BitTorrent Sync: like Dropbox, but fully peer-to-peer and private Man of Steel trailer #3: animated version Watch the latest video posts in Boing Boing's video archive Police officer has sex with prostitute, then arrests her 1947 Cadillac with shower, kitchen appliances, bar, and hookah TOM THE DANCING BUG: USA's gun purchase... and background check Oklahoma state Rep. Dennis Johnson says "Jew me down" and "apologizes" Abstract Expressionism was a CIA plot What leeches and ligers can teach you about evolution Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic, phrenology t-shirts, and Mother's Day! Goldie Blox and The Spinning Machine Man has eaten at 6,297 Chinese restaurants in the USA and Canada Schwarzenegger v Predator tee (in the style of Edward Gorey) How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin - exclusive book excerpt How the Pirates of the Caribbean ride came to be Samsung's Galaxy S 4 is a No-Touch-Touchscreen, Not-Quite-Android Android Phone The Zoom: great satirical comic created by 12-year-old British schoolboy UK Home Office commissions a super villain-catching-machine from Prof. Elemental Guatemala genocide trial status in limbo as legal power struggle continues Surowiecki: The right way to crowdsource a manhunt Richest Americans grow richer (and, spoiler alert: poor grow poorer) Caddis fly larvae coaxed into building cocoons out of precious metals and gems Documentary on the Cydwoq shoe factory Wyndhamesque missives from Scarfolk, an English horror-town trapped in a 1969-79 loop Wonderful reading of awful sorority letter sent by horrible sorority sister Haunted Mansion/Batman mashup The science mystery behind a psychedelic HIV/AIDS drug The Art of Harvey Kurtzman - a short film Classic album art cakepops Winners of the Marijuanamerica giveaway BitTorrent Sync: like Dropbox, but fully peer-to-peer and private
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 12:59 pm Ars Technica's Jon Brodkin reviews the new BitTorrent BitTorrent Sync, a peer-to-peer-based Dropbox replacement that's now in public alpha testing. BTSync uses the BitTorrent protocol to keep the files on several computers synchronized, and the actual file-transfers are robustly encrypted so that no one -- not BitTorrent Inc, not your ISP, and not a hacker ...
Read in browser Man of Steel trailer #3: animated version
By David Pescovitz on Apr 24, 2013 12:51 pm Jawiin remade the third Man of Steel trailer with clips from Superman: The Animated Series and the soundtrack of the real trailer.
Read in browser Watch the latest video posts in Boing Boing's video archive
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 24, 2013 12:34 pm We've gathered fresh video for you to surf and enjoy on the Boing Boing video page. The latest finds for your viewing pleasure include: • How the Pirates of the Caribbean ride came to be. • UK Home Office commissions super villain-catching-machine from Prof. Elemental. • Guatemala genocide trial status in limbo as legal power ...
Read in browser Police officer has sex with prostitute, then arrests her
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 24, 2013 12:28 pm Pittsburgh is a safer place, thanks to police detective Ronald DePellegrin, who allowed himself to receive a blow job in order to arrest a prostitute. DePellegrin saw an online ad for a prostitute and "obtained his [chief's] permission to conduct an undercover operation." He set up an appointment with the prostitute, first stopping by Walgreens ...
Read in browser 1947 Cadillac with shower, kitchen appliances, bar, and hookah
By David Pescovitz on Apr 24, 2013 12:17 pm In 1952, LIFE published an article about Louie Matter, a gearhead who tricked out his 1947 Cadillac with a shower (seen at right), drinking fountain, tape recorder, washing machine, stove, "and a bar with spigots for whisky, water and soda." Oh yeah, and a dashboard hookah too. This, my friends, is the definition of "bow-tie ...
Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: USA's gun purchase... and background check
By Ruben Bolling on Apr 24, 2013 12:02 pm Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH the United States seeks to make a gun purchase, but is first put through a required background check...
Read in browser Oklahoma state Rep. Dennis Johnson says "Jew me down" and "apologizes"
By David Pescovitz on Apr 24, 2013 11:57 am Here is Oklahoma state Rep. Dennis Johnson (R-Duncan) using the phrase "Jew me down" when talking about small business owners. Someone pointed it out to him and he quickly "apologized," saying "I apologize to the Jews. They're good small businessmen as well." He's since given a more formal apology. "It just came out of one ...
