Here's the eighth and final part of my reading (MP3) (party seven, part six, part five, part four, part three, part two, part one) of The Man Who Sold the Moon, my award-winning novella first published in 2015's Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future, edited by Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer. It's my Burning Man/maker/first days of a better nation story and was a kind of practice run for my 2017 novel Walkaway.MP3

The tabloids take a running jump before leaping to some pretty wild conclusions this week – one of the few things they do well.The National Enquirer has a series of stories based on Olympic-level leaping. "Scientology horror – Suri saw it all.” No, she didn’t. Tom Cruise’s daughter saw nothing of the alleged “brainwashing,” “threats” and “bizarre rituals” at the pseudo-religion’s headquarters, because like her father, she would have been kept far from any unsightly scenes or behavior, and also because she was only a toddler at the time. I challenge any 18-month-old to say: “Daddy, that cult member has been working here for 16 hours suffering inhumane living and working conditions.” Not going to happen.“Cops Quiz O.J. in Goldman Dad Murder for Hire Plot.” No, they haven’t quizzed O.J. about his supposed scheme to kill murder victim Ronald Goldman’s father, Fred. Even the Enquirer story claims that prison authorities have only interviewed the jailhouse snitch making the allegation that O.J. wanted to hire a hit man, and have not quizzed Simpson. And the Nevada Dept of Corrections denies any investigation whatsoever.“Army Thanks Enquirer for Exposing Troops’ Crimes!” No, it didn’t. The Army thanked the Enquirer for agreeing to give its investigators photographs that allegedly show U.S. forces in Afghanistan abusing enemy corpses, but that’s not the same as thanking the rag for making as-yet-unproven allegations of what it terms “morally offensive crimes.” Because we all know how the Enquirer is a bastion of American morality.“Proof Teddy Could Have Saved Mary Jo!” No, there’s no such proof. What they have is a highly dubious source: a letter written by an unidentified "private investigator" who claims to have spoken to a “young local mortician” who prepared Mary Jo Kopechne’s body for her funeral after drowning in Ted Kennedy’s car in Chappaquiddick in July 1969. The mortician claimed that because Kopechne’s mouth showed little congestion from drowning, she may have survived inside an air pocket in the car “and could have been saved.” It’s an intriguing (and hardly new) piece of speculation, but never rises to the standard of “proof.”The Globe gets in on the conclusion-leaping act with its cover story: "Queen Hates Harry’s Bride!” and the two-page spread inside revealing: “Queen Humiliates Meghan!” What indignity did Her Majesty visit upon her future grand-daughter-in-law? She referred to Prince Harry’s future bride as “Rachel Meghan Markle” (which is, after all, her name), having in 2011 referred to Prince William’s future bride as: “our trusty and well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton.” Okay, so HRH was’t effusive in her praise, but that hardly counts as humiliation. Also, it took years before Kate Middleton was even invited to join the Royal Family at Balmoral for Christmas, whereas Markle snagged an invite after just a few months of romance. The Globe is like 10 lords a leaping to conclusions on a Royal scale.“Trump at War With Russia!” screams another Globe headline. Did I miss the American tanks rumbling through Red Square? No, it’s “secret military ops” that are “taking the fight to America’s adversary on multiple fronts.” Right. They’re so secret that Trump can’t even say a bad word about Putin in public.“Elvis Killed Himself!” reports the Globe, with what appears to be a straight face and curled lip. The rock ’n’ roll legend was taking copious quantities of painkillers and diet pills, and ex-wife Priscilla Presley reportedly said recently: “He knew what he was doing.” In most people’s minds that would be interpreted to mean that Elvis knew the risks he was running; the Globe decides that it means he wanted to kill himself. What this needs is a little less conversation.“Michael Caine, 85: The Tragic End!” reports the Globe showing a photo of the Alfie star in a wheelchair, reporting what sounds like his final words: “I know my days are numbered.” As are all our days, he might have added. Caine was in a wheelchair after slipping and breaking an ankle, and has film projects lined up for the rest of the year.It must be the week for planning ahead. “Dying Hillary Plans Own Funeral!” reports the Globe. “Dying Betty White, 96, Plans Her Own Funeral!” reports the National Examiner. Perhaps they should coordinate the timing of their demise so that they can save money on a double ceremony. Evidently Hillary Clinton wants to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, while Betty White wants a “fun funeral.” I know which one I’ll be going to.Us magazine devotes its cover to taking readers “Inside Kate’s Dramatic Delivery!” which would be all the more dramatic if the Duchess of Cambridge had actually delivered already – she’s due April 23. It actually promises to be the exact opposite of a dramatic delivery: every detail has been planned, from the delivery room to the ob-gyn to the security, media coverage, and the newborn’s own social media page (already up and running.) Soon to be fifth in line to the throne, the newcomer will have a nanny, house assistant and maternal grandmother on duty to assist. It’s a story about a “dramatic delivery” that hasn’t even happened and shouldn't be dramatic – another great leap to conclusions.People devotes its cover to Mariska Hartigay: “Life, Loss & Finding Love.” The Law & Order: SVU star discusses her Hollywood childhood, motherhood, and movies. "I’ve had to keep my heart open and value my ability to feel, to connect and trust that whatever comes isn’t an accident." I’m not sure that her mother, Jayne Mansfield, would have said the same thing.Fortunately we have the crack investigative team at Us magazine to tell us that Olivia Wilde wore it best, rapper G-Eazy bought his Ferrari by text message and eats “at least one burrito every day,” that Pretty Mess author Erika Jayne carries “the whole Vons counter” – hair ties, throat drops, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, lip gloss, lipsticks, spare underwear, hairbrush, eye drops and Band-Aids – in her Prada backpack, and that the stars are just like us: they go through airport security, take the subway, grocery shop, and enjoy a mani-pedi. Well, who doesn’t?The best advice page this week comes courtesy of the Enquirer: “How to Succeed Like Donald Trump!” Among its priceless tips: Perform (“Be the show!”); Persevere; Brighten your smile; Keep it simple; Accept change (especially in your Cabinet, presumably); Be energetic. No mention of being narcissistic, megalomaniac or tyrannical, but those are sure to work for you too.Onwards and downwards . . .

