Boing Boing

Perhaps strange things will yet again be afoot at the Circle K.From Comicbook.com:"Well, we're in pre-prep and are set to shoot in early 2019," Winter told The Hollywood Reporter. "So right now, all systems are go. My old line when Blockbuster was in business was that I'd never believe a film was a go until the video was at Blockbuster. But I don't know what to say anymore...Netflix?"Not long after the first official synopsis was released and Bill and Ted Face the Music looked like it was going to become a reality, Winter's co-star Keanu Reeves made some comments that chilled some of the heat fans were generating, essentially saying that the film was still looking for funding -- a consistent problem for years now. Shortly thereafter, Winter spoke at the Television Critics Association this week and told fans that despite Reeves's words of caution, the project is still moving forward a the same pace as it was.The threequel, which will see a middle-aged Bill Preston and Ted Logan trying to figure out why the future they were promised has still not happened."The fan response has been enormous. It helped us get the financing because there was an overwhelmingly positive response to the idea of us doing this," Winter said. "Even in the age of internet comment trolling, we haven't really encountered any pervasive negativity. The concerns that I've encountered are totally valid - don't screw up the tone of the first two, make it a real Bill & Ted movie. Read the rest

Who's the VC you most admire? Is it "super angel" investor Marc Andreessen, the 47-year-old billionaire behind over 40 successful startups? Or maybe it's Mary Meeker, the legendary VC who Forbes listed as the 77th most powerful woman in the world in 2014.Whoever it is, TouchBase has got your investor worship covered with their new line of VC trading cards. They look like baseball cards -- stats and all -- but are much, much better.VCtradingcards.com is the leading online seller of TouchBase investor trading cards.We carry vintage and rare cards from the 1994 Sand Hill Road Series, the 2010 Gig Economy Series, the 1992 Private Equity Series, the 2015 Unicorn Series, and more.Some of our rarest VC cards include Don Valentine (Sequoia, investor in Atari), Mike Markkula (Angel, investor in Apple), and Jenny Lee (GGV, investor in AliBaba). You never know which cards you'll get in your packs.Many of the VCs featured have had multiple exits, but are on their way to more. This makes their cards highly collectible.And, if your favorite investor, or founder, isn't yet on a card, you can ask the company to print them on a future one.These are real. A VC Trading Cards five-pack is available for $59.99. Steep for ordinary folks, yes, but not Silicon Valley wheelers and dealers. Get'em while you can!Thanks, You! Read the rest

Julien's Auctions is running a large auction of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's stuff, including several pairs of his pajamas, board games, a pipe, and this sharp smoking jacket. Described as "a scarlet silk damask smoking jacket with shawl collar and self-tie belt closure," the high estimate is $5,000 but I bet it goes for much more. According to Julien's, "All proceeds of the sale will benefit the Hugh M. Hefner foundation in support of organizations that advocate for and defend civil rights, with special emphasis on first amendment rights and rational sex and drug policies since 1964."Hugh Hefner Bespoke Smoking Jacket (via Uncrate) Read the rest

Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles," the groundbreaking magickal 1990s comic series about a secret society fighting for our freedom in a world of high weirdness, will come to the small screen as part of the artist/writer's deal with Universal Cable Productions. From Variety:UCP is currently in production on Season 2 of “Happy!,” based on Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel of the same name. The Syfy series is executive produced by Morrison and Brian Taylor who also co-wrote the pilot. The series follows Nick Sax (Christopher Meloni), a corrupt ex-cop turned hit man whose life is changed by a relentlessly positive, imaginary blue winged horse named Happy (voice of Patton Oswalt).UCP, along with Amblin Television, is also working with Morrison, Taylor and David Wiener on adapting Aldous Huxley’s iconic dystopian novel “Brave New World.” Morrison serves as a writer and executive producer. Read the rest

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, Trump's replacement for fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, thinks that if you're not Christian, you shouldn't be a federal judge. Judges should be "people of faith" and need to have a “biblical view of justice," and Whitaker would like to see a person's "world view," because if they have a secular world view, he'd be "very concerned with how they judge."Whitaker revealed his ignorance with these remarks during a 2014 conservative forum while vying for the Republican US Senate nomination in Iowa.The takeaway from this: According to the acting Attorney General of the United States, if you're open-minded, don't be a judge. Read the rest

This is just a glimpse of a photo Charlie Sorrel took of a new iPad Pro affixed, by no greater power than that of magnetism, to his fridge.I wouldn’t do this regularly. It’s far too scary, and the consequences dire, especially as a kitchen often has the hardest of all floor coverings — tiles — ready to smash the screen of your beautiful new 2018 iPad Pro. Read the rest