Read in browser Abstract Expressionism was a CIA plot
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 11:51 am In this 1995 Independent article, you can read about the former CIA officer who admitted that the Agency secretly funded and promoted Abstract Expressionism as a way for avant-garde, lefty types to reconcile their worldview with American values, rather than Soviet-style Communism. They operated in secret to avoid "the public hostility to the avant-garde," and ...
Read in browser What leeches and ligers can teach you about evolution
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Apr 24, 2013 11:42 am This is the first story in a four-part, weekly series on taxonomy and speciation. It's meant to help you as you participate in Armchair Taxonomist — a challenge from the Encyclopedia of Life to bring scientific descriptions of animals, plants, and other living things out from behind paywalls and onto the Internet. Participants can earn ...
Read in browser Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic, phrenology t-shirts, and Mother's Day!
By David Pescovitz on Apr 24, 2013 11:40 am Thanks to our lovely sponsor ShanaLogic, sellers of handmade and independently-designed apparel, jewelry, prints, and other unique items. Now available, Maiden Voyage's "Phrenology of a Gentleman Tee," printed on a 100% super-soft cotton lightweight charcoal grey shirt! Also, Mother's Day is May 12 and ShanaLogic put together an excellent Mother's Day Gift Guide filled with ...
Read in browser Goldie Blox and The Spinning Machine
By Jason Weisberger on Apr 24, 2013 11:18 am Goldie Blox and The Spinning Machine is a game designed to encourage young girls to get into engineering. I gave my 6-year-old daughter a set for her birthday and she loves it! Kids join Goldie via a series of short stories. They build, along side Goldie and her pals, the same machines she does! The ...
Read in browser Man has eaten at 6,297 Chinese restaurants in the USA and Canada
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 10:51 am The LA Times tells the story of David Chan, a Chinese-American man who discovered a love of Chinese food as an adult, during a wave of Chinese immigration to America in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and his Hong Kong born officemates set out to sample all the new Chinese restaurants that opened ...
Read in browser Schwarzenegger v Predator tee (in the style of Edward Gorey)
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 10:27 am Ape Lad sez, "I've got a shirt for sale on woot tonight. It depicts a former governor of California being stalked by a nine-foot-tall, fishnet clad, metal faced hunter with dreadlocks, in a style I hope comes somewhere near the cross hatched wonderfulness of Edward Gorey." P is for Prey (Thanks, Ape Lad!)
Read in browser How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin - exclusive book excerpt
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 24, 2013 09:15 am Read Chapter 22 of the new book, How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin: The Untold Story of a Noisy Revolution, by Leslie Woodhead, a Cold War spy who filmed the Beatles in 1962. Imagine a world where Beatlemania was against the law -- recordings scratched onto medical X-rays, merchant sailors bringing home contraband LPs, spotty ...
Read in browser How the Pirates of the Caribbean ride came to be
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 08:45 am Here's a sweet mini-doc on the creation of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, the last ride that Walt Disney supervised to completion.
Read in browser Samsung's Galaxy S 4 is a No-Touch-Touchscreen, Not-Quite-Android Android Phone
By Rob Pegoraro on Apr 24, 2013 07:51 am Samsung's new smartphone contains multitudes. The Galaxy S 4's touchscreen doesn't need to be touched to respond to your actions. Its software looks less like Android than almost any other phone running Google's operating system, but the thing ships with a newer version of it, 4.2, than almost all others. And its 5-inch screen outsizes ...
Read in browser The Zoom: great satirical comic created by 12-year-old British schoolboy
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 05:01 am The Zoom is a great British satirical comic written and drawn by a 12-year-old named Zoom Rockman. I picked up his eighth issue last weekend at a comics show in London and it was a delight, and not in some patronising "Oh, it's quite good for something done by a kid" way. The Zoom is ...
Read in browser UK Home Office commissions a super villain-catching-machine from Prof. Elemental
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 04:34 am Professor Elemental receives a commission from the government to build a marvellous snooping machine.
