Boing Boing

Do you have Mario Kart Wii and an interest in modifying it? Niment has created skins for playing Waluigi, Wario, and Luigi on foot. It looks so absurdly fun that Nintendo should consider making these skins a regular part of the game:Via Kotaku. Read the rest

If you’re in the mood for an intelligent, unconventional thriller of sorts, get out on the town and treat yourself to Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite. Come for the promise of nail biting class tension, struggle and all-out war, but stay for the interpersonal relationships, architectural allegories and shocking scares that emerge over the course of Bong Joon Ho’s latest film. The film is essentially about class relationships, yes, but unlike some recent (American) films that try to tackle the subject, the dynamic between the rich and poor isn’t cut-and-dried black and white. Parasite doesn’t just look at the poor as hopelessly depressed and the rich as cruel and greedy. The well-to-do in this film are moderately benevolent, living their own lives and oblivious to the destitute conditions of their hired help. Though we might cheer on the impoverished Kim family, they seem borderline sociopathic at times (most likely exacerbated by economic circumstances outside their control). We see the Kims pitted against a worse-off family and tensions escalate. That the Kims don’t register that they have common interests with the other family isn’t a flaw on their part. And that the Parks don’t understand their role in maintaining the cycle of poverty isn’t a damnable offense either. Parasite doesn’t proclaim individuals to be the root cause of inequality. Instead, Bong focuses on the individual members of the families as a metaphor for the larger, systemic problems that heighten economic disparity and keep the working class pitted against itself in a continual cycle of poverty. Read the rest

One of most most memorable Cool Tools podcast episodes was with rare book expert Rebecca Romney. She recently started a new rare book firm in Washington D.C. called Type Punch Matrix and she sent me a catalog (PDF here). A first edition of Food of the Gods (1904) by H.G. Wells, inscribed by him to his mother-in-law (who lived with him during the composition of War of the Worlds and his other major scientific romances)A first edition of Journeys to the Planet Mars (1904) by Sara Weiss, a Spiritualist who used remote viewing to visit Mars. The book includes original illustrations of Martian flora, and a Martian glossary!There's also a first American edition of Frankenstein next to an 1818 review of the true first edition (spoiler: it was not positive). The idea of the project was to pair books together in ways that created a dialogue.See more page samples from Journeys to the Planet Mars or Our Mission to Ento here. Read the rest

There are times when you don't have access to coffee or tea, but you still need a caffeine buzz. Or many you just don't like the taste of coffee or tea. That's what Verb Energy bars are for.Each 90-calorie bar contains core ingredients like almond butter and agave. They come in flavors like Coconut Chai, Maple Blueberry, Simply Cocoa, and Salted Peanut Butter. They are all gluten-free and vegan. Best of all, they contain green tea caffeine, which has L-theanine in it. Some studies have shown that L-theanine reduces anxiety.Want to try some? Good timing. Verb Energy is offering a trial pack of four bars for free - all you pay for is the $3.95 in shipping. Read the rest

This episode of Nate DiMeo's excellent Memory Palace podcast is about one-hit wonder Bobby "Boris" Pickett, who wrote and performed the Halloween favorite, "Monster Mash" in 1962."If you want to really dig in," says Nate, "you should read, Monster Mash: Half Dead in Hollywood, his autobiography. If you have $1,500 you can buy a copy on Amazon. Read the rest

In Episode 3, John and Eva go down the rabbit hole and question what is reality itself and whether or not we are in fact, as Nick Bostrom first theorized and Elon Musk and many others believe, in a large scale simulation. Possibly one made by aliens. Or indeed our future descendants. We are such stuff as dreams are made on - who is to say we aren’t? Featuring Joshua Tan, Ph.D. in Computer Science, Oxford, And Professor Stefan Sorgner, Professor of Philosophy at John Cabot University, Rome. (Listen to Episode 1 here, and Episode 2 here.)The Life Cycle is a production of Klang Games, creator of Seed, the planet colonization MMO -- watch the new trailer here. Subscribe to The Life Cycle on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Follow The Life Cycle on Twitter and Instagram. Read the rest

