Hugo nominations open!
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:26:58 -0600
The 2008 Hugo award nominations have opened -- if you were a member of the 2008 WorldCon in Denver, or have bought a membership to the 2009 WorldCon in Montreal, you're eligible to nominate. I'll be sending in my nominations this week, and just in case you were wondering, here's the stuff I wrote that's eligible for this year's ballot: * Best novel: Little Brother, Tor, 2008 * Best related book: Content, Tachyon, 2008 * Best novella: True Names (with Benjamin Rosenbaum), published in Fast Forward, Pyr Books, 2008, edited by Lou Anders * Best novelette: The Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away, Tor.com, July 2008 No matter what you plan on nominate, I urge you to send in your form! Hugo participation seems to dwindle every year. The present form's just a PDF, but they're promising a web-based one shortly (I'll post again when they do). Hugos...


A Brief Essay on the Sad Lack of Imagination in Invertebrate Oriented Erotica with Brief Notes on the Lascivious Nature of Both the Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa, or, Getting Beyond "Hur hur! That Squid Tentacle Looks like Penis!"
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:09:50 -0600
Redbeard sez, "With all of the recent postings on cephalopod oriented erotica (or tentacle porn, as it is coarsely called), I had wondered if you had not stumbled on this musing on why those fixated on tentacles really lack imagination, and how other invertebrate oriented erotica can be really really hot. Invertebrates are amazingly kinky, as pointed out in some lovely marine science blog The Oyster's Garter as it looks at the sex lives of tunicates, slugs, and more. So really, why can't we get beyond the tentacle, I ask?" Taking a step to the side, let us briefly consider phylum Mollusca class Bivalvia. Yes, bivalves at first seem boring - little sessile clam-like things that they are. However, bivalves engage in the one behavior that heretofore I think sounds like the most delightful sexual activity ever. Free spawning. I mean, seriously, think of it, you catch a sudden whif of the right scent, the right temperature, or a little shake, and then EXPLODE in pleasurable gamete release. I, myself, have had this happen right in my face in an orgy of mussel bukkake, but picture the potential for some nubile nymphet subjected to the experiments of a dastardly doctor in fusing the sexual needs of a scallop with the body of his scientific muse. This is of course not to mention the abilities for bivalves to form threadlike attachments with their byssal gland, and the ever shape-changing, muscular, pulsing, turgid, bivalve foot. Or, the bizarre, soft, delicate anatomy of free swimming shell-less bivalves who, if airborne, could wreak erotic havoc on an entire countryside if presented by the proper author or animator. A Brief Essay on the Sad Lack of Imagination in Invertebrate Oriented Erotica with Brief Notes on the Lascivious Nature of Both the Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa, or, Getting Beyond "Hur hur! That Squid Tentacle Looks like Penis!" Previously:Fight for your right to tentacle porn - Boing Boing Octopussy - Boing Boing Cephalerotica - Boing Boing...


Shanghai recreated in dice and poker chips
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:05:40 -0600

China treats "Internet Addicts" with boot-camp discipline and sex ed
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:01:33 -0600
Thomas sez, "China's People's Liberation Army has made Sex education part of the detox methods for getting people over Internet addiction. They claim it works, but one woman under their care has acquired 68 virtual husbands." Here, in addition to military-style discipline, some 60-odd patients at his center undergo a three-month regimen of counseling, confidence-building activities, sex education, and in about 60 percent of the cases, medication. The treatment is designed to address underlying family and psychological problems, and boost their self-confidence. There are a handful of young women here, going "cold turkey" from "Audition" and similar games, where players engage in dance battles, decorate virtual homes, and have virtual husbands and babies. (One female patient had amassed 68 "husbands," says Tao, with a sigh). In an increasingly wired China, rehab for Internet addicts...


Understanding Islam Through Virtual Worlds launch in NYC, Jan 29
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:59:09 -0600
My pals Rita King and Josh Fouts have just completed an ambitious public diplomacy report on using virtual worlds to create understanding between Islamic and western societies. The book itself is presented in Understanding-Comics-style graphic novel format. They're holding a public launch in New York this month and I expect the report will hit the web around the same time. After a year of research spanning four continents and interviews with dozens of people across the virtual world of the Internet Dancing Ink Productions is pleased to announce the release of our findings from the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project on Thursday, January 29 at 6 PM Eastern at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Space is limited so please RSVP to attend the event. The report will include a trilogy of deliverables, including formal public diplomacy policy recommendations for the Obama Administration; a broadcast-quality short machinima documentary; and a graphic book chronicling the people, places and findings of the project. Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds report to release January 29...


