Boing Boing

For all their power and capabilities, image editing software isn’t like sitting down to play a video game. You aren’t there to have fun. You’re likely looking to make a few minor tweaks to an image to make it ready to be shared, then you move on with satisfaction in a job well done. If your image editing program is doing its job, your goal is to actually spend fewer hours using the software. That’s why it comes as good news when nature photography website NatureTTL calls the latest version of perennial image editing favorite Luminar 4 the future of photo editing and proclaims that “if you want to spend less time in front of a computer, then (Luminar 4) is a serious contender.”In case you've been trapped under an Adobe-sized rock, Luminar 4 is the latest iteration of Skylum’s all-in-one photo editing and organizing software — and after its latest redesign, it’s chock full of smart features all aimed at helping you create the images you want faster.Rather than hunting and pecking your way through editing tools, Luminar 4 is home to AI Accent, dubbed the world’s most intelligent photo enhancer. This filter automatically analyzes your image and instantly corrects it using over a dozen controls at once, yielding naturally beautiful results with the use of one simple intuitive slider. With Accent, artificial intelligence automatically optimizes shadows, highlights, contrast, tone, saturation, exposure, details and more.Luminar also comes with over 60 powerful one-click Luminar Looks, which quickly enhance your image to match your specific taste. Read the rest

This bright meteor shot through the sky Thursday morning, which ended with an explosive bang according to some witnesses. From The Japan Times:Social media came alive after the 2:30 a.m. sightings, with many people saying they heard a large bang. Some said they mistook the sound for noise made by neighbors.“I thought a person living (in the condo) above knocked down a shelf,” wrote one Twitter user, while another said, “I thought my child sleeping on the second floor fell out of bed.”Others witnessed the sky suddenly light up.Daichi Fujii, a curator at Hiratsuka City Museum in Kanagawa Prefecture, captured the fireball with a camera installed at his home in Hiratsuka. It crossed the northern sky from west to east, he said. Read the rest

The never-not-good Randy Rainbow is on a roll. Last week, he rolled out "Cover Your Freakin' Face" and this week he's followed it up with "Poor Deplorable Troll," which parodies Ursula's song from The Little Mermaid, "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Read the rest

Georgia State University student Julian Bass made a fun reel of his visual effects work on TikTok, showing him transforming into his favorite superheroes: a Jedi, Ben 10, and Spider-Man. He then posted the video on Twitter with the message, "if y’all can retweet this enough times that Disney calls, that’d be greatly appreciated." Well, on the very same day, Disney's Executive Chairman Bob Iger responded with, "The world’s gonna know your name!!!" No word on whether the two are talking but the video has been viewed over 22M times since July 2 when it was first posted. I'm guessing it won't be long before someone hires him.The world’s gonna know your name!!!— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) July 3, 2020screengrab via Julian Bass/TikTok Read the rest

Charlie Kaufman is the acclaimed screenwriter behind surrealist movies like Being John Malkovich; Adaptation; Synecdoche, New York; and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My favorite bizarrely wonderful story about him — which, in a way, is kind of a synecdoche for his entire oeuvre of work, which is also something I learned about through his films — is that his Academy Award-winning screenplay for Adaptation is one of the few Oscars credited to a completely fictional person. Kaufman was hired to write an adaptation of The Orchid Thief, and seeing no way to write a dramatic narrative out of some meditative thoughts on flower poaching, he decided to write a screenplay about Charlie Kaufman struggling to write a screenplay about The Orchid Thief. Except, in the context of the movie, Fictional Charlie Kaufman also has an identical twin brother named Donald … who is credited as co-writer on the actual, real-life screenplay.I thought of this as I read this New York Times Magazine profile on Charlie Kaufman, ahead of the July 7th release of Antkind, a 700-page novel that marks Kaufman's first foray into prose writing. Journalist Jon Mooallem had the article planned well before the pandemic hit, but quickly had to improvise when he realized he wouldn't be able to interview Kaufman in person. As the lockdown dragged on, their long weekly phone conversations became a surprising source of stability for both of them (as chronicled in the article). Moallem thought he had something — but right as he turned a draft into his editor, the political climate took an every starker turn with ongoing protests against racism and police brutality, making his quaint pandemic-focused profile seem out-of-touch. Read the rest

Aerial America is an informative and relaxing look at each US state entirely via aerial footage. The series is gradually being posted to YouTube, and as of this writing they have added all states alphabetically through Louisiana. Alaska's Call of the Wild is particularly nice.Via the series page:For centuries, thousands of adventurers have answered Alaska's "call of the wild," seeking thrills and fortunes in a state rife with postcard-perfect beauty... and lethal dangers. Take flight across ancient glaciers, rugged mountain ranges, primeval forests, and pristine waterways. Then discover how the state's unique charm has attracted bold visitors, from Russian fur traders to a young survivalist on a one-way trip "into the wild" to the thousands of dog sledders facing off in the "Last Great Race on Earth!"Image: YouTube / Smithsonian Read the rest