This is scary, but has nothing to do with Halloween, despite the date.The New York Times reports this evening that noted televangelist and “prosperity gospel” pastor Paula White has officially joined the Trump administration.Ms. White is a televangelist based in Florida who has served for some time as a “personal pastor” to Trump. They've been acquainted since 2002. She joins the administration in an official capacity starting today.Grifters love grifters.From the Times:Ms. White will work in the Office of Public Liaison, the official said, which is the division of the White House overseeing outreach to groups and coalitions organizing key parts of the president’s base. Her role will be to advise the administration’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative, which Mr. Trump established last year by executive order and which aims to give religious groups more of a voice in government programs devoted to issues like defending religious liberty and fighting poverty.As Mr. Trump campaigns for a second term, he cannot afford to lose support from the religious conservatives who voted for him in 2016 in significant numbers. Without their backing, his path to re-election would be significantly narrower.He has taken repeated steps to ensure they turn out for him again — by issuing executive orders, making cabinet appointments and nominating federal judges that pass muster with the religious right. On a range of issues from abortion rights to tax exemptions for churches, Mr. Trump has tried to grant Christian conservatives their policy wish lists whenever legally and politically feasible. Read the rest

He was growing this beard out for four years.Wait 'til you see what he transformed into for Halloween.But first, he had to cut that beard off.IMGURian @teekal “sacrificed four years of beard growth for Halloween 2019,” and all I can say is -- worth it. Well done, Super Mario, sir.Sacrificed Four years of Beard Growth for Halloween 2k19... No regrets.[via IMGUR] Read the rest

This is a genius Halloween costume idea.The Microsoft Windows 'Blue Screen of Death,' as the MS-DOS crash display has long been affectionately known.IMGURian @gnocchithesphynxcat really nailed it.“Yes, I take public transit to work, and yes, I wore my costume.”Today's Halloween costume at work: the Blue Screen of Death![via IMGUR] Read the rest

What was the traveler who carried this gun-shaped toilet paper roller thinking? On every level, seriously, what were they thinking.This photo from the Transportation Security Administration shows a gun-shaped toilet paper holder confiscated at Newark Liberty International Airport TSA checkpoint on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019.TSA agents thought it was a gun when they put it through the X-ray machine. A closer look showed it was a toilet paper roller, inexplicably shaped like a gun. Replica firearms are prohibited, just like real ones are, at security checkpoints for carry-on luggage. From the Associated Press:TSA says it gave the man the option to place it in a checked bag, hand it off to a companion or surrender it. He decided to give it to TSA. Read the rest

Would you eat this gigantic burger?In Thailand's capital city Bangkok, a hamburger joint has become internet-famous for a nearly 13 pound burger patty with fried onion rings, bacon and mayonnaise. YouTube personalities started challenging one another to try and finish it. Among the poor fellows who managed to do it -- but not within the time limit -- was one guy who said, “I will eat a burger at some point (in the future), but not any time soon.” Reuters:Chris Steaks and Burgers is offering a 10,000 baht ($330) prize for anyone who can finish the mammoth snack in nine minutes - one baht for every calorie.Owner Komdech Kongsuwan, who says it is the country’s biggest burger, dreamed up the contest after three customers managed the feat. New challengers are coming through the door every day. Read the rest

This Kitchen IQ Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener costs just on Amazon. I've been using one for years and it's my favorite knife sharpener. I like it because of the way you hold it with one hand along the edge of a kitchen counter and with the other hand you draw the knife through the slots. It's a safe way to sharpen a knife and I don't see how someone could make a mistake and hurt themselves. One slot is "coarse" and the other is "fine." I typically use the fine slot every week or so to restore the edge on a knife. I rarely use coarse because it removes quite a bit of steel from a knife, but sometimes that's just what's needed to sharpen a dull knife. Over 11 thousand people have reviewed this sharpener on Amazon, and has an average star rating of 4.3. Read the rest

This set of nylon spudgers is excellent.My Amazon Kindle Voyage is one of my most treasured pieces of electronica. The battery, after 5 years, started to give up the ghost. It is dying in a rapid and dramatic fashion. I really did not want a different model Kindle and the Voyage is discontinued.I was worried I could not open the Voyage without destroying it. Amazon famously glues things in place and I tend to break plastic bits.Instead of using a small eye-glass repair sized flathead screw driver, I decided I would try the right tool for the job. This set of spudgers matched with slow and steady movement did the trick. Amazon used double-sided sticky tape to make shit annoying. I was easily able to open the case.3 Non-Mar Nylon Spudger Pry Bar tools to Open and Repair iPhone, Smartphones, Laptop, and Electronic Plastic Cases via Amazon Read the rest

