The Latest from Boing Boing

---

• Did an old grudge get Old Man Murray deleted from Wikipedia?
• Blade Runner, The Sequel. Or The Prequel.
• TED2011 prize winner
• Sale on women parts
• Badly drawn cereal box characters
• Kid's "obscene" graffiti
• Mobile "bandwidth hogs" are just ahead of the curve
• Innocent man serves 29 years on child-rape charge
• Wisconsin Republicans call for arrest of missing Democrats
• Rodney King: 20 years of citizen photojournalism
• Human beings aren't very good at listening
• Doing your astronomy homework with Minecraft models
• Edward Gorey, master of the macabre
• The evolution of candy
• Holga HL-N for Nikon SLR: I just threw up in my mouth
• Carved monument from Mesoamerica
• Performance artist gives his entire fee to the audience, asks them to give back what he's worth
• HOW TO: Make a gin n' tonic laser
• Early multi-projector was a series of tubes
• How a HarperCollins library book looks after 26 checkouts (pretty good!)
• 3 teens behind internet crime forum Gh0stMarket get jail
• Motherboard shipping carton doubles as PC case

Did an old grudge get Old Man Murray deleted from Wikipedia? Posted: 04 Mar 2011 12:32 AM PST Old Man Murray, a legendary PC humor site which inspired a generation of gaming journalists—and whose alumni just scripted Portal 2, one of this year's most hotly-anticipated games—was deleted from Wikipedia last week. Despite references in countless publications, including Wired and Edge magazine, none were deemed substantial enough to rescue OMM from non-notability. Moreover, the nomination for deletion came from an editor accused of having a grudge against the site's creators—a fact not disclosed in the nomination. Rock Paper Shotgun's John Walker writes: But like so many of the disputes that rear up on the encyclopaedia, this could be a personal matter. The initiative to have the entry deleted was started by user “SchuminWeb“, one Ben Schumin. He’s a fan of the defunct comedy cartoon website, Homestar Runner, which has an entry on Wikipedia that he links to. It is claimed in the discussion page on Wikipedia that Schumin has a long-running dispute with OMM. Chet Faliszek expresses his confusion about the matter here, saying he remembers helping Schumin set up his site back in the day. So what does Schumin have specifically against Old Man Murray? We’ve contacted him to find out. (Edit: Oh, he seems to have deleted my question, which seems a bit rude.) Edit: While Schumin is declining to give a reason behind his choosing Old Man Murray (and only a week before, Portal Of Evil) for deletion, it’s hard to understand how this didn’t mean the Conflict Of Interest rule didn’t prevent his nominating. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of anger about the decision – a lot of it unsavoury – all over the place. It's a good example of how a determined Wikipedian can quietly orchestrate the removal of articles that hold little appeal to the online encyclopedia's own editorial community. By the time anyone beyond it notices, a useful resource is history. UPDATE: The article's been reinstated. Jolly good. Old Man Murray Deleted From Wikipedia [Rock Paper Shotgun] Old Man Murray — Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Google cache]

Blade Runner, The Sequel. Or The Prequel. Posted: 03 Mar 2011 08:28 PM PST Alcon Entertainment, producers of the Blind Side and The Book of Eli, own the rights to make a prequel or sequel to Blade Runner. They seemingly haven't gotten much further than that. From Entertainment Weekly: "We have some ideas that we're not in a position to discuss yet," Andrew Kosove, Alcon's co-CEO, teases to EW. "But from our point of view, the thematic core of the original movie — what does it mean to be a human being? — is even more relevant today than it was when the film came out. After all, we're living in the industrial age of technology." Kosove and his fellow CEO, Broderick Johnson, are partnering on the project with Bud Yorkin, one of the producers of the original film. "That picture turned out so well — it's just been selected for preservation by the Library of Congress — that for a long time I was afraid to try to make another one," Yorkin says. "But now seems like the perfect time. We just need to find the right writer and director." "New 'Blade Runner' producers talk movie prequel. Or maybe a sequel."

