope analyses of hair and nail samples will also be conducted "to help identify a person's true country of origin." The project "is regrettable," says Caroline Slocock, chief executive of Refugee and Migrant Justice headquartered in London. Although asylum-seekers are asked to provide tissue samples voluntarily, turning down a government request for tissue could be misinterpreted, she says, "so we believe [the program] should not be introduced at all."

The Border Agency's DNA-testing plans would use mouth swabs for mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome testing, as well as analyses of subtle genetic variations called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). One goal of the project is to determine whether asylum-seekers claiming to be from Somalia and fleeing persecution are actually from another African country such as Kenya. If successful, the Border Agency suggests its pilot project could be extended to confirming other nationalities. Yet scientists say the Border Agency's goals confuse ancestry or ethnicity with nationality. David Balding, a population geneticist at Imperial College London, notes that "genes don't respect national borders, as many legitimate citizens are migrants or direct descendants of migrants, and many national borders split ethnic groups."

Scientists Decry "Flawed" and "Horrifying" Nationality Tests

But wait, there's more!

Christopher Phillips, University of Santiago de Compostela: I had been asked earlier this year by colleagues in the UKFSS about the prospects of differentiating Somali ancestries from other populations in E[ast] Africa, however, I am sceptical about the precision possible beyond a simple five global group differentiation from limited typing of Y-chromosome/mtDNA/small-scale multiplexes of autosomal SNPs. Clearly there is a serious risk of falling into the trap of over-interpretation of population variation data that has limited scope. My suggestion this spring was to perform whole genome scans to isolate informative markers and begin to build these into sets of SNPs that could then be assessed with comprehensive reference populations. However, this does not amount to consultation on the correct way to develop and test a custom ancestry analysis system. I also doubt that my suggested approach to validating the system will be pursued, since a large number of samples would be required both within the relatively large region of Somalia and from surrounding populations such as those of Ethiopia, Sudan and Eritrea. Therefore a good deal of time, money and patience would be needed to find the best markers for the purpose and then test their efficacy....

Jane Evans, NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory: I can't imagine how you use [isotope evidence] to define nationality....It worries me as a scientist that actual peoples' lives are being influenced based on these methods.

U.K. Border Agency Docs and Expanded Reactions

Amanda Palmer on why she's not ashamed to ask her listeners for money

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:46 AM PDT

A reader writes, "Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls, etc., passionately rants about artists' fear of asking fans to support them directly, and the evolution of new artist-fan relationships as corporate middle-men go as the dodo."

I was at a dinner with Amanda a few weeks ago and we talked about this at length. She's not only incredibly interesting on the subject, but also insightful -- and successful at it.

i can't help it: i come from a street performance background. i stood almost motionless on a box in harvard square, painted white, relinquishing my fate and income to the goodwill and honor of the passers-by.

i spent years gradually building up a tolerance to the inbuilt shame that society puts on laying your hat/tipjar on the ground and asking the public to support your art...

i did this for 5 years, and i made a living that way. dollar by dollar. hour by hour. it was hard fucking work.

and for the last 10 years, i have been working my ass off in a different way: tirelessly making music, traveling the world, connecting with people, trying to keep my balance, almost never taking a break and, frankly, not making a fortune doing it. i still struggle to pay my rent sometimes. i'm still more or less in debt from my last record. i'll lay it all out for you in another blog. it's just math.

if you think i'm going to pass up a chance to put my hat back down in front of the collected audience on my virtual sidewalk and ask them to give their hard-earned money directly to me instead of to roadrunner records, warner music group, ticketmaster, and everyone else out there who's been shamelessly raping both fan and artist for years, you're crazy.

why i am not afraid to take your money, by amanda fucking palmer

Concept watch uses rolling tapes to tell time

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:43 AM PDT


This concept watch Alexandros Stasinopoulos uses three interleaved tapes to tell time. I have no idea if it'd be possible to build this, but man, I want one.

'ora' concept watch by alexandros stasinopoulos (Thanks, Paul!)

Rogue helicopter pilots and "chameleon lemon-headed coward terrorist pussies."

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 11:33 PM PDT

This one's from ye olde YouTubes way back in aught-six -- but a friend just shared it with me tonight.