JetBlue and TSA pay $240,000 to man refused boarding because of Arabic writing on shirt
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:55:17 -0600
JetBlue and the TSA have settled a lawsuit brought by a man who was refused boarding on an airplane because he was wearing a shirt with Arabic writing on it (the TSA said that this was like "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, 'I am a robber.'"). They've paid him $240,000. Only 14 days until we get a change in administration. Maybe the new guys will appoint someone who understands that Arabic writing doesn't ake airplanes fall out of the sky. Kudos to the ACLU for kicking ass and taking names on this one. The lawsuit claimed Jarrar, 30, invoked the First Amendment but acquiesced after it became clear to him that he would not be allowed to fly if he did not cover his shirt with one given to him by JetBlue officials. "All people in this country have the right to be free of discrimination and to express their own opinions," Jarrar wrote on his blog. "With this outcome, I am hopeful that TSA and airlines officials will think twice before practicing illegal discrimination and that other travelers will be spared the treatment I endured." TSA, JetBlue Pay $240,000 to Settle Discrimination Suit Previously:T-shirt: "I am not a terrorist," in Arabic - Boing Boing...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: "I Put A Spell On You"
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:34:09 -0600

Today on Offworld
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:06:18 -0600
Today on Offworld we saw Rock Band's vocal pitch recognition get trumped by some ace theremin playing on Portal theme song Still Alive, and downloaded a new unofficial theme for the PlayStation 3 featuring gorgeous HD paintings of cult Genesis shooter Gunstar Heroes. We then got more musical and listened to an album composed on DS synth Korg DS-10, as well as a one-man gadget orchestra featuring two DSs, an iPod Touch, an iPhone and a Kaossilator, and watched LittleBigPlanet creator Alex Evans go back in time to its early prototype days from a recent Wired store event. Finally, we took a look behind the design of indie adventure Aquaria, tried to decipher the code behind Subversion, an as yet un-detailed game that hopes to generatively model everything from entire cities down to a pen lying on each office desk, saw one man's new wrap-around Patapon tattoo and a beautiful motion graphics piece on the history of games, and timed how long it would take for an autonomous Katamari to clean your living quarters, Roomba style....


The 2009 Nibbler Championship
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:14:04 -0600
Joshua Bearman wrote about the 2009 Nibbler Championship at the LA Weekly Blog. He says: Why is this so awesome? Nibbler, as I mentioned in a brief aside in my Harper's piece on Billy Mitchell, was an arcade game made by the jukebox company Rock-Ola in the early 1980s. Nibbler is mostly forgotten other than its historical appeal as the sole arcade machine whose counter had enough digits to display 999,999,999 and therefore turn over at 000,000,000, or one billion points. The game itself sucked -— “playing the thing is joyless,” says Dwayne Richard, the number two Nibbler contender of all time—but as the highest of all potential scores, the “billion on Nibbler” was a universal goal in the early 80s. Many tried and failed. Eventually, on January 15, 1984, Tim McVey from Oskaloosa came to Walter’s arcade and finally reached a billion after playing forty-four hours—except that instead of turning over to zeros, the counter kept going. Tim gave up at 1,000,042,270 when he realized the true milestone was ten billion points, another order of magnitude away, and sadly, well out of reach for him and all humanity. (Rock-Ola gave Tim a Nibbler machine, which he promptly traded to Walter Day's rival arcade down the street -- for $200! In tokens!) Tim is back, playing against Dwayne Richard. I put up a fairly detailed post about, talking about how Nibbler represents how obsessive classic game competition is, for the players, just another facet of human achievement. Like climbing Everest. Or enumerating Pi. And to that end, I posted the first opening to my Harper's piece, which fell by the way side for editing reasons. But it tells the story of Robert Mruczek's marathon session on Star Wars at Fascination Arcade in New York in 1984, and sets the stage for the idea of this whole pursuit as part of the epic story of man versus machine, but more importantly, man versus self....


97-year-old Botanical Artist
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:14:59 -0600
I really enjoyed this interview with 97-year-old Chikabo Kumada, a botanical artist in Japan. His philosophy about life is every bit as lovely as his paintings. Here’s a snip: Mr. Kumada, when did you start drawing illustrations of plants and insects? I started to do it for work when I was twenty-six. I quit the graphic design company I’d been working at and switched careers without talking to my wife about it first. At that time, all the books had been burned in the war, and bunches of shoddy picture books had started coming in from the Kansai area and I thought, “This won’t do! I’ve got to draw some good picture books.” I love children. That’s why I started doing it. That was where my years of impoverishment began. (laughs) Sadly, the PingMagMAKE site where the interview was posted seems to have gone on an extended hiatus. I was sorry to read this, as I've enjoyed perusing their articles. --Shawn97 Year Old Botanical Art Maestro (Shawn Connally and Bruce Stewart are guest bloggers)...


