Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

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Watchismo

[Sponsor] Tendence watches now have fully mechanical automatic movements!  Watchismo has the exclusive for the new Tendence Skeleton Watches, each with fully exposed 'skeletonized' mechanics seen both from the top of the dial and the see-through crystal of the caseback where the rotor can be seen revolving & generating power the old fashioned way -- with cogs, gears and hairsprings! A blend of form and function, the Tendence collection is a highly evolved concept, with extreme dimensions and three-dimensional numbers carved to stand high above the concave dial, itself cut from stainless steel, polycarbonate or titanium.s.

Stone tools with plastic handles
Afrika Bambaataa and Global Bass
Crowdfunding a 10-year-old's cup design for her grandad, who's got Parkinson's; and her dad, who is a klutz
Gangster Computer God Worldwide Secret Containment Policy: the cult rants of Fracis E. Dec, Esq.
Some highlights from NY Comic-Con
Cory at NY Comic-Con today
Wax anatomy-model cake
Photos from backstage at Disneyland
Gloria Vanderbilt's fashion tips, 1968
Shuttle Endeavour transits Los Angeles this weekend, en route to her final resting place
Tusken Raider kids' costume
Reddit's creepiest character unmasked
California AG publicly shames United Airlines on Twitter over crappy privacy policy
Cassandra Clare, author and internet-bullying victim, "on hiatuses and hate blogs"
Wikileaks "paywall" pisses off Anonymous
LocalWiki Antarctica, a crowdsourced map of the icy southern continent
Hauntologists mine the past for music's future
Videos from the HOPE 2004 conference: Jello Biafra, Woz, Schneier, Mitnick and more
iPhone case with my art on it
Panetta warns of imminent "Cyber Pearl Harbor"
Cuffing Season
Magical appliance turns hamburger meat into hot dogs
Whole Foods visits my house and we make a skateboard
Massive drug control spending has no effect on addiction rate
This woman died of cancer today.
UK surveillance bill: 19,000 letters opposing, 0 in favour
Feds to debate medical use of marijuana
City of Oakland sues to prevent closure of embattled medical marijuana dispensary
A sister's advice: "You should toughen up a bit."
Friday Freak-Out: Bob Luman and The Shadows perform "The Creep" (1957)

 

Stone tools with plastic handles

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 13, 2012 12:31 pm

Israeli designers Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow presented their modern stone and flint tools at the Budapest Design Week. The pair combined hand-chipped blades and axes with modern high-impact plastic handles, to make tools that are beautiful and functional. I'd love to have one of those knives around the office. Designboom has more pics, and ...
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Afrika Bambaataa and Global Bass

By David Pescovitz on Oct 13, 2012 12:24 pm

How did Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" (1982) lead to the digital dancehall that is Global Bass? Don't miss Marcus Boon's primer on the international Global Bass scene, from DJ/Rupture to M.I.A to the music of Saharan cellphones. This and Morissey, Aphex Twin, Bong, New Order, Neubauten, and much more are archived at the new Boing ...
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Crowdfunding a 10-year-old's cup design for her grandad, who's got Parkinson's; and her dad, who is a klutz

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 13, 2012 12:02 pm

Lily is a ten year old girl who's into pottery. Her grandpa has Parkinson's disease and is prone to spilling his coffee due to his tremors, and so she invented the "Kangaroo Cup," a stackable, reusable cup that is hard to knock over or spill from (she modified it for her dad's use, so that ...
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Gangster Computer God Worldwide Secret Containment Policy: the cult rants of Fracis E. Dec, Esq.

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 13, 2012 12:01 pm

Schizovisionary cult radio ranter conspiracy theorist Francis E. Dec was recorded by LA radio host "Doc on the ROQ" of KROQ-FM.
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Some highlights from NY Comic-Con

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 13, 2012 09:25 am

I'm at Comic-Con for the Pirate Cinema tour. Here's some highlights from yesterday's brief excursion on the floor: An Occupy Ankh-Morpork protester at Terry Pratchett's signing for Dodger. Star Trek: TOS bathrobes! (Speaking as a serious loungewear enthusiast, I have this to say: PHWOAR). Available from Amazon and ThinkGeek. Some folks from RedBubble were showing ...
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Cory at NY Comic-Con today