"I've been ready to explode like Mt St Helen's since the weekend of May 27th and 28th," says the bowl-haired and beturtlenecked gentleman with the stack of redacted documents. (thanks, misteryes!)

Ralph Lauren opens new outlet store in the Uncanny Valley

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 10:12 PM PDT

lauren.jpg

Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis. From Photoshop Disasters (thanks, Antinous!)

Zork rock anthem

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 04:11 PM PDT

Phil sez, "Errol and Pifie, two members of the 50 Songs in 90 Days songwriting challenge (known as 50/90) have created a nerd-core masterpiece. A rockin' walkthrough to the original ZORK text adventure game."

Walkthrough, MP3 download (Thanks, Phil!)

Previously:


Apple 1984 ad, updated for 2009

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 03:57 PM PDT

Robots Are Taking Over the World (but ukeleles will save us).

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 03:40 PM PDT

Boing Boing reader Patrick Misterovich writes,

My 12 year old son is the singer in a ukulele based indie band called The Scribbles. This video is of a live performance of their song "The Robot Song."

Web Zen: music viddy zen 2009

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 02:48 PM PDT

GRISTLEISM: Throbbing Gristle's unusual new "box set"

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 02:40 PM PDT

Gristleism-hand-900pix_thumb.jpg

Richard Metzger writes:

When Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin and I interviewed Throbbing Gristle in Los Angeles, during the sound-check we were talking to Charlie Poulet, TG’s brilliant sound engineer. There was an insanely trippy song coming over the PA system and I asked him what it was. “Oh, THAT. That is a Buddha Machine—ever hear of one?”

A Buddha Machine is a little plastic box that resembles a cheap transistor radio. It has a built-in speaker and runs continuous tape loops of chanting or soothing, natural, trippy, etc, sounds. They are hipster remakes of the Tibetan prayer loop boxes (they’re ubiquitous all over China) and are manufactured by a company called FM3.

Charlie was running several of them at once to create the amazing sound-scape going on in the background as we spoke. A little while later, Chris Carter hinted that soon TG would be announcing a “special musical project” that involved no CD or MP3s whatsoever. I suspected at the time he was hazily describing something similar to a Buddha Machine. TG-stylee and I was right. Check it out!

Metzger has details here on Dangerous Minds. You can order your very own GRISTLEISM here.

Previously:


My recent money-related posts at Credit.com

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 02:32 PM PDT

Here are some of my recent posts about money for Credit.com.

Creditsnap Credit Report Card: A Truly Free Look at Your Credit Record (left): "Credit.com launched a new, truly free online tool called Credit Report Card, which gives you an easy-to-understand snapshot of your credit report, along with estimated scores from the different reporting agencies."

Should I Buy It? A Flowchart to Help You Decide: "The purpose of my 'should I buy it?' question and the purpose of April's flowchart is the same: to force you to stop and think before buying something. Sometimes, a small delay between impulse and action is all it takes to avoid making an unnecessarily costly purchase."

Immunize Yourself Against Sneaky Sales Tactics: "Using insight gleaned from Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational, Jeff Atwood goes through marketers' sleazy tactics, one-by-one, telling you how to avoid falling prey to them."

Can You Save Money with a Self-Watering Gardening Container?: "I bought three 'Ready to Grow Complete Kits' from EarthBox for $55 each and set them up on my deck. Besides all the components (including casters so you can roll the boxes around), they come with potting mix, a bag of organic fertilizer, and a bag of dolomite with trace elements. As the website says, all you need are plants and water."

Using Brain Scans to Beat the Free Rider Problem: "The house I live on is on a private street shard by about 20 other houses. The City of Los Angeles does not maintain the street, so when repairs are needed, the residents must pay for them. Over the last couple of years, a lot of big potholes have formed. Several of the residents decided something needed to be done about it, and sent copies of repair estimates to everyone who lives on the street. If everyone pitched in an equal amount, the price per household would be $2,500 to fix the street. Most of the households paid the $2,500, but a few refused to pay."

The High Price of Ignoring the Future: "Would you rather be given £45 in three days, or £70 in three months? That was the question put to 40,000 people who took part in an experiment conducted by the BBC and the University College of London."

Dan Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation: "Dan has been studying the psychology of human motivation. In this video, Dan offers some counter-intuitive advice about using financial rewards to incentivize people."

