Amazon's Prime Day is one of the most clever user acquisition schemes on the web, echoing the mission of hallowed holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. People like to shop. That's cool, and Prime Day mines deep into the Amazon product labyrinth to drop prices on things you probably didn't even know existed, let alone know that you wanted. Of course, to access these deals, you need to be a Prime member, which you can become by signing up here. Already a member? Then check out some of the deals below.Your purchases help support Boing Boing, by the way.(more…)

This genius Bizarro! comic by Dan Piraro is from a few years back.More about Walt Disney's mythical cryonic suspension at Snopes.

Rene Flores is one of the truckers who spoke to USA Today for its excellent investigative piece on the use of debt and indenture to force truckers to work for literal pennies (or sometimes even pay for the privilege of working). (more…)

A Ferrari driver in southeast England ignored warnings not to leave cars overnight on the ninth floor of the Brighton Marina parking garage. The fellow returned on Sunday morning to find his fancy ride in the middle of a bustling flea market.(HuffPo)

The UK's Office of Communications is pursuing a pirate radio prankster who has interrupted the Mansfield 103.2 broadcast eight times over the last month. He cuts into the regularly scheduled programming with the below tune from 1978, "The Winker’s Song" (1978) by Ivor Biggun. From The Guardian:

A New York Magazine profile of racist media kingpin and White House Pepe-tender Steve Bannon reveals that his office sports a framed mashup of Jacques-Louis David's 1812 painting "The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries" with Bannon's head in place of the Emperor Napoleon. (more…)

Italian police shut down a club that established a "fascist beach" near Venice sporting various totalitarian-themed elements, such as portraits of Mussolini, "anti-democracy" slogans, and a charmingly humorous warning not to go in the gas chambers. Conservatives, outraged at the lack of free speech, have called for the beach to be reopened and for democracy to be destroyed.

On Sunday, NASA's Earth-monitoring Terra satellite captured this image of a smoke plume from the brutal Alamo Fire blazing in the County of Santa Barbara, California. According to the County, more than 600 firefighters have contained about 45% of the fire that's currently burning across 28,926 acres. It started on July 6.

Most people don't look at any news, or at one news site; using social media a lot (even without the intention of looking for news) means that sometimes you'll end up clicking a news link -- so heavy social media users, on average, are consuming a wider media diet than those who do not use social media. (more…)

Good Business is a short science fiction film about a very dodgy arms deal indeed, with a sting in its metaphorical tail; the film was created by Ray Sullian, adapted from Simon Roy's comic of the same name. (via JWZ)

Blocks is a tiny synth system that fits in a laptop bag but looks like a ton of fun, with various modules that click together, weird touch- and pressure-sensitive rubbery keys and pads, and various "control" blocks for looping, recording, sequencing, and MIDI/USB connections to other gear.Roli Blocks [Amazon]They also sell a range of keyboard controllers using the same design. Even the two-octave models are awfully expensive; I don't even want to know how much the "grand" model is.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2syqXx97LE

Anne Marie Morris is the Conservative Party MP for Newton Abbott, Devon; while on a panel at a Eurosceptic meeting in Central London, she described the UK leaving the EU without a deal as a "real n*****r in the woodpile," a phrase that refers to enslaved Africans and African-Americans hiding from vengeful bounty hunters after escaping from the white people who'd enslaved them. (more…)

South African gymnast Zama Mofokeng has set a new Guinness World Record for "Most consecutive backflips (one hand)."How many did he do? THIRTY-FREAKIN'-FOUR... in a row!By achieving this feat, he says he hopes to inspire children to become involved with gymnastics. He wrote Guinness in his application, "I want the government to build us a training centre so our local children can have a place to learn and progress their tumbling."I came across some interesting information while researching this post. I believe this is the same guy who, just a few years ago, wanted to go to prison so he could get a free education.

