520hp VW Bus "Zero Dark Thirty" not good enough to justify torture fantasies Christmas specials: obscure, common, and weird Photoshop fail at The Daily Mail UK Pirate Party drops its Pirate Bay proxy after legal bullying; international Pirate Parties take up the slack HOWTO convert an MP3 to a playable, 3D printed record Hackers for Charity Anonymous TSA "insider" blog Watch a three-year-old get Spider-Man for Christmas 1895 catalog of Louisville bordellos Vince Guaraldi Trio: "My Little Drum," from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" The Gingershred Man Court: OK for man to fire woman because he was sexually attracted to her The other direction Polio advice from Action Comics, 1954 Supreme Court of Italy decrees: Telling a man he has no balls is a crime Crocheted knight's helmet, with movable mouthguard/visor Rebel Wilson will host the next MTV Movie Awards My favorite press release (1994) Enterprise NCC-1701 Christmas lights Jiggleface at 1000fps SimCity in moonlight is pretty CBS Interactive interview with Mark Ontario Superior Court bans electronic note-taking unless you're a journalist or lawyer Ford 1957 concept car The Walking Dead gets a fourth season, loses Glen Mazzara as showrunner Never work with animals or children Wool 6 & 7 House made of discarded airplane engine crates (1939) 520hp VW Bus
By Jason Weisberger on Dec 22, 2012 12:31 pm A Porsche 911/993 twin-turbo engine in a Microbus. Awesome! Beats the pants off my '87 Westy. (Thanks Mike Amster!)
Read in browser "Zero Dark Thirty" not good enough to justify torture fantasies
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 22, 2012 12:20 pm "Zero Dark Thirty," director Kathryn Bigelow's truthy-but-not-a-documentary-but-maybe-it-is-kinda thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, opened in New York and Los Angeles this week. I watched a screener last night. I thought it kind of sucked. There's a lot of buzz about what a great work of art ZDT is. I don't get it. In reviews of ZDT, fawning critics reflexively note that she directed Oscar-winning "Hurt Locker." Guys, she directed Point Break, too.
Read in browser Christmas specials: obscure, common, and weird
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 22, 2012 12:18 pm Zack Smith has done a deep roundup of the best in Christmas Specials, "with a number of links to unedited versions of lesser-known specials including an unedited MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS with original commercials, a "Shalom Sesame" from Israel with a Hanukkah theme and a British airing of Raymond Briggs' THE SNOWMAN with a live-action intro ...
Read in browser Photoshop fail at The Daily Mail
By Rob Beschizza on Dec 22, 2012 09:51 am Daily Mail via Tabloid Watch There's something fascinating about the daily fail at the Daily Mail, where a nightmarish alternative reality—cloned flora, ghostly spaces, grinning dismemberment—is an emergent property of ineptitude. The real magic, though, is the newspaper's complete indifference to how obvious it is: an admirably postmodern confidence in the relativity of truth.
Read in browser UK Pirate Party drops its Pirate Bay proxy after legal bullying; international Pirate Parties take up the slack
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 22, 2012 09:19 am The UK Pirate Party abandoned its fight against the BPI -- Britain's answer to the RIAA -- over its proxy for reaching The Pirate Bay, which is blocked by court order in the UK. The Party's executive had been personally threatened with legal action by the BPI and couldn't afford to risk home and family ...
Read in browser HOWTO convert an MP3 to a playable, 3D printed record
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 22, 2012 08:39 am Instructables user Aandaghassaei has posted a HOWTO for making a 3D printed record that plays on a regular turntable. Her method converts any digital audio file to grooves ready to print.
Read in browser Hackers for Charity
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 11:14 pm One more for the Charity Guide: Hackers for Charity: We're about proving that hackers have amazing skills that can transform charitable organizations. We're about stepping into the gap to feed and educate the world's most vulnerable citizens. We are virtual, geographically diverse and different. We are Hackers for Charity. We employ volunteer hackers (no questions ...
Read in browser Anonymous TSA "insider" blog
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 09:01 pm Taking Sense Away is the aptly named blog allegedly maintained by an anonymous former TSA screener. It delves into the kinds of shenanigans that go on in the image operator room where they get to see what you look like naked in the pornoscanner ("a whole lot of officers laughing and clowning in regard to ...
Read in browser Watch a three-year-old get Spider-Man for Christmas
By Jamie Frevele on Dec 21, 2012 07:17 pm Santa Claus grants a superhero wish for three-year-old Kieran!
Read in browser 1895 catalog of Louisville bordellos
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 06:47 pm David sez, "The Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of union civil war veterans, held its annual encampment in Louisville in 1895. This 'Sporting Guide' advertises the various houses of ill repute wishing to "entertain" the visitors coming to town for the event." G.A.R. souvenir sporting guide (Thanks, David!)
