Sociological Images annual Halloween "Sexy What!" post When Daleks pushed cigarettes to kids BB Readers' DIY Costumes: Living Roy Lichtenstein painting, by Gina Menduni Old skeleton found in tree upended by Sandy NYC's 911 system overloaded during Hurricane Sandy A helpful roundup of emergency gadgets Prototype for a beginner's sewing machine Gruber on iPad Mini Fake Hurricane Sandy shark photo migrates to Chinese web Supreme Court asked to reconsider effectiveness of drug-sniffing dogs in narcotics cases First-person account of Sandy hospital evacuation for cancer patient with recent liver transplant Siouxsie and the Banshees performing "Halloween" (1981) BB Readers' DIY Costumes: Animal and Son of Anarchy, by BrotherPower TOM THE DANCING BUG: The Republican Rapid Rape Response Squad!! Scientists warned, again and again, that extreme weather could devastate NYC East Coast US residents try to get back to normal after Sandy Grand Guignol horror show, 1947 Zappos's crappy EULA found unenforceable, leaving Zappos without a legal leg to stand on (Everyday Is) Halloween (1984) Google's Superstorm Sandy crisis map includes eyewitness video Mitch O'Connell's Top 10 most beloved halloween classic movies of all time... 10-year-old boy tasered for refusing to clean police officer's car Burning Man arsonist dies on BART tracks in apparent suicide Republican congressman: Hurricane Sandy aid shouldn't go to "Gucci bags and massage parlors" NY National Guard decides Sandy relief more important than mock disaster drill How the sugar industry defends itself against claims that sugar is unhealthy BB readers' DIY Halloween costumes: Narwhal, by Sarah Jones Raising funds for a gallery show of Star Wars-inspired oils A wearable ghost story: Castle Magpie Zombie playing cards Sociological Images annual Halloween "Sexy What!" post
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 31, 2012 12:56 pm Lisa Wade says: " Here is our annual post featuring sexy costumes that we think are just… bizarre. When sexy “overtakes all reason,” you can sexualize just about anything."
Read in browser When Daleks pushed cigarettes to kids
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 31, 2012 12:53 pm Betcha didn't know that the Daleks featured in a series of TV and print ads that appeared in the likes of
Children's Dalek Annual 1978.
Read in browser BB Readers' DIY Costumes: Living Roy Lichtenstein painting, by Gina Menduni
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:51 pm BB reader Gina Menduni made this genius Roy Lichtenstein costume for Halloween 2012. We are gobsmacked, Gina! Thanks for sharing it in the epic DIY Halloween costume thread!
Read in browser Old skeleton found in tree upended by Sandy
By David Pescovitz on Oct 31, 2012 12:44 pm Yesterday a homeless woman at New Haven Green park in Connecticut noticed something odd tangled in the roots of a huge oak tree torn from the ground by Superstorm Sandy: a human skeleton. Apparently, The Green was used as a burial ground until 1821. The headstones were eventually moved but the bodies were not. "Skeletal ...
Read in browser NYC's 911 system overloaded during Hurricane Sandy
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:40 pm The "Superstorm" that wallopped the Northeast US this week serves as another reminder of how easily overwhelmed New York City's 911 phone system is. So much so that Mayor Mike Bloomberg again and again urged citizens not to use it to report anything but the most immediate life-threatening emergencies. "The city said it was receiving ...
Read in browser A helpful roundup of emergency gadgets
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:32 pm Brian Lam at Wirecutter has a timely post up about gadgets and tools one might find useful in an emergency like Hurricane Sandy. Device chargers, generators, two-way radios, but also "hey why didn't I think of that before the hurricane" non-electronics stuff like Handi-Wipes, socks, umbrellas, and good deals on batteries.
Read in browser Prototype for a beginner's sewing machine
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 31, 2012 12:30 pm Sarah Dickins, a designer from Loughborough university, tackles beginner frustations with sewing machines.
