Watch these cute Barn Owls learn how to fly for the first time

“Luna and Lily have grown from helpless little chicks to near adult barn owls and now they're beginning to learn how to fly.”

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Watch these cute Barn Owls learn how to fly for the first time

“Luna and Lily have grown from helpless little chicks to near adult barn owls and now they're beginning to learn how to fly.”

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Microsoft video shows how a blind software engineer uses AI to 'see' the world

Meet Saqib, a Microsoft dev in London who lost the use of his eyes at age 7. Here's a neat little profile of his artificial intelligence development work from Microsoft Cognitive Services:

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Microsoft video shows how a blind software engineer uses AI to 'see' the world

Meet Saqib, a Microsoft dev in London who lost the use of his eyes at age 7. Here's a neat little profile of his artificial intelligence development work from Microsoft Cognitive Services:

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How DRM would kill the next Netflix (and how the W3C could save it)

The World Wide Web Consortium's decision to make DRM part of HTML5 doesn't just endanger security researchers, it also endangers the next version of all the video products and services we rely on today: from cable TV to iTunes to Netflix.
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How DRM would kill the next Netflix (and how the W3C could save it)

The World Wide Web Consortium's decision to make DRM part of HTML5 doesn't just endanger security researchers, it also endangers the next version of all the video products and services we rely on today: from cable TV to iTunes to Netflix.
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Gallery of all (?) 7 undercover NYPD cars disguised as yellow cabs

Herman Yung is an enthusiastic photographer/taxi-spotter and over the years, he's managed to spot seven NYPD police cars disguised as yellow cabs (cab numbers 2W97, 6Y19, 6Y17, 2W95, 2W68, 6Y13, and 6Y21). Inspired by today's post about a Freedom of Information Act request about the cars, he's made his collection public for the first time, along with a spotter's guide for people who want to find their own.

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Gallery of all (?) 7 undercover NYPD cars disguised as yellow cabs

Herman Yung is an enthusiastic photographer/taxi-spotter and over the years, he's managed to spot seven NYPD police cars disguised as yellow cabs (cab numbers 2W97, 6Y19, 6Y17, 2W95, 2W68, 6Y13, and 6Y21). Inspired by today's post about a Freedom of Information Act request about the cars, he's made his collection public for the first time, along with a spotter's guide for people who want to find their own.

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Instagram is a dialup BBS

JWZ reminds us that all social media is some variation on the walled garden strategy, designed to lock you in and lock value away from the open, interoperable Web into a silo where it languishes and rots. You know, AOL.
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Watch it live, 5:30am ET: Cygnus Supply Craft Rendezvous With Space Station

“A new shipment of science, spacewalk gear and crew supplies is on its way to the International Space Station,” NASA says. Astronauts on the International Space Station will grapple an arriving Cygnus supply spacecraft this morning, with coverage starting at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT).

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Japanese robot die always rolls a six

@kirin_nico has created a large robotic die that, when rolled—if any side other than six comes up—it unfolds and then refolds itself so the six side is upward.

It does this slowly and spastically, reveling in its homemade awkwardness and making clunky sounds like a kid’s toy having a stroke. In other words, it’s not pretending to be anything other than what it is, which is why it’s cool.

https://youtu.be/m7A9c6jhswE

Original Source: Rocket News

King Kong’s coming!

They’ve been very busy at the far corner of Universal’s Orlando theme park Islands of Adventure constructing an enormous building to house their latest attraction, Skull Island: Reign of Kong.

Those with a good memory will recall that Universal Studios, the company’s first park in Orlando, had a huge King Kong ride. In fact, it was one of the signature rides on opening day in June, 1990, along with Earthquake, Jaws, and E.T.

The Universal theme parks have been sold and resold over the years, and they finally got their act together with their latest owner, Comcast, which has been pouring money into creating new attractions at the parks, including Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan.

At Disney, Walt used to say it all started with a mouse, but at Universal it all really started with Harry Potter. Obtaining the rights from J.K. Rowling was the coup of the century for Universal, and gave them the momentum against Walt Disney World they’ve been looking for. Attendance has risen by 40 percent. They’ve been building new attractions at both Orlando parks almost continuously and show no signs of slowing down.

The original King Kong attraction was fun but goofy, with riders stuck in a tramway vehicle and encountering what was at that time the largest audio animatronic figure in theme park history. He had banana breath and broke down quite a bit.

