Jason Schultz says,

Peter J. Biondi, NJ Assemblyman for District 16, has introduced A1327, a bill to force every ISP and website with comments/forums to demand user identification from every single poster (called an "information content provider" in the bill). While ostensibly an effort to stop defamation on the net, the identification requirements apply to all posters, not just those who defame others.

Link

Lora of "asian freckles" blog came up with a nerdy counterpoint to the crass velour of Juicy Couture.

As much as girls bitch about their butts to begin with, I can't see why they would warm to the adjective "juicy." Juicy indicates soft and squishy, which anatomically seems to correlate to flabby. That's hot? Here's my proposition, and it's just so much cooler.

Link (Thanks, Maren)

Following on from a coalition launched by dozens of campaigning groups who opposed AOL's plan to charge a tax to guarantee delivery of the email they send to their supporters, AOL has vowed to deafen its ears to their pleas and proceed with its plan to establish a two-tier email system. AOL's spokesman An analyst sympathetic to AOL even used the word "piffle" to dismiss the grave concerns of the organizations, which come from all points on the political spectrum and represent millions and millions of supporters:

"Balderdash and piffle," replies Jennings. "Nothing's really changed. If users are