Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

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The Other Secret Identity of Superheroes

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 06:05 PM PDT

No wonder Congress was fighting so hard to pass the Mutant Registration Act. I found this on my friend's Facebook. A man who looks ambiguously Asian leads a cast of superheroes in prayer. I asked my friend who made this, and he said he didn't know. This painting(?) is incredible. Whoever made it, get at me, now.

muslim_super.jpg

Open Source Hardware Definition released, first Open Hardware Summit in NYC, Sept 23

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 10:18 PM PDT

The Open Source Hardware folks are making progress toward a unified movement. Today, they announced the first public draft of the "Open Source Hardware Definition" (mirroring OSI's Open Source Definition, which sets limits on what is and isn't open), and announced the first Open Hardware Summit in NYC for Sept 23.
Open Source Hardware (OSHW) is a term for tangible artifacts -- machines, devices, or other physical things -- whose design has been released to the public in such a way that anyone can make, modify, distribute, and use those things. This definition is intended to help provide guidelines for the development and evaluation of licenses for Open Source Hardware.

It is important to note that hardware is different from software in that physical resources must always be committed for the creation of physical goods. Accordingly, persons or companies producing items ("products") under an OSHW license have an obligation not to imply that such products are manufactured, sold, warrantied, or otherwise sanctioned by the original designer and also not to make use of any trademarks owned by the original designer.

The distribution terms of Open Source Hardware must comply with the following criteria:

Open Source Hardware Definition

Open Hardware Summit

(Thanks, PT!)



Lego thumb-divot tattoo

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 10:11 PM PDT


Lego artist Nathan Sawaya decided to commemorate the divots that a long day of bricking leaves in his thumbs by having them permanently tattooed: Every single day, I snap together bricks. Each day I am pressing down on the bumps of each brick to make sure there is a tight fit. And if I press real hard, the bumps leave little marks on myfingers and thumb. What better way to pay tribute to my medium of choice, then permanently inking those marks on to my thumb? Hence my new tattoo."

New Tattoo (via Neatorama)



Paper mosaic for Disneyland's birthday this Saturday

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 10:07 PM PDT


Designer Kevin Kidney continues to blog the limited edition merchandise he and Jody Daily have been commissioned to create for Disneyland's 55th birthday this Saturday (which is also my 39th birthday!). Today, this lovely paper sculpture mosaic: "We made every attempt to pack in all our favorites from the Park's fledgling years, from the Moonliner Rocket to the Hall of Chemistry, Fort Wilderness to the Silver Banjo. Jungle Cruise, Indian Village, Conestoga Wagons, Skyway Chalet, Astrojets, Casey Jr, and those cool tripod-lamp thingys from 1955 Tomorrowland. All on a hand-woven silk backing under UV-protective plexiglass. You can view it on display at Disneyland starting July 17th...and maybe you'll own it!"

Disneyland Paper-Sculpture-O-Rama



Victorian gas-mask from Bob Basset

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 09:50 PM PDT

Financial genius: US record industry turns $16M in legal spending into $391K cash

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 09:49 PM PDT

The title of this Recording Industry vs The People post says it all, really: "Ha ha ha ha ha. RIAA paid its lawyers more than $16,000,000 in 2008 to recover only $391,000!!!":
If the average settlement were $3,900, that would mean 100 settlements for the entire year.

As bad as it was, I guess it was better than the numbers for 2007, in which more than $21 million was spent on legal fees, and $3.5 million on "investigative operations" ... presumably MediaSentry. And the amount recovered was $515,929.

And 2006 was similar: they spent more than $19,000,000 in legal fees and more than $3,600,000 in "investigative operations" expenses to recover $455,000.

So all in all, for a 3 year period, they spent around $64,000,000 in legal and investigative expenses to recover around $1,361,000.

Ha ha ha ha ha. RIAA paid its lawyers more than $16,000,000 in 2008 to recover only $391,000!!!


Choir Boats: free YA fantasy novel download is Gulliver's Travels meets Golden Compass and Pride & Prejudice

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 09:45 PM PDT

ChiZine publishing and author Daniel A. Rabuzzi are giving away free PDFs of Rabuzzi's YA fantasy novel The Choir Boats : "Described as 'vibrant' and rich with 'verve and wit,' it's a seagoing fantasy yarn that is like 'Gulliver's Travels crossed with The Golden Compass and a dollop of Pride and Prejudice.'"