Oregon State Police said Monday that an officer who flashed the "OK" hand symbol at a far-right protestor did nothing wrong. The cop was filmed making the gesture as he approached the man, who slapped him chummily on the shoulder in response, during a protest in Salem, Oregon.An interaction between a cop and a Proud Boy in Salem, Oregon today.Defunding the police is defunding white supremacy. pic.twitter.com/5zO8NUHMzX— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) July 5, 2020The OK gesture was appropriated by far-right figures and white supremacists as a plausibly-deniable way to signal shared sympathies, but isn't quite as subtle as they think. Even the NYPD placed one officer under internal review for using the gesture on duty.The Oregon State Police officer was cleared of fault without much ado.The Oregon State Police said the trooper used his hands because he was wearing a face covering and working in a noisy environment.“Best available evidence indicates the trooper was simply checking on the man's status and used the universal signal to signify this inquiry, which the man gestured he was — then patted this trooper and a second trooper on their shoulders in an apparent signal of appreciation,” police said.Fingers spread to form a conspicuous "W" (over the "P" formed by the forefinger and thumb) can specify its use as a white power symbol, according to the Southern Policy Law Center. Media commentators have claimed it is a harmless form of trolling or ironic racism intended to mock anti-racism campaigners. Read the rest

Photography isn’t just about lighting and composition anymore, especially when you’re shooting with your smartphone. While a wealth of expertise can absolutely help you grab better images, sometimes it’s just about having a great light or an amazing smoothing gimbal to instantly elevate your Instagram pics and other social videos from meh to standout.To help, we’ve assembled 10 great deals happening right now on photo accessories that’ll have you creating better images, more professional videos and streams that wouldn’t send viewers running. On top of the already great deals, you can also save more on your purchases, including a 15 percent discount on all purchases of $50 or more with the code JULYFOURTH15; or a 20 percent added savings on all purchases of $75 or more when you use the code JULYFOURTH20.11-in-1 Smartphone Photography Accessory Bundle - $24.99; originally $129.95Here’s everything to trick out your smartphone gear in one complete collection. From a lens kit and selfie light to a tripod, selfie stick and remote control, you can elevate your creative vision with all the tools to help you pull off all kinds of excellent shots.Sinji Smartphone Telephoto Kit - $24.95; originally $55.44We all know smartphone zoom lenses...aren’t great. But this lens kit will have you shooting images at up to 12x magnification -- and it comes with its own handy tripod. With this highly portable kit, you can set up in seconds and zoom in tight with no motion to assure the best possible image. Read the rest

Today's serving of the Streisand Effect comes courtesy of American Girl, which hopes that no-one will see Adam the Creator's "Karen" parody of its dolls. "We were informed of this post a few days ago and are working with the appropriate teams at American Girl to ensure this copyright violation is handled appropriately," the company posted on Twitter. The mock advertisement depicts an American Girl doll as "an independent thinker who refuses to wear a mask in public", waving a handgun at other shoppers and sporting the blonde wedged bob de riguer of the stereotype.In another comment, American Girl said it was "disgusted" by Adam's parody.Unfortunately for American Girl, parody is a classic example of fair use under copyright, meaning that it is unlikely that it would prevail against the "Karen" parodist were it ever to come to legal action. That said, copyright claims often form the heart of nuisance legal actions whose only purpose is to become costly and tiresome for the target, forcing them to take it down anyway. Social media companies are servile to corporate requests to remove postings for similar reasons; DMCA takedown requests are typically honored mechanically. In this case, the difference between parody and satire might come into play too, as it has in several high-profile copyright cases over the years. American Girl could also claim a trademark violation, but the bar there is even higher, requiring owners to prove that a reasonable person would be confused by the parody or that it would dilute the value of the trademark itself: "courts have [lately] been far more sympathetic to third parties creating parodies of famous trademarks and service marks." Read the rest

Mikey from Ants Canada woke up one day to his worst nightmare: his fire ants had escaped from their enclosure. Watch how he corrals all the escapees and manages to return most of them alive.His investigation showed that they had escaped from a module he made himself. Oops! Turns out you can safely pick up ants with two paintbrushes, but for a bunch of escaped ants, a small hand-held vacuum can come in handy.Regular viewers know that this colony has been plotting this escape for years:Better luck next time, ants!Image: YouTube / Ants Canada Read the rest

We’re at the midway point of 2020. So...how’s the year going for you so far? Yeah...we can guess. But while there’s a lot about 2020 we can’t directly control, maybe a little retail therapy can help make you feel better.Sure, the 39 items we gathered together can absolutely bring a smile to your face. But more importantly these days, they’re all sporting some significant discounts of up to $300 off. On top of the already lower prices, you can also feel the July 4th love with some extra savings: another 15 percent off with the code JULYFOURTH15 on any purchases of $50 or more; and 20 percent off on purchases of $75 or more by using the code JULYFOURTH20. The YardSolar Powered Firefly LED Light String - $17.95; originally $89.95When you’re sitting on the patio and the sun goes down, the fireflies come out in the form of this mini-LED light string. It’s solar-powered, then sparks up at night to cast a sweet reflective glow over your yard during those twilight and evening hours, all without ever having to turn them on.MOGICS Coconut Portable Waterproof Light (Multicolor) - $36.99; originally $49You could also try the portable light source that can go virtually anywhere. This foldable, sturdy, waterproof light self-inflates in seconds, has four different brightness modes and offers a truly unique backyard centerpiece during those summer nights.Smokeless Non-Stick Indoor/Outdoor Grill - $24.99; originally $49.95If you want to grill outdoors — or even when you bring it inside — this smokeless, non-stick grill is perfect for intimate gathering when you don’t want to fire up the big grill. Read the rest