Physicians removed a balloon packed with marijuana from a fellow's nasal cavity 18 years after he smuggled it into prison. The 48-year-old man is now just fine. Physicians from Westmead Hospital in New South Wales, Australia, reported on the unusual case in the British Medical Journal. Apparently the man's girlfriend handed him the package that he shoved up his nose for safekeeping. The package made its way into his nasal cavity where he lost track of it. From CNN:"A 48-year-old man was referred to the Westmead ENT Department after a CT of the brain, originally performed for headaches, demonstrated an incidental 19x11mm calcified lesion in the right nasal cavity," the report states."On questioning, the patient confirmed a long history of unilateral right nasal obstruction and recurrent sinonasal infections."The rhinolith was removed from the man's nose under general anesthetic, and a subsequent study revealed that it contained a "rubber capsule containing degenerate vegetable/plant matter.""On follow-up and specific questioning, the patient was able to recall an incident that occurred 18 years prior, while he was incarcerated," the report states. "He remained unaware of the package's presence until presented with the unusual histopathology report.""A nose out of joint: first reported case of prison-acquired marijuana-based rhinolith" (British Medical Journal)image: Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator (CC BY 2.5) Read the rest

Our friends at iFixIt took apart the new AirPods Pro to see what's inside. An awful lot is stuffed into a very small package. Unfortunately, IFIxIt deems the AirPods Pro to be non-user-repairable: "While theoretically semi-serviceable, the non-modular, glued-together design and lack of replacement parts makes repair both impractical and uneconomical."Image: IFixIt Read the rest

The Family Acid: California is the new book of photographs by Roger Steffens that I published with Timothy Daly, my Ozma Records partner and co-producer of the Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition. Limited to just 1,500 clothbound copies, it's a far-out photo album from a very unconventional family. We hope you can come meet the whole Family Acid (and us) in Los Angeles next Thursday, November 7, at The Standard Hollywood for a photo show and reception from 7-11pm! And if you can't make it, we have some copies available directly from our site, Ozma Records, along with a limited-edition Family Acid photo print on perforated LSD blotter paper (undipped) signed by Roger himself! For more than 50 years, photographer Roger Steffens has explored the electric arteries of the counterculture, embracing mind-expanding experiences, deep social connection, and unadulterated fun at every turn. After serving in Vietnam at the end of the 1960s, Steffens immersed himself in California’s vibrant bohemia. Since then, with his wife Mary and children Kate and Devon, he has sought out the eccentric, the outlandish, and the transcendent. Just as often, it finds him, grinning, a camera in one hand and a joint in the other. Steffens took the spectacular snapshots in this new collection between 1968 and 2015 during his family's freewheeling adventures throughout the visionary state they call home.A full-color, 192-page hardcover with foil stamping and tipped-on cover photo, The Family Acid: California contains hundreds of stunning images curated by Kate Steffens along with detailed captions and original essays by Roger Steffens and Tim Page. Read the rest

My daughter finally got me to start playing Undertale (I'm playing on my Switch). The game has great music, which was all written and composed by Toby Fox, who created the game. In this video, Pickitup of the Ska Tune Network does a fantastic cover of one of the songs from the game, "Megalovania." Read the rest

Leo Lech's home was destroyed by Greenwood Village, Colorado cops in 2015 when they used explosives to blow off the walls and drove an armored truck through the front door to arrest a shoplifter who had barricaded himself in Lech's home. Lech has been trying to get the city to pay him so he can repair his home, but a court and an appeals court have told him that police are allowed to destroy innocent people's homes without having to pay for the damage they cause.From NPR:"Under no circumstances in this country should the government be able to blow up your house and render a family homeless," Leo Lech, the house's owner, told NPR. "This family was thrown out into the street without any recourse."Lawyers for Lech argued that the police's destruction of his home was a violation of the Constitution's Takings Clause, which says private property cannot be taken for public use without "just compensation." But the problem with that argument, the appeals court ruled, is that courts have long held that police cannot be on the hook for property damage caused in the process of trying to make an arrest.Image: CBS Denver/YouTube Read the rest

Loot is a Brooklyn comics "store" (463 Court St, Floor 2, 11231) that is oriented around encouraging local kids to become comics creators. Adults are only admitted if they're with kids, and the store sells $30/month memberships that entitle kids to use copious art supplies and meet with artist-mentors, as well as to borrow comics from the store's library.The library came from the personal collection of the store's founder, Joseph Einhorn, and has been supplemented by community donations of both comics and cash. Activities in the space include making costumes and 3D comics settings out of salvaged cardboard and fun junk, electronics experimentation, and, of course, making comics.Loot is located above a beloved local pizzeria, Franks.The Brooklyn business is geared toward young and middle school readers and has a monthly subscription model that allows its clientele to binge on comics and take daily classes in writing and drawing their own stories. Think of Loot as less of a store and more of a book club and artistic retreat.The space is the brainchild of Joseph Einhorn, a father of three and the founder of Fancy, a shopping and scrapbooking site. He had two goals: to get young readers interested in comics and to get them away from their screens.“I felt that if we didn’t do this, there would be a whole generation of young people that would miss this medium completely,” Mr. Einhorn said. But he’s not anti-tech. His sons, he said, were into Fortnite, and he wanted to bring some of its comic-style art and social networking into the analog world. Read the rest

