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Today, Trump will announce his executive order against social media companies, the day after Twitter added a fact-checking note to two of Trump's misleading tweets. Surprising nobody, Trump's draft order goes after Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that is an essential protection for free speech on the Internet. (Here's the EFF's explanation of Section 230.) From CNN:"In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand-pick the speech that Americans may access and convey online," the draft order says. "This practice is fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic. When large, powerful social media companies censor opinions with which they disagree, they exercise a dangerous power."[...]Under the order, the Commerce Department would ask the Federal Communications Commission for new regulations clarifying when a company's conduct might violate the good faith provisions of Section 230 -- potentially making it easier for tech companies to be sued.That is consistent with a draft order whose text CNN first reported last summer -- and which prompted FCC officials to push back on the plan privately.The draft order instructs the Justice Department to consult with state attorneys general on allegations of anti-conservative bias. It bans federal agencies from advertising on platforms that have allegedly violated Section 230's good-faith principles.Finally, the draft order would direct the Federal Trade Commission to report on complaints about political bias collected by the White House and to consider bringing lawsuits against companies accused of violating the administration's interpretation of Section 230. Read the rest

On Tuesday evening, the night before NASA astronaut Bob Behnken was set to launch into orbit about a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule, he launched his own rocket from Florida's Atlantic Coast. I've personally launched this same rocket design, an Estes E2X Amazon, many times and can vouch for its fine engineering and reliability. While yesterday's historic launch—the first from US soil since 2011 with astronauts onboard and the first time a private company will take people offworld—was scrubbed due to weather, Behnken and Doug Hurley will be back in the capsule to try again on Saturday. I hope Behnken has a few more C engines for Friday night. From Space.com:According to Estes, the Amazon model rocket stands about 30 inches (76 centimeters) tall and can reach heights of up to 650 feet (200 meters). For comparison, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket booster stands 229.6 feet (70 m) tall and can soar more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) above the Earth — more than 1,000 times higher than Behnken's toy rocket. But Behnken didn't spend all of his last day on Earth playing in the sand. "The day before our launch on the @NASA/@SpaceX Demo Mission 2, I took the time to review pre-launch activities, hone my launch operation technique, practice one more docking with @Space_Station https://iss-sim.spacex.com, and review the path home," The day before our launch on the @NASA/@SpaceX Demo Mission 2, I took the time to review pre-launch activities, hone my launch operation technique, practice one more docking with @Space_Station https://t.co/1RBMI0g1Gp Read the rest

If you're looking for more quarantine activities — for yourself, or your kids, or something to do together! — the British rock magazine Kerrang! is now offering coloring book variants of some of their covers, featuring famous rock bands:We have turned seven Kerrang! magazine covers (plus a bonus My Chemical Romance photo) into elaborate colouring-in pages for you to turn into Technicolor masterpieces. We’ve got Slipknot, Lemmy, BABYMETAL and Ozzy Osbourne [and more] to choose from.Not only will it give you (or your young ones) a chance to practice your artistic skills, colouring-in is ideal for relieving stress and improving mental health. You can download all available Kerrang! coloring book pages here. And if you email your best designs to the magazine, you could get featured in an upcoming issue!Design your own Kerrang! Magazine Cover Read the rest

In my 90s childhood Star Wars obsession, I remember hearing a lot about the fabled NPR radio drama adaptations (read: "podcast") of the original trilogy. They were supposed to be canonical, in-as-much as they were Lucas-approved stories that expanded on the familiar ones we already knew.Now, someone has finally compiled them all on YouTube (although apparently you can find the MP3s on Archive.org as well). And wow, they are expanded — the A New Hope radio drama is 13 hours long!It's quite a stark departure from the movies I'm used to. The first chapter focuses exclusively on Luke, and highlights his relationships with his friends at Tosche Station — Cammie, Fixer, Deke, and the OG prodigal son, Biggs Darklighter (there's a version of some of this material floating as a deleted scene, but it's not nearly as expansive as this). Chapter Two turns more attention to Leia and her relationship with her father, as well as the information that lead them to the Death Star plans in the first place. It's not even until the third chapter that we get to the opening scene of the movie (that's as far as I've listened yet). It definitely conflicts with the newly established canon, especially Rogue One, but I'm enjoying the experience of re-discovering this world in a different format, with different and exciting details filling out the edges. I'm eager to find out what other ancillary characters might get more of a spotlight treatment here.From the editor who posted these compilations on YouTube:I have combined all episodes of the original radio drama using excerpts from John Williams' original soundtrack and Ben Burt's sound effects for a more seamless blending from one episode to the next. Read the rest