I might be 12, but my brain went straight to the gutter when I saw this weird banana-filling gadget. This thing is marketed to kids, even though it seems rather inappropriate!So, this is how the $27 "Banana Surprise" works. You cut off the tip, just the tip. Then, you rest the fruit in the "Yumstation." Now, this is where the fun begins. You get out the tool and jam it into the end and then quickly pull out. And now, according to the directions, it's time to fill that hole with some sweet syrup, fruit puree, or cream. Surprise, you have an oozing, dripping piece of phallic fruit!It's just a banana. It's just a banana. It's just a banana.Related: The phallic pop-up egg-on-a-stick cooker gadget(Geekologie) Read the rest

The biggest single improvement to my sourdough baking hobby has been using a pre-heated dutch oven.Baking sourdough in a dutch oven works amazingly well. I'm seeing improved oven spring, ridiculous crusts, and better bread in general.I've been baking with sourdough since 2010 or so. The very first boule I baked came out of the oven perfect. I then spent years trying to figure out why I couldn't consistently repeat that loaf.First thing I blamed was proofing times. It took me a while to figure out the natural rhythm of the starter I made, and while I now know sort-of when and where this yeast is in its cycle. Working with your starter a lot is the only way I know around this. Until I figured it out, I made amazing sourdough waffles, pretzels, but the bread might be dense, or suffer from any other myriad ferment related problems. Pretzels and waffles don't need the yeast to rise much.For a while, I blamed my kneading of the bread. I tried the stand-up mixer, then I tried no-knead recipes. I found the Breadtopia method most right for my style of baking, but I ignored the dutch oven part of the recipe. I had baking stones and pizza steels and spray bottles of water to keep things damp -- what could a dutch oven do for me? View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jason Weisberger (@jlw) on Oct 7, 2018 at 11:03am PDT View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jason Weisberger (@jlw) on Oct 8, 2018 at 12:03pm PDT View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jason Weisberger (@jlw) on Oct 7, 2018 at 10:01am PDT View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jason Weisberger (@jlw) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:03pm PDT View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jason Weisberger (@jlw) on Oct 26, 2018 at 11:02am PDT I highly recommend using parchment paper to transport your proofed dough into the dutch oven. Read the rest

When Disney's Captain Marvel put out a PSA encouraging their fans to vote, they also, unwittingly, encouraged people to call a sex hotline.In their get-out the-vote ad, Captain Marvel lead Brie Larson is standing in a phone booth surrounded by Rock the Vote posters. "CAPTAIN MARVOTE IS A BAD PUN BUT NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE VOTE TOMORROW," she says in a tweet.CAPTAIN MARVOTE IS A BAD PUN BUT NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE VOTE TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/ZhXk5Qzkt5— Brie Larson (@brielarson) November 5, 2018But along with her encouraging words is a phone number displayed on the booth's telephone, a number which was obviously photoshopped by the folks on the Captain Marvel promotional team. Obvious because the number – 1-800-654-2192 – was an ABC number ("It used to appear in shows like The Suite Life of Zac and Cody, and if you called it, you got an automated message from the network," according to Daily Dot). And ABC is a subsidiary of Disney, who distributes Captain Marvel.Of course some Marvel fans were intrigued by the number and gave it a call, but rather than connecting to a superhero, they were greeted by a recording that says: “Welcome to America’s hottest talk line. Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you—press 1 now. Ladies, to talk to interesting and exciting guys, free, press 2 to connect free now...." Either ABC is looking for new ways to turn a profit, or they dumped the number but forgot to delete it from their phone book. Read the rest

Chris Christie's not my first choice to watch being dragged naked and whimpering to the White House lectern and then chained to a ring on it, but beggars can't be choosers.Former Gov. Chris Christie is being considered to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general, according to a CBS News report that cited “two sources familiar with the matter.”Christie is among several candidates reportedly on the list of those being considered after Sessions, who had a tortured relationship with President Donald Trump, was forced out Wednesday as the nation's chief law enforcement officer. Read the rest

A Breaking Bad movie will start production this month in Duke City, New Mexico according to the New Mexico Film Office. The film, currently identified as "Greenbrier," "tracks the escape of a kidnapped man and his quest for freedom," according to the Albuquerque Journal:This is the first project for Vince Gilligan – who created “Breaking Bad” and co-created the spinoff, “Better Call Saul” – after signing a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Television in July...Details on which characters will be returning from the TV series to the film have not been released."Yes, there appears to be a movie version of 'Breaking Bad, but I honestly have not even read the script," Bryan Cranston said on The Dan Patrick Show. "I have not gotten the script, I have not read the script. So there's the question of whether or not we'll even see Walter White in this movie. Think about that one." Read the rest

