The Latest from Boing Boing

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• I'm at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford
• Neurotoxic soyburgers story came from pro-meat/anti-vegetarian group
• Steampunk VTR controller
• Steampunk Magazine #7: airships, hot air balloons, Alice, politics and steam!
• UK minority party supporters coordinate strategic votes through Facebook
• Anti-piracy enforcers claiming to represent Microsoft used to shut down dissident media in former USSR
• Former NYT reporter sleeps on street, eats out of garbage cans
• Space Weather: big solar prominence, blow to Earth's magnetic field tomorrow
• Radio stations in Somalia prohibited from playing music by totally lame Islamist insurgents
• Disabled Explorers
• Long cat: still long
• Paramount Pictures sells DRM-tastic hard drives pre-loaded with movies, crippleware
• Feral cities
• Remembering Ed Roberts, the father of the personal computer
• Chairs made from Coca Cola bottles
• Memristors for artificial intelligence?
• Awe-inspiring Gypsy jazz guitarist
• Dress made out of peanut M&M wrappers
• Die Antwoord to play first US show at Coachella this weekend
• In the end, there can be only jellyfish
• The robot index
• South Park's Matt & Trey launch Mormon Broadway musical with Avenue Q co-creator
• Werner Herzog 3D documentary on cave art
• Dream Machine-inspired performance piece
• Cartooning advice from Zippy the Pinhead's Bill Griffith
• Magnet constructions
• Paintings, prints available from Giant Robot's Game Over art show
• Gamasutra's most important gamers list is a boy's club
• Alex Brown: Untitled (Sad Vader)
• Nuclear summit logo designed by Obama to appeal to Muslims, says noted wingnut

I'm at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford Posted: 15 Apr 2010 02:05 AM PDT Good morning from Oxford, England! I'm at the Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship — a gathering of people who are using business and technology to solve social, environmental, and human rights issues. If you have any questions in the field, or want me to interview a particular speaker, leave a comment and I'll try to find answers for us.

Neurotoxic soyburgers story came from pro-meat/anti-vegetarian group Posted: 14 Apr 2010 08:04 PM PDT Looks like I got spoofed: the study in this morning's post about neurotoxins in soyburgers turns out to have been funded by an anti-vegetarian, pro-meat lobbying group, the Weston A Price Foundation. These are also the folks who say lard is good for you. Maybe the science is good, maybe it isn't (read the comments for good debate on it), but I sure feel a lot more suspicious about it than I did this morning. (Thanks, Xeni!)

Steampunk VTR controller Posted: 14 Apr 2010 07:59 PM PDT Mike Pusateri sez, "This week is the NAB Conference and I saw this steampunk style VTR controller on the show floor. I thought you might get a kick out of it. It was fully functional and not just a mockup. Each button does a real task that broadcasters need in a VTR controller. The workmanship was excellent. The guys who made it are HiTechSys."

Steampunk Magazine #7: airships, hot air balloons, Alice, politics and steam! Posted: 14 Apr 2010 07:55 PM PDT Allegra sez, "Issue #7 of SteamPunk Magazine is now available for order and (as always) free download via the SteamPunk Magazine website. With fiction about hot air balloons and airships (why choose when you can have both?), poems about Alice in Wonderland, articles about building your own island and a good slathering of politics, we honestly believe that Issue #7 is our best yet!" Issue #7 Released! (Thanks, Allegra!) Previously: Police seize copies of Steampunk magazine and kombucha in raid ... Steampunk magazine Steampunk Magazine issue 4 Steampunk Magazine issue 6 Steampunk Magazine #5 is out, hurrah! Steampunk Magazine #2 Steampunk Magazine #3 Noted steampunk arrested for tweeting G20 demonstration Highlights from steampunk bazaar at White Mischief

UK minority party supporters coordinate strategic votes through Facebook Posted: 14 Apr 2010 07:51 PM PDT LibDem supporters in the UK have started a Facebook group to coordinate action among LibDem supporters who might vote "strategically" for another party in the upcoming election. In the UK (as in most countries), voting for minority parties is seen by many as a "waste" because your candidate is unlikely to win. This, of course, is self-fulfilling -- if everyone votes strategically, even popular candidates don't get elected. Using the net to make contact with other supporters is a smart way to overcome the collective action problem. (Thanks, Dan!)

