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Father/kid Tauntaun costume Verizon refused to help police locate unconscious man unless they paid his phone bill Nominate your favorite sf/f podcast for the Parsec award Interactive fiction revival? Beautiful 1919 Poe illustrations by Harry Clarke Casemod that grows wheatgrass Russell Brand testifies to Parliament about drug policy, channels Groucho Marx HOWTO make waffle-shaped jello shots 3D printed chess set whose pieces form a "Chess Giant" Seattle library hides 1,000 books around town for young people to find Toxic cloud of Axe Body Spray triggers fire alarm in high school locker room Newly-discovered Mayan calendar in Guatemala proves (again) the world won't end in 2012 Amara/Universal Subtitles gets $1MM from Mozilla and the Knight Foundation to internationalize Web video Dean Obeidallah: "Sacha Cohen's movie is a modern-day minstrel show" Curiosity in the desert Steve Almond on Mitt Romney and bullying: "To Behave Like The Fallen World" How did alleged 9/11 mastermind KSM dye beard red at Gitmo? Only his stylist knows. New evidence suggests people aren't nearly as dickish on the Internet as you might think Sendak-ian Avengers Vesta, the planet that might have been Gweek 051: Blair Butler of G4's Fresh Ink Tor Project on The Alyona Show Apple rumors: sweet new 3D map feature coming to iOS6 Apple spoofs Ghostbusters (1984) Destroying stuff for science EULAs for the afterlife When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite The Alien Mystique: Megan Draper and the Upending of the Mad Men Universe Memorable moments in motherhood, from 20 moms in Brooklyn Dalek from recycled engine parts Father/kid Tauntaun costume
By Cory Doctorow on May 12, 2012 11:55 am Here's Kitt and his delightful progeny cleverly disguised as a tauntaun and Han Solo on the frozen ice-world of Hoth: "His tauntaun even had removable guts to warm your hands with." Happy House Warming, Kitt! (via Super Punch)
Read in browser Verizon refused to help police locate unconscious man unless they paid his phone bill
By Rob Beschizza on May 12, 2012 10:16 am Nancy Schaar at the Times Reporter: A 62-year-old Carrollton area man was found unconscious and unresponsive Thursday morning during an intense search overnight by Carroll County sheriff deputies, an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper and the patrol's airplane. [Sheriff] Williams said he attempted to use the man's cell phone signal to locate him, but the ...
Read in browser Nominate your favorite sf/f podcast for the Parsec award
By Cory Doctorow on May 12, 2012 08:51 am Laura sez, "Podcast nominations are open until June 1, 2012 for the Seventh Annual Parsec Awards which recognize excellence in speculative fiction podcasting. The awards were founded in 2005 by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman, podcasting guru and author Mur Lafferty, and Farpoint Media founder Michael Mennenga. Given each year at Dragon*Con in ...
Read in browser Interactive fiction revival?
By Rob Beschizza on May 12, 2012 08:19 am Interactive fiction is a thriving genre, but its commercial heyday is long gone. Here's Leigh Alexander on how Kickstarter could usher in text adventures' long-overdue renaissance: "There's more than just nostalgia contributing to a potential revival for interactive stories. A broader gaming audience means appetites for game forms we might have once called "casual" in ...
Read in browser Beautiful 1919 Poe illustrations by Harry Clarke
By Cory Doctorow on May 12, 2012 12:07 am Harry Clarke's 1919 illustrations for Poe's "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" are absolutely wonderful, some of the best Poe interpretations this diehard Poefan has seen. 50Watts has them at super-hi-rez, too. Looks like you can buy a 2008 facsimile edition for about $26. Harry Clarke, Illustrations for E. A. Poe (via How to Be a ...
Read in browser Casemod that grows wheatgrass
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 11:00 pm Mike Schropp's "BioComputer" is a PC casemod that actually grows wheatgrass, using waste-heat from the computer to provide a hospitable hothouse environment. He's posted detailed build-logs from the project, and plans more ambitious horticulture. I can't exactly recall when the idea came to me, but at some point I started wanting to use the heat ...
Read in browser Russell Brand testifies to Parliament about drug policy, channels Groucho Marx
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 10:54 pm Here's some of Russell Brand's wonderful, thoughtful, funny, and ascerbic testimony to the UK Parliament on the subject of combatting addiction and setting sensible drug policy. Brand is a former herion addict, and he was questioned by MPs over his views on the subject: * I don't think we need a carrot or a stick. ...
