[Sponsor] Ikepod Watches of Switzerland have found a cool new home at Watchismo! Check out the Ikepod Horizon, whose unique dial creates an optical illusion of appearing convex, thereby emphasizing the three-dimensional volume of the Ikepod case. Then there's Marc Newson's latest creation, which sees the Australian designer interpret the most iconic timepiece of all as the Ikepod Hourglass. Each handmade hourglass comprises highly durable borosilicate glass and millions of stainless steel nanoballs. Finally, be sure to take a look at street artist KAWS' curating of a custom-designed Ikepod Horizon Wristwatch.
Fiona Apple busted in Texas for possession of hashish Two fun Little Archie comic book stories The cast of The West Wing reunites for a wistfully hilarious (and actual) campaign spot Creator of "world's smallest book" raising funds for a large print edition Law catches up with shoddy gunmaker Sofa whose cracks organize things instead of swallowing them Words on the Water Wormwood webcomic merch -- a Kickstarter IOS6 maps fail so hard, a Tumblr is born Wilco: "Sunloathe" (music video) Matt Ritchie's sketchbook Great Graphic Novels: Fungus the Bogeyman, by Raymond Briggs Android on eBay Robotic Lego ball contraption to beat them all Moo.com acquires flavors.me Taxes, The Tea Party, and Those Revolting Rebels: A History in Comics of the American Revolution Artist Ai Weiwei captures footage of protesters attacking US ambassador's car in Beijing A horse is a vehicle, in Kentucky, if you're drunk Eyeball Creep: a very special My Little Pony Saving Mr. Banks starts shooting, marks the first time Walt Disney is portrayed on film One Google query = one Apollo program's worth of computing Facebook's vague rulebook helps only the creeps Why Philip Roth had to explain himself in the New Yorker before his Wikipedia entry could be corrected Feds charge open data activist with 13 felonies for downloading academic articles Real Life Emoticons (video) Great Graphic Novels: Elfquest, by Wendy and Richard Pini Ben Folds Five meets Fraggle Rock: a Nerdist music video Small fish makes undersea "crop circles" Thin-skinned, plagiarizing Philippines Senator criminalizes "libel" with last minute stealth-attack on cybercrime bill Jewel + Walmart = song about Walmart Fiona Apple busted in Texas for possession of hashish
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 20, 2012 12:57 pm [Video Link] Police officers in Sierra Blanca, Texas made the world safer by arresting Fiona Apple for possession of hashish. She was scheduled to play in Austin. The “Criminal” singer had her bus stopped for inspection in Sierra Blanca, Texas, the same place where Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Armie Hammer have all been pinched ...
Read in browser Two fun Little Archie comic book stories
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 20, 2012 12:51 pm Love and Rockets' creators Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez have mentioned in interviews that they loved Little Archie comic books when they were growing up. Little Archie was started in the 1950s and stars the characters from Archie comics as little kids. The earlier stories were written and drawn by Bob Bolling, and they're regarded by ...
Read in browser The cast of The West Wing reunites for a wistfully hilarious (and actual) campaign spot
By Jamie Frevele on Sep 20, 2012 12:47 pm While I don't officially endorse Bridget Mary McCormack, who is running for a seat on the Michigan State Supreme Court, I do endorse the viewing of the campaign ad she's running for her non-partisan race. As the sister of actress Mary McCormack, who played security advisor Kate Harper on The West Wing, she was able ...
Read in browser Creator of "world's smallest book" raising funds for a large print edition
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 20, 2012 12:34 pm Robert Chaplin is a writer and artist, and he holds the world's record for producing the world's smallest book (he etched a copy of "Teeny Ted From Turnip Town" into the surface of a microchip using a focused ion beam and scanning electron microscope). Now he's raising money on Kickstarter to produce a "large print" ...
Read in browser Law catches up with shoddy gunmaker
By Rob Beschizza on Sep 20, 2012 12:29 pm In 2011, we told you about Bryco Arms, a "Saturday Night Special" gunmaker which knew its products were unsafe, and which declared bankruptcy to avoid paying lawsuit damages to teenage victim Brandon Maxfield. This week, the gun company's proprietor, Bruce Lee Jennings, was arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography: "Agents say ...
Read in browser Sofa whose cracks organize things instead of swallowing them
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 20, 2012 12:04 pm Lost in Sofa, by Japanese designer Daisuke Motogi, is a piece of furniture with deliberate gaps in the upholstery, intended to be used for storage of books and other items. huzi design | 设计产品 | Lost in Sofa | huzi design (via Bookshelf)
Read in browser Words on the Water
By LibraryLab on Sep 20, 2012 11:47 am Avast, mateys! If you're a literature lover and a seafaring type, you might be surprised to find that you can satisfy both your passions at a public library. With libraries and librarians across the country finding ways to be more embedded in their communities (hello, Radical Reference, Street Books, and Little Free Libraries!), Kitsap Regional ...
Read in browser Wormwood webcomic merch -- a Kickstarter
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 20, 2012 11:15 am Back in 2011, Mark blogged about the Wormworld Saga, a free, beautiful, multilingual webcomic created by Daniel Lieske. Now, Lieske has produced a world of beautiful merchandise for people who want to support his project, show off their fandom, and look stylin'. He's structured the merch production as a Kickstarter -- back it at different ...