Anti-piracy enforcers claiming to represent Microsoft used to shut down dissident media in former USSR Posted: 14 Apr 2010 08:45 PM PDT Danny O'Brien from the Committee to Protect Journalists sez, "The Kyrgyz government used anti-piracy heavies (including a guy who is president of 'Kyrgyz Association for Defense of Intellectual Property Rights' and who works with Microsoft) to shut down Stan TV, an independent web TV news channel in Kyrgyzstan. They said they were investigating unlicensed Microsoft software and seized all the journalists' laptops and work computers, shutting down the station. When the President was ousted two weeks later, Stan TV got it all back without explanation. Apparently there's a long history of governments using Microsoft's name and piracy charges to squelch independent media in Russia, too." Selective enforcement of alleged software infringement is being used with some frequency in the former Soviet republics as cover to harass independent media. Local law enforcement officials have been given broad powers, in the name of fighting piracy, to raid premises and seize hardware. For the most part, Western companies and governments have encouraged this broadening of powers--but they have not insisted on checks to ensure such powers are not misused. As a result, abuses of power are being committed in the names of those companies. Stan TV employees told CPJ that police were accompanied by a technical expert, Sergey Pavlovsky, who claimed to be a representative of Microsoft's Bishkek office. According to the journalists, Pavlovsky said he had authorization papers from Microsoft but was unwilling to show them. After a cursory inspection of the computers, they said, Pavlovsky declared all of the equipment to be using pirated software. Stan TV's work computers, as well as the personal laptops of journalists, were seized; the offices were also sealed, interrupting the station's work. Microsoft, piracy, and independent media in Kyrgyzstan Update: Danny adds, "Just to be clear, Microsoft says they knew nothing about this raid. Here's their statement on the matter: 'The raid against Stan Media was initiated by the Kyrgyz police without any involvement from any Microsoft employees or anyone working on Microsoft's behalf. The identified local lawyer has been representing Microsoft in a few enforcement actions targeting resellers of pirated software, but at this time he was asked to assist the police to identify possible unlicensed software in the role of a technical specialist from the local 'Association of Right Holders of Intellectual Property Protection'. No claims were filed on Microsoft's behalf and any suggestion that Microsoft approved or supported this police action is inaccurate.' (Thanks, Danny!) (Image: Microsoft sign outside building 99, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from scobleizer's photostream) Previously: Kyrgyz computer education signs Kyrgyz government blog crackdown update Report: Kyrgyzstan under massive DOS attack Microsoft's profits, by division Microsoft exec "sabotaged" Tablet PC software development - Boing ... Microsoft abandons its customers AND copyright to kiss up to ...