Nate Powell is the writer and artist behind About Face, a brilliant webcomic about America's obsession with fascist fashion. His latest comic, Hide Out, is less of a macro-scale political analysis, and more of a quiet, reflective, internal piece about life in apocalyptic scenarios — but it's just as powerful, and just as much worth reading.icymi, my new comic “Hide Out” is up at The Nib— old, romantic visions of The End shattered by the disorienting quiet of mass deaths in our slow motion catastrophe. https://t.co/GnMbczHjFU— Nate Powell (@Nate_Powell_Art) May 21, 2020 This Isn’t My Fantasy Apocalypse [Nate Powell / The Nib] Read the rest

IMGURian @KRANKARTA6 did an awesome topography visualization project in the "Ridgeline Style" that reminds us of the album cover for Joy Division's classic LP 'Unknown Pleasures.'USA states' topography in ridgeline / stack plot / joy plot style.These map artworks are created from SRTM elevation data and processed in QGIS and python. All images have the same elevation scale.See all of the work here at IMGUR:USA States Topography in Ridgeline Style - equal scaleUSA States Topography in Ridgeline Style - equal scale Read the rest

I don't know who made this, but it's pretty great.[via IMGUR] Read the rest

• Mark Brnovich (R) sued Google on Wednesday, alleging violation of user privacy.Arizona's state Attorney General is suing Google over claims the company collected Android users' location data even when users turned digital tracking off.Reporting by Tony Romm at the Washington Post:The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in arguing that Google, the maker of the Android smartphone operating system, set up its mobile software in a way that enriched its advertising empire and deceived device owners about the protections actually afforded to their personal data, running afoul of Arizona consumer-protection laws that prohibit companies from misrepresenting their business practices.“When consumers try to opt out of Google’s collection of location data, the company is continuing to find misleading ways to obtain information and use it for profit,” Brnovich (R) said in an interview.Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Read the rest:Arizona sues Google over allegations it illegally tracked Android smartphone users’ locations Read the rest

During Passover last month, I posted about The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 epic silent film version of the biblical Exodus story (plus a related modern story that I never bothered to watch.) As part of tomorrow night's DAWN online celebration of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, and drummer Scott Amendola are premiering a far out new score for the film! Watch the excerpt above. Organized by the Jewish arts and culture organization Reboot, DAWN is sure to be a wild program of music, conversations, comedy, and performances. My pal and Boing Boing contributor David Katznelson, the head of Reboot, orchestrated the new Ten Commandments musical collaboration. From Rolling Stone:Reboot CEO David Katznelson — who signed the Flaming Lips to Warner Bros. years ago — said of the project: “Watching this film score come together, with three amazing artists forced to work remotely and yet completely in flow with each other as they composed such an incredible piece of music was inspirational. Using the greatest artists of the day to bring something like The Ten Commandments to life for new generations to connect with… that is exactly what Reboot was created to do.”Along with Drozd, Berlin and Amendola, the DAWN lineup will feature appearances from Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Michaela Watkins, Gaby Moskowitz, Tiffany Shlain and Kasher vs. Kasher, a new podcast from comedian Moshe Kasher and his brother Rabbi David Kasher. The event kicks off May 28th at 10 p.m. Read the rest

The U.S. death toll of those killed by Covid19 passed 100,000 today, according to The New York Times. Johns Hopkins' tracker, which does not include U.S. deaths aboard cruise ships, placed the death toll at 99,783 on Wednesday. The toll is short of the true total, say experts, but the milestone, arbitrary as it is, is a reminder of the severity and persistence of the coronavirus pandemic even as lockdowns are lifted.The toll exceeds the number of U.S. military combat fatalities in every conflict since the Korean War. It matches the toll in the United States of the 1968 flu pandemic, and it is approaching the 116,000 killed in another flu outbreak a decade before that. The pandemic is on track to be the country’s deadliest public health disaster since the 1918 flu pandemic, in which about 675,000 Americans died. Though the numbers of new cases and deaths have begun trending downward, health experts warn of a possible resurgence as lockdowns are lifted. Read the rest

Charles Platt's growing series of electronics books are the best I've come across. He explains concepts very clearly, and his illustrations are excellent. His latest book in the series is called Easy Electronics. It covers voltage, resistance, capacitors, transistors, integrated circuits, and more. No tools are needed to complete the projects in this book. Read the rest

a group of young black entrepreneurs have owned a office building in uptown minneapolis for over a year& got racially profiled at the private gym today??‍♀️smh pic.twitter.com/iKmAuW5Tli— nisa (@anisalrh) May 27, 2020 View this post on Instagram Normally we don’t speak out about encounters of racial profiling and age discrimination that we face day to day in our lives as young black entrepreneurs. Although today May 26th 2020 7:51pm we encountered a situation where a man entered the facility, a shared private gym that we utilize in our @wework @mozaic_east office located in uptown Minnesota. Granted we’ve been in this office space and have rented and grown our business for the past 1 year and half here. As we were working out this man approached and immediately asked us who we were and if “WE BELONG” in this building. Granted in order to enter the building you NEED a key card to enter EVERY part of the building which EACH of our team members individually have. We all pay rent here and this man demanded that we show him our key cards or he will call the cops on us. We are sick and tired of tolerating this type of behavior on a day to day basis and we feel that we had to bring light onto this situation.A post shared by Top Figure ? (@teamtopfigure) on May 26, 2020 at 8:33pm PDTIn this Instagram video, we see a white man (who looks like the adult son of John Lydon and Martin Short if they were to have a child) in an office building gym taking photos of black men and calling the police because he doesn't think they "belong" there. Read the rest