Read in browser HOWTO make waffle-shaped jello shots
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 09:05 pm The JSTK Blog has an eye-catching formula for making jello vodka shots in a waffle-iron, resulting in some awfully weird-looking booze-delivery biscuits. Anyway, we prepared two versions of our jelly waffles, one blueberry, and one classic (i.e., no blueberry). Both are based on the lovely cocktail from LA's Harvard & Stone. Here's a link to ...
Read in browser 3D printed chess set whose pieces form a "Chess Giant"
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 08:07 pm Cymon (AKA Joe) won the Tinkercad Chess Set Design contest with his design for Action #Chess, whose pieces can be assembled into a Chess Giant. He's documenting the 3D output of his darling on his MakerBot blog. Action Chess By Cymon: It Works!
Read in browser Seattle library hides 1,000 books around town for young people to find
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 07:04 pm The Seattle Public Library system's annual Summer Reading Program is called Century 22: Read the Future, and is tied in with the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair. Young people are encouraged to scour the city's landmarks for 1,000 books hidden throughout town, and then to re-hide them for other kids to find. Among ...
Read in browser Toxic cloud of Axe Body Spray triggers fire alarm in high school locker room
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 06:40 pm A student going a little too heavy on a brand of spray-on stench popular with teens set off the fire alarm at a Connecticut high school: "It was some kid in the locker room using body spray and it created a cloud of mist right underneath the sensor," Fire Marshal Albert Santostefano told the Middletown ...
Read in browser Newly-discovered Mayan calendar in Guatemala proves (again) the world won't end in 2012
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 06:16 pm William Saturno, a Boston University archeologist, excavates a mural in a house in Xultun. Photo: Tyrone Turner © 2012 National Geographic An archaeological expedition in the northeastern lowlands of Guatemala yields an amazing discovery: the "9th-century workplace of a city scribe, an unusual dwelling adorned with magnificent pictures of the king and other royals and ...
Read in browser Amara/Universal Subtitles gets $1MM from Mozilla and the Knight Foundation to internationalize Web video
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 05:49 pm Amara, the free/open subtitling/dubbing project that used to be called Universal Subtitles, has just landed $1,000,000 in funding from the Knight Foundation and the Mozilla Foundation. Amara is run by the Participatory Culture Foundation, a charitable nonprofit that produces technologies to increase and deepen the average person's ability to participate in the online world. Amara ...
Read in browser Dean Obeidallah: "Sacha Cohen's movie is a modern-day minstrel show"
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 05:40 pm Comedian and former attorney Dean Obeidallah, co-director of the previously-Boinged documentary project, "The Muslims Are Coming!," is not a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen's new movie, "The Dictator." Regarding Cohen as "Gen. Shabazz Aladeen," the leader of a fictitious Arab country, Obeidallah writes: "Cohen, who is not of Arab heritage, plays this Arab character while ...
Read in browser Curiosity in the desert
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 11, 2012 05:26 pm Last week, scientists used ice caves in Austria as a stand-in for Martian caves, testing spacesuits and rovers in the freezing chambers. This week: We go to the desert near Baker, California, where NASA is testing out its Curiosity rover. Curiosity is 86 days away from landing on the real Martian surface. Gene Blevins / ...
Read in browser Steve Almond on Mitt Romney and bullying: "To Behave Like The Fallen World"
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 05:19 pm A powerful piece at The Rumpusby Steve Almond about reports that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was a cruel homophobic bully in high school. "It's just bullshit, total fucking sociopathic bullshit. And it makes me sad that such an episode comes to light and all Romney can do—a guy who wants to be elected to ...
Read in browser How did alleged 9/11 mastermind KSM dye beard red at Gitmo? Only his stylist knows.
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 05:09 pm Adam Serwer writes at Mother Jones about KSM's recent facial hair makeover. He grew a beard, but how did he get his hands on henna with which to dye it a ginger-red? Visiting friends? Home-brewed stain from materials inside the camp? No one knows, or if the camp guards do, it's a national security secret. ...
Read in browser New evidence suggests people aren't nearly as dickish on the Internet as you might think
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 11, 2012 05:00 pm A new study, published in the journal Nature, provides evidence that the way people communicate with each other doesn't change very much between offline and different kinds of online situations, including chat rooms—even if the people are chatting anonymously. The catch: This only holds true in places where the same people are coming back to ...