Former NYT reporter sleeps on street, eats out of garbage cans Posted: 14 Apr 2010 06:15 PM PDT "Hate Man," a homeless fellow who lives on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue, wears cast-off women's clothing, and eats out of garbage cans (because "It's free [and it] makes your immune system strong"), once worked as a reporter for the New York Times. Actually, he wrote at the Times from 1961 to 1970, nearly an entire decade. Back then, he was known as Mark Hawthorne. Why the identity change? Snip from his interview with Kevin Fagan at the San Francisco Chronicle: Q: You require people to say "I hate you" before you begin a conversation. Do you really hate everyone? A: I do. But it's a new way of hating. It's about being straight with people. The dictionary defines hate as hostility, but that's heavy. My idea is to be straight about negative feelings that we all have, which is what hate is, and then you can have a real conversation. Don't be threatening or angry or snotty - just straight. This nytimes.com search query returns some of the articles Hate Man wrote for the New York Times back when he was Mark Hawthorne. They include "Long Hair and Sex Freedom: A Social Critic's Proposals for Youth" (PDF), "A Gallery of Apartment Doodles Lies Just Below the New Paint; The Artist Breaks Out" (PDF) and "Washington Sq. Singers Invent Own Instruments" (PDF). You know, from the sound of those headlines, he'd have been a perfect Boing Boing guestblogger when he was a writer, and part of "normal society." But I remember seeing him on the streets in Berkeley some 15 years ago, and he was crazy aggressive and hostile with people. He used to run up and yell at folks who were minding their own business and walking down the street. Very screamy, and physically threatening at times. He scared me, and others, and plenty of locals definitely hated him. Wonder what the rest of his story was. It sounds like he's pretty mellow at least some of the time, or that he's changed: the San Francisco Chronicle reporter described him as a "gentle, lucid conversationalist." So is he a mentally ill man, failed by the system, denied the care he needs? Or an eccentric guy, living the life he wants to live? My bet's on the former, but who knows. Homeless ex-reporter opted for Berkeley streets (sfgate, via Greg Mitchell) Update: Here's another story about the man, in the Daily Cal (thanks Xenu).

Space Weather: big solar prominence, blow to Earth's magnetic field tomorrow Posted: 14 Apr 2010 04:38 PM PDT Space Weather reports that one of the largest solar prominences in years erupted from the sun's northwestern limb yesterday, April 13. "The massive plasma-filled structure rose up and burst during a ~2 hour period around 0900 UT on April 13th." Observers in Europe had the best view, and this photo was shot by Jo Dahlmans of Ulestraten, Netherlands, using his Coronado Personal Solar Telescope. "The eruption hurled a bright coronal mass ejection (CME, movie) into space. The expanding cloud could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field around April 15th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of polar geomagnetic activity when the CME arrives."

Radio stations in Somalia prohibited from playing music by totally lame Islamist insurgents Posted: 14 Apr 2010 04:39 PM PDT "We are using other sounds such as gunfire, the noise of the vehicles and birds to link up our programmes and news." —Abdulahi Yasin Jama, of Tusmo radio in Somalia, reacting to a ban on broadcasting music or jingles, issued 10 days ago by Islamic militants. The country has a majority Sunni muslim population, most of whom are none too happy with the ban, or the ongoing violence. At least 11 were killed in fighting this week.

Disabled Explorers Posted: 14 Apr 2010 04:11 PM PDT Joel Johnson has a terrific feature up over at Gizmodo about Lance Blair, and his diesel-powered wheelchair-accessible 4x4 adventure truck known as "Wheelchair Accessible Van for Expeditions," or "WAVE." Lance had a motorcycle accident in 1988. He lost a leg, and sustained great damage to his hip and pelvis. He didn't think he'd walk again, and for a while, folks around him weren't sure if he'd live, period. Now he runs an organization called Disabled Explorers. Snip: Every soldier is eventually discharged. Every soldier, especially those who have seen combat, has to figure out how to reintegrate with society. Disabled soldiers get to do all that, plus figure out what they physically can and can't do. So Lance rolls up in the WAVE, tosses the soldier in the back, and takes him out to the desert for a few days of overland travel. Since the wars began, dozens of soldiers have come back from Iraq and Afghanistan missing limbs. The US military's disposition towards disabled soldiers has improved considerably since the 20th century, with programs like "Operation Proper Exit" in place to help soldiers work through not just the physical but emotional trauma by revisiting the place where they lost their limb. To see that their loss contributed to the competition of their mission helps some soldiers contextualize their sacrifice. Lance's prosthesis maker lives in Phoenix. He works with marines at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, the ones who have gotten back from a dusty war and are being fitted with their first custom carbon-fiber arm or leg. Together they realized that there was an opportunity to get these guys out of their physical therapy and into an adventure--one that would remind them they were still healthy young men who could do things that even those with all their limbs might not have the gumption to manage. (Lance also works with non-military disabled folk.) Disabled Explorers In the World's Most Badass Short Bus (Gizmodo)