"I hadn't quite understood the full extent of this," Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab said, "but if you look at the UK and you look at how we trade in goods, we're particularly reliant on the Dover-Calais crossing." [via James Felton]Raab hopes to find a "bespoke arrangement" which "recognizes the peculiar, frankly, geographic economic entity that is the United Kingdom."Islands, Dominic. They're called islands. Read the rest

Chain reaction artist Kaplamino used rubber bands to add fun surprises to his latest tilted table marble video. Read the rest

Sacha Baron Cohen became Borat for a day to ask Republican voters some questions, like "Who are the fake news people who say [Trump] is not a racist? I'm a racist and it's nice." Read the rest

Airline in-flight safety videos are now more creative than ever.First case in point: Taiwanese airline EVA Air is using interpretive dance in their safety video, over five long minutes of it. According to the airline's press release, it was choreographed by Bulareyaung Pagarlava, a member of Taiwan's indigenous Paiwan community. They describe the video as "a work of art that’s as captivating as it is informative." Sure.And, second, here's a brand new one from Air New Zealand. It's got a tune ("It's Kiwi (Safety)") that sounds an awful lot like RUN-DMC's "It's Tricky." Their version was filmed in several New Zealand locales with a cast of 600! It "stars well-known Kiwi actor Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Deadpool2), local musicians Kings, Theia and Randa as well as talent from 30 community groups across the country."(Nag on the Lake) Read the rest

Trump fired Jeff Sessions the morning after the midterm elections and appointed lawyer Matthew Whitaker as acting United States Attorney General. Whitaker has a long history of sucking up to Trump and saying Mueller's Trump/Russia investigation must be stopped. Quartz has assembled a list of the times Whitaker has been critical of the investigation and of Mueller.Here are a few quotes from Whitaker's op-eds, tweets, and media appearances:“Hollow calls for independent prosecutors are just craven attempts to score cheap political points and serve the public in no measurable way.”“there is no criminal obstruction of justice charge to be had here [against Trump].” “I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced, it would [be a] recess appointment and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigations grinds to almost a halt.”"Note to Trump's lawyer: Do not cooperate with Mueller lynch mob"Worth a read. "Note to Trump's lawyer: Do not cooperate with Mueller lynch mob" https://t.co/a1YY9H94Ma via @phillydotcom— Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸 (@MattWhitaker46) August 7, 2017Image: Twitter Read the rest

Put some floating disembodied heads on your gift wrap this year with Gift Wrap My Face. They will make you wrapping paper custom made with your face on it... or someone else's. Here's what Abraham Lincoln looks like on some Christmas paper: And here's what I look like on one of their Thanksgiving designs:Maybe I should have centered my photo better in their template but you get the idea.There are a lot of background designs to choose from and prices start at $9.95.(The Awesomer) Read the rest

This video is really gorgeous and trippy. Animator Henning M. Lederer (previously) has once again taken vintage paperbacks and put their op-art covers in motion. There are 66 animated covers in total this round. (swissmiss) Read the rest

Microsoft Office tools were created to save you time. We take that for granted in the modern office, but if you truly want to learn how to spur those old Office warhorses like Excel and PowerPoint, there's no better investment than the A to Z Microsoft Office Bundle.This online training course is suitable for the Office newbie but goes far beyond the basics. You'll get a boot camp in Word and essential tips in PowerPoint design, but the bundle does more than just help make your presentations look pretty. You'll learn to effectively wrangle your data with Excel and Access, then integrate that data into those same PowerPoint shows and Outlook messages in a way that gets everyone on the same page. Lastly, you'll learn to manage corporate reports with Power BI for a birds-eye look at any company mission.That's all packed into 8 courses, covering everything you need to navigate the modern workplace. Grab the A to Z Microsoft Office Bundle for $29 today. Read the rest

You've probably never seen a bowler knock down a strike quite like this. I mean, what are the chances?Wasn't planned or done over and over, it just happened. Triggers asthma at the end.(digg) Read the rest

Wells Fargo is America's most scandal-haunted bank, which is quite an accomplishment in a heavily competitive field; now the bank has started closing its branches and cutting jobs (after pressuring employees to commit mass fraud on pain of being fired and blacklisted from the industry).The company has also declared itself to have an "excess of capital" and has committed to spending $40.6 billion on stock buybacks -- a form of financial engineering that drives up stock prices without improving the company's underlying financials or business. Some of Wells Fargo's largest individual shareholders are its executives, who've effectively just voted to give themselves massive, multi-million-dollar raises.The buybacks come on the heels of Trump's latest round of tax-cuts, which he said would boost jobs and wages, despite the fact that they encourage financial engineering of the sort that leads to business units shutting down, their workers being fired, and the responsible execs pocketing tax-free fortunes.Wells Fargo has laid off 26,500 employees since the Trump tax-bill passed. It is notable that Wells Fargo’s CEO describes the company as having an “excess of capital,” despite the fact that it is laying off workers, outsourcing jobs, and continuing to pay its employees nearly poverty-level wages. A fair wage for front-line bank workers is a critical part of the improved working conditions required to create an accountable financial institution that Wells Fargo has committed to being. Fair pay for workers helps companies attract and retain a qualified, committed workforce. It also provides economic security and autonomy, preventing workers from living paycheck to paycheck and being forced into a dependent work relationship that keeps them from speaking out when executives, like those at Wells Fargo, push them to commit fraud. Read the rest

