Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

Link to Boing Boing

SUMO'S BAD BOY RETIRES

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 03:07 AM PST

Asashoryupose.jpg The big story out of Japan today isn't fallout from Toyota's global recall, but the exit of sumo bad boy Asashoryu.

The grand champion wrestler announced his retirement today, after allegations he attacked a man in Tokyo last month (and broke his nose).

In a press conference, a teary Asashoryu said, "I am taking responsibility for having caused so much trouble."

Asashoryu (whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj) is a 330 pound Mongolian who rose to the top of Japan's national sport.

And he's no stranger to controversy. In 2003, he was disqualified for pulling the top-knot of an opponent -- a big no-no in sumo.

And in 2007, he was suspended after skipping a regional tour due to a claimed injury... and later filmed playing soccer in Mongolia. (Busted.)

Unintentional TB humor

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 03:18 AM PST

Eyeing the Tiger: Feng Shui Index

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:36 AM PST

clsafinaltiger.JPG Here in Hong Kong, investors can "feng shui" their finances.

The Year of the Tiger starts February 14th. But the Feng Shui Index, produced by Asian investment bank CLSA, marks the start of the year today -- February 4 -- as it's the first day of spring according to the solar calendar.

Solar/lunar issues aside, it's gonna be a bumpy year.

Tiger years are usually marked by dramatic changes. According to the guide, "Markets (in Hong Kong) will be volatile with a surge in the first month followed by a decline that turns upwards in June, dips and then swings up again in September."

The Feng Shui Index identifies the year's big winners by analyzing the elemental sign that they're aligned with. For example, companies associated with metal elements will have a great run, and the index predicts that gold will break $2000 an ounce this year.

But water-related industries -- like shipping, logistics and transport -- could see their positions weaken.

The popular index made its debut in 1992. Despite its tongue-in-cheek tone, some of their past forecasts have been on the money -- like gold breaking $1,000 an ounce and the resurgence of the China property markets during the last year, the Year of the Ox.

In terms of the Zodiac, a great year is in store for those born in the year of the Dragon, Sheep and especially the Horse. A relatively good year is ahead for Rats, Cows, Rabbits, Roosters, Dogs and Pigs. But for the Tigers, Snakes and Monkeys out there -- it will be a rough one.

I'm a Tiger.

Thankfully, there are Feng Shui measures to bring a bit of good luck in a bad year like the wearing of red underwear (I'm not making this up).

That to be continued... in another post.

Sun CEO tweets resignation in Haiku form

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 11:15 PM PST

"Financial crisis / Stalled too many customers / CEO no more." With those words, Sun Microsystems chief executive Jonathan Schwartz tweeted his resignation.

WTF: "Kids' lingerie" photos featuring Miley Cyrus' 9-year-old sister on a stripper pole?

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 11:43 PM PST

nnoooo.jpg The great Chris Rock once said (I'm paraphrasing a bit), you know you've really fckd up as a parent if your daughter ends up on a stripper pole.

The 9 year old sister of Disney megastar Miley Cyrus is reported to be promoting a (man this feels weird to type) lingerie line for children. The highly sexualized photos that appear to to promote that clothing line show children posing around a stripper pole. Related images basically present the kids as cute li'l whores. I just vomited in my keyboard.

Related: in 2009, according to the LA Times, 16-year-old Miley danced around a stripper pole during her Fox Teen Choice Awards performance. Whiskey, tango, foxtrot, people. Seriously.

Most who read this post will (I hope) agree: promotional photos that show scantily clad and made-up little girls flirting at the camera from behind a stripper pole are totally wrong and sad. But, question. Who's to blame? The parents? The agents? The managers? The publicists? The garment company? The studios (I guess Disney, in this case)? All of the above?