In Chayanta, Bolivia, three brothers, ages 12, 10 and 8, came upon a black widow spider while herding goats. They poked at the spider until it bit each of them. Why? They hoped to become Spider-Man. According to a report in Telemundo, their mom found them very upset and took them to a health center that moved them to a hospital. From the New York Post:The would-be Peter Parkers were transferred a third time, taken to the Children’s Hospital in La Paz the next day with fevers, tremors and muscle pains, according to the report.There, they were treated and discharged last Wednesday, almost a week after they were bitten, the report says.No word on whether they can now sling webs.(Thanks, Rick Pescovitz!)image: Chepyle (CC BY-SA 3.0) Read the rest

For insightful geopolitical analysis of international affairs, where else would you turn but the ‘National Enquirer’?

KontrolFreek's CleanFreek foaming cleaner keeps my monitor, controller and iPhone sparkling.CleanFreek's foam leaves no residue or streaking on my cherished 1440p monitor. The grubby kid hand-stains left on my Xbox and Switch controllers easily wipe away. The layer of oil that constantly lives on my iPhone screen is gone.I also use CleanFreek on my glasses and this very laptop. I hate it when my gear gets blech!KontrolFreek CleanFreek Anti-bacterial Cleaner for Gaming Gear (2.7 fl oz) | Cleaner for Controllers, Mice, Smartphones, Tablets, Monitors and Glasses via Amazon Read the rest

The Lego masters at The Brick Wall built this fantastic contraption to crank out tapas. Technical details:19 Lego PF motors5 BuWizz Bricks4 weeks of hard work Read the rest

Phone company LG Poland apologized for its TikTok video ad depicting a man taking photos of a woman in a skirt as she ascends a staircase.From Android Authority:LG Poland recently posted a video on TikTok, showing an elderly man apparently taking upskirt photos of a woman walking up stairs. The woman then turns around and grabs the LG V60 being used by the man, scrolling through the gallery app on the second screen. However, the woman only finds selfies of the man in question.The woman then returns the LG V60 to the elderly man, who promptly scrolls in the opposite direction and reveals that, yes, he has indeed taken pseudo-upskirt shots.After people complained about the video, LG Poland took it down and issued the following statement:“A recent video posted by LG Poland failed to follow the proper approval process for social media content. It did not live up to the standards and policy of LG Electronics and was immediately removed. We apologize for any offense this ill-conceived video may have caused. We will strive to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in the future.”Image: @lgpolska Read the rest

Boing Boing welcomes Real Tested CBD as a sponsor!Real Tested CBD is known for efforts in bringing information about the CBD products for not only established brands, but the budding brands in the niche. We fuel our passion through the zest of our clients, asking us for updates on what is happening in the CBD universe. Thanks to the laws in the US that allow legal production of CBD products for health and research, there are some premier products on the market, but it's important to know what you are shopping for to ensure the best purchase.We at Real Tested CBD run all the products through lab tests and present everything in black and white for our readers. This way, our consumers get to find out what product they are getting and if it is worth getting at all. Today, we review Charlotte’s Web and its CBD products that include balms, creams, tincture, edibles, and capsules.Here is a review of all the nine products of Charlotte’s Web that we tested.This hemp-infused balm by Charlotte’s web comes with 150 mg of botanical blend hemp extract. It has a soothing scent, and we found no traces of pesticides and solvents in the mix. Moreover, it contains all the goodness of CBD at 107.2 mg per pack. It also contains THC at 4.69 mg and CBC at 4.48 mg per package. However, our test results indicate that the total CBD levels were lower than those claimed on the label.This Canine hemp-infused balm is for adult dogs with 450 mg of hemp extract. Read the rest

Today, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to shuttle two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. This will be the first time humans will launch to space from the United States since 2011 and the first time a private company will take humans offworld. Intrepid science journalist Nadia Drake is at the launchpad reporting on the mission for National Geographic and ABC News. Tune in above for Nadia's live reporting. Liftoff is set for 4:33pm ET, weather and technology permitting. From Nadia's coverage at National Geographic:The Demo-2 mission is slated to lift off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A—the same pad in Florida that hosted Apollo 11 and STS-135, the last flight of a space shuttle. However, next week's mission represents a new way of getting humans to orbit, in which agencies including NASA purchase rides to space from private companies.For astronauts [Doug] Hurley, 53, and [Bob] Behnken, 49, the Demo-2 flight also presents a rare opportunity: to be the first people to fly in a new type of spacecraft. Behnken and Hurley were specially selected for NASA’s commercial crew program back in 2015. Both men are former military test pilots—Hurley in the Marines and Behnken in the Air Force. Both are married to fellow astronauts, and the two have been colleagues since joining NASA in 2000 as part of Astronaut Group 18.“It’s probably a dream of every test pilot school student to have the opportunity to fly on a brand-new spaceship, and I’m lucky enough to get that opportunity with my good friend here,” Behnken said recently at a press conference with Hurley. Read the rest

