The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Garden Jawa
• Crime ring that hit 280 cities' ATMs at once busted
• Sapolsky's outstanding Stanford lecture on "The Uniqueness of Humans"
• Space Mountain queue gets short-play video-games
• Super Mario gloves
• Sweet, inadvertent Sesame Street PSA for gay marriage
• T-Mobile aggressively rolling out 21Mbps wireless broadband
• The men who stare at Goatse
• Food Fight
• Yves Béhar's seven-hour vibrator
• MJ's funeral cost a mil
• Lovecraft sculptures
• Teenage Ray Kurzweil on "I've Got A Secret"
• Growing penis tissue in the lab
• Blackwater accused of $1 Million in secret payoffs to silence Iraqi officials
• Archaeologists May Have Found Remains of Lost Persian Army
• Cellphones and Cancer: OMG + FUD + WTF
• Frank Fairfield is totally awesome
• Purses made to look like book covers
• Death-ray enthusiast calls for official "Anti-Muslim 'Backlash'"
• Beautiful infographic: "The Ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe"
• Alien Appearance
• Americans watch about 5 hours of TV every day.
• Los Angeles: GAMA-GO sale on Saturday
• Troubled female ex-astronaut makes plea deal
• Slow loris: possibly cutest animal ever
• Jan & Kjeld play "Tiger Rag" on banjo
• MADD honoree trooper busted for DWI
• Buzz Aldrin: Honorary Consul General to the Moon
• Inebriated woman falls in front of oncoming train

Garden Jawa Posted: 10 Nov 2009 11:37 PM PST Bonnie sez, "Measuring close to a foot tall and crafted in durable all-weather resin, the Garden Jawa protects your tomatoes, zucchini, and daffodils from the dark side, armed with a garden tool bandolier, a garden hose, and a thumbs-up attitude. Reflective amber-colored eyes peek out from underneath his hood, challenging any unwelcome visitors looking to feast on his turf. True to nature, the Garden Jawa is still up to the well-known mischievous antics we know from the movies. Case in point: If you've caught StarWars.com's Flickr sets lately, you may have caught this little guy sneaking into Skywalker Ranch to snag some pics in front of the Main House. We've also caught him snooping around Lucasfilm's Presidio campus, reclaiming a bit of green from the dry California summer months. " Garden Jawa a StarWarsShop Exclusive (Thanks, Bonnie!)

Crime ring that hit 280 cities' ATMs at once busted Posted: 10 Nov 2009 10:28 PM PST The global crime ring that hit ATMs in 280 cities worldwide last year simultaneously for $9 million have allegedly been busted. A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted eight men in connection with the scheme, including five Estonians, one Russian, one Moldovan and one unidentified man. Prosecutors allege that the men "used sophisticated hacking techniques" to defeat the company's encryption system. The scam, which hit RBS WorldPay last November, involved an elaborate plan in which the attackers first bypassed the encryption on the debit cards, which RBS WorldPay issues to customers for employee payroll purposes. They then raised the limits on the accounts attached to the cards. Once that was done, the gang then allegedly "provided a network of 'cashers' with 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards, which were used to withdraw more than $9 million from more than 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada. The $9 million loss occurred within a span of less than 12 hours," the Department of Justice said in a statement on the indictments released Tuesday. U.S. Takes Down $9 Million RBS WorldPay Hacking Ring (via /.)

Sapolsky's outstanding Stanford lecture on "The Uniqueness of Humans" Posted: 10 Nov 2009 10:23 PM PST Stanford primatologist and anthropologist Robert Sapolsky scores big with this grad lecture on "The Uniqueness of Humans," a humbling, inspiring and sweet 30 minutes on what it is about humans that makes us unique from our animal cousins, and how many of the seemingly unique features of humanity can be found elsewhere. Sapolsky make me want to go back to school, enrolling in the Stanford anthropology program, just so I can take his classes. Class Day Lecture 2009: The Uniqueness of Humans (Thanks, Avi!) Previously: Sapolsky on primate sexuality part two: required viewing for the ... Stanford's Sapolsky on primate sexuality: funny, fascinating ... Stanford's Sapolsky and National Geo produce a documentary on ... Mind-opening lectures on the physiology of stress - Boing Boing

Space Mountain queue gets short-play video-games Posted: 10 Nov 2009 10:17 PM PST A reader writes, "Passengers riding Walt Disney World's updated Space Mountain attraction will be able to play video games as they wait in line. Each game lasts about 90 seconds with a 90-second interval and the games can accommodate 86 players at one time." Space Mountain is a notorious slow loader (all coasters are, since they can't do that lovely continuous belt thing that characterizes, say, the Haunted Mansion; nor do they support giant boats like Pirates of the Caribbean). Anything to make the queue less dull is great news! Walt Disney World's Classic Space Mountain Attraction to Reopen with a Few Surprises Previously: Space Mountain fan-poster - Boing Boing Space Mountain fansite recreates ride virtually - Boing Boing Space Mountain 1977 eBay auction - Boing Boing Space Mountain car and other cool disneycrap for auction - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Space Mountain sim video Boing Boing: Own a Disneyland ride vehicle!

