Iowa state Rep Bobby Kaufmann [R-73] introduced "Suck it up, Buttercup" legislation to make it easier for the police to arrest anti-Trump protesters and for the courts to give them long prison sentences; the bill's headline element, though, is that it would order campuses to end the provision of counselling and other services for students anxious about the election of a man who ran on a white supremicist ticket. (more…)

My friend Scott Albrecht, a Brooklyn-based artist and designer who creates fantastic typographical illustrations and hand-crafted, puzzle-like wood sculptures, has a show of remarkable new works opening on Saturday (11/19) at Shepard Fairey's Subliminal Projects gallery in Los Angeles."(Scott's) abstraction and deconstruction of type forms combined with his sophisticated color theory and surface treatments yield artworks that are immediate, yet command a deeper and closer look," Shepard says.The exhibition, titled "New Translations," runs until January 7. Below is a preview of the show. Valley Cruise Press has also published a hardcover, full color book of Scott's work, available here. From the gallery:

Seattle's KIRO TV made undercover visits to Office Depot stores in Washington state and Oregon and asked the technicians working in the store's "PC Health Check" to evaluate a working, uninfected PC; four out of six times, Office Depot technicians diagnosed nonexistent virus activity and prescribed $200 worth of service to get rid of it. (more…)

After Automattic (makers of Wordpress) announced its control of the .blog top-level domain, Chris Chidle paid more than $200 to pre-register chris.blog. He did so under the expectation that, as Automattic had promised, domains with multiple applicants would go to auction. Eventually he was told someone else won the domain—no auction necessary! He got a refund, but wants to know why Automattic took money for an auction that wasn't going to happen.

On The Tonight Show last night, Metallica, promoting their new album "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct," played their old ditty "Enter Sandman" in an entirely new way. We're off to never never land.

We’re excited to announce our newest giveaway for the highly-anticipated Google Pixel XL phone!This is Google’s first foray into the smartphone game, and as expected, this device is packed with cool features and Google integrations. It runs Android 7.1, and includes a 5.5 inch screen with unheard-of 1440-2560 resolution. For comparison’s sake, that’s better than a lot of laptops out there.Plus, even with all this functionality, the Pixel XL still has an impressively long-lasting battery that is also incredibly fast charging.All you have to do to enter to win is head to this page and answer a few questions. You could be on your way to owning one of the most high tech, next-gen smartphones on the market today. We’re rooting for you!

As U.S. headlines bombard us with proof of how low humanity can go, here's a look at a happy, peaceful, and prosperous country -- The Netherlands -- to remind us that it is actually possible for the human race to get it right. If people want to change present circumstances through liberal ideals, it's helpful to look at a liberal, politically stable country with a strong and open economy. Also known as Holland, the country does not have the same history and culture that creates the inherent social and economic problems in the U.S., but it is clearly moving in the right direction -- forward.It's a great destination for liberal ex-patriates looking for a place to live and work -- especially in the tech sector -- that already has its shit together, in case you really are now considering moving out of the country. Staying or going, it makes sense to see what a liberal society looks like and how it works.We've compiled a list of facts about The Netherlands to show you what humans can do when they're not fighting en masse on Twitter:

Disney just announced that Doc McStuffins, an animated show starring an African-American girl who fixes broken toys and wants to be a doctor, is renewed for its fifth season. Described as “Cheers for preschoolers,” its fans took to Twitter this summer wanting to know the show’s fate. The social media campaign was led by W. Kamau Bell, a self-described socio-political comedian and dad who hosts CNN’s United Shades of America. Bell tweeted today,"Doc McStuffins is one of the most important shows in the history of television.”Reports Variety:Since the series debuted in 2012, it has won much admiration, particularly because it is difficult to find a female African-American protagonist who aspires to be a doctor in many mainstream cartoons. A group of African-American female physicians, inspired by the program, formed the Artemis Medical Society, an organization which has a membership of over 4700 women physicians of color from around the world. First Lady Michelle Obama guest-starred as herself in an episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC0C7vxxIxw&feature=youtu.beWe interrupt your growing anxiety at America's emergent cyberpunk dystopia for a tense missive from this guy's house. In this video, a pigeon bears down a chimney in Romford or maybe Cheltenham or somewhere like that. The perspective on the video makes it hard to tell (especially when things get hairy) but the pigeon is well-armored and only seconds from putting the defender in serious trouble. Wings flap menacingly; a feather sails past the lens. It is not long before he is quite alarmed at the bird's progress. What happens next, though, will probably not surprise you. (more…)

