The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Brits: tell the LibDem Peers not to bring web-censorship to Britain!
• Audiobook DRM versus the patrons of the Cleveland Library
• Onion: Google Responds To Privacy Concerns With Unsettlingly Specific Apology
• Chaotic Pendulums for sale in Boing Boing Bazaar
• Pictures of Obama feigning interest in mundane things
• Zombie shadow maker
• Lagos Disco Inferno!
• How did Garth Hudson defeat gravity?
• As if Kurt Cobain hasn't died enough times already
• The Kisseloff Collection: a one-man museum of 20th century ephemera
• Inexpensive gene copier for DIY molecular biology
• Roger Ebert gets his voice back: "Uncanny. A good feeling."
• God tells man to microwave alarm clock and shoot up hotel room
• Raining fish in Australia
• Arrests made in "Mariposa" botnet that infected 13 million PCs
• OK Go's Rube Goldberg music video
• The Weird Al Yankovic sex tape
• How peering is changing the shape of the Internet
• Cactus sticks man
• Why connect a mousetrap to a light switch?
• Mekons, "Memphis, Egypt" (Greatest Song of All Time of the Day)
• Artsy photos of breakfasts in different countries
• 5,000 naked Australians (NSFW)
• Video: Dogs in slow motion
• Guru of Gang Starr said to have undergone successful surgery
• Could tiny terrestrial gamma-ray radiation flashes harm airline passengers?
• What ten sounds are most likely to make you react?
• Starbucks to introduce 32-oz coffee supersize, the "Trenta"
• Apple sues HTC over iPhone patents
• Dancing Baby does not have "unclean hands," rules judge in 'net copyright case

Brits: tell the LibDem Peers not to bring web-censorship to Britain! Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:29 PM PST The awful UK Digital Economy Bill is being debated in the House of Lords, and it might just get more awful, thanks to the LibDems. The LibDem peers, Lords Razzall and Clement-Jones, have introduced an amendment that would open the door to nationally censoring entire websites on unsubstantiated claims of copyright infringement -- so YouTube or WordPress.com might disappear from the British Internet if someone makes a false accusation of copyright infringement against them. The LibDems are supposed to be the party of liberty. That's why I joined them. That's why I fundraise and campaign for them. I believe that this is an embarrassment for the party, and I'm writing to them to tell them so. I hope you will, too. "97B Preventing access to specified online locations (1) The High Court (in Scotland, the Court of Session) shall have power to grant an injunction against a service provider, requiring it to prevent access to online locations specified in the order of the Court. Lib Dems seek web blocking: ask them to stop (Thanks, Glyn!) Previously: Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying ... UK Digital Economy Bill will wipe out indie WiFi hotspots in ... Britain's Digital Economy Bill will cost ISPs £500M, knock 40K ... Digital companies object strenuously to UK Digital Economy bill ... BREAKING: Leaked UK government plan to create "Pirate Finder ... HOWTO talk to your MP about the UK Digital Economy Bill ... Liberty's briefing on Britain's Digital Economy Bill

Audiobook DRM versus the patrons of the Cleveland Library Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:39 PM PST This installment of the Brads webcomic shows the 22 steps a reader has to take in order to borrow a DRM-crippled audiobook from the public library. A compelling argument for libraries to boycott this stuff. The Brads - Why DRM Doesn't Work Previously: XKCD strip explains how DRM creates piracy My DRM and ebooks talk from O'Reilly Tools of Change for ... DRM-free Kindle books: are they any free-er? Stupid DRM, abusive EULAs, hopeless ecommerce: why I'm not even ... O'Reilly drops ebook DRM, sees 104% increase in sales Obama's diplomatic gift to UK leader fubared by DRM

Onion: Google Responds To Privacy Concerns With Unsettlingly Specific Apology Posted: 02 Mar 2010 07:14 PM PST The Onion: Google Responds To Privacy Concerns With Unsettlingly Specific Apology. "Clearly there have been some privacy concerns as of late, and judging by some of the search terms we've seen, along with the tens of thousands of personal e-mail exchanges and Google Chat conversations we've carefully examined, it looks as though it might be a while before we regain your trust."