When revved-up kids used to dribble a basketball through the kitchen or practice their footwork with a soccer ball in front of the television, exasperated parents would often just send ‘em outside to play. But these days, sending kids out might not be the best course of action.Despite all the changes, many budding young athletes today are still just as anxious to get out there and hit the court or the pitch as all those previous generations. Unfortunately, with most summer activities canceled, it’s going to be a lot tougher for them to practice and get better without the competition of their peers.Enter technology. Now, the advent of cutting edge items like the DribbleUp Smart Basketballs and Soccer Balls are offering parents and athletes of all ages an innovative way to improve skills and sharpen talents, all right from home.DribbleUp was started by brothers Eric and Marc Forkosh around their parents’ Brooklyn dinner table four years ago. Now, they’ve developed an indoor-outdoor Smart Ball and interactive training system that’s basically a Peloton-style training regimen for youth sports.When you buy either the Smart Basketball or hand-stitched Smart Soccer Ball, the computer vision tracking technology catches the ball movements related to targets on the DU Android or iOS app. It measures metrics like crossover speed, dribble hesitation, endurance levels, and live dribbling tracking with the interactive dribble speed meter. Everyone from kids to adult athletes can mine a wealth of training knowledge about their own skills, all from the DU ball readings. Read the rest

I was thinking of picking up an old Hilux but one of these will do.Calum G: "Russia's Colossal Antarctic Cruisers which have been continuously operating in some of the most extreme environments on Earth for over 50 years. Produced in Kharkiv, Ukrainian Soviet Socialistic Republic and originally operated by USSR, the 'Харьковчанка' (literally 'Kharkiv Women'), these amazing Snow Cruisers were built in the late 1950s and featured everything a polar explorer could need in the field. In their half-century mission, they have crossed thousands of miles on Antarctic Ice, visited the South Pole, the pole of inaccessibility as well the dozens of outposts and research stations on the continent."Calum uses YouTube's "chapters" feature very well (click through to see them). I hope all documentarians there follow suit. Read the rest

Michael Ramirez is a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist who works for the Las Vegas Review Journal. And I am sure he has definitely read Mary Shelley's classic novel, Frankenstein (or, the Modern Prometheus), as evidenced by his latest cartoon, titled "LIBERALS CITIES ABOLISH AND CUT FUNDING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS."LIBERALS CITIES ABOLISH AND CUT FUNDING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTShttps://t.co/2sTypDz8dPLike @ Facebook:https://t.co/WeX1G9jwDlBOOK:https://t.co/eqyzRdz8nS pic.twitter.com/qIPQCcIiL1— Michael Ramirez (@Ramireztoons) July 1, 2020See, given the choice between:a heavily-armed and heavily-entitled mediocre white guy with a boner for power and violence; ora miracle of science who was famously gentle and misunderstood, despite the angry assumptions of a mass mob who viewed him as subhuman just because of his appearance and conditions forced on him by a power-hungry monster of a man;I think it's pretty easy to decide which one you'd rather have patrolling your neighborhood. (Assuming that police even actively "patrol" in suburban and rural areas.)LIBERALS CITIES ABOLISH AND CUT FUNDING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS [Michael Ramirez] Read the rest

Singer/songwriter Stefan Murphy of the Mighty Stef posted this video on his Facebook, asking an important question I'm sure we've all wondered at some point in our lives: what would the Fresh Prince theme song sound like if it were a sad folk lament as heard in an Irish pub? Read the rest

Koko, a cat living in the Japanese city of Toyoma, was honored by local officials after alerting rescuers to an elderly man who had fallen supine into an irrigation canal. Via Japan Times:On June 16, a 77-year-old woman taking a walk around 7:30 p.m. found Koko, a female cat who belongs to a neighbor, staring into the canal and acting strangely. When she followed the cat’s gaze, she discovered a man lying on his back in a 60-centimeter-wide and 40-cm-deep canal. The water was about 15 cm deep.It took five people to pull the man out. FNN covered the award ceremony:Domo arigato, Koko-chan!Image: YouTube / FNN Prime Online Read the rest

Sealand is an unrecognized micronation off the coast of England, established in the 1960s and issuer of stamps, passports and occasional offshore business shenanigans ("BECOME A LORD"). But Sealand is also a rotting sea fortress in need of constant maintenance. Atlas Obscura met the two caretakers who spend two weeks at a time doing what they can to keep the statelet running smoothly. Dylan Taylor-Lehman's feature article is a great introduction to the place, if you're not familiar with it or its wild history.Detritus from countless other projects sits on deck and in the workspaces of both towers. The server racks from its time as an offshore data haven are still assembled on the second subfloor of the south tower: a museum of turn-of-the-millennium tech. The floor below the server room is lined almost all the way around with tables, which hold all of the technical manuals from the various pieces of machinery in use on Sealand. There are also great stacks of back issues of at least four different amateur radio magazines. Sealand is, in essence, a big clubhouse where Barrington can build and experiment to his heart’s delight. He has brewed beer, read dozens of technical journals, spent “millions” of hours playing darts, and devotes a lot of his time to fixing equipment and inventing things.“Everything is done in the most cack-handed long way so you don’t get bored. If you’re bored, get a hammer and chisel and start chiseling something or do the washing up,” he says. Read the rest

