After NH state rep Amanda Bouldin objected to HB 1525-FN, a bill banning public displays of women's nipples introduced by four alleged "small government" men from the GOP side of the house, two GOP members took to social media to bombard her with harassing, sexist harangues. (more…)
Thursday 31 December 2015
Wednesday 30 December 2015
Fascinating analysis of the way Trump uses words
Nerdwriter broke down the words Donald Trump uses when he answers questions. Trump's answers consist mainly of one-syllable words, and are at a forth grade reading level. He structures his sentences with a powerfully rhythmic cadence, and ends them on a strong word.
UK government wants to send tech execs to jail for disclosing surveillance
Ministers are lobbying to make it a criminal offense for a tech company to inform a user that the UK government is spying on them. (more…)
Ex-Babes in Toyland bassist says her rape essay in Boing Boing got her kicked out of the band
Today, the City Pages newspaper of Minneapolis published an article by Jay Boller looking into why Maureen Herman had been fired from Babes in Toyland, the iconic punk band she'd been a member of since 1992. Maureen, a close friend of mine, told me a couple of months ago she'd been kicked out because of an essay she wrote in July for Boing Boing, titled "The Jackie Fox rape disclosure shows we still have a lot to learn."
In the essay, Maureen wrote about Runaways bassist Jackie Fox's revelation that she'd been drugged and raped by the band's manager, Kim Fowley in 1975. Maureen wrote that Fox's "rape happened in front a roomful of people, including two of her bandmates, Cherie Currie and Joan Jett. In the course of the article’s investigation and Fox’s disclosure, many bystanders have come forward, affirming what they saw and who was present that night in 1975." (Disclosure: I'm also friendly with Jackie. She's been to my house, we play in the same trivia league, and we communicate via email frequently.)
Joan Jett, the Runaway's guitarist, responded to the news by denying that the rape happened. Maureen wrote in her essay, "With one nudge of denial from an iconic Joan Jett, we witness the beginnings of the public collapse of Fox’s credibility." A short while after her essay ran on Boing Boing, Maureen was fired by Babe's in Toyland drummer Lori Barbero and lead singer Kat Bjelland.
Maureen did not speak publicly about the reasons why she was fired, until December 21, when she posted a note of Facebook that said, "Despite the severe fallout from my own bandmates about writing the article, and it being the catalyst for me getting kicked out of my band, I regret nothing. I will never be silenced, by ANYONE."
From City Pages:
In the comment thread of her Facebook post, Herman suggests that Barbero was uncomfortable with the essay in part due to her production work for Fea, a band signed to the label owned by former Runaways singer Joan Jett. Barbero says Herman taking issue with that arrangement "caused a little problem," but ultimately was not the reason Herman was fired.
Drummer Barbero was quoted by City Pages as saying, "She’s so toxic, I could give a fuck what she says, to be quite honest. It just pushes my buttons, I guess. Over all these years I’ve realized the only thing I can do when anything is negative and toxic, you have to let it go. And that’s the reason we have to have a new bass player. It has nothing to do with rape. The relationship didn't work out and we moved on, and that's really the bottom line."
The original version of the City Pages article did not include a statement by Maureen, because Boller had tried to contact Maureen through Facebook's instant messaging service, and Maureen's preferences were set to direct people not on her friends list to a page she doesn't check frequently. However, Boller and Maureen connected later today and Maureen sent him a statement, which was added to the article:
“[At the first show back in L.A. in August] Kat gave me a list of seven grievances that Lori had for why I should be kicked out of the band,” Herman says. “The catalyst, Kat told me, was writing the article about Jackie Fox, because [Lori] felt that me being critical of Joan Jett threatened Lori’s business relationship, which I had no idea even existed.”
Among the other grievances, according to Herman: Use of psychiatric medication (“the height of ignorance,” says Herman, who has been sober for 12 years).
“With Kat’s help, I wrote a response to her grievances, trying to acknowledge my part in any of these things, and a willingness to try and work it out,” Herman says. “What I did not apologize for was the article, because there’s nothing to apologize for. Kat never wanted me out of the band. Kat tried vehemently to keep me in.”
Herman says she eventually reached Barbero by phone, and says she was met with the response, “Kat was supposed to fire you.” About a half an hour later, Herman says, she received a text from Bjelland reading, “Sorry, you’re done.”
