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Updated 2024-11-23 22:32
Corey Feldman names one of his childhood molesters
On The Dr. Oz Show Thursday Nov. 2, former child actor Corey Feldman publicly outed Jon Grissom as molesting him in the 1980s. During the show, he called LAPD to turn in his abusers. In the interview, he stated, "This guy -- on his ­MySpace page and his Facebook page -- has got pictures of me and Corey Haim. He still taunts it, and flaunts it.”Grissom appeared in two films that Feldman starred in, License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989).Feldman is currently crowdfunding a film that would tell the story of his life:People have long awaited a response from Corey as to what exactly happened in his childhood. In his book, Coreyography, Corey describes what happened but it isn't clear who exactly the predators are. The best way, he feels, in order to tell the whole story, is for Corey to come forward in the form of a film about his life. We are embarking on a dangerous and exciting journey to get to the bottom of the truth. However in doing so there are great security risks.Previously: Barbara Walters tells Corey Feldman "you're damaging an entire industry" when he warns of Hollywood abuse
Sandwich customer puzzled by handwritten message on wrapper
Who is Tom, and why has he been decreed the chooser of onions?Tom knows bestTop image: Obed Hernández
The brewing crisis over the pile of poo emoji
An excellent post to the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC2 WG2 mailing list sums up critical feedback over recently approved emojis, including a fierce denunciation of the (IMHO) excellent "frowning pile of poo" emoji, which is viewed as a slippery slope to an entire "a range of emotions to PILE OF POO." (more…)
Theorizing a post-capitalist future with Kim Stanley Robinson
In a wide-ranging interview with CCCB Lab, Kim Stanley Robinson (previously) discusses the origin of his climate-inspired, critical science fiction, which envisions futures in which the climate catastrophe arrives and precipitates the long-overdue crisis of capitalism. (more…)
Sexual Harassment: Women accuse David Corn (Mother Jones, MSNBC) of touching, rape/violence talk
What a huge bummer. David Corn is the guy who broke the 'Steele Dossier' story, and did a great job of it. (more…)
30 things veteran game designer Brian Upton hates about your pitch
Brian Upton is an old hand in the game biz, from design to dealmaking, and presented "30 things I hate about your pitch" at the Game Developers' Conference. Though it concerns the specific interests of independent and small-business game outfits trying to raise money, the lessons seem oddly universal to science fiction and fantasy in general. Number 1: "I don't give a crap about hearing ... 20 minutes of the political situation on some fantasy continent."(If, on the other hand, you love just sitting there drooling over elaborate yet generic fantasy backstories, you might be interested in the procedurally-generated fantasy map-maker that Upton used to illustrate his point.
German shepherd alarmed by sudden disappearance of owner
Turn up your speakers! The music really makes it. [via]
Google's AI thinks this turtle is a rifle
Machine-learning-based image classifiers are vulnerable to "adversarial preturbations" where small, seemingly innocuous modifications to images (including very trivial ones) can totally confound them. (more…)
The DHS is buying a new database to store biometrics for 500 million people
The DHS's old "IDENT" database is full, with 240,000,000 records in a system designed to hold 200,000,000; so they're paying arms-dealers and erstwhile comic-book superheroes Northrop Grumman $93,000,000 to develop a new system called Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART), which will grow to encompass biometrics for 500,000,000 people, including hundreds of millions of Americans. (more…)
Listen to this 1930s jazz style cover of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' by Wayne Brady, Postmodern Jukebox
Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox band teamed up with Wayne Brady (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) to bring us this 1930s jazz style cover of Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "Thriller," complete with zombie tap dancers.The band is currently on a worldwide tour.For nostalgia's sake, here's the music video for the original:https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA
Geode jigsaw puzzles
This stunning line of geologically-inspired jigsaw puzzles, named Geode, is the creation of Massachusetts-based generative design studio and retailer Nervous System. As described in their blog:Geode is a jigsaw puzzle inspired by the formation of agate, a colorful banded stone. Each puzzle is unique, emerging from a computer simulation that creates natural variations in the shape, pieces, and image. Hundreds of lasercut plywood pieces intertwine to form a challenging, maze-like puzzle. Each geode is a slice of an algorithmic rock.The puzzles are intricately cut in birch plywood, completely unique from each other, and available in two sizes (approx. 180 pieces for $60 and 370 pieces for $95).https://vimeo.com/239518266(My Modern Met)
Trump told coal miners he'd bring back coal, so they're refusing retraining
The programs Obama established to retrain coal miners are going begging in Pennsylvania, undersubscribed because the out-of-work miners they were established to help are convinced that Donald Trump wasn't bullshitting when he promised to bring back coal. (more…)
