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HOWTO protect yourself from ATM skimmers Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique recreated and remixed Woman arrested four times in 26 hours YouTube blocks clip of Michelle Obama's DNC speech on copyright grounds Today in amazing casting news: Bryan Cranston is coming to 30 Rock Act today to stop the Daily Mail's campaign to establish opt-out censorship in the UK Stolen wallet recovered 40 years later is a miniature time-capsule Be My Enemy: triumphant sequel to Planesrunner Writing an edgy comic? Don't forget to include whatever fetish we posted about last month The history and science of meringue, from a new book by Linda K. Jackson and Jennifer Evans Gardner Your cellphone is a tracking device that lets you make calls From XKCD, a swell turn of phrase Fun commercial for Sugru repair putty Chris Ware art show in Chicago and NYC Taschen announces $1000 Robert Crumb sketchbook set Gweek 066: Happier at Home, by Gretchen Rubin NFL fans deal with watching the best game ever -- and the concussion crisis that comes with it Compelling bad news about the economy The Dot and the Line (1965) On the terminal nature of copyright licenses Help name an asteroid! Crononauta: stylized photos of Brazil's abandoned public clocks The best cat video on the Internet The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again": just the bass Great depressing moments in history: Philippe Lebon and the streetlights of Paris Wind farms aren't a major cause of bird deaths The Sweet Wines You Shoop Mitt Romney: Climate change is real, but addressing it would be wrong The cast of Mad Men "sing" Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" HOWTO protect yourself from ATM skimmers
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 05, 2012 01:00 pm Brian Krebs, who has written many excellent investigative pieces on ATM skimmers, spent several hours watching footage seized from hidden skimmer cameras, and has concluded that covering your hand while you enter your PIN really works in many cases -- and that many people don't bother to take this elementary step. Some readers may thinking, ...
Read in browser Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique recreated and remixed
By David Pescovitz on Sep 05, 2012 12:38 pm Musicians DJ Food, Cheeba, and Moneyshot spent three years recreating the Beastie Boys masterful Paul's Boutique from "all the original samples plus a cappellas, period interviews and the Beasties' own audio commentary from the reissued release." This is a sequel-of-sorts to Cheeba and Moneyshot's "Beastie Boy Beats: Check Your Head." DJ Food's post on the ...
Read in browser Woman arrested four times in 26 hours
By David Pescovitz on Sep 05, 2012 12:26 pm This is Joyce Coffey who was arrested four times in 26 hours last week. Reportedly, the first three times were for playing loud music, including AC/DC's "Highway to Hell." The final time was after she threw a frying pan at her nephew. "Police: Woman arrested 4 times in 26 hours" (AP, thanks, Rick Pescovitz!)
Read in browser YouTube blocks clip of Michelle Obama's DNC speech on copyright grounds
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 05, 2012 12:00 pm A YouTube clip of Michelle Obama's DNC speech, embedded on BarackObama.com, was blocked due to a copyright complaint "from WMG, SME, Associated Press (AP), UMG, Dow Jones, New York Times Digital, The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), Warner Chappell, UMPG Publishing and EMI Music Publishing." It's not clear what happened, though my money is on ...
Read in browser Today in amazing casting news: Bryan Cranston is coming to 30 Rock
By Jamie Frevele on Sep 05, 2012 11:41 am Man, Bryan Cranston is popping up everywhere these days! First, he was seen directing an episode of NBC's The Office for its final season. And now, he'll appear on camera for another show entering its last year, 30 Rock. He will be accompanied by the spectacular Catherine O'Hara, who will play the mother of Kenneth ...
Read in browser Act today to stop the Daily Mail's campaign to establish opt-out censorship in the UK
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 05, 2012 10:46 am A group of UK MPs, the Daily Mail and religious pressure groups are pushing for a law that would require all new Internet subscribers to opt out of an unaccountable censorwall, which will silently block a secret list of websites from their Internet connections. This is bad enough. Unaccountable block-lists are an attractive nuisance -- ...