By the end, a nightmare of growls and weird echoing sound effects. (more…)

Chris Meadows writes, "Barnes & Noble is coming out with a $50 Nook Android tablet, with hardware specs similar to Amazon's $50 Fire. The kicker is, this new Nook tablet will run plain-vanilla Android 6.0 Marshmallow and include the full suite of Google Play apps--unlike the Fire, which only permits installation of those apps Amazon deems suitable. Will this be enough to rescue the ailing Nook brand?" (more…)

About 5 years ago, I bought a simple 3D printer*. It cost only $400, but it was fussy and the software was hard to use. The printer bed needed frequent adjusting, and the printed parts would get stuck to the printer bed. The overall quality of the prints was just OK, not great. Even with all of its finickiness and shortcomings, I found it useful for making simple repairs of stuff that broke around the house.Last month, a company called New Matter sent me the new MOD-t 3D printer for review. The MOD-t also sells for $400 and also uses PLA filament, and I was curious to see how two similarly priced printers from then and now compare. After using the MOD-t almost daily, I can say with confidence that it is much, much better in every way than my five-year-old 3D printer.The MOD-t has a sleek design. It's white, with a clear plastic shell that covers the printing area. The cover keeps the temperature consistent and reduces the noise considerably. The old 3D printer didn't have a cover and it was noisy. The MOD-t also has a fan to help set the plastic after it comes out of the heated extruder head. The helps greatly to reduce sagging of overhanging features on the part being printed.Setup was a breeze. I went to the New Matter website, downloaded the application and followed the prompts. The MOD-t has built in Wi-Fi, which means I don't have to tether my computer to it with a USB cable while using it. This allows me to print in another room while I'm in my office. This is a big plus, because some parts can take hours to print.The software is easy to use. I always had trouble with Repetier Host, the program that prepares a print and drives the printer. I'd have to specify the size of the print bed, the temperature and diameter of the filament, how to "slice" the 3D model, and so on. With the MOD-T, it's a simple matter of dragging an STL or OBJ file (I usually do my designs in TinkerCad or just download them from Thingiverse) into the window and printing it. The ease-of-use alone makes the MOD-t light years ahead of my old 3D printer.The printer bed is also much improved. My old 3D printer was a piece of laser cut plywood bolted to a frame that moved along X-Y axes. It was almost impossible to adjust, requiring many test prints to prevent parts from coming out with weird angles. It needed frequent recalibration. Also, parts stuck to it, even when I used aluminum tape and blue painters tape. The printer bed was the worst thing about it. The MOD-t printer bed is genius. It's made of plastic and can be lifted right off the mechanism that moves it around, which makes it easy to remove parts from the bed. The MOD-t levels the X-Y-Z axes in software so parts are always square. And new bed plates can be purchased for a low price from New Matter.How about the quality of the printed parts? They are excellent. It handles overhangs very well, and the surfaces are smoother and cleaner than parts printed on my old printer. I did experience warping on large blocky pieces. I ended up covering the bed with blue tape and covering the holes in the plastic cover with tape and the warping almost completely went away.I've just scratched the surface of the MOD-t. I could have talked about filament loading, integration with the New Matter Store, how to remove a print from the bed, and so on, but you can learn about this stuff by going to New Matter's YouTube channel. Sample:This is one fantastic printer. I'm having a blast with it.*I'm not going to say the name of the printer, because I'm sure their latest model is much improved.Some things I've printed:

The artist Sangoma writes, "Anamorphic drawing- for anyone curious about the style. This piece is a combination of graphite, pan pastel, charcoal, and exacto knife (to trim the top of the page)."