Chaotic Pendulums for sale in Boing Boing Bazaar Posted: 02 Mar 2010 06:29 PM PST Who in their right mind wouldn't want a double pendulum like this hanging on their wall? Made of high quality materials, this pendulum will become a treasured heirloom that your progeny will fight over when you die. For sale now in the Boing Boing Bazaar! Chaotic Pendulum Previously: Get a P8TCH at the Bazaar Miniboss T-shirt in the Bazaar Hine's felt camera cases in the Bazaar Boing Boing Hollow spy coins for all your micro-smuggling needs Boing Boing Sublime Stitching's Sexy Librarians embroidery patterns Boing Boing

Pictures of Obama feigning interest in mundane things Posted: 02 Mar 2010 03:50 PM PST One of the downsides to being president: You still have to look interested and engaged at every event, even the 15th factory tour you've been to this month. New York Magazine explores the perils of the job with this slideshow History of President Obama Feigning Interest in Mundane Things.

Zombie shadow maker Posted: 02 Mar 2010 04:05 PM PST The fine folks at Evolution Laser Works, most famous for their laser-etched Obama Toast, created this stately wood cut-out that will cast delightfully frightful zombie shadows on your walls. It's 4" x 4" x 1/8" mahogany ply, stained, and varnished, and would look terrific backlit in my Wunderkammer. Just $15 at the Boing Boing Bazaar in the Makers Market. Brraaaiiinnnnss Zombie Shadow Cast

Lagos Disco Inferno! Posted: 02 Mar 2010 07:29 PM PST Mark has written previously about DJ Frank Gossner's amazing podcast of 1970s West African pop music. That podcast is currently on hiatus, but Frank is keeping busy. In two weeks he'll be releaseing Lagos Disco Inferno, 12 rare and wild examples of the sound of Lagos in the late 1970s. As Dean Disi (formerly director of Lagos label TYC Records) writes in the liner notes for the album: "Lagos by the 1970s was a huge metropolitan city. Due to the oil boom, there was money to be made with music and nightlife and big international record labels like EMI, Decca and Philips had set up their recording studios that for a big part got equipped with vintage hardware handed down from their European franchises... EMI's house producer Emmanuel Odenusi had worked with Fela for many years, defining the sound of Afrobeat. Kayode Salami who produced another couple of tracks on this album also was responsible for the incredible sound of the famous debut LP by Psych-Rock group Ofege. Lagos, a uniquely vibrant, gritty, energetic and sometimes quite dangerous tropical metropolis has always been much more than just a city. A state of mind where third world poverty met the oil boom, where African traditions clashed with Western decadence. Make no mistake, this stuff will have you dance in a feverish rush in no time. Enjoy a taste of Lagos Disco Inferno.

How did Garth Hudson defeat gravity? Posted: 02 Mar 2010 03:14 PM PST There are plenty of mysteries around The Band that even a first-rate novella can't unravel, but now here's one I'd like the Boing Boing community to help me figure out: How come Garth Hudson's expensive keyboards didn't fall down? (Photo by Watt Casey, Jr.)

As if Kurt Cobain hasn't died enough times already Posted: 02 Mar 2010 01:04 PM PST This, ladies and germs, is how you butch up men's figure skating: Nirvana on Ice! (Erin Polgreen via Chris Baker).

The Kisseloff Collection: a one-man museum of 20th century ephemera Posted: 02 Mar 2010 01:15 PM PST Famed New Yorker cartoonist Syd Hoff drew cartoons for The Daily Worker under the nom de plume A. Redfield. Author and archivist Jeff Kisseloff (he wrote, among other books, The Box, the best history of early TV ever written) is opening up his files and airing them on the Web, and the results are never less than captivating. Kisseloff's gotten a lot of attention for the Harry Dubin pictures, an off-center visual record of New York City street life in the 1940s, and the Dubin pictures are spectacular -- vibrant and bright in the way only Kodachrome can be, but composed like living cartoons. They're really just the tip of the archival iceberg, though. The Kisseloff Collection is like one of those creaky old general stores that still exist in mid-sized towns off the interstate, all worn wooden floors and decades of dust, and you wander its aisles never knowing what you're going to find. An application for membership in the Worker's Party of America? ("...the above-ground unit of the Communist Party USA," Kisseloff helpfully notes, "formed after its leadership was forced underground in the 1920s by the goon squad, also known as the Justice Department... ") Got it. Dutch Schultz's NYPD Wanted circular? Got it, accompanying a photo of Kisseloff visiting the gangster's grave. Cartoons from The Daily Worker, drawn under a nom de plume by kids' book author and longtime New Yorker cartoonist Syd Hoff? Got 'em. A 1948 NBC censor's report? Yep. ("The Lewis-Howe people on behalf of Tums are soon to introduce an animated cartoon. We have seen the proposed animation and, if anything, were surprised at the excellent taste with which it was handled.") What happens to a historian's files when the history is written? If we're lucky, this is what happens. Kisseloff's a one-man museum of 20th century ephemera, and his collection is well worth a visit. Just be prepared to lose an afternoon doing it. The Kisseloff Collection