Would You Steal Medicine to Save Your Spouse's Life?: "Heinz broke into the drugstore and stole the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have done that?"

Money Can Buy Happiness, After All, as Long as You Don't Spend it on Yourself : "It turns out that money can buy happiness -- provided you spend it on the right things."

The Curse of Winning the Lottery: "This article reports on the sad fates of eight lottery winners who experienced bankruptcy, drug abuse, and sometimes even prison as a result of winning the lottery."

One small step for a clown, one giant leap for clownkind.

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 02:28 PM PDT

090928-space-clown-02.jpg

Space history will be made this week: the first clown launched into orbit. Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberté, the circus entrepreneur behind Cirque du Soleil, was once a street performer. Now he's a space performer. Apparently, he's planning to put on a show during the trip. BBC News, MSNBC, space.com. I hope they don't cross paths with the Killer Klowns from Outer Space. (Image: Space Adventures/ONE DROP Foundation)

Topps Nutty Initials original art on eBay

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 01:19 PM PDT

Sample-Letters

The original art for some of Norman Saunders' fantastic Nutty Initials stickers are being auctioned on eBay right now. They were produced by Topps in 1967.

NORMAN SAUNDERS (1907 - 1989) was a prolific commercial artist who produced paintings for pulp magazines, paperbacks, men's adventure magazines, comic books, and trading cards. On occasion, he signed his work with his middle name, "Blaine." These distinctive characters were probably inspired by the work of Basil Wolverton. Painted fairly small, the piece as a whole measures 3.5" x 4.75, and there is some minor paint chipping in the black areas surrounding the monster, and glue residue on the reverse. Very good condition otherwise.
Nutty Initials stickers (Via Anonymous Works)

Previously:


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

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 01:47 PM PDT


(Ed. Note: The Boing Boing Video site includes a guest-curated microblog: the "BBVBOX." Here, folks whose taste in web video we admire tweet the latest clips they find. We'll post roundups here on the motherBoing.)

  • Jesse Thorn: I'm so disappointed that they left this crazy Russian sailor version of "Let It Be" off that Beatles box set. Link
  • Richard Metzger: It's good to see that Papa John Phillips didn't fuck up all his kids! Link
  • Jesse Thorn: Apparently Tracy Morgan was "the invisible fourth Tony! Toni! Tone!, also called Tony." Link
  • Richard Metzger: Margaret Thatcher Calls the House of Lords, genius funny Link
  • Jesse Thorn: Finally, someone is standing up for the real heroes in the health care reform debate: insurance companies. Link
  • Richard Metzger: Meet Kent French, champion hand clapper! Link
  • Sean Bonner: 28 Days Later reenacted in one minute Link (via @rudy)
  • Jesse Thorn: The Godfather of Soul ripping it up on Letterman in 1982. Link
  • Richard Metzger: Alan Arkin apeshit on Muppet Show Link
  • Sean Bonner: To Live and Ride in LA (on bikes!) Link
  • Richard Metzger: Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day out today in Canada (this and they get free healthcare, too?) Link
  • Richard Metzger: Star Maidens (1975) The security guards wear go-go boots and mini-skirts Link
  • Richard Metzger: Sarah Palin's Running Mate in 2012? The Skoal Rebel think Obama should be impeached! Link (warning: includes generous use of the n-word.)
More @BBVBOX: boingboingvideo.com



Zeitoun Book Giveaway Haiku Contest

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 02:26 PM PDT

Bassam Tariq is a Boing Boing guestblogger who is the co-author of 30 Mosques. A blog that celebrated the NYC mosques during the Islamic month of Ramadan. He lives in Harlem, NY.



Zeitoun is a critically acclaimed non-fiction book written by Dave Eggers. Boing Boing has made a post on the book before. I could go on for hours on how great this book is, but have decided instead to giveaway a couple of new copies I have in my apartment. The Boing Boing crowd is an intelligent one, but are they poets?

Write a Haiku in the comments section on why you deserve a copy of Zeitoun. Aman and I will look through them and choose the top ones. Contest ends Saturday. We'll announce the winners on Sunday. We'll package them nicely and mail them out asap.

I'll be the sacrificial lamb to help get this started -

Zeitoun is his name
Rowing a boat is his game
I like arab food. 