Boing Boing's Andrea James interviewed about her favorite tools
It was a treat to have my friend and regular Boing Boing contributor Andrea James on the Cool Tools Show podcast. Andrea is a writer, director, producer, and activist. Her last film, Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy, aired on SHOWTIME. She's developing a talk show called Conversations with Coco and will direct the film Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps in 2018.Subscribe to the Cool Tools Show on iTunes | RSS | Transcript | Download MP3 | See all the Cool Tools Show posts on a single pageShow notes:Braun Silk-épil 9 ($110)"I own one of the oldest websites on hair removal, and that came out of some work I've done helping transgender women with consumer issues. And when I started on the Internet it was the Wild West and there were a lot of scams, and so I just started answering questions and putting them online, and now it’s 1300 pages of information. …This is a kind of rotary tweezer. So it’s a rotating head like an electric shaver, but it has tweezers on it, and as they spin they open and close and can tweeze much more quickly than a standard one-at-a-time or two-at-a-time tweezer. And the reason that this Braun Silk-épil 9 is really great is that they’ve added a little LED light on it so you can see the hairs, which is really helpful for someone like me who has very fine blonde hairs on my legs and things like that, and I can see them much easier as I use this."Streamlight ProTac Tactical Flashlight ($60)"I had a detached retina a few years ago, so my night vision is not great in one eye, and so I've become quite the connoisseur of flashlights. And I keep one on my desk at all times, and I keep one in the car. The Streamlight ProTac from my desk is a super, super bright police-style flashlight, but it’s only about six inches long. …Last night there was a skunk out in my yard. It was trying to get in under the house, and I went out there to see what was going on and turned on that light, and I could see everything very easily and quickly. And it has a strobe feature as well, so it’s designed for if you’re in distress on the highway and you have that with you you can click it twice and it’ll strobe, and people can see that from a very long distance. … The other one is a hand-cranked rechargeable light by Energizer. It's called the Weatheready 3-LED Carabineer Rechargeable Crank Light, and I love this light. The other day I was at a grocery store and this women came running up to me and said, "Oh, I dropped my wallet. I think it was underneath this car. This is where I was parked." I just pulled that out and cranked it up, and we looked around. And it was wasn't there, but it was so handy. And you don't have to worry about the batteries running out. It's really great to put in your emergency kit, whether it's for hurricanes or earthquakes or whatever. It’s just a very handy little thing to have that you always know is going to work."Fiskars 7.9-12 Foot ExtendableTree Pruning Stik Pruner ($83)"I have this huge bougainvillea in the front of my house, which is very pretty. It's very red and vibrant, but they have really hardcore thorns on them, and so you have to be very careful as you prune it. And one of the things that I've found is super helpful is the Fiskars brand pruning stick, because I'm pretty tall, but this thing is probably 25 feet tall. And I can get pretty much anything with just a standard step ladder and this pruning stick, 'cause it extends way out and it has sort of like a pump-action shotgun. It's like you pull down on it, and that is what causes the pinchers to pinch together. And if it’s too high up it also has a string that hangs down so that it goes all the way to the base and you can pull on that string if you’re up past the pump-action part, and so you can get like 9, 10 feet away from your body with this thing, and it’s just really great for cutting things that are high up. … The second-most popular thing I use is also by Fiskars. It's this Pro Pruner, and what I like about it is it has a curved blade. So a lot of times with pruning shears they kind of have a square blade, and you can't get as much torque on that and sometimes the branch will squirt out, but with this curved hook it really keeps the branch in there and uses that curve to get some torque on the branch."Nature’s Dog MACE ($30)“I love dogs, but there are some ne’er-do-wells afoot in my neighborhood who don’t like to clean up after their dogs, and without this stuff I was probably getting about three new batches a day between my sidewalk and the street … and so I was looking for something that, one, wasn't harmful, and two, would be very effective, and I found that this worked gangbusters. It comes in two different forms, and it's the brand Nature's MACE. It comes in a sort of granular shaker form, and it also comes in a liquid form, and I find them both helpful for different uses. … I have some gravel, and that’s where most of this problem was happening, and then owners would either scrape up the gravel or they'd kick it out in the street and I'd have to replace the gravel all the time, so I put the granular stuff in the gravel. It’s organic, and it smells kind of minty and lemony to us, but I think there's a rotten egg smell dogs, because I've actually seen dogs cross the street to avoid going in front of my house now, which is fine by me."