Inexpensive gene copier for DIY molecular biology Posted: 02 Mar 2010 12:30 PM PST At a recent O'Reilly/Nature/Google Science Foo Camp, a group of smart folks interested in DIY biology discussed how DNA tests for infectious diseases and the potential of molecular biology in general was unlikely to make it to developing nations anytime soon. The essential tool, a PCR machine that makes copies of DNA fragments, is just too damn expensive. So rather than shrug and move on, they decided to put their ingenuity where their mouths are and make a small, inexpensive PCR machine. The LavaAmp, a portable device for cheap PCR in the field and DIY biotech, is now in prototype. From an email written by Venezuelan biologist Guido Núñez-Mujica, co-developer of the LavaAmp: LavaAmp is the result of the collaboration of Rob Carlson and his engineering partner, Rik Wehbring, founders of Biodesic, a Bioengineering firm, Jim Hardy, bioentrepreneur founder of Gahaga Biosciences, Joseph Jackson, a philosopher interested in Open Science and DIY Biology and me, a comp. biologist. SciFoo put us in touch, and in my particular case, exposed me to a culture of entrepreneurship that I was not familiar with. It was the catalyst that made us embark in this venture: Try to develop, manufacture and market a simple, inexpensive device to perform PCR, the backbone of molecular biology, based on existing technology that was never developed until we took it over. Right now, we have developed a prototype and are about to start the manufacturing, if we can get enough funds. In order to gather funds we are competing in a program for social entrepreneurs, The Unreasonable Institute, where we need pledges from supporters in order to gain access to training, mentoring and funding. LavaAmp on the Unreasonable Finalist Marketplace Previously: DIY biohackers in the news HOWTO set up a molecular biology lab for less than $1000 DIY biohacking in the Boston Globe New Yorker: Where Will Synthetic Biology Lead Us? Crowdsourced science: HOWTO do agarose gel electrophoresis using ...

Roger Ebert gets his voice back: "Uncanny. A good feeling." Posted: 02 Mar 2010 03:15 PM PST If you haven't read the epic Equire interview, go do that before reading the rest of this post. Famed film critic and all-around awesome human being Roger Ebert has not been able to speak for four years, since undergoing cancer-related surgery. He's been communicating with hand signals, monotone text-to-speech software, and a wonderful ongoing stream of Twitter updates. Today is a big day, though: on Oprah, he debuts his new voice, which sounds a lot like the old voice we all knew and loved. In the video above, his wife Chaz hears it for the first time. Yeah, I cried. Scotland-based tech company CereProc create the text-to-speech voice using archived recordings of Ebert speaking (specifically, DVD commentary tracks). The result is amazing. More: Ebert's own blog, CNN, ABC News, Videogum Previously: Roger Ebert rages against takedowns of his Siskel tribute Will Leitch on how Roger Ebert drew him to journalism SF fanzines prefigured blogs: Roger Ebert

God tells man to microwave alarm clock and shoot up hotel room Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:43 AM PST A 53-year-old Michigan man surrendered to police after shooting up a hotel room and putting the alarm clock in the microwave, according to the Associated Press. He left this note: God delivered me from evil and placed me in Albion, Michigan."

Raining fish in Australia Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:38 AM PST Fish have reportedly rained from the sky in Australia's Northern Territory. The Northern Territory News has received numerous reports from readers in Lajamanu, Maningrida and Hermannsburg that fish have fallen in places some distance from rivers or creeks. Of course, fish falls were a favorite subject in the books of Charles Fort (1874-1932), "collector" of anomalous phenomena who greatly influenced my own appreciation for high weirdness. From the Northern Territory News: Storms which rain fish may be being confused with fish swimming from creeks along flooded ground, a Territory expert said yesterday. But he had no sooner finished giving his rational explanation than another Northern Territory News reader phoned in a story of raining fish - with no rivers or creeks in the area... The phenomenon has been documented around the world and is believed to be cause by small twisters or waterspouts. As they pass over water small fish can be sucked up into the clouds and kept there as the cloud moves over land. Eventually they fall from the cloud to the ground, inevitably surprising any people who see them. "Raining fish theories up the creek as reports flood in" (via Fortean Times, 'natch) Previously: Tadpoles falling from the sky in Japan? Philosophy of Charles Fort Charles Fort's famous Book of the Damned as free ebook 1948 Fate magazine article about Charles Fort

Arrests made in "Mariposa" botnet that infected 13 million PCs Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:35 AM PST AP reports that authorities in Spain have cracked one of the biggest botnet rings in history, with three arrests made and more coming. The so-called Mariposa botnet appeared in December, 2008: "a data vacuum that stole credit cards and online banking credentials from as many as 12.7 million poisoned PCs," affecting "half of the Fortune 1,000 companies" and more than 40 major banks, according to investigators.