At least 13 are dead after a gunman opened fire at a crowded bar in Thousand Oaks, California. The dead include the shooter and a Sheriff's sergeant who tried to stop him.A man, identified by authorities as Ian David Long, 29, entered the Borderline Bar and Grill at 11.20pm, threw smoke grenades into the crowd, then fired dozens of rounds into it, eyewitnesses say. Long was reportedly dressed entirely in black and wearing a mask.Authorities do not know what his motive was, but Ventury County Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters that he has "no reason to beleive there was a link to terrorism" and that the only weapon recovered was a "modified" .45 Glock handgun. The sergeant killed in the attack was a 29-year veteran about to retire, according to wire reports.Thousand Oaks is an upscale LA exurb listed as one of the safest places to live in America. The Borderline Bar & Grill is described by Google as "a lively spot with Western decor & dancing" hosting country and salsa theme nights.Pepperdine University in nearby Malibu reports that some of its students were there attending a "student night" event.Updated at 10 a.m. with the shooters' name and weapon. ABC News says Long was a USMC veteran. Read the rest

I still have Indian dust on my shoes from the city of Bangalore, where I spent almost a week at the international literary festival.I was mind-boggled at the scale of this national Indian event: literature, politics, activism, feminism. There was music and even street art, but what a crowd. Sixteen thousand highly literate participants, roaming from one outdoor stage to another, and engaged with every atom of their souls.Literary culture persists in this part of the world, where people still believe that leafing through books is a transformative spiritual experience that can change the world.Authors of the first world, beset with Internet and economic crisis, often seem like plastic vanity-toys kept past their sell-by date, but maybe what they lack most keenly is a creative readership. As a passionate reader, I often claim it is more difficult to read a book well than it is to to write one. As a less passionate writer, I know that even one ideal reader is enough to motivate a decent book.The beautiful literary carnival -- held on the broad, leafy grounds of one of Bangalore’s finest hotels, an oasis of glamor and privilege -- contrasted with the crooked streets of Bangalore where the sacred cows, pariah dogs and torrents of honking traffic live with a passion for survival. This was not my first visit to India, so I was ready for the epic scale of grandeur and abject poverty, but it was still a culture shock.The jet-set’s digitized skyscrapers tower like phantoms over vast bazaars seething with a seize-the-day human vitality. Read the rest

Docubyte's Visual History of Computing 1945-1979 is a mix of superb staging, outstanding photography, and intense nostalgia, and it just made my day.(Thanks, /nev/dull!) Read the rest

Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- a man who is willing to say the most progressive, laudable things imaginable, provided he doesn't have to do anything -- has steadfastly refused to cancel Canada's planned $15 billion sale of antipersonnel weapons to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite the incipient genocide in Yemen and the Kingdom's practice of dismembering critical journalists.Trudeau's excuses for staying in the deal would be laughable, if they weren't so terrible.But Canadians are way out ahead of their PM on this one: 9 in 10 Canadians surveyed by Angus Reid want no future arms deals with Saudi; 76% say Canadians companies should be banned from selling arms to Saudi; and 46% want the current deal cancelled (a share that has grown by 6% in a year).Trudeau came into power on wings of hope, replacing a catastrophic petro-Tory regime that spent 12 years imposing austerity, denying climate change, and sabotaging science. Trudeau's record since? Increasing digital surveillance; breaking promises on the crises of Canada's First Nations and on reconciliation for the horrors of the past; selling billions in arms to genocidal maniacs; being more pro-pipeline than Trump; and presiding over the rise and mainstreaming of far-right hate groups and overt white supremacists and the Ontario election of a virulent hate-monger authoritarian whose gerrymandering might doom the province to a decades-long interregnum of hate, stagnation and ignorance. While a majority of Canadians (63%) say they have followed the news of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, it does not appear to have an impact on views of the Saudi Arms deal. Read the rest