Super Mario gloves Posted: 10 Nov 2009 10:13 PM PST Crafster member Leahseraph, the creator of these Super Mario Fire-Flower gloves "just winged it," making up the pattern as she went. Geek Craft: Super Mario knitted flower gloves (via Wonderland) Previously: Super Mario cupcakes - Boing Boing Beatboxing flautist performs Super Mario theme - Boing Boing Super Mario vs NYC -- street art - Boing Boing Super Mario mosaic table - Boing Boing Laser cutter motors play Super Mario theme - Boing Boing Bill O'Reilly discovers Super Mario -- Offworld - Boing Boing Hand-painted Mario shoes - Boing Boing Custom Super Mario underwear - Boing Boing

Sweet, inadvertent Sesame Street PSA for gay marriage Posted: 10 Nov 2009 10:10 PM PST Monsters and Rockets sez, "Sesame Street is 40 years old today! In this early clip, Grover and a little boy named Jesse define marriage. It's a cute bit, but the remarkable thing is that given recent headlines this actually plays a lot like a PSA about gay marriage. At no point do Grover and Jesse say that a married couple has to be a man and a woman, and the things they say make up a marriage - kissing, hugging, being friends, helping each other - would apply to any married couple, straight or gay." Sesame Street: Grover discusses What Is Marriage? (Thanks, Monsters and Rockets!) Previously: Vote for the best Sesame Street segments - Boing Boing Video: Philip Glass's Sesame Street pieces - Boing Boing Rube Goldberg Machine animation from Sesame Street - Boing Boing Boing Boing: S.A.M, the Sesame Street Robot (video) Model rockets that look like Sesame Street's Bert - video - Boing ... First Sesame Street Gordon dies - Boing Boing Do the Right Thing recreated with Sesame Street toys - Boing Boing Flowcharting the gay marriage debate - Boing Boing The lobster abomination - Boing Boing 86-year-old WWII vet on gay marriage: "What do you think I fought ... OUTRAGE: documentary outs anti-gay politicians who are secretly ... Boing Boing: Orson Scott Card's disgraceful anti-gay-marriage ... Gay Marriage: history never repeats? - Boing Boing Fafblog on gay marriage - Boing Boing

T-Mobile aggressively rolling out 21Mbps wireless broadband Posted: 10 Nov 2009 09:46 PM PST Glenn Fleishman of WiFi Net News says, "T-Mobile is going full throttle on building out faster mobile broadband networks: 21 Mbps starting next year. Hallelujah, said the netbook. (For comparison, 3G speeds = up to 14 down, 5.8 up.)

The men who stare at Goatse Posted: 10 Nov 2009 07:16 PM PST Found on Sean Bonner's tumblog.

Food Fight Posted: 10 Nov 2009 05:55 PM PST The Good News: If you're in New Orleans on November 22, you can watch a mock battle between Jared the Subway guy and the inventor of the po' boy sandwich (both are reenactors as the po' boy inventor is dead and Jared is probably not allowed to participate in anti-fast food stage combat). The Bad News: The fact that such an event exists bodes poorly for the future of po' boy itself. The sandwich, which owes its name and origins to 1929 labor disputes, is losing ground to fast-food chains, a still under-populated city and cost-cutting measures. From The New York Times.

Yves Béhar's seven-hour vibrator Posted: 10 Nov 2009 04:38 PM PST Yves Béhar (who is in an epic struggle with Marc Newson to claim the title of "sexiest industrial designer alive") designed this vibrator. It looks like a Miyazaki cartoon creature. The Form 2 takes a two-pronged approach to the vibrator, giving its user what they're calling "Sensation in Stereo." The "ears" can be positioned independently like a Gumby action figure for maximum, um, range, and the entire thing is made from phthalate-free platinum silicone to be completely waterproof. There's even a cute iPod-esque docking station for charging and it can operate UP TO SEVEN HOURS on a single charge. A New Vibrator by Yves Behar Arouses Our Interest Previously: Duke University official concerned that sex toy study will make ... Boing Boing: iBuzz iPod vibrator Boing Boing: Vibrator history, from "hysterics" therapy to ... Boing Boing: Build notes for USB/Bluetooth/UDP/TCPIP vibrator Boing Boing: HOWTO convert Atari joystick into a vibrator Supreme Court denies Alabama women mechanically induced orgasms ... Boing Boing: Vibrators Powered by Telco Phone Line Current Quack back massager from 1930 - Boing Boing Interview with author of Love & Sex With Robots - Boing Boing Sex gadget expose on Mississippi tv news (where they're illegal ... Boing Boing: Kitschy stealth sex toy disguised as cellphone Boing Boing: Guide to unsafe sex products

MJ's funeral cost a mil Posted: 10 Nov 2009 04:46 PM PST Michael Jackson's funeral cost one million dollars. His final outfit cost $35,000, and the flowers cost $16,000. Lord. Obviously I'm no MJ anyhow, but when I die, if there's a mil lying around? Feel free to bury me in nekkid dirt and use the rest to feed pie to starving kids.