Researchers hypothesize that the asteroid that gave the world over to mammals and birds hit Earth at a 60 degree angle, kicking up far more atmospheric dirt than a direct hit. The resulting climate change would be deadly for massive fauna and the ecosystems that depended on them—as the fossil record shows.Analysing the structure of the 200-kilometre-wide (125 mile) crater in southern Mexico where the asteroid hit, scientists ran a series of simulations. Lead author Gareth Collins of Imperial College London and colleagues at the University of Freiburg and the University of Texas at Austin looked at four possible impact angles - 90, 60, 45 and 30 degrees - and two impact speeds, 12 and 20 kilometres per second (7.5 and 12.4 miles per second). The best fit with the data from the crater was a 60 degree strike."Sixty degrees is a more lethal impact angle because it ejects a larger amount of material fast enough to engulf the planet," Collins told AFP.Adds Collins: "a very bad day for the dinosaurs". Read the rest

Scroll through the carousel below, or check out Not Art on Instagram for more Sexy Facemask Photoshopping (if that's what you want to do). View this post on Instagram In better news it turns out that #SportsIllustrated was able to put out their swimsuit calendar on time for the #GlobalPandemic. The models were not at risk because the camera man was always at least 6 feet away and it was all shot on a Beach no one has heard of in #Madagascar So no one else was around. #SportsIllusratedA post shared by NOTART (@notart) on Apr 26, 2020 at 10:49pm PDT Read the rest

Just Sketch Me is a character-posing tool on the web: an artist's manikin, essentially, with a few useful features and no extraneous ones. There are options for different proportions and animals, a library of preset poses, and you can even save your work as a 3D model. Read the rest

At least 10 local TV stations ran a "news" report written and produced by Amazon, reports The Courier-News. The video was provided by Amazon, and only one station disclosed that the "reporter" was an Amazon spokesman. The report, as you have perhaps guessed, praises Amazon effusively.While most TV news professionals have scoffed at the idea of running Amazon-provided content as news, at least 10 stations across the country ran some form of the package on their news broadcasts. The package—you can view the script Amazon provided to news stations here—was produced by Amazon spokesperson Todd Walker. Only one station, Toledo ABC affiliate WTVG, acknowledged that Walker was an Amazon employee, not a news reporter.Bad as it is, TV (and especially radio) news has always been like this. They're studios, not newsrooms. They get content from newswires, parent companies, any old source that has it nicely packaged. When I was a smalltown reporter, you'd hear the newspaper rustling as they read it on air.It's true that it's getting worse, perhaps because of consolidation: Watch countless American news anchors mindlessly intone the same propaganda script Read the rest

“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.”

Earlier this spring, more than 20 members of Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos pan flute orchestra left their homes in Bolivia and embarked on a European tour. They arrived in Germany on March 10, right as that country's government imposed a ban on large gatherings to fight the spread of coronavirus. Within days, their bus had broken down, and all of their performances had been cancelled, and their own government back home in Bolivia announced that it would close its own borders, leaving the orchestra stranded.And so they spent 73 days living and rehearsing in the Rheinsberg Palace, a 15th-century moated castle ninety minutes northwest of Berlin. Until this past Monday, they hadn't been allowed to travel beyond the woodlands that surround the castle. But that forest — and the land beyond — are inhabited by 23 packs of wild wolves.The palace itself is also rumored to be haunted by Frederick the Great, a former Prussian king and alleged idol of Adolf Hitler.The musicians have also reported encounters with a far more terrifying threat: German police in riot gear, intent on delivering punishment on the musicians for breaking social distancing rules, despite the fact that they technically qualify as a family unit.BBC has the more in-depth story, including interviews with the musicians, many of whom are dealing with other personal struggles amidst all this other chaos.Coronavirus: The Bolivian orchestra stranded in a German castle [Oliver Barnes / BBC]Image: ernstol / Wikimedia Commons (CC 3.0) Read the rest

Remember that guy who traded one red paperclip up to a house in Saskatchewan? Well, now there's an anonymous Bay Area woman on TikTok who is looking to trade a bobby pin to get one. Since May 18, the day she started the Trade Me Project, she's gone from a bobby pin to a pair of earrings to four margarita glasses to a vacuum. Her latest trade up? She cleaned up that Bissell and traded it for a snowboard.Follow the Trade Me Project on TikTok to see her next trade-ups and DM her on Instagram if you have something you want to trade with her. @trademeproject Trading my way from a bobby pin to a house #fyp ♬ original sound - trademeproject @trademeproject Trading a bobby pin for a house. Pt 4 #fyp #trademeproject ♬ original sound - trademeproject screengrabs via Trade Me Project/IG(RED) Read the rest