Book of the Month: Critically Acclaimed Fantasy (Thanks, Daniel!)



Bubbles of fashion sail over Paris, 1963

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 09:39 PM PDT


Here's a set of scans from Melvin Sokolsky's "Bubble" fashion photo series published in Harper's in 1963 -- beautiful, beautifully dressed women sailing over the streets of Paris inside giant plexi bubbles.

Bubble Series par Melvin Sokolsky pour Harper's magazine 1963 (via JWZ)



Vaseline launches skin-whitening Facebook app in India

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 05:52 PM PDT

Boing Boing reader John Napsterista says,
skin-facebook.jpg Vaseline has introduced an app for Facebook India which allows users to lighten the skin color in their profile pictures. The app is intended to promote the launch of a new Vaseline cosmetic in the Indian market, aimed at consumers who wish to lighten their complexions. L'Oreal, Nivea and other companies offer similar skin care products for the Indian market.

And now, a word of advice from Clementine Paddleford

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 05:54 PM PDT

"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be." —Clementine Paddleford, proto-foodie, Kansan, awesomesauce. I stumbled over this quote while rifling through some back-issues of Saveur at my Dad's house and thought it needed to be shared.

Sad snapshot: Unicorn in a trash can, NYC

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 08:31 PM PDT

"This was the scene one Sunday Morning in June on Houston Street. What led up to this tragic end?" Boing Boing reader Jeff Simmermon has some theories. Cyndi Freeman, known in NYC burlesque circles as Cherry Pitz, shot the photo.

Alexander McQueen: Angel Shoes, Serpent Shoes

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 05:40 PM PDT

Flying Lotus feat. Thundercat: "MmmHmm" (dir: Special Problems)

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 05:11 PM PDT

Stoner fantasies and 8-bit reveries. Music Video (via Dangerous Minds).

Buy the new Flying Lotus album Cosmogramma, because it is fantastic.

Directed by Special Problems (Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali, who are on Twitter).

China's plans to use internet for propaganda detailed in leaked report

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 05:02 PM PDT

Brace yourselves now, this one's gonna be a shocker: the Propaganda Ministry of China plans to use the internet for propaganda. I know, I know: I, too, was totally surprised by this news.

Cracking the code of prison tattoos: an archive of human flesh in Poland

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 04:48 PM PDT

In FOTO8, an amazing photo gallery and essay by Katarzyna Mirczak about the tattoo collection at the Department of Forensic Medicine at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland: 60 tattooed chunks of human flesh preserved in formaldehyde, all collected from prisoners at a nearby state penitentiary and from dead people on whom autopsies were performed.

The majority of the prison tattoos represent connections between the convicts. Besides gestures and mimics it is a kind of secret code - revealing why 'informative' tattoos appeared on uncovered body parts: face, neck or arms. The collection was created with a view to deciphering the code - among prisoners known as a 'pattern language'. By looking closely at the prisoners' tattoos, their traits, temper, past, place of residence or the criminal group in which they were involved could be determined.

In Poland, tattoos are common among criminals. Traditionally, they could be found on people who exhibited a tendency towards perverse behaviour: such as burglars, thieves, rapists and pimps. It was noticed that a significant percentage of tattooed people showed signs of personality disorders and aggressive behaviour. In the 1960s in Poland, getting a prison tattoo required special skills and criminal ambition - it was a kind of ennoblement, each tattoo in the criminal world was meaningful.

Preserving the Criminal Code

[FOTO8 via Brock Meeks, images courtesy Katarzyna Mirczak and Eric Franck Fine Art ]

Gadgets and conflict minerals: tech companies can do more to avoid enabling human rights abuses in DRC

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 05:58 PM PDT

Global Witness has issued a report with guidance for gadget makers on how to avoid supporting violence and human rights abuses when sourcing minerals from "conflict sources."

Military forces and counterinsurgency groups control the mineral ore trade in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and subject the civilian population there to "massacres, rape, extortion, forced labour and forced recruitment of child soldiers," according to the report. Congo's "blood minerals" make their way into gadgets we use after being laundered in the global supply chain.

img_margin_01.jpg

The metals are then used in a wide range of products, including consumer electronic goods such as mobile phones and computers. Some of the world's most famous brands are now coming under scrutiny to address their role in this devastating trade.