Lovecraft sculptures Posted: 10 Nov 2009 04:00 PM PST Joe Broers makes Cthulhu Mythos sculptures, which come with "fictitious 'documentation' that helps provide a feeling of verisimilitude to the project." Miskatonic Valley Fine Art (Via Superpunch)

Teenage Ray Kurzweil on "I've Got A Secret" Posted: 10 Nov 2009 03:30 PM PST Hey look, it's Singularity evangelist and famed inventor Ray Kurzweil appearing on a 1965 episode of "I've Got A Secret." He was 17 years old. Check out the video of the appearance at the new Imaginary Foundation blog. "Ray Kurzweil's Got A Secret"

Growing penis tissue in the lab Posted: 10 Nov 2009 03:08 PM PST Researchers have grown replacement penis tissue for rabbits from the animals' own cells. The erectile tissue was then implanted and the rabbits apparently went on to screw like rabbits, successfully reproducing. According to the scientists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, this was the "most complete replacement of functional penile erectile tissue reported to date." Someday, the technique could help human patients who require penile reconstruction due to abnormalities, cancer, or injury. It might even be used to treat extreme cases of erectile dysfunction. The research was led by tissue engineering pioneer Dr. Anthony Atala, who I posted about in 2006 for his success engineering an artificial bladder that has since helped more than two dozen patients. From the Medical Center: The scientists first harvested smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, the same type of cells that line blood vessels, from the animals' erectile tissue. These cells were multiplied in the laboratory. Using a two-step process, the cells were injected into a three-dimensional scaffold that provided support while the cells developed. As early as one month after implanting the scaffold in the animal's penis, organized tissue with vessel structures began to form. The cells were injected into scaffolds on two separate days, enabling them to hold almost six times as many smooth muscle cells as in the previous studies – which the scientists believe was a key to success. During an erection, it is the relaxation of smooth muscle tissue that allows an influx of blood into the penis. The relaxation is triggered by the release of nitric oxide from endothelial cells... Functional testing of the implanted tissue showed that vessel pressure within the erectile tissue was normal, that blood flowed smoothly through it, that the response to nitric oxide-induced relaxation was normal as early as one month after implantation, and that veins drained normally after erection. "Laboratory-Grown Replacement of Penile Erectile Tissue" Previously: Organs grown from patients' cells - Boing Boing

Blackwater accused of $1 Million in secret payoffs to silence Iraqi officials Posted: 10 Nov 2009 03:02 PM PST NYT: Mercenary overlords at Blackwater made secret payoffs of about $1 million to Iraqi officials to silence criticism and buy support after Blackwater security guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.

Archaeologists May Have Found Remains of Lost Persian Army Posted: 10 Nov 2009 02:56 PM PST 2,500 years ago, an army of 50,000 men left an oasis in western Egypt and were never heard from again. Now, archaeologists think they may have uncovered the missing troops, who were probably killed in a sandstorm. ...the team decided to investigate Bedouin stories about thousands of white bones that would have emerged decades ago during particular wind conditions in a nearby area. Indeed, they found a mass grave with hundreds of bleached bones and skulls. "We learned that the remains had been exposed by tomb robbers and that a beautiful sword which was found among the bones was sold to American tourists," Castiglioni said. And now, unless popular film and novels have lied to us all, every last one of those skeletons will struggle to its feet and--enraged at the disruption of a centuries' long slumber--visit destruction upon archaeologist and Bedouin alike. Vanished Persian Army Said Found in Desert, from MSNBC, via Martin Bosworth, who agrees with me about the inevitable walking skeletons. In your heart of hearts, you know we're right. Image courtesy Flickr user spratmackrel, via CC

Cellphones and Cancer: OMG + FUD + WTF Posted: 10 Nov 2009 02:54 PM PST Everyone's still confused about whether there's a link between cellphone use and cancer. In other news, everyone's still worried there may be a link between cellphone use and cancer. Safer either way, perhaps: use corded earbuds to reduce RF exposure?