Read in browser Sendak-ian Avengers
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 04:52 pm DeviantArt's ~AgarthanGuide created this Maurice Sendak/Avengers mashup: "Two things on my mind today: RIP Maurice Sendak. Yay Avengers. Okay- I put together some wallpapers using the original- I tried to make them as big as possible and cover the major aspect ratios. You can download them here. Enjoy!" Avengers on Parade (RIP Maurice Sendak) (via ...
Read in browser Vesta, the planet that might have been
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 11, 2012 04:42 pm This is Vesta, the second largest asteroid in our solar system's main asteroid belt. Specifically, this is a view of Vesta's south pole, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft last September. As it turns out, Vesta is a great illustration of the power of chance in the universe. Data collected by Dawn is showing that, once ...
Read in browser Gweek 051: Blair Butler of G4's Fresh Ink
By Mark Frauenfelder on May 11, 2012 04:29 pm My co-hosts for episode 51 of Boing Boing's podcast are Michael Pusateri, a lifelong tinkerer and former television tech executive for Disney, and Blair Butler, a writer, comedian, and G4's resident comic book expert.
Read in browser Tor Project on The Alyona Show
By Rob Beschizza on May 11, 2012 04:19 pm On The Alyona Show, Jacob Appelbaum talks about the Tor Project and internet anonymity.
Read in browser Apple rumors: sweet new 3D map feature coming to iOS6
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 04:17 pm Word on the Apple blogs today: in development for iOS 6, a maps application developed entirely in-house, to replace the Google Maps program running on iOS since 2007. "The application design is said to be fairly similar to the current Google Maps program on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch," reports 9to5mac.com, "But it is ...
Read in browser Apple spoofs Ghostbusters (1984)
By David Pescovitz on May 11, 2012 03:50 pm You've seen Steve Jobs as FDR. From the same era comes "Blue Busters," a Ghostbusters-spoofing rile-up-the-sales-folks-against-IBM 1984 internal conference video. Look for cameos from Steves Jobs and Wozniak. (via MacRumors)
Read in browser Destroying stuff for science
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 11, 2012 03:49 pm How do engineers know that the pillars supporting a bridge can withstand the force of thousands of cars driving over them for decades? How do we know what would happen to that bridge during an earthquake? What about an earthquake in winter? Buildings, roads and bridges are all designed with a buffer of safety—basically, engineers ...
Read in browser EULAs for the afterlife
By Cory Doctorow on May 11, 2012 03:39 pm Tom Scott's Welcome to Life is a clever and chilling short film about the EULA you will be asked to click through when you die. It paints a picture of an afterlife run on the kinds of shitty, non-negotiable terms as today's social media sites. If you liked this, you may also enjoy two novels ...
Read in browser When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 03:35 pm Gwinna at anthropologist.livejournal.com writes: "Contrary to myth, Christianity's concept of marriage has not been set in stone since the days of Christ, but has constantly evolved as a concept and ritual. Prof. John Boswell, the late Chairman of Yale University's history department, discovered that in addition to heterosexual marriage ceremonies in ancient Christian church liturgical ...
Read in browser The Alien Mystique: Megan Draper and the Upending of the Mad Men Universe
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 03:28 pm At Grantland, a great piece by Andy Greenwald on comics, science fiction, "otherness," and Mad Men Season 5: "The Silver Surfer didn't come alone, and neither did Michael Ginsberg. Both served as harbingers for leggy, purple-mini-skirted giants who possessed the ability to unmake worlds. One was called Galactus. The other is married to Don Draper."
Read in browser Memorable moments in motherhood, from 20 moms in Brooklyn
By Xeni Jardin on May 11, 2012 03:06 pm Jon Cotner from the Hairpin tells Boing Boing, "To celebrate Mother's Day, my fiancée Claire Hamilton and I talked with 20 moms during an overcast, leafy walk through Brooklyn. We asked them to describe memorable moments of their motherhood. Here's the link."
Read in browser Dalek from recycled engine parts
By David Pescovitz on May 11, 2012 02:50 pm My Institute for the Future colleague Sheila Cabangangan, whose auto license plate is a variation on "TARDIS," recently acquired this fine Dalek handcrafted from screws, bolts, and other old metal bits. It's about 7" high and weighs a hefty two pounds. The creator, Metal Souls, offers a wide range of similarly scraptastic models of animals, ...
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