The Latest from Boing Boing

NZ's National Party sued by Eminem for copyright infringement The National Party was instrumental in passing the harsh "strict liability" NZ copyright laws that offer no relief from liability, even for people who buy licenses that turn out to have been offered in error -- as appears to be the case in the National Party campaign ad that used Lose Yourself for bed music. Read the rest... Union Jack flag probably won't change much if Scotland becomes independent-but maybe they won't be the last to leave Tomorrow, Scotland votes on whether to become an independent country. The polls are running neck-and-neck, and one of the most enduring and fun discussions concerns what'll happen to the U.K.'s iconic flag if the Scots vote "Yes!" The current Union flag superimposes designs representing England, Scotland and Ireland: When most of Ireland left the Union in 1921, there was speculation then that the Union Jack would have to change. Read the rest... Attempted gunpoint robbery of cyclist recorded on helmet camera At first, cyclist Mike Graziano thought he was merely avoiding a collision with an inattentive motorcyclist. When the man cut him off again, though--and produced what looked like a handgun--the scenario became clear. Read the rest... Elmo arrested in Time Square Aggressive Panhandling is the charge: costumed characters pose for photos then threaten tourists--or police pretending to be tourists, as the case may be. Read the rest... "Probably a lot of pot smoking at Twitter," says entrepreneur who dreams of floating libertarian island Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel, who had better things to invest in than Twitter, trashes the company in a CNBC interview. What's the right latitude to grow sour grapes? Read the rest... Kickstarting jigsaw puzzles made from Wondermark's fake Victorian charts David ! from Wondermark and Machine of Death sez, "I'm hoping to turn some of my fake Victorian charts and diagrams (such as the venerable Hierarchy of Beards, or the newer Zoological Times Table of chimerae) into 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles -- my pitch video also features a cameo from my adorable kittycat!" $15 gets you a poster, $25 gets you a puzzle, $60 gets you all three puzzles. Read the rest... Interpol's "Twice As Hard," video premiere Four years since their last release, New York City's favorite post-punk revivalists Interpol are finally back in the ring with El Pintor, a stunning LP that brings the group back to the minimalist grayscale magnificence of Antics (2004) and Turn On The Bright Lights (2002). Boing Boing is pleased to premiere Interpol's new video for their track "Twice as Hard," directed by Paul Banks. Interpol is currently on a tour of North America and headed to Europe in January. Read the rest... TOM THE DANCING BUG: Super-Fun-Pak Comix, feat. Percival Dunwoody, Phil Collins, & Somewhat More Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH a Super-Fun-Pak Comix installment features an idiot time traveler, a shplourk, a non-conscious human, five metaphors for sale, and somewhat more. Read the rest... Short story by Plan 9 from Outer Space auteur Ed Wood, Jr. "The Day The Mummy Returned" is a 1971 short story written by Ed Wood, Jr. the American original who gave us Bride of the Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and so much more. It's presented here for the first time in over forty years since its initial publication. Read the rest... WATCH: Beatnik in a fallout shelter breaks orphan's cigar box guitar (1964) Cold war historian Bill Geerhart examines a classic of the Public Shelter Occupancy film genre, "The Story of Shelter 104" Read the rest... Panoramic drone-flight over Prague Jeffrey Martin sez, "I've spentthe summer getting up to speed with quadcopters, floating above the rooftops in the early, early morning in one of Europe's most beautiful cities: here is the result." Two minutes of something like a magic carpet ride, over a fairy tale place where everything is calm and beautiful. Read the rest... Goodnight, Moon "Moon Imaging," a photo by Bryan Jones shot on the Fuji X-Pro1, and shared in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool. Read the rest... Black Rock Desert Galaxy "Black Rock Desert Galaxy," a photo shared by Wolfram Burner in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool. Read the rest... Blogging History: History of RPG combat; 3D printed handcuff keys; Earthlink's P2P manifesto One year Critical Hits: a history of a the battle between gamers and game-designers for nuance in combat systems: The early history of role-playing games seems like a constant battle between the creators of Dungeons & Dragons and its fans. Read the rest... Captain America roll-up scarf The Captain America Roll Up Scarf unrolls to a generous 6'5" scarf; you can also get other heroes to order, as well as sushi rolls. (via Geeky Merch) Read the rest... Willpower as a rechargeable battery In this episode of You Are Not So Smart David McRaney explores ego depletion and all the things that can cause it, from feeling rejection to holding back tears to avoiding the temptation of cookies. Read the rest... A man named Bunny Boots Ink makes "First Amendment Test" videos "Ever wonder what would happen when you get confronted by MP's and military investigation unit outside of the base and don't say much to them?"—Bunny Boots Ink. Read the rest... Give Me Fiction Podcast #004: Margaret's Change Give Me Fiction is a prose reading series hosted by Ivan Hernandez. On this episode, comedian Kyle Mizono tells a story of adolescent development and Mortal Kombat. Read the rest... Oh hey guys we might be sending ground troops to Iraq after all General Martin Dempsey, the military's top officer who chairs the Joint Chiefs, told the Senate Armed Services Committee he would recommend sending U.S. Read the rest... The Freedom to Be Foolish Colin Marshall came to my house and interviewed me for his excellent Notebook on Cities and Culture podcast. Listen to it here. Read the rest... Dead Inside: Do Not Enter — Notes from the Zombie Apocalypse Some of my favorite things about zombie movies are the details of the changed world. The dead grass, broken windows, toppled telephone poles, abandoned cars with missing wheels and trunks left open, boarded-up buildings, spent ammo shells, and other signs of struggle and desperation serve to create a fascinatingly creepy environment. Read the rest... NASA announces Boeing and SpaceX will help return "human spaceflight launches to U.S." NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and other senior officials gathered today at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to announce that NASA will resume human space flight in the United States-- Boeing and SpaceX will be the commercial partners to help transport astronauts to the International Space Station, and they will launch from Cape Canaveral. Read the rest... Classic skateboard tricks, illustrated French illustrator John Rebaud's "Skateographie" series transforms classic skateboard tricks into poster art. Prints are available on the artist's website. Read the rest... My Little Pony vinyl soundtrack SPACELAB9 and Hasbro Studios are releasing two picture disc vinyl editions of "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic," availably only from Hot Topic. Read the rest... WATCH: authorities obsessed with inspecting people's anuses The case of Timothy Young made national headlines in 2012 when New Mexico police anally probed him in search of drugs (no contraband was found). Read the rest... How your smartphone betrays you all day long Ton Siedsma, a lawyer for the Dutch civil liberties group Bits of Freedom, volunteered to have a week's worth of his phone's metadata collected and analyzed by researchers from Ghent University and by Mike Moolenaar. Read the rest... The lovely miniature paintings of Lorraine Loots Tiny, delicate, and precious without being--well, precious. Read the rest... California Sunday Magazine: new print and online publication The California Sunday Magazine is a brand new publication launched by longtime Boing Boing pal Chas Edwards and Doug McGray, founder of the Pop-Up Magazine live event series. Read the rest... WATCH: self-appointed vigilante punishes litterbugs This Russian motorcyclist throws trash into the windows of litterbugs she comes across. Read the rest... Wonder Woman's secret history In Smithsonian, Jill Lepore, author of The Secret History of Wonder Woman, profiles everyone's favorite Amazonian princess. Wonder Woman's creator, psychologist William Moulton Marston: "Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world." Read the rest... Follow us online:   forward to a friend   unsubscribe from this list