In 1977, Nicholas Ridley, a Tory MP in Margaret Thatcher's government, wrote The Ridley Plan, a kind of shock doctrine manual that the Thatcher government followed in its program of mass-privatisations, attacks on trade unions, and the "stealth" privatisation of the NHS.The Ridley Plan counselled a staged and escalating set of attacks that would start with soft targets and work its way up to the deployment of "a large, mobile squad of police" to put down strikes that the escalations would eventually provoke.Writing in Opendemocracy, Christine Berry says that the left is on the brink of a similar opportunity to the one seized by Thatcher in 1977: if the coming elections put Labour in power this December, they will be assuming power in the midst of a crisis that is simply too good to waste, brought on by a decade of Tory austerity, oligarchic policies, and the Brexit debacle.Berry lays out a programme for taking on the UK's powerful finance sector, as a key stage in larger reforms that would otherwise be endangered by the lobbying might of the City of London. As she points out, the right time to do this was after the 2008 crisis, but the neoliberal wing of Labour refused to use that moment, instead handing out billions to finance without any kerbs or democratic oversight of the industry that had just blown up the world's economy. Ten years later, we are still waiting for Labour to do its job.When the next financial crisis arrives, Labour must demand bank breakups, stricter (and streamlined) capital reserves requirements, an end to financial secrecy, and a hard rule that any bank that takes a government bailout will have to subject itself to voluntary nationalisation. Read the rest

Tom Selleck was Steven Spielberg's pick to play Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, Selleck was under contract with CBS and they refused to release him to take the role. Fortunately for us. See what could have been in the deepfake above. Below, Selleck recounts his experience as almost being Indy: Read the rest

In 2004, Howard Hallis celebrated the devilishly wonderful crossover of Disney and Goth culture with the now-classic "Haunted Bela," a mash-up of Bauhaus's "Bela Lugosi's Dead" with the spooky narration heard in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion dark ride. Listen above! Howard also created the enchanting artwork, titled "Goth Princesses." Read the rest

From the days when Al Jourgensen cultivated an English accent, Ministry's underground club hit "(Everyday Is) Halloween" (1984). Above, a fan video cut up from horror films. And below, a bonus acoustic performance of the song from last year, the first time Ministry played it live in decades, with special guest guitarist Dave Navarro. Read the rest

Toronto's Andrea Addario lives next to one of the world's greatest Halloween haunters. As she tweeted, he exhibits "extreme genius" every year, and this year is no exception: he's studded his tree with giant measles viruses made out of pumpkins and carrots, along with a coffin-shaped sign reading "VACCINATE YOUR KIDS." (Thanks, Allen!)The Halloween decorations of my neighbour. Puts us all to shame, every year, with his extreme genius. pic.twitter.com/XFlxXZcuoX— Andrea Addario (@addarioandrea) October 30, 2019 Read the rest

The 1969 piece LEGO Apollo Saturn V rocket may be my favorite BIG set of all time.Build the entire three-stage rocket, the command module and the lunar lander! Amazon has a it for 25% off, get your holiday shopping done early!LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V 21309 Outer Space Model Rocket for Kids and Adults, Science Building Kit (1900 pieces) via AmazonI checked and I have seen the set for $1 less. Read the rest

Bloody Sunday was an atrocity committed by British troops in Northern Ireland, killing 14 unarmed Catholic protesters at a 1972 march. Sunday Bloody Sunday is the title of one song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and another by U2 that commemorate the event. Sundae Bloody Sundae is a promotion at McDonald's restaurants in Portugal, for which the company is now apologizing.“The campaign was intended as a celebration of Halloween, not as an insensitive reference to any historical event or to upset or insult anyone in any way. We sincerely apologise for any offence or distress this may have caused.”It said all related promotional material had now been removed from its restaurants. McDonald’s is not the first company to inadvertently invoke painful chapters in Irish and British history. In 2006 the US firm Ben & Jerry apologised to Irish consumers after it launched Black and Tan ice-cream. The firm said the flavour had been inspired by the classic mixture of stout and pale ale, but customers were quick to point out the name had far grimmer associations. The Black and Tans were an irregular force of British ex-servicemen recruited and deployed during the Irish war of independence, where they quickly developed a reputation for brutality. Read the rest

