Cartoonists angry, defensive after inane Miranda strip easy to subvert Canada Post claims exclusive use of the words "postal code" New Ubuntu version hits today! Masters thesis on (post)cyberpunk Freemasonry and the high echelons of French cuisine All the contestants for Miss Korea 2013 converted to an animated GIF Neatly disassembled typewriter Startup founder confesses to idiotic plot to hoax tech press Ricin letter case enters higher realm of surreality A Roku 3 streaming player has replaced my DirecTV UK police won't charge man filmed beating up a cyclist EFF, FSF, Creative Commons and many others ask W3C to reject DRM conspiracy Lauren Beukes's Shining Girls: a serial killer thriller with a time-travel twist Putin: US and Russia security services should "combine efforts" in wake of Boston bombing Report: Salaries of mining union leaders in South Africa paid by mining companies Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer Guatemala: court begins to untangle genocide trial standstill Russian paratroopers deploy inflatable Orthodox church Man infuriated that park rangers refuse to arrest cannabis smokers Nevada bans counties from gouging Burning Man Open Tech Forever: open source hardware co-op The takeover of the US by the security-corporate complex Comics Rack: Boing Boing's comics picks for April 2013 Synthetic biology Kickstarter aims to make glowing plants Brew your own Bendërbrāu Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic, phrenology t-shirts, and Mother's Day! Lake Peigneur salt mine collapse Writer Clive Thompson describes his tools and work routine The magnitude of the disastrous Bush presidency told in 24 charts More evidence that Haiti's cholera epidemic started with UN Peacekeepers Cartoonists angry, defensive after inane Miranda strip easy to subvert
By Rob Beschizza on Apr 25, 2013 12:57 pm Editorial cartoonist Daryl Cagle published this strip. Then he reran it. Spot the difference? To Ann Telnaes, this is "a clear case of a cartoon syndicate trying to maximize profits by offering the same artwork but changing a few words to address both ideological sides of an issue. An editorial cartoon is supposed to have ...
Read in browser Canada Post claims exclusive use of the words "postal code"
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 25, 2013 12:54 pm Canada Post -- a failing, state-owned Crown Corporation -- not only claims a copyright on the database of postal codes (a collection of facts, and not the sort of thing that usually attracts copyright). They also claim a trademark on the words "postal code," and have sent legal threats to websites that use the words ...
Read in browser New Ubuntu version hits today!
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 25, 2013 12:32 pm If it's April, it must be time for a new version of the Ubuntu operating system; a great, free, easy-to-use, highly polished version of GNU/Linux. Ubuntu does two releases a year -- October and April -- and the new release, Raring Ringtail (AKA 13.04) is a consolidation release that adds a lot more polish, performance ...
Read in browser Masters thesis on (post)cyberpunk
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 25, 2013 12:00 pm Krzysztof Kietzman sez, "I studied American literature in Poland and published my Masters Thesis on cyberpunk and postcyberpunk for free under a Creative Commons BY SA license. It is available online and covers the writers William Gibson ('Neuromancer') and Neal Stephenson ('Snow Crash', 'The Diamond Age') and the theme of innocence in cyberpunk fiction. This ...
Read in browser Freemasonry and the high echelons of French cuisine
By Rob Beschizza on Apr 25, 2013 11:19 am "There have long been whispers inside the French food world that all the top chefs are members of the Freemasons, and that membership can make or break careers," writes Bon Appétit. "The gossip can, of course, be malicious."
Read in browser All the contestants for Miss Korea 2013 converted to an animated GIF
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 25, 2013 11:16 am NinjaFridge says, "I found this on reddit and it shows the contestants for Miss Korea 2013." Then he made this GIF. I think they all look pretty different from each other, but it's a fun animation anyway. (Via Kristie Lu Stout)
Read in browser Neatly disassembled typewriter
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 25, 2013 11:14 am On the spectacular "Things Organized Neatly" Tumblr, an anonymous submission of a very neatly disassembled typewriter. SUBMISSION: This is an old typewriter I had the pleasure to dismantle today :) hope you like it!