Read in browser Vince Guaraldi Trio: "My Little Drum," from "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 21, 2012 05:47 pm The Vince Guaraldi Trio performing a sweet holiday classic.
Read in browser The Gingershred Man
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 21, 2012 05:39 pm "The Gingershred Man," a creation of Boing Boing reader Brock Davis of Minneapolis, MN, shared in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool.
Read in browser Court: OK for man to fire woman because he was sexually attracted to her
By Rob Beschizza on Dec 21, 2012 05:17 pm Ryan J. Foley with the AP; A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an "irresistible ...
Read in browser The other direction
By Jason Weisberger on Dec 21, 2012 04:55 pm As Rob noted, I pointed the camera more west than south.
Read in browser Polio advice from Action Comics, 1954
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 04:41 pm Scott Edelman sez, "In 1954, a year before to the Salk vaccine was revealed to the world, DC Comics was publishing ads advising kids how not to catch polio., as in this one from Action #196 (which would have gone on sale a couple of months earlier than its September 1954 cover date). The words ...
Read in browser Supreme Court of Italy decrees: Telling a man he has no balls is a crime
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 21, 2012 04:22 pm "…because the insult makes a man feel less manly." (Newser)
Read in browser Crocheted knight's helmet, with movable mouthguard/visor
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 03:20 pm Etsy seller Dee Forrest has an unexpected hit with this $40 crocheted knight's helmet with a clever movable visor. The item is waitlisted for a very, very long time. Get in line now, you might have it by next winter! Knight's Helmet, Adult, approximately 20 weeks before shipping, please read entire listing before ordering (Thanks, ...
Read in browser Rebel Wilson will host the next MTV Movie Awards
By Jamie Frevele on Dec 21, 2012 03:11 pm Whatever you might think of MTV or movies, you can at least count on the MTV Movie Awards to be a pretty fun affair. And the next one will be hosted by the fantastic Rebel Wilson, so there's even more reason to tune in to MTV for the first time in, what, twenty years? The ...
Read in browser My favorite press release (1994)
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 21, 2012 03:04 pm Kevin Kelly found this old press release from Myst creators Robyn and Rand Miller in his files and emailed me a scan. I remember it and it is probably the only press release I've ever liked.
Read in browser Enterprise NCC-1701 Christmas lights
By Jason Weisberger on Dec 21, 2012 02:47 pm Credited to Lisa Rogers on Facebook.
Read in browser Jiggleface at 1000fps
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 02:38 pm This is my face shaking, with a thimbleful of water in my mouth, filmed at 1,000 frames per second. Preeeetty gnarly
Read in browser SimCity in moonlight is pretty
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 21, 2012 02:25 pm A screenshot of the upcoming SimCity. I hope this game is as cool as the sneak peeks suggest! (Thanks, Bill!)
Read in browser CBS Interactive interview with Mark
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 21, 2012 02:08 pm Rachel James of CBS Interactive's Smart Planet interviewed me about making stuff around the house. You are currently working on a new book. What’s it about? I haven’t seen a lot of cool project books for girls. My girls aren’t that interested in the kind of crafting books that are out there right now. So ...
Read in browser Ontario Superior Court bans electronic note-taking unless you're a journalist or lawyer
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 02:08 pm Nicholas sez, "The TL:DR is essentially that the Ontario Superior Court has issued guidelines that by default make it against courtroom rules for anyone who is not a journalist or a lawyer to use tech in a courtroom. Even to take notes. Even if it is in the public interest. When I took part in ...
Read in browser Ford 1957 concept car
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 21, 2012 01:34 pm This futuristic concept car from 1957, designed for kittens, was one of Ford's bolder experiments. (Via X-Ray Delta One)
Read in browser The Walking Dead gets a fourth season, loses Glen Mazzara as showrunner
By Jamie Frevele on Dec 21, 2012 01:32 pm After turning around a flailing sophomore season for AMC's The Walking Dead, the network announced that on the heels of an amazing third season start -- and a fourth season pickup -- Glen Mazzara will be stepping down as showrunner after the current season is over. Mazzara, who replaced original showrunner Frank Darabont, said: "I ...
Read in browser Never work with animals or children
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 21, 2012 01:23 pm In which my daughter shows that she's a million times the podcaster her old man ever was.
Read in browser Wool 6 & 7
By Jason Weisberger on Dec 21, 2012 01:16 pm If the only new author I'd been introduced to in 2012 was Hugh Howey, then 2012 would have been a fantastic year. His series Wool is the best set of kindle shorts I've read, bar none. To avoid spoilers, Wool is a tale of discovery that shines through the open holes in its backstory. Howey ...
Read in browser House made of discarded airplane engine crates (1939)
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 21, 2012 01:12 pm From Shorpy Historical Archives, this stunning photo by Russell Lee. March 1939. "House in Mexican section made of discarded airplane engine crates. San Antonio, Texas." Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
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