It took just days for a construction crew to repair a road that collapsed into a sinkhole in the business district of Fukuoka, Japan.From CNN:

Catalyst, a new Star Wars novel by James Luceno, is a must read before you see Rogue One.Catalyst is the story of how the Death Star gets built, and feeds directly into the movie. You'll meet the two men most responsible for development of the Empire's super weapon, one cunning and conniving while the other is an altruistic scientist. Their friendship makes this super weapon possible.Regardless the depth of your Star Wars knowledge, this book goes into detail everyone will appreciate. Key characters for the new film are introduced, and their stories are told incredibly well. Orson Krennic, a key political architect of the Death Star, realizes his friend, pacifist Dr. Galen Erso holds the key to really being able to destroy things. This story of politics, manipulation and betrayal shed a lot of light on the days between Revenge of the Sith, and A New Hope.Read this before seeing the movie!Catalyst (Star Wars): A Rogue One Novel via Amazon

Also in the running was "coulrophobia," the fear of clowns, and "hygge," a Danish concept meaning "a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being." From The Guardian:

Dr. Randy Olson is a senior data scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. He used 68 of Waldo’s coordinates from all seven “Where’s Waldo?” books to developed an optimal search path.

Even the extreme legal theories of the George W Bush administration were mild compared to some of the "compromise" positions Obama's DoJ argued for, and now Donald J Trump gets to use those positions to further its own terrifying agenda of mass deportations, reprisals against the press, torture and assassination, and surveillance based on religious affiliation or ethnic origin. (more…)

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https://youtu.be/MccLsc5YzrIThe title track from the Grateful Dead's November 15, 1978 release Shakedown Street is one my favorites.

Sarah Gailey's demon-dog duo from "Bargain" in Mothership Zeta's first issue return for another adventure in Mothership Zeta 5 (October 2016). Malachai, Devourer of Miscreants and Usurper of Souls, has a lot to learn about dog parks, tiny pinstriped pajama tops, and the need to carry plastic bags everywhere. Mothership Zeta is an Escape Artists ezine publishing fun science fiction, fantasy, and horror four times a year. (more…)

In 2014, lawyer and eminent Sherlockian Les Klinger comprehensively won the legal battle to establish that Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain and available for anyone to use, abuse, alter, celebrate or mock; now with a new anthology of completely unauthorized Sherlock tales, Echoes of Sherlock Holmes, Klinger and co-editor Laurie R. King have shown just how much life there is in the old tales. (more…)

Every now and then I meet people who seem to possess superhuman powers. Elliott Terral is one of those individuals and his official title is Director of Magic at a company called Art of Magic.How cool is that?!After speaking with Elliott for a few minutes, I asked if he was a performing magician to which he didn't answer. Instead, he began patting down his pockets for a deck of cards. I beat him to the punch and handed him my very own deck of Erdnase 1902 Green Acorn Playing Cards. One thing to know about this deck, is that you either own it because you're a genius with a deck of cards, or you're a poser.And for the record, I am not a genius with a deck of cards.Elliott took my fancy cards and did the impossible. He showed me a King of Hearts and slowly flexed it back and forth as the card changed from king to an ace and then back again. His movements were slow and it was real magic to everyone that was with me. If you'd like to see the effect performed by the guy who invented it you can watch it here.And if you'd like to purchase the method, it's only $5.00 but you need to know it isn't a trick you can do just because you bought it. There's a reason an "EXPERT LEVEL" descriptor is attached. But the good news is that there are other effects and concepts on the website that are far more approachable and equally satisfying.One of my favorites is The Great Rubber Band Escape trick that's taught by my talented friend Jordan Gold.Visit the website and begin developing superpowers of your own.Besides having some of the best, current magical techniques and concepts, Art of Magic has hours and hours of free audio content to pour through.Elliott manages a very entertaining podcast for ARTOFMAGIC called Magical Thinking where he and famous magicians discuss how to approach magic, entertainment, and art in general. Below is Elliot's interview with Homer Liwag, who is known for creating magic with and for David Copperfield.Enjoy![soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/282002736" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