Long cat: still long Posted: 14 Apr 2010 03:43 PM PDT Worth revisiting: a gallery of images extoling the longness of Long Cat. (via @seanbonner)

Paramount Pictures sells DRM-tastic hard drives pre-loaded with movies, crippleware Posted: 14 Apr 2010 04:40 PM PDT Paramount Pictures will sell 500-gig Seagate drives loaded with the 2009 movie "Star Trek" (and the option to load 20 other films) for $100. According to reports, that promotional pricing will only be available for a month, then prices jump. Ah, but there's a catch! Windows, and a DRM system that presumably prevents you from doing stuff like moving the movie from that drive to other computers in your home. The other movies distributed by Paramount, including "GI Joe," "Nacho Libre" and "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" come pre-loaded with a digital lock that requires a code that can be purchased online for $10 to $15 each. Even watching "Star Trek" requires registration. The pre-loaded movies come with a Windows-based digital rights management system that prevents file sharing. They take up about 50 GB of the drive itself. (thanks, Cyrus)

Feral cities Posted: 14 Apr 2010 03:29 PM PDT "With the city's infrastructure having collapsed long ago--or perhaps having never been built in the first place--there are no works of public sanitation, no sewers, no licensed doctors, no reliable food supply, no electricity. The feral city is a kind of return to medievalism, we might say, back to the future of a dark age for anyone but criminals, gangs, and urban warlords. It is a space of illiterate power--strength unresponsive to rationality or political debate." Cities Under Siege (bldgblog, thanks, Susannah).

Remembering Ed Roberts, the father of the personal computer Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:45 PM PDT On Make Online, I posted my audio interview with Forrest Mims, the co-founder of MITS, the company that made and sold the Altair 8800 (which many people consider to be the first real personal computer). The designer of the Altair was Ed Roberts, who died this month at the age of 68. Forrest is a natural storyteller, and in this 20-minute interview he reveals a number of surprising and humorous anecdotes about Dr. Roberts, MITS, and the Altair. After the Altair was introduced on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, people started calling up Roberts, offering to write a version of BASIC for his computer. Two of those people were Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Roberts invited Allen to come to Albuquerque (where MITS was located) to discuss his proposal. After Allen arrived, Roberts drove him to a local motel. Allen admitted he had no money to pay for the room. Roberts was also broke (he'd lost all his money when prices plummeted on electronic calculators, which MITS had been making and selling), but he gave Allen his credit card to pay for the room. Gates and Allen soon moved to Albuquerque to work with Roberts, and shortly afterwards founded "Micro-Soft" near the MITS office. Remembering Ed Roberts, the father of the personal computer

Chairs made from Coca Cola bottles Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:52 PM PDT Each of these Emeco 111 Navy chairs is made from the plastic in 111 coke bottles. [via Apartment Therapy]