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 13, 2012 06:51 am

Hey New Yorkers! I'll be at New York Comic-Con today, speaking in the Author Spotlight on the Unbound Stage at 12 o'clock, and then signing books at the Tor Booth (#920) at 3PM. On Monday night, I'll be at Brooklyn's WORD books at 7PM, before heading to Philly, Bethesda, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Toronto and ...
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Wax anatomy-model cake

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 10:58 pm

Conjurer's Kitchen created this anatomical wax-model cake for the mad bakers at Eat Your Heart Out. Delicious and educational! Anatomical Wax Model Cake
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Photos from backstage at Disneyland

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 10:00 pm

StoopidTrooper's "Backstage Disneyland" Imgur set is as good a collection of images of the behind-the-scenes action at Disneyland as I've ever seen. I'm especially gratified by all the pics from backstage at the Haunted Mansion, interacting with the animatronics and effects. Also included are some great shots of horseplay with the animals and human animatronics ...
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Gloria Vanderbilt's fashion tips, 1968

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 08:52 pm

Phil Are Go! spotted a beautiful Gloria Vanderbilt outfit from 1968. As Phil explains it: It all begins with basic black leggings of black velvet. Everyone knows that less is more.. and less is WAY more when it's velvet. Add to that some thigh-high pirate boots for high-seas practicality and you've got the foundation that ...
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Shuttle Endeavour transits Los Angeles this weekend, en route to her final resting place

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 08:24 pm

NASA orbiter Endeavour is squeezing her way through tree-stripped streets of Los Angeles this weekend, en route to a permanent retirement home at the California Science Center. Here's a Google Map of the route, with stopping points. Big shuttle is big. Bigger than the streets that must accommodate her. Basically, the whole thing is like ...
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Tusken Raider kids' costume

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 07:17 pm

Ward Jenkins dressed up little Ezra as a Tusken Raider for Hallowe'en, and the effect is WARSOME. Halloween 2011
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Reddit's creepiest character unmasked

By Rob Beschizza on Oct 12, 2012 06:44 pm

Gawker's Adrian Chen unmasks Violentacrez, the man behind subreddits such as "Jailbait", "Creepshots" and "Chokeabitch". A troll exploits social dynamics like computer hackers exploit security loopholes, and Violentacrez calmly exploited the Reddit hive mind's powerful outrage machine and free speech values at the same time. It was this pattern, repeated to various degrees dozens of ...
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California AG publicly shames United Airlines on Twitter over crappy privacy policy

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 06:28 pm

Shum sez, "California Attorney General Kamala Harris has been working to oversee tech companies so they better protect consumer privacy--notably forging an agreement with the 6 leading mobile platforms to require the apps they host have privacy policies--these policies give both the state and individuals standing to sue if they are breached. Today she took ...
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Cassandra Clare, author and internet-bullying victim, "on hiatuses and hate blogs"

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 06:08 pm

Fantasy author Cassandra Clare, writing about her experience at the receiving end of some fairly serious and organized internet bullying. These sort of attacks are so shocking/upsetting because they break the social contract we have come to expect decent people to adhere to: that people don't attack your personal relationships, that they don't sneer not just at ...
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Wikileaks "paywall" pisses off Anonymous

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 06:04 pm

Ars Technica reports on the very! major! internet drama brewing between Anonymous and Wikileaks, who once were besties, over Wikileaks/Assange's recent decision to use a front door takeover ad demanding donations from anyone who wanted to access their newest dump. Here's the statement from Anonymous, or at least, some faction thereof.
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LocalWiki Antarctica, a crowdsourced map of the icy southern continent

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 05:52 pm

LocalWiki's Philip Neustrom says, My non-profit, LocalWiki, has been working on this really incredible project to help document the continent of Antarctica. Most notable, at least right now, is this custom map we've pieced together from very-hard-to-find NASA aerial imagery and coastline datasets. It's probably the most beautiful thing I've ever worked on. Check out ...
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Hauntologists mine the past for music's future

By Mark Pilkington on Oct 12, 2012 05:20 pm

Whether it's musicians pastiching multiple vintage styles in a single track, the endless cycle of remakes and sequels in cinema, or historical genre mashups in pop literature, our future is looking increasingly like our past.
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Videos from the HOPE 2004 conference: Jello Biafra, Woz, Schneier, Mitnick and more