The White House has suspended the press credentials of CNN's Jim Acosta after President Trump clashed with the reporter during today's batshit crazy press conference.In a statement from Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Acosta is accused of putting his hands on the intern who tried to take away his mic. Video clearly shows that did not happen. UPDATE: After an outcry from several media outlets and the White House Correspondents Association, Sarah Sanders doubled down on the claim that Accosta manhandled the intern who tried to take his mic. You'll notice the timing is a bit off in the video. That's because the video has been sped up to make it look like Acosta "chopped" the intern's arm. The source of the edited video Sarah Sanders used? Paul Joseph Watson of Prison Planet/Infowars. Read the rest

In the video above, the always-fascinating Paola Antonelli, architecture and design curator at New York's Museum of Modern Art, takes us through the history of the hoodie, "a humble masterpiece," beginning in ancient Greece and Rome. Read the rest

Hundreds of #ProtectMueller protests and other events are planned for Thursday, November, 8, at 5pm local time. Here is a list by state and town.From the organizers, civic.moveon.org:NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAW—MUELLER PROTECTION RAPID RESPONSEPROTESTS CALLED FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 5 PM LOCAL TIME.Donald Trump has installed a crony to oversee the special counsel's Trump-Russia investigation, crossing a red line set to protect the investigation. By replacing Rod Rosenstein with just-named Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker as special counsel Robert Mueller's boss on the investigation, Trump has undercut the independence of the investigation. Whitaker has publicly outlined strategies to stifle the investigation and cannot be allowed to remain in charge of it. The Nobody Is Above the Law network demands that Whitaker immediately commit not to assume supervision of the investigation. Our hundreds of response events are being launched to demonstrate the public demand for action to correct this injustice. We will update this page as the situation develops.Donald Trump just crossed a red line, violating the independence of the investigation pursuing criminal charges in the Trump-Russia scandal and cover-up.Trump putting himself above the law is a threat to our democracy, and we’ve got to get Congress to stop him.We're mobilizing immediately to demand accountability, because Trump is not above the law.Please make note of the date, time, and description below to confirm that the host is able to organize the event on such short notice! In general, rallies are suggested to begin @ 5 PM local time. Read the rest

The Committee to Protect Journalists says authorities in Tanzania have forcibly detained Angela Quintal, Africa program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Muthoki Mumo, CPJ's sub-Saharan Africa representative. Their passports were seized.From CPJ:Officers who identified themselves as working with the Tanzanian immigration authority detained Quintal and Mumo in their hotel room in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this evening, according to Quintal. The officials searched the pair's belongings and would not return their passports when asked. Quintal and Mumo were then escorted from the hotel and have been taken to an unknown location. They were in the country on a reporting mission for CPJ."We are concerned for the safety of our colleagues Angela Quintal and Muthoki Mumo, who were detained while legally visiting Tanzania," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director. "We call on the authorities to immediately release them and return their passports."PHOTO: Tanzanian immigration authorities detained CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo, left, and Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal in Dar es Salaam on November 7. (CPJ) Read the rest

GIF: John Keats, 1785-1921. Enjoy this beautiful, creepy, ethereal short ambient ambient video loop by Bill Domonkos, a filmmaker, GIF maker and stereoscopist. 'Limbo' brings to life 20 animated masks from the Laurence Hutton Collection of Life and Death Masks. This video is silent. [Vimeo Link]From the artist:LIMBO is an ambient video of 20 animated death/life masksfrom the Laurence Hutton Collection of Life and Death Masks.This video loop is designed for exhibition on a wall mounteddigital display or projection. This video is silent.Animation, editing and compositing by Bill DomonkosFor best experience view fullscreen.List of masks as they appear in the video:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832John Keats, 1785-1921Giacomo Leopardi, 1798-1837L'Inconnue de la SeineJohn C. Calhoun, 1782-1850George Washington, 1732-1799Queen Louisa of Prussia, 1776-1810Ben Caunt, 1815-1861Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847Jean Paul Marat, 1743-1793John Lawrence Sullivan, 1858-1918Henry George, 1839-1897Edward Kean, 1787-1833Abraham Lincoln, 1808-1865Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533-1603Ludwig van Beethoven, 1779-1827John James Audubon, 1785-1851Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 Read the rest

Chacalall Orozco is a graphic designer from Mexico. “All of my work comes from self-exploration, pure expression, and intuition.”Here's his Tumblr, and his Behance. [via crossconnectmag.com] Read the rest

