The Latest from Boing Boing

This year's flu vaccine is not working The CDC announced yesterday that this year's flu has officially become an epidemic. One reason: the vaccine being used is not working. Read the rest... Korean Air exec arrested for macadamia nut temper tantrum On December 5, Heather Cho, head of in-flight service at Korean Air Lines, was a passenger on Flight 86 from New York to Seoul. Read the rest... How imageboard culture shaped Gamergate That tell-tale wedding of relentless hostility and ethical affectation is a peculiar youth subculture spilling out into the open web. Get ready for more of it. Read the rest... Video: The Epic Kitten Food Bowl Rush This is basically me but with tacos. [Video Link, via Reddit] Read the rest... Illustrations of great foodie destinations, in food, by Anna Keville Joyce Shown here, illustrations of Eastern Europe and LA Neighborhoods, two series from her expansive body of fanciful work. Read the rest... Happy Public Domain Day: here are the works that copyright extension stole from you in 2015 Jennifer Jenkins writes, "What could have been entering the public domain in the US on January 1, 2015? Under the law that existed until 1978 -- Works from 1958. Read the rest... The Guinea Pig Games Calendar Adorable furry rodents participating in their own versions of sporting events that test their strength, will, and "furry power." Read the rest... Ancient Trees: Photographer Beth Moon's portraits of the oldest trees on Earth One of the most beautiful books to come out in 2014. Read the rest... Marriott plans to block personal wifi hotspots The hotel chain petitioned the FCC for changes that could let venues shut down personal networks. Microsoft, Google, and the cell industry are opposed. Read the rest... Lovely short film: "Projections in the Forest" Friedrich van Schoor and Tarek Mawad's "Projections in the Forest" brings to life a glowing plant and animal otherworld. Read the rest... TOM THE DANCING BUG: Oregon Woman Gives Birth to Hindu Baby Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH the News of the Times presents the story, "Oregon Woman Gives Birth to Hindu Baby" Read the rest... What's in the files the NSA dribbled out after its Xmas dump? Patrick writes, "The NSA dumped its IOB reports on Christmas Eve, except that it was short 15 files, I pointed that out, next dump was silent but an additional 12 files, I pointed out the three missing files, and as of today, the three extra files were added, but the extra 3 files have a different naming convention." Data analysis resources should be focused on the 3rd quarter report for 2010 and 3rd quarterand 4th quarter reports for 2009, especially as compared to other materials (Snowden?) for those time frames. My heuristic being that people don’t delay without a reason. It isn’t necessary to know the reason, just to observe the delay. NSA IOB Dump Finally Complete! Read the rest... Finding out that you're not the Rebel Alliance, you're actually part of the Empire and have been all along Laurie Penny weighs in with an important addition to the discussion about privilege and pain, making the important point that privilege is not the absence of pain, discrimination or hellish conditions -- but that doesn't mean that the nerds who suffered through school bullying are without it. Read the rest... NSA can wiretap Skype wholesale Another gem from the latest Der Spiegel NSA leaks: the NSA can listen in on all Skype traffic and read Skype messages, because Microsoft hands over its keys. Read the rest... Coach-minus: a new low in high-flying travel An unnamed airline is said to be planning a "coach-minus" service that features smaller, more crowded seats. They say they're providing cheaper tickets to passengers who demand it. Read the rest... FBI can secretly spy on Americans even if its useless oversight court says no In theory, the FBi needs to get the FISA court to sign off on requests for secret warrants to spy on Americans -- in practice, it almost always rubberstamps those requests. Read the rest... Crypto puzzles and games for kids Dev Gualtieri's newly published Secret Codes & Number Games: Cryptographic Projects & Number Games for Children Ages 5-16 is a thoughtfully designed introduction to crypto for kids. Read the rest... Exclusive Neil Gaiman recording to Comic Book Legal Defense Fund donors Charles writes, "Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is thanking folks who make a donation in any amount before the 12/31 tax deadline with a download of Neil Gaiman's reading Live At the Aladdin. The Fund has used our donors' contributions to protect the freedom to read, including our 2014 annual report and an infographic showcasing how our donations are used." Read the rest... Mystery Box Playing Cards presented by J.J. Abrams I use standard Bicycle 808 playing cards most of the time (I buy them by the dozen), but I love the Mystery Box playing cards created by Theory 11 (with input from amateur magician J.J. Read the rest... A "Mail... Kimp?" song you can dance to Some crazed genius made a song from the MailChimp ad at the introduction to every Serial episode. Read the rest... Video: Simple science pranks Fun selection of kitchen science pranks! Read the rest... Blackmail paradoxes From Futility Closet: We covered one paradox regarding blackmail in 2010: If it’s legal for me to reveal your secret, and it’s legal for me to ask you for money, why is it illegal for me to demand payment to keep your secret? Read the rest... Play-Doh frosting extruder to be redesigned If you want this frosting extruder included in Play-Doh Cake Mountain playset, you'd better be quick about it. Today, Play-Doh posted the following on its Facebook page: We have heard some consumer feedback about the extruder tool in the Play-Doh Cake Mountain playset and are in the process of updating all future Play-Doh products with a different tool. Should any consumer want a replacement extruder for this item, they can contact Hasbro’s Customer Service Department at 800-327-8264. Read the rest... The zen of building gaming PCs This year, I'd like to write a lot more game reviews, so the task is upon me: build or buy a new gaming PC. Read the rest... Nearly 20 Percent of Dark-Web Visits Relate to Subjects Other Than Pedophilia, Study Finds Wired: "Over 80 Percent Of Dark-Web Visits Relate to Pedophilia, Study Finds" Read the rest... "Wheeled" dolphin looks like penis "Yeah. That looks like a dolphin on wheels." [via] Read the rest... Rep. Steve Scalise's "no Google" excuse is bogus In 2002 US House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise gave a speech at a white supremacist conference. First he said didn't remember doing it, then he said he might have done it, and now he says he did do it but was "without the advantages of a tool like Google" to research hate groups in 2002. He's wrong. Google was started in 1998. Read the rest... Toddler shoots, kills woman in Walmart In an Idaho Walmart, a 2-year old reached into a woman's purse, grabbed her concealed firearm,then shot and killed her. Read the rest... FBI targets companies that hire hackers to protect them against hackers US businesses are frustrated by the federal government's weak response to hacker attacks. They are hiring cybersecurity firms to launch counterstrikes against foreign-based hackers. Read the rest... Beautiful photos of dead animals Over at Vantage, Maria Lonova Gribina's photographs of dead animals lovingly set into floral backdrops: A Childhood Ritual Transforms Roadkill Into Art Read the rest...