The Latest from Boing Boing

S.H.I.E.L.D.-themed RFID-shielding wallet Your wallet is no-doubt stuffed with RFID-enabled bus-passes, door-cards, credit-cards and other tokens, any and all of which can be "ghost read" by sneaky readers -- hence the popularity of RFID-blocking wallets, like the $20 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. RFID Blocking Wallet. Read the rest... Bill Gates: the best books I read in 2014 Philanthropist Bill Gates recommends five favorite books he read this year. Read the rest... Incredible performance of "Let It Go" from Frozen Watch as Miss Alaska Tastee Freeze performs an innovative, hilarious rendition of Ilsa's big song.(via) Read the rest... Grumpy Cat makes more money than Gwyneth Paltrow Grumpy Cat's earnings from books, a film, and other products bearing his likeness have topped $100 million in two years. "I was able to quit my job as a waitress within days of her first appearance on social media and the phone simply hasn't stopped ringing since,” [says Grumpy Cat owner Tabatha Bundesen of Morristown, Arizona.] Grumpy’s earnings have dwarfed those of many of Hollywood’s biggest names such as Gwyneth Paltrow who, according to Forbes magazine, earned just over £12 million last year. Grumpy cat makes owner £64 million Read the rest... World's oldest two-faced cat dies RIP, Frank and Louie, the world's oldest two-faced cat. He passed away peacefully at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuft's University in Grafton, Massachusetts, on Thursday morning. He was 15. Read the rest... Reminder: some US police departments reject high-IQ candidates Even if you think that IQ tests are unscientific mumbo-jumbo, it's amazing to learn that some US police departments don't, and furthermore, that they defended their legal right to exclude potential officers because they tested too high. Read the rest... 1963 Batmobile sells for $137,000 at auction Photo: Heritage Auctions Though it didn't match the $4.2m fetched by a more famous later model, the 1963 Batmobile is the long-lost original, reports Reuters. Read the rest... iOS keyboard promise 100 words per minute MacRumors takes a look at the Nintype keyboard for iOS ($4.99). Its psychedelic distortion interface is like something from a science fiction movie. Read the rest... Robots that teach coding to kids At Backchannel, Andrew Leonard tells the story of Dash and Dot, two darling robots designed to help kids learn to code. Read the rest... Limited edition vinyl: John Perry Barlow reads "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace" EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow's visionary 1996 text A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace has stirred hearts since he penned it in 1996 -- and now you can own a beautiful recording Barlow reading it in his wonderful, gravelly voice. Read the rest... Edible electronics University of Wollongong researchers are developing edible electronics that are 3D printed from materials like gelatin. Chemistry professor Marc in het Panhuis hopes the technology could someday be used to make biosensors that you swallow or components for soft robotics. Read the rest... Super Nintendo vs Hip-Hop Over at Cuepoint, an interview with legendary video game music composer David Wise (Donkey Kong Country, etc.) whose sounds are widely sampled by the likes of Drake, Childish Gambino, and countless hip hop and chiptune musicians. Read the rest... Imaginary Foundation's incredible psychedelic fly-through The Imaginary Foundation's Cosmic Symbolism Fly-Through is far fucking out. Once you're back in your head, grab some Imaginary Foundation gear at 10% off thanks to the Director, a longtime BB pal. Visit Imaginary Foundation and use the discount code: BOINGBOING Read the rest... Special abilities and talents for booth contractors From the pull-down menus for Judy Venn & Associates, who hire out "talent" to work in trade-show booths: "Blackjack dealer, twins, yo-yo specialist..." SPECIAL ABILITIES:* Aerialist* Assoc/Publication* Athletic* Balloon Artist* Bartender* Bathingsuit Model* Belly Dancer* Blackjack Dealer* Body Builder* Cappuccino Experience* Caricature Artist* Certified Massage Therapist* Chair Massage* Chef* Choreographer* Clown - Professional* Comedian - Professional* Computer Skills - Advanced* Computer Skills - Basic* Computer Skills - Intermediate* Contortionist* Costume Only* Crowd Gatherer* Dancer - Professional* Degree* Demonstrator* Disc Jockey* Emcee* Face Painter* Fitness Model* Fortune