Remember David Hahn, the "radioactive boy scout" who, as a teen in 1994, tried to build a nuclear reactor in his garden shed? Sadly, he died this fall. So far, the cause of death is unknown.From Ars Technica:

Charlie from Improv Everywhere writes, "What happens when you leave a megaphone on the street with the simple instructions: 'Declare Your Love?' 2016 has been a rough year. It felt like time to dust off our old podium." (more…)

The US-based trade group The Internet Association has released a policy roadmap for Trump's incoming administration and the GOP-led Congress with proposals “to enable continued growth and success in the internet ecosystem, and in turn, the U.S. economy.” (more…)

Andre was so impressed with the existential crisis of a butter-passing robot as depicted in the cartoon Rick and Morty that he created his own, and shows you how to make one for yourself. (more…)

My friend Gilbert was the first Prius owner I knew; a hacker, Gilbert was accustomed to eating at a drive-through at 3AM, but the first time he took his silent car through the lane, the order-taker curtly said that they didn't serve people on foot; when he insisted that he was in a car, she demanded to know why she couldn't hear the engine idling? (more…)

The New York Times opposes president-Elect's Trump's appointment of Breitbart executive Steve Bannon to a top White House role. In an editorial titled "Turn on the Hate," they quote him at his own word--and challenge Republicans on their sudden accommodation with a man who says he's a Leninist that wants to destroy both political parties and the State.

A racist facebook post describing First Lady Michelle Obama as "a Ape in heels" was so satisfying to read it made Clay, W. Va,. mayor Beverly Whaling's day.

Reading recent coverage of Donald Trump's friends on the far right, it struck me that even when people pander to the idea Western culture's wellbeing is inseparable from European ethnicity, they somehow avoid being called white nationalists or supremacists by journalists. (more…)

James Plakovic composes lots of scores that take the form of a composer, an object, or in this case, a map of the world. Set in 2/4 time signature with 32 bars, the piece does a pretty accurate job of depicting a standard Mercator projection that starts and ends with Asia. (more…)

Volume warning! YouTuber Latheman666 demonstrates how an air compressor with the right nozzle can make all sorts of things float. Looking forward to a "Will It Float?" channel! (more…)

Looking for a nerdy and obscure gag gift for a science-minded friend? How about a plushie of the toughest organism on earth? There's a motherlode of tardigrade plushies on this Japanese site. (more…)

Fosta writes, "Rather than just get angry and do nothing, we made RageDonate.com. We just launched this morning. The site shows statements from Donald Trump and offers a counter action via a donation to an organization working to protect these people. Charities already on board are: Define American, CAIR-AZ (#HateHurts), Freedom of the Press Foundation, Project Callisto & LiveFree USA. There are more to come." (Image: Gage Skidmore CC-BY-SA)

Kaijumax is a fun comic that will make you get all the feels for giant city-destroying monsters. It’s like Oz or Orange Is the New Black, only the prisoners in this case are monsters straight from your favorite Godzilla movies. The monsters are kept in check by guards who have Ultraman-like power suits, allowing them to grow to skyscraper size and lay down their own form of justice.The story follows Electrogor, a monster and father who was apprehended for chewing on power cables in order to feed his children. As the new monster at Kaijumax, you follow him as he learns the ins and outs of how the prison works. There’s everything you could possibly hope for in a facility that houses the world’s deadliest creatures: corrupt guards, drugs, gangs, and a cult of mecha-monsters.The artwork’s incredible. It brings a lightness to the otherwise surprisingly heavy subject matter. If you’re a fan of Godzilla, Power Rangers, Ultraman, or any other Kaiju movie or show, you’ll see some familiar characters hidden throughout. This is one of the weirdest comics that I’ve read in a while, but I loved every minute of it. Give giant monsters a chance, and check this one out.See sample pages from this book at Wink.Kaijumax Season One