Meaghan Winter is the author of All Politics Is Local: Why Progressives Must Fight for the States, a new book that analyzes how Democrats lost control of the vast majority of US state legislatures and governorships, why this is a crisis, and what to do about it next.Winter makes a pretty compelling case for state parties as crucial to national progressive politics: "When state Democratic Parties are weak, they can’t block assaults on abortion rights, or voting rights, or collective bargaining rights. They can’t serve as talent incubators for future members of Congress, and that, in turn, weakens the national party."But more important is her analysis of how the Republican project to hijack the states -- through gerrymandering, voter suppression and wedge issues -- came about, and why the Democrats have struggled to counter it.In an interview with Sarah Jones in New York Magazine, Winter says that the GOP takeover was financed by deep-pocketed one-percenters making shrewd, self-interested calculations about how their investments would pay off, and that this drove them to sustain their funding, year after year, to create long-term projects with skilled, coordinated leaders who were able to court (and frighten) a base of turkeys-voting-for-Christmas poor people who would support rich peoples' further enrichment.By contrast, one-percenters who fund the Democrats are acting out of a sense of noblesse oblige, or "moral whims," and they are thus dilettantes whose funding is both erratic and arbitrary, and therefore unable to create and sustain those strong movements. Read the rest

In this video by Dr. Fakenstein, the face of Nick Offerman (in character as cantankerous libertarian Ron Swanson) is deepfaked onto that of Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams. In an ocean of deepfakes, this one manages to crack the sea walls of reason and sanity. Read the rest

This Halloween safety video from 1985 starts with puffs of dry ice smoke set to funky music. It then cuts to floating disembodied masks, and it just gets better from there. Oh, Coronet Films, you've made a masterpiece.While you're at it, rewatch the one from 1977. I crack up every time I see that little girl frown after her mom throws her witch mask in the trash (starting around the 4:50 mark). Read the rest

Mario Mathy still lives, but even when he is gone, the jumping dance will live forever. Mathy was recently Keyboard Mag's featured artist.TELL US ABOUT YOUR CRAZY VIDEO WITH KEYBOARDS AND HORSES: The video clip for "Jumping Dance" was actually a joke between my wife and my record company. Of course I also realize that my videos were exaggerated, but that was the only way to stand out in Belgium. My wife who is 23 years younger than me put that clip on YouTube together with my record company. And of course, it became quite popular after 32 years! It featured only Casio instruments like the CZ-3000 and 5000 and the CZ-1, because I was Casio demonstrator. Read the rest

Realistic tiny rooms by Mozu Studios:#誰かの推し作家になりたいミニチュアやトリックアートを制作しています！1、自分の部屋のミニチュア。高2の頃制作。生活感出すのが楽しかった。2、こびとシリーズ第一弾「こびとの階段」。妄想を形にしました。3、第二弾「こびとの旅館」。このスペースみんな好きだよね！？4、描きました。 pic.twitter.com/OYcvRM4Wgn— Mozu (@rokubunnnoichi) October 29, 2019It's almost dizzying seeing how far the staircase continues behind the wall:小人シリーズ第2弾。『小人の階段』実はこの作品、中に入れます。今作を作った理由の１つは、この映像を撮りたかったからでもあるんです。#mozu_world pic.twitter.com/XYhMlzFHOY— Mozu (@rokubunnnoichi) September 20, 2018This video shows the creation of a tiny museum with several exhibits:The Mozu Studios webshop is here. Read the rest

Who are you going to believe: this week’s tabloids, or the evidence of your own eyes?

Knives Out director Rian Johnson demonstrates his killing form in the Alamo Drafthouse's latest Don't Talk PSA:Previous PSAs have included Sam Jackson promising an "intense solution" for talking:And some disturbing tongue clicking: Read the rest

Games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare offer hours of cinematic gameplay. They're so engaging you might not want to play anything else, which is great because with all the disk space they take up, you might not have room to download other titles on your console.That's why a good hard drive has become a necessity even for casual gamers these days, and Fantom Drives are among the best.It's simple enough to offer space for your save files and games, and Fantom's drives certainly have that. Their storage hubs for Xbox One and PS4 include a Seagate Firecuda Gaming SSHD that packs 2 TB of data space, accessible with a lightning-fast 5Gbps transfer rate.But there's plenty of flexibility beyond that. The Xbox One hub is also outfitted with three USB 3.0 ports, suitable for charging controllers or adding even more storage. The PS4 model also works with the PS4 Pro, PS4 Slim, and PlayStation 3, and it allows you to convert your original PS drive into a portable SSHD. In either case, they're easy to install, without external power cords.Right now, you can get the Fantom Drives Xbox One Storage Hub + 2TB Seagate Firecuda Gaming SSHD for only $119 (normally $140) and the Fantom Drives PS4 Hard Drive Upgrade Kit with 2 TB Ultra Speed Seagate Firecuda Gaming SSHD for just $99 (normally $140) today. Read the rest