I've lived in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. This is, hands down, the best story I've ever read that involves both coasts.According to The Times Colonist, 17 years ago, Nick Burchill, a naval reservist from Nova Scotia, was in Victoria, British Columbia for a work-related conference. He chose to stay at the Fairmont Empress Hotel: a high-falootin' luxury joint that's been a fixture on the city's downtown waterfront for decades. When Burchill came from the east coast, he knew that he'd be meeting with friends from the navy when time allowed for it. He brought them a gift: Chris Brothers Pepperoni sticks: a much-loved Nova Scotian delicacy. Not wanting anyone to feel left out, he brought, well, a lot. To keep the meat cool and edible until he could hand it over to his pals, Burchill cracked the window in his hotel room and laid the pepperoni out on the windowsill. He figured that the cool spring air would be enough to refrigerate the food. What happened next is the stuff of legend:From the Times Colonist:

Ann Kirkpatrick cast the vote that kept Guantanamo Bay open and voted against cap-and-trade, and has been a consistent opponent of EPA air-quality measures; Jason Crow says he won't take corporate PAC money, so instead he's funded by his law firm which lobbies for casinos, fossil fuel companies (he also opposed gun control after the Aurora shooting happened on his watch in his district, having received large sums from the gun lobby) and he's the beneficiary of Bain Capital's largesse; Paul Davis voted to bar cities from enacting gun control rules, and for a ban on the use of state funds to support gun control lobbying, he's supported drug tests for welfare recipients and a corporate tax cut during the recession. (more…)

At Tokyo's Sushiya no Nohachi (すし屋の野八) you can order sushi made with just one grain of rice (粒寿司). Fortunately, after the novelty wears off, you can also order regular-sized sushi that's said to be excellent! A plate of tiny sushi is free, so long as you also drop around US$50 on regular sushi. The tiny sushi plate includes Toro (tuna), Tai (sea bream), Chūtoro (medium fatty tuna), Hokkigai (surf clam), Uni (sea urchin), Tako (octopus), Tamago (egg), Gari (pickled ginger). From Tofugu:

American health care is so screwed up, so horribly distorted by the insurance companies' abusive practices, that millions of Americans (even those with insurance) fly to Mexico every year to get state-of-the-art medical care -- and a resort vacation in the bargain -- rather than face the US system, and save money by doing so. (more…)

Last night, China's Tinagong-1 space station, about the size of a school bus, burned up as it fell over the Pacific Ocean. The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques captured this hot image as the satellite was just 270 kilometers (170 miles) above Earth's surface. Kenneth Chang writes in the New York Times:

The Tentacuddle is another of Thinkgeek's not-April-Fools products launched on Apr 1 but seriously for realsies; it's $60, acrylic, 40"^2 plus five two-foot-long besuckered tentacles whose terminal apertures will admit your own appendages for eating or other manipulative/ambulatory tasks, and it's machine washable.

I thought it was funny how they kept having Erik Killmonger do irrationally psychopathic things, just in case the audience starts wondering why they're supposed to side with a moderate CIA-backed autocrat.★★★★★

Researchers demonstrated a prototype "fire alarm wallpaper" that's meant to be flame-resistant while also integrating a nanotechnology-based sensor that triggers a siren and warning lights. Ying-Jie Zhu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues published their work in the journal ACS Nano.

Cloudflare, a company with a history of resisting surveillance and censorship orders (albeit imperfectly and sometimes with undesirable consequences) has announced a new DNS service, hosted at the easy-to-remember address of 1.1.1.1, which accepts connections under the still-novel DNS-over-HTTPS protocol, and which has privacy designed in, with all logs written only to RAM (never to disk) and flushed every 24 hours. (more…)

We think cats are our pets but we are mistaken. The New Yorker interviews Abigail Tucker, author of The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World:

As we set ourselves to the task of dooming Facebook to the scrapheap of history, it's worth considering the many ways in which Facebook has anticipated and planned for this moment, enacting countermeasures to prevent the rise of a competitor focused on delivering things that help users (making it easy to find people to form interest groups with), rather than focused on "maximizing engagement" and spying on us. (more…)

It's been brewing for weeks and now it's boiling over: Kentucky teachers are walking off the job en masse in statewide demonstrations triggered by dirty-tricking GOP state legislators who snuck a provision that gutted their pensions into a sewage bill; they're joined by Oklahoma teachers who have endured endless abuse and humiliation from state lawmakers (first Clintonite Democrats; then vicious TGOP types who waltzed to power after right-wing "Democrats" committed political suicide by courting the wealthy over workers), and who have refused the meager bone they were thrown, walking out again and demanding justice for all public-sector workers. (more…)

Andy Purviance's Purviance.com/myths generates (and beautifully presents) snippets of folklore: perfect for forming story ideas or oblique strategies.Some I got:Pursuit of game leads to upper world

Splendidly grotesque work by cover artist Joe Darrow for a batch of articles in this month's New York Magazine about Trump corruption. Here it is without the layout:

Today in conservatives hastily adjusting masks:

For the sake of the comity of nations, North Korea has opened its borders to bands from the south such as Red Velvet, seen here "belting out" one of their pop hits for the wildest audience they're ever likely to see.Just imagine being the poor guy who has to clean up after this mayhem!

The 2017 Hugo nominees were announced yesterday; attendees at this year's World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose, California will choose from among them to pick this year's Hugo Award winners. (more…)

When it comes time to unclog a drain or figure out what's going on inside your car's engine, the human eye can only see so much, and our hands, while maneuverable, aren't necessarily built for snaking around tight spaces. Therein lies the value of having a Wi-Fi HD Waterproof Endoscopic Camera. Whether you need to diagnose a clogged drain or simply fish your keys out from under the fridge, this camera gives you an unbeatable vantage point, and it's on sale for $29.99.Featuring an 8-way adjustable LED and 2 MP resolution camera, this device lets you peek around tight spaces and beam a feed straight to your smartphone via Wi-Fi. Plus, this camera boasts an IP67 waterproof rating, making it ideal for snaking around drains, pipes, and other damp spaces.Now, you can pick up this WiFi HD Waterproof Endoscopic Camera on sale for $29.99 in the Boing Boing Store.