During his set at the 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, comedian Joel Dommett gave a guy in the audience a button that would set off a confetti cannon. He instructed the man, "Just set it off when you think it's the right time in the set, ya?"Well, they say timing is everything, especially in comedy.Towards the end of this podcast, Dommett explains the bit.(reddit)

With over 34,000 pieces of art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is only capable of showing a small fraction of its vast collection at a time.So, they've come up with an ingenious way to get it in front of you: right from your phone.Their art discovery tool is an SMS service called "Send Me SFMOMA" and it's simple to use. Here's how it works:

Oof, these (sexist, racist, tobacco-filled) ads certainly wouldn't fly today. Yet, while we can see they are obviously inappropriate nowadays, it really wasn't that long ago that these commercials were deemed ok to air on television! Watch'em and cringe.Stuff like this always makes me wonder, what do we have in our modern-day world that will look ridiculous and old-fashioned in the not-so-distant future? (A lot of things, I'm guessing.)(Neatorama)

In just five minutes, this Life Guide video gives a palatable overview of Chinese military strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu's ancient treatise, The Art of War. Written in the 5th century BC, Tzu's work is still used to teach leaders today and is considered the world's foremost guide on military strategies and tactics.Here's some wisdom from the paper:

https://vimeo.com/224982029(more…)

All of us at Boing Boing use the hell out of our Amazon Prime memberships to get free two-day shipping on most stuff along with digital benefits like streaming shows, movies, and music. If you don't already have an Amazon Prime membership, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial today and support Boing Boing at the same time! For each qualifying Amazon Prime trial signup, Boing Boing will receive a few bucks that will help us continue bringing you the weird, wonderful, and important news of the day. This benefit ends, for us anyway, at 3 AM ET on Wednesday, July 12. We appreciate your support!Sign up for a free Amazon Prime Membership Trial and support Boing Boing!(And if you do try it but don't like it, here's how to turn it off before it automatically converts to a paid membership at the end of the trial period.)

The new Vans x Peanuts sneaker collaboration is killer. These are just a few of the many shoe styles and graphics available.

Watch Denise Wade of Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD in Queensland Australia feed a banana to a a rescued bat. The bat was hit by a car and the driver kindly covered the injured animal with a box until help arrived."On this occasion we have a happy outcome and with no broken bones and only a slight concussion, Miss Alisha (named for the car's driver) will spend a short time in care before being released back to her colony," writes Wade.(via Neatorama)

In celebration of next year's 50th anniversary of The Beatles: Yellow Submarine film, Titan Comics will publish an authorized comic adaptation of the movie. Bill Morrison, incoming editor for MAD Magazine, is writing and illustrating the comic.(Hollywood Reporter)

I told myself lies about Scotch Indoor Mounting Tape.It'll mean not having to drill into the unknown, I said. It'll be easier to remove, I said. There'll be no need to fill holes next time we change things up, I said.Me when we changed things up:

People's Pantry Cincy in Cincinnati, Ohio commissioned artists to convert old newspaper boxes into miniature food pantries for neighborhood residents to donate or take food items.“As a dietitian, I’ve always believed that no one should go hungry,” project designer Lisa Andrews said. “We have an abundance of food, yet so many people are suffering from food insecurity, especially in Cincinnati.”From the Cincinnati Business Courier:

OK Soda was a short-lived 1990s soft drink put out by the Coca-Cola company, remarkable for the brilliant postmodern irony of its marketing campaign. Thomas Flight's short documentary tells a fascinating story about its failure.

The National Enquirer's circulation peaked in 1988 at 4 million, while today it averages 325,000 copies sold, mostly to low-income, over-80-year olds. Its best retailer is Wal-Mart. It does not publish any material critical of Donald Trump. (more…)

To those unfamiliar with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it suffices to say that it's the blandest and goofiest of a game series otherwise famed for overcoming the creative limitations of its whitebread genre fantasy setting. So to those unfamiliar with Oblivion, these startlingly accurate parodies of its AI behavior may be bafflingly dorky and esoteric. But to those of us that remember, it's uncanny, right down to the well-nailed impersonations of journeyman voice actors.NPC eats poisoned fruit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN80_7rNmcENPC sitting in a chair in a corridor staring at the wall:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAkrJil_w0

This might well be the cutest darn thing I've seen in a long while.In four-part harmony, the Muller family --Thor, Amy, Tesla, and Quinn-- shared some big news. In their self-produced music video, they announced their move out of San Francisco and into the Netherlands.Thor, the dad, wrote on Facebook, "We have a life-changing announcement to share. It's so big, we're doing it in song. 'Cause that's how the Mullers roll."The nearly-four minute video titled "Going Dutch" starts, "We're moving... We're not moving to the Presidio or Oakland or Stockton." They then go on to list all the wonderful sights and tastes this cross-continental move to Amsterdam will afford them.And, one thing they will be giving up, "We are trading in our gun rights for healthcare and Heineken."Best wishes to you all on your new adventure!