The pandemic has inspired a slew of great courses for young artists, like this Bite-Sized Art History course that teaches about President Obama's official portraitist Kehinde Wiley and shows young artists how to make their own portrait in his style.Wiley's Obama portrait caused an immediate and unprecedented reaction, according to The Smithsonian:From the moment of their unveiling at the National Portrait Gallery in early 2018, the portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama have become two of the most beloved artworks of our time. Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of the former first lady have inspired unprecedented responses from the public, and attendance at the museum has more than doubled as visitors travel from near and far to view these larger-than-life paintings. After witnessing a woman drop to her knees in prayer before the portrait of Barack Obama, one guard said, “No other painting gets the same kind of reactions. Ever.” The Obama Portraits is the first book about the making, meaning, and significance of these remarkable artworks.This series' combination of art history and a tutorial is a fun and accessible way to inspire young artists in your own life. It does a great job of explaining some of the reasons why artists make the choices they do. You can also have them check out Kehinde Wiley's website.Images: YouTube / ArtistYear Read the rest

What’s your biggest gripe about power strips? Since most power servers like that are pretty standard these days, your beef probably isn’t about performance or connectivity. No, the biggest rap on trying to use many power strips is the curious engineering decision that often leaves multiple oddly shaped plugs and charging units unable to all plug into a power strip at once. Before you know it, bulky plugs are blocking half of your outlets and you need...another power strip!The design wizards at Mogics noodled over that particular problem and came up with an answer: the world’s first and only travel power strip that fits in your pocket. With the Mogics Power Bagel Travel Power Strip, you can fill up to five sockets with all manner of international plugs as well as 2 USB ports, all comfortably and without any awkward angling or blocked outlets.The idea is so incredibly simple that it’s clear why it struck a chord with Kickstarter patrons, who funded the Power Bagel to the tune of over $140,000.The Power Bagel lives up to its billing, a round, donut-shaped device with five adaptable sockets to handle UK, EU, AU, and US-style plugs. Even with a full boat of connected devices, not to mention the pair of fast-charging USB ports, all plugs sit easily and deliver power evenly to all sources.Mogics even thought of a rolling mechanism on the 3-foot adjustable cord with auto-lock stoppers so everything stays neat and tidy. And it certainly doesn’t get tidier than a power hub you can literally drop in your pocket and take with you on virtually any international adventure. Read the rest

Redditor Inuyasharuls is a Dungeon Master who runs campaigns for several players with dyslexia. With help from another Redditor and gamer, Axelle123, they created this colorful character sheet alternative, using Comic Sans instead of the standard font found on D&D materials, to make life easier for everyone. Or, well, maybe not everyone, but still for some people. As they explained on Reddit:They're not for everyone, we definitely customized them to our games. We changed the "experience points" to "other", removed the "personality traits, bonds, flaws, and ideals" entirely, and removed EP from the money tracker, but I think the sheets could help a lot of players, especially with u/luckpack's icons from their sheets, their original sheets found here, which we added in to help differentiate different numbers. Everything has been converted to comic sans font and fully capitalized, and in Page 1 alt 1 the skills have been colour coded to match with the relevant ability modifiers, and added an area for attunement slots. Any comments are welcome, we just really hope it can help other players.disclaimer - Neither u/Axelle123 nor I are professionals, nor are we experts in dyslexia, this is just what seemed to help our fellow players.As much as we all like to make fun of Comic Sans, it was actually designed to be readable. While it doesn't work for everyone, Comic Sans has been known to help some people with dyslexia with recognizing and distinguishing between letters and words; color is also known to help, and fortunately, this character sheet offers both options. Read the rest

In 2012, I was given the privilege of performing my high school ska-punk hit song "Adam Wants A Blowjob" during a performance of Mortified in Brookline, Massachusetts. Mortified is a gloriously hilarious and cathartic evening of performance, wherein people perform excerpts from their actual, real-life high school and college journaling and other writing. It's embarrassing; it's touching; and it's utterly delightful. In the years since then, I've had the privilege of performing my absolute worst high school pop-punk songs — some of which are so bad that it physically hurts me to play them — for sold-out audiences in Boston, New York, and Portland, Maine.Over these years, I've gotten to know Mortified producer Sara Faith Alterman. Besides being a generally wonderful person, Alterman has a knack for figuring out the best way to present your most embarrassing high school material in the most enjoyable and emotionally impactful ways; I've worked with her enough that I can genuinely say that her curatorial eye is a true and rare talent.And it's that unique talent that she's channelled perfectly into her new memoir, Let's Never Talk About This Again. I had glimpsed pieces of the story over the years — through Mortified performances, and through social media — but reading it all compiled with Alterman's trademark wit was a wonderful experience.Given all that context, let me just pause for a moment to give you the official synopsis:Twelve-year-old Sara enjoyed an G-rated existence in suburban New England, filled with over-the-top birthday cakes, Revolutionary War reenactments, and nerdy word games invented by her prudish father, Ira. Read the rest

Oh-so-fine Toni Basil has announced a new online class — on '60s go-go dancing! She'll not only teach you how to go-go dance, but will also "deep dive" into how it influenced art, fashion, and music. And she should know, because she was there. If you only think of the 76-year-old for her big 1981 hit "Mickey," you've missed out on her illustrious career in acting, dance and choreography. This compilation shows the "goddess of go-go" doing her thing in several circa-1960s films. Prepare to be impressed:Her four-part series begins July 5 ($10/class).Thanks, Baby Doe!images via ToniBasil.net Read the rest

"Pence was scheduled to go to Phoenix on Tuesday but went on Wednesday instead so that healthy agents could be deployed for his visit."