Earlier this month, New Yorkers were challenged by their governor's office to create a public service announcement to "help communicate why it is so important to wear a mask to stop the spread of coronavirus." Over 600 submissions were received and were voted on by more than 200,000 people. The winning ad, Bunny Lake Films' "We Love NY" captures just the right vibe: it's positive, inclusive, and very "New York." Gothamist reports:While the "We Love NY" PSA by Bunny Lake Films (from directors Celine Danhier and Aliya Naumoff) received the most votes and became the official winner, the state will actually run two ads. "You Can Still Smile" by Blue Slate Films/Natalia Bougadellis came in second, just around 500 votes behind first place.See a few more of the PSAs here. Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH The Don's criminal reign becomes even more brazen, as he publicly extorts a state during a pandemic

As promised by the video title, this pooch just loves to chat.UPDATE: The conversation is over, sadly. The video was removed. Read the rest

In this footage, a workman traipses into a dark entryway only to be startled by a harmless bird. His epithets are not work-safe; the bird knew exactly what it was doing. Read the rest

We've been cleaning out and sorting through some stuff we had in storage, which I re-discovered this generous gift that someone (my mother-in-law?) bought me at some point in time. My sister picked it up, asking why I had a poop-shaped cookie cutter in the pile with my Star Wars cookie cutters. Normally, this would be a valid question to ask — it is certainly reasonable to think that I would own both poop and Star Wars cookie cutters. But then I had to remind her that, no, that was in fact, a Jawa, a member of the Tatooinian trader race that's also kind of uncomfortably anti-Semitic once you start to think about it.Now, I'm not sure why this particular cookie cutter set came with a Jawa. An Ewok would have probably made more sense (while still remaining slightly poop-like). I can't find this particularly set available anywhere else on the Internet; William-Sonoma sells an 8-pack of Star Wars cookie cutters with the exact same Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3pO molds — but alas, no Poop Jawa. Walmart sells a lone Poop Jawa cookie cutter for a whopping $18. I'm assuming that someone at Williams-Sonoma decided to discontinue the Poop Jawa — not because it looks like a poop, but because, who the hell wants a Jawa cookie cutter anyway?There is one link on Amazon for a Star Wars Press-and-Stamp Cookie Cutters, Set of 4 Droids and Aliens: R2-D2, C-3PO, Jawa and Chewbacca. Unfortunately, it has no pictures, and it's not available anyway. Read the rest

It's hard to imagine what places like ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome might have looked like in all of their glory. New Historia tries to shed some light on what everyday life might have looked and felt like with their series of 3D "cinematic animations." Here is their five-minute fly-through over ancient Rome. No idea why they chose to not paint the statues. It's always been my understanding that the statuary was painted in bright, vivid colors. Image: YouTube Read the rest

“It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” - “Lonesome Dove,” Larry McMurtryIf the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that we need to be prepared now more than ever. Emergency situations can happen quickly and there’s no telling when you may need provisions to handle any manner of spur-of-the-moment event.And as with most emergencies, it’s always tough to know exactly when they’ll happen or exactly what you may need to get through it. That’s why The GoBox 3-Day Emergency Kit is such a smart, practical way of staying prepared for any eventuality.The sturdy box is about the size of a hardcover book -- and the whole box can fit unobtrusively on a bookshelf in your home or office for safe-keeping. But in the event of an emergency, it’s jam-packed full of useful items that could help you or someone else get through anything from a medical emergency to a power outage to a lockdown.For poor air quality, you’ve got a KN95 respirator mask. If anyone’s hurt, you’ve got a first-aid kit with dressings and medications. If it’s cold, you’ve got a Mylar emergency space blanket. If it’s wet, you’ve got a rain poncho. If it’s dark, you’ve got an LED flashlight and a glow stick. And if your emergency looks like it might not end anytime soon, you’ve got a deck of playing cards to help pass the time.The kit also comes with essential provisions, including a 3-day supply of water and food rations, all with a shelf life of up to five years. Read the rest

“Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!”Earlier today, Twitter for the first time ever added a factchecking feature to one of impeached U.S. President Donald Trump's false tweets about voter fraud. Within an hour or so, Trump lashed out at Twitter, on Twitter.Previously:Twitter fact-checks Trump tweet for first time Read the rest