Read in browser Gruber on iPad Mini
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:30 pm "Wow, it feels like a Kindle," and "Ew, the screen is terrible," were Mrs. Daring Fireball's initial reactions when Gruber handed her the iPad Mini to see what she, "an avid daily user of an iPad 3," thought. "Her initial reaction matched mine exactly, and perfectly encapsulates the experience," Gruber writes. But his prediction: "This ...
Read in browser Fake Hurricane Sandy shark photo migrates to Chinese web
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:25 pm A Weibo user identified "the U.S. hurricane" as the source of the "shark swimming in New Jersey streets" photo, which has been proven to be fake (we could totally tell by the pixels). He added of the shark, "In China, it would've been cooked already." More at WaPo.
Read in browser Supreme Court asked to reconsider effectiveness of drug-sniffing dogs in narcotics cases
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:22 pm Two cases on the Supreme Court docket "present an aggressive challenge to the notion that a dog's 'alert' to the presence of drugs is enough to legally justify a search of someone's home or vehicle. Robert Barnes in the Washington Post has more.
Read in browser First-person account of Sandy hospital evacuation for cancer patient with recent liver transplant
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:15 pm In the NYT's live-blog of Hurricane Sandy's impact on NYC today, a riveting account of the NYU hospital evacuation as told through the case of Christine Chin, who has had a series of operations after part of her husband's liver was used to replace her cancerous one. The hospital lost power during the storm surge ...
Read in browser Siouxsie and the Banshees performing "Halloween" (1981)
By David Pescovitz on Oct 31, 2012 12:15 pm Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1981 performing "Halloween," from their essential album Juju.
Read in browser BB Readers' DIY Costumes: Animal and Son of Anarchy, by BrotherPower
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:11 pm Boing Boing reader BrotherPower shares this work-in-progress shot of the Animal costume he's making for his 8-year-old. "I just finished the oversized drumsticks and the spiky wristbands today." Below also from BrotherPower, "Here's my other son's Golden Age Cap (store-bought jumpsuit, modded Quidditch goggles and helmet liner, custom shield) and my scratch-built SAMCRO cut. I'm ...
Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: The Republican Rapid Rape Response Squad!!
By Ruben Bolling on Oct 31, 2012 12:05 pm Tom the Dancing Bug: Another thrilling episode of The Republican Rapid Rape Response Squad!!
Read in browser Scientists warned, again and again, that extreme weather could devastate NYC
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:05 pm David W. Chen and Mireya Navarro write in The New York Times about warnings that weren't heeded: "For nearly a decade, scientists have told city and state officials that New York faces certain peril: rising sea levels, more frequent flooding and extreme weather patterns. The alarm bells grew louder after Tropical Storm Irene last year, ...
Read in browser East Coast US residents try to get back to normal after Sandy
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 12:02 pm 22 deaths reported in NYC alone. 7 million still without power. Traffic and transit are a mess. Airports slowly re-opening. Damage estimates range as high as $15 billion in insured property losses, and an additional $20 billion in lost economic activity. As you might imagine, the NY Times' coverage is the gold standard on this ...
Read in browser Grand Guignol horror show, 1947
By David Pescovitz on Oct 31, 2012 11:58 am Grand Guignol was a Parisian theater that between 1897 and 1962 staged macabre plays known for their cartoon horror and violence. LIFE shares with us vintage photos of this splatterpunk paradise. Above, "Burned by vitriol thrown at him by his girl who comes to seek forgiveness, her lover turns slowly to reveal his elaborately blighted ...
Read in browser Zappos's crappy EULA found unenforceable, leaving Zappos without a legal leg to stand on
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 31, 2012 11:50 am Of all the stupid clauses in the license "agreements" that the Internet crams down your throat, the cake-taker is "this agreement subject to change without notice." In other words, you're "agreeing" to anything and everything that the company dreams up, for the rest of time. This clause -- and its place in a "browsewrap agreement" ...