Foie Gras, a fatty dish created by force-feeding ducks and geese through tubes, will soon no longer be served in the thousand-or-so NYC restaurants that have it on their menus. Chefs are saying "what next, veal?" fearing other ostentatiously cruel delicacies (as opposed to the mundanely cruel ones) will be next.CNN:Foie gras has long been a point of debate.In 2012, California's foie gras ban went into effect, only to have the ban overturned in 2015. Then, in 2017, the ban was upheld by a circuit court judge -- a decision that was backed by the Supreme Court in January of 2019. Chicago's history with the ban is almost equally as tumultuous. The Chicago City Council passed the ban in 2006, only to lift it two years later. What makes foie gras so contentious is the method of preparation. Foie gras is made of fattened duck or goose liver, and it has long been considered a French delicacy -- so much that the country has protected it as part of France's cultural heritage. But the product is made by force-feeding ducks, an practice that many people, like councilwoman Rivera, have found troubling Read the rest

Brett Tingley writes about 70 years' research into anti-gravity and similar fields of science fiction, an effort to harness nature's weakest force to military needs. It's gone nowhere, obviously—or has it?keep in mind that all of this information comes from unclassified sources, and there is definitely more of it than just what is represented here. We can only wonder how much work has been done in the classified realm on what was once openly considered the next massive revolution in aerospace technology. The Truth Is The Military Has Been Researching "Anti-Gravity" For Nearly 70 Years [The Drive] Read the rest

Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowship-winning philosopher Elizabeth Anderson recently spoke with Joe Humphreys at the Irish Times about America's toxic obsession with by-your-bootstraps individualism, and specifically how it relates to poverty.There are plenty of impactful quotes throughout the interview, but the parts that stuck out the most to me—as an agnostic born into an Irish Catholic family, whose mother worked for the church for a long time—were her observations about America's puritanical roots, and, later, the impacts of World War II. Anderson essentially proposes the idea that early America Puritans like the Pilgrims were determined to distance themselves from the institutional power of the Catholic church—which, for all its faults, has at least had a longstanding commitment to helping and empathizing with those suffering from poverty. In addition to Manifest Destiny, these Puritans believed that hard work was the only promise of salvation, which eventually evolved into the whole "rugged individualism" idea that consumes so many American conservatives and Evangelicals. While Anderson acknowledges that this ethic is rooted in a very pro-worker mindset, it's clearly been secularized over time into a highly partisan hatred of the poor, with a nod towards its religious roots:There is a profound suspicion of anyone who is poor, and a consequent raising to the highest priority imposing incredibly humiliating, harsh conditions on access to welfare benefits on the assumption you’re some kind of grifter, or you’re trying to cheat the system. There is no appreciation for the existence of structural poverty, poverty that is not the fault of your own but because the economy maybe is in recession or, in a notorious Irish case, the potato crop fails. Read the rest

"Do you want to fuck snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman…"Apparently—if you're 20-year-old Cody Meadar of St. Petersburg, Florida—it could also be a stuffed toy unicorn.From the Tampa Bay Times:A St. Petersburg man was arrested Tuesday after police said he “dry humped" multiple stuffed animals at the Park Place Target, including Olaf, the snowman from the wildly successful Disney film Frozen.The other victim was a large stuffed unicorn.Police said Cody Meader, 20, of St. Petersburg, entered the store around 2 p.m. Tuesday. He walked up to a display of merchandise from Frozen, picked a large Olaf stuffed animal, placed it on the floor and proceeded to rub himself against it until he ejaculated.Then he put it back on the display.The fact that he put it back on display might be the most egregious detail here. At least show that stuffed animal a modicum of respect by bringing home after you non-consensually violate it.There could have been a totally-tasteless joke in here about cooling down in the warm climate of Florida. Unfortunately, it was a whopping 53 degrees Fahrenheit in St. Petersburg on the day in question. So while there's generally no excusing for ejaculating on a stuffed snowman in the middle of big box store, this guy definitely has no excuse—except for the fact that he lives in Florida.Image via Wikimedia Commons Read the rest