Russia-linked political Facebook ads and Twitter accounts released by House Intel Committee
House Democrats just released a trove of data, metadata, Facebook ads, and Twitter accounts run out of the Kremlin’s troll farm. A team of reporters at Daily Beast reports on how ads were created by people working for the Russian government's cyberwar arm, and literally paid for in rubles with no questions asked by Facebook.Yep, even of those Dank Bernie Memes you shared were Russian.Russian ads like the ones shown here came from......dozens of inflammatory Facebook and Twitter ads from Kremlin-backed fake social media accounts, including several The Daily Beast has already identified, with names like “Being Patriotic,” “Secured Borders,” and “United Muslims of America.” They were released on Wednesday, along with accompanying metadata showing their Russian provenance, not by the companies themselves, but by Democrats on the House intelligence community investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.Taken together, the ads and the metadata provide a deeper picture than previously known of one aspect of Russia’s so-called “active measures” disinformation campaign. Hundreds of millions of Americans – nearly 150 million, Facebook acknowledged on Wednesday – didn’t realize online political material they were seeing and sharing came from a foreign adversary. But the Russians, capitalizing on social-media targeting tools made possible by accumulated data from billions of users, knew a tremendous amount about their unsuspecting American audience.“Russia exploited real vulnerabilities that exist across online platforms and we must identify, expose, and defend ourselves against similar covert influence operations in the future,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said during a hearing on Wednesday with executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google.And don't forget Instagram! Russian content appeared there, and may too have influenced voting choices.https://twitter.com/ReutersPolitics/status/925797256602759168https://twitter.com/NoahShachtman/status/925798940016037889https://twitter.com/GideonResnick/status/925798796327620614https://twitter.com/dnvolz/status/925796721002799105https://twitter.com/ByronTau/status/925799455093170176this Russian-bought ad presented without comment (except to say it's a Russian-bought ad) pic.twitter.com/X4Atha4fil— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) November 1, 2017https://twitter.com/MarkWarner/status/925802644869959680
Trump 'didn't dismiss the idea' of Putin meeting during campaign, reports CNN
CNN reports that then-Candidate Donald Trump 'did not dismiss the idea of arranging a meeting with Russia's president when it was suggested in a meeting with his campaign foreign policy advisers last year.' (more…)
This one type of acid reflux drug is linked to doubled incidence of stomach cancer
New research, published in the wonderfully-named journal "Gut," is enough to give you heartburn. Time to switch to Zantac.A link between PPIs and a higher stomach cancer risk has previously been identified by academics – but never in a study that first eliminates a bacteria suspected of fuelling the illness’s development. ... During this period, 3,271 people took PPIs for an average of almost three years, while 21,729 participants took H2 blockers. A total of 153 people developed stomach cancer, none of whom tested positive for H plyori but all had long-standing problems with stomach inflammation, the study found.While H2 blockers were found to have no link to a higher risk of stomach cancer, PPIs was found connected to an increased risk of more than double. PPIs include Nexium and Prilosec. Noted, though, is the correlation between PPI prescription and guts that are already in trouble town:"The most plausible explanation for the totality of evidence on this is that those who are given PPIs, and especially those who continue on them long-term, tend to be sicker in a variety of ways than those for whom they are not prescribed."
