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Phil Noto's Mad Men-like Marvel Universe
-Phil Noto applies his retro sensibilities to Marvel's past in his drawing series The Hank Pym Photo Archives.
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"Halloween" by Siouxsie and the Banshees (1981)
-Siouxsie and the Banshees perform "Halloween" live in 1981.
Play videoMarthaStewart.com: "Punk Rock-Inspired Party" for kids
- MarthaStewart.com instructs us "How to Throw a Punk Rock-Inspired Party" for kids "that won't turn into a riot." Read the resthow-do
Inexpensive, No-Blind-Spot Rearview Mirror
- NASCAR drivers and law enforcers use custom wide-angle rearview mirrors to avoid head-swiveling. You can buy a wide-angle mirror that attaches over an existing rearview for $60, but you can make one for about $12 and a few shop scraps. By Phil Bowie and Larry Cotton. Read the restMaker Mayhem: Low Moments in How-To History, Part 11
- Tin Can Cannibal: Because people eating people makes for fun kid’s crafts. By Matt Maranian. Read the restcandy hierarchy
The Candy Hierarchy, 2014
- David Ng and Ben Cohen performed acts of science (realistic ones) in order to determine, once and for all, a true and empirical understanding of which Halloween candies induce the most joy and despair. With more than 40,000 of your votes duly recorded, the results below are indisputably unassailable. Read the restThe life-changing magic of Tidying Up
- If something doesn't spark joy, get rid of it. Marie Kondo on the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing Read the restStreet Angel 005: Into the Lair!
- Street Angel has infiltrated Dr. Pangea's hideout. What comes next for our heroine and her nemesis? By Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca. Read the restDavid Graeber and Thomas Piketty on whether capitalism will destroy itself
-Graeber wrote the magisterial Debt: The First 5,000 Years; Piketty, of course, wrote the essential Capital in the 21st Century -- in a must-read dialog, they discuss their differences and similarities and offer views on whether capitalism will collapse.
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Three ways fearful parents are ruining Hallowe'en
-It's the safest night of the year for your kids: no kid has ever been poisoned by a stranger, and the 31st usually has fewer assaults on children than other days of the year (but more kids do get hit by cars!).
Lenore Prepares for Halloween — Heh, Heh, Heh
Play videoUSPS usage declines, but sloppy postal surveillance is way, way up
-Surveillance requests for "postal metadata" climbed 600% in recent years, often undertaken with badly formed or expired warrants.
Read the restOptical illusions: auto detailing reflections
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Auto detailing can be an art form in the right hands, as air2thethrown shows in this beautiful photo of a field reflected in a car's surface. The regulars at Detailing Bliss would say shooting at such a severe angle is a cheat, but it's a cool effect regardless.
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Koch Brothers buy ads on Daily Show, Jon Stewart mercilessly skewers them
-Reading between the lines, I'm guessing Viacom's sales force got eleventy-nine metric fucktons of money from Koch to run ads against TDS, and Stewart decided to show them who was boss.
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Big ISPs' efforts to squeeze Netflix lead to slow connectivity for you
-Over at Backchannel, Susan Crawford reveals how the crap Internet speeds everyday people get from the likes of Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T isn't a tech issue but rather a terrible side effect of those companies trying to punish their competitors like Netflix into paying them for access to you.
Read the restVladimir Putin takes the gloves off
-In a virulently anti-Western and uncharacteristically blunt speech, Russian spy-turned-president Vladimir Putin set out his agenda for Russia and its relationship to "western elites." The speech wasn't widely reported in the west, but Dmitry Orlov has helpfully translated, transcribed and summarized it.
Read the restOpen-source cyborg pirate ghost
-Over in the forums, mutant Brainspore made a template for an articulated Halloween decoration: "break out the markers."
DiscussTeller's latest video about living in a zombie world
-Since 2008 Teller (Penn's partner) has been making a video show about living in a zombie infested world. His latest episode, the fifth in the series, was posted today.
Play videoMillions in dark money via U.S. Chamber of Commerce influencing midterm elections
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The Chamber has spent $32 million in dark money from undisclosed donors, 96% of which has gone to oppose Democratic congressional candidates, according to a new Public Citizen report. Average spending topped $900,000 per race.
Read the restAnti-violence activists charged in violent attack
- "Two 'Stop the Violence' organizers allegedly beat one of their colleagues so severely that he vomited blood and was left unconscious in critical condition." -- AP DiscussCat grooming bag doubles as feline gimp suit
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Fortunately, my three cats are happy to sit in my lap while I trim their nails, so I don't have to put them in this miniature gimp suit.