Nobody forces companies to purchase minerals or metals mined in war zones. It is their choice. Those that source minerals or metals originating from eastern DRC need to show the public that they have procedures in place to prevent direct or indirect involvement with serious human rights abuses and other crimes. This is what is called 'due diligence'.

Despite the mounting pressure on companies that use minerals and metals to carry out due diligence, few are actually doing this. Some companies claim that it is too complicated or too difficult for them to do. Due diligence is a process that all reputable companies understand and employ on a regular basis to address risks ranging from corruption to environmental damage.

Do No Harm: A guide for companies sourcing from the DRC, and download the report in PDF here. (globalwitness.org)

Here's a related Yahoo News item.

How cellphone autocorrect works (and why it's improving)

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 04:09 PM PDT

"The iPhone turns 'heard about garys internship at the whitehouse?' to 'Heard about farts internship at the whorehouse?" At Slate, Farhad Manjoo explores the technical underpinnings of cellphone autocorrect.

The Fempire Strikes Back: More Star Wars Burlesque

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 04:10 PM PDT

fempire.jpg

Our pals at the LA Weekly have another great photo gallery up with more Star Wars burlesque by Courtney Cruz and her burlesque troupe Devil's Playground (previous BB post here). Above, Audrey Deluxe as Bubbles La Fetish (= Boba Fett) with Juan Cholo. Lots more pics here: The Fempire Strikes Back: 'Star Wars' Burlesque Parody Storms Hollywood

Incidentally, if you're going to Comic-Con, you can catch Courtney Cruz and fellow temptresses there, doing a video game/Star Wars/geek themed show. July 24, 9pm.

(photo by Shannon Cottrell)



Mel Gibson v. Christian Bale: abusive language smackdown LOLs

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 03:45 PM PDT

mel.jpg

Go have a listen. (NSFW, contains profanity, duh.)

[MovieGodsLive / YouTube].

Moon Map, 1829

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 03:35 PM PDT

moonmap.jpg

[ View large, view very large.] I presume this is the map they used to guide their steam-powered dirigible airships to Luna back in the late Georgian/early Victorian eras.

Karte des Vollmondes nach Mayer, Schroter und Guithuisen - Popular Astronomy by ML Frankheim, 1829, Braunschweig (Bibliodyssey Flickr stream, via @bibliodyssey)

Important fMRI study literacy tips

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 02:01 PM PDT

I love a fMRI story as much as the next person -- there's something addictive about discovering what's going on in your brain as you do and think different things, and how they relate to one another. The reality is not as neat, however. Neuroimaging studies often involve a hypothetical average brain made by studying lots of brain scans, and come to conclusions that are even now the subject of hot debate. Here are four important caveats to consider when reading about fMRI studies (click through for full list):
1. "The Performance Burden" If neural activity is found to differ between groups or conditions, you can't necessarily make inferences about differences in neural information processing - this could reflect behavioral differences alone. For example, if younger children perform worse than older children but also recruit a few different regions, those neural regions might be operating in exactly the same way across ages (e.g., processing errors) - there's just more errors in the younger group! Even with similar levels of performance there's the possibility that children of different ages are using different strategies, different amounts of mental effort, or are differentially reacting to the closed, loud, and claustrophobia-inducing space that is an fMRI scanner...
4 Things to Keep in Mind When Reading fMRI Studies

(Image: fMRI one, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from twitchcraft's photostream)



Lessig responds to ASCAP's bizarre anti-free-culture smear campaign

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 01:18 PM PDT

Larry Lessig has written an editorial in response to ASCAP's bizarre attack on organizations like Creative Commons, EFF and Public Knowledge, in which ASCAP solicited funds to fight these "anti-copyright" groups. This was just weird: Creative Commons makes copyright licenses, EFF has spent the past five years advocating for the creation of ASCAP-like organizations to collect for Internet music distribution, and Public Knowledge has an unblemished track record of fighting for balanced copyright that respects authors.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit that provides copyright licenses pro bono to artists and creators so that they can offer their creative work with the freedom they intend it to carry. (Think not "All Rights Reserved" but "Some Rights Reserved.") Using these licenses, a musician might allow his music to be used for noncommercial purposes (by kids making a video, for example, or for sharing among friends), so long as attribution to the artist is kept. Or an academic might permit her work to be shared for whatever purpose, again, so long as attribution is maintained. Or a collaborative project such as a wiki might guarantee that the collective work of the thousands who have built the wiki remains free for everyone forever. Hundreds of millions of digital objects -- from music to video to photographs to architectural designs to scientific journals to teachers lesson plans to books and to blogs -- have been licensed in this way, and by an extraordinarily diverse range of creators or rights holders -- including Nine Inch Nails, Beastie Boys, Youssou N'Dour, Curt Smith, David Byrne, Radiohead, Jonathan Coulton, Kristin Hersh, and Snoop Dogg, as well as Wikipedia and the White House.