Read in browser Startup founder confesses to idiotic plot to hoax tech press
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 25, 2013 11:10 am Glenn Fleishman: "This strange man, if he exists, fabricated a story to promote a business that may not exist."
Read in browser Ricin letter case enters higher realm of surreality
By Rob Beschizza on Apr 25, 2013 10:25 am The Elvis impersonator "framed" for sending poison-tainted letters to top policians? BB reader Jonathan Grubb writes to inform us that the case has entered a surreal world which "includes a taekwondo instructor with a band called Dusty & the RoboDrum". Meanwhile, authorities are investigating the "fellow entertainer" while the now-freed former suspect heads off on ...
Read in browser A Roku 3 streaming player has replaced my DirecTV
By Jason Weisberger on Apr 25, 2013 10:15 am A few weeks back I shut off my DirecTV service and I haven't looked back. Upon realizing how much satellite TV service cost and that I rarely, if ever, watched it, I decided it was time to try streaming as my prime delivery method. The
Roku 3 came highly recommended.
Read in browser UK police won't charge man filmed beating up a cyclist
By Rob Beschizza on Apr 25, 2013 10:13 am Carlton Reid writes: Cyclist 'BlackCountryBikeCam' suffered from an unprovoked, violent road rage attack from the driver of a white van belonging to a Birmingham pet shop. The incident was recorded on a helmetcam and this was shown to police. However, as the driver has no previous convictions and admitted his guilt (when told there was ...
Read in browser EFF, FSF, Creative Commons and many others ask W3C to reject DRM conspiracy
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 25, 2013 09:59 am John from the Free Software Foundation sez, Hollywood is making yet another attempt to lock down the Web. Undeterred by SOPA's failure, Hollywood is conspiring with tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Netflix to try to influence the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). A proposal currently under consideration at W3C would *build accommodation for Digital ...
Read in browser Lauren Beukes's Shining Girls: a serial killer thriller with a time-travel twist
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 25, 2013 08:40 am Lauren Beukes's latest novel, The Shining Girls, ships in the UK today (the US edition is out on June 4). The Shining Girls is a departure from Beukes's earlier cyberpunk-inflected fiction, being a supernatural thriller that's one part Hannibal and one part House on Haunted Hill, tautly written and sharply plotted. Shining Girls is the ...
Read in browser Putin: US and Russia security services should "combine efforts" in wake of Boston bombing
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 25, 2013 07:21 am In a move absolutely no one expected because things like this never happen after high-profile incidents of mass violence, Russian President Vladimir Putin today "urged closer cooperation between other countries' security services after the Boston Marathon bombings," reports CNN, Said Putin, "If we combine our efforts, we will not suffer blows like that." [CNN.com]
Read in browser Report: Salaries of mining union leaders in South Africa paid by mining companies
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 25, 2013 07:13 am Just one year after the "Marikana massacre," an investigative report in South Africa's Daily Maverick reveals "a furtive conflict of interest, with mining houses footing the bill for top National Union of Mineworkers office bearers' salaries...unionists are being paid high salaries by the very people from whom they are supposed to protect their members. The ...
Read in browser Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 25, 2013 07:07 am Peggy Orenstein has a hell of a piece in the New York Times magazine on "pink ribbon culture," and her frustration (which, as a woman with breast cancer, I fervently share) about how much progress has been made: Scientific progress is erratic, unpredictable. "We are all foundering around in the dark," said Peter B. Bach, ...
Read in browser Guatemala: court begins to untangle genocide trial standstill
By Xeni Jardin on Apr 25, 2013 07:06 am Miguel Salay and Mariano Castillo have a solid update up for CNN.com on the confusing status of the genocide trial currently on hold here in Guatemala: A week ago, the genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt appeared headed to a historic conclusion. Today, it is at a standstill, the result of procedural ...
Read in browser Russian paratroopers deploy inflatable Orthodox church
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 11:25 pm This is a film of a training session of the Russian Army deploying an inflatable Orthodox church and paratrooping priests.