There are countless videos of accidents and near-misses on YouTube, but this one's fractional difference between life and death makes it particularly alarming. (The very high-quality footage helps.)Remarks from the rider:

"Extremely dangerous for democracy," is just one phrase in the uncanny propagandistic script that dozens (hundreds?) of news anchors "report" in this compilation video. The effect is creepy and surreal; the connection is that all the stations are owned by the same conservative corporation, Sinclair, which is where the marching orders come from.

Madison Malone Kircher writes that Facebook keeps copies of "every video you ever filmed on the platform", even after you think you've deleted them.

The Slow Mo Guys were guests on The Late Late Show and to show what they do, they filmed host James Corden as they threw a dodgeball at his cheek. The slow-motion instant replay shows Corden's face being warped by the pressure but, all in all, he took it like a complete champ.

Myfitnesspal was a startup that offered Internet of Shit-based fitness and diet tracking; they were purchased by Under Armour for $475,000,000 in 2015; three years later, Under Armour has admitted that hackers stole the personal data of 150,000,000 Myfitnesspal users. (more…)

There are plenty of us out there who enjoy the look of vintage speakers, but using them today isn't necessarily practical. However, that's not to say you can't add some 1950's flair to your listening setup. The Lofree Poison aims to combine a vintage aesthetic with 21st-century technology, and it's on sale for $79.99 in the Boing Boing Store.Boasting a design reminiscent of 1950's appliances, the Lofree Poison lets you tap into this feeling of nostalgia while blasting your living space with its powerful 20-watt amplifiers and enhanced bass driver. It features a 2000mAh rechargeable battery that allows for up to six hours of playtime and includes a physical rotating dial and built-in FM radio so that you can search for music the old-fashioned way.You can pick up the Lofree Poison on sale for $79.99 today.

Josh from Fight for the Future writes: "The death of net neutrality will hurt small businesses the most. But mobilizing businesses and startups en masse could be the secret ingredient that saves the open Internet. Over the past few months, we’ve seen that direct pressure from business owners is one of the most effective methods of convincing Republican lawmakers to support net neutrality, and we need to get at least one more GOP senator on our side in order to win a vote in Congress to block the FCC’s December repeal." (more…)

I got my first Kíla album in the mid-1990s while I was going to university in Halifax, Canada. It was a big deal.Lemme give you some background: my folks declared bankruptcy the week that I shipped off to school. The financial help I assumed would be there for me, wasn't. I watched, near penniless, as my fellows drank themselves into oblivion and got to know one another. I couldn't afford to participate. I couldn't afford the books from the extensive reading list I'd been given. The only thing that I had going for me was that I'd used my student loan to pay for a meal plan as part of my first semester's tuition. I quickly found the work I needed to get by, teaching music, doing audio/visual duty for the classes I was attending, rattling locks as a security guard and playing in a bar band to make ends meet. I was exhausted much of the time.There wasn't a lot of room in my life for joy back then.Around the middle of the school year, I received a letter from my mother. It explained that the she'd come by a coupon, good for $25 at HMV--a Canadian and British music store franchise. The thought of buying new music--new anything, really--at the time, didn't have a place in my head, given how hard it was to come by books or cover my day-to-day expenses. I've never listened to a lot of popular music. My tastes lean towards OG punk and Irish/Scots traditional music. HMV's offerings, in these areas, was limited. Thumbing through CDs in the store's tiny world music section, I came across Kíla for the first time. I'd never heard of them, but the name of the album I had in my hands, Tóg É Go Bog É, spoke to me. It translates, roughly, as 'take it easy.' I handed over my coupon and took the CD home with me.It was like having happiness poured into my ears.I'd stumbled on a group of musicians hellbent on breathing new meaning and life into the traditional music I'd grown up with. Their compositions were original. They sang in Irish--a language I so rarely, at the time, had a reason to use. Having their music fill my head made me feel like I was a part of something larger than myself. The problems that came from money and the stress of not having having any felt small in comparison to the enormity of culture, tradition and love that their music suggested.Kíla's music has been a constant in my life, ever since.I've not been fortunate enough to catch them in concert, yet. But this video of one of their shows from a few years back gives me an idea of what standing in the same room as them might be like.