Teller* Guitarist* Hairstylist* Harpist* Health Card* Host* Hostess* Impersonator* Interpreter* Juggler* Karaoke - Singer* Magician* Make Up Artist* Mannequin Model* Masseause* Mime* Musician* Narrator* Palm Reader* Personal Trainer - Certified* Photographer - Professional* Pianist* Print* Professional Singer* Psychic* Runway Model* Sales Assistant* Sales/Marketing Background* Santa Claus* Scuba Diver - Certified* Shoe Shine* Showgirl* Skater-Figure-Professional* Skydiver* Snake Handler* Spiderman* Stiltwalker* Tam Card* Translation Only* Twins* Ventriloquist* Weight Trainer - Certified* Yo Yo Specialist TALENT TYPE:* Chair Massage* Crowd Gatherer* Demonstrator* Hostess/Host* Interpeter* Magician* Narrator* Sales Assistant* Shoe Shine Our Talent (via JWZ) (Image: Tokyo Game Show 2009, booth girls, japan_style, CC-BY) Read the rest... Hugh Howey shows you how to turn a manuscript into a paperback Hugh just released this fantastic video telling you how, and all of the templates he uses, to turn a manuscript into a book ready for self publishing. Read the rest... National Geographic's camera hacker Kenji Yamaguchi is National Geographic's in-house camera hacker who mods lenses, builds "camera traps," and customizes gear of all kinds for the magazine's shooters in the field. Read the rest... Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer cut from classic footage The trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens remade using footage from the original trilogy. Read the rest... Emoji-based diary app wants to know how you feel Emojiary is a diary app that asks you how you feel, once a day. You answer with emoji. James Hamblin writes that in this simple exchange is an access point to the best part of writing about oneself: self-awareness. Read the rest... Making egg nog for the British Did you know you can enjoy raw eggs relatively fearlessly in the UK? As an American often found hiding out in England, I was surprised to learn that they don't have egg nog here. Read the rest... Music video made from melting photos Director Chritsophe Thockler used 8,500 printed photos, 400 of which he set on fire, to create this excellent stop-motion music video for Victoria+Jean's track "Why Won't You." Read the rest... Wattam, new game from Katamari Damacy creator, is about connections You might know artist and designer Keita Takahashi for his iconic, idiosyncratic Katamari Damacy (previously). Last year, he joined Funomena to work with longtime friend and Journeyproducer Robin Hunicke on a brand-new game. Read the rest... Did this 1975 anime inspire Disney's Little Mermaid? This beautiful Toei Animation film, Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, was part of a Japanese film festival in 1975, and later reached the U.S. Read the rest... The original dot-com busts were "actually fantastic ideas" Robert McMillan makes the case for Pets.com, WebVan and Flooz: "The world is ready to cash in on the worst ideas of the 1990s." Read the rest... The art of Grant Gould Grant Gould is probably most well known for his Star Wars trading card art and illustrating two Star Wars books, Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Draw Star Wars: Rebels. Read the rest... Who Wars: Star Wars and Doctor Who in one podcast After seeing my post here on Boing Boing that featured my giant Ewok Village diorama, the folks at the Who Wars podcast reached out to interview me about it—just one part of the latest episode. Read the rest... Ketogenic diets The Guardian looks at the latest diet sensation, which takes high-fat to an extreme: anything more than a handful carbs a day is forbidden, because the point is to put your body in a state of ketosis. Read the rest... Rottweiler loves cat Do you like being licked? I'm not convinced that this extremely tolerant cat is, despite its passive demeanor. YouTube via Reddit. Previously. Read the rest... Police officer charged, tried and sentenced for unlawful killing His victim was an elk. "Sending a cop to prison is a very tricky thing," said Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett. Read the rest... Horrid Christmas suits Shinesty offered a full collection of eye-popping Christmas suits to enchant your friends and family with this holiday season, but made a critical mistake: none of them are three-piece. Alas, they're all sold out. Maybe next year! Read the rest... Labrador opens fridge door, dines 12-year-old yellow lab Allie is an expert at tipping trashcans, but she knows where the good stuff is kept. [via Arbroath] Read the rest...