Read in browser Man infuriated that park rangers refuse to arrest cannabis smokers
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 24, 2013 10:36 pm Think of the children (Thanks, Steve!)
Read in browser Nevada bans counties from gouging Burning Man
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 09:22 pm M Otis Beard sez, "The Nevada State Assembly has passed a bill that forbids the counties from charging permit fees to Burning Man and other festivals. . . but has anything really changed?"
Read in browser Open Tech Forever: open source hardware co-op
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 07:08 pm Yoonseo Kang sez, "Open Tech Forever is a new open source hardware cooperative: a worker-owned R&D and education company that teaches others how to make hardware and start their own businesses. The Open Tech Forever team has recently launched their Indie-gogo crowdfunding campaign to fund the construction and documentation of an open source R&D factory ...
Read in browser The takeover of the US by the security-corporate complex
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 24, 2013 07:00 pm Kevin Kelly says: The takeover of the US by the Security-Corporate Complex is documented by mainstream press. It is worse than I thought. According to Dana Priest and William M. Arkin of The Washington Post, "Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about ...
Read in browser Comics Rack: Boing Boing's comics picks for April 2013
By Brian Heater on Apr 24, 2013 05:56 pm Cookbook comics! Penis lizards! Worm deers! One-armed men! There’s something for everyone in this edition of Comics Rack. And one-armed foodie alternative animal enthusiasts, get ready to get your socks knocked off! Relish: My Life in the Kitchen By Lucy Knisley First Second If you find a more delightful book than Relish this year, please ...
Read in browser Synthetic biology Kickstarter aims to make glowing plants
By Cory Doctorow on Apr 24, 2013 05:05 pm The first ever synthetic biology Kickstarter is about growing glowing plants.
Read in browser Brew your own Bendërbrāu
By Dean Putney on Apr 24, 2013 04:56 pm Over in the /r/homebrewing subreddit, user hatchetthrower has recreated one of my favorite fictional brews: Bendërbrāu, a homebrewed beer from Futurama made entirely inside Bender the robot's chassis. The recipe for the clone is pretty dead on: it's a steam beer as suggested by the label in the show, uses space-aged sounding Zythos hops (Galaxy ...
Read in browser Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic, phrenology t-shirts, and Mother's Day!
By chrome albion on Apr 24, 2013 04:49 pm 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 Lake Peigneur salt mine collapse
By Jason Weisberger on Apr 24, 2013 04:48 pm After
monday's Feature by Tim Herrernan, earlier today Mark shared another amazing to watch mine collapse. It got me thinking about Lake Peigneur.
The story is amazing but oh so familiar, a wayward oil company makes an error and mistakenly drains a lake into a salt mine. It is incredible and you can watch!
Read in browser Writer Clive Thompson describes his tools and work routine
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 24, 2013 04:33 pm Our friend Clive Thompson is in the spotlight in this week's "This is How I Work" feature on Lifehacker. What apps/software/tools can't you live without? I'm a pack rat when it comes to research. I like to save everything, because you never know when it'll be useful. I write primarily long-form magazine pieces and books, ...
Read in browser The magnitude of the disastrous Bush presidency told in 24 charts
By Mark Frauenfelder on Apr 24, 2013 03:38 pm In 24 charts, the Washington Post reveals how George W. Bush's presidency screwed up the country and the rest of the world for many years to come. Health, employment, the GDP, public services, the Middle East, and almost every other measurable condition of civilization's health and welfare were severely damaged by Bush's policies, all of ...
Read in browser More evidence that Haiti's cholera epidemic started with UN Peacekeepers
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Apr 24, 2013 03:25 pm Haiti has been battling a massive cholera outbreak since, roughly, around the time international aid groups arrived in the country following the 2010 earthquake. Now, genetic evidence links the strain of cholera in Haiti to a rare strain native to Nepal — further proof that it was Nepalese UN Peacekeepers who brought cholera to Haiti. ...
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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