On Thursday, Tesla denied media reports that it fired employees who chose to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, rather than expose themselves to possible infection at Elon Musk's California factory.In a blog post today, “The Tesla Team” says it waived the company attendance policy for several weeks after obtaining approval to reopen factories, and offered employees "a window of time to stay home no questions asked".Read the Tesla post:Health and Safety at TeslaThe Tesla Team July 2, 2020 The Washington Post reported yesterday that three Tesla employees were fired after they chose to stay home from the Fremont, California, factory. Tesla is denying this, today.More at Reuters:Tesla denies reports of firing employees who chose to stay at home Read the rest

Today’s teachers extol the virtues of hands-on learning, the method of helping students, particularly the youngest children, learn through basic doing. From trial-and-error methods to practice honing their emerging skills, youngsters can soak up a world of learning opportunities when their developing minds are unleashed. While the thought of dropping a smartphone or tablet into the hands of a pre-schooler and setting them loose online can instinctively make a parent feel like a bad mom or dad, it all comes back to where you’re turning that child loose. In a learning-rich environment like the Papumba Fun Learning App for Kids, there won’t be any guilt handing over a device and allowing them to dive right in.As the top-ranked play-based preschool academy in over 30 countries, the app offers children from 2 to 7 years old over 500 different interactive games and activities, each created to foster learning in important STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) skills. Papumba is chock full of bright engaging animation and all kinds of fun characters that lead young learners through lessons that develop their primary critical thinking skills.No matter a child’s age or skill level, Papumba adapts to each child’s needs, offering opportunity and encouragement, and their own pace. All of Papumba’s content is downloadable, so there doesn’t have to be an active WiFi connection to keep playing. And while all the games are fashioned for a single child, they’re also designed to be expandable so Mom, Dad, siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents can get in on the game as well to help promote the learning and make it more fun for the child. Read the rest

A Joe Rogan lookalike thought he could win a chess game by intimidating his 16-year-old opponent through insults, and gaslighting, and patronizing disdain. Unfortunately for the mouthy gentleman, the kid, who said almost nothing during the game, whipped him. When he was checkmated, the loser said to the kid, "You know what, you're not nice," and stormed off. Read the rest

The Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority (ARPP) of France has banned the airing of a television commercial for VanMoof electric bikes. From a statement by VanMoof (Via Core77):According to the ARPP, certain shots of the car's reflections "discredit the automobile sector [...] while creating a climate of anxiety." It is notable that the ARPP rejected what would have been one of the first bike ads on French TV, despite recently pledging to reinforce the sustainability aspects of their policies.The [banning] decision comes at a time when the French car industry is in trouble, with sales plummeting due to COVID-19 and widespread economic decline on the horizon. In a bid to support the sector – responsible for almost a third of the country's greenhouse gas emissions – the government recently introduced a recovery plan worth €8 billion. Read the rest

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing in the eyes of the tabloids.

Bartosz Ciechanowski makes web pages with interactive visuals to explain things like gears, four dimensional cubes, the orbit of the earth around the sun, transparency in digital imaging, lights and shadows, and RGB color spaces. Read the rest

Coffee YouTuber James Hoffman reviewed the 9Barista stovetop espresso machine.Here's a half-section illustration from the 9Barista website so you can see what's going on. It has two boilers, a heat sink, a coiled heat exchanger, and a spring-loaded valve: It's available from the 9Barista espresso website for $385. Read the rest

I'm reading Matt Alt's fantastic new book, Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World. Early on in the book, he points to Sony's TR-63 transistor radio (introduced in 1957) as the beginning of Japan's gargantuan influence on the world through consumer electronics, toys, entertainment, and other aspects of popular culture.I was curious about this transistor radio so I looked it up online and learned that IFixIt did a teardown of the radio back in 2009.The TR-63 was introduced in 1957 - it was the first "pocket-sized" transistor radio ever made and the first Sony-branded product exported to North America, by the then-named Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo company (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). It became a huge commercial success, over 100,000 units were sold.It seems "pocket-sized" was a bit of a marketing gimmick at the time - although smaller than any competing product, the TR-63 was a bit too big to fit into a standard shirt pocket. So story has it that company salesmen wore custom-made shirts with slightly bigger pockets to show off the TR-63's small size. But unlike desktop radios of the day which were promoted under the idea of "a radio in every home", the TR-63 was uniquely marketed as something each person could own and carry with them. A foreshadowing of the Walkman and iPod, perhaps?The TR-63 contains a whopping 6 transistors. By comparison, the Cell processor chip in the PS3 contains two to three hundred million transistors. That's an indication of the progress made in the electronics industry in the past 50 years. Read the rest