Noah Cyrus Lingerie Line (crazydaysandnights.net, Thanks, Souris Hong-Porretta)

Idiot human charged with piercing kittens to produce "Gothic Cats"

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:15 PM PST

35-year old Holly Crawford of Pennsylvania is on trial for the online sale of "goth kittens" with multiple piercings for "hundreds of dollars." An animal cruelty investigator said the ear and neck piercings and crudely docked tails damage the cats' hearing, messes up their ability to balance, and "makes them feel as if they're constantly being bitten."

How they'll think of the Internet after the world ends

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:46 PM PST


Stephen Collins's new funnycomic for Prospect spins a delightful scenario in which he imagines the role the Internet will play after the total collapse of civilization.

Here's A New Cartoon For You

Direct link to comic

(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

Previously:


Awesomely awesome Australian copyright news: scrappy ISP beats Hollywood fatcats

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:27 PM PST

Woke up this morning for my airport taxi at 3AM and discovered that my inbox had filled up overnight with exuberant emails from Australian readers who were bursting to share the news that an Australian court found that iiNet, Australia's number three ISP, wasn't liable for copyright infringements committed by its users. AFACT, the Hollywood front organization that brought the case, will have to reimburse iiNet's AU$4,000,000 legal bill.

It's not just the readers who're exuberant. Judging from the newspaper headlines (i.e. iiNet slays Hollywood in landmark piracy case -- Sydney Morning Herald), there's plenty of joy in the newsrooms, too:

From IT News:

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft representing the film industry, has been ordered to pay iiNet's costs. iiNet chief executive Michael Malone estimated that these costs add up to around $4 million... Summarising a 200 page judgement, Justice Cowdroy found iiNet users had infringed copyright by downloading films on BitTorrent, but he found that the number of infringers was far less than alleged by AFACT.

More importantly, Justice Cowdroy said that the "mere provision of access to internet is not the means to infringement".

"Copyright infringement occured as result of use of BitTorrent, not the Internet," he said. "iiNet has no control over BitTorrent system and not responsible for BitTorrent system."

Pretty fantastic, though Judge, you might want to rephrase that last bit -- BitTorrent also isn't responsible for the infringement. Here, let me fix that for you: "Copyright infringement occured as result of user who infringed copyright, not the Internet itself."

And here's the Sydney Morning Herald:

Neil Gane, executive director of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, which brought the case on behalf of the studios, said ... "[W]e believe this decision was based on a technical finding centred on the court's interpretation of how infringements occur and the ISP's ability to control them."
Ah yes, technical findings, as in, technically, your theory that ISPs have a duty to spy on all their users and shut down anything that you don't like was technically incorrect, because it is a technically insane idea.

iiNet wins! Film industry's case torn to shreds (IT News for Australian Business)

iiNet slays Hollywood in landmark piracy case (Sydney Morning Herald)

ISP iiNet beats studios in movie piracy case (The Australian)

iiNet slays Hollywood in landmark piracy case (The Age)

(Thanks, Michael, Jarrad, Itsumishi, Flux, Mark, Hapalochlaena, Neil, Gabe, Lab Monkey and Pete!)

Previously:


Alice in Waterland: disturbing vintage postcard from mermaid park

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:22 PM PST


Ape Lad sez, "Weeki Wachee Springs (Florida's mermaid themed attraction) presents Alice in Wonderland, featuring a sexy re-imagining of Alice and a very disturbing Mad Hatter."

Weeki Wachee Presents 'Alice in Waterland', What Makes The Pie Shops Tick's Flickr stream (Thanks, Ape Lad!)

Previously:


Failed project: goldfish in a light fixture

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 04:58 PM PST

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Make Online is featuring a number of first-hand accounts of failed projects, big and small. The first in the series is about Sean Michael Ragan's attempt to make a combination light fixture / goldfish bowl. I don't see any failure here. This looks like a big win, especially since Sean used a rubber goldfish, which is probaby impervious to suffering.

First problem: the globe on my porch light was frosted and I sure wasn't going to spend good money to buy a clear one. Clever solution: Etch the frosting off the globe I had using 50% concentrated hydrochloric acid. It worked great! And generated only 1000 mL of toxic chemical waste!