I've played enough of Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2.I didn't remember much of the first Red Dead Redemption. RDR was a massive "open world" western game. You could wander all over the map and do whatever you wanted.I found Red Dead Redemption kinda boring.I know I played it! The game was a big deal at the time. Friends in my small community of life-long video game aficionados were super excited to see this new installment: a modern massive "open world" western game.Red Dead Redemption 2 depresses me in the range of 2000's dreary movie Requiem for a Dream. Everything in the old west goes to shit for everyone. Nothing is working out well for you, or any NPC you meet.Life super sucks in the old west.You start the game as a grizzled and worn Old West bandit. Apparently your character is the #2 in a gang of broken down heist pullers who are on the run. Your leader, Dutch, really screwed up your last job, got some people killed or captured, and lost the loot. You are destitute and hunted by the law.Things don't get a lot better. The nature of western gunslingers is that death can come at any moment, so in RDR2 you are surrounded by it. Most encounters, even if you are working incredibly hard to be a nice guy and move through your world without too much violence, turn into murder.Roaming around the open world resulted in some dark adventures:I went to help a young journalist collect some research and ended up killing most of the people he needed me to interview. Read the rest

I'm writing a book (a how-to book) and I'm making a lot of measurements, taking notes, and making sketches. These Miliko 8.27" x 5.67" spiral notebooks of grid paper are perfect for the task, and inexpensive, given the quality of the thick cover and the paper. They are sold in a set of two. Read the rest

Most military underwater surveillance systems filter out whale calls along with other ambient ocean noise. This inspired researchers from China's Tianjin University to create a form of "bio-inspired steganography" in which recordings of whale songs can be edited to contain secret messages and then electronically transmitted underwater. From Newsweek:In research published in IEEE Communication Magazine, the team said there are two ways to hide signals in whale pulses—changing the signal to include encrypted information or making the signal weaker.The former is problematic because it would stand out from other naturally occurring signals, Jiang told SCMP. However, the second method holds promise. Researchers could build a coding system around the whale sounds. They could then edit whale sounds so they are indistinguishable from other whale calls. When they are received by the coding system, they can be deciphered. The main drawback for this approach is that it would be difficult to send a message over a long distance."Bio-Inspired Steganography for Secure Underwater Acoustic Communications" (IEEE Communications)Image: "A mother sperm whale and her calf off the coast of Mauritius" by Gabriel Barathieu Read the rest

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has submitted his letter of resignation to the White House. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. President," he closes.Here is the letter."At your request, I am submitting my resignation."It is not dated.Where this leaves the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is anyone's guess. This, as others have noted, is the moment of maximum danger for the probe.From NPR:Jeff Sessions, the president's earliest and most fervent supporter in Congress, stepped down as attorney general Wednesday after brutal criticism from the president, bringing an abrupt end to his controversial tenure as the nation's top law enforcement officer.Sessions, 71, lasted not quite two years in the job. But in that brief period, the former Alabama senator managed to usher in a new era at the Justice Department.Sessions threatened so-called sanctuary cities with the loss of federal funding and announced a "zero tolerance policy" for people who cross the southern U.S. border illegally.He decried a looming wave of violent crime across the country, even though criminologists maintain murders and assaults remain near historic lows in most places.He ordered federal prosecutors to seek the most serious charges and stiff prison sentences against drug criminals, a stark reversal of former President Barack Obama's most prominent and bipartisan justice policy.He presided over a rollback in investigations of local police. He rescinded policies that directed federal prosecutors to go after only the biggest cases involving marijuana in states where the drug is legal. Read the rest

To exhibit his photography at large scale, Chris Engman builds rooms with interiors wrapped with his stunning photos of forests, deserts, and other landscapes. They beckon the viewer inside where, of course, the perspectives warp and shift. From Colossal:Engman explains that once one enters the work its believability as a singular landscape becomes penetrated. Each step deeper inside the work makes the photographed landscape appear increasingly warped and unreal.“Even so,” says Engman, “compared to a singular framed photograph the experience of this installation for the viewer is much more physical and immersive. The structure is a room, not an image of a room. The photograph is an object, in addition to being an illusion. It has weight, and volume, and changes as you walk around it. Making this installation has been a thrilling process, and this new way of working seems to afford many new possibilities.”(photos by Tony Walsh, courtesy of the artist, and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles) Read the rest

I watched the election results on TV last night with my family. As it became clear that the Democrats were going to win the House, some of the talking heads said the results of the evening overall did not indicate a "blue wave." I disagree. Despite Russian meddling, voter intimidation, voter suppression, and gerrymandering, the Democrats managed to overcome these obstacles and win.It's not surprising that Democrats didn't win the Senate. That system is rigged to favor conservative states with tiny populations. Why should Wyoming (pop. 573,720) get the same number of senators as California (39 million)? That's how we end up with the kind of minority rule situation we find ourselves in now. Look at this graphic from Huffington Post that someone screenshotted last night: Voters placed 36 million votes to win 41 Democratic senators, and only 29 million votes to win 51 Republican senators. It's a form of cheating that's been legalized.The good news is that in the House, 313 districts moved to the left, and only a few dozen moved to the right. The New York Times has a good infographic that makes the Blue Wave evident:Here's more: "But the swing districts don’t tell the whole story — they represent the crest of the wave. The average district nationwide moved 10 percentage points to the left this year."So not a Blue Tsunami. A Blue Wave. I'll take it.Image: Brett Allen/Shutterstock Read the rest