DiscussGoogle Maps euthanizes Auckland cat
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Sad news from New Zealand. The beautiful smiling cat that appeared briefly in a mangrove swamp on the Google map of Auckland has been euthanized.
Read the restPizzeria asks judge to find rival's flavor to be trademark-infringing
-New York Pizzeria claimed that Gina's Italian Kitchen -- founded by an ousted exec -- violated its trademark by creating a pizza that tasted the same as its own pie. The judge wasn't buying it.
Read the restHistory of spirit communication devices
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Ben Marks of Collectors Weekly says: "Just in time for Halloween, my colleague Lisa Hix has written a lengthy history of Spiritualism, séances, planchettes, and Ouija boards.
Read the restHow Prince of Persia's famous jump animation was made
-1989's Prince of Persia, by Jordan Mechner, featured superbly realistic animation when such things were a rarity in computer gaming.
Read the restOpen call for digital art funding proposals from Thespace
-Paula writes, "TheSpace is the largest fund currently dedicated to commissioning and exhibiting digital art. This latest funding call is dedicated to work that considers or responds to the affordances of mobile networked devices - whether that is a phone, wearable, tablet or..."
Read the restTed Cruz admits "love" for electronic vibrating device
- “Those are his personal choices. I’ll tell you, I love my iPhone,” Cruz said about Tim Cook's announcement that he is gay. DiscussX-Stand Portable Notebook Cooling Stand
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I’ve used this laptop stand for six years after discovering it branded and sold by Targus (where it can no longer be found).
Read the rest"Cat in a Cardboard Box" by Hine
-Hine Mizushima is an illustrator, slow crafter, and puppet stop-motion video artist. We've shown her work on Boing Boing many times. I love her Flickr feed, where she shows her latest creations, like "Cat in a Cardboard Box."
DiscussMysterious stone circles of the Middle East
-Long known of but little-understood, Jordan's "Big Circles" are around 400 meters in diameter and remain a compelling mystery. Their purpose is unknown, and archaeologists are unsure when these structures were built.
Read the restCopyfight
*Copyright Redux*
- A sestina for free culture by William Carleton, who writes that "the form itself, where the same six words are repeated in each stanza, lends itself to the subject of copying and transformative use." Read the restCourt orders man to stop pretending to fall over
- English magistrates have told a 51-year old man that he will be in trouble if he lies on the ground anywhere in the country in order to attract attention. DiscussEasily find top rated movies on Netflix
- What Is On Netflix? ranks movies based on ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB and presents a simple list. This will come in handy. DiscussUK military slang from Afghanistan
-"ALLY Term for a battlefield fashionista - desirables include having a beard, using a different rifle, carrying vast amounts of ammunition, being dusty and having obscene amounts of tattoos and hair. Special forces are automatically Ally."
Read the restYouTube now supports 60 frames per second
- More versatility for videographers in search of smooth performance, not least among them those recording video games and sports, where 60fps is the standard. DiscussMicrosoft announces Health platform
- In anticipation of "wearable devices with smart sensors that are telling us more about our lives," should anyone fancy making such a thing. Read the rest
Nicely preserved teenage wooly mammoth carcass to be cloned into new wooly mammoths
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A 40,000 year old teenage wooly mammoth "in surprisingly good shape" has gone on display in Moscow. Scientists want to bring her back to life, by cloning her DNA.
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Colbert tackles Gamergate
-Feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian was Stephen Colbert's guest last night. Can you guess what they discussed? "One man, one joystick—it's right there in Sega Genesis"
Play videoDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep – A graphic novel of Philip K. Dick’s original story that inspired Blade Runner
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What is energy?
-As long as there's been a universe, there has been energy. But what is energy? The YouTube SciShow answers that in this short video from their “World's Most Asked Questions” series.
Play video
Color palette generator for designers in a hurry
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Coolors is "the super fast color scheme generator for cool designers." Just hit the space bar to see a new palette, and get inspired.
Read the restNeighbors unhappy about mothball-covered driveway
-A Florida woman covered her driveway with at least 400 mothballs in the hope that it will prevent dogs from crapping in her yard.
Read the restHow many people are on Tinder? A fuckload
-An awful lot of love-hungry people use Tinder, and they use it intensely and compulsively. reports Nick Bilton in a New York Times profile.