TED2011 prize winner Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:17 PM PST TED Prize Winner JR & INSIDE OUT from TED Prize on Vimeo. TED2011 posted a video of TED Prize winner JR, an anonymous artist who drapes large scale photographic portraits across buildings in poor urban areas. JR creates pervasive art that spreads uninvited on buildings of Parisian slums, on walls in the Middle East, on broken bridges in Africa or in favelas in Brazil. People in the exhibit communities, those who often live with the bare minimum, discover something absolutely unnecessary but utterly wonderful. And they don't just see it, they make it. Elderly women become models for a day; kids turn into artists for a week. In this art scene, there is no stage to separate the actors from the spectators. After these local exhibitions, two important things happen: The images are transported to London, New York, Berlin or Amsterdam where new people interpret them in the light of their own personal experience. And ongoing art and craft workshops in the originating community continue the work of celebrating everyone who lives there. As he is anonymous and doesn't explain his huge full-frame portraits of people making faces, JR leaves the space empty for an encounter between the subject/protagonist and the passerby/ interpreter. JR, TED2011 prize winner

Sale on women parts Posted: 03 Mar 2011 02:54 PM PST

Badly drawn cereal box characters Posted: 03 Mar 2011 02:44 PM PST Remember the badly-drawn Boo Berry cereal box character that Mark spotted? The creepy gouge-l'œil style of modern adver-toons makes for some uncanny nightmare fuel. That said, something is to be said for everyday ineptitude, as graces the "Valutime" generic cereal boxes found in Giant Eagle supermarkets. What exactly is the Frosted Flakes creature? It has a huge pelican's beak, leathery bat-wings, and Sonic the Hedgehog's hairdo. Some kind of pterosaur, perhaps. Note the sharp, hooklike claw with which it somehow grips a spoon; the sugar-wired eyes; and the "we need a color that isn't blue" earmuffs. Pickings in the cereal mascot business were slim for Tony's amphetamine-addicted cousin, but he managed to find work with the "Berry Bunch o' Crunch" campaign. Note the brown rock-man cowering to the left, as a purple asteroid arcs toward him. The spoon, snapped in half and then brutally hammered into the sides of the Honey Nut Toasted Oat bear's Knuckles, are the highlight of this piece. But I also like how the tongue is not permitted beyond the previously-drawn line of his left jaw. The eyelashes make me think the Cocoa Crisp Squirrel is female. I wouldn't fancy Sandy Cheeks' chances in a karate battle against these biceps. In contrast to his bug-eyed hyperglycemic stablemates, Fruit Whirls Zebra's lids droop with mellow disinterest. Perhaps his brightly-colored stripes make him immune to the mountain of psychedelic poison beneath him. Or perhaps it has simply overwhelmed his metabolism already, which could explain the paralyzed smile and the massive tumor that has taken over his snout.

Kid's "obscene" graffiti Posted: 03 Mar 2011 01:54 PM PST I noticed this obscene graffiti at a San Francisco playground. Yes, it's written in chalk.

Mobile "bandwidth hogs" are just ahead of the curve Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:49 PM PST A Cisco white-paper on mobile data usage shows that "high bandwidth" users are just early adopters -- the first people to start using high-bandwidth apps like video. In other words, it's not P2P or tethering that mobile operators have to worry about, it's using mobile data in exactly the way it's advertised. (via cmdln)