Read in browser Stolen wallet recovered 40 years later is a miniature time-capsule
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 05, 2012 10:09 am A 2011 piece from the NYT's David W. Dunlap tells the story of the recovery of a long-lost wallet that was stolen from a Times art director in 1970, and which was recovered from "a void between an old unused window on the second floor and the masonry seal behind it" in fall of 2010. ...
Read in browser Be My Enemy: triumphant sequel to Planesrunner
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 05, 2012 09:00 am Today marks the publication of Be My Enemy, the absolutely triumphant sequel to Ian McDonald's pulse-pounding young-adult science fiction novel Planesrunner. Planesrunner -- a rollicking, multidimensional tale of a young boy who holds the key to infinite universes, seeking to rescue his physicist father from sinister powers -- finished on a brutal cliffhanger, leaving its ...
Read in browser Writing an edgy comic? Don't forget to include whatever fetish we posted about last month
By Rob Beschizza on Sep 04, 2012 08:35 pm Be sure to play Edgy Comic Bingo, by Cathy Leamy, who creates comics herself and knows a thing or two about getting linked to. Click through for the full NSFW card. August, 2012: Pixellated German Secretary of the Interior mask.
Read in browser The history and science of meringue, from a new book by Linda K. Jackson and Jennifer Evans Gardner
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 04, 2012 07:26 pm My friend Jen Gardner has co-written a gorgeous recipe book called Meringue, which is all about the featherweight delicacy that turns desserts into works of art. I asked Jen if I could include an excerpt that discusses the history and science of meringue, and she kindly gave me permission. From Meringue: Egg whites. Sugar. A ...
Read in browser Your cellphone is a tracking device that lets you make calls
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 04, 2012 06:55 pm Just in case you had any doubts about how much of a security risk your mobile phone presents, have a read of Jacob Appelbaum's interview with N+. Jake's with both the Tor and Wikileaks projects, and has been detained and scrutinized to a fare-thee-well. Appelbaum: Cell phones are tracking devices that make phone calls. It's ...
Read in browser From XKCD, a swell turn of phrase
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 04, 2012 06:20 pm As neglected as the nine button on a microwave.
Read in browser Fun commercial for Sugru repair putty
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 04, 2012 05:59 pm [Video Link] This is a cute commercial for Sugru, the delightful moldable repair compound that I use to fix suitcase zippers, dishwasher rollers, headphone strain reliefs, and many other things around the house that break.
Read in browser Chris Ware art show in Chicago and NYC
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 04, 2012 05:45 pm Peggy Burns of Drawn & Quarterly wrote about two concurrent art shows taking place in Chicago and New York in conjunction with the release of Chris Ware's graphic novel, Building Stories. I've been a great admirer of Ware's for many years (so has David -- he wrote about him for The Happy Mutant Handbook), and ...
Read in browser Taschen announces $1000 Robert Crumb sketchbook set
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 04, 2012 05:15 pm I love R. Crumb's sketchbooks. I have three of them, which are facsimile editions of his sketchbooks from the 60s and 70s. I paid about $100 per volume. This six volume set for Taschen is $1000. It looks great, but I don't think I'm going to plunk down that much cash. This six-book boxed set ...
Read in browser Gweek 066: Happier at Home, by Gretchen Rubin
By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 04, 2012 05:08 pm Click here to play this episode. Gweek is Boing Boing's podcast about comic books, science fiction and fantasy, video games, board games, tools, gadgets, apps, and other neat stuff. My guest today is Gretchen Rubin, author of the brand new book called Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, ...
Read in browser NFL fans deal with watching the best game ever -- and the concussion crisis that comes with it
By Jamie Frevele on Sep 04, 2012 05:04 pm As a football fan, it's always painful to hear the increasing number of stories about players sustaining head injuries that range from your standard (but still dangerous) concussions to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It's easy to let oneself be ignorant of it while rooting for our favorite players during the truly suspenseful and exciting 60 minutes ...