This interview presents a conversation with Grammy-nominated comic book creator, cartoonist and the future of comics history, Benjamin Marra (TERROR ASSAULTER: O.M.W.O.T. (One Man War On Terror), NIGHT BUSINESS, AMERICAN BLOOD, BLADES & LAZERS) about his work, comics, and new daily strip, WHAT WE MEAN BY YESTERDAY.Jeffery Klaehn: For audiences new to you and your work, how might you describe your “brand” as a comic creator, Ben?Benjamin Marra: It’s difficult for me to self-assess my own brand. Probably easier for an external set of eyes to make a more accurate accounting. But I’d describe myself as a creator focused on genre and manipulating or subverting genre tropes. The themes of my work revolve around ideas of America and American Pop Culture. As a brand I’m a bit of a provocateur and permanently stationed on the underground side of comics. I’d say my comics are Gonzo comics that stem from the creative, subversive attitudes of the 60s and 70s.JK: When you think about your own passion for comics and comic art, what immediately comes to mind for you?Ben Marra: Drawing with ink and telling stories. Those are two things that I obsess over practically every minute of the day.JK: I was thinking today that mainstream comics should be available in magazine size format at 100-page each, on slick paper, maybe for a $7.99US or $8.99US price point. Some could perhaps be printed on lower quality paper and offered at cheaper prices. Read the rest

It's a mandala of crispy fried carbohydrates, and I want to worship every bite. A beautiful rainbow of french fries. Full size here.Photograph from Redditor @squid50s Read the rest

Apple says it is planning to reopen more than 100 US retail stores this week, and that because the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, most locations will only offer curbside or storefront service.By this week's end, Apple says, about 130 out of its 271 U.S. stores will be open. Certain locations, but not all, will be allowing customers to walk inside the store and conduct transactions on-site with staff.Excerpt from CNBC:Apple’s retail openings are being closely watched as both a key demand driver for Apple as well as a leading indicator for the health of the retail industry, where Apple’s locations often anchor important malls or shopping districts.The stores in the United States that have re-opened so far have focused on Apple’s Genius Bar, which enables customers to get service and support for broken iPhones and other Apple products. Some stores re-opening this week will be available for walk-in customers. “This week we’ll return to serving customers in many US locations,” an Apple representative said in a statement. “For customer safety and convenience, most stores will offer curbside or storefront service only, where we provide online order pick-up and Genius Bar appointments.”Apple’s head of retail Deidre O’Brien wrote an open letter earlier this month outlining the company’s retail re-opening strategy. In March, Apple closed its retail stores outside of China in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.Read more:Apple will open about 100 more stores in the U.S. this week, with focus on curbside serviceHistorically, #Apple has been a genius at retail. Read the rest

• “Our algorithms exploit the human brain's attraction to divisiveness.”• “64% of all extremist group joins are due to our recommendation tools” • GOP operative turned Facebook policy VP Joel Kaplan, who threw a party for Brett Kavanaugh upon his Supreme Court confirmation, killed any action on Facebook's internal findings, reports WSJMark Zuckerberg and other top executives at Facebook shelved damning internal research into the social media platform's polarizing effect, which hampered efforts to apply its conclusions to products and minimize harm, reported the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.Facebook's own internal research discovered that most people who join extremist groups did so as a result of Facebook's recommendation algorithms. The company shelved the research, and pressed on, making money and radicalizing Americans.The Wall Street Journal report by Deepa Seetharaman and Jeff Horwitz is based on company sources and internal documents. One internal Facebook presentation slide from 2018 laid out the issue like this: “Our algorithms exploit the human brain's attraction to divisiveness.”“If left unchecked,” it warned, Facebook would feed users “more and more divisive content in an effort to gain user attention & increase time on the platform.”Excerpt:That presentation went to the heart of a question dogging Facebook almost since its founding: Does its platform aggravate polarization and tribal behavior?The answer it found, in some cases, was yes.Facebook had kicked off an internal effort to understand how its platform shaped user behavior and how the company might address potential harms. Read the rest

Twitter said Tuesday it's not taking any action on grotesquely abusive tweets by impeached U.S. President Donald Trump about the 2001 death of a woman who once worked as a congressional staff member for Joe Scarborough, after her husband asked the company to remove the false and personally harassing tweets.As Mark wrote earlier today on Boing Boing, “Twitter says it's "deeply sorry about the pain" Trump's tweets have caused,” and by day's end, it's now clear they are officially not doing anything at all to address the situation.In a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that was also published by the New York Times, Timothy J. Klausutis asked Twitter to take down the Trump tweet “alluding to the repeatedly debunked falsehood that my wife was murdered by her boss, former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough.”“Lori Klausutis, who had an undiagnosed heart condition, fell and hit her head on her desk at work — Her death was ruled an accident,” Reuters reports:Trump said he had seen the family’s letter, but stood by his comments, telling White House reporters: “I’m sure that ultimately they want to get to the bottom of it ... It’s a very suspicious thing.”A Twitter spokeswoman said the tweets would remain.“We are deeply sorry about the pain these statements, and the attention they are drawing, are causing the family,” the spokeswoman said in a statement when asked about the president’s tweets on Scarborough, now an MSNBC television host with whom Trump has brawled. Read the rest