Aides to President-elect Donald Trump are focusing on former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former U.S. ambassador to U.N. John Bolton for the role of Secretary of State under our new fascist white supremacist groper-in-chief.(more…)

The first Marvel-themed ride to open at any Disney park in the world will launch in January 2017 at Hong Kong Disneyland. There are expected to be soft openings for hotel guests in December.Created specifically for Chinese audiences, the entire “Iron Man Experience” takes place as Iron Man fights assorted baddies in the skies above Hong Kong. There is also expected to be a display of the various iterations of Iron Man’s outfits (which first appeared at Anaheim’s Disneyland several years ago).For those folks who’ve been on the upgraded version of Star Tours at most Disney Parks within the past few years, the ride system appears to be the same. But it’s Iron Man … woo-hoo! Don’t expect to see this anywhere but at Hong Kong Disneyland for about 5 years. My guess is that it will eventually replace Star Tours in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in California.Take a peek!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwZvdJvos9Q

Below, a young grizzly bear plays with two GoPro cameras mounted on a pontoon floating in the clear water of the Knight Inlet on the British Columbia Coast."The idea was to film bears diving for fish in 2-meter deep pools," wrote Newsflare member kitchinsink, who uploaded the video. "If I was in the pool they wouldn't come and dive so I needed a camera that would float 'inconspicuously!'"(via National Geographic)

MAD "Fold-In" artist Al Jaffee has been a professional cartoonist for 73 years. Guinness World Records has certified him as the oldest working cartoonist. Sam Thielman of The Guardian recently interviewed Jaffee about his brilliant career.

Donald Trump promised to shut down the free press if elected (the fact that the laws he wants to "open up" don't exist makes him an ignoramus, but not a harmless one) and his first official post-election act was to block the press and then to call for politically motivated reprisals against his press critics. (more…)

Steven "Hackers" Levy has a long view of Trump: as radical as he is, he's only a drop in the bucket compared to the political and social changes wrought by technology: "Who was king during the industrial revolution in England? The quirks and flaws of government leaders are not relevant information when studying the enlightenment. In the long run, the Galileos and James Watts of the world have even more influence than the Napoleons." (more…)

Paternoster elevators don't have doors or buttons. The run continuously in a loop, like a ferris wheel. When you reach your desired floor, you get off quickly. 99 Percent Invisible has an article about these curious conveyances, which can still be found in Europe.

Legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki "fails at retirement again," writes Amid Amidi. He's taking the helm again at Studio Ghibli to direct a new full-length feature film, Boro the Caterpillar.

The Daily Beast vice president of audience development Alex Leo captured this sign at one of the anti-Trump protests in New York City.https://twitter.com/AlexMLeo/status/797518351874584576

Dan Cretu created this pretty fancy Homer Simpson fried egg portrait. The broken-yolk-as-smile is a nice touch. (more…)

Carolina Eyck performs a lovely series of Theremin Sessions, including this cover of Norwegian Wood. And she takes viewer requests:

Writer and editor Emily Ellsworth has been earning a lot of attention for her incredibly helpful Twitter thread on how best to contact your Congressional representatives. A registered Republican who campaigned and voted for Hillary Clinton, Ellsworth has formerly worked for both Utah Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart. Here's her advice:https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797243415922515970https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797243719774707712https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797244398870269952https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797244682006765572https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797244952883277825https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797245201332850688https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797245428567674880https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797245903979495424https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797246205159829504https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797247183506419712https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797249344684498944https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797473286451908608https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797473569466781697https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797846263576133632https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797846799788580864https://twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797864331673157632You can also hear Ellsworth talk more about her experiences on this episode of This American Life.[Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0]

A unicorn chaser for an American week of purgatory (don't think about The Postman, don't think about The Postman, don't think about The Postman). (more…)