Cairollers: Cairo's first rollerderby team Exclusive excerpt from Creative Illustration, by Andrew Loomis Videos of people playing bass flutes Texas Medical Board discontinues prosecution of noted cancer quack Rockabilly pioneers Johnny & Jimmy (1956) Do these conjoined twins share a mind? Tonger energy bars for strength Pokertox: freezing the face-muscles implicated in your poker tells Monkeeshades Bible Firsts, by Charles L. Paddock Guy fakes "Mexican" accent to classmates as prank, then reveals shocking lack of accent Gallery of 1960s Pelican paperback covers The Christmas Whale: A depressing reminder of the importance of love The Lying Disease: Why do some people fake cancer online? DIY pipe menorah Elfquest: Rootless ways Toronto mayor Rob Ford is out Internet of the Dead: the net's collision course with death Paul Perkovic, featured in radio documentary on same-sex couple coping with cancer and dying, has died Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic, font t-shirt, and big sale today! Leatherman multi-scissors for medics Shredded confidential police documents discovered in Macy's parade confetti Muir Beach Quilters Holiday Arts Fair Donald Trump's 50 stupidest tweets Young Atheist's Survival Guide Accused shoplifter dies after Walmart security place him in choke hold Kiki and Bubu: neo-Marxist sock puppets join dating service, get friended by China, get taken down from YouTube Chinese gold-farmer phrasebook for English-speaking gamers Turneresque painting of Mumbai trains Mobile app publisher hijacks users' Twitter accounts to tweet false piracy confessions Cairollers: Cairo's first rollerderby team
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 26, 2012 12:57 pm Lex sez, "I've just posted an interview with Indie Hannah of the Cai Rollers, Cairo (and Egypt's) first roller derby league. They're a mixture of local women and international residents, and are finally practising after the project has been over a year in the making. They're had to fight hard to get to this point, ...
Read in browser Exclusive excerpt from Creative Illustration, by Andrew Loomis
By Mark Frauenfelder on Nov 26, 2012 12:39 pm Titan books has just released the fourth book in mid-century illustrator Andrew Loomis' multi volume instructional art library, Creative Illustration. Here's what I've previously written about Loomis: Andrew Loomis was an American illustrator whose work appeared in many magazines in the mid-20th century. In addition to his beautiful editorial work for magazines, Loomis also wrote ...
Read in browser Videos of people playing bass flutes
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Nov 26, 2012 12:34 pm A beatboxing flute? Sure. That's the magic of the subcontrabass flute.
Read in browser Texas Medical Board discontinues prosecution of noted cancer quack
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 12:31 pm As regular readers of this blog know, cancer quackery is a topic relevant to my interests as a cancer patient. Robert Blaskiewicz has written extensively about the epic quackery of one of the most well-known "cancer cure" promosters, Stanislaw Burzynski (left). The Texas-based "alternative cure practitioner" fails to liberate patients from cancer, but has a ...
Read in browser Rockabilly pioneers Johnny & Jimmy (1956)
By Mark Frauenfelder on Nov 26, 2012 12:29 pm Some excellent vintage rockabilly, courtesy of Bedazzled.
Read in browser Do these conjoined twins share a mind?
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 12:17 pm In the New York Times, a piece by Susan Dominus on two twins joined at the head ("craniopagus") who are "beyond rare" because of the way their brains fused inside their skulls. "Their neural anatomy is unique, at least in the annals of recorded scientific literature," she writes. "Their brain images reveal what looks like ...
Read in browser Tonger energy bars for strength
By Mark Frauenfelder on Nov 26, 2012 12:14 pm Tonger makes you stronger
Read in browser Pokertox: freezing the face-muscles implicated in your poker tells
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 26, 2012 12:10 pm NYC's Dr Jack Berdy offers a botox treatment called "pokertox," which freezes parts of the face implicated in poker "tells" -- nonvolitional expression-changes that signal your opinion of your cards to your adversaries. Some players look at their cards and ''might raise their eyebrows or raise one eyebrow'' if they do or don't like what ...
Read in browser Monkeeshades
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 12:00 pm Photo link. "The grooviest buy of the year." Only $1 more than some Sea Monkeys. From the 1967 Monkee Spectacular magazine from Tiger Beat. Scanned and shared on Flickr by Facing West. Related, and also from Facing West's excellent Flickr collection of vintage ad scans: "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Monkees, But ...
Read in browser Bible Firsts, by Charles L. Paddock
By Mark Frauenfelder on Nov 26, 2012 11:58 am Now we what know what people looked like in the Bronze Age! It's obvious that he wove his outfit from his own hair, but what did she use to make hers? (Via Suddenly)
Read in browser Guy fakes "Mexican" accent to classmates as prank, then reveals shocking lack of accent
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 11:50 am Jose Barrientos, an Army vet and internet funny-guy based in Southern California, pulled a prank on his Speech 101 classmates.
Read in browser Gallery of 1960s Pelican paperback covers
By Mark Frauenfelder on Nov 26, 2012 11:47 am Things magazine has a nice gallery of 1960s Pelican paperback covers. The art is superb, and the books themselves sound interesting. I would like to own all of them!
Read in browser The Christmas Whale: A depressing reminder of the importance of love
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Nov 26, 2012 11:45 am While you were eating Thanksgiving turkey, surrounded by loving family and friends, one whale was all alone, swimming through the Pacific Ocean with no one to talk to and no one to care. Since 1989, researchers have been tracking this specific whale based on its distinct vocalizations. Baleen whales — a category of cetaceans without ...
Read in browser The Lying Disease: Why do some people fake cancer online?
