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- Crafty late 1960s Xmas stockings
- Video: How we got extinct and Popcorn
- 19th century erectile disfunction ad
- Cylon snowflakes
- Romance among the D&D-playing chimp researchers
- TRON Guy on open source, DIY ethos, & plans for a suit sequel
- All the black actors with speaking roles on 'Friends'
- Magnetic Yellow Card - cyclist-intervention
- Wikipedia's first 10,000 edits
| Crafty late 1960s Xmas stockings Posted: 18 Dec 2010 11:12 PM PST  A reader writes, "Last week, my wife and I were going through old boxes in her parents house. We came across some crafty felt Christmas stockings that my mother in law made back in the late 1960s, early 1970s. We even found the McCall's pattern she used to make them. In addition to the Christmas stockings, we found doorknob covers, a few holiday pins, even a mouse made from half a walnut shell and a Santa made from a beer can pull tab! We even found the original MaCall's pattern." Vintage stockings |
| Video: How we got extinct and Popcorn Posted: 18 Dec 2010 11:11 PM PST Johannes from Vienna's Monochrom collective sez, "Our little electronica video animation 'The Earth Has Been Destroyed' (created together with Christoph Marek) about the future of mankind, how we got extinct and Popcorn. Enjoy." monochrom (feat. Marek): The Earth Has Been Destroyed (Thanks, Johannes!) |
| 19th century erectile disfunction ad Posted: 18 Dec 2010 11:06 PM PST  Nick sez, "I came upon this ad in the Junes 11, 1899 edition of The Omaha Daily Bee. Impotency or, 'weakness of the sexual organ' is depicted as a frail elderly man being held by the dashing mustached gentleman obviously representing Sexual Potency. Note that this 'French' invention ('oh well if it's from France...') is said to be 'endorsement of the German and French governments, and is largely used in the standing armies of these countries.' Ah for the days when governments had concern for the sexual prowess of their soldiers...'" |
| Posted: 18 Dec 2010 11:13 PM PST  Pixelate sez, "In the spirit of all of the Star Wars snowflakes floating around the interwebs I made some Cylon snowflakes. Merry Christmas so say we all!" As Promised: Cylon Snowflakes, Merry Christmas So Say We All (Thanks, Pixelate, via Submitterator) |
| Romance among the D&D-playing chimp researchers Posted: 18 Dec 2010 10:48 PM PST Lampbane sez, "My friends Laura & Adam were spotlighted in the New York Times. They talk about falling in love while playing D&D, and living in the Congo while they researched (and helped rescue a few) chimps. Nerdy, and incredibly touching. Laura also has a great blog about her research (on the correlation between the consumption of bushmeat and disease transmission) in Congo, ending with a very harried escape." Vows: Laura & Adam - nytimes.com/video (Thanks, Lampbane, via Submitterator!) |
| TRON Guy on open source, DIY ethos, & plans for a suit sequel Posted: 18 Dec 2010 05:51 PM PST  Jay Maynard, aka TRON Guy, was kind enough to do an interview in honor of this weekend's #1 film, TRON: Legacy. He's seen the film again since his Wired review, and I asked him about his favorite surprises that were a nod to the original (hearing Journey's "Separate Ways" at high volume). He also liked a lot of the repurposed lines, but he didn't want to drop any spoilers. He wanted to see MOAR of the fastest thing on the grid: Sam with Flynn's lightcycle. Outside of his TRON fame, Jay is project manager on the open source Hercules project, so we talked a bit about the film's take on open source and cracking, etc. Jay also has some excellent advice for makers and cosplayers alike after the break. How many personal appearances have you originally made since your original suit?
A few dozen, mostly right after it was first sprung on an unsuspecting world, muah ha ha ha. I make a few a year now.
What has been the highlight of your experiences since putting up your site and photos? Appearing regularly on Jimmy Kimmel Live! was definitely the highlight. I had a lot of fun doing that show, and they went out of their way to make me feel like I was special and yet part of the family. If they asked me back, I'd go in a heartbeat.
Any plans to make a new suit based on the sequel?
Do you play video games, and if so, do you plan to check out the TRON: Evolution game? As you may know, it covers the time period between the original and the sequel. I'm not a gamer, but I am planning to get TRON: Evolution. I also expect it to mop the floor with me. The big question for me is which version to get, especially since I'm a Mac person who refuses to run Windows and don't own any of the consoles it runs on.
What is your opinion on how hackers and open source are presented in the new film? I truly believe in open source. I'm rather ambivalent about the portrayal of open source in the film. As Sam Flynn's cause celebre, it provides his motivation for being involved with Encom at all; at the same time, it takes a very Stallmanite view of open source that, I think, does the whole arena a disservice. Not everyone in the world of open source agrees with Richard Stallman's utopia. Do you have any tips for making a suit like yours last longer, or any design changes you would make now? My costume is getting close to 7 years old, and it shows it. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely stiffen the armor where the electroluminescent wire currently flexes, because I've had to splice it a few times, and that stuff is a royal pain to work with. I'd also have silk-screened the unitard so I could do several at once - right now, all I have is the one, and it's wearing badly in spots (mostly invisible).
What is your advice for someone who wants to make something and has never done it before? Be sure you understand what you're about to do, and wade in. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. If you make a mistake, you're learning things. My hands are full of 40-year-old soldering iron burn scars and such, but I wouldn't trade away a single one of them. Beyond that, measure twice and cut once, and remember that you have it easier than older electronics geeks did: it's a lot easier to change bits in flash than diodes on a circuit board. One other thing: Ignore the naysayers. If you're enjoying yourself, that's what really counts. |
| All the black actors with speaking roles on 'Friends' Posted: 18 Dec 2010 03:22 PM PST Cory's post about the new IFC series 'Portlandia' had a comment from millie fink which deserves wider notice. The Docfuture Show has a great song containing all the black actors with speaking roles on 'Friends.' Video link |
| Magnetic Yellow Card - cyclist-intervention Posted: 18 Dec 2010 09:29 PM PST  This card was designed by Peter Miller as an alternative to the kicking-of-doors and yelling-and-screaming that usually goes on when someone in a car recklessly endangers the life of a cyclist because they were talking on their phone, putting on lipstick, passing another car in the bike lane, etc etc etc. It's a more subtle statement, but I think more effective. Peter has provided a PDF of the card to allow others to print it out on a magnet of their choice and distribute them as needed. [Thanks to TOLA for noticing it.] |
| Wikipedia's first 10,000 edits Posted: 18 Dec 2010 05:31 AM PST Joseph Reagle, author of the excellent history of Wikipedia, Good Faith Collaboration (review coming soon) sez, "When I wrote my book on Wikipedia's culture and history, many sources, such as emails from founders, Nupedia-l archives, and (most sadly) the early days of Wikipedia contributions were lost to bit rot. But thanks to a recent discovery of some old log files by Tim Starling, I've been able to roughly reconstruct the first 10,000 edits to Wikipedia (about 6 weeks)." |
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