The AI paint name generator (previously) has refined its preferences. Though still very bad at naming paint colors, there seems to be (to my mind) an emerging personality, one that has beliefs and, perhaps, opinions about its creators.Pictured at the top of this post, for reference, is the human-named classic Opaque Couché.Latest experiments reveal AI is still terrible at naming paint colors [Ars Technica]

Just a man, a camera, a soundtrack, and many awesome facial expressions. Here's Jack Black lip syncing Fugazi's "Waiting Room."And, this isn't Mr. Black's first lip-syncing rodeo. Oh no. Follow his hashtag #RadOnes on Instagram to see all the songs he mouths like a brilliant maniac. He's also got a Spotify playlist with the same hashtag. About that he writes, "these are my fave songs of all time. each musical ear morsel has a special place in my mind palace."(Consequence of Sound)

This cool paper fidget spinner is basically an origami pinwheel, but it's still pretty neat. (more…)

Jerry and Marina Leussink of Sundre, Alberta didn't have a farm pond, so they build a custom pool-like pond lined with inch-thick plastic. (more…)

If you are a UI designer, creating custom icons is often more trouble than it’s worth since you probably already spent an inordinate amount of time dealing with a range of application states, device sizes, and UX guidelines. Instead of reinventing the wheel for every project, consider using assets from Icons8.Icons8 is a massive online library with thousands of professionally crafted vector icons for you to freely use in your digital designs. Used by companies like Apple, Intuit, and Adobe, Icons8 has over 54,000 items in their collection. Everything is organized into easily browsable categories and tags, so you’ll be able to assemble your own unique assortment for your next project. Their icons can be integrated directly into Photoshop and Xcode, and you can even embed them into website HTML with helpful codes.You can register for a lifetime subscription through the Boing Boing Store for $49.

Pro pilot steveo1kinevo makes great cockpit videos of some pretty crazy flights, like this Bahamas trip with a crosswind so wicked he had to "crab angle" the plane at about 45 degrees for the whole approach.What's amazing is how smooth the landing is. And if you're wondering about the weird effect on the propeller from the outside mounted cam, it's an artifact of the camera's rolling shutter.• Stressful max crosswind landing in The Bahamas (YouTube / steveo1kinevo)

It's the Day Against DRM, and EFF is celebrating by publishing the first public look at How Much Do Consumers Value Interoperability? Evidence from the Price of DVD Players, a scholarly economics paper that uses clever techniques to reveal some eye-popping number on the strangled market for DRM-free gadgets. (more…)

It's been nearly four months since the W3C held the most controversial vote in its decades-long history of standards-setting: a vote where accessibility groups, security experts, browser startups, public interest groups, human rights groups, archivists, research institutions and other worthies went up against trillions of dollars' worth of corporate muscle: the world's largest electronics, web, and content companies in a battle for the soul of the open web. (more…)

Eight US states are trying to pass minimal Right to Repair legislation that would require companies not to actively confound people who wanted to fix their stuff or choose an independent repair center. But in the EU, Europeans' strong preference for "durable, high-quality products that can be repaired and upgraded" has led to a proposal to require goods sold in Europe to be designed for improvement and maintenance, on the lines of the inspiring and enduring Maker's Bill of Rights. (more…)

When a network TV show performs badly, the networks deliberately introduce errors into the episodes' metadata before submitting it to the Nielsen ratings, so that the episode is counted as a separate show and doesn't bring the season's average rating down. (more…)

When the Tories led the UK into its disastrous Brexit referendum, the Conservative cheering squad of Westminster right-wing thinktanks immediately celebrated the impending "wide-ranging … revolution on a scale similar to that of the 1980s" that included "removing unnecessary regulatory burdens on businesses, such as those related to climate directives and investment fund[s]." (more…)

The Washington Post's Jason Samenow reports that "people don’t take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly."The conclusion is that of a wide-ranging study, Female hurricanes are deadlier than male hurricanes, which found that the death toll nearly triples when a severe hurricane is given a feminine name.