Owner of a private school bus contractor fires low-waged drivers and shuts company without notice: "Fuck it"
Nippybus bills itself as "one of Somerset’s leading independent bus companies" and operates a schoolbus contract for a local council in Somerset, England, where it struggles to recruit drivers thanks to the low wages it offers. (more…)
Sony re-introduces the Aibo robotic puppy
In 1998 Sony introduced the Aibo robotic puppy. It cost over $1,500 and was marketed as an "entertainment robot." In the early 2000s I received a loaner and my kids loved it for 3 days, sort of liked it for another 3 days, and ignored it for the remainder of the two-week loan period. When I boxed it up to return it, they suddenly loved it again. Sony discontinued Aibo in 2006. Eleven years later, Aibo is back, and it looks a lot friskier and more responsive than the original. Will the upgraded version manage to squeeze a couple of additional days of love from kids?https://youtu.be/u567bp1tww4From The Verge:A lot has happened in the world of tech since Aibo dogs were last on sale, and the new model accordingly has some changes. There’s an app called My Aibo that is used to access settings, view photos taken from the dog’s camera, and download additional “tricks” from a store. Aibo also now requires a subscription, like SoftBank’s Pepper, running 2,980 yen a month (about $26) for a minimum of three years. This gives you Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, cloud backup, and access to the app’s features.Also for 2,980 yen, Sony is selling this bone accessory called “Aibone.” Yes.The new Aibo is available to pre-order in Japan today and will go on sale on January 11th, 2018; there aren't any plans yet to release it outside of Sony's homeland. It costs 198,000 yen, or about $1,700, as well as the monthly subscription — but what price can you put on cloud-powered robot companionship?https://youtu.be/sJciRIZQTg4
I'm left thinking about shaving cream
I'm remembering the truckloads of shaving cream that'd be employed in Halloween revelry.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-lgUGavkRkThese are some of the commercials we remember, that influenced our brand decisions at the time.
LEGO Ideas Women of NASA
I just ordered this fantastic LEGO Ideas set for my daughter.This LEGO set features four NASA pioneers, Nancy Grace Roman, Margaret Hamilton, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, who've helped define the United States' space program. There are three builds, and the set is only $21!I will never forget Sally Ride's first mission to space. I was lucky enough to meet America's first woman and LGBT person in space during my time in college.LEGO Ideas Women of Nasa via Amazon
Horror short stars Amazon Echo
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Did you say, 'I'm watching you'?"This short may make you want to unplug your Echo at night...Director @julianmoviesProducer @alexvisualStarring @michellekhareShot by @kevin_stillerSound by @christinagonzalez7Music by @winky_pantsAdditional VFX @d_bruins
Jeff Goldblum rates Jeff Goldblum tattoos
Here's a meta moment for you: Jeff Goldblum critiquing other people's Jeff Goldblum tattoos in the way only Jeff Goldblum could. "Ten Goldblums out of a possible 10 Goldblums."Previously: Just a drawing of actor Jeff Goldblum as your personal motivational centaur
NPR top news editor accused of sexual harassment by multiple women
“The worst part of my whole encounter with Oreskes [was] the fact that he utterly destroyed my ambition,” says one victim. Michael Oreskes is now NPR’s Senior Vice President of news. He is accused by two women of sexual harassment dating back a number of years, including “unwanted physical contact with them” while he was employed by another news organization “nearly two decades ago.” (more…)
Wonderful photos of museum visitors who happen to match artworks they are viewing
Austrian photography Stefan Draschan sits patiently in museums around Europe until he notices that someone viewing an artwork appears to match the art in some way. The delightful series of photos is titled "People Matching Artworks."
Good deal on adjustable folding utility table
I've been waiting for the price to drop on this adjustable folding utility table. It's usually $40, but right now on Amazon it's S26 so I just bought it. The price is bound to go up soon. It has three height settings (22-Inch, 29-Inch and 36-Inch) and can be compactly folded and carried with a built-in handle.
Ohio Republicans create winnable electoral districts by siting nonvoting prisons near friendly voters
91% of the prisoners in Ohio are in Republican districts: they aren't allowed to vote, but they are counted in the census, creating winnable districts with tiny voting populations that would otherwise be included with large groups of nearby Democratic voters. (more…)
Pizza pockets shaped like skulls
Redditor Endeavy created these Halloween-themed skull hotpockets, augmented by dribbles of red, oozing sauce; they used these cake pans to mold the crusts.