(Image: Ana Viotti/Flickr)
NSA's biggest congressional apologist is outraged that the NSA spied on him and Israel
Rep Pete Hoekstra [R-MI] calls spying "a matter of fact," he attacked a bill that would impose oversight on the NSA, and he "laughs at foreign governments who are shocked they’ve been spied on because they, too, gather information" -- except when the targets of the NSA's surveillance are Congress and Israel's leaders. (more…)
The intensity of live TV editing of the Oscars in 1996
I don't know if things have changed much in 20 years, but this behind-the-scenes glimpse of the guy in charge of live editing the Oscars in 1996 is fascinating. I'd rather watch him than the stars.
Watch Björk in a TV special when she was 11 years old
In 1976, an 11 year old Björk, participated in a christmas special for Icelandic TV station RÚV in which she read the nativity story while accompanied by music played by fellow students from the Reykjavík children’s music school.
Crazy stuff captured on home security camera in Chilliwack BC
This street corner in Chilliwack, British Columbia is a real hotspot for petty crime. In this video you can what was captured by a home security camera system in 2015: cars going backwards, arrests, attempted break-ins, drivers doing stupid things, pedestrians making weird noises, trespassers, car chases, beatdowns, muggings, brawls, burglary, and fire hydrant vandalism. [via]
Some are upset by a photo of a dog with a slice of ham on its face
Stephen Roseman posted this photo of his dog with a slice of ham on its face to Facebook on December 23, with the comment:
This poor dog was badly burned and disfigured trying to save his family from a house fire
One like = one prayer
One share = ten prayers
The post has gotten over 100,000 shares on Facebook. Some people apparently did not understand that Roseman was kidding, and prayed for the dog. When people learned that the dog was not injured, some thought it was funny and others became upset.
Buzzfeed attempted to contact Roseman to get his comment on the uproar, but he appears to be in Portugal on vacation.
This poor dog was badly burned and disfigured trying to save his family from a house fireOne like = one prayerOne share = ten prayers
Posted by Stephen Roseman on Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Pablo – A graphic biography captures the prolific life of Picasso
See sample pages from this book at Wink.
Before reading this massive comic book biography about Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), I knew almost nothing about him. I thought he’d spent most of his life in Spain, so I was surprised to learn that he began his career in Montmartre, the Bohemian district of Paris in the early 1900s. The story is mainly told through the recollections of Fernande Olivier, who was Picasso’s lover before Picasso became famous and who modeled for over 60 of his paintings. In addition to chronicling Picasso’s early years, Pablo is like a short course in the art scene of Paris at time. It never feels like a textbook, though, thanks to Julie Birmant’s fine storytelling.
Each panel, rendered by Clement Oubrerie, is a lush watercolor painting. I had to slow down while reading it to appreciate the detail.
Pablo: Art Masters Series
by Julie Birmant and Clement Oubrerie
SelfMadeHero
2015, 342 pages, 7.5 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches (paperback)
$21 Buy one on Amazon
Affluenza teen and mother granted temporary stay against deportation
Despite being in Mexico on expired tourist visas, fugitives Ethan Couch and his mother have been granted a delay against deportation from Mexico. Both are wanted in the US on a number of charges.
From Star-Telegram:
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said he was told by U.S. Marshals that an attorney representing the Couches filed a “legal writ,” to prevent the pair from leaving Mexico.
“Couch and his mother cannot be deported from Mexico until legal matters are resolved,” U.S. Marshal’s Service spokeswoman Laura Vega told the Star-Telegram. “We simply do not know when Ethan and Tonya Couch will be returned to the U.S.”
Anderson said his office had planned to take the Couches into custody in Houston on Wednesday. The pair had been scheduled to fly from Guadalajara to Houston on Wednesday afternoon.
Daily orgasms can greatly reduce risk of prostate cancer
One out of seven men will get prostate cancer. Unfortunately, most of the risk factors have to do with age, race, and family history, so they are not modifiable. But new research suggests that daily orgasms will reduce the risk of prostate cancer by over 20 percent. From The Telegraph:
The study data showed that the participants who ejaculated more than 21 times a month were at a 22 per cent lower risk of getting the disease. As for how men achieved ejaculation, it is not a requirement to have a sex partner. Whether it be sexual intercourse, nocturnal emission, or masturbation, all are beneficial.
From an interview with Dr. Jennifer Rider of Harvard Medical School, who conducted the research:
The current study is the largest prospective study to date on ejaculation frequency and prostate cancer. It includes 18 years of follow up of almost 32,000 healthy men, 3839 of whom later were diagnosed with prostate cancer. We asked men about their average monthly frequency of ejaculation between the ages of 20-29, 40-49, and in the year prior to the questionnaire (1991). We find that frequency of ejaculation throughout life course is inversely associated with risk of prostate cancer at all three of these time points. For instance, men who have an average monthly ejaculation frequency of 21 or more times/month at ages 40-49 have a statistically significant 22% reduction in risk of developing prostate cancer compared to men with a frequency of 4-7 times/month, adjusting for multiple dietary and lifestyle factors, and prostate cancer screening history.