Once you watch the three videos below, you will know as much as most about what’s coming this summer when the attraction opens. Based on everything Universal has built within recent memory, we can surmise that the attraction will be screen based, with some robotic elements, possibly in 3D, and will likely feature the version of King Kong from Peter Jackson’s film.
This looks like it’s going to be lots of fun.

https://youtu.be/D1doThTLJmY

https://youtu.be/90FNSm92GhI

https://youtu.be/wHo_ee-5FUA

A long list of comedians mourn the passing of Garry Shandling, age 66

Comedy legend Garry Shandling passed away in Los Angeles, today, according to the Los Angeles Police.

Shandling was well respected and loved. E! Online shares a long collection of goodbyes from his colleagues.

Comedians describe the tricky balance between the road and home

The crowning paradox of the touring comic's life may be this: You have to leave home to make a name, but without the grounding and security of home you may not have anything to say. This week on HOME: Stories From L.A., three experienced comedians on striking the tricky balance between the road and home.

HOME is a member of the Boing Boing Podcast Network. If you like what you hear, please consider leaving the show a rating and/or review at the iTunes Store. 

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Email | RSS

Thanks to Cathy Ladman, whose one-woman show, "Does This Show Make Me Look Fat?", opens soon; Brad Upton, whose upcoming tour schedule is available here; and Jackie Kashian, who can be heard on The Dork Forest and The Jackie and Laurie Show.

Teach In China for 4-12 Months with Propel Academics (April Start)

About us:
Propel Academics is based in Zhongshan, Guangdong, a small, clean and inexpensive city that has a good climate and is 40 minutes away from Guangzhou and Macau and less than 90 minutes from the centre of Hong Kong. Zhongshan also has a th

64 per cent of women prefer country music stars to creepy evangelical hypocrites

[My friend Peter Sheridan is a Los Angeles-based correspondent for British national newspapers. He has covered revolutions, civil wars, riots, wildfires, and Hollywood celebrity misdeeds for longer than he cares to remember. As part of his job, he must read all the weekly tabloids. For the past couple of years, he's been posting terrific weekly tabloid recaps on Facebook and has graciously given us permission to run them on Boing Boing. Enjoy! - Mark]

What’s in Lukensia’s lunch box?

That’s the burning question on the lips of Us magazine’s crack investigative team. The hard-hitting reporters who week after week delve into the heart of Hollywood darkness to expose the handbag contents of a celebrity you’ve barely heard of, this week bring us an earth-shattering exclusive: the contents of TV fitness trainer Jillian Michaels' five-year-old daughter’s lunch box.

“She just likes snacks,” says Jillian, in a revelation sure to break the Internet and push Isis bombers off the front page. “Crackers and popcorn, cheese sticks and beef jerky.”
Lukensia - her name supposedly means “bringer of light,” and let’s face it, sounds better than calling your daughter “Bic Lighter” - carries it all in a Frozen lunchbox, with a Doc McStuffins thermos.

Is this a new low in celebrity journalism? Perhaps, but I’m confident that with dedication, Us mag can stoop even lower. They tell us that Diane Kruger and Rita Ora wore it best, and the stars are still just like us: they dine out, stroll on the sand, they walk and talk - in other words: they’re boring.

Fans of Us mag’s “25 Things You Never Knew About . . .” regular feature will delight in this week’s offering bringing us three celebrities: 75 things we didn’t know! Bryshere Y Gray reveals “I hate mushrooms,” Gabourey Sidibe confesses “I can’t ride a bike,” and Trai Byers drops the bombshell: “Christmas is my favorite time of year.” This has Pulitzer written all over it.

With its cover devoted to Rob Kardashian’s romance with Blac Chyna - “Rescued By Love!” - and 14 pages dedicated to “celebrity makeovers” - stars who’ve finally woken up to the fact that they can’t just roll out of bed and expect the interwebs not to savage them - it’s shocking to realize that the only items in this week’s publication that aren’t complete fluff are the three staples punched through its spine.

People magazine’s cover proclaims that Princess Kate is “following in Diana’s footsteps,” but closer inspection reveals that she’s not having an affair with a millionaire playboy and driving wildly through Paris streets, but is simply wearing wide-brimmed hats and holding small bouquets of flowers. You know it’s a quiet week in celebrityland when People’s best stories are its recipes for creamy tomato soup and honey-roasted chicken.