[Update: Shortly after this post, Trump lashed out at Twitter, on Twitter.]This is huge. Twitter today for the first time labeled a tweet by the President as misleading.On Tuesday, the social media company highlighted two of Trump's tweets that falsely claimed mail-in ballots would lead to widespread voter fraud.Twitter confirmed that two Trump tweets were flagged for “potentially misleading information about voting processes” and are labeled for context."Get the facts about mail-in ballots," read a message beneath each Trump tweet. This message links to a fact-checking page created by Twitter with news articles debunking the assertion.“Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud,” a headline at the top of that Twitter factchecking page reads. Twitter confirms to me that today is the first time any Trump tweets have been labeled as misleading by the platform.In these (two) cases, Twitter says, Trump’s tweets were flagged for "potentially misleading information about voting processes” and are labeled for context. pic.twitter.com/w0pd4qTjN7— Brian Fung (@b_fung) May 26, 2020Of course, this means Twitter will now face further questions about when and how it may apply this label to other Trump tweets, as the president has lobbed baseless allegations against @JoeNBC. More here: https://t.co/fYiuxuj0ml— Brian Fung (@b_fung) May 26, 2020Trump's Frodo-like failson Donald Trump Jr. had something to say about it:From CNN:Twitter said the move was aimed at providing "context" around Trump's remarks. But Twitter's unprecedented move is likely to raise further questions about its willingness to consistently apply the label to other Trump tweets that have been deemed misleading by third parties, particularly as the president has lobbed baseless allegations against former Rep. Read the rest

Game of Shrooms, that hide-and-seek/scavenger hunt for mushroom-themed art is happening again! It was started last year by Attaboy of Hi-Fructose and was such a huge success that he's doing it again. To play, simply make an art piece inspired by mushrooms and then hide it, leaving clues on its location through your Instagram feed with the hashtag #gameofshrooms. Or, on game day, just go find art other people have hidden. It was supposed to all go down on June 13, but COVID changed that. So now on that date, artists will reveal their intention and location and actually play the game on August 15. View this post on Instagram important announcement about this year’s #GameofShrooms! Because of the current crisis, it’s best to postpone the world wide art show and scavenger hunt a few months. so! On June 13th I’d like to invite all participating artists to Announce their intentions and location so that a global map can be created for all Shroom hunters. On August 15th: The Shroom Drop Happens (where it is safe to do so). It kills me to me the event date but it’s best to be on the safe side, right? Meanwhile, please keep posting preview photos of your creations, tagging #gameofshrooms so that we can follow along. Come august, the world may need a world wide art show and event to reset our perspective, no? Thank you to all and please keep sending me what you are working on. What I’ve seen is fantastic. Read the rest

You know how in movies where there's a mad genius tech-wizard/hacker (often a precocious teen) who can make the most fantastical creations with seemingly no effort? It's such a great fantasy with little analogue in the real world. Sam Battle, he of Look Mum No Computer strikes me as a character from one of those films, except he is very real. Sam has given us the Furby Organ, the Sega Mega Drive Synth, and the Circuit Bent Bible -- among many other jaw-dropping creations.Now, Sam has made mad magic again, this time with an old Nintendo Power Glove. First, he converted the glove so that it can control his home-built synth. That was ingenious enough, but he was finding it hard to isolate his finger movements. So, he decided to download the InMoov robot's 3D printable arm, print a copy, and use it to control the synth through the Power Glove. Welcome to the future, cyberpunks.Image: YouTube Read the rest

In a continuation from Trump's Do-As-I-Say-Don't-Say-As-I-Do approach to mail-in voter ballots, the Republican National Committee has sued the state of California in an effort to stop their vote-by-mail outreach ahead of November's election.From CNN:The suit comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced this month that the state would move to encourage all voters to cast their ballots by mail in November -- the most widespread expansion of vote-by-mail that has been announced as a result of the pandemic and in the nation's most populous state.The RNC's lawsuit challenges that step, marking a significant escalation in the legal battles between Republicans and Democrats that are currently being waged in more than a dozen states."Democrats continue to use this pandemic as a ploy to implement their partisan election agenda, and Governor Newsom's executive order is the latest direct assault on the integrity of our elections," said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in a statement."Newsom's illegal power grab is a recipe for disaster that would destroy the confidence Californians deserve to have in the security of their vote."To be clear: encouraging people to vote is not a power grab. Nor is it illegal. It is, in fact, a core tenet upon which the foundation of a functioning democracy — even a Representative Democracy! — is built. Curiously, it's also one of the only issues that make Republicans err on the side of extreme caution, infringing on clearly-stated Constitutional rights just in case a single vote ever goes awry. Read the rest

The Last of Us is a game about surviving in America after a pandemic. The sequel is out this summer, and as part of the marketing effort, Sony is offering a "The Last of Us Part II" skateboard with an attractive "post-pandemic distressing" effect. [via @ckunzelman]Build a deck with some real character, complete with post-pandemic distressing. Made of 7-ply Canadian maple. Individually cold-pressed. You wouldn't want the distressing to look pre-pandemic, would you? Read the rest