Memristors for artificial intelligence? Posted: 14 Apr 2010 03:41 PM PDT Two years ago this month, HP Labs announced that they had developed a switching memristor, a long-theorized fundamental electronic component that "remembers" the value of the current flowing through it even after the current was switched off. Now, University of Michigan computer engineer Wei Lu and his colleagues are exploring memristors as the foundation for the memory and learning functions in a future electronic brain modeled on that of a cat. (For info on other efforts and controversies around cat brain simulations, see IEEE Spectrum's "The Cat Brain Cliff Notes") In Lu's work, the memristors act as synapses. The researchers published their results in the scientific journal Nano Letters. From the University of Michigan: "We are building a computer in the same way that nature builds a brain," said Lu, an assistant professor in the U-M Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "The idea is to use a completely different paradigm compared to conventional computers. The cat brain sets a realistic goal because it is much simpler than a human brain but still extremely difficult to replicate in complexity and efficiency..." So far, Lu has connected two electronic circuits with one memristor. He has demonstrated that this system is capable of a memory and learning process called "spike timing dependent plasticity." This type of plasticity refers to the ability of connections between neurons to become stronger based on when they are stimulated in relation to each other. Spike timing dependent plasticity is thought to be the basis for memory and learning in mammalian brains. "We show that we can use voltage timing to gradually increase or decrease the electrical conductance in this memristor-based system. In our brains, similar changes in synapse conductance essentially give rise to long term memory," Lu said. The next step is to build a larger system, Lu said. His goal is achieve the sophistication of a supercomputer in a machine the size of a two-liter beverage container. That could be several years away. "Cat brain: A step toward the electronic equivalent"

Awe-inspiring Gypsy jazz guitarist Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:01 PM PDT German guitarist Joscho Stephan is perhaps the world's greatest living Gypsy jazz guitarist. When my friend Marina Gorbis turned me on to him this morning, I asked if she thinks he may even be better than the Gypsy legend himself, Django Reinhardt. "Well, Stephan can use all his fingers," she said. Fair enough. The other guys in the clip aren't bad either. Joscho Stephan

Dress made out of peanut M&M wrappers Posted: 14 Apr 2010 06:23 PM PDT [via Ecouterre]

Die Antwoord to play first US show at Coachella this weekend Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:51 PM PDT (Photo: Clayton James Cubitt) THIS JUST IN: "Die Antwoord are playing Coachella on Saturday, April 17th at like 11:30pm. It's in the big rave tent. It will be fokken next-level." —NINJA, shown above flexing his entire face. Boing Boing will be there, and if our motherboards don't melt from the sheer nuclear force of sonic zef-dom, I shall blog it all for you. Previously: Afrikaans rap-rave: Die Antwoord, "Zef Side [Beat Boy]" Die Antwoord, S. African zef-rap, and Progeria survivor Leon Botha ... Die Antwoord's newfound Internet fame: your love don't pay my ... Die Antwoord to sign with Interscope, Neill Blomkamp to direct ...

In the end, there can be only jellyfish Posted: 14 Apr 2010 01:30 PM PDT Thanks to a unique ability to repeatedly cycle between polyp and adult stages, a species of jellyfish may be immortal.

The robot index Posted: 14 Apr 2010 01:25 PM PDT World robot population: 8.6 million World population of high net worth individuals, as of 2009: 8.6 million Population of New Jersey: 8.7 million Number of Americans who participated in Pilates last year: 8.6 million Image courtesy Flickr user jurvetson, via CC

South Park's Matt & Trey launch Mormon Broadway musical with Avenue Q co-creator Posted: 14 Apr 2010 12:53 PM PDT "South Park" co-creators Matt Stone (L) and Trey Parker (R) are teaming up with "Avenue Q" co-creator Robert Lopez to develop a Mormon-themed Broadway musical. "The Book of Mormon" will open in March, 2011. It's not a South Park musical, but in the great tradition of South Park "ripping on religions" (as Mr. Stone put it in our previous Boing Boing Video interview, below), the story follows two young Mormon missionaries who set out to fix the world—specifically, Uganda, during a violent civil conflict—and soon realize they have no idea what they're getting into. "Their tale is told alongside the story of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter-day Saints," according to a press release out today. After our South Park interview this week, Stone described a little of the play to me. His impromptu impersonation of a young missionary in wide-eyed, naïve shock, bible in hand as he witnesses atrocities, says it all. I expect the same irreverence and fearless "ripping" one finds in South Park, but accompanied by totally sweet Broadway tunes. Can't wait. This is the first time the duo have headed to the Great White Way, but Matt and Trey are no strangers to musical comedy. Their cult film classic Cannibal the Musical, which also enjoyed a run in live theaters in various spots around the USA, explored an odd episode of Colorado history: the life and times of Alferd Packer, the first man convicted of cannibalism in the USA ("He and his companions lost their way and resorted to unthinkable horrors, including toe-tapping songs!"). Matt and Trey are writing the "Mormon" script, music, and lyrics, with Lopez, who won a Tony Award for "Avenue Q." Trey will co-direct with Jason Moore, whose credits include "Avenue Q," and "Shrek the Musical." Scott Rudin ("God of Carnage," "Fences") and Anne Garefino (South Park's executive producer) will produce. More: Nikki Finke, AP, New York Times, Variety, Playbill, Theater Mania, USA Today, New York Post. Related: South Park's 200th episode airs tonight at 10pm on Comedy Central. Previously: South Park's 200th, litigious celebs and Mohammed: Matt Stone and ... South Park iPhone App a No-Show in Apps Store; Cartman Blames ... New South Park site debuts, with full episode streaming Redhead 12-year-old assaulted over Facebook message citing South ... "Bloody Mary" resurrected: censored South Park hits P2P South Park: Make Love Not Warcraft