Read in browser Compelling bad news about the economy
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 04, 2012 04:53 pm Ian Welsh writes on Naked Capitalism with 21 dismal and compelling "basics" about the economy and the so-called "recovery." 7) Europe, ex. Germany, is in recession. 8 ) the developed world is in depression, it never left depression. During depressions there are recoveries (such as they are) and recessions, but the overall economy is in ...
Read in browser The Dot and the Line (1965)
By David Pescovitz on Sep 04, 2012 04:13 pm The Dot and the Line, Chuck Jones/MGM's classic 1965 Oscar-winning short film based on Norton Juster's 1963 book The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics inspired by Edwin Abbott Abbott's 1884 novella "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions." When I was a kid and this came on between Tom and Jerry episodes, ...
Read in browser On the terminal nature of copyright licenses
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 04, 2012 03:50 pm A fine observation from the clever Kevin Marks, about the fact that your "license" to use you DRM media (ebooks, games, music) expires when you die: "How is it that copyright lasts 70 years after death, but licenses expire at death?" (via Techdirt)
Read in browser Help name an asteroid!
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 04, 2012 03:18 pm In 2016, NASA will launch OSIRIS-REx, an unmanned mission to an astroid called 1999 RQ36. It is, to say the least, not the most inspiringly named object in space. That's why MIT, the University of Arizona, and the Planetary Society are sponsoring a contest to rename it. If you are under age 18—and are capable ...
Read in browser Crononauta: stylized photos of Brazil's abandoned public clocks
By Cory Doctorow on Sep 04, 2012 03:02 pm Brazilian artist Diego Kuffer writes, " I have a new series of photos called 'Chrononaut'. It's about how experience shapes the way we perceive the world and reality. Also, it pictures public clocks in Sao Paulo that are abandoned, because it isn't allowed anymore to post ads in public spaces, as part of a law ...
Read in browser The best cat video on the Internet
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 04, 2012 02:59 pm That is a high claim, I know. But over Labor Day weekend, a combination of dedicated curation and popular vote resulted in Henri 2, Paw de Deux being named the best Internet cat video. The Internet Cat Film Festival, sponsored by Minneapolis' Walker Museum of Art, drew a live audience of more than 10,000 people ...
Read in browser The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again": just the bass
By David Pescovitz on Sep 04, 2012 02:37 pm My pal John Curley, bassist for the newly-reunited Afghan Whigs, tweeted the above video of The Who's John Entwistle playing bass on "Won't Get Fooled Again." No, that's not an epic solo. That's the isolated bass line from the song.
Read in browser Great depressing moments in history: Philippe Lebon and the streetlights of Paris
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 04, 2012 02:35 pm At his blog, Kafka's Mouse, author P.D. Smith details the history of lighting infrastructure in cities—a story that begins with the dawn of gas lights. London was the first city to get gas-powered street lamps, in 1812. But it was not the first city to hear such an idea proposed. In fact, in an alternate ...
Read in browser Wind farms aren't a major cause of bird deaths
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 04, 2012 02:15 pm It's hard to say how many birds are killed by collisions with wind turbines. The high end of the estimates top out around 450,000 birds each year in the United States. But even that doesn't come close to making wind turbines a major killer of American birds. Among the things that kill far, far, far ...
Read in browser The Sweet Wines You Shoop
By Rob Beschizza on Sep 04, 2012 02:15 pm St. James Winery has armed itself with a copy of photoshop. [Hat tip: reck]
Read in browser Mitt Romney: Climate change is real, but addressing it would be wrong
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 04, 2012 01:41 pm Science Debate is a group that's working to get political candidates in the United States actually talking publicly about issues of science and technology policy. In 2008, they tried (and failed) to get Barak Obama and John McCain to agree to a live, televised science debate. But they did get both candidates to send in ...
Read in browser The cast of Mad Men "sing" Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"
By Jamie Frevele on Sep 04, 2012 01:29 pm I post this not just because it's the cast of AMC's Mad Men performing Rick Astley's famous Rick-rolling anthem one word at a time, but also because of the sheer man hours spent looking for each word in the lyrics being said at any point during the show's first four seasons -- which, if every ...
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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