Tomorrow, Toronto's City Council will hold a key vote on Sidewalk Labs's plan to privatize much of the city's lakeshore in the name of creating a "smart city" owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet.Today, the Globe and Mail published a summary of Sidewalk Labs's leaked "yellow book", a 2016 document that lays out Sidewalk Labs's vision for Toronto and future projects in Detroit, Denver, and Alameda.The plan lays out a corporate-owned city similar to Lake Buena Vista, the privately owned municipality established by the Walt Disney Company on a massive tract of central Florida land that contains the Walt Disney World resort.The plan calls for the creation of privately owned and regulated roads, charter schools in place of publicly administered schools, the power to levy and spend property taxes without democratic oversight, a corporate criminal justice system where the cops and judges work for Sidewalk Labs, and totalizing, top-to-bottom, continuous surveillance.Torontonians who decline to "share" information with Sidewalk Labs will not receive the same level of services as those who do.Sidewalk Labs says that the document does not reflect its current ambitions.Sidewalk Labs previously grossly understated the scope of its ambitions. When we revealed that the company had secretly secured the right to build across virtually the city's entire waterfront, they lied to us before finally admitting it.Those choosing to remain anonymous would not be able to access all of the area’s services: Automated taxi services would not be available to anonymous users, and some merchants might be unable to accept cash, the book warns. Read the rest

Brian Van Slyke writes, "STRIKE! The Game of Worker Rebellion is a board game about building a city-wide rebellion to stop a mega-corporation's takeover. It was created in collaboration between The TESA Collective, a publisher of games about changing the world, and Jobs with Justice (JWJ), a leading labor rights organization. It has just launched on Kickstarter."In STRIKE!, players collaboratively lead a city-wide rebellion of workers against Happycorp’s attempt to takeover their city. Players grow their ranks, mobilize their workers, and organize strikes around their city. As the Strike Council scores victories for workers, they will gain the support of more allies, from the dockworkers to the teachers, and build new bases of support from the manufacturing district to the university. The idea for STRIKE! was born out of conversations between TESA and Jobs with Justice. For 8 months, TESA and JWJ worked on every step of the game together, from the conceptual ideas, to the world building, the game design, and playtesting. They designed it to be a game about, by, and for the labor movement. "STRIKE!’s crowdfunding campaign comes at a time when Kickstarter workers themselves are fighting to form a union. In response to calls from the Kickstarter workers, TESA and JWJ have added statements of solidarity to the game’s campaign page as well as ways that their supporters can support Kickstarter’s workers. Like all of TESA’s previous games, STRIKE! will also be printed and assembled in the United States on sustainable materials."STRIKE! The Game of Worker Rebellion [The TESA Collective/Kickstarter] Read the rest

Richard Braine has only been leader of Britain's far-right UK Independence Party for three months, and he's already calling it quits. Mr Braine's resignation comes a week after he was suspended by UKIP over allegations of data theft, which he denies. In a letter, Mr Braine said he had been been "prevented from building a successful leadership team by blocked appointments"."I did not join UKIP in order to waste time on internal conflict, but I have found myself powerless to prevent a purge of good members from the party. Things went badly for him from the outset, after snubbing his own party's conference and failing to resolve internal splits and weak polling. Potential candidates to replace Braine include Penis Cerebellum and Beefspear Graymatter. Read the rest

Stupendous dedication and execution on this cosplay masterpiece.A wonderful Isaac Clarke cosplay build by IMGURian @buu342 for this year's Comic Con in Lisbon, Portugal.“The entire build took about three months of work, and a few extra weeks for planning and material gathering.”They shared an incredible step-by-step gallery of images showing the many steps and tools and techniques required to pull it off.Materials used:1cm thick EVA foam0.5cm thick EVA foam0.2cm thick EVA foam1.2cm diameter acrylic tube0.8cm diameter acrylic tubePlastic hose connection piecesSmall MagnetsPush button3 12v batteries3 blue LED's12V LED stripsFurniture CupsGoogly EyesElectrical Cable1cm wooden dowelSmall nailsSewing needles and lineartifical leatherlight gray fabricVelcro stripsFoggy plastic (used to bind books)Aluminum FoilPaper2cm thick styrofoamClothing used:Horseriding bootsSweatpantsBlack glovesLeather beltGrey wool jacketPaints used:Black Plasti Dip Spray paintCopper Spray paintSilver Spray paintBronze Spray paintGold Spray paintDark Orange Spray paintBlack acrylic paintRed acrylic paintTools used:x-acto knifelots of x-acto knife bladesHeat GunHot Glue GunWood GlueDremelHandsawVarious paint brushes, from small to largePoly MaxElectrical TapePainters TapeSoldering IronPensRulersSoftware used:BlenderPaint.NetPhotoshopMicrosoft WordIsaac Clarke Cosplay Build Read the rest