Next problem: I didn't want to use actual water in the globe. This was an electrical device, after all, and as Newton's Third Law teaches us, water + electricity = bad. So I settled on mineral oil. Which is, you know, flammable and stuff, but, hey, at least it wouldn't short anything out or cause rusting. I glued the fish and the plant to some rocks, arranged them tastefully in the bottom of the globe, and poured in the oil.

Failed project: goldfish in a light fixture

Haitian Voudu ceremony in Brooklyn

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 04:11 PM PST

Artist Danni Shinya Luo video interview

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 04:05 PM PST


Danni Shinya Luo has a show coming up at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, February 5 - 28, 2010.

Danni Shinya Luo's main subjects are meditations on the beauty of female figures, and the psychological tension that exists between them. She acquires her inspiration from a variety of topics varying from human fears, obsessions, and desires to elements of nature, cosmology, neurolinguistics and high fashion. Her main medium is watercolor with ink, and few other eclectic mediums. Overall, Danni Shinya's work can be described as fluid and organic, full of feminine romance with hidden conflicts and symbolic elements. "Spiritual Deficiencies" is a strong collection of stand-alone works each exploring weakness of a psychological nature. Figurative characters become living, breathing sigils -- enriching the surface narrative while revealing a series both beautiful and iconic.

Originally from Shanghai, China, Danni Shinya Luo moved to California in 1995. She fell in love with art in grade school and after a few years of private study (and an apprenticeship with Chinese watercolor master, Ding Ha) was accepted into Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. She majored in illustration and graduated with honor in 2006. Shinya has assisted artists Gary Baseman, Karl Handael, and has exhibited in galleries throughout North America. Her works have appeared in magazines like Bust and Initiativa, in books like Eye Candy, and she has done designs for Nickelodeon's Neopets. Shinya loves to support other talented female artists, and has been a member of Girls Drawin' Girls since 2006.

Artist Danni Shinya Luo video interview

Amazon acquires touchscreen tech maker: is a Superkindle coming?

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 03:47 PM PST

Nick Bilton in the NYT reports that Amazon has snarfed up a small company in New York and plans to "use its technology to build a Superkindle, with a multitouch color screen and built-in applications."

Beware the Breast Implants of Death

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 03:33 PM PST

Generally, I refrain from linking to WorldNetDaily. But squint your eyes a bit and pretend you're reading the National Enquirer (it's not hard) while digging this article about Muslim terrorists using breast and butt-cheek implants as bomb hideyholes. Belongs with a BatBoy photo spread. (via Danger Room)

Google now offers search results from "within your social circle"

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 03:28 PM PST

Dave Winer notes that Google has quietly rolled out what may end up being a significant leap forward in search: query results that yield content from people within your online social network. Here's a screengrab.

Giant boat crashes into dock

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 03:09 PM PST


Following our one-day-old tradition of posting videos of huge moving things crashing into huge non-moving things, here's a ship that seems angry that another ship took its berth and decides to teach it a lesson by wedging it aside.

Proto Pee-Wee, 1957

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 02:15 PM PST

201002031413

The wonderful pop Americana historian Charles Phoenix shared this remarkable photo of an Ur-Pee-Wee from 1957.

A man posing between a beautiful bongo drum and colorful display of plastic wrapped jazz albums predicts the Pee-Wee Herman look. Strike a pose there is nothing to it! That gray glen plaid suit over a white shirt finished with a red bow tie is in no uncertain terms an AMERICANA classic of the highest order. And so is Pee-Wee.
Proto Pee-Wee, 1957

Die Antwoord, S. African zef-rap, and Progeria survivor Leon Botha

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:35 PM PST

antwoord.jpg

ant.jpg So, a couple days ago, I blogged about South African band Die Antwoord (in English, "The Answer"), after my friend Clayton Cubitt pointed me to them. Here's the earlier BB post. You gotta watch the video and read the lyrics. Since that BB post went up, boom! goes the internet. BB commenter Wingo summed up my reaction by writing:

I am both terrified and highly pleased by this. It's utterly confusing to my sensibilities, yet I cannot say that I am not entertained by it.
Like Juggalos, but with more Jaegermeister! In this update post, after the jump: more Die Antwoord videos, more about the band's origins, and more about Leon Botha, the 24 year old artist and Progeria survivor who appears in their videos. The image above is a screengrab of Botha in this neat Flash page on dieantwoord.com. Read on...