The Globe gives Michael Douglas and Britain’s Queen a rest from their regular death-watch, and this week decides it’s Michael J Fox and Zsa Zsa Gabor who are facing “The End."

The National Enquirer sticks with its trusted standby of celebrity sex scandals: singer Blake Shelton allegedly has “9 women he’s hiding” from lover Gwen Stefani, while Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz allegedly has “5 secret mistresses,” perhaps proving that 64 per cent of women prefer country music stars to creepy evangelical hypocrites.

Cruz - branded “Pervy Ted” by the Enquirer, taking over the mantle formerly worn by Senator Edward Kennedy - allegedly has lovers described as “a foxy political consultant,” “a pretty 30-ish Washington, D.C. lawyer,” “a hot babe,” “a sexy Austin schoolteacher,” and “a $1,000-a-night Washington, D.C. call girl.” I’m not making this up. But someone might be. Any substantiation for these shocking claims? Of course. The Enquirer quotes former Donald Trump aide Roger Stone saying: “These stories have been swirling around Cruz for some time.” Well, a former Trump aide can’t be wrong, can he? Stories swirling? Can’t ask for more proof than that.

Continuing its routine body-shaming, the Enquirer claims that singer Jessica Simpson had undergone “another boob job” bringing her to a 38EE, adding: “If she went any bigger, she’d fall over” - though regrettably I don’t think that quote came from a structural engineer; and posts a giant photo of Kim Kardashian’s derriere claiming that “her huge hips are due to her butt implants bursting last month,” under the headline: “Kim K’s Explosive Dis-Ass-Ter!” I’d love to see the Enquirer’s engineering stress analysis of Kim’s caboose, but alas, they opt not to make that public.

We have to turn to the Examiner for real news: “Yeti Snapped In Spanish Alps!” screams the headline above a photo of a “mysterious creature” - a man wrapped in a white shag carpet, perhaps? - in the Pyrenees. “ And “It’s a Miracle! Bible Survives Car Fire!” Apparently a Jeep Laredo crashed and burned near Memphis, TN, last month, but the Bible in the passenger seat emerged unscathed. “That is God,” said “stunned witness” Eugene McNeil. “If you don’t believe it, I don’t know what to say.”

A search of news photos of the crash clearly shows dozens of other paper documents strewn outside the car, equally undamaged by fire and also presumably saved by a Supreme Being who believed the driver’s notes and scribbles worth saving. Apparently god likes paperwork and his best-selling biography more than people, however: the flame-broiled driver was hospitalized with “non-life-threatening injuries."

If there’s a god, I’ll bet that Lukensia’s lunch box wouldn’t have burned in that blaze either.

Onwards and downwards . . .

The baffling case of the Villisca ax murders

Early one morning in 1912, the residents of Villisca, Iowa, discovered a horrible scene: An entire family had been brutally murdered in their sleep. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the gruesome crime, which has baffled investigators for a hundred years.

We'll also follow the further adventures of German sea ace Felix von Luckner and puzzle over some fickle bodyguards.

Show notes

Please support us on Patreon!

Image: Flickr

 

Mondrian pong

Happytoast made this amazing thing for B3ta's video game art challenge. Someone make it into a real game, plz?
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Become the IT Guru That Every Company Needs with this ITIL Certification Training

We all know who the number one most important person is at any company. The man or woman who solves all our problems, makes our dreams come true, and somehow, every time achieves the impossible. Yes, you got it: the IT department. You can join the ranks of these office geniuses and saviors now with 99% off the ITIL Expert Training Suite that will give you the master class on these essential IT skills and get you certified to assume one of those coveted positions at any major company.

There are over 120 hours of top-notch instruction here over the course of 12 in-depth lessons. With the flexible online structure here, you can take the classes at your own pace, anytime that works for you. All these courses will help you prep for the service management certification exams, including six simulation tests to gage your progress and more than 100 quizzes at the end of each chapter to make sure you’re absorbing the right information. Want to study on the go? Simply download the helpful e-books and read from anywhere. With all this under your belt, you’ll even earn 335 PDU’s toward qualifying for the ITIL exam.

Get ready for a whole new salary or whole new job with these killer certifications on your resume now. Once you’ve taken these twelve courses you’ll be supremely marketable for any IT position at any big corporation and you can start learning today for 99% off. Check out the link below for more details.

Take 99% Off the ITIL Expert Training Suite in the Boing Boing Store.