An Australian locomotive engineer is very embarrassed.Via Newsweek:For around 50 minutes, the 1.2-mile locomotive sped along with 268 wagons in tow until authorities decided to remotely derail it from BHP's operations center almost 1,000 miles away in Perth.The locomotive got free when its driver stepped out of his cab to check on one of the wagons. However, before he could get back in, the train had already set off on its unplanned journey. "While the driver was outside of the locomotive, the train commenced to run away," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) explained.No one was injured in the accident, though the ATSB said the train was badly damaged along with around a mile of track, The Guardian noted. Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Super-Fun-Pak Comix does feature The Year Christmas Was Canceled, Science Facts for the Misophonic, Ah Life, and quite a bit more!

I recently tore through JN Chaney's Variant Saga, a four novel series that starts as dystopian sci-fi and turns into a fantastic first contact adventure.Once I started reading JN Chaney's The Amber Project I could not put it down. When I finished I immediately launched into the next book in the series. Chaney's post apocalyptic dystopia contains so many interesting facets, I was constantly in a state of needing to read what comes next.The Amber Project starts the series off focused on Terry, the star genetic experiment of a last ditch project to save humanity from Earth's environmental collapse. 200 years prior something caused the planet to be overcome by a toxic gas that killed everything it did not mutate horribly. A small group of humans have managed to survive in an underground city, but slowly the systems have failed beyond their ability to repair and without access to new resources the end is near.Science may have hit a home with Terry and his pals, but you can trust teenagers to make things interesting. Naturally, epic self involvement, and epic self sacrifice are involved.As the series progresses it changes from silo based doom-and-gloom dystopia to trans-dimensional traveling first contact story. As Terry's society begins to discover what happened to the Earth, and who did it, a wild tale spanning at least two universes spins out. I was initially caught a bit off guard, as I didn't expect Avatar to suddenly spring up in the middle of Das Boot, but that is what happens and it is actually pretty good. Read the rest

Many thanks to New James+, who shared his recent joyful discovery on twitter: "Today I learnt about donkey nannies, which are donkeys that are used to transport newborn lambs from high pastures to the plains when the lambs can't make that trip themselves. They're taken out after the day's journey for food and nuzzling with their mothers."Check out more photos of trans-species love here.Today I learnt about donkey nannies, which are donkeys that are used to transport newborn lambs from high pastures to the plains when the lambs can't make that trip themselves.They're taken out after the day's journey for food and nuzzling with their mothers. pic.twitter.com/GwIWxiaQOW— New James+ (@iyagovos) November 5, 2018Image: Shutterstock/Adriano Frisanco Read the rest

Welcome back. This second installment of The Bureau has you out of your Morning Meeting. It is now 10:03am.Listen carefully to the AB6700 Broadcast System for an important announcement, followed by instructions for administering your compulsory joy to the GB12-B Sincerity Monitor.

Conservative congressman Dana Rohrabacher (left) will likely lose his job serving the interests of the Kremlin in Congress. In office since 1989, he's known for his strong social conservatism, and for espousing pro-Russian ideas like, "If the majority of people legally residing in Alaska want to be part of Russia then it's OK with me." Interestingly, he was one of the few GOP congresspeople to support the legalization of pot.Rohrabacher represented Orange County, California, which has long been a GOP stronghold. But changing demographics have weakened the party's control of the southern California area.From the Sacramento Bee:Rouda is leading Rohrabacher 50.7 percent of the vote to 49.3 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office. However, mail-in ballots can be received until Friday, and the final vote likely won’t be certified until December.Rohrabacher earned his appellation for his dogged opposition of the Magnitsky Act, which barred members of the Vladimir Putin regime allegedly involved in the death of Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky from entering the U.S. or accessing American banks, according to Politico.Rohrabacher even says he once drunkenly arm wrestled with Putin in the 1990s, according to ABC News.Democratic House candidate Harley Rouda discusses the influence of money in politics and in his bid to unseat Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in the upcoming midterms.Rohrabacher, a 15-term congressman, was so important to Russian interests that the Kremlin gave him his own code name, according to The New York Times. Read the rest