Frank Fairfield is totally awesome Posted: 10 Nov 2009 07:09 PM PST Last week, I stumbled into a jam session with Frank Fairfield and other musicians by accident, and blogged a quick iPhone video snapshot. The next day, I started googling and YouTubing and Myspacing to find out more about each of the musicians, and found this. A stunning video of Fairfield performing "Nine Pound Hammer." Give me chills. Shot and directed by Keith Musil (I'm dying to know what he shot with, doesn't it look great?). There are a few more YT clips in this series, they're all gorgeous. I missed Fairfield's live show last night at the Redwood in LA with Blind Boy Paxton, but I hope to catch them, together or separately, soon. Robin from the Fleet Foxes described him like this, in Rolling Stone: "He's like 26 years old and he sounds like Mississippi John Hurt," says Robin. Fairfield plays fiddle and banjo player and strums back-porch bluegrass, complete with shaky jug-band vocals reminiscent of The Foggy Mountain Boys from way back in the '40s (think O Brother, Where Art Thou?). "He's kinda crazy," says Robin. "He has his own radio show where he just plays these old gramophones. He just puts a mic up and plays all these field recordings from the 1900s; it's insane. He dresses like it's the early 1900s. He's born out of time, and his voice is amazing." Buy his music: His self-titled album Frank Fairfield, and the EP I've Always Been a Rambler (Amazon MP3s). He's playing a bunch of West Coast US tour dates from now through January: San Francisco, Eugene, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle and other ports of call. Videos: • Frank Fairfield - "Nine Pound Hammer" • Frank Fairfield - "Short Life of Trouble" • Frank Fairfield - "Tim Brooks" Some blog posts about Fairfield: LA Record, naturalismo, passionweiss. And here's an LA Weekly profile.

Purses made to look like book covers Posted: 10 Nov 2009 02:08 PM PST This is not a book. It's a fabulous little clutch purse that looks like a book cover made by Olympia LeTan. via Kottke.org

Death-ray enthusiast calls for official "Anti-Muslim 'Backlash'" Posted: 10 Nov 2009 01:35 PM PST Mil-tech reporter Noah Shachtman: "First, he said he found Saddam's WMD bunkers. Then, he claimed the U.S. military was zapping animals to death with real-life ray guns. Now (...) former Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent Dave Gaubatz is calling for a 'professional and legal backlash against the Muslim community and their leaders,' following the Ft. Hood massacre."

Beautiful infographic: "The Ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe" Posted: 10 Nov 2009 01:27 PM PST Michæl.Paukner's "The ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe to illustrate the account of creation and the flood." Flickr link, but you really have to see it at the largest possible size.

Alien Appearance Posted: 10 Nov 2009 01:06 PM PST Extraterrestrial Life Forms: If they exist, do they look like they came from "Star Trek" central casting? In this Scientific American article, Michael Shermer runs some thought experiments about the appearance of E.T. His conclusion: Don't get too attached to this humanoid (or, even, bi-pedal) thing.

Americans watch about 5 hours of TV every day. Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:54 PM PST The Nielsen company reports today that for the 2008-09 season, viewing hit an all-time high: Americans spent about 5 hours a day in front of the TV, up four minutes from last year, up 20% from 10 years ago.

Los Angeles: GAMA-GO sale on Saturday Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:44 PM PST The big GAMA-GO caravan of savings heads down to Los Angeles on Saturday, November 14! Stop by the Bigfoot Lodge and say hi to our Yeti-lovin' pals. GAMA-GO: LA Holiday Sale

Troubled female ex-astronaut makes plea deal Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:46 PM PST Lisa Nowak, the troubled ex-astronaut whose romantic revenge plot involved diapers, pepper spray, and a car trunk full of kidnapping supplies, today pleaded guilty to felony car burglary and misdemeanor battery.

Slow loris: possibly cutest animal ever Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:41 PM PST This is surely one of the most adorable animal YouTubes in the history of all internets. (via @maggiekb1 via this blog).

Jan & Kjeld play "Tiger Rag" on banjo Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:35 PM PST Jan & Kjeld are Swedish brothers who made a number of banjo records in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their rendition of "Tiger Rag" in 1959 was popular in Germany. (Via PCL Lunkdump)

MADD honoree trooper busted for DWI Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:32 PM PST Ohio state trooper Gerald Gibson, who was once honored by MADD for having made the most DWI arrests in the city of Lima, was arrested last weekend for drunk driving. (Cincinnati Enquirer, thanks Charles Pescovitz!)

Buzz Aldrin: Honorary Consul General to the Moon Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:13 PM PST Today, the Los Angeles city council appointed Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin as its "Honorary Consul General to the Moon."

Inebriated woman falls in front of oncoming train Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:00 PM PST A woman who appears to have been inebriated fell onto the tracks in a Boston subway as a train was rushing towards her. People on the platform frantically waved at the train, which stopped in the nick of time.

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