Just as in almost any industry that seeks high-demand, well-trained workers, certification often becomes key. For project managers, that means anyone who’s serious about serving in that role with a respected company knows they’re going to need the seal of approval in one of the field’s most recognized methodologies before they stand much of a chance of getting on a payroll. Since the 1960s, the project management field has been dominated by its preeminent professional organization, the Project Management Institute (PMI). By the 1980s, they’d written the book on project management — literally — with the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) and began certifying those who proved they understood that methodology.As a benchmark among peers, the training in the Project Management Certifications Tests and Courses Bundle can help any new PM prospect earn the knowledge to get certified as a PMI-recognized and endorsed pro, ready to take on a business’ most critical initiatives.It all starts with the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Certification course, leading first-time students through 14 hours of training over the basics of project management, including all the terminology, the structure, and the step-by-step procedures they’ll need to know. Using the PMBOK as the core text, practitioners tackle 5 mock tests with 750 different questions to discover if they’re ready to move forward. But Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification status is what students truly covet. So this next course builds off those teachings, covering everything a PMP has to understand if they want to ace the all-important PMP test. Read the rest

Dr. Steven Levine is a renowned New York plastic surgeon, best known for his face-lifts and breast augmentation work. And apparently, as he told The Cut, he's received a lot of requests for in-home service during this pandemic:The volume of calls, and level of intensity, is probably higher during COVID than not COVID. Almost every virtual consult ends with “How quickly can you do this?” They want to take advantage of this perceived downtime. It seems like the perfect time to recover from a procedure like a face-lift, where you need at least two weeks to lay low (whereas for breast augmentation, you only need a few days to rest at home).[…]Extremely successful people are used to getting what they want, when they want it. That is the reality of their life. One very well-known entrepreneur wanted to come to my office on the Upper East Side and get her face done, like, yesterday. She offered me more than four times my usual fee, all cash, and told me she’d have her lawyer draft a nondisclosure that she wouldn’t tell anyone we did it. I told her, “I love you to death, but no.”Beyond the obvious arrogance of this whole scenario, it also sounds like a horror movie waiting to happen. More at the link.My Wealthiest Clients Are Begging for Plastic Surgery in Quarantine [Steven Levine as told to Alyssa Shelasky / The Cut]Image: April L. Sanders / Flickr (CC 2.0) Read the rest

In 1981, Damaskas (Daniel E Hollomb) of The Dr. Demento Show recorded this wonderful parody of DEVO's "Mongoloid" about the arcade game Asteroids. According to Dr_Deirdre_Airlines who posted it in r/ObscureMedia, Damaskas has said "he never played the game, but instead watched people playing the game failing miserably at it."Damaskas was most cult famous for his rollicking ditty "Making Love In A Subaru" (1977), below: Read the rest

What are Perler beads and why might you want to buy a big tub of 22,000 thousand? They are tiny colorful plastic cylinders. Each bead is a pixel that you place on a Perler pegboard to make a piece of art. Once you've placed all the beads down, you use a clothes iron to fuse the beads together, so your artwork doesn't fall apart.The above video shows you a smart way to stack beads on a toothpick for faster beading.Here are some great Perler bead drawings from around the world:Perler Bead Majora's Mask by EP-380Floppy disks by larriekingMario Perler beads by TheBeadLordMobile phone case by Lovely CraftsDIYPerler beads Stormtrooper Star Wars by L000lzPerler bead camera coasters by Maker CratePerler beads tree and mobile by Idee Creative8-Bit Pixel Art Christmas Baubles by adamcrockettPlus, imagine the fun of sorting 22,000 Perler beats by color! Read the rest

Trump and Trump Junior are tweeting accusatory nonsense about the death of a woman, and her widower asked Twitter to delete the hurtful messages because the tweets are in violation of Twitter's terms of service. But Twitter has made it clear that Trump can tweet anything he wishes with impunity, so the best it can do is say “We are deeply sorry about the pain these statements, and the attention they are drawing, are causing the family.”From AP:[Timothy J. Klausutis called his wife's] death “the single most painful thing that I have ever had to deal with” and said he feels a marital obligation to protect her memory amid “a constant barrage of falsehoods, half-truths, innuendo and conspiracy theories since the day she died.”Klausutis said Trump is among the conspiracy theorists spreading “bile and misinformation” on Twitter “disparaging the memory” of his wife and their marriage.Trump’s tweets violate Twitter’s community rules and terms of service, he said.“An ordinary user like me would be banished,” Klausutis wrote.In a statement, Twitter said it was “deeply sorry about the pain these statements, and the attention they are drawing, are causing the family.” Read the rest

From designer Nate Shirley, a "personal hygiene product intended for cleaning your ears. It uses disposable spiral cleaning heads that spin at a constant speed."I wish he would Kickstart it!Image: Nate Shirley Read the rest