Innocent man serves 29 years on child-rape charge Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:35 PM PST Here's Esquire's heartbreaking profile of Raymond Daniel Towler, a man who served nearly 29 years after being wrongfully convicted of raping a twelve year old girl before being exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence. Writer Mike Sager paints a vivid picture of the hardships faced by an innocent man accused of raping a child during 29 years in prison, but the full scope of Towler's predicament really comes through when Sager describes his life now that he's outside: In restaurants he feels responsible to read every word of the menu. He calls the tortillas "little pancakes." He marvels over this wonderful offering called a western omelet; he thanks the waitress profusely for taking the time to list the ingredients. While he's eating at a chain steakhouse on the outskirts of a mall parking lot, a guy in a suit comes to the table and asks how dinner is going. Ray wonders politely who he is to be asking ... and is flattered to learn he is the manager of the entire place! When his favorite lawyer comes to town -- she was on the conference call in the sergeant's office -- he tries to take her to a nice Mexican restaurant to show his gratitude but ends up taking her to a taco stand by mistake. Wherever he goes, everything is computerized. The gas station, the convenience store, the hardware store: Swipe this, enter that code, do it yourself. Automated supermarket checkout? You wonder why people are crying about needing jobs. It used to be anybody could get a job in a grocery store, from teenagers on up. Likewise cars: He used to be able to fix anything. Now he'd have to go to school all over again to learn fuel injection and the other computer-driven stuff. So many choices. Which car insurance. Which cereal. Which deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo. Rows and rows of products. Varieties, sizes, colors. Which is cheaper? Which is better? What's the best buy? Which gum to chew? When he went into prison there were, like, two kinds of chewing gum. Now there are a zillion. One of the small gifts he gives himself is trying all the gums. "I can spoil myself a little so long as I stay within my means," he says. Papaya juice! Kiwi and strawberry nectar! Green tea! Arnold Palmer -- he was a golfer when Towler went down. Now he is a drink, sweet and so incredibly thirst quenching. The Someone You're Not (via Kottke) (Image: self portrait of Ray Towler, photo by Anthony DeMatteo)   CSI shoots real-life crime investigation in the foot - Boing Boing How undercover cops get suspects' DNA - Boing Boing UK Border Agency's pseudoscientific "race-detection" DNA/isotope ... How police harassment, jailhouse snitches, and a runaway war on ... No one will sell sodium thiopental to American executioners ...

Wisconsin Republicans call for arrest of missing Democrats Posted: 03 Mar 2011 11:31 AM PST The Wisconsin Senate passed a resolution today that calls for the arrest of the 14 Democratic senators who left the state two weeks ago, if those senators do not return by 4:00 pm today. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, it's unclear whether or not the move is constitutional.

Rodney King: 20 years of citizen photojournalism Posted: 03 Mar 2011 08:13 PM PST Dan Gillmor's essay, "Rodney King and the Rise of the Citizen Photojournalist," looks at the history that led up to the watershed moment, 20 years ago, when the King beating was recorded with a personal video camera, and what's happened since then: In recent days, the grim videos and photos coming out of Libya have been testament to people's desire to bear witness to cruelty and oppression. Around the world, dictators have learned that even if they kill their people they can't ultimately stop the world from seeing what crimes they commit. Yes, they can use technology to stifle freedom, and they do. But media from average people can make a real difference, too, and it does again and again. Imagine where we will be a decade from now in a technological sense, and then let's return briefly to November 22, 1963. Dozens or hundreds of people in Dealey Plaza would have been capturing high-definition videos of the Kennedy assassination, most likely via their camera-equipped mobile phones as well as single-purpose digital cameras and video recorders. They'd have been capturing those images from multiple perspectives. And--this is key--all of those devices would have been attached to digital networks. I found myself watching two London cops -- one plainclothes and one in uniform -- busting a presumed drug-dealer while I was waiting for a bus the other day. Without thinking, I dipped into my pocket, pulled out my camera, dialled it to max zoom, and held it loosely, just in case there was something that needed photographing. I don't think I'm the only one with that instinct. Rodney King and the Rise of the Citizen Photojournalist (Thanks, Dan!)

Human beings aren't very good at listening Posted: 03 Mar 2011 10:36 AM PST The crime rate in Oregon is down, but most Oregonians feel that the rate has gone up, and that they are less safe. I think this story has some interesting parallels with a recent British Medical Journal editorial on cognitive bias, and why what we hear and remember is often very different from the facts we are told. I highly recommend reading both these links together.