For the first time in over 60 years, Easter and April Fools' Day are on the same day, creating the rare EasterFools' Day holiday.To celebrate, former NASA-JPL engineer/current science YouTube star Mark Rober (previously) went on Jimmy Kimmel Live to demonstrate some easy pranks for this rare double holiday. For example, he fills hollow chocolate bunnies with broccolini and calls them "Brocco-Bunny" and puts Brussels sprouts on sticks and then dips them in melted chocolate, creating "Brussels Pops." What he does with mayonnaise is unforgivable. And the kids they give these EasterFools' "treats" to are surely scarred for life.FYI: the next EasterFools' Day happens in 2029.

Georgia is a hub for cybersecurity research, with leading university computer science and security programs and a new $35m state cybersecurity research center underway; but the Georgia state legislature just passed SB315, the most onerous prohibition on computer security research ever passed in the USA. (more…)

Reader recommended, and absolutely delightful, The Unbitten Elbow depicts the fervor and zelotry of the Soviet state as it rots from the brain to the heart.Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky is another fantastic Soviet era writer of dystopic fiction. Folks in Russia were already living in the worst dystopia most Westerners could imagine. In The Unbitten Elbow, we see an old Russian proverb, that the elbow is always near but impossible to bite, tested by the strength of an entire nation.Absurdity abounds in this 10-15 minute read.The Unbitten Elbow by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky via Amazon

What do you call someone who derives pleasure from the bread of affliction?A matzochist.###Why do we have a Haggadah at Passover?So we can Seder right words.Share your own in the comments! Happy Passover!

In 2007, the Guardian's Victor Keegan published "Will MySpace ever lose its monopoly?" in which he enumerated the unbridgeable moats and unscalable walls that "Rupert Murdoch's Myspace" had erected around itself, evaluating all the contenders to replace Myspace and finding them wanting. (more…)

The idea of representative democracy is that we pay lawmakers to give serious attention to the nuances of policy questions and cast votes on our behalf in accord with their understanding of our preferences, applied to those nuanced understandings. (more…)

Oklahoma teachers will walk out en masse this coming Monday, despite a historic agreement from the ailing state legislature to give them a long-overdue pay raise which will be paid for by increasing taxes on the state's previously untouchable oil and gas industry. (more…)

Douglas Palmer got wind of a classified CIA program to create board games to train spies, so he used a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to get copies of two of these games: the first is called "Kingpin: The Hunt for El Chapo" and the second (which the CIA revealed to a SXSW audience in 2017) is called "Collection Deck." (more…)

Hailed for its versatility and user-friendly design, Python is one of the best first languages for aspiring programmers to learn. However, not all of us have a natural affinity for programming, but you can get the training you need without breaking the bank thanks to the Pay What You Want: Absolute Python Bundle.Here's how the deal works: Simply pay what you want, and you'll unlock one of the collection's five courses. Beat the average price paid, and you'll get the remaining four at no extra charge. Plus, if you beat the top price, you'll be entered into a major giveaway and earn a spot on the leaderboard.Featuring nearly 60 hours of training, this collection will take you from beginner to expert in Python programming. You'll follow along with the collection's example-based curriculum, taking on core concepts, like input, functions, lists, and loops. Then, you'll dive into more advanced ideas, like automation framework design and creating deep learning models.You can catalyze your Python education for a price you choose with the Pay What You Want: Absolute Python Bundle.