Voiced by a Russian actor, "Fellow Traveler" is a Lincoln Project anti-Trump ad that is narrated in Russian. "The most important endorsement Donald Trump received in 2016 was not from your Senate leader, Mitch McConnell," starts the ad. "And not from your Congressman, Paul Ryan...No, Donald Trump received the most important endorsement in 2016 from our great leader Vladimir Putin." "Our special services worked overtime to elect Comrade Trump," it continues. "We manipulated your voters to spread our glorious propaganda. And you, American dogs, were set against each other.""Comrade Trump's campaign wisely accepted our help." He "gladly accepted the help of Mother Russia...Congratulations, Comrade Trump!"One of Comrade Trump's first assignments to help puppet master Vladimir Putin came early with his "Make America Great Again" slogan. His base bought it. As The Lincoln Project tweeted yesterday, "Add ‘America First’ to the laundry list of scams Trump has sold in his life. It’s clearly Trump first, Russia second, and America last."American soldiers’ lives are in danger and Trump has done nothing to stop it.Add ‘America First’ to the laundry list of scams Trump has sold in his life. It’s clearly Trump first, Russia second, and America last. pic.twitter.com/sqiRyqtJBE— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 1, 2020 Read the rest

A Black woman at Miami International Airport told a Miami-Dade police officer, Antonio Rodriguez, that he was acting like he was white. So rather than deescalate, he took offense and slugged her. He continues to aggressively manhandle her, but the video becomes too much of a blur to see the details. He has been "relieved of duty," as of yesterday.Via Miami Herald Read the rest

“I probably use my chef's knives more than any other tool in the kitchen.” - Bobby Flay, celebrity chefCooking at home has taken on a whole new life in the wake of COVID-19, and even with restaurants slowly reopening across the US, there’s heavy reason to suspect that more of us preparing more meals in our own kitchens is a trend that will continue. In fact, almost 60 percent of respondents in a recent survey said they were making more home-cooked meals these days, with nearly half saying they’ll be spending less on food prepared outside the house going forward.Which brings us back to the most important weapon in any cook’s arsenal, the versatile chef’s knife. That functional blade is used in the creation of virtually any dish you can imagine, with its clean, sharp slice offering increased control when you cut. You can find out the impact of a quality chef’s knife on your culinary adventures with a Zen Series 8-inch Japanese Style Chef’s Knife.The chef’s knife is such a staple because it handles virtually anything in the kitchen. From fine mincing to precise slicing and chopping of vegetables, to slicing meat, and brute force jobs like disjointing large cuts, a blade-like this Zen Series model is an absolute go-to.Surrounded by 66 layers of SUS410 steel for excellent corrosion resistance plus high strength and hardness, this Zen knife is forged Damascus steel, valued for its keen edge while retaining its flexibility. Sporting a 60+ Rockwell hardness and 16-degree hand-finished edge per side for razor-like sharpness, this knife will last for years of kitchen duty if it receives proper care. Read the rest

Boing Boing is proud to present our sponsor Read Tested CBD!This article was originally published on Real Tested CBD. To view the original article, click here.Cannabidiol is the second most prevalent compound in these plants. Pot plants and hemp both contain cannabidiol. In other words, hemp contains cannabidiol and no tetrahydrocannabinol. Pot plants contain both.Some strains of pot have been developed to be high in cannabidiol. For example, the AC/DC strain has a hemp-like profile because it contains less than 1% tetrahydrocannabinol and 14% cannabidiol. Using a strain such as that won’t get you high.Other strains, such as the harlequin strain, do contain more tetrahydrocannabinol than hemp. Harlequin has 5% tetrahydrocannabinol and 8% cannabinol. That might make you feel a little different than a product that contains only cannabidiol as the primary active ingredient.Although cannabidiol can make you feel relaxed and relieve anxiety, it doesn’t intoxicate you. It acts on different cannabinoid receptors than tetrahydrocannabinol and produces distinct effects.Cannabidiol also has many health benefits. Many people have heard about it because it was found to help control seizures in rare cases of epilepsy. The Charlottes Web strain was bred with high levels of cannabidiol and low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol and is known for reducing epileptic seizures in a young epileptic girl named Charlotte Figi. The FDA approved Epidiolex, a cannabidiol-based drug, for these conditions in 2018.Now, experts are finding out that cannabidiol can help with a lot of other health issues, including:Psychological conditions, such as panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorder and PTSDPain, including headaches, nerve pain and arthritisSleep problemsInflammationDepressionInflammatory bowel diseaseCannabidiol is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Read the rest

Behold the new logo Australia shall henceforth use in its international branding efforts. It looks like coronavirus stock art and presumably cost taxpayers millions of dollars.It will directly replace the Australia Unlimited logo, which features two boomerangs forming the shape of Australia, and will primarily be used to represent the country during trade missions and business exchange programs such as Austrade's Landing Pad program.The decision was made in a report by Australia's Nation Brand Advisory Council, News Corp reported on Wednesday. Read the rest