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 05:00 pm

2600's Emmanuel Goldstein sez, "Another 78 videos of historical hacker talks have been restored and posted online. The Fifth HOPE conference in 2004 brought together Steve Wozniak, Kevin Mitnick, Bruce Schneier, Jello Biafra and many more in an eclectic and enlightening mix of technical information, security challenges, social issues, and a spirit of fun and ...
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iPhone case with my art on it

By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 12, 2012 04:27 pm

The fine folks at Twig Case created a new iPhone bamboo case with one of my illustrations on it. I love the way it turned out. (Twig Case also has a stunningly cool Jim Woodring case.) Pussypus Case - Bamboo $49
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Panetta warns of imminent "Cyber Pearl Harbor"

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 04:19 pm

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, speaking this week: "An aggressor nation or extremist group could use these kinds of cyber tools to gain control of critical switches. They could derail passenger trains, or even more dangerous, derail passenger trains loaded with lethal chemicals. They could contaminate the water supply in major cities, or shut down the ...
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Cuffing Season

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 04:17 pm

What is "cuffing season?" Watch and learn, on the streets of New York City.
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Magical appliance turns hamburger meat into hot dogs

By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 12, 2012 04:01 pm

Billions of years from now, in the final seconds before the heat death of the universe snuffs out life for all eternity, the last living creature can take comfort in the fact that we didn't fade away before creating the Ham Dogger. You can experience its magic today for $6.77
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Whole Foods visits my house and we make a skateboard

By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 12, 2012 03:51 pm

Dark Rye, the online magazine for Whole Foods, came to my house this summer and shot a video of the stuff my daughters and I like to do. They've also included a downloadable version of bOING bOING #1 (published in 1989), and how-to instructions for a couple of projects. Mark and Daughters in Dark Rye
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Massive drug control spending has no effect on addiction rate

By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 12, 2012 03:25 pm

Who benefits from the $1.5 trillion that taxpayers have given to the drug law enforcement industry? En Passant's comment on Balko's blog nails it: If addiction rates increase, drug warriors need more money to increase their efforts, or to use new and more expensive methods. If addiction rates decrease, drug warriors need more money because ...
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This woman died of cancer today.

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 03:07 pm

Via my fellow breast-cancer-traveler @hellojomo, who's waiting on word from her oncologists about her own cancer scans, sad news that a photographer, mom, sister, and fellow person with cancer has died. Her name was Jen Burgess Thompson, and she had ovarian cancer. This beautiful video portrait was created by her friend Benjamin Edwards.
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UK surveillance bill: 19,000 letters opposing, 0 in favour

By Cory Doctorow on Oct 12, 2012 03:00 pm

The Snooper's Charter is Britain's pending Internet surveillance law, which requires ISPs, online services and telcoms companies to retain enormous amounts of private online transactions, and to hand them over to government and law enforcement employees without a warrant. A public campaign on the bill had 19,000 responses, every one of which opposed the legislation. ...
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Feds to debate medical use of marijuana

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 02:38 pm

Marijuana is currently classified in the US as a Schedule I controlled substance: no medically accepted use, despite ample evidence to the contrary. Ira Flatow's syndicated public radio program Science Friday has a segment out about next week's planned arguments to a federal appeals court by pro-pot advocacy org Americans for Safe Access, in hopes ...
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City of Oakland sues to prevent closure of embattled medical marijuana dispensary

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 02:34 pm

The NYT reports on a lawsuit filed by the City of Oakland in federal court to prevent the Department of Justice from seizing property leased to Harborside Health Center. Previous posts on Boing Boing about the facility here and here.
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A sister's advice: "You should toughen up a bit."

By Xeni Jardin on Oct 12, 2012 02:26 pm

A little bit of schoolyard psychotherapy, from a sister to her brother.
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Friday Freak-Out: Bob Luman and The Shadows perform "The Creep" (1957)

By David Pescovitz on Oct 12, 2012 02:17 pm

Friday Freak-Out: Bob Luman and The Shadows perform "The Creep" in the 1957 film Carnival Rock.
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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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