Kainoa Little spent April and May documenting the harrowing battle of ISIS-held Mosul, and when no one wanted to buy his photos, he published them free of charge. His reasons were particularly cool: (more…)

"My name is T. Chase and I am a cloud shrinker.""Please excuse the strange sounding voice, it is necessary to speak like a low tone "humming" sound to get the proper brainwaves for cloud psychokinesis."Question for meteorologists and, of course, engineers: what would the energy requirements be, roughly, to shrink a randomly shaped cloud of volume n to the largest hexadedron it could contain, either by physical movement of the visible condensates or evaporation.I just have this feeling that anyone who could do this could also, like, boil a kettle in a couple of seconds, instantly powerwash their car, make watermelons explode, etc.

The French Elevator Channel chronicles one man's quest to record illustrative videos of every elevator he has the pleasure to use. Embedded above is the latest at the time of publication, a gated traction elevator at 1715 Av. Santa Fe in Buenos Aires."These are very nice elevators!" the videographer reports. "Everything is original, except the buttons."Popular classics include a visit to a rare Schindler Smart 002 MRL elevator in Vienna and the unmissable ordeal of the "WORST ELEVATOR EVER" (embedded below) as chanced across in Yerevan, Armenia.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2dMa0UOGHM

Doug Fernandez, a newsreader at KOAT in Albuquerque, adapted quickly and efficiently to a technical problem patching in a reporter on location. Then he gave up.

Whether you need to grind through dry, wordy material like legal briefs and school textbooks, or you just want to make it through more than one novel per year, speed reading is a useful skill no matter the context. But certain methods will only superficially boost your abilities at a cost to actual comprehension.To condition yourself for rapid text consumption, this Speed Reading Bundle includes two helpful pieces of software. 7 Speed Reader EX trains you to avoid bad habits like subvocalization and decreases the amount of movements your eyes make with regular exercises. With Spreeder, you can quickly plow through any text source using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP).This software duo will increase your capacity for information, and help you reach your full-brain reading potential. Get lifetime access to both with The Award-Winning Speed Reading Bundle, available now in the Boing Boing store for $19.

My daughter likes to joke that, in our house, if the smoke alarm is going off mom (me) is trying to cook. Guilty as charged! I'm a great baker but a terrible cook.So, when I saw the title of this Brothers Green Eats video, "15 Mistakes Most Beginner Cooks Make," I stopped in my tracks and watched it. It was all news to me, so I'm sharing in case these tips are helpful to you too.One commenter listed all 15 cooking fixes:

My heart is ten times bigger after watching Macklemore's just-released music video for his new song, "Glorious."In it, he flies to Modesto to surprise his Grandma Helen for her 100th birthday.He tells her, "We're gonna do whatever you wanna do."She replies, "Oh god, I want to do it all."Game on.He then drives the new centenarian (in a badass gold Cadillac El Dorado convertible, no less) to a karaoke bar, a thrift store (naturally), the local grocery store (where they race motorized shopping carts), and other stops along the way. All over town, they have good old-fashioned fun, and cause a bit of trouble. When they get back to her house, he's got more surprises waiting for her, including strippers and a giant birthday cake.Go, granny, go.Seriously, if this video doesn't make you feel all the feels, you'd better check yourself. The Modesto Bee interviewed Grandma Helen (Schott) about filming the video:

Sheila Michaels, popularizer of the honorific "Ms." for women, is dead at 78. The BBC:

I wasn't sure I'd like it, but the new Gong Show is a whole lot of fun. I had been told by some friends who have been watching it that it was perfectly quirky and they were totally right. Then I found out that my friends in the Jewish surf band Meshugga Beach Party performed on the show and that sealed the deal for me. They have quite the schtick, as you'll see in the video.Minor spoiler alert: Celebrity judge Dana Carvey gave the band a well-deserved "10"!("Meshugga" is Yiddish for crazy, in case you didn't know.)Previously: Is the host of the new 'Gong Show' really Mike Myers?

On my first day at Michigan State University in 1992, a fellow student called me a "liberal" and I was shocked: as a Canadian who was often to the left of the social-democratic New Democratic Party, I identified "liberal" with the Liberal Party, a centre-right political party that had once imposed martial law in Canada. (more…)