Dr. Rider adds: "While these data are the most compelling to date on the potential benefit of ejaculation on prostate cancer development, they are observational data and should be interpreted somewhat cautiously."
Small wireless portable bluetooth speaker packs a punch
A couple of weeks ago my teenage daughter took my beloved Grain bluetooth speaker into her room and I haven't seen it since. I bought the AmazonBasics Ultra-Portable Micro Bluetooth Speaker ($20) as a low-cost replacement. I've been using it in the kitchen, mainly to listen to podcasts and am very happy with it. The sound is deeper and louder than my phone's speaker, though not nearly as good as the Grain ($250). It's about the size of a hockey puck, and plays 10 hours on a charge (a micro USB cable is supplied). It also comes with a soft pouch, which I promptly lost.
Science fiction: what if game companies could get rich on bots, instead of players?
MVP -- Patrick Miller's "game dev short story" -- is a cleverly told piece of science fiction about a game dev team that hits on a weirdly compelling, unlikely and eerily plausible commercial strategy: optimizing their game for gold-farmers' bots. (more…)
Microsoft's patent on a UI slider is EFF's Stupid Patent of the Month
Indian Net Neutrality vs Facebook's astroturf army
When India's independent telcoms regulator opened up a consultation on whether to allow Facebook to continue bribing some ISPs to charge extra for access to URLs that Facebook hadn't approved, they were flooded with 5.5 million confused comments in support of the $300 billion US company. (more…)
When "open access" means "beware of the leopard"
This week, media outlets around the world have been trumpeting the French government's decision to make the records of the Vichy regime "open access" and available to researchers. (more…)
Get these super soft touchscreen gloves for less than $7 in the Boing Boing store
Your messages don’t stop when it snows. That’s why you need these texting gloves to stay warm while you stay in touch. They’re comfortable and cozy and one size fits every hand. They’ll work with every kind of smartphone and tablet so you can use your devices on-the-go even when the weather gets chilly.
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Swipe, tap and stay toasty with these warm touchscreen-friendly gloves for only $6.75
The ten best adventure novels of 1966
My friend Josh Glenn compiles terrific lists of genre novels from the mid-20th century. His latest is a list of the ten best adventure novels of 1966. Josh also includes the cover art of early editions of the books, which are always much better than the art on newer editions. I want to read every book in this list!
Thomas Pynchon’s postmodernist, apophenic* adventure The Crying of Lot 49. Has discontented California housewife Oedipa Maas uncovered a centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies? Or is she perhaps merely detecting signals where there is only noise? “The ordered swirl of houses and streets, from this high angle, sprang at her now with the same unexpected, astonishing clarity as the circuit card had. Though she knew even less about radios than about Southern Californians, there were to both outward patterns a hieroglyphic sense of concealed meaning, of an intent to communicate.” Fun fact: Pynchon’s fictional aerospace engineering company, Yoyodyne, is referenced in the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.
1966 was a good year for other media besides books. Here's my review of a book called 1966! A Personal view of the Coolest Year in Pop Culture History.
*Thanks for teaching me a new word, Josh! (apophenia: The perception of or belief in connectedness among unrelated phenomena.)
Vladimir Putin is a vampire and other breaking news from the tabloids
Vladimir Putin is a vampire, Elvis Presley’s “seven secret love children” have been found, Angelina Jolie is suffering a “new cancer horror," and flamboyant "fitness guru" Richard Simmons is suffering a “mental breakdown,” according to this week’s fact-challenged Globe tabloid.
Accuracy, balance and logic evidently weren’t among the gifts left by Santa in the Globe's Christmas stocking this year.
Photographs of Putin look-alikes from 1920 and 1941 provoke the Globe to report that “investigators suggest he’s a vampire who has walked the Earth for a century or more!”
Barely more plausible are Elvis’s seven love children, exposed “following an exhaustive, two-year, world-wide investigation.” Or they could just have read back issues of the tabloids, where most of these claimants have previously told their stories, dating back to 1991. They range in plausibility from the offspring of women who claimed to have had one-night stands with the King, to Lisa Johansen who insists she was Presley’s daughter living with Elvis at Graceland until his 1977 death, when she was whisked to Sweden for her own safety and replaced by imposter Lisa Marie.