Read in browser (Everyday Is) Halloween (1984)
By David Pescovitz on Oct 31, 2012 11:50 am Ministry's "(Every Day Is) Halloween" from 1984, back when Al Jourgensen still cultivated an English accent.
Read in browser Google's Superstorm Sandy crisis map includes eyewitness video
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 11:50 am That Superstorm Sandy Google crisis map we blogged about earlier this week has been updated with tons of videos and webcam spots. Fascinating way to get a sense of which areas and populations are impacted, and how.
Read in browser Mitch O'Connell's Top 10 most beloved halloween classic movies of all time...
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 31, 2012 11:41 am …from the video rental section behind the curtain. Artist and ephemera craphound Mitch O'Connell dug deep in his archives to find these cinematic gems.
Read in browser 10-year-old boy tasered for refusing to clean police officer's car
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 31, 2012 11:31 am Salon: "According to the complaint, [New Mexico police officer Chris] Webb shot his Taser at the child after he said he did not want to join fellow classmates in cleaning the officer's patrol car. Courthouse News reported: Defendant Webb responded by pointing his Taser at R.D. and saying, 'Let me show you what happens to ...
Read in browser Burning Man arsonist dies on BART tracks in apparent suicide
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 11:20 am Paul Addis, the man who set fire to the "Man" at Burning Man ahead of schedule in an act of arson, has died in an apparent suicide. (SFGAte via Disinfo)
Read in browser Republican congressman: Hurricane Sandy aid shouldn't go to "Gucci bags and massage parlors"
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 11:19 am Christ, what an asshole. Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Iowa (a state that has long benefited from a shit-ton of federal funds and tax breaks) said Tuesday federal aid for people whose homes and lives were trashed by Hurricane Sandy should include restrictions against using aid "Gucci bags and massage parlors." Quoth the douche, ...
Read in browser NY National Guard decides Sandy relief more important than mock disaster drill
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 11:14 am Noah Shachtman at Wired Danger Room: "Hours after being contacted by Danger Room, the New York Army National Guard on Tuesday night abruptly reversed a decision to send hundreds of soldiers out-of-state in the midst of the Hurricane Sandy relief effort."
Read in browser How the sugar industry defends itself against claims that sugar is unhealthy
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 11:08 am Gary Taubes ("Good Calories, Bad Calories") on how the sugar industry fights research linking sugar consumption with chronic disease.
Read in browser BB readers' DIY Halloween costumes: Narwhal, by Sarah Jones
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 31, 2012 11:00 am Brava, Sarah! "Sorry to be a party pooper but it should probably be attached closer to your mouth since it's actually a tooth," wrote one commenter. "Yes, but it would have interfered with my beer drinking," replied Sarah. More: Share your DIY Halloween costume in our epic 2012 thread!
Read in browser Raising funds for a gallery show of Star Wars-inspired oils
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 31, 2012 10:42 am Chris Woods sez, "In light of today's STAR WARS news please check out my STAR WARS-inspired museum-show of paintings. SANDSTORM will show at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford, BC in the summer of 2013." My paintings over the last twenty-four years have looked at the far-reaching effects of mass-produced culture on the individual. They ...
Read in browser A wearable ghost story: Castle Magpie
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 31, 2012 10:30 am Jamin Hoyle sez, "Castle Magpie is a self-contained, wearable ghost story that takes place in a haunted Scottish castle. It took six months to plan and six months to build. I was inspired by all sorts of things, the Haunted Mansion, Tasha Tudor, the Spooky Old Tree, the Goonies, Tin Tin, Jonathan Strange and Mr ...
Read in browser Zombie playing cards
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 31, 2012 09:38 am Darren sez, "Rising up in time for Halloween and el Dia de los Muertos, Póstumo is a deck of zombie playing cards by Colombian artist Obsidian Abnormal and American scallywag Darren J. Gendron. The deck features gruesome zombie art, one-eyed jacks, suicidal kings, and fun twists on the normal suits - human hearts, zombie-killing clubs ...
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
No comments:
Post a Comment