There's still plenty of life left in my 2015 MacBook Pro. But sooner or later, I'll ditch my computer in favor something new.The nerd in me is wicked excited with the notion of using an ultra light laptop with an external graphics processor, for several reasons. I've always wanted to own a gaming laptop, but I could never justify the price, or the weight of one in my bag. Going with a computer that can connect to an external GPU means that I could invest in the laptop first, and then the GPU when I could afford it. And since the GPU for the rig is external, I wouldn't be forced to carry around a heavy bastard of a computer with me every time I needed to take off on assignment. That said, I was hesitant to buy one without seeing how it'd perform, first and foremost, as a work machine. I really like the look of the Razer Blade Stealth: the laptop's industrial design is what Apple might have come up with if their design department had a shred of edge or attitude. So, relying on the privilege of my position as a tech journalist, I asked Razer if I could borrow one.They said yes.I spent the past month working on Razer's insanely well-built ultrabook. It was pimped out with 16GB of dual channel RAM, and an Intel Core i7 2.70Ghz processor. It's zippy! But then, that's in comparison to my daily driver: a three year old Core i5 with 8GB of RAM. The Razer Blade Stealth is an easy machine to fall in love with. It feels as solid built as any Apple laptop I've ever used. I'd argue that, subjectively, it feels better to pick up and carry than any other portable computer that I've handled. There's something really satisfying about its weight. There's a decent number of ports for connecting to legacy hardware, HDMI for using it with an external display and a USB C/thunderbolt port for charging it and, yes, connecting to an external GPU rig.I found myself quickly getting attached to this thing, and hating myself for it. As I used it, I attempted to rationalize why I should buy it.The usual suspects filled my head: I deserve nice things. It'd be good for my work. Gaming helps to manage some of my PTSD symptoms. Yadda yadda yadda. It's a series of excuses that I feed myself, often. Buying new shit gives me a quick rush of endorphins. Consumerism and booze (especially where it concerns buying booze!) have long been my drugs of choice.Last week, I made the decision to box the Razer Blade Stealth back up. This week, I ask Razer to send me a return shipping label. I need to get it out of the house as we'll be traveling north to spend our summer in Canada soon. Shipping it back means one less thing that I don't own will be in our RV home for customs to scrutinize when we cross the border. But more than this, I needed it out of my life. Using it made me feel too good, too quickly. When you're an addict, of any kind, it's easy to be roped into accepting the monkeys that long to cling to your back. A new computer. Too much drink. Both result in too little money on hand, for me at least. That I have a job that allows me access to all the shiny things in the world makes it that much worse. It's a path that's led me to some dark places in my past. I've no interest of going there again.As for the rest of you, if you're looking for a solid ultrabook that can handle work and some hella heavy gaming with the use of an external GPU, the Razer Blade Stealth is amazing. But until the computer I currently own dies or becomes too old to use, I'll have to go without it.

Today on "WTH is Walmart trying to sell my friend Terry through a Facebook ad"**: Earthworm Jerky. (Last time it was funeral potatoes.)At first, I thought he was pulling my leg. But he's not one to joke about stuff like this:Reviews are poor for these "100% edible dehydrated large earthworms" in a "spicy marinade," so I don't recommend buying them:**I have to think that the-store-that-no-longer-shall-be-named is advertising weird items to draw some attention (after all, negative attention is still attention). Good job, it worked. I feel right into their trap. I'm sending all their "earthworm jerky" traffic to Amazon though.

Not everyone around the world agrees that cats say "meow" and that dogs "woof." Watch in this Conde Nast Traveler video as 70 people from 70 countries share their interpretation of how pets sound. I feel like all these sounds should be incorporated into a song or something.(Blame it on the Voices)

In 2015, Patti Smith went on tour with her band to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her debut album, Horses. Now it's been announced that a new documentary titled Horses: Patti Smith and her Band has been made using footage of the tour's final gig at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theater.In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2014, the then 67-year-old said,

A lot of Star Wars fans were butt hurt over the Last Jedi's treatment of iconic Star Wars characters. Others, not so much--I'm one of those. I think it was a fun film that pushed the franchise forward in a new and interesting direction. No matter which camp you fall into, there's one thing that we can all agree on: Watching Carrie Fisher slap the silly shit out of Oscar Isaac over and over will always be entertaining.While I'm not crazy about sharing anything from Entertainment Tonight, damn this is fun.