Pay What You Want for the 2016 Learn to Code Bundle

Everyone has an idea for an app or a website, but only the few and the proud know exactly how to make it happen with real, live, tangible tech skills. Those do-ers are coders and you too can learn how to build apps and sites like a pro with this Coding Course Bundle that you simply pay what you want for. Up your savvy to the real deal level with these essential skills for working and creating in 2016.

There are over 90 hours of expert instruction here with nine courses that cover the waterfront on all the mandatory programming languages. For web and game development you’ll go through the Python course and tackle concepts like data visualization, map integration and e-commerce functionality. There’s even a course that can teach you Linux in five days, even if you’re totally starting from scratch. In the web developer class, you’ll get certified in HTML, CSS JavaScript and PHP to get you up to speed on databases. If you’re already code savvy, the Ruby course will take you from basic to boss with advanced features like threads and metaprogramming.

There’s also Git, cloud computing, CSS3, MySQL and more languages ready to be mastered here. It’s all totally flexible: you can learn at your own pace and just pay what you want to unlock this course pack. It’s never too late to learn a new skill, especially one that’s more or less mandatory for working in tech these days. Start today and ramp up your hireability with a shiny new resume full of coding languages. Check out the link for more details.

Pay What you Want for the Learn to Code 2016 Bundle in the Boing Boing Store.

Gawker lost. Hulk Hogan wins $115M verdict against Gawker in sex tape trial

Time to see how much money is in those Cayman Island accounts.

— Joel and 9 Others (@joeljohnson) March 18, 2016

A Florida jury today ruled in favor of Hulk Hogan's privacy claims instead of Gawker's arguments for press freedom. The court handed the former wrestling star a $115 million verdict against Gawker Media over a 2012 gawker.com blog post about the now-infamous Hulk Hogan sex tape.

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Pee-wee Herman creator Paul Reubens talks about his favorite places in Los Angeles

Chris Nichols of LA Magazine interviewed Paul Reubens, creator of Pee-wee Herman, about his big Los Angeles adventures. And don't forget, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday premieres on Netflix today.

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Prep school sex offender jailed after violating bail conditions

Owen Labrie received a light one-year jail sentence after sexually assaulting an underage girl at his New England prep school. While his victim was subjected to scorn and disbelief from peers and the media, Labrie was coddled every step of the way, turning down a plea deal that would have seen him out in weeks and being mythologized in a pretentious Vanity Fair profile. But now he's going to serve his sentence early, because he just can't follow the rules while he appeals his verdict.

A judge in Merrimack County Superior Court said Owen Labrie would begin his one-year jail sentence immediately.

"You are unlikely to abide by any conditions," Judge Larry Smukler said. "I don't relax conditions because you can't comply with them."…

Smukler, in sentencing him in October and permitting him to remain free on bail pending appeal, told Labrie he would be "exceedingly foolish" to violate his bail conditions.

Labrie's light sentence hinged, as Vice put it, on the fact his underage victim didn't "clearly express her lack of consent." Jurors failed to convict him of felony rape, instead applying a 90s-era computer grooming law in what was described as a "bizarre" verdict.

Those sympathetic to Labrie point to the felony computer charge, arguing it was never meant to be applied to texting teenagers. Had Labrie reached out to the girl via phone, he would have been spared a lifetime on the sexual offender registry. Then again, these were no ordinary messages: Labrie and his peers shared email templates and strategies for scoring with younger girls; Labrie even had a list of potential targets, with the girl at the top, in capital letters.

The theology of Trump

For Christianity Today, theologian Michael Horton explores the "theology" of Donald Trump and his followers. It reads as superficially civil, yet completely contemptuous and comically unprepared: a growing trend among conservative and Christian commentary on Trump.

Vague on doctrine, infiltrated by consumerism and a sentimental moralism intent on helping us all “become a better you,” and sort of interested in “family values” as long as they don’t interfere with our own family breakdowns, many cultural evangelicals are tired of losing the culture wars. They want a winner—“a strong leader.” I’m hardly the first to point out that it’s the stuff of which demagogues are made.

It is not that Trump has caused this transformation in portions of the so-called “evangelical electorate.” Rather, his candidacy has revealed the inner secularization of significant portions of the movement, which surveys have documented for some time now. Four theological words highlight the problem.

I made the digital paintover above in honor of the trash fire currently consuming evangelical political hearts.

