The Latest from Boing Boing

Barrett Brown’s sentence is unjust, but it may become the norm for journalists The investigative journalist was sentenced to an obscene 63 months in prison on Thursday, in part for sharing a hyperlink to a stolen document that he did not steal, and despite the fact that he was not guilty of a crime for linking to it. Read the rest... Plan C: The top secret Cold War plan for martial law in the USA Michael from Muckrock sez, "Starting on April 19, 1956, the federal government practiced and planned for a near-doomsday scenario known as Plan C. Read the rest... The Big Book of Maker Skills: tools and techniques for building great tech projects I know Chris Hackett from my days as editor-in-chief of MAKE. This guy knows his stuff. He can make almost anything, and I’ve long hoped he’d write a book encapsulating his wide-ranging practical knowledge of welding, electronics, metalwork, sewing, workshop practices, and tips for getting stuff done on the cheap. Read the rest... One month to Net Neutrality showdown at FCC: add the countdown to your site! Evan from Fight for the Future writes, "Today is exactly one month before the FCC's much anticipated vote on new net neutrality rules -- this could be the most important vote for the future of the Internet in our lifetimes." Thanks to a massive Internet-wide uprising, we are closer than ever before to winning real net neutrality protections, but giant cable companies are still doing everything in their power to stop us. Read the rest... TV show tricks chronic catcallers into harassing their own mothers The Peruvian TV show "Harassing Your Mother" performs secret makeovers on the mothers of habitual catcallers, then uses hidden cameras to record catcallers shouting sexual remarks at their own mothers, who furiously upbraid them in the middle of the busy streets of Lima. Read the rest... Watch this mesmerizing rock balancing highlight reel Since Mark first reported on Gravity Glue in 2011, artist Michael Grab has traveled extensively as he balanced rocks, and his beautifully-shot footage only improves with time. Read the rest... AlterWorld (Play to Live: Book #1) Virtual reality becomes reality for folks afflicted with the Perma Effect. D. Rus' AlterWorld is the story of a terminal cancer patient who transfers his life into an MMO. Read the rest... Leatherman's new wearable multi-tool Available this summer, the Leatherman Tread is a bracelet or wristwatch with steel links that double as box wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools. Read the rest... Watch 23 of the best dolly zooms in cinematic history Vashi Nedomansky compiled this terrific collection of famous dolly zoom shots. Cinematographer Irmin Roberts used it to great effect in Hitchcock's Vertigo, and it quickly entered the language of cinema to convey a moment of revelation, usually an unpleasant one. Read the rest... LEGO Movie soundtrack on vinyl! Next month, the LEGO Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack comes to vinyl in a special double LP package including a color booklet with liner notes by soundtrack composer (and DEVO co-founder) Mark Mothersbaugh. Read the rest... “I built my rabbit a cart. Now he delivers me beer.” You think you've seen everything on YouTube. Then you see this. Read the rest... Fantastic anthology of offensive political cartoons and comix Cartoonist Mr. Fish's amazing anthology WARNING! Graphic Content feels especially relevant this month. The polemic celebrates political cartoons, comix, and "the uncensored artistic mind," making the absolutist case for the need to offend. Read the rest... Seal and dog on beach share a sweet moment of snuggle Adorable moment of tenderness. Seals are so much like dogs, it seems very natural to see them be so sweet with each other. Read the rest... Watch DARPA unveil untethered ATLAS for 2015 robotic challenge The 2015 DARPA Robotic Challenge (DRC) is upping the ante, making the ATLAS robot used in competition self-contained and redesigned from the knees up. Read the rest... Google handed Wikileaks staffers' email over to US Government, didn't tell anyone Wikileaks has issued a furious denunciation of Google after it learned that the company turned over its staff email to the US Government in March 2012 without notifying it. Read the rest... Music video: retro-'80s hallucination for new Marie Davidson track A strange, 1980s-esque hallucinatory video, directed for Montréal synth-punk chanteuse Marie Davidson's "Balade aux USA." The track is from Davidson's forthcoming album Un Autre Voyagedue out in April on Holodeck Records. Video directed by Kaspar'89. Read the rest... Incredible LEGO Pompeii model This incredible LEGO model of Pompeii is on display at Syndey, Australia's Nicholson Museum.Ryan "The Brickman" McNaught built the model from nearly 200,000 blocks. Read the rest... Squirrel is pals with very large dog, tries to hide food in the dog's coat I could watch videos of Wally the squirrel attempting to stash snacks in Jax the dog's fur all day long. There are two turtles and another dog in this household. Read the rest... Ballsy fashion designer's dick move on the runway At Paris Fashion Week, Rick Owens's menswear line featured flaps and openings strategically-located to reveal his models' penises as they strutted down the runway. Read the rest... Great Firewall of Cameron blocks sex-abuse charities UK Prime Minister David Cameron demanded that ISPs opt their customers into "adult content" filters (and now Sky is opting in everyone whose account predates this announcement), ignoring all the people who correctly predicted that these filters would block important sites. Read the rest... The Haunted Mansion was almost the Tiki Room Another outstanding photo-essay on the Long Forgotten Haunted Mansion blog shows how many of the original Rolly Crump concepts for a walk-through Haunted Mansion at Disneyland eventually made their way into the Enchanted Tiki Room, with effects based on Cocteau's 1946 movie La Belle et la Bête. Read the rest... LISTEN: Ben Franklin's Guide to Living In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore Benjamin Franklin's self-improvement plan and find out which vices gave him the most trouble. Read the rest... When shirts cost $3,500 An eye-popping parable about the benefits of automation: 200 years ago, it took 479 hours worth of labor to make a shirt (spinning, weaving, sewing), or $3,472.75 at $7.25/hour. Read the rest... San Francisco ponders letting luxury property developers take away symbolic "public spaces" Like many cities, SF asks fancy property developers to create "public spaces" in their buildings to make up for parks and other public sites they displace, and these are usually a joke, hidden away far in the buildings' depths and deliberately hidden from the public. Read the rest...