Beto O'Rourke was always a long shot running against incumbent Ted Cruz for Senate in the blood red state of Texas. But with a narrow loss of 51-48, O'Rourke kept it real and went out with a bang during his concession speech, telling his fans, “I want to thank this amazing campaign of people. Not a dime from a single PAC. All of you showing the country how to do this. I am so fucking proud of you guys.” MSNBC later apologized for the not being quick enough with the censor button. "Sorry for the F-bomb. We have no control of what’s in the concession speeches,” anchor Brian Williams said. Via Uproxx Read the rest

Thanks to savvy hackers, desperate ad companies, and increasingly lax government oversight of the internet it's a good bet that even your nana knows what a VPN is by now. In the best case, Virtual Private Networks are essentially an underground railroad, whizzing you from destination to destination through a secure server that hides your ISP from advertisers and malcontents. Users in China and other areas that restrict internet content are using it to bypass those restrictions, and there's nothing to stop international travelers from using VPNs to access (for example) cheaper local rates on things like hotels and attraction tickets.Of course, your mileage may vary. Setting up the infrastructure necessary for that kind of security is no mean feat, and user experiences are going to differ based on where you are, which VPN you choose and what you choose to do with it. Based on user chatter and reviews, two services have arisen as popular favorites: NordVPN and Private Internet Access. Let's break down the highlights:NordVPNSince its release in 2012, NordVPN has steadily grown a fan base of satisfied users that include reviewers at trusted tech sites like CNET, TrustPilot and PC Mag, the last of whom gave them a rare 5-stars, or "outstanding" rating. With a somewhat higher price point, it's the Cadillac option of VPN - but with features that make the extra scratch well worth it.CompatibilityNordVPN wants to be your across-the-board security guard. It's compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS or iOS and Android smartphones, and you can connect to six devices simultaneously. Read the rest

Scott Edelman writes, "I devoted my World Fantasy Convention Guest of Honor speech to talk about my 48 years of attending convention, and about what they’ve been, what they are, what they could be, and what they should be."My first cons, and those recent cons, were one, are one, a continuation of what began when my grandfather drove into Manhattan to take me to that first convention in 1970. I hope you get to experience that sort of feeling in your own futures. But most important, I hope you decide you want to hang around these rooms long enough to experience those wondrous moments when decades can vanish.I can understand, though, why some of you might not want to, understand that some of you are not feeling welcomed, or embraced, or wanted, and might be thinking, what’s the point? Why am I banging my head against the wall? Is it really worth the effort?I have heard too many stories about moments like those, filled not with the feelings of welcome I experienced in my privilege, but the feeling of exclusion. And I believe those stories, all of them.I believe N. K. Jemisin, who in a moving acceptance speech earlier this year when she won her third consecutive Best Novel Hugo Award for The Stone Sky — a speech much better than anything you’re going to hear out of me today and one of the best I’e heard in a lifetime of con-going — spoke of the naysayers who told her to tone down her allegories and anger, who didn’t believe anyone but black people wanted to read about black people. Read the rest

Size doesn't really matter, at least not for this feisty rat. Watch how it doesn't take any guff from the cat who thought it could bully a much tinier creature. Turns out the rat is the bully, and doesn't let up as it chases the cat out of town. Read the rest

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) released the first 8k ultra high definition (UHD) video of life and science inside the International Space Station. From NASA:The Helium 8K camera by RED, a digital cinema company, is capable of shooting at resolutions ranging from conventional HDTV up to 8K, specifically 8192 x 4320 pixels. By comparison, the average HD consumer television displays up to 1920 x 1080 pixels of resolution, and digital cinemas typically project in resolutions of 2K to 4K....Delivered to the station in April aboard the 14th SpaceX cargo resupply mission through a Space Act Agreement between NASA and RED, this camera’s ability to record twice the pixels and at resolutions four times higher than the 4K camera brings science in orbit into the homes, laboratories and classrooms of everyone on Earth. “We’re excited to embrace new technology that improves our ability to engage our audiences in space station research,” said David Brady, assistant program scientist for the International Space Station Program Science Office at Johnson. “Each improvement in imagery fidelity brings that person on Earth closer to the in-space experience, allowing them to see what human spaceflight is doing to improve their life, as well as enable humanity to explore the universe.” Read the rest

Ryleigh is a teenager with Tourette Syndrome who makes absolutely wonderful videos like the one below that she hopes will "spread awareness about Tourettes as well as joy and laughter." See more of her clips at Tourettes Teen! Read the rest

Made famous by her refusal to issue marriage licenses to Kentuckians she disapproved of, evangelical darling Kim Davis has lost her bid for re-election.Via Kentucky.com:Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk made famous by her refusal to sign marriage licenses for gay couples, lost Tuesday in her reelection bid for the Rowan County clerkship.Davis, a Republican, lost to Democratic challenger Elwood Caudill Jr. by about 700 votes. Read the rest