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 11:37 am In The Stranger, an excellent feature by Cienna Madrid on people who fake cancer and other serious illnesses online, for the purpose of receiving sympathy and attention from strangers. Munchausen syndrome isn't new, but the internet sure amplifies its effects. Read: "The Lying Disease." (thanks, Jon D. Dean)
Read in browser DIY pipe menorah
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 11:22 am Avi Solomon writes, With the Jewish Diwali aka Hanukkah well nigh upon us, I was looking to provide my 7 year old son Uriel with a maker angle on the central artifact of the holiday, the Menorah. The Maccabees had hastily hacked together their Menorah by using hollow iron spearheads and I also wanted to ...
Read in browser Elfquest: Rootless ways
By Wendy and Richard Pini on Nov 26, 2012 10:55 am Here's page 12 of
The Final Quest: Prologue, published online
here at Boing Boing. First time reader? You've
got some catching up to do.
Read in browser Toronto mayor Rob Ford is out
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 26, 2012 10:45 am YIPPEE! Rob Ford, the hateful, horrible Mayor of Toronto, has lost his conflict of interest case, and he is now out of a job. In 14 days, he will no longer be mayor of Toronto, and will have to go back to a life of spending his parents' money and complaining about parasites who don't ...
Read in browser Internet of the Dead: the net's collision course with death
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 26, 2012 10:41 am My latest Locus magazine column is "The Internet of the Dead," which discusses the collision course the Internet is on with death. It was inspired by my work to preserve the personal data of my old friend Erik "Possum Man" Stewart, who died unexpectedly and tragically in June: It was while I sat in Possum's ...
Read in browser Paul Perkovic, featured in radio documentary on same-sex couple coping with cancer and dying, has died
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 26, 2012 10:39 am Paul Perkovic, featured in this beautiful BBC radio spot I blogged on Boing Boing about living with advanced, end-stage cancer, has died. Here's an alternate link to the radio documentary. (thanks, Paul Hoffman)
Read in browser Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic, font t-shirt, and big sale today!
By David Pescovitz on Nov 26, 2012 10:33 am Special thanks to our wonderful sponsor ShanaLogic, sellers of handmade and independently-designed jewelry, apparel, gifts, and other curious creations! There's an endless aisle of great gifts in stock at Shana's shop, including this elegant "7 Deadly Sans" t-shirt available in mens and ladies styles. Today (Monday 11/26) Shana is also holding a Super Sale with ...
Read in browser Leatherman multi-scissors for medics
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 26, 2012 09:59 am 
Read in browser Shredded confidential police documents discovered in Macy's parade confetti
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 26, 2012 09:03 am Students from Tufts University who attended this year's Macy's Parade were showered with confetti made from shredded, confidential Nassau County police files. The shreds revealed the identities of undercover officers, including their SSNs and bank details. "It landed on her shoulder," Finkelstein said, "and it says 'SSN' and it's written like a Social Security number, ...
Read in browser Muir Beach Quilters Holiday Arts Fair
By Jason Weisberger on Nov 25, 2012 09:50 pm This coming Saturday and Sunday, December 1st and 2nd, at the Muir Beach Community Center, the annual Muir Beach Quilters Holiday Arts Fair will be held. Largely comprised of artists who live and work in the west Marin area, this eclectic collection provides a fantastic selection of unique gifts for friends and family. If you ...
Read in browser Donald Trump's 50 stupidest tweets
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 25, 2012 09:01 pm Complex.com gathers "either the best of the best or the worst of the worst" of Donald Trump's tweets. (via Foster Kamer)
Read in browser Young Atheist's Survival Guide
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 25, 2012 09:00 pm Hemant sez, "I am the blogger at FriendlyAtheist.com. I'm also a high school math teacher. I just wrote a new book called The Young Atheist's Survival Guide: Helping Secular Students Thriveabout high school atheists and the obstacles they face as well as how they can overcome them (and how the rest of us can help)." ...
Read in browser Accused shoplifter dies after Walmart security place him in choke hold
By Xeni Jardin on Nov 25, 2012 08:33 pm WSBTV-2, GeorgiaBlack Friday shopping weekend took a dark turn Sunday morning in Georgia: a man accused of shoplifting died after being tackled by a Walmart employee and a contract security officer. Police say the contract security worker "placed the suspected thief in a choke hold." The deceased reportedly stole two DVD players from the Walmart. ...
Read in browser Kiki and Bubu: neo-Marxist sock puppets join dating service, get friended by China, get taken down from YouTube
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 25, 2012 06:40 pm Our favorite sock puppets Kiki and Bubu have some feelings, so they sign up for an online dating site.
Read in browser Chinese gold-farmer phrasebook for English-speaking gamers
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 25, 2012 05:29 pm A group of English-speaking gamers have compiled a phrasebook for chatting online with Chinese gold farmers, including phrases like "Would you like to join my group?" and "please do not steal my mobs." jia you - GO GO GO! (Use as a cheer) ni kan! - look! Pao! - Run! Deng yi xia. - Wait ...
Read in browser Turneresque painting of Mumbai trains
By Cory Doctorow on Nov 25, 2012 03:26 pm Avi sez, "I came across this Turneresque painting of Mumbai Local Trains by Bhuwan Silhare. Not much info about the artist online." Bhuwan Silhare Mumbai Local Trains 2010
Read in browser Mobile app publisher hijacks users' Twitter accounts to tweet false piracy confessions
By Mark Frauenfelder on Nov 25, 2012 01:06 pm Jenn Frank of Infinite Lives reports that Enfour, the company that publishes the $55 Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE) mobile phone app, accused her of pirating the app and that the app hijacked her Twitter account and started autoposting tweets that Jenn is a software thief. (See examples of other Enfour autotweets.) And Jenn's not ...
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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