Want an online presence that matters? As the graveyard of fallen start-ups can attest to, having a fancy website and a sleek logo isn't worth much unless people actually start engaging with them.Even on the fast changing web, there are ironclad strategies for marketing that can adapt to any platform. The best way to get them ingrained into your business plan is to pick up the Complete 2020 Google SEO & Growth Hacking Bundle.This 7-course online package is a blueprint for building your brand. There is, of course, a comprehensive lesson on Search Engine Optimization that takes into account all the ways Google finds and ranks their results. But it goes far beyond just what keywords to use, teaching you innovative ways to get picked up by established news outlets..There are also courses on social media marketing, with a special emphasis on Facebook. With the strategies they outline, you'll be able to make your copywriting more effective and create viral content that amplifes your message.In all, it's 44 hours of lectures and exercises, all on sale for 98% off the price of the individual courses. Read the rest

This is a simple but wonderful little original video that shows each incarnation of the Nvidia GPU, from 1995 to 2019.The company's GPUs, or graphics processing units, are iconic for gamers because they enabled new kinds of visually rich video games.Nvidia GPU evolution (OC)[IMGUR, created by IMGURian @PETTYOFFICER117, photo: NVIDIA GeForce 7950GT (EVGA 256-P2-N636-AR 256MB), via commons.wikimedia.org] Read the rest

This is such an extraordinarily fun creative project.A working professional artist takes a 5 year old kid's imaginative scribble of a sea monster, and repaints it with an adult's skill, faithful to the kid's vision.IMGURian roydenlepp says:“I’m a professional artist and I finally got to do that thing where you paint over your kids drawings. Behold! My 5 year old son’s sea monster.”I love it!5 year old’s sea monster[via] Read the rest

Long grilled cheese.

The photo is priceless.The video, I can't even.“Lunar Module (Charlie) and Astronaut (Ellie) Costume 2019.”From their proud parent:With the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Charlie and I had been reading about the Apollo 11 mission and Neil Armstrong -- and I cannot recommend the book "I am Neil Armstrong" highly enough. Charlie (age 5) is the lunar module itself, and her little sister Ellie (age 2) is an astronaut.Charlie enters the costume by crawling underneath and there is a pair of shoulder straps that she uses to lift the entire costume. The costume looks heavier than it is -- it's almost entirely made of foam and foamboard. The front hatch magnetically closes and magnetically stays open, and doubles as a candy sample input port. The ascent stage (top part) separates from the descent stage (bottom part with landing pads) as you'll see below.Check out the embedded IMGUR gallery at the bottom of this blog post for the whole step-by-step, and lots more cute images of the kids.Past costumes: • 2017 Squid.• 2018 Horseshoe Crab.• 2018 (Ellie) Traffic Cone.[SOURCE: IMGUR]Lunar Module (Charlie) and Astronaut (Ellie) Costume 2019 Read the rest

William Gibson's 2014 novel, The Peripheral, is on sale today as a Kindle edition for just .Book description:Flynne Fisher lives down a country road, in a rural America where jobs are scarce, unless you count illegal drug manufacture, which she’s trying to avoid. Her brother Burton lives on money from the Veterans Administration, for neurological damage suffered in the Marines’ elite Haptic Recon unit. Flynne earns what she can by assembling product at the local 3D printshop. She made more as a combat scout in an online game, playing for a rich man, but she’s had to let the shooter games go.Wilf Netherton lives in London, seventy-some years later, on the far side of decades of slow-motion apocalypse. Things are pretty good now, for the haves, and there aren’t many have-nots left. Wilf, a high-powered publicist and celebrity-minder, fancies himself a romantic misfit, in a society where reaching into the past is just another hobby. Burton’s been moonlighting online, secretly working security in some game prototype, a virtual world that looks vaguely like London, but a lot weirder. He’s got Flynne taking over shifts, promised her the game’s not a shooter. Still, the crime she witnesses there is plenty bad.Flynne and Wilf are about to meet one another. Her world will be altered utterly, irrevocably, and Wilf’s, for all its decadence and power, will learn that some of these third-world types from the past can be badass. Read the rest

View this post on Instagram "Xenomorph Extraction Video Tutorial" Here's an updated version of this animation because it's always good to remember how to extract a xenomorph. • • • • • #scifi #darkartist #alienmovie #darkart #jamescameron #ridleyscott #handdrawn #dark #prometheus #traditionalart #xenomorph #darkartwork #blackwork #animation #instagood #alien #blackandwhite #alienart #animated A post shared by Jf Lemay (@lemay.jf) on Oct 13, 2019 at 11:14am PDT It takes a very steady hand. See more of Jf Lemay's work on Instagram and purchase his t-shirts and pins here.(via Laughing Squid) Read the rest