Read the restLeaks to US news media are as bad as terrorism, says new Defense directive
- "Unauthorized disclosures of classified information, leaks to the news media, acts of espionage, and certain other information security offenses are now to be collectively designated as 'serious security incidents,' according to a Department of Defense directive that was published this week." [FAS] DiscussFBI cut off internet to hotel room, posed as repair guys to record video without warrant
-FBI agents cut off Internet access to three luxury villas at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, then "impersonated repair technicians to surreptitiously get inside and collect evidence in an investigation of online sports betting," reports the AP. Said a lawyer for the defendants, "They were trying everything they could to get inside without a warrant."
Read the restFeatures
The Candy Hierarchy, 2014
David Ng and Ben Cohen performed acts of science (realistic ones) in order to determine, once and for all, a true and empirical understanding of which Halloween candies induce the most joy and despair. With more than 40,000 of your votes duly recorded, the results below are indisputably unassailable. Read the rest
Inexpensive, No-Blind-Spot Rearview Mirror
NASCAR drivers and law enforcers use custom wide-angle rearview mirrors to avoid head-swiveling. You can buy a wide-angle mirror that attaches over an existing rearview for $60, but you can make one for about $12 and a few shop scraps. By Phil Bowie and Larry Cotton. Read the rest
Maker Mayhem: Low Moments in How-To History, Part 11
Tin Can Cannibal: Because people eating people makes for fun kid’s crafts. By Matt Maranian. Read the rest
The life-changing magic of Tidying Up
If something doesn't spark joy, get rid of it. Marie Kondo on the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing Read the rest
Street Angel 005: Into the Lair!
Street Angel has infiltrated Dr. Pangea's hideout. What comes next for our heroine and her nemesis? By Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca. Read the rest
*Copyright Redux*
A sestina for free culture by William Carleton, who writes that "the form itself, where the same six words are repeated in each stanza, lends itself to the subject of copying and transformative use." Read the rest
Gadgets: 3-in-1 multi-cooker, magician's card press, iPhone 6 Plus
Listen to Mark, Xeni and Jason talk about what's cooking with their favorite gadgets in and out of the kitchen. Read the rest
The Seed Lives Forever
A short story by Ivan Hernandez concerning a sticky corpse and a feminist private investigator. Read the rest
Punktober, not Pinktober
A sickly-sweet, brand-policed, trivializing ad campaign cannot communicate the awful reality of breast cancer experienced by sufferers and their families. Naomi Horn on why she doesn't go pink. Read the rest
New book of Star Wars costumes
A new coffee table book features detailed histories and information on costumes for both major and minor characters, from Darth Vader to Tusken Raiders. By Mark Frauenfelder Read the rest
Ernest Hemingway's New Typewriter
Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Ernest Hemingway gets a special new typewriter… with apps. Read the rest
Why Are Witches Green?
Before The Wizard of Oz, witches were usually red or orange. Linda Rodriguez McRobbie explains why. Read the rest
Obamacare: what it is, what it’s not
It’s no surprise that we haven’t seen a conservative alternative to Obamacare; Obamacare was the conservative alternative. Written by Michael Goodwin of Economix Comix. Illustrations by Dan E. Burr. Lettered by Debra Freiberg. Read the rest
Political mailer includes opponent's SSN and driver’s license number
Did you hear the one about the Kentucky GOP candidate who asked his attorney general to investigate the state Democratic Party for allegedly sending out the Republican’s Social Security number and more personal information to thousands of constituents? Sorry to say, there’s no punch line here, because according to recent reports, it actually happened. By Adam Levin. Read the rest
Krs-One was a Teenage Drug Courier
A Hip Hop Family Tree strip by Ed Piskor. Read the rest
Why we love man versus nature struggles
Have you ever wanted to be alone in the woods, drinking your own urine to survive? Probably not, that'd be weird. But you've wondered if you could do it, right? An exclusive essay by the author of the new science fiction novel, The Martian, out in paperback today Read the rest
The Peripheral: William Gibson vs William Gibson
In The Peripheral, William Gibson's first futuristic novel since 1999's All Tomorrow's Parties, we experience the fantastic synthesis of a 20th century writer -- the Gibson of Neuromancer, eyeball-kicks of flash and noir; and the Gibson of Pattern Recognition, arch and sly and dry and keen. Cory Doctorow reviews. Read the rest
Our Magic: Documentary about magic, by magicians
Our Magic is a feature documentary that pays homage to an ancient and mostly underground performing art, piercing through the thick layer of commonly held stereotypes. By Ferdinando Buscema Read the rest