Here's another example -

I am a bigot
Who reads Boing Boing everyday
I'm hoping to change

See? It's not that hard. I came up with these in the matter of seconds (and it shows). Let's have some fun!


Scientific study on subliminals

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 11:31 AM PDT

In 1957, James Vicary famously flashed subliminal advertising messages on a movie screen and claimed it boosted sales of refreshments. Vicary later admitted that he had lied about the results. Since then, the effectiveness of subliminals has been the subject of some debate. A new study from University College London suggests that negative subliminal messages can work, at least in a laboratory setting. The researchers flashed a series of positive (cheerful, etc.), negative (agony, etc.), or neutral (box, etc.) words on a screen but not long enough for them to be consciously read. When the subjects were asked if the words they couldn't consciously have read were positive, negative, or neutral, they accurately categorized 66% of the negative word. From the BBC News:
The researchers found that the participants answered most accurately when responding to negative words, even when they believed they were merely guessing the answer. They were able to accurately categorise 66% of the negative words compared to 50% of the positive ones.

Subliminal advertising is not permitted on television in the UK.

But Professor (Nillie) Lavie said her work could be applicable to marketing campaigns: "Negative words may have more of a rapid impact - "Kill Your Speed" should work better than "Slow Down".

Kill your boredom by reading Boing Boing!!!

"More controversially, a competitor's negative qualities may work on a subconscious level much more effectively than shouting about your own selling points."
"Negative subliminal messages work"

Previously:


Visionaire magazine: paper-engineered issue

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 11:04 AM PDT

Visionoairrr-1 Gurskyyyyy-1
Issue #55 of ultradesigned fashion/art/culture magazine is a gorgeous slipcased collection of pop-up designed by the likes of Andreas Gursky, Steven Meisel, Sophie Calle, and engineered by Bruce Foster. As Mark F said, watching the lovely promotional video on the Visionaire site is probably nearly as satisfying as actually owning a copy of the issue, which sells for $250. Visionaire: Surprise (Thanks, Gareth Branwyn!)

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind -- fantastic new book about a how a Malawian teenager harnessed the power of the wind

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 10:50 AM PDT


I reviewed The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind for Good. I think it's one of the best books I've ever read. Here's an excerpt of my review:

William Kamkwamba's parents couldn't afford the $80 yearly tuition for their son's school. The boy sneaked into the classroom anyway, dodging administrators for a few weeks until they caught him. Still emaciated from the recent deadly famine that had killed friends and neighbors, he went back to work on his family's corn and tobacco farm in rural Malawi, Africa.

With no hope of getting the funds to go back to school, William continued his education by teaching himself, borrowing books from the small library at the elementary school in his village. One day, when William was 14, he went to the library searching for an English-Chichewa dictionary to find out what the English word "grapes" meant, and came across a fifth-grade science book called Using Energy. Describing this moment in his autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (co-written with Bryan Mealer), William wrote, "The book has since changed my life."

Using Energy described how windmills could be used to generate electricity. Only two percent of Malawians have electricity, and the service is notoriously unreliable. William decided an electric windmill was something he wanted to make. Illuminating his house and the other houses in his village would mean that people could read at night after work. A windmill to pump water would mean that they could grow two crops a year rather than one, grow vegetable gardens, and not have to spend two hours a day hauling water. "A windmill meant more than just power," he wrote, "it was freedom."

For an educated adult living in a developed nation, designing and building a wind turbine that generates electricity is something to be proud of. For a half-starved, uneducated boy living in a country plagued with drought, famine, poverty, disease, a cruelly corrupt government, crippling superstitions, and low expectations, it's another thing altogether. It's nothing short of monumental.

Read the rest of my review at GOOD.

(It was very exciting to read that William's favorite magazine is Make!)

Mystery School

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 10:43 AM PDT

Manlyhallalala Mysteryyyyy

Boing Boing guestblogger Mitch Horowitz is author of Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation and editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin publishers.