Werner Herzog 3D documentary on cave art Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:32 PM PDT Werner Herzog is making a 3D documentary of the 30,000-year-old cave artwork at Chauvet in France. Jim Leftwich says: "Wow, this looks spectacular. One of my favorite filmmakers putting 3D to one of the best uses so far." "What is also strange," Herzog reveals, "is that somebody [in the cave] started a painting and then they left. And it's known that 3,500 years later somebody continued the painting. And then a bear that hibernated over it left scratch marks. And over the scratch marks there was man, bear, man, bear, man, bear, man [over time]. It's like time does not occur - it's completely fantastic." Werner Herzog has taken his 3D camera among the rocky fissures and 30,000-year-old cave artwork at Chauvet in France

Dream Machine-inspired performance piece Posted: 14 Apr 2010 03:37 PM PDT Coincidentally, my pal Dustin "UPSO" Hostetler also posted about Dream Machines last night on his blog. (My post this morning: "History of the Dream Machine") In Dustin's post, he turns us on to "Citadels," a Dream Machine-inspired multimedia performance piece by Matthijs Munnik "about brainwave interference." The audience wears opaque visors and is bombarded with flickering light and audio controlled by Munnik. The video above gives you a sense of the piece, but it's clearly one of those "you had to be there" moments. From the project description: "We must storm the citadels of enlightenment. The means are at hand," William S. Burroughs wrote to his best friend Brion Gysin. The means, he was referring to, was the invention of the dream machine. A rotating cyllinder lamp-like device, which produced a stroboscopic light. You would see beautiful patterns, shapes and colours, while looking at this device with your eyes closed. Even full hallucinations have been reported... (William Grey) Walter, a neurophysiologist, was a pioneer in research of brainwave activity. In this book he describes his experiments with stroboscopic light. He found that flicker-induced hallucinatory experiences of his test subjects seemed to be as broad and dynamic as anything experienced in the medical case histories. As suggested by himself, this effect is caused not by properties of the light itself, or by the eye, but are a product of the brain. One theory is that the flickering is interfering with the brain's visual cortex, attempting to deal with intermittent signal. It's hard not to wonder if the patterns you see perhaps offer a glimpse of our own brain activity, something beyond our own senses. In my performance I also make use of the flicker effect, but I have more control over it. In my performance, the audience wears white plastic masks, this way they look into a ganzfeld, a totally white field during the performance. In my set up, I use beamers, projecting light on the audience's masks, completely immersing them in the light and colors of the projection. Citadels by Matthijs Munick

Cartooning advice from Zippy the Pinhead's Bill Griffith Posted: 14 Apr 2010 12:17 PM PDT Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead, and Griffith's Observatory, has 40 important tips for cartoonists. There's good advice here for any kind of writer or creative person. Cartooning Advice: Zippy's Bill Griffith gives his Top 40 List on Creating Comics