Angelina’s cancer horror, of course, hasn’t happened to her at all, but has “claimed the life of her stepdad.” Except that the late John Trudell was never Jolie’s step-father, and the Globe ultimately admits that he simply “dated Angelina’s late mother.” The Globe's deception is understandable. After all, who would read a story headlined “Angelina’s late mother’s ex-boyfriend dies of cancer”?
Setting aside for one moment the question of why anyone would be interested in “fitness guru” Richard Simmons, the Globe shows the indisputable value of psychic medical diagnosis by reporting that he is “suffering a severe mental breakdown,” because he "hasn’t been seen in public since Jan. 11, 2014.”
Let’s get this straight: a man who “hasn’t been seen in public” for almost two years is having his unseen behavior analyzed and his sanity judged by the Globe, and on the basis of this mountain of evidence it concludes that he has suffered a breakdown. “That’s the analysis of a top medical expert who reviewed the bizarre antics of the once flamboyant fitness guru,” it reports.
Simmons’ representative allegedly told the Globe that he is “living life outside the public eye.”
Well, that certainly counts as insanity in this shamelessly media-obsessed self-promoting era. I could really use a psychic doctor to offer a diagnosis whenever I feel ill, to save me a trip to the doctor’s office. I see a lucrative future in this for the medical profession.
In a week of year-end round-ups, this week's tabloids and celebrity magazines continue their unhealthy obsession with weight.
The National Enquirer features its “20 best and worst beach bodies,” taking cruel delight in Uma Thurman’s “flabby gut” and Janice Dickerson’s skin looking “like expired supermarket chicken.”
With New Year resolutions looming, People and Us magazines both devote their covers to diet tips and tricks from celebrities and “real people” (because celebrities aren’t real people but merely media constructs, as People magazine knows in the darkest depths of its heart.)
Us mag offers 18 pages, and People a staggering 27 pages of dieters, diets and even two pages of pets that have slimmed down to “half their size.”
Of course, we still have this week’s real news: Jamie King wore it best (though $2,800 for a sequined Dior turtleneck seems excessive), Debra Messing carries four pairs of reading glasses, allergy pills and lipstick in her purse, and the stars are just like us: they carry packages, wear helmets, check their watches and run errands.
Cher is still “dying” according to the Enquirer, which one day in the next 40 years will crow that it was right all along, Camilla is still demanding a divorce from “lover” Prince Charles claims the Globe, and World War III is coming according to a “Bulgarian Nostradamus,” reports the Examiner.
Maybe that will give the tabloids something worth writing about.
Onwards and downwards . . .
TOM THE DANCING BUG: Senior Citizens of Counter-Earth in Kick-Butt Gear
Follow @RubenBolling on Twitter and Facebook.
Please join Tom the Dancing Bug's subscription club, the INNER HIVE, for early access to comics, and more.
And/or buy Ruben Bolling’s new book series for kids, The EMU Club Adventures. Book One here. Book Two here.
Bill Cosby charged with sexual assault
Break out the puddin' pops, he's going to jail.
Famed comedian Bill Cosby was charged with alleged aggravated indecent assault today, authorities said. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced its decision this morning in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Here's video of the press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLGiUlDOTxk
The charges regard the 2004 Andrea Constand case, soon to hit the statute of limitations. Cosby has admitted drugging other women with Quaaludes but otherwise protests his innocence. Dozens of women have accused Cosby of sexual assault; he's sued several claiming defamation.
UK terror suspect asked twitter who he should bomb
It should suffice to point out that, like the other terrorists, 25-year-old Mohammed Rehman's plotting was not encrypted.
Remarkably, Rehman took to Twitter to ask for advice on which of those two targets he should choose: "Westfield shopping centre or London underground?" Rehman asked. "Any advice would be appreciated greatly." The post carried a link to an al-Qaida press release about the 2005 London bombings. Sky News reports that Rehman's Twitter name was "Silent Bomber," with the handle @InService2Godd. As if that weren't enough, his Twitter bio read: "Learn how to make powerful explosives from the comfort of ones' bedroom." The Twitter account has since been suspended.
Sky News says Rehman was also openly searching for information about the London bombings and information on how to make bombs: "The same day [as his tweet asking for target suggestions], he trawled YouTube for London bombings and Shehzad Tanweer—one of the 7/7 bombers who he referred to as his 'beloved predecessor.' As well as buying bomb making equipment Rehman searched online for instructions to make explosives and researched violent and extreme Islamic ideology."