Doing your astronomy homework with Minecraft models Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:27 PM PST Ncorrigible sez, "My son was told to make a model of Saturn and its major moons for his 3rd grade science project. He and his geek dad built this model in Minecraft and make the video to showcase it. Video games in the classroom = living in an awesome future." Catspork's Adventures in Minecraft (Episode 1) - Saturn (Thanks, Ncorrigible, via Submitterator!)   Eight-mile long Minecraft highway - Boing Boing Minecraft papercraft - Boing Boing Minecraft music video - Boing Boing Working computer made out of Minecraft blocks - Boing Boing Music of Minecraft: Deadmau5 test tracks on Soundcloud - Boing Boing Minecraft goes into beta, existential therapy - Boing Boing Interview with Minecraft's creator - Boing Boing Working 8-bit CPU in Minecraft - Boing Boing

Edward Gorey, master of the macabre Posted: 03 Mar 2011 10:32 AM PST Mark Dery writes in the NYT how Edward Gorey's fabulous, sinister drawings haunt the collective subconscious, inspiring the artistry behind Alice, Coraline and other blockbusters. Gorey was born to be posthumous. His poisonously funny little picture books -- deadpan accounts of murder, disaster and discreet depravity, narrated in a voice that affects the world-weary tone of British novelists like Ronald Firbank and Ivy Compton-Burnett -- established him as the master of high-camp macabre. Nightshade Is Growing Like Weeds [NYT]

The evolution of candy Posted: 03 Mar 2011 10:24 AM PST I love creative science analogies, which is why I'm digging this story about a lecture given by Bob Paul, a biology professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Paul attempts to explain some of the basic concepts of evolutionary theory using candy. For instance, the Mars-made Snickers bar and the Nestle-made OhHenry! bar can be thought of as examples of convergent evolution—unrelated species developing similar traits in response to similar environmental pressures. Some of his examples get a little too convoluted, but this one—an explanation of how two groups of the same species can turn into two different species—is delightful. Paul also discussed one of Darwin's major discoveries on his way to publishing The Origin of Species. After noticing 13 finch species on the Galápagos Islands (west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean) and the different environments on each of the islands, Darwin proposed that an ancestral finch species, spread over all of the islands, began to diverge into several new species. This occurred as each ancestral population developed distinctly different traits on each island to adapt to the selection pressures over evolutionary time. Paul used this phenomenon (known as allopatric speciation) to explain the evolution of Hershey Kisses and Snow Caps, both with a similar shape but the latter with a sugar-covered top. Beginning as one population of Hershey Kisses in an open plain with a mountain range, the candies were separated after a major environmental change caused the advancement of a glacier southwards that met with the mountain range, separating the population of Hershey Kisses across an impassable line of mountain and ice. As the northernmost population began to adapt to cooler temperatures by selecting for a trait for "fur" (the sugar coating), the southernmost population maintained their furless structure. Once the glacier receded, allowing both populations to intermingle again, they were two different species unable to successfully reproduce with one another. Submitterated by candycritic Image: Some rights reserved by Dawn Huczek

Holga HL-N for Nikon SLR: I just threw up in my mouth Posted: 03 Mar 2011 10:20 AM PST This is the equivalent of finding a really hot supermodel, then making a pornographic movie with Wally Shawn. Holga HL-N for Nikon SLR [Holga Direct]