One of the weirdest and most wonderful sites on the map of spiritual Los Angeles is the Philosophical Research Society (PRS). Occult scholar Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) opened this Mayan-Egyptian-art-deco campus in the Griffith Park neighborhood in 1934. Hall was the author of the legendary encyclopedia of occult lore, The Secret Teachings of All Ages (quoted in the epigraph to Dan Brown's latest novel), and he designed the Philosophical Research Society, or PRS, as his sanctum and school. I'm speaking at PRS this coming Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday, October 4th, at 2 p.m. daily on the history of the occult in America. I'll be considering everything from the career of Manly P. Hall to the growth of "mind power" mysticism. From Occult America:
Hall fancifully spoke of modeling his headquarters after the ancient mystery school of Pythagoras. More practically, PRS provided a cloistered setting where Hall spent the rest of his life teaching, writing, and assembling a remarkable collection of antique texts and devotional objects. His small campus eventually grew to include a 50,000-volume library with catwalks and floor-to-ceiling shelves; a 300-seat auditorium with a throne-like chair for the master teacher; a bookstore; a warehouse for the many titles he wrote and sold; a wood-paneled office (complete with a walk-in vault for antiquities); and a sunny stucco courtyard. Designed in an unusual pastiche of Mayan, Egyptian, and art-deco motifs, PRS became one of the most popular destinations for L.A.'s spiritually curious, and remains so.
Philosophical Research Society

G20 police uses arrested student as trophy in group photo

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 09:37 AM PDT


On his blog, Jonathan Turley writes that this video "appears to show Pittsburgh police during G20 protests using an arrested citizen as a prop for a group photo." That's what it looks like to me, too. (Via The Agitator)

Previously:


Jokes Cracked by Lord Aberdeen

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 09:22 AM PDT

200909290919

Bookride (a marvelous blog about dealing in rare books) mentioned Jokes Cracked by Lord Aberdeen, with this sample howler entitled "Another Irish one":

An Irish Census recorder on enquiring - 'How many males in this house?' received the reply - 'Three of course; breakfast, lunch and tea!'
Jokes Cracked by Lord Aberdeen

Harper's Weekly for September 29, 2009

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 09:08 AM PDT

Here's the standout bit from the latest Harper's Weekly Review:
A Pennsylvania judge ruled that a police officer who orally violated five calves was not guilty of animal cruelty, pointing out that it was impossible to know whether the young cows were "tormented" or "puzzled," or even irritated that the policeman's penis was not actually food. "If the cow had the cognitive ability to form thought and speak," reflected Judge James Moreley, "Would it say, 'Where's the milk? I'm not getting any milk.'"

(A NY Daily News article reports that this happened in New Jersey, not Pennsylvania, and that the Judge's name is Morely, not Moreley, as reported in the Weekly Review. The police officer, Robert Melia Jr., , has also been charged with sexually assaulting three girls.)

Harper's Weekly Review by Claire Gutierrez

Android developers pledge to make open equivalents to Google's proprietary apps

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:53 AM PDT

Google's legal threat against an open source Android developer who made a replacement phone firmware that ran faster than Google's own slow-and-poky version has sparked a commitment to replace all of Google's proprietary apps with free alternatives. Cyanogen, an Android dev, made much-loved Android OSes that bundled in Google's default apps, like Google Maps, and Google says that this violates their copyrights and has ordered him to stop. They're probably right as a matter of law, but this is infra-dumb as a business question: Google's default Android OS is very slow, and shipping these improved OSes only makes the pitch for Android more attractive.
Google, however, appears to be significantly less permissive on this front than Microsoft. The company's legal department objects to the Cyanogen mod on the basis of its inclusion of Google's proprietary software. They sent Kondik a cease and desist order compelling him to remove the mod from his Web site. The Android enthusiast community has responded fiercely, condemning Google for taking a heavy-handed approach. Even Google's own Android team appears to be frustrated with the legal department's zeal. After the news about the cease and desist broke, Google developer Jean-Baptiste Queru posted a message on Twitter suggesting that he could be pursuing alternate employment opportunities.

Kondik expressed disgust with the entire situation, but has been working with Google to find a reasonable resolution. He remains optimistic that he can accommodate Google's requirements and still make his mod available to users. In a blog entry posted Sunday, he explained how he plans to move forward. The Cyanogen mod will no longer include Google's proprietary applications. Instead, users who have "Google Experience" phones will back up those applications to external media and will restore them after installing the modded ROM. He is building a special tool to facilitate the backup and restoration process.