An anonymous BB commenter wrote, "The guy with progeria [in the Die Antwoord videos] is artist/DJ Leon Botha, who is one of the world's oldest progeria survivors, and probably deserves a boingboing post of his own."


Indeed he does. Here is Leon Botha's website. Here is his Flickr stream, and here is a photo-essay about/with him. Snip from description:

Artist Leon Botha, one of the world's longest surviving Progeria sufferers, and photographer Gordon Clark embark on a collaborative and artistic adventure, exploring the questions of destiny and immortality to bring us this powerful photo series Who Am I? Transgressions.


Back to Die Antwoord now. Here's a Vice interview. This article in the Mail and Guardian sums up their origins well. Lots of audio links and photos here. And look, a Facebook group.

Embedded below, another Die Antwoord video: partying in a taxi.


Die Antwoord frontman Waddy Jones previously founded another art/music project called Max Normal (as far as I can tell, most of the people in Die Antwoord were also involved in Max Normal). One of their videos is embedded below -- it's Waddy drawing a panda.



Below, a MaxNormal music video. Here was the Max Normal MySpace, and here's a live performance video.


"Zef" is a word that often comes up in articles about Die Antwoord, and other artists mentioned in this post. Roughly speaking, it's Afrikaans slang for "redneck," or "white trash." South African blogger (and BB reader) Kameraad Mhambi has written more about that, and the broader phenomenon of Die Antwoord and related South African groups. Here are a few of his posts: Ninja is the new James Phillips. Another post + video on his blog here. More: Zef soo fresh - Die Antwoord, and Die Antwoord is the Answer. Also, A Ninja Broke My Heart, and I'm a Ninja.

Video below: Die Antwoord - Wat Pomp


If you like Die Antwoord's vibe, you might find this video suggested by a BB reader in the ealier thread interesting: The Opposites featuring Gers and Sef: Broodje Bakpao.


And then there's Afrikaner rapper Jack Parow, who appears on two tracks in the forthcoming Die Antwoord release, $0$:

And finally, Clayton Cubitt (who first turned me on to Die Antwoord) says, "Also check out South African photographer Roger Ballen. He did Die Antwoord's album cover, and their 'Wat Pomp' video."


Previously: Afrikaans rap-rave: Die Antwoord, "Zef Side [Beat Boy]"

(HT: BB commenter Moshang, Ladyfingers, and anonymous).

Teaser for A.D. animated zombie movie

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 01:36 PM PST


Scott says:

What? Animated Zombies...? Hell yes! After years of saturating the marketplace with family-friendly animated fare, "A.D." just might be the genre-busting shot in the arm Hollywood needs. Written by Haylar Garcia and Directed by Ben Hibon of "Codehunters" fame, the trailer contains some of the most kick-ass, stylized animation in years. Currently, the project is in search of a studio. For the sake of both horror and animation fans alike, let's hope "A.D." finds a zombie-friendly home quick.
Here's an interview with the creative team behind A.D.

Gorgeous steampunk kitchen sink

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:53 PM PST

201002031251

This lovingly-made steam punk faucet set would make washing up a real treat.

iPhone app creates International Typographic Style designs from your photos

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:43 PM PST

This looks like a fun iPhone app -- "addLib is an application for iPhone that edits your photos and creates infinite types of design based on educated theories."

addLib mixes the Grid System, a fractal theory, the golden ratio and the Facial Recognition System, and then creates graphic design. It seems the layout is made at random, but it comes from the rigorous calculated system. These theories have been made through the process that people has been trying to find new expression, and they are also the ways, to capture very ordinary "beauty" in nature, namely algorithm.