1970s humor mag predicts future
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:48:18 -0600

Turning plastic crap into beautiful objects
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:15:03 -0600

Mall in China has McDnoald's and Bucksstar Coffee
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:04:00 -0600

Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:59:54 -0600
Posted to the Apple web site on January 5, 2009: Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs Dear Apple Community, For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote. Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed. I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow. As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority. Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis. The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery. I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first. So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this. Steve...


The Collins Kids -- "Hoy Hoy Hoy"
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:46:33 -0600

Split tongue video
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:16:23 -0600

Kure Kure Takora - Amazing Japanese Kids Show from the '70s
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:55:43 -0600
Delightful sets, characters, and music in this 1970s Japanese kids' show, Kure Kure Takora. From Wikipedia: Kure Kure Takora (クレクレタコラ, Kure Kure Takora? unofficial translation: "Gimme Gimme Octopus") is a tokusatsu children's comedy show from Japan. Produced by Toho Company Ltd., the show aired on Fuji TV and its subsidiaries from October 1, 1973 to September 27, 1974 with a total of 260 episodes. However, Episodes 223, 252 and 255 never materialised. The show was rebroadcast over CS digital satellite television, except for episode 220, which was censored due to problematic show content. The reason behind the censorship being that the main character, Takora is beaten by his neighbors to the point of being brain damaged, and it was considered much too violent to be rebroadcast. Laserdisc and VHS versions were sold, but currently only the DVD version (which includes episode 220) is on Japanese market. It was a new type of program for children. TAKORA, a central character coveted for everything saying "KURE! (I want it)" all the time. Each episode was absurd, strange, violent, surreal, indescribable, and ran exactly 2 minutes and 41 seconds. More excerpts available at Mt. Holly Mayor's Office: Kure Kure Takora - Amazing Japanese Kids Show from the '70s UPDATE: Jack found banned episode #220. He said it "Looks like a cartoon version of COPS."...


Plush skull from Lana Crooks
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:33:13 -0600

Pre-chewed pencils
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:04:53 -0600

James Jean's sketchbooks
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:06:21 -0600

Two Appealing Alphabet Sets
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:44:59 -0600

Gadget orchestra
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:44:19 -0600

Shantytowns as inspiration for urban developments
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:37:52 -0600
Architext Teddy Cruz is planning low-income housing developments in San Ysidro, San Diego, California and Hudson, New York that are inspired by shantytowns in Tijuana, Mexico. From GOOD: Homes will be jammed together, with any leftover space commandeered by taco stands, market stalls, and gathering places...Behind the precariousness of low-income communities, says Cruz, there is a sophisticated social collaboration: People share resources, make use of every last scrap, and look out for each other... In collaboration with the nonprofit Casa Familiar, the San Ysidro development will include 30 housing units alongside spaces where residents can run small businesses. The model also accounts for sweat equity, allowing people who help with construction to gain rent credits for their work. Shantytown, USA...


Furry convention photos
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:08:55 -0600
Furries are a fave on BB. We appreciate the fun these folks have dressing up like stuffed animals. Bizarre's Tom Broadbent attended RBW 2008, billed as the "largest furry convention in the UK," and returned with an excellent gallery of photos. From his photo essay: There were loads of people there – from full fursuiters to tail-wearers. The selection of animals included fearsome wolves, big dogs, fuzzy foxes, a cool meerkat, a brilliant boar, a blinking dragon, an awesome lion and a few bears. It’s surreal being in a room full of oversized animals playing musical chairs. One of the best things about the day was getting loads of hugs from furry folk. Furry Convention Previously: BBtv: American Furry - Life, Liberty, and the Fursuit of Happiness ... BBtv: Furries part 2, and inside South Park Studios. - Boing Boing Furries vs Klingons bowling tournament this Sat in Atlanta - Boing ... Mexican lazer gun gangsters do battle with furries: video - Boing ... Furries and an Escalade (video) - Boing Boing DHS to kids: Ready for... Furries? - Boing Boing HOWTO make an animatronic lion mask with superpowers - Boing Boing Orangina's furry TV commercial - Boing Boing Furry Couture at Tokyo Fashion Week - Boing Boing...