Watch the b-roll in this Fox News clip and note who they show wearing masks.pic.twitter.com/f9Cr9xhkDS— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) July 1, 2020Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is prominent among Republicans angry about people wearing face masks to prevent the transmission of coronavirus during the Covid-19 pandemic. He dislikes it almost as much as he dislikes Coronavirus Task Force lead Dr. Anthony Fauci, who he assailed on Fox News yesterday. Fauci, one of America's foremost disease experts, "doesn't know what he's talking about", Patrick said. So its viewers would understand the broader point, Fox News played a montage of people wearing surgical masks as Patrick ranted on. But for one half-hidden and blurred-out face in the background, everyone in the montage was black or conspicuously dark-skinned. Read the rest

In this game of chess, black deploys the Sicilian Defence against 1: e4 to no avail, but follows adroitly with the Trash Talking Like An NPC Gambit. Will it be enough? The battle commences 40s in.Previously: Chess grandmaster takes on mouthy hustler Read the rest

What a surprise, top talent at Fox News fired for sexual misconduct. Again.Ed Henry, host of 'America's Newsroom,' has been terminated by Fox News following an investigation into sexual misconduct.The veteran anchor was fired after the network probed a complaint about “willful sexual misconduct in the workplace.”Here's the internal Fox News memo from Fox CEO Suzanne Scott and president Jay Wallace, via Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite.More at CNN.Ed Henry was terminated following an investigation into sexual misconduct. Here's the internal memo from Fox: pic.twitter.com/jrBqJKL1En— Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) July 1, 2020 Read the rest

In 1925, Swiss schoolteacher Aimé Tschiffely set out to prove the resilience of Argentina's criollo horses by riding two of them from Buenos Aires to New York City. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Tschiffely's unprecedented journey, which has been called "the most exciting and influential equestrian travel tale of all time."We'll also read an inscrutable cookbook and puzzle over a misbehaving coworker.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

What they should really do is recruit Gritty as a full-time member for the next season. Gritty counts as a queer icon, right? Read the rest

The coronavirus is thrilled to learn that a bar owner in Texas is organizing a 'Bar Lives Matter' concert to protest the state's restrictions to slow the COVID-19 outbreak.Protesters are upset @GovAbbott shut down bars in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19. More than 30 bar owners are suing over the executive order. Protesters are demonstrating at the State Capitol and soon at the Governor’s Mansion. @KVUE pic.twitter.com/MaRSILqIxk— Jenni Lee (@JenniL_KVUE) June 30, 2020It's pretty nuts in Texas, where coronavirus infections and deaths are accelerating. HAPPENING NOW: The “Texas Bars Fight Back” protest is happening outside the Texas Capitol to protest the closing the bars statewide. pic.twitter.com/NPLen0fFmF— Kacey Bowen (@KaceyonFox7) June 30, 2020There was apparently an organized protest by other bar owners today at the Texas Capitol.'Bar lives matter' protesters descend on Texas capitol to oppose closures https://t.co/TeAMK1KDo0— Newsweek (@Newsweek) June 30, 2020From The Hill:A Texas bar owner who is one of several currently suing Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over reimposed restrictions on bars organized a “Bar Lives Matter” concert and protest Sunday.Tee Allen Parker, owner of The Machine Shed Bar & Grill in Kilgore, about two hours southeast of Dallas, hosted the gathering outside the bar Sunday. A second protest is planned on the steps of the capitol in Austin Tuesday, according to KLTV, a local ABC affiliate.“You can’t tell me that my tiny little bar is the problem. He’s the problem,” Parker, who is one of multiple Texas bar owners who have banned the wearing of masks in their establishments, said of Abbott in an interview with The Washington Post. Read the rest

“This is a battle to save the Heritage, History, and Greatness of our Country! #MAGA2020” —Donald J. Trump, on June 30, 2020.Donald Trump just tweeted a 14 word message that echoes the popular white supremacist slogan known as The 14 Words: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."This is a battle to save the Heritage, History, and Greatness of our Country! #MAGA2020— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2020 Read the rest

Weeks after feds said 'Boogaloo' group members used Facebook to plan the murder of a federal agent, Facebook says they have removed 220 Facebook Groups and 95 Instagram accounts associated with the extremist movement.Facebook says 400 additional 'Boogaloo' related groups advocating armed violence that were tangentially associated with the movement would be taken down, too."Today we are designating a violent U.S.-based anti-government network as a dangerous organization and banning it from our apps. This network uses the term boogaloo but is distinct from the broader and loosely-affiliated boogaloo movement because it actively seeks to commit violence," a Facebook spokesperson wrote in a statement.Read the June 30, 2020 Facebook statement:Banning a Violent Network in the USReport Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News,In May, federal officials alleged that Steven Carrillo killed a federal security officer during protests in Oakland, California, against the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Carrillo allegedly plotted the attack with a man he met in a Boogaloo Facebook group and aimed to use protesters to "support our own cause" of a second Civil War.The Boogaloo is a heavily armed, mostly conservative libertarian militia movement with extreme anti-government views that advocates for a violent uprising targeting mostly law enforcement. The movement, which has strong ties to current and former military members, grew to tens of thousands of followers since January, mostly in Facebook groups.Several self-professed "boogaloo boys" have been arrested in recent months, charged with crimes including the murder of law enforcement officers and planning terror attacks at Black Lives Matter protests. Read the rest

Yesterday, five large department stores in the towns of Lindsay and Whitby, Ontario, Canada had to temporarily stop ringing up customers because every item scanned at the register showed up as Mr. Potato Head. "A point of sale downloading error caused item names to appear incorrectly," said Cathy Kurzbock, manager of external communications for department store chain Canadian Tire. "It has since been corrected and the stores are operating normally."Apparently, they don't suspect this was a prank but, well, I wouldn't be so sure.(MyKwartha.com) Read the rest

Legendary comedian, actor, writer, and director Carl Reiner has died at age 98. Reiner is best known for performing with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca on the 1950s TV variety program Your Show of Shows and later creating The Dick Van Dyke Show. He also directed George Burns in the classic "Oh God!" (1977), Steve Martin in "The Jerk" (1979) and acted in movies and TV shows like "Ocean's Eleven" (2001), "Parks and Recreation," and "House." From the New York Times:As part of a stellar supporting cast that also included Imogene Coca and Howard Morris, Mr. Reiner proved his versatility week after week on “Your Show of Shows,” which ran from 1950 to 1954 on NBC and established the template for sketch comedy on television. He played everything from a harried commuter to a frenzied rock ’n’ roller to an unctuous quiz-show host. But he is probably best remembered as an interviewer, solemnly posing questions to a mad professor, a spaced-out jazz musician or some other over-the-top character played by Mr. Caesar, and adding to the humor simply by being serious.Mr. Reiner contributed behind the scenes as well. He took part in the frenzied writing sessions that shaped the show, bouncing jokes off the walls of the writers’ room with the likes of Mr. Brooks and Neil Simon.“I became a writer because of that room,” he recalled. “I’d say something and somebody would yell: ‘What do you know? You’re not a writer.’ So I became a writer.” Read the rest

In a year of old-school dystopian catastrophes, here's one that's refreshingly futuristic: the UK is making it legal to use small electric scooters on Britain's roads, but not your small electric scooters. You must rent them, not own them.It is expected to recommend that helmets be worn, although they will not be mandatory, and vehicles will be limited to a speed of 15mph.Privately owned e-scooters will not be legalised.Under the new rules to be set out by the Department for Transport, e-scooter companies could launch scooter-sharing schemes in UK towns and cities and it will be legal to ride one of these scooters on the road from Saturday.The reality of rental scooters is that they become obstructions and annoyances, abandoned on pavements and in parking spots, with the companies running the schemes unable to track, recover or maintain them properly. The UK government has an ongoing scandal over cash-for-contracts and no political bandwidth available to close the loopholes, so cynicism may be warranted as well as sighs. Making a particular vehicle road-legal in the same breath as mandating they be rented from hinky tech startups is going to make a lot of money for someone. Read the rest

A few years back, my brother Rick Pescovitz came up with Under The Weather Pods, single-person pop-up shelters. (You may have caught Rick on Shark Tank.) Rick was sick of getting soaked at his kids' soccer games and was inspired by a portable toilet he saw by the field. Under The Weather Pods are designed for watching sports, fishing, and other outdoor events where it's raining, windy, or cold, but you are either obligated to watch or having so much fun you don't want to leave. When the pandemic began, my brother quickly made two new designs for hospitals and healthcare workers: The IntubationPod is a pop-up shield for medical procedures involving the head and neck area. It's apparently much less expensive than the rigid plastic boxes that are commonly used during intubation. Meanwhile, the ShieldPod enhances protection for physicians and nurses as they move through medical facilities treating patients. Both devices are now in use at several hospitals around the country. I'm proud of my brother Rick and his wife Kelly who is president of Under the Weather!Schools, businesses, and air travelers are now reaching out to Rick about the ShieldPod for use in classrooms, office settings, and on flights. Stay safe everyone.ShieldPod (Under the Weather) Read the rest

Jason Laska stopped at a Little Caesars to grab a pre-made "Hot-N-Ready" pizza for his family. When he got home, he and his wife discovered a (reverse) swastika made from pepperoni on the pie. Laska told CNN he tried to call the story but the number was constantly busy so he posted to social media.According to Little Caesar Enterprises spokesperson Jill Proctor, the two ignorant dumbfucks who made the pizza admitted to it and were fired."This is an example of what needs to change in our world," Laska said. "And we hope that people start to realize that and use their time to make those changes and not blast us for trying to do it." Read the rest

The Financial Times' latest chart of newly confirmed cases by state per capita, represented as a seven-day rolling average, suggests that the best place to go on vacation this summer is your own bed.There are concerns, however, that reported Covid-19 deaths are not capturing the true impact of coronavirus on mortality around the world. The FT has gathered and analysed data on excess mortality — the numbers of deaths over and above the historical average — across the globe, and has found that death tolls in some countries are more than 50 per cent higher than usual. In many countries, these excess deaths exceed reported numbers of Covid-19 deaths by large margins.US reporting appears excellent in general, notwithstanding the President's efforts to limit testing to work the numbers. You can't hide that many bodies for long. Florida is the obvious weak spot, with governor Ron DeSantis constantly in the news for statistical shenanigans. Read the rest