The Latest from Boing Boing

AT-AT stretched piercing plugs If you liked the Storm Trooper plugs for stretched piercings, you'll love the 3D printed AT-AT plugs from Pittsburgh's Ojingo Studios, who also make copper skulls entombed in perspex and3D printed maneki nekos. (Thanks, Alice!) Read the rest... Hip hop video made from stock footage Peter Greenless used bland stock video clips of people doing business to make a surreal video for the late DJ Rashad Harden's killer cut "She A Go." Read the rest... Investigator in Secret Service prostitution scandal resigns after being caught in a prostitution scandal of his own The Department of Homeland Security revealed that David Nieland, an "investigator leading the internal review of the Secret Service’s 2012 prostitution scandal quit in August — because he was caught in a prostitution scandal of his own." Sheriff’s deputies in Broward County, Fla., saw David Nieland, the investigator, entering and leaving a building they had under surveillance as part of a prostitution investigation, according to officials briefed on the investigation. Read the rest... Behold the greatest neckbeard of 2014 Photographer Greg Anderson returned to cover the 2014 World Beard and Moustache Championships in Portland last week. Among the remarkable entries Greg shot was this beautiful neckbeard. Read the rest... Punktober, not Pinktober A sickly-sweet, brand-policed, trivializing ad campaign cannot communicate the awful reality of breast cancer experienced by sufferers and their families. Naomi Horn on why she doesn't go pink. Read the rest... Solar energy will soon "undercut even the cheapest fossil fuels in many regions of the planet" Even without generous tax credits, solar energy is going to become the dominant source of cheap energy. Bloomberg: "The reason solar-power generation will increasingly dominate: it’s a technology, not a fuel." Read the rest... WATCH: Dogs-eye view of going off-leash Ever wonder what it feels like to be a dog who FINALLY gets let off-leash? Witness the excitement as this GoPro-equipped yellow lab bounds across the rocks toward a very happy ending. Read the rest... Jaws skirt and other delights Nerd Alert in Jacksonville, FL, makes these great Jaws skirts to order for $45; also noteworthy are the Wonder Woman aprons, Robin aprons, Captain America scarf and Super Mario scarf (all made to order -- scarves come in straight or infinity). (Thanks, Alice!) Read the rest... Vintage toys: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Thumper, and... Idiot? The 1949 Airboy comic has an ad for 5 puppets: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Thumper... and Idiot. We'll assume Idiot is not a Disney-licensed character, though he looks a bit like their Hunchback. Read the rest... URGENT: Call the FCC every day from now until they make their decision on net neutrality Evan from Fight for the Future writes, "Hey Internet, this is it. We are going to win or lose the fight for net neutrality and online free speech in the next few weeks. Read the rest... The rise and fall of American Hallowe'en costumes A clever, interactive chart from NPR's Planet Money tracks the relative popularity of different American Hallowe'en costumes over the past five years. Read the rest... Eight year old's incredible prize-winning scorpion photo Spanish photographer Carlos Perez Naval, age 8, won the London Natural History Museum's Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 prize for this breathtaking photo of a yellow scorpion. Read the rest... Verizon's new big budget tech-news site prohibits reporting on NSA spying or net neutrality They're positioning the new site "Sugar String" as a well-funded competitor to Wired, but reporters are not allowed to mention NSA spying (in which Verizon was an enthusiastic partner) or net neutrality (which Verizon has devoted itself to killing, with campaigns of overt lobbying and covert dirty tricks). Read the rest... J. Mascis covers Mazzy Star J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. fame performs a lovely cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You." The track will be released as a 7" Sub Pop single on November 28 for Record Store Day Black Friday. Read the rest... Painting with fire Artist Steve Pazuk uses a flame to "paint" shadows on paper and then manipulates the soot with various tools to produce marvelous dreamlike imagery. Read the rest... New book of Star Wars costumes A new coffee table book features detailed histories and information on costumes for both major and minor characters, from Darth Vader to Tusken Raiders. By Mark Frauenfelder Read the rest... TOM THE DANCING BUG: Ernest Hemingway's New Typewriter Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Ernest Hemingway gets a special new typewriter… with apps.Read the rest... Pope: God "is not a magician" and Big Bang and evolution are A-ok "When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. Read the rest... Why Are Witches Green? Before The Wizard of Oz, witches were usually red or orange. Linda Rodriguez McRobbieexplains why. Read the rest... Obamacare: what it is, what it’s not It’s no surprise that we haven’t seen a conservative alternative to Obamacare; Obamacare wasthe conservative alternative. Written by Michael Goodwin of Economix Comix. Illustrations by Dan E. Burr. Lettered by Debra Freiberg. Read the rest... Hallowe'en Makie mischief: Barbie freakout! The adorable stop-motion video from 3D printed toy makers Makies is a spooky Hallowe'en treat with a well-deserved comeuppance for Barbie. (Disclosure: My wife Alice Taylor is the founder and CEO of Makielab) Read the rest... Every artist's "how I made it" talk, ever Darius Kazemi's XOXO talk, in which he explains how he became a successful lottery player, is a brilliant send-up of the "how I succeeded as an artist" talk. Read the rest... The Terrible Sea Lion: a social media parable Wondermark's instant classic "Terrible Sea Lion" strip is getting a fresh lease on life as a perfect parable for the experience of posting about #Gamergate and then being haunted by endlessly persistent entitled jerks. Read the rest... Which online services will stick up for you when the copyright bullies knock? The Electronic Frontier Foundation's annual "Who Has Your Back?" scorecard tells you which services will resist spurious attempts to censor your communications through baseless copyright accusations. Read the rest... Political mailer includes opponent's SSN and driver’s license number Did you hear the one about the Kentucky GOP candidate who asked his attorney general to investigate the state Democratic Party for allegedly sending out the Republican’s Social Security number and more personal information to thousands of constituents? Sorry to say, there’s no punch line here, because according to recent reports, it actually happened. By Adam Levin.Read the rest... Kickstarting a comic about HP Lovecraft's world Craig Engler writes, "It's a dirty, gritty story about magick, monsters and the occult. It takes place in a modern-day world where H.P. Read the rest... NASA launch of Antares ends in smoke and flames: rocket explodes after liftoff NASA's launch of an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket and Cygnus resupply spacecraft for the International Space Station today ended abruptly when the rocket exploded in smoke and flames shortly after liftoff. Read the rest... NASA to launch Antares rocket [Update: Rocket explodes on liftoff, mission fails] UPDATE: The rocket exploded at liftoff. Updates here. Watch live as NASA launches an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket and Cygnus resupply spacecraft for the International Space Station. Coverage here. Go Cygnus, Go Antares. Docking with the ISS is scheduled for November 2. Read the rest... WATCH: Motorcycle chariots throughout history Pro wrestler Buff Bagwell made a valiant effort to start up a motorcycle chariot racing league a few years ago, building this amazing prototype inspired by rigs from the 1920s. Read the rest... LAX delays flight because someone's wifi network had scary terrorist name Someone in the waiting area for AA's LAX-London flight created a network called "Al-Quida Free Terror Nettwork," so "out of an abundance of caution," everyone ran around like headless chickens for a while trying to figure out where the network name was coming from (cue horror music: "He's broadcasting from INSIDE THE TERMINAL!" Dun dun DUUUUN!). Read the rest...