Read in browser IOS6 maps fail so hard, a Tumblr is born
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 20, 2012 10:29 am You know you have an issue when someone brews up a Tumblr to mock you: theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com.
Read in browser Wilco: "Sunloathe" (music video)
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 20, 2012 10:08 am [Video Link]. A new animated epic fantasy video from Wilco, for the track "Sunloathe," from The Whole Love. Peter Glantz directed the video, which includes more than 100 original drawings by Nathaniel Murphy, an illustrator who is also a drum tech for Wilco's Glenn Kotche, and is half of synth duo Loft. Murphy also illustrated ...
Read in browser Matt Ritchie's sketchbook
By David Pescovitz on Sep 20, 2012 10:04 am Over at Juxtapoz, pop surrealist painter/designer Alex Pardee admires the work of Matt Ritchie, aka Matt136. While Ritchie's art includes everything from large-scale paintings to furniture, I'm most drawn (sorry) to the pen-and-ink pieces from his sketchbook. "The Art of Matt Ritchie"
Read in browser Great Graphic Novels: Fungus the Bogeyman, by Raymond Briggs
By Adam Koford on Sep 20, 2012 10:01 am Last month I asked my friends to write about books they loved (you can read all the essays here). This month, I invited them to write about their favorite graphic novels, and they selected some excellent titles. I hope you enjoy them! (Read all the Great Graphic Novel essays here.) -- Mark Fungus the Bogeyman, ...
Read in browser Android on eBay
By Advertiser on Sep 20, 2012 10:00 am ADVERTISEMENT This post is sponsored by eBay. From the new to the hard to find, when it's on your mind, it's on eBay. There are those who are dedicated to the fruits of Cupertino and those who, well, aren't. As we saw previously, there are plenty of Apple deals to be had at eBay. Three ...
Read in browser Robotic Lego ball contraption to beat them all
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 20, 2012 10:00 am Akiyuky on YouTube has uploaded a 7 minuted video overview of her or his astounding Lego Ball Contraption, a robotic rube goldberg device in 17 modules, each more fiendishly clever than the last. The accompanying blog (in Japanese) has lots more detail. But honestly, you can just sit agog for seven glorious minutes and soak ...
Read in browser Moo.com acquires flavors.me
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 20, 2012 09:59 am Do-it-yourself-easily-online business card printing service moo.com has acquired do-it-yourself-easily-online personal website service flavors.me. The deal is said to have been 6 months in the making. Disclosure: I use and love both! I hope nobody screws anything up.
Read in browser Taxes, The Tea Party, and Those Revolting Rebels: A History in Comics of the American Revolution
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 20, 2012 09:08 am With election season upon us, it's the perfect time to visit with Stan Mack's book, Taxes, The Tea Party, and Those Revolting Rebels: A History in Comics of the American Revolution. Mack's history of the American revolution is simultaneously breeze and accessible -- drawn and told in the style of wicked editorial cartoons -- and ...
Read in browser Artist Ai Weiwei captures footage of protesters attacking US ambassador's car in Beijing
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 20, 2012 09:05 am Robert Mackey at the NYT reports that Chinese art-provocateur Ai Weiwei was in the right place, at the right time, and captured video of "a small group of protesters [who] briefly surrounded the American ambassador's car" outside the US Embassy in Beijing, pelting it with objects." Ai Weiwei uploaded the footage to YouTube, showing "that ...
Read in browser A horse is a vehicle, in Kentucky, if you're drunk
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 19, 2012 10:51 pm Kentucky cops will write you a DUI if you ride a horse drunk. The fellow whose circumstances proved this to the rest of us was carrying a jar of "moonshine" at the time. Lowering the Bar has some legal analysis of the bust. Good thing the horse was sober when he got pulled over, or ...
Read in browser Eyeball Creep: a very special My Little Pony
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 19, 2012 09:15 pm Wrenniepooh isn't your typical bronie. In 2008/9, Wrenniepooh created a series of custom My Little Ponies, including this rather magnificent specimen, dubbed Eyeball Creep. Created for the Horror/Gore custom swap help at the MLPArena. This pony was made fom a baity G3 October Dreams birthstone pony who had her jewel cut out. I smoothed over ...
Read in browser Saving Mr. Banks starts shooting, marks the first time Walt Disney is portrayed on film
By Jamie Frevele on Sep 19, 2012 07:05 pm Today in News I'm a Little Ashamed I Didn't Know About Already: Disney is making the first movie that features Walt Disney as a character, and he will be portrayed by the only man with whom "Uncle Walt" can be trusted, Tom Hanks. Saving Mr. Banks follows the 14-year effort by Disney as he tried ...
Read in browser One Google query = one Apollo program's worth of computing
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 19, 2012 06:57 pm Here's a thought: "It takes about the same amount of computing to answer one Google Search query as all the computing done — in flight and on the ground — for the entire Apollo program." (Quote from Seb Schmoller's "Learning technology – a backward and forward look," attributed to Peter Norvig and Udi Mepher of ...