We picked up "International Typographic Style" also known as "Swiss Style", which bloomed in 1950s, as the theme from the history.

addLib (Via app.itize.us)

Scratch to win: the Bell Brothers' turntablist-puzzle game Record Tripping

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:45 PM PST

recordtripping.jpg Probably the easiest pick for web game of the week I'll make in some time, Record Tripping, the latest from Flash duo the Bell Brothers, probably couldn't survive easily on any of its individual parts, but adds up to a fantastic circular whole. Using your mouse's scroll-wheel (or, more fittingly, if more uncontrollably, two fingers on your MacBook trackpad), Tripping requires you to solve a series of vaguely Through-The-Looking-Glass-inspired puzzles, all plays on rotational mechanics: unlocking safes, spinning windmills to blow seeds into pots, or manipulating time itself to help White Rabbits make their train. Which again, fair enough on its own, but it layers on top of that a turntabilist scratch effect with backing music by Gorillaz, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, and Spoon and Peter-Pan-record narration of Alice's adventures in Wonderland. The design's slightly at odds with itself -- all the challenges are time based, which means more often than not you're causing a groove-skipping cacophony rather than working your way through to the beat, but it's still the cleverest use of the mouse wheel (an otherwise altogether overlooked part of the computer interface kit) I think I've ever seen. When you're done with that, there's also the Brothers' beat-matching Gorillaz spinoff game, and a decent enough similar bongo-along featuring Weezer (heavily inspired by Namco's Taiko: Drum Master) awaiting your perusal. Record Tripping [via Capy's Kris Piotrowski and .Tiff]

TV Newsroom worker looking at nude photos in background

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:24 PM PST


This fellow was looking at photos of scantily-clad women in a TV newsroom while the camera was on. He figures it out at 1:32 in the video.

Child porn and rape victim, 19, seeks restitution from downloaders

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST

misty.jpg

Downloading a copy of "The Misty Series" is a felony. The girl whose sexual abuse began at age 4, and was documented in horrific detail in that child porn video series, is now 19. The pedophile uncle who raped her at age 8 and filmed the abuse is in jail. Now, the victim and her lawyer are now seeking monetary damages from every person who downloaded and sought pleasure from the internet videos that for her represent an inextinguishable, constantly circulating echo of the abuse. The victim demands that each person convicted of possessing even one "Misty" image pay her damages until her total claim of $3.4 million is met. John Schwartz reports in the New York Times:

In February, when the first judge arranged payment to Amy in a case in Connecticut, Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, called the decision "highly questionable" on his blog and said it "stretches personal accountability to the breaking point." The judge in the case acknowledged, "We're dealing with a frontier here."

The issue is part of a larger debate over fairness in sentencing sex offenders. For years, lawmakers (and some voters) have reasoned that virtually no punishment was too severe for such criminals; even statutory limits on sentencing were often exceeded.

Now some courts have begun to push back, saying these heavy sentences are improper, and a new emphasis has arisen on making sex offenders pay monetary damages for their crimes. If such damages become widespread, experts say, it may make it easier to reach a consensus on measured sentencing.

Read more: Child Pornography, and an Issue of Restitution.

"Amy," as she is referenced in the article—not her real name—delivered a victim's impact statement. It is upsetting to read, and broke my heart. It's here: Victim impact statement of girl in Misty Series.

A related article in the Virginian-Pilot is here (A man who lived in Virginia Beach and was a member of the Shriners there was convicted of downloading "the Misty series.")

[image: "Amy." By Niko J. Kallianiotis for The New York Times]

Phil Foglio on why he posted his Hugo-winning comic online

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:31 AM PST

Mike sez, "Phil Foglio describes why he posted Hugo-winning comic Girl Genius online for free."
First of all, printing comic books is expensive. I figured that by not having to do the comic book we were saving close to $20,000 a year. When you lay out a comic book and then lay out a graphic novel, it's two entirely different jobs. You have to do it all over again. All we do now is sell the collections. Also, printing the comic was really expensive, and we were in a cash crunch at a particular time and we were like, "Is this really worth it?"