OK Go's Rube Goldberg music video Posted: 02 Mar 2010 02:36 PM PST OK Go shot a fantastic Rube Goldberg contraption video for their new song "This Too Shall Pass." The MAKE team race car makes an appearance at around 3:00 minutes into the video. The contraption was built by Syyn Labs. Adam Sadowsky of Syyn Labs wrote: The requirements were that it had to be interesting, not "overbuilt" or too technology-heavy, and easy to follow.  The machine also had to be built on a shoestring budget, synchronize with beats and lyrics in the music and end on time over a 3.5 minute song, play a part of the song, and be filmed in one shot.  To make things more challenging still, the space chosen was divided into two floors and the machine would use both. Look for a "making of" article written by Adam in a forthcoming issue of MAKE magazine. High resolution version here: OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - RGM version

The Weird Al Yankovic sex tape Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:29 AM PST There's a Weird Al Yankovic sex tape on the internet today. Lock up your bubble wrap stash. (via @alyankovic)

How peering is changing the shape of the Internet Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:27 AM PST Snip from a worthy read about shifting network meta-architecture, by John Markoff in today's New York Times: [Peering] goes back to the earliest days of the Internet, when organizations would directly connect their networks instead of paying yet another company to route data traffic. Originally, the companies that owned the backbone of the Internet shared traffic. In recent years, however, the practice has increased to the point where some researchers who study the way global networks are put together believe that peering is changing the fundamental shape of the Internet, with serious consequences for its stability and security. Others see the vast increase in traffic staying within a structure that has remained essentially the same. What is clear is that today a significant portion of Internet traffic does not flow through the backbone networks of giant Internet companies like AT&T and Level 3. Instead, it has begun to cascade in torrents of data on the edges of the network, as if a river in flood were carving new channels. Scientists Strive to Map the Shape-Shifting Net (New York Times) Previously: NPR "Xeni Tech" - A Los Angeles 'Hotel' for Internet Carriers ... Nightmarish cable tangles Network card of the future never stops networking

Cactus sticks man Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:17 AM PST According to Bits and Pieces, this gentleman was playing golf and fell onto a cactus plant. The paramedics spent three hours removing the cactus pieces from his body before they could take him to the hospital. Gape at the full image here. In the comments, Osprey101 linked to this video of a man who got stuck with one Teddybear Cholla Cactus ball. Ouch.

Why connect a mousetrap to a light switch? Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:24 AM PST This photo was posted to There, I Fixed It. What is the purpose of connecting a mousetrap to an AC power switch? It's too bad we can't see what the switch is turning on when the mousetrap snaps shut. Granddad Was Serious About Not Touching His Shed

Mekons, "Memphis, Egypt" (Greatest Song of All Time of the Day) Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:25 AM PST Once upon a time, when we were younger and more open to the idea of losing money on purpose, my friends Eric and Harris (no Twitter; smart guy) and I were going to start a website in which one of the daily features would have been "Greatest Song of All Time of the Day." I used to do that occasionally on my own blog, but not regularly. I'm here for two weeks, which is pretty finite, so, with a tip of my hat to my friends, I'll be delivering a Greatest Song of All Time every day I'm here. The Sex Pistols trashed as many of rock's traditions as they could, but they also forged a few. The one that lasted longest was ambivalence about stardom. When punk turned into new wave (which then turned into the Knack), it was easy for the original punks to say they wanted to shun the brass ring. But eventually they got tired of playing to the same 800 people every time they came to a town. The great ones, like the Clash, found a way to keep the feeling but broaden their base. The rest jettisoned punk as being anything but a fashion move; they turned into businesspeople. The Mekons were the only original punk unit to make it into the form's second decade with their ideals intact and their vision clear. With Mekons Rock 'n' Roll, which came out in 1989, they tried for a mass audience after years spent torturing themselves with their inability to secure one. Mekons Rock 'n' Roll was not merely the group's most clearheaded recording. Their belated first major-label album (in the U.S., anyway), it was a hand held out to the mainstream rock audience. Yet this rapprochement came with conditions. The record's cover art shook down to depicting a defaced Elvis Presley, which perfectly expressed the Mekons' ambivalence. They loved rock 'n' roll, but they hated the means by which the music was disseminated, so they filled their most mainstream album with unremitting rants against the pop-music industry. The record started with the bracing thrash of 'Memphis, Egypt," a terrific, energized tune. It worked on two levels: a nasty tale of how much they hated rock culture (the video pretty much screams "I AM A PARODY!")-- and a thrilling example of how great they were at it. Ah, stop reading; listen to the Mekons. They make the case for themselves far better than I ever could. (Well, if you do want to read more, Robert Christgau wrote liner notes to Mekons Rock 'n' Roll when it was reissued in 2001.)

