The Latest from Boing Boing

Own original art from In Real Life! Jen Wang, the artist and writer who co-created the New York Times bestselling graphic novel In Real Life with me, is selling off her original art from the book. Read the rest... Caturday: Long Winter's Cat Nap A photo by Eric Sonstroem, shared in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool. Read the rest... House of Lords demands its own caterer because Parliament's Champagne isn't good enough A move to save money by merging the Lords' and Parliament's catering has come under fire because some Lords fear that the quality of the free Champagne will decline as a result. Read the rest... The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Procedure Nathaniel Burney continues his project to create an entire law-degree in comic-book form withThe Illustrated Guide to Criminal Procedure, Vol I: Parts 1-3, the followup to his brilliant 2012 book Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law. Never has the Fourth Amendment been more graphic and accessible: Cory Doctorow is learning everything he needs for a life of successful criminal law and/or crime. Read the rest... Crowdfunding a USB-stick-sized, GNU/Linux-ready computer A reader writes, "The USB Armory is full-blown computer (800MHz ARM® processor, 512MB RAM) in a tiny form factor (65mm x 19mm x 6mm USB stick) designed from the ground up with information security applications in mind." "Not only does the USB Armory have native support for many Linux distributions, it also has a completely open hardware design and a breakout prototyping header, making it a great platform on which to build other hardware." The project wants $130 per stick, and makes some very exciting claims about security and openness; I asked Bruce Schneier whether he thought this passed the giggle-test and he said, "I don't know if it's any good, but more transparency is definitely good." Which is a good way of thinking about stuff like this: it may not be secure, but if it isn't, you can find out by auditing it yourself, or taking the word of someone you trust who's done an audit, rather than having to take the project founders' word for it. Read the rest... Tor Project declares solidarity with harassed colleague Roger Dingledine from the Tor Project writes, "One of our colleagues has been the target of a sustained campaign of harassment for the past several months. Read the rest... Teachers describe the terrible state of American education Teachers from across America (including a Philly elementary school with a $160 annual budget for 400 students!) wrote to Gawker to explain what the No Child Left Behind, charter movement, and the overall war on teachers and education has turned America's classes into. Read the rest... In New York, “whistleblower” demonstrations at police stations Demonstrators are staging mass "whistle-blowing" rallies at NYPD police stations throughout New York tonight, kicking off a second weekend of protests against the killing of Eric Garner. Read the rest... Geminid meteor showers peak this weekend. Here's how to view, in the skies and online. The 2014 Geminids peak over the next few days, and it's likely to be a particularly beautiful display. Can't get to a city-light-free spot? Watch 'em online! Read the rest... IBM's banking security software demands the right to spy on you IBM's Trusteer Rapport is a security package that many banks recommend to their customers -- but its latest license agreement includes this gem: "[you agree lot let] the Program remotely to collect any files or other information from your computer that IBM security experts suspect may be related to malware or other malicious activity, or that may be associated with general Program malfunction." In other words, IBM is allowed to gank any file on your computer, if it thinks it looks suspicious, and if that file turns out to be sensitive, confidential, or compromising, tough shit. Bank Security Software EULA Allows Spying On Users (Image: EULA Hotel, San Francisco, Anne Roth, CC-BY) Read the rest... Undercover cop who pointed gun at Oakland protesters just doin' his job, says CHP Just another day in America, guys. Read the rest... Senate torture report confirms CIA had ‘black site’ at Guantánamo, lied to Congress. Are they still operating it? A new Miami Herald piece contains graphic details of torture which sane people should find revolting. Read the rest... U.S. agency infiltrated Cuba's hip-hop scene, U.S. taxpayers paid millions for “stupid” covert op USAID's sneaky infiltration of Cuba's hip-hop subculture to spark a youth movement against the Cuban government cost a lot of money, and accomplished nothing but new ill will toward the USA. Read the rest... Two bros faked spoiled spuds in $2 million federal insurance swindle In Fargo, North Dakota, two brothers were convicted this week of destroying potatoes so they could collect crop insurance payments. Their scheme defrauded the federal government of about $2 million, said prosecutors. Read the rest... Median white household in U.S. has 13 times more wealth than median black household, 10 times more than median Latino The inequality gap between white families and black and Latino households is the highest it's been since the late 1980s. Read the rest... Festus Rotgut: Zombie Cowboy -- 6-pack comic book Presented for your entertainment: a complete zombie comic story, told on beer bottle labels. By Jason Aaron and Walking Dead co-creator Tony Moore. Read the rest... Autopsy report declares police shooting of Tamir Rice, 12, to be homicide The report issued today by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner found that the sixth-grader died of one shot to the abdomen. Read the rest... The photography of Clayton Cubitt, now available in $20 “MiniPrints” Sexy, ethereal, gorgeous images. Just in time for last-minute holiday shopping. Read the rest... What's good to eat near NYC's Fulton Street? The Food Warriors know. The Fulton St. subway stop serves the Financial District of lower Manhattan. It used to clear out after work, but more people are living there. So, where to get a good bite to eat? Read the rest... “All About That Space,“ a NASA parody of “All About That Bass” A video created by the Pathways Interns of NASA's Johnson Space Cente to raise interest and excitement for Orion's first flight. Read the rest... Star Wars Tree Sweater This is how they yarn-bomb in Iowa City. (via Ellen Kushner) Read the rest... Feds given deadline to subpoena NYT reporter over CIA leak A U.S. judge orders the government to decide by next Tuesday if they're going to force New York Times reporter James Risen to testify, once and for all. Read the rest... Espresso cups that spark joy I measured the Bialetti 06816 Bicchierini Espresso Cups using Marie Kondo's yardstick.* I'm keeping them. I love the crinkly shape, which makes the cups comfortable in my hand. Read the rest... Forbidden Activities for Neglected Children celebrates the wonderful grotesquery of the late 1970s Here is a snapshot of my room in 1979: A box of Warren horror magazines, with assorted outliers such as Psycho and Scream; a stack of Dungeons & Dragons books, including some of the earlier supplements such as Eldritch Wizardry; a shelf displaying various Aurora monster models; a bookshelf holding any number of supernatural and horror short story anthologies; and my beloved but completely dog-eared copy of A Pictorial History of Horror Movies by Denis Gifford. Read the rest...