And thirdly, for years people had been coming up to me and saying "I would like to get into comics" and I had been saying "Screw comics. Do a webcomic. It's the wave of the future and your production costs are super low," and eventually I realized that instead of just giving this advice I should take it.

A lot of the success of Girl Genius I think could only have been done by a person like myself who had a long career building up an established name and being in independent publishing, because that meant I was publishing my own books. So when Girl Genius went online, we were able to sell people Girl Genius books from day one, whereas almost everybody, who starts a webcomic has to collect material before they get a book. It takes them sometimes up to two years before they can begin to monetize our core product. We went in with a functioning store, and all we had to do was say "Like it? Buy it now."

Unbound: Talking with Phil Foglio

Dan Gillmor on the future of journalism education

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:28 AM PST

Dan "We, The Media" Gillmor sez, "What I'd do if I ran a journalism school..."
I would, among many other things:

* Emphasize undergraduate journalism degrees as great liberal arts programs, even more valuable that way than as training for journalism careers. At the same time, focus graduate journalism studies on helping people with expertise in specific areas to be the best possible journalists in their fields.

* Do away with the still-common "track" system for would-be journalists where students focus on print, broadcast, online, etc. These are merging. There would be one track. We wouldn't just recognize our students' digital future; we'd immerse them in it.

* Encourage, and require in some cases, cross-disciplinary learning and doing. We'd create partnerships around the university, working with business, engineering/computer science, film, political science, law, design and many other programs. The goals would be both to develop our own projects and to be an essential community-wide resource for the future of local media.

The Future of Journalism Education
Previously:


Iranian dissident site back online!

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:26 AM PST

Ethan Zuckerman writes,
Thanks for the post regarding mowjcamp on Monday. Less than 48 hours later, the situation's been resolved, thanks in no small part to Yahoo! who put serious resources into resolving the situation. I've updated my post:

Mowjcamp.com is back up! Friends at EFF were able to broker a conversation between Yahoo, Moniker, Melbourne IT and Access Now. The situation is complicated, and I'm still trying to understand the details of the resolution, but it's fantastic news that the site is back up. Special thanks to friends at Yahoo! who ended up taking the brunt of the criticism for the downtime. That wasn't fair, and was in part my fault for not understanding everyone's role in the situation. Yahoo! worked extremely hard to resolve the situation after being called out and deserve special thanks for their hard work, as does everyone who took action to get this important site back online.

Mowjcamp (Thanks, Ethan!)
Previously:


3 US soldiers killed in Pakistan. Now can we consider it a "real war?"

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:17 AM PST

Over at Wired Danger Room, Noah Shachtman writes about the killing of three American soldiers in Pakistan today: "It's another sign that America's once-small, once-secret war in Pakistan is growing bigger, more conventional, and busting out into the open. The U.S. Air Force now conducts flights over Pakistani soil. U.S. security contractors operate in the country. U.S. strikes are growing larger, more frequent, and more deadly; the latest attack reportedly involved 17 missiles and killed as many as 29 people. U.S. forces are dying in Pakistan."

More 3D titles in the Hollywood pipeline: Titans, Potter... "Ga'Hoole"?

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:20 AM PST

No big surprise here: the commercial success of Avatar paves the way for many more big-studio 3D titles. Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that Clash of the Titans will be released in 3D (and "2D") worldwide on April 2. The studio plans 3D releases, including Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (November), Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (July), Guardians of Ga'Hoole (September). Hey, nobody said they were all be any good.

Cartoon about Angry Birds mobile game

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:02 AM PST


I enjoyed this whimsical cartoon for a mobile catapult physics game called Angry Birds. Should I pay $1.99 to get it from the iPhone apps store?
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