Half-ton Rube Goldberg corkscrew
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:07:12 -0600

National Geographic's International Photo Contest 2008
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:52:30 -0600

Golf can be bad for hearing
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:41:29 -0600
Golfers using a certain kind of titanium clubs are apparently at risk of hearing loss. According to a study in the British Medical Journal, golfers using "thin-faced titanium drivers" should probably wear earplugs. The researchers from the Norfolks and Norwich University Hospital investigated the matter after seeing a patient whose hearing damage seems to have been caused by playing with one of the clubs three times a week for 18 months. The patient claims that when he hits the ball, it sounds "like a gun going off." Interestingly, the clubs may have be designed to produce the satisfying sonic boom. From the BBC News: "There has been a tendency to make booming clubs for drivers," (said sports equiipment engineering expert Dr Martin Strangwood at the University of Birmingham.) But if this were a problem it would be easy to remedy by filling the head of the club with foam to reduce the sound." He said wearing earplugs was another solution, but said players use the noise as feedback to assess how they are playing and how well their equipment is performing. "So it might not work for all." "Playing golf can 'damage hearing'"...


Thor scares off burglar
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:33:12 -0600
A man attempting to burglarize an Edinburgh, Scotland home fled when faced with Thor. The home belongs to Torvald Alexander, 38, who had returned from a New Year's party dressed as the Norse god of thunder and surprised the thief. From The Telegraph: Mr Alexander said: "As soon as he saw me his eyes went wide with terror. "He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here." He added: "I had just got back from a fancy dress New Year's party and because I have a Norwegian name I decided to go as Thor. "It took ages making the cape, helmet and breast plate, and I must admit it was a bit chilly walking home, but when I saw that guy I just went mad and charged at him, my cape flying behind me. Burglar scared off by Thor (via Fortean Times)...


Fables: War and Pieces -- a fitting resolution to a marvellous graphic novel series
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:03:14 -0600
Update:: OK, I'm an idiot. This sure seemed like the ending of the story, but apparently, they're only halfway through. Eek! One of the most rewarding moments of my winter holiday was the morning I found to read the final installment in Fables, Bill Willingham (and company)'s long-running, brilliant graphic novel series. Over 11 volumes (plus a few very fine spin-offs), Fables has treated us to a cracking story about the exiled community of mythological creatures living in secret in Manhattan -- a motley cadre of legendary figures who were chased from their homeland by an evil emporer bent on multiversal conquest. From Sleeping Beauty to Little Boy Blue and the Big Bad Wolf, the legends have lurked in our human society, mingling with us, sometimes acting as our friends and sometimes as our enemies. Building from a series of clever little vignettes to an epic tale of war and betrayal, revolution and politics, Legends became one of my favorite graphic novel reads. The authors rarely strayed into the realm of the silly, playing their Big Idea as straight as a ruler, drawing me into the lives of these vividly realized, striving people who struggled to get along -- and get home. On the way, the authors fluidly change comic styles, flipping from simplistic children's comics to elaborate oil-paintings to stylized manga, choosing the style that suits the present storyline best. With the final installment, the Fables go to war, and adopts the conventions of war comics. The story is big -- huge -- and the battles are nail-biters. Things don't go the way you'd expect, and the ending is... Well, it's just goddamned great, tying up the loose ends, resolving the emotional tension, honoring the years I'd put into following these adventures. I won't drop any spoilers here, but I will note that the resolution leaves things open for some additional spinoff books and storylines, which I'll be looking forward to. In the meantime, if you're the kind of person who likes to banquet on a whole epic story in one setting, now's the time -- all the books are in print and available for your perusal. And if you, like me, have been following the story for years, rejoice for the end is at hand, and what an end it is. Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces List of all Fables collections Free download of Fables 1 Previously:Fables 10: the Good Prince: fairyland's armies mass for the final ... Scherezade meets every fable of every land - comic - Boing Boing Jack of Fables: great new Fables collection - Boing Boing...


Free, legal downloads of every Beatles song
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:59:22 -0600
Oyvind sez, "Some weeks ago, NRK - Norwegian Broadcasting - signed a deal with music rights holder organisation TONO in Norway. The new deal gives NRK right to publish podcasts of all previously broadcasted radio- and tv-programs that contains less then 70% music. Podcast containing music may be up for four weeks, while our podcast without music stay up on our server forever. One result of this deal, is that we now can publish 'Vår daglige Beatles' - 'Our Daily Beatles' in English - as a podcast. In this series from 2001, journalists Finn Tokvam og Bård Ose tells the story of every single Beatles tracks ever made, chronologically. Each episode contains a 3 minute story about each track (sadly for our international visitors - in Norwegian) and the actual Beatles tune. This is - as far as we know - the first time you can download the Beatles’ music legally. Neither iTunes nor Amazon have The Beatles in their music stores." Last ned alt av “The Beatles” - og historien om hver enkelt låt (Thanks, Oyvind!)...


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