It's Four Lions for real.
Wireless Gramophone yours for $3000
Mumia Abu Jamal on science fiction, Star Wars, Star Trek and American imperialism
Jamal is serving a life-sentence for a widely deplored conviction for killing a police officer. Prison Radio recorded this insightful interview with him about the role that Star Wars and Star Trek both played in the American consciousness. (via Kersplebedeb)
There's a secret, separate US tax system that rich people use to save billions
The richest people in America funnel billions into the creation and maintenance of a secret and shadowy tax-system that uses a combination of lobbying by front groups, high-priced tax lawyers, and offshore money laundries to reduce the rate at which they're taxed, often below the rates imposed on middle-income earners. (more…)
Tuesday 29 December 2015
Get the complete CCNA, CCNP, and Red Hat certification training bundle for 98% off in the Boing Boing store
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Get the complete CCNA, CCNP, and Red Hat certification training bundle for only $49.
Monday 28 December 2015
What's in Patti Smith's bag?
Legendary poet and high priestess of punk Patti Smith posted photos and details of what she packed for a recent tour.
Smith is on tour right now, playing her iconic album Horses in its entirety (and then some), and I hope to catch one of her always-incendiary and inspiring performances.
I always travel light. Besides my dungarees and my trusty Ann Demeulemeester black jackets, everything can be washed in a sink in a hotel room and laid out on a windowsill to dry. For instance 7 tee shirts (including 4 electric lady teeshirts) and 7 pairs of bee socks.The worse part, besides saying goodbye to my daughter Jesse, is picking out what books to take. I decide this will be essentially a Haruki Murakami tour. So I will take several of his books including the three volume IQ84 to reread. He is a good writer to reread as he sets your mind to daydreaming while you are reading him. thus i always miss stuff.
I inventory Moleskin notebooks. seven small tubes of Weleda salt toothpaste. witch hazel wipes. Loquat leaf tea bags for cough. essentials like that. I guess I am ready.
Sunday 27 December 2015
Get the Phonejoy GamePad 2 bluetooth controller for over 20% off in the Boing Boing Store
When you’re in battle, you need the right weapons. This expandable, portable controller has everything your video games offer at home: shoulder buttons, a joystick, and all the action buttons to make you the hero on screen. You can finally play your favorite mobile games with the benefits of a controller. Plus it’s platform agnostic, so it hooks up to your phone or tablet no matter the brand. So don’t just tap and swipe – dominate.
“Phonejoy’s new controller has a unique design that means it’ll fit your phone perfectly — no matter what phone you have.” TechCrunch
- Expands to three times its original size
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- Supports the ability to connect your smartphone or tablet to your TV via MHL to play on the big screen
Save 22% on the Phonejoy GamePad 2 bluetooth controller today.
[embed]https://youtu.be/u3I3QLyIjRY[/embed]
Saturday 26 December 2015
Infographic: Green Christmas in Germany
Our infographics on the topic of ‘Green Christmas’ suggests ways of celebrating in a sustainable manner and reveals interesting facts and figures about the Christmas celebrations.
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Friday 25 December 2015
Pay what you want for the design asset super bundle
Every designer, from amateur to pro, would benefit from creating every pixel from scratch. But who has the time? That's why we've gathered the year's best assets to both inspire and enhance each and every one of your design projects. Plus, this deal is so amazing, we're letting you pay what you want - beat that, we dare you.
Here's everything included in the bundle:
| 1 | Reclameworks: 60 Business Templates | $1,208 Value | |
| 2 | 2700+ Icons & Graphics from Bogdan Rosu | $1,083 Value | |
| 3 | CreativeVIP Icons & Mockups | $530 Value | |
| 4 | Artist of Design: 25 Fonts | $525 Value | |
| 5 | Freebo: 15 Graphics & Templates | $270 Value | |
| 6 | OnRepeat: 14 Font Sets | $235 Value | |
| 7 | Templates, Fonts & Vectors from Brainik | $177 Value | |
| 8 | 2 Icon Sets from Webbicon | $138 Value | |
| 9 | 9,000 Icons from Smashicons | $127 Value | |
| 10 | iPhone Mockups + 1,200 Icons | $118 Value | |
| 11 | Vectors, Icons & Brushes from Vandelay Design | $117 Value | |
| 12 | 100 Customizable Infographics (with Ingram's Royalty Free Usage License) | $100 Value |
John Scalzi's empty jar of fucks to give
I've know John for a dozen years, and he's a cool customer. When he's targeted by insulting jerks, he never loses his cool. (more…)
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