Read in browser Facebook's vague rulebook helps only the creeps
By Rob Beschizza on Sep 19, 2012 06:40 pm Facebook's vaguely-defined community standards leave artists and honest users unclear on limits—and at the mercy of trolls and stalkers willing to use the social network's anonymous moderators to create fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Read in browser Why Philip Roth had to explain himself in the New Yorker before his Wikipedia entry could be corrected
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 19, 2012 06:21 pm My latest Guardian column, "Why Philip Roth needs a secondary source," explains why it makes sense for Wikipedians to insist that Roth's claims about his novels be vetted by and published in the New Yorker before they can be included on Wikipedia: Wikipedians not only have no way of deciding whether Philip Roth is an ...
Read in browser Feds charge open data activist with 13 felonies for downloading academic articles
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 19, 2012 06:18 pm Wired reports that Federal prosectors have added nine additional felony counts against coder, freedom of information activist, and early Reddit employee (or Reddit co-founder, depending on who you ask) Aaron Swartz. Last year, he was charged with breaking hacking laws "by downloading millions of academic articles from a subscription database via an open connection at ...
Read in browser Real Life Emoticons (video)
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 19, 2012 06:10 pm [Video Link] From JemmaKuma.
Read in browser Great Graphic Novels: Elfquest, by Wendy and Richard Pini
By Maja D'aoust on Sep 19, 2012 06:07 pm The message of
Elfquest is not only a creation myth but the eternal return: a story of magical beings raised by wolves, tied to intergalactic science fiction—one can only imagine the creators have a drinking buddy in the Illuminati.
Read in browser Ben Folds Five meets Fraggle Rock: a Nerdist music video
By Xeni Jardin on Sep 19, 2012 05:46 pm [Video Link] Chris Hardwick's NERDIST YouTube channel is full of awesome, but few things as awesome as this. The Official Music Video for "Do It Anyway," the first track from Ben Folds Five's much anticipated album THE SOUND OF THE LIFE OF THE MIND...featuring the Fraggles from Jim Henson's "Fraggle Rock"! Also starring Rob Corddry, ...
Read in browser Small fish makes undersea "crop circles"
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 19, 2012 05:10 pm This pretty pattern was created by a small, amorous pufferfish. Underwater cameras showed that the artist was a small puffer fish who, using only his flapping fin, tirelessly worked day and night to carve the circular ridges. The unlikely artist – best known in Japan as a delicacy, albeit a potentially poisonous one – even ...
Read in browser Thin-skinned, plagiarizing Philippines Senator criminalizes "libel" with last minute stealth-attack on cybercrime bill
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 19, 2012 04:51 pm Philippines Senator Vicente Sotto III has been embroiled in a series of plagiarism scandals -- most recently, he gave a speech including phrases from a Robert Kennedy, Jr address, without credit or acknowledgment -- and has attracted a lot of vocal online criticisms. He was also instrumental in the passage of a broad, censorious "cybercrime" ...
Read in browser Jewel + Walmart = song about Walmart
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 19, 2012 04:42 pm [Video Link] (Via Uproxx)
Read in browser Meet SparkTruck, an “educational build-mobile” for the twenty-first century.
Dreamed up by a group of Stanford d.school students and funded through Kickstarter, SparkTruck is a mobile maker space currently traveling across the United States. At schools and summer camps and libraries around the country, the SparkTruck team offers workshops to help kids “find their inner maker” as they design and build projects like stamps, stop-motion animation clips, and “vibrobots.”
[video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmRKXqDwieY&feature=plcp]
This might seem all shiny and new. And it is—but only in part. What’s so striking (and exciting) about SparkTruck is the way it combines old and new. It does so in the tools it gets kids using, which range from pipe cleaners to laser cutters. It does so in its educational approach, which combines cutting-edge (get it?) STEM and design pedagogy with the fundamentals of an old-school shop class. And it does so in its method, which combines the iconic, century-old technology of the bookmobile with the hot new form of the maker space.
In doing so, SparkTruck joins a growing number of libraries which are combining time-tested principles (like equal access to information) with new technologies (like 3-D printers), putting in maker spaces and media production labs alongside bookshelves and meeting rooms. As I’ve argued over on bookmobility.org, these combinations make sense because reading and making actually have a lot in common. They’re both creative processes that take existing materials and combine them in new ways. Getting people engaged in those kinds of processes—through imaginative thinking, contemplation, hands-on problem-solving, and collaborative learning—is what both maker spaces and libraries are all about.
Taking that commitment on the road with scissors and hammers and 3-D printers and a great big bookmobile-like truck, SparkTruck serves as a laboratory for new approaches, as well as a reminder that trying new things doesn’t have to (and probably shouldn’t!) necessarily mean tossing old ones out.
After all, what would those vibrobots be without classically crafty pipe cleaners and tongue depressors? And what would a library be without the creative, participatory, straight-up awesome experience of reading?
SparkTruck schedule [sparktruck.org]
How to arrange a visit from SparkTruck [sparktruck.org]
SparkTruck YouTube channel [youtube.com]
Signature: --Derek Attig, bookmobility.org
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