Irate Android devs aim to replace Google's proprietary bits

HOWTO remember to retrieve food after a playdate

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:49 AM PDT

Love this Parenthacks tip: when you put kids' food in a friend's fridge during a playdate, put your keys in with the food and you won't forget to bring it with you.

You won't forget items stored in a friend's fridge if you toss your keys in as well

Can't Take It With You - A Landmark Muslims in America Photo Exhibit

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:49 AM PDT

Bassam Tariq is a Boing Boing guestblogger who is the co-author of 30 Mosques. A blog that celebrated the NYC mosques during the Islamic month of Ramadan. He lives in Harlem, NY.

ctiwy_11_srgb.jpg Never before have I seen my community photographed with such dignity and hope . Omar Mullick, an award winning photographer who shoots for National Geographic, NY Times, etc., has traveled all across America for 7 years documenting the elusive Muslim American community.

The photography will be on display at GalleryFCB Thursday, October 8th at 6:00 pm. The gallery runs for the entire month, but please join us at the opening of this historic exhibit. RSVP on the Facebook Event if you can.

Omar has given me the permission to showcase a handful of photos here at Boing Boing.

More images and info after the jump.

ctiwy_15_srgb.jpg The first time I saw the photos I wondered why Omar chose black and white. Looking through the gallery statement on the site, I found my answer:
At a time when President Obama used the example of American Muslims in his Cairo address to indicate that Islam had "always been a part of America's story..." the exhibit presents a culmination of one photographers deliberate effort to take the visual language of black and white 35mm photography, through which 20th Century America has often looked at itself, and open up that narrative to include the latest birth pang in American cultural life. To that end, Can't Take It With You, which was pursued with singular purpose by a photographer deeply engaged with the idea of what it means to be American, promises to be one of the more important visual documents of the young 21st Century.
ctiwy_18_srgb.jpg

ctiwy_09_srgb.jpg The photo I leave you with is of a Muslim women's shelter in Philadelphia, PA. It was the children's first day at the shelter. I wonder where they are now.

I will be doing a tiny interview with Omar Mullick at the end of the week, if anyone has a question they feel compelled to ask please write it in the comments and I'll try my best to get it answered.

Visit the Can't Take It With You site - www.galleryfcb.com

See more of Omar's work on his personal site - www.omarmullick.com

Boneshaker: Cherie Priest's swashbuckling steampunk Seattle story

Posted: 30 Jul 2009 09:58 PM PDT

Cherie Priest's zombie steampunk mad-science dungeon crawl family adventure novel Boneshaker is everything you'd want in such a volume and much more.

Boneshaker is the story of the Wilkes/Blue family, a storied Seattle clan whose three generations unmade and remade the city through a series of scientific and martial adventures that are recounted with great relish and verve. First, there's Leviticus Blue, an arrogant mad scientist who developed a great tunnelling machine (part of a Russian-sponsored competition to improve Alaskan gold-mining) and undermined the city of Seattle, releasing the Blight, a poisonous gas that causes the dead to rise, and to hunger for the flesh of the living. Then, Maynard Wilkes, a prison guard in Seattle, committed an act of great mercy and bravery by releasing the prisoners in his care before they could be blighted, losing his life in the process, and becoming a hero to those left behind the walled-off city of Seattle, and a pariah to the settlers in the Outskirts beyond the wall. Then there's Briar Wilkes, the widow of Leviticus and the daughter of Maynard, who is scraping by in the Outskirts, trying to outrun her reputation but unable to, and unable to escape Seattle because of the great Civil War that is eating America with martial trains and dirigibles and great armies. Finally, there's Ezekiel Wilkes, the son of Briar and Leviticus, who has snuck back into the walled city, wearing an antiquated Blight-mask, to discover the truth about his father.

And that's where the action kicks off, with son and mother chasing one another through the Blighted city of Seattle, avoiding the zombies, befriending the Chinese laborers who run the great machines that suck clean air from beyond the wall into the sealed tunnels beneath the city, trying to escape the clutches of the evil Dr Minnericht, the self-appointed king of Seattle (who may or may not be Leviticus Blue), befriending rogue zeppelin pilots, armored giants, and steam-powered cyborg barmaids.

It's full of buckle and has swash to spare, and the characters are likable and the prose is fun. This is a hoot from start to finish, pure mad adventure.

Boneshaker

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