Magnet constructions Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:51 PM PDT George Hart of the Museum of Mathematics presents a gallery of magnet constructions at Make Online. These geometric sculptures are the creations that resulted from Robert Hodgin playing with thousands of small magnetic spheres and cylinders. I especially like his geometric forms which remind me of Ernst Haeckel's radiolaria drawings. Math Monday: Magnet constructions

Paintings, prints available from Giant Robot's Game Over art show Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:51 PM PDT Even if you missed the third edition of Giant Robot's Game Over art show -- which opened alongside this year's Game Developers Conference -- a good number of the pieces are still available online, including retro-game-themed paintings and prints by James Kochalka, Marc Johns, Carlos Ramos, and Superbrothers. Click here to see all the included works at the show, and feel the pangs of regret that the above awesomely-in-jokey Fallout 3 piece by Calvin Wong went for so cheap before you could get your hands on it.

Gamasutra's most important gamers list is a boy's club Posted: 14 Apr 2010 12:11 PM PDT Alice at Wonderland blog takes a critical look at Gamasutra's list of the "The Game Developer 50" -- putatively the most important people in games. Or, more specifically, the most important men in games, because out of the fifty names on the list, not one belongs to a woman in games (actually, there's one ambiguous name that can't be verified: Nyung Chul Kim from Grigon). Alice, herself an influential and highly regarded games commissioner (as well as being my wife -- full disclosure) proceeds to rattle off a long list of women who should have made the cut. Alice explains what's going on here -- it's not merely sexism at work, it's something much more insidious, because it's much more baked in and invisible. Fundamentally, people hang out with people who are more or less like themselves. Thus, when you ask people to name the most important people they know, they start with the people who are already in their minds, and those are usually people they see on a regular basis. Fundamentally, women aren't part of the gamer boy's club because women aren't part of the gamer boy's club. The reason women aren't currently making up 50% of every field is not an intellectual issue, but a cultural issue, and the longer we continue to publish lists containing all-men or nearly-all-men, the longer we propagate the broken image and insulting idea that women aren't as good, or as important, as men. Many women just haven't had the chance yet: they haven't had the encouragement, the education, the freedom, the support, the role models, the contacts, the friends in high places, the opportunities and the finances that their male counterparts often get by default, by tradition and by homophily. It's not right and it needs to change. Monocultures are evolutionarily a dead end: game people, take note. A long way to go. Previously: Game-guilds can be modelled using the math of street gangs Where Are the Black Tech Bloggers? Gadgets

Alex Brown: Untitled (Sad Vader) Posted: 14 Apr 2010 02:51 PM PDT This piece by photographer Alex Brown is the latest offering at the 20x200 art project, a great site that offers prints of original art at affordable prices. Alex Brown says: This photograph was taken in a McDonald's restaurant in Upstate New York. The kid was sitting in the booth on his own wearing a Darth Vader helmet that made the same breathing sound as the character in Star Wars. For some reason, he reminded me of myself as a child. I always wanted a helmet like that when Star Wars first came out but my parents wouldn't buy me one. Sad Vader, indeed, Alex.

Nuclear summit logo designed by Obama to appeal to Muslims, says noted wingnut Posted: 14 Apr 2010 11:30 AM PDT Fox News is in an uproar over the Nuclear Security Summit logo, depicting a hydrogen electron in its orbital path around its nucleus, because it looks too much like the flag of several predominantly Muslim nations. Meanwhile, Michael Goodwin of the New York Post revealed a flash of Ed Anger-like insight in his column: "I am certain the crescent-like design of the logo is not a coincidence, especially at an event where Iran's nuclear ambition and al Qaeda's search for a bomb are prime topics." Once again, conservatives see Muslim conspiracy in an administration logo (Thanks, Alan!)

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