Artsy photos of breakfasts in different countries Posted: 02 Mar 2010 09:38 AM PST I love this series of photographs by Germany's Oliver Schwarzald of breakfasts from around the world (although from the looks of it they are mostly from the Western world). Can you guess where the coffee, croissant, and cigarette are from? (via Designboom)

5,000 naked Australians (NSFW) Posted: 02 Mar 2010 09:42 AM PST For his latest art project, photographer Spencer Tunick convinced 5,000 Australians — including babies — to pose completely naked in front of the Sydney Opera House. Five-thousand bum salute (via Art News Blog)

Video: Dogs in slow motion Posted: 02 Mar 2010 09:25 AM PST This is an ad for Pedigree, a supermarket dog food brand, and it features a series of mesmerizing slow-motion images of dogs jumping, shaking, and catching treats. The director shot it using a Phantom camera at 1,000fps. (via Dogster)

Guru of Gang Starr said to have undergone successful surgery Posted: 02 Mar 2010 09:04 AM PST Details are still slim, but the news sure sounds good: legendary rapper Guru of Gang Starr is said to have undergone successful surgery last night. He is reported to be in stable condition today, with a full recovery expected. His creative partner DJ Premier tweets today, "[Guru is] still in a med[ically] induced coma, he's breathing with machine help." (Previous BB post here.)

Could tiny terrestrial gamma-ray radiation flashes harm airline passengers? Posted: 02 Mar 2010 08:49 AM PST NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope will join the search for mysterious gamma-ray flashes above thunderstorms, which are ultrabrief but could be hazardous to air travelers. "Just one millisecond blast of the so-called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) could expose passengers and crew aboard a nearby jetliner to the same level of radiation as 400 chest X-rays, according to a recent study."

What ten sounds are most likely to make you react? Posted: 02 Mar 2010 08:55 AM PST At Fast Company, Author Martin Lindstrom writes about an informal study conducted by his company Buyology Inc. and Elias Arts, a New York-based "sound identity company," to explore which sounds would most reliably cause involuntary responses in listeners. "Baby giggle," demonstrated so effectively by the little duderino in the video above, was number one on the list. Among branded sounds, the "Intel sound" was tops. Neuromarketers, listen up: [We] wired up 50 volunteers and measured their galvanic, pupil, and brainwave responses to sounds using the latest neuroscience-based research methods. We learned that sound has remarkable power. This may not be surprising for many, but it was certainly surprising to realize just how many commercial brands over the past 20 years have made their way into the world's 10 most powerful and addictive sounds--beating some of the most familiar and comforting sounds of nature. The 10 Most Addictive Sounds in the World (via PSFK)

Starbucks to introduce 32-oz coffee supersize, the "Trenta" Posted: 02 Mar 2010 08:51 AM PST Starbucks is reported to be test-marketing a new supersize called the "Trenta," delivering 32 ounces of any cold coffee beverage and a week's worth of caffeine tremors.

Apple sues HTC over iPhone patents Posted: 02 Mar 2010 08:53 AM PST Gizmodo just broke the news that Apple is suing HTC for infringing on 20 patents "related to the iPhone's user interface, underlying architecture and hardware." The full filing, and more on the case, here. Update: here are the patents in question.

Dancing Baby does not have "unclean hands," rules judge in 'net copyright case Posted: 02 Mar 2010 08:21 AM PST The dancing baby's mom is doing a victory jig today, after winning a copyright case involving this viral video (above) of her cute toddler dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy." US District Judge Jeremy Fogel granted partial summary judgment to Stephanie Lenz last week in her battle against Universal Music Group, putting a halt to Universal's attempts to paint Lenz as having "bad faith" and "unclean hands" in her lawsuit. No unclean hands, huh? Well, you ought to see him after someone breaks out a bowl of chocolate pudding or spaghetti. More at Ars Technica. (via Nancy Sims)

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