These licenses are, obviously, copyright licenses. They depend upon a firm and reliable system of copyright for them to work. Thus CC could have no interest in "undermining" the very system the licenses depend upon -- copyright. Indeed, to the contrary, CC only aims to strengthen the objectives of copyright, by giving the creators a simpler way to exercise their rights.

Larry has challenged ASCAP President Paul Williams to a debate, and offered to sing one of Williams' songs as part of the event.

ASCAP's attack on Creative Commons



Driver error blamed in Toyota acceleration accidents

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 01:54 PM PDT

The Department of Transportation reports that driver error—throttles wide open and brakes not engaged—was the cause in dozens of Toyota crashes. According to the Wall Street Journal, only one fatal incident among those analyzed was attributable to a flaw in the vehicle.

Body as battery

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 12:59 PM PDT

Images Contact-Lenses-As-Computer-Screens-388
Display screens integrated into contact lenses (image above)? Micromechanical medical devices? Pervasive biosensors? A big challenge in the development of wearable and implantable gadgets is how to power them. Years ago, I wrote about efforts to develop a "glucose fuel cell" and other possible technologies to scavenge power from the human body itself. In the new issue of Smithsonian, Michael Belifore looks at the latest developments in that field, much of which is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Starved Electronics program. Belifore is the author of The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs. From Smithsonian:
2010 01 Dept-Of-Mad-Scientists Obviously, our bodies generate heat—thermal energy. They also produce vibrations when we move—kinetic energy. Both forms of energy can be converted into electricity. Anantha Chandrakasan, an MIT electrical engineering professor, who is working on the problem with a former student named Yogesh Ramadass, says the challenge is to harvest adequate amounts of power from the body and then efficiently direct it to the device that needs it.

In the case of harnessing vibrations, Chandrakasan and his colleagues use piezoelectric materials, which produce an electric current when subjected to mechanical pressure. For energy scavenging, ordinary vibrations caused by walking or even just nodding your head might stimulate a piezo material to generate electricity, which is then converted into the direct current (DC) used by electronics, stored in solid-state capacitors and discharged when needed. This entire apparatus fits on a chip no larger than a few square millimeters. Small embedded devices could be directly built onto the chip, or the chip could transmit energy wirelessly to nearby devices. The chip could also use thermoelectric materials, which produce an electric current when exposed to two different temperatures—such as body heat and the (usually) cooler air around us.

"Embedded Technologies: Power From the People" (Smithsonian)

The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs (Amazon)

A tricycle that doubles as a lawnmower

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 10:54 AM PDT

500x_lawn-mower-bike.jpg A tricycle that doubles as a lawn mower is almost as great of an idea as the baby mop.

[via Gizmodo]

Skydiver to jump from edge of space

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 12:22 PM PDT

Baumgarttttt
In 1960, Colonel Joseph Kittinger jumped out of a helium balloon at 102,800 feet in the name of science, setting the world record for the highest and fastest parachute jump. Later this year, an Austrian daredevil named Felix Baumgartner hopes to beat that record by more than 3 miles, also by stepping out of a balloon. From Space.com:
"Right now, the space shuttle escape system is certified to 100,000 feet," said the mission's medical director Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon. "Why is that? Because Joe Kittinger went there. You've got a lot of companies that are vying for the role of being the commercial space transport provider for tourism, for upper atmospheric science, and so on. These systems, particularly during the test and development phase, need a potential escape system, which we may be able to help them provide with the knowledge we gain."

A team of aeronautics experts recently led Baumgartner through a week of testing meant to illuminate any possible weaknesses in his equipment and to familiarize him with the skills needed to navigate the conditions expected to assail him as soon as he opens his vessel door.