In other Trumpery news, a Republican National Committee member today suggested that they're going to freeze Donald Trump out of the nomination irrespective of how many delegates he secures. Riots it will be, then.

Trump: 'Riots,' 'problems like you've never seen' and 'bad things' if I'm not GOP nominee

Nice country you got there, America. It'd be a shame if something bad happened to it. Noted soothsayer and shitbag Donald Trump can see into the future, and he promises 'riots' and other very 'bad things' if he doesn't end up being the GOP nominee for the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections.

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Apple, basically: 'If it pleases the court, tell FBI to go fuck themselves'

The intensifying legal battle between Apple and the Government of the United States of America is blowing my mind. The legal briefs coming out of Cupertino are awesome reading for those of us who care about silly stuff like freedom and liberty and iPhones. Here are some of the excerpts everyone was talking about on Twitter today.

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North Korea plans to conduct nuclear warhead test “very soon”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his nation will soon conduct a nuclear warhead test by launching ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads as a test, the official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

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USA uses TPP-like trade-court to kill massive Indian solar project

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was on track to deliver deploy 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022 ("more than the current solar capacity of the world’s top five solar-producing countries combined") but because India specified that the solar panels for it were to be domestically sourced, the USA sued it in WTO trade court and killed it.

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Special Giveaway Alert: The Makerbot 3D Printer Giveaway

Remember when the idea of printing any object you could dream up was total sci-fi bologna? Those days are over. The future is now, and 3D printers are here. We’re giving one away from Makerbot, your chance at experiencing unadulterated techie bliss.

The Makerbot 3D Printer uses advanced design software to configure the exact layout of any object and print it out to your specifications. You have the option of either utilizing pre-made templates or designing your own printed objects from scratch. Once you’ve decided how ambitious you want to be, go ahead and print anything from kitchen utensils to figurines formalized in the depths of your imagination. A Captain America statuette? A vase? Miniature models of the Empire State Building? All are possible with this powerful yet compact printer, one that puts creation itself at your fingertips.

You’ll be the talk of the town, for sure. Your co-workers will glare at you in envy for all your self-printed desk trinkets. Your friends and family will shower you with adoration upon receiving some of the most unique gifts they may have ever seen (we recommend a miniscule turtle sculpture, a real crowd pleaser). What are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway now, and this printer could be all yours.

Can’t get enough high-tech geekery? Check out these other deals to further pique your techie interests.

 

Complete Raspberry Pi 2 Starter Kit

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Complete Raspberry Pi 2 Starter Kit[/caption]

You’ll love the Complete Raspberry Pi 2 Starter Kit, which offers a microcomputer you can tinker with, as well as 6 courses to get up to speed on all things physical computing. It’s available for just $115, a whopping 85% off MSRP.

 

Complete Arduino Starter Kit & Course Bundle

And the Complete Arduino Starter Kit & Course Bundle combines a starter kit complete with the hard electronic parts you need to build circuits, plus 3 premium courses walking you through the process--all for just $62.99, or 87% off MSRP.

Get both of these deals in the Boing Boing Store now!

Tor Books is hiring two editorial assistants

My publisher, Tor Books -- the largest sf/f publisher in the world, a division of Macmillan -- is hiring two editorial assistants, one to work for my editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden (as well as editors Miriam Weinberg and Jen Gunnels) and the other to work for Liz Gorinsky and on Seven Seas, a manga imprint. (via Making Light)

Get inside Kathe Koja's Christopher Marlowe novel with a "bespoke edition" like no other

Kathe Koja is one of literature's most versatile writers -- once the doyenne of "splatterpunk"; then the author a run of brilliant, touching YA novels; then the author of a darkly erotic war-trilogy -- and now she's doing something new and amazing.
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Petition: tell Obama to stand by commitment to "most transparent administration in history"

Evan from Fight for the Future writes, "President Obama has said he's running the 'most transparent administration in history.' But new documents reveal that his administration secretly lobbied to kill transparency reform legislation that had broad bipartisan support and would have made it easier for journalists and citizens to file FOIA requests that help keep the government open and accountable."

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Slightly damaged gaming PC yours for $800

The Pittsburgh Craigslist has a hot deal: a gaming PC with "Slight Damage" that in no way impacts performance.

Guaranteed to run any new game on Ultra settings! Buy now and I'll throw in a free Zip drive! What a bargain! Has slight fire damage but this affects the system in no way, trust me!