For more than a century, the Canadian government was responsible for perpetuating horrendous abuses against native peoples who were unfortunate enough to be living in an area where a imperial colonialist power decided to set up shop. It was government policy for Indigenous children to be separated from their families, the without the permission of their parents or tribal elders, and them into what were known as residential schools: institutions predominantly run by the Catholic Church, along with a small handful of schools that were handled by Anglican, Presbyterian and United Church interests.Once the kids were secured into these boarding schools, they were taught the 'right' way to live--right being in accordance to western culture. Were the incarcerated children to dare to speak their own language or act according to cultural norms outside of what their white caretakers felt was 'civilized,' they were met with severe corporal punishment. Mortality rates at the schools were high. So were instances of physical and emotional abuse. Children were often buried in unmarked graves or simply disappeared. Even after the last residential school closed in 1998, its legacy of hate and abuse remains.In 2015, Canada finally confessed to its part in this long-running crime. The nation's Truth and Reconciliation Commission looked to the crimes of the residential school system, saying that they amounted to cultural genocide. The commission made 94 recommendations that it felt would go along ways towards righting the wrongs of the past. One those recommendations was that the Pope step forward and apologize for his church's role in the residential school system. It makes sense: the bulk of the schools were operated by the Catholic Church. There's precedent for it, too: in the past, Popes have apologized for other shitty things that the church has done.Last May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a personal appeal to Pope Francis, asking him for an apology, on behalf of all Canadians. The pope's response?Nope.From the New York Times:

As listeners of the Serial podcast know, Adnan Syed was a Baltimore, Maryland high school student sentenced to life in prison for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Now, he's getting a new trial. From Rolling Stone:

An absurd and wonderful example of semantic satiation, starring the "Komputer Tutor" Kim Komando, best known for her bestselling 1990s instructional videos sold via infomericial. And in case you were wondering, Kim Komando is still at it!

There are bubbles in your joint fluid that POP! when a joint is "cracked." Via Phys.org

If you've tried to delete your Facebook account and found yourself mysteriously lost and frustrated, welcome to the world of Dark Patterns, the website and app trickery designed to make you agree to things or otherwise fool you into doing something other than you intend.The video uses closing an Amazon account as an example. It's essentially impossible: even if you find the one deceptively-titled link three layers down through the most irrelevant-seeming menu options on the site, all it gives you is a generic "live chat" window. You cannot close your account without a fundamentally adversarial interaction with a person whose job depends on stopping you.Pictured here, though, is something this week from Facebook, promising "text anyone in your phone" but really a ruse to let the company track your phone calls and texts--a fact you might be able to figure out from the tiny, unreadable silver-on-white text it doesn't want you to read.

The sharp, thin metal bristles of grill brushes end up in your food and then in your throat, from where there is "no surefire way of removing them," say surgeons. Throw them out.

The web may be vast, but competition to get noticed is still fierce. That's why it's essential to ensure your site is responsive, sharp, and SEO-oriented, so you can attract visitors and retain them. Of course, designing a website to fit these features is a lengthy endeavor, but you can sidestep the hassle with Dessign's Premium WordPress Themes, now on sale for $29.This collection of premium themes from Dessign features more than 170 fully responsive themes designed to make your site stand out. You can browse customized layouts for designers, photographers, bloggers, freelancers and more, and each site boasts built-in SEO to help you reel in more traffic. And, with lifetime access to a growing library and a license that permits use on an unlimited number of sites, this package ensures you'll have design options for years to come.Now, you can sign up for a lifetime membership to Dessign Premium WordPress Themes on sale for $29 in the Boing Boing Store.

The Struggle Against Imperialism and for Workers' Power in Iran is a $3.50 pamphlet by Keith Jones of the Socialist Equality Party of Canada; published by Mehring Books and distributed by the World Socialist Web Site. (more…)