Anatomy of the human head in the style of a London tube-map
Jonathan Simmonds, an MD in Boston, MA, created these Map Anatomy illustrations that represent a detailed, functional diagram of the human head's anatomy in the style of a London tubemap; you can buy downloads and posters from his Etsy store, but act quickly, because Transport for London are notorious, humourless assholes about this kind of thing! (via Reddit)
A Stranger Things Eleven candle with a bleeding nose
Firebox's $36.69 Eleven candle-holder: insert one red candle, light, and wait for the blood to start dribbling from her nostril. Caution: telekinesis. (via Bonnie Burton) (more…)
Make the Haunted Mansion's Hitching Ghosts Who Follow You Home
The Haunted Mansion, no matter what Disney park it’s in (California, Orlando, Paris, or Tokyo), has been a fan favorite since it opened at Disneyland in 1969. For years even The Walt Disney Company would refer to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as the last attraction which Walt personally supervised, but that’s baloney. Walt was shown concept art and models of many of the effects that would appear in The Haunted Mansion which eventually opened years after his death. Which brings me to today’s Halloween offering. The three Hitchhiking Ghosts appear infrequently in the ride, however they have become the iconic characters most identified with it. Years ago, Disney published three paper sculptures on The Disney Blog that allowed you to download, print out, and construct three very special models of the Hitchhiking Ghosts—their heads turn and follow you as you pass them by. The effect is based upon the ancient optical illusion known as The Hollow Face. Most simply, a cast of a face is made in a concave (or negative) sculpture. If you look at the cast with one eye closed and walk by it, the face will appear to turn and follow your movement. The Walt Disney Company obtained a patent on a new process that lit the reversed face in such a way that it was more easily viewable while both eyes are open. These busts appear several times in its Haunted Mansions. To see the sculptures created for you to download by Disney, watch this movie (since the camera has only one eye, the turning effect works very well).https://youtu.be/4-AlsVsLCNwAnd now it’s DIY time: click on each image below, download it. Print it out on cardstock and follow the instructions to create your own Hitchhiking Ghosts that will watch the trick or treaters and follow them as they go home. To increase the effect of the heads turning, wink at the ghosts as you pass them. They'll appreciate that.EzraPhineasGusAll Materials Copyright Disney.
Animation of an elegant air traffic nightmare caused by a drone
A drone, spotted over Gatwick Airport, led to an abundance of caution among air traffic controllers. The result: a growing armada of inbound flights redirected into increasingly-chaotic epicycles over southern England, a crap solar system of annoyed travelers. [via]
The "other" JFK assassination footage, stabilized
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQE8Cj_495gYou've likely seen the stabilized, enhanced panoramic edit of the famous Zapruder film of JFK's assassination. Here's another angle—the less well-known Orville Nix film—with the same treatment. Though it's not as clear or as long as Zapruder, it's recorded from the other side, showing the grassy knoll and a ground-level view of the assassination. (Note that at least four people filmed the fatal shot, and possibly five.)
Can a supermagnet dangerously affect the iron in blood?
YouTuber Brainiac75 got a lot of questions about the possible dangers of a supermagnet affecting the iron in his blood, so he did an experiment with real blood. (more…)
Shadow of the Colossus remastered in 4K
Shadow of the Colossus, one of the most beautifully gloomy games of all time, is being remastered in 4K. Here's the trailer.Unlike the hideous new edition of Secret of Mana, they didn't fool with the artwork. It still has that dreamy, dialogue-free crepuscular atmosphere to it. I'm eager to experience it again, but something is lost in the high-definition technical polish. It's too focused, too plastic, too obvious where the seams and joints are. It reminds me of what new LCD displays do to old movies, sharpening edges and filling in 120 frames per second that were never supposed to be there, making everything look like morning television. You can preorder Shadow of the Colossus for PS4 at Amazon.
Some trick-or-treaters will get a Trump University 'degree' for Halloween
Dan and Cathy Balsam of Alameda, California are putting the "trick" back in trick-or-treating by handing out fake Trump University diplomas this Halloween. You may remember this same couple is behind the "world's scariest Halloween decor."