Trump the Carpathian

On a mountain of skulls, in the castle of pain, I sat on a throne of blood! And let me tell you it was really great. And I have a great relationship with the Moldavian people. They love me.

Great moments in the history of black science fiction

Nisi "Writing the Other" (previously) Shawl has assembled a fantastic (in more ways than one) reading list for people interested in the history of science fiction written by black writers.

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Coming in November: Pirate Utopia, a novella by Bruce Sterling with an intro by Warren Ellis

Pre-orders now being taken, ships Nov 2016. Sterling sez, "A new novella of mine set in an alternate Europe just after the Great War." I know what I'm doing next Nov. What. A. Cover.

Two more wonderful starting points for digital storytelling

One I spotted on Twitter last month, where I keep an eye out for the excellent Vimeo Staff Picks… Discuss, write about, write sequel to it… This video https://t.co/yVGAcRC9GU too amazing not to use in #ELT class! — Tom Walton (@Tom_IHBCN) February 14, 2016 And one I tweeted earlier this … Continue reading

Netflix's 'Fuller House' is brilliant

The new Netflix series Fuller House is really just about perfect. Discovering this show is like finding an Irish bar in some far-away city you don't know--the show offers you a comfortable, familiar spot to sit down and know more or less what you're gonna get.

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How to win the Soap Box Derby - a high schooler's essay from 1957

My late father-in-law, Joe, was born and raised in Los Angeles, growing up during the heyday of hot rod culture. When I knew him he drove Corvettes and Camaros. In high school, Joe and his brother built Soap Box Derby racers. I recently came across an essay about Soap Box Derby racing that Joe wrote in 1957 when he was a student at Los Angeles High School. His teacher wrote, "This is one of the most *interesting* reports I've ever read!" He received a C+, though, because his spelling was atrocious (It was bad when I knew him, too - I think he had undiagnosed dyslexia) and he neglected to add footnotes or a bibliography. Here's a PDF scan of the essay.

Illiteracy in Germany: more than seven million adults are barely able to read and write

Germany has a population of over 80 million. Of these, about 7.5 million adults between the ages of 18 and 64 are ‘functionally illiterate’ and can barely read and write. But help is available for those affected.

Weekend WeedBlogging: 10 Awesome Kytten Janae GIFs to Vape To

* PHOTOSENSITIVE SEIZURE WARNING *

One of our favorite animation artists right now is Kytten Janae. Here are 10 samples of her psychedelic animated visual art as animated GIFs.

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My brother produced an epic compilation of '60s Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh by living legend Adnan Othman, and you must buy it

THE TL;DR: “Bershukor: A Retrospective of Hits by a Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh Legend” is a new vinyl collection of Adnan Othman's sixties psychedelic rock that was curated and produced by my brother, and released on Sublime Frequencies. In the 1960s, British and American rock was blowing the minds of young Malaysian teens. They listened to radio hits by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and a generation of Malaysian musicians transformed what they heard into a new form of Asian rock and roll that was entirely new of their own. The new genre became known as Pop Yeh Yeh, derived from the Beatles lyric, “She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah).” Berkushor, which means “gratitude” in Adnan's native language, will take you there. It's on Amazon, on forcedexposure, and good ole record stores. If they don't have it in your local vinyl shop, tell them to order it. Sound samples here.

[caption id="attachment_451188" align="alignnone" width="600"] “Bershukor: A Retrospective of Hits by a Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh Legend Adnan Othman” [Sublime Frequencies][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_451193" align="alignnone" width="733"] Adnan Othman, on the cover of one of his original releases.[/caption]

https://youtu.be/3pxWddNzf04

THE LONGER VERSION:

From the “Bershukor” release notes:

The legendary Adnan Othman has long been a driving force in the Malaysian rock scene. As early as the 1960s his groundbreaking songs in the style known as "pop yeh yeh" (rock and roll sung in Malay) were attracting fans across Malaysia and Singapore. He has since gained many fans around the globe due to a renewed interest in rock music from Southeast Asia. Othman made his first recordings in Singapore in the early 1960s, when he was invited to record with highly popular backing band The Rhythm Boys. He produced innovative psychedelic rock well into the 1970s and continued to evolve as a musician and composer throughout his exciting career, but always stayed true to his rock and roll roots, even when many other artists were turning toward more predictable disco influences. Each track on this album, drawn from all eight of Othman's solo EPs and ranging from 1968-1971, reveals a different side of his personality. His forceful, gritty, and emotional lyrics and vocals are backed by such memorable pop yeh yeh bands as The Rhythm Boys, The Wanderers, The Flamingoes, and The Falcons. This impressive collection includes rare photos from the artist's own collection and a detailed biography co-written by Othman himself. This is a rare and personal insight into the life of one of Singapore and Malaysia's most beloved pop yeh yeh legends, revealing the humble, generous, down-to-earth man behind the spotlight. It is clear that Adnan Othman cares deeply about preserving the legacy of his fellow pop yeh yeh musicians; he devoted considerable time and energy helping to develop the previous Malaysian rock-focused release on Sublime Frequencies, Pop Yeh Yeh - Psychedelic Rock from Singapore and Malaysia 1964-1970: Vol. 1 (2013). Again, for this album, he patiently answered the label's many questions about his life as a musician and artist, lending Bershukor his unique perspective; the label's indebtedness to Othman is reflected in the album's title, which translates to "gratitude." The 26 unforgettable tracks on these two records are soulful, electrifying, and beautiful. To the many fans of '60s Asian rock and roll around the world who have been waiting for an album dedicated solely to the music of Adnan Othman, here it is. Compiled by Carl Hamm (Pop Yeh Yeh - Psychedelic Rock from Singapore and Malaysia 1964-1970). Presented in gorgeous gatefold sleeve with full-size eight-page color booklet of text and photographs.

[caption id="attachment_451190" align="alignnone" width="2559"] Carl Hamm [L] and Adnan Othman [R]. Photo: Carl Hamm.[/caption]

For my brother Carl Hamm and I, being a super passionate fan of great (sometimes obscure!) art is in our blood, our DNA, our brains, and our family history. Our mom and dad were artists, and came from families in which intense curiosity for art and exploration thrived. Illustrators. Amateur astronomers. Housewives who dreamed of being physicists. Our dad was an extreme Star Trek fan: he recorded every single episode of the original series on the exciting new home taping technology called the cassette player. My brother and I grew up in a home where love for exotic vinyl and cherishing far-out musical experiences was a thing.

I found my way to Boing Boing. Carl found his way to a life centered around musical exploration. He's a radio deejay on the awesome independent radio station WRIR in Richmond Virginia, and the go-to guy for Bollywood weddings in South Asian diaspora communities along the American southeast (serious).

[caption id="attachment_451192" align="alignnone" width="647"] Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh diva Zaleha Hamid[/caption]

Carl fell in love with South Asian popular music when I moved away from home and he inherited my Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Smithsonian Folkways vinyl, along with my groove-worn punk rock '45s. Carl went deep into Asian popular music amd has achieved super-otaku status. My brother possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of rare Asian grooves from the 20th and 21st centuries. But none is closer to his heart than “Pop Yeh Yeh,” the Malaysian psychedelic rock movement that exploded throughout the culturally conservative, predominantly Muslim island nation in the late '60s and early '70s.

He's been at this for years, and (lol this is gonna embarass him, but i gotta type it) he's widely loved in Malaysia as someone whose deep respect for this great indigenous pop art form helped Malaysia appreciate its own music history, and appreciate its own living Pop Yeh Yeh legends -- many of whom are elders of advanced age, and contending with difficulties after many years of no income from their phenomenal art.

Carl's latest effort focused on the archives of Adnan Othman is out today, and your support of the project by purchasing a copy will go to help the elder musician himself. “Bershukor” is a look back through the career of a living legend. Mr. Othman has become our family's greatly respected Malaysian rock star uncle, and we extend our love and honor to him today.

There's a great interview with Carl here [MP3] about his epic friendship with Adnan Othman. The segment about Adnan is in the last 20 min.

Two new interviews with Carl on his long-running Pop Yeh Yeh archival projects: Style Weekly, and RVA Mag.

For more on Pop Yeh-Yeh, visit Carl’s archival blog, at menarigogo.blogspot.com.

PS: I'm so proud of you, bro! This record is amazing!

Human traffickers implant their slaves with RFID chips

An anonymous ER doctor treated a woman who claimed she had a tracking chip embedded in her body. At first he disbelieved her -- lots of people suffer from delusions that they have implanted microchips -- but then she showed him the suture.

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On the grave dangers of smoking marijuana

The pot smoking scene from “Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story” never stops being funny. 'Specially after smoking pot.

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