Only a few feet above ground in a capsule dangling from a crane on Sage Cheshire Aerospace test grounds in California, Baumgartner practiced exiting and stepping off his hot-air balloon. Even a slight stumble during this step could cause dangerous alterations in his in-flight position only moments later, as well as reduce his chances of actually breaking the sound barrier.

"Skydiver Plans Record-Breaking Supersonic Space Jump"

Boing Boing Arcade: almost last day to vote in the game dev challenge!

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT

Thumbs Arcade Spacejunk Thumbs Arcade Beatboost
Icons Games125 Today Thursday is your last chance to vote for the winners of the Boing Boing "Games Inspired By Music" Competition. At stake are some terrific prizes from our sponsor, Safari Books Online, and Gama-Go! At the moment, Space Junk is in the lead with Beat Boost a very close second. Boing Boing Arcade

The Making of 10cc's melancholy '70s Moog hit, "I'm Not in Love"

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 02:46 PM PDT

Dangerous Minds is my favorite blog in the world (okay, other than this one!). A recent Brad Laner post unearthing this radio documentary on the making of the moody Moog '70s hit "I'm Not In Love" by 10cc is a perfect case in point. The song was released in June, 1975. Brad writes,

[It's] a song that I've always been very intrigued with. I love that it's both a rigorous formal experiment and a tremendously succesful pop tune, to say nothing of its dark and deeply melancholic atmosphere. It's easily one of the best radio hits of the 70's and I can't imagine ever tiring of it.
10cc_single_large.jpg

I couldn't agree more. I have such strong memories associated with this tune, from my own seventies childhood. They involve forests, long car drives, and grief and loss and everlasting love. I can listen to the song over and over and over again without tiring of it, but I can't listen to the song without being immersed in that child-mind, and the emotional environment that surrounded me back then. That's what great art does.

The 9:41 audio documentary reveals some of the analog-era soundcraft and technology behind that magic, some of which was very new at the time. Endless loops and multilayered "aaahs," a synth heartbeat in place of a drum, and hyperbolic chord overlays of some 256 voices, exhaling all at once. A Moog cathedral.

YouTube commenters identify the radio documentary as coming from a BBC Radio 6 documentary about 10cc as part of their "Producers" series, broadcast in 2009. Anyone have a direct link to the original at BBC? I'll post here, if so. I'm not crazy about the random, fan-edited still image montage in this YouTube copy, but hey, I appreciate that someone preserved the doc so I can't complain too much.

THE MAKING OF 10CC'S I'M NOT IN LOVE [ dangerousminds.net ]

MP3 download for "I'm Not in Love": Amazon link.

Bonus: The long-circulated grossout internet rumor about the band's name? False.

What futurists actually do

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 09:57 AM PDT

Futurissssss
When I tell people I'm a researcher at Institute for the Future, they usually follow up the inevitable flying car or Michael J. Fox joke with: You're a futurist? What kinda job is that? Over at GOOD, my colleagues Jake Dunagan and Mathias Crawford launched a new series of essays where they'll talk about "what we do at IFTF, what it is like to think like a futurist, and, more importantly, how to act like you care about what happens." The illustration above is by Claire Thompson, a hypertalented intern at IFTF who is researching co-creation and developing a toolkit for collaborative design. From GOOD:
The future is not an end state. Tomorrow will someday be today, which will fade into yesterday. As our world moves through this unyielding passage of time, how people act in our world will determine just which of many possible futures we end up with.

When we transform our notion of "the future" into visions of alternative futures, we transform our relationship to the very idea of change. We move from thinking we are heading toward an inevitable destination to seeing the world as a dependent, contingent, and therefore actionable, possibility space for us to design. Pluralizing "the future" makes us both more empowered and more responsible for our ultimate outcomes. It may seem like a semantic triviality, but it represents an important shift in thinking.

Even though we can't predict exactly what will happen, we can make reasonable assumptions about what potential futures might look like, and in doing so we can begin to make choices today that can help us bring about the changes we hope to realize in the world.

"What Futurists Actually Do"

"What Women Want," the YTMND classic.

Posted: 13 Jul 2010 08:53 AM PDT

This Mel Gibson wiretap mashup may be the most tragic and effective use of YTMND yet. (NSFW, strong language)

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