Carved monument from Mesoamerica Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:55 AM PST In real life, this stone carving—found in an irrigation ditch in the Mexican state of Chiapas—stands 3 ft. tall and weighs 130 pounds. From photos, it can be hard to catch all the detail going on in these type of carvings. Luckily, we also have a line drawing of the artwork, made by Kisslan Chan and John Clark, of the New World Archaeological Foundation. So what's it mean? Well, that's a mystery. Because of information collected from radiocarbon dating, careful study of the monument's context—the layers of earth it was buried in and other artifacts found nearby— and comparison with other, similar, artistic styles, University of Wisconsin-Madison archaeologist John Hodgson believes this monument was made by a pre-Maya culture called the Olmec. The Olmec had a writing system—possibly the oldest in the Americas. It looks similar to Mayan written language, which probably evolved from it. But there doesn't appear to be any writing on this particular monument. In fact, Hodgson thinks it was made before the Olmec developed their writing system. Without writing, archaeologists are left with little information other than what they can interpret from symbols and iconography in the drawing. That is, as you might imagine, a pretty subjective exercise. Most archaeologists (including Hodgson) acknowledge that, in these situations, any guesses they can make about what the art means are really just that—guesses. But that doesn't mean the monument is just a pretty stone. The monument was found on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but on the opposite side of the Isthmus, compared to where the largest Olmec settlements have been uncovered. The monument also seems to be part of a planned settlement that included plazas and pyramids, but which dates to a time earlier than most other, similar, settlements in the region. So, while we don't know what the carvings on this monument mean, we can put it into context with other artifacts to build a more complete picture of Olmec history. Photo is courtesy National Institute of Anthropology and History in Chiapas, Mexico.

Performance artist gives his entire fee to the audience, asks them to give back what he's worth Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:20 PM PST Performance artist Mike Daisey's show at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, "The Last Cargo Cult," started with the attendees being handed US currency (notes ranging from $1 to $100) as they came into the theatre. As Daisey's show drew to a close, he revealed that the money the audience had been given was the entire sum that the theatre was paying him to perform that night. He then asked the audience to give back some or all of the money based on their impression of the show -- and if they liked it enough, they were invited to give even more money back. At the end of the show, Daisey had not only made back all the money he'd given away, he'd also cleared $1,169.005 (yes, someone gave him half a penny!). Here are some choice audience reactions as they entered the theatre: "Oh my God, I got a dollar!" "Ten bucks? Dad, I got ten bucks!" "No thanks. I don't need it." "Cool. Now I can get a cookie." "Oh. Did I drop this?" "I get $5 and he gets $1? I like this!" "How do I have to humiliate myself to keep this?" "There's a small hole in this dollar. I bet that's significant." When handed a $10, a confused woman kept repeating, "But parking was only $5." How did Mike make out? (Thanks, Paul!) (Image: kevinberne.com)   Humble Indie Bundle 2: pay what you like for 5 great indie games ... 'Pay what you want' for Jason Rohrer's Sleep is Death - Boing Boing Pay-what-you-want signed XKCD prints - Boing Boing RIP: A Remix Manifesto is now a pay-what-you-like download - Boing ... Boing Boing: Freaknomics on Jane Siberry's pay-what-you-want music ... Radiohead lets fans pick price for new album - Boing Boing Honor system wine-bars in Berlin: drink all night, pay what you ... Radiohead's new album, King of Limbs, ready for download Feb. 19 ...

HOW TO: Make a gin n' tonic laser Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:11 AM PST At heart, a laser is really just an electron that's been pushed into releasing a little energy, in the form of a particle of light—a photon. The atom that electron comes from doesn't have to be anything fancy, or toxic. In fact, it can even be an atom of something you might like to put in your mouth. Edible-laser pioneer Theodor Hänsch once said, "Anything will lase if you hit it hard enough," and to prove his point, he partnered with Arthur Schawlow in 1970 to build lasers out of a gelatin-and-dye mixture very similar to Jell-O. That delightful fact is from a story in Popular Mechanics, written by Olivia Koski. It's all about edible lasers, specifically the steps involved in building a laser out of a gin n' tonic. Naturally, there's a catch. Turns out, the gin n' tonic laser is not the world's most efficient—a blast from a 20-watt carbon dioxide laser stimulates the electrons in the drink into emitting only 0.00001 watts of laser light. Which is also invisible to the naked eye. But still, isn't it nice to know that "Pew pew" and "Nom nom" are concepts that can be combined? Via Dr. Skyskull Image is actually a demonstration of quinine in a gin n' tonic fluorescing under a black light. If you don't have patience/carbon-dioxide laser to pull off a gin n' tonic laser, this would make a nice substitute party trick. Some rights reserved by Todd Huffman.