Cool short documentary on gear for filming bioluminescence
This neat short film explains the specialized split-beam camera Martin Dorhn developed to film bioluminescent animals without disturbing them. As the information comes through the lens, it's split so one camera captures infrared and the other captures the bioluminescence. (more…)
REVEALED: Trump's Incredibly Stupid, and Brilliantly Effective, Media Strategy
FOLLOW @RubenBolling on the Twitters and a Face Book.JOIN Tom the Dancing Bug's subscription club, the Proud & Mighty INNER HIVE, for exclusive early access to comics, extra comics, and much more. You can also now join through Patreon!GET Ruben Bolling’s new hit book series for kids, The EMU Club Adventures. (”Filled with wild twists and funny dialogue” -Publishers Weekly) Book One here. Book Two here. More Tom the Dancing Bug comics on Boing Boing! (more…)
Super Mario Bros. theme on marimba
Aaron Grooves: "Koji Kondo is my hero! He composed the music for Super Mario Brothers and many other of my all-time favorite NES games, like Zelda."Here he is performing Michael Jackson's Thriller on Ukulele:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNWcod2gt74&feature=youtu.be
Former Trump aide admits lying to FBI over Russia contacts
Though Paul Manafort's indictment was top of the ticket, it's the guilty plea of Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos that's proving bigger news today. Paladopoulos not only admits he lied to FBI agents about his contacts with people close to the Russian government in search of "dirt" on Trump's opponent in the 2016 presidential race, but is described as a co-operating witness. For anti-Trump folks who feared too much was being made of too little, it's a dream come true. Jeer Heer: "a member of Trump’s campaign has pled guilty and provided evidence that the campaign did collude or attempt to collude with Russia. That cuts to the heart of the Mueller investigation—and it means that the president should be in very deep trouble."
Brianna Wu will raise funds for her congressional bid by killing Nazis in a Wolfenstein II playthrough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb-tF7WilP8Frank Wu writes, "US Congressional candidate (MA-8) Brianna Wu (previously) will be killing virtual Nazis today. Brianna will be doing a playthrough of the new video game Wolfenstein II, whose tagline is 'Make America Nazi-free again.' The playthrough starts today at 5 pm Eastern."
Long, funny list of the many flaws in Blade Runner 2049
I enjoyed Blade Runner 2049, though I would have enjoyed it more if it was at least an hour shorter; Jamie Zawinski did not enjoy it for many inarguable reasons, ranging from plot holes ("Why is Leto's character blind? Dude you literally own an eyeball factory") to visual laziness ("Before [Las Vegas] was abandoned, all of its gaudy statuary had been replaced with gargantuan reproductions of the statues from The Korova Milk Bar from A Clockwork Orange. Really? That's all you got?") to all the scenes and scenarios lifted from better movies and made worse ("A love story between two people who are somewhere between 'poorly socialized' and 'not quite real'. Oh wait, that movie was called Her and it was excellent!"). (more…)
Woman blames 15 identity thefts on Equifax breach
Katie Van Fleet has suffered 15 identity thefts since the Equifax breach and she believes the criminals who've targeted her are using information from the breach to open credit cards in her name; she's started a class-action suit against Equifax. (more…)
The 2017 Halloween Candy Hierarchy: Definitely Not Fake News
Click to view the below full-size; or download as a a high-quality digital poster (4MB) for detailed scrutiny; or proceed for the plain text, abstract and analysis...Note that data for this 2017 survey, like all good science, is transparent, open, and available for further analysis. This includes access data from previous candy hierarchies (for, you know, longitudinal studies). Here’s the link, and we invite you to tag public remarks with #statscandy so we can find your awesome analyses.The Candy Hierarchy (2017)Any full-sized candy bar
Paul Manafort indicted, turns self in
Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager of Donald Trump's ultimately successful bid for the presidency, surrendered to the FBI this morning. He was indicted late last week by special prosuector Robert Mueller, probing the campaign's links to Russian interference in the 2016 general election.The charges against Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman were not immediately clear but represent a significant escalation in a special counsel investigation that has cast a shadow over the president’s first year in office. Also charged was Mr. Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates, who was also told to surrender.Mr. Manafort walked into the F.B.I.’s field office in Washington about 8:15 a.m. with his lawyer.The sealed indictment's existence was leaked to CNN on Friday, but not its target, leading to a weekend of furious speculation about which of Trump's cronies would be first to face charges. Manafort and rapidly-disgraced Michael Flynn were the easy guesses; others thought to be in the line of the fire include Jared Kushner and the idiot sons of Flynn and Trump himself.