Read in browser Guatemala genocide trial status in limbo as legal power struggle continues
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 24, 2013 12:34 am Relatives of people killed during Guatemala's armed conflict hold up a banner with the names of the dead, during a protest.
Read in browser Surowiecki: The right way to crowdsource a manhunt
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 24, 2013 12:22 am James Surowiecki in the New Yorker: After Reddit's attempt to find the Boston Marathon bombers turned into a major failure (for which Reddit's general manager Erik Martin publicly apologized Monday), the over-all conclusion seems to be that the whole experiment was misguided from the start, and that the Redditors' inability to identify the Tsarnaev brothers ...
Read in browser Richest Americans grow richer (and, spoiler alert: poor grow poorer)
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 23, 2013 11:23 pm A Pew Research Center study out today shows that the modest economic growth following the so-called "Great Recession" has increased wealth inequality in America. The top 7% of American households enjoyed a 28% increase in net worth; the wealth of the other 93 percent declined. [Washington Post]
Read in browser Caddis fly larvae coaxed into building cocoons out of precious metals and gems
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 23, 2013 10:48 pm Update: Be sure to check out our first post about this from 2007! This 2007 profile of Hubert Duprat's work with caddis fly larvae is a tiny, entomological miracle. The larvae build their cocoons with whatever material is at hand; Duprat forces them to build with gold and precious gems, making spectacular bio-organic jewelry. Duprat, ...
Read in browser Documentary on the Cydwoq shoe factory
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 23, 2013 10:26 pm Here's a short and beautiful documentary on Cydwoq's factory and manufacturing techniques.
Read in browser Wyndhamesque missives from Scarfolk, an English horror-town trapped in a 1969-79 loop
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 23, 2013 08:42 pm I'm loving the Scarfolk site, where "Dr R Littler" chronicles the mysteries of an English town stuck in a Wyndham-esque loop betwen 1969 and 1979. It's full of the most lovely horrors. It's all so perfectly wrought and so grisly and freaked out and perfectly aged. If only we could all retire to Scarfolk and ...
Read in browser Wonderful reading of awful sorority letter sent by horrible sorority sister
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 23, 2013 08:14 pm If you haven't heard about the insane letter sent around to a sorority by its concerned and thoroughly awful social chairwoman, you're probably doing something right. Nevertheless, there is a gem of good in every wickedness, as Funny or Die demonstrates with this dramatic reading of the letter in question [NSFW]
Read in browser Haunted Mansion/Batman mashup
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 23, 2013 08:08 pm Oh hell YES. DeviantArtist ArtistAbe has crossed Batman with the stretching portraits at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion. His substitutions are extremely well-thought-through and well-wrought. The fact that these are DC comics mixed into the Disney/Marvelverse gives it all a rogerrabbitesque mind-bend, too: Harley Quinn and Killer Croc- This was the last one I did because ...
Read in browser The science mystery behind a psychedelic HIV/AIDS drug
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 23, 2013 08:03 pm Some patients taking antiretroviral medications for HIV/AIDS receive the efavirenz, marketed under the commercial names Sustiva and Stocrin. According to a report in the LA Times by Melissa Healy, it has an "LSD-like interaction" with brain receptors governing serotonin activity. That may explain why roughly half of patients taking efavirenz at the prescribed dose have ...
Read in browser The Art of Harvey Kurtzman - a short film
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 23, 2013 07:27 pm Damen Corrado from Imperium Pictures let me know about this nice video tribute to MAD creator Harvey Kurtzman. He says "it features a lot of his work from the current exhibition at the Society of Illustrators in NYC, and interviews with Al Jaffee and Bob Grossman, with a jazz soundtrack by Nik Turner of Hawkwind." ...
Read in browser Classic album art cakepops
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 23, 2013 07:18 pm These album art cakepops were made by Miss Insomnia Tulip for an unnamed client. Nice work, and infringealicious! Album Cover Cake Pops – a must see!
Read in browser Winners of the Marijuanamerica giveaway
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 23, 2013 06:39 pm Last week I announced that Abrams books was giving a copy of the new book, Marijuanamerica (reviewed here) to five Boing Boing readers. The winners would be chosen from the comments. They're all worth reading, but I had to pick five, and you can read them here. Congrats to all the winners - if your ...
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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