Early multi-projector was a series of tubes Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:01 AM PST Here's a clever way of projecting the same movie onto several screens throughout a building using tubes, mirrors and multiple apertures: It must be assumed that the average reader understands how a picture film passes through the projection machine. The "frames" --that is, each individual picture on the strip of film--are exposed momentarily before the aperture in the gate of the projection machine. A powerful light is focused upon the aperture, and projects the image on the film through a lens to the screen. Seemingly, pictures in motion result. Now, if a second aperture is cut in the gate, two frames can be exposed simultaneously. A special condenser lens floods both apertures with light. The light beam from the second aperture, carrying the picture image, is conveyed through a black-lined tube fitted with special mirrors and lenses, to a remote point where it is projected on the back of a ground glass plate. The visible result is similar to looking into the finder of a camera. Movie Shown on 2 Screens (Apr, 1931)

How a HarperCollins library book looks after 26 checkouts (pretty good!) Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:24 PM PST Shocked by the news that HarperCollins has told libraries that its ebooks will now self-destruct after 26 checkouts because that's how long a print book lasts, these librarians give us a tour of some of HarperCollins's books in their collection that have circulated much more than 26 times. They even have a copy of Coraline with a lifetime guarantee! The HarperCollins editions of my books are damned hardy items, I must say. I know whereof I speak -- I've done time repairing books at busy circulating libraries and I'm happy to report that the HC editions of my work are robust and fine examples of bookbindery. HarperCollins 26+ checkouts (Thanks, a librarian!)   HarperCollins to libraries: we will nuke your ebooks after 26 ...

3 teens behind internet crime forum Gh0stMarket get jail Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:36 AM PST The Guardian reports that three UK teenagers who created and ran "one of the world's largest English-language internet crime forums," described in court as "Crimebook", have been sentenced to up to 5 years in jail. Authorities estimated that losses from credit card data traded over Gh0stMarket.net totaled more than $26 million dollars. Threatening to blow up the head of the police unit in charge of internet crimes after an earlier arrest was probably an unwise move: The web forum, which had 8,000 members worldwide, has been linked to hundreds of thousands of pounds of registered losses on 65,000 bank accounts. Nicholas Webber, the site's owner and founder, was arrested in October 2009 with the site's administrator, Ryan Thomas, after trying to pay a £1,000 hotel bill using stolen card details. They were then 18 and 17. Webber was jailed for five years on Wednesday and Thomas for four years. After seizing Webber's laptop, police discovered details of 100,000 stolen credit cards and a trail back to the Gh0stMarket website. Webber and Thomas jumped bail that December, fleeing to Majorca, but were rearrested when they flew back to Gatwick airport on 31 January 2010. Southwark crown court was told how public-school-educated Webber, the son of a former Guernsey politician, was using an offshore bank account in Costa Rica to process funds from the frauds. After his initial arrest, Webber threatened on a forum to blow up the head of the police e-crimes unit in retaliation, and used his hacking skills to trace officers' addresses. Image: Nicholas Webber, who will spend the next five years in jail. Photograph: Gavin Rodgers, via Guardian. Teenagers jailed for running £16m internet crime forum (Guardian, via Brian Krebs)

Motherboard shipping carton doubles as PC case Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:12 PM PST Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus is shipping its MiniATX motherboards in a cardboard box that can be used as a PC case: There are punch-out holes for ventilation and a real panel that houses the PC's connectors and interfaces. Asus said the box is intended to allow PC enthusiasts to get their new computers up and running quickly while they search for the perfect case. "Some people spend a long time looking for a case, so this box is all they need until they find something," said Lee. Asus motherboard box doubles as a PC case (Thanks, DavidJoho, via Submitterator!) (Image: Martyn Williams, IDG News Service)   Cardboard PC reviewed - Boing Boing New-old stock of Bell Labs's cardboard teaching computer, the ... DIY cardboard tube-radio kit - Boing Boing Articulated cardboard robot PC case - Boing Boing

You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610