Roger Stone plans to sue Twitter
At the dawn of the weekend, Twitter banned infamous political brawler Roger Stone. The curiously-bleached trumpkin had responded to news of charges in the Russia probe with an abusive meltdown, in which he called CNN's Don Lemon a "covksucker" and issued vaguely threatening remarks to all and sundry. Now, Stone plans to sue Twitter for turfing him out — but on what grounds?Stone later vowed to bring legal action against the social media platform, though he did not specify beyond saying he was communicating with "prominent telecommunication attorneys.""The battle against free speech has just begun," Stone told Politico in response to the ban. "This is a strange way to do business and part and parcel of the systematic effort by the tech left to censor and silence conservative voices."Bravo to Twitter for ridding itself of him.Twitter is Twitter's speech, not yours. Speechcropping there gives you no rights, only a borrowed void to scream into.
A Halloween Treat: A Monster Mash Mashup
Bobby Pickett’s song “The Monster Mash,” was first released in August 1962 as a 45 (that was a tiny record just larger than a CD that held one song on each side—a “single”—for those of you younger than … me). It was written by Bobby Pickett and Leonard L. Capizzi and although it’s a silly novelty song, it has endured as deeply as any of the rock and roll classics that appeared at the same time.Everyone knows “The Monster Mash”! If my dead grandma popped out of the ground and started to sing, there’s no question what tune would emerge from her desiccated lips.So, since Halloween is upon us, here’s a trio of videos in the spirit of the season. First up is Bobby Picket singing his original tune at the time of its release; second is one of the many mashups of clips from monster movies set to the tune (this one relies heavily on the fabulous flick Carnival of Souls—an excellent choice to watch on the 31st); and finally there’s a genuinely creative parody (a parody of a parody!) from The Key of Awesome that brings the song up to date and tweaks the simple horrors of earlier decades.Enjoy them … while you can.https://youtu.be/jc7UJ7LO5BYhttps://youtu.be/nO3knuDUPFwhttps://youtu.be/tQwMXORlpnU
The Comic Book Story of Video Games goes deep
The Comic Book Story of Video Games: The Incredible History of the Electronic Gaming Revolution, by Jonathan Hennessey (author), and Jack McGowan (illustrator) is an entertaining full-color book about the roots of video games. It starts with the discovery of electricity and the birth of electronic digital computers in in World War II and ends with augmented reality games like Pokemon Go. In between we learn about the origins of Pong, Doom, Nintendo, Sega, and more. I feel like I learned as much as I ever want to know about video game history in one pleasant afternoon. This would make an excellent gift for kids who want to learn about the pioneers of video games.
Delightful cat-sized furniture
Or is it a delightful furniture-sized cat? (more…)
Pilot's view of landing in New Zealand
That, at least, is the description of this enchanting and relaxing video; for all I know it could be anywhere on earth more rugged than Belgium. The lack of sourcing or detail suggests the embed's ganked (and the watermark is for someone else's video-ganking channel!) so if you know where this comes from, do tell.
This paper turns any flat surface into a chalkboard
Chalkboards are more than just classic classroom backdrops — they’re great for making drawings and taking notes. You can turn any flat area into a versatile writing surface with this Chalkboard Contact Paper Creativity Bundle, available now in the Boing Boing Store.This unique paper easily affixes to doors, tabletops, and anywhere else you need a temporary bulletin board. It attaches quickly with a semi-permanent adhesive, so you can reposition it whenever you want. And just like a full-sized blackboard, everything is erasable with a soft surface or a wet cloth.Also included with this bundle is a set of ten liquid chalk markers that work on a variety of nonporous materials, and can be erased just as easily as conventional chalk.This Chalkboard Contact Paper Creativity Bundle usually goes for $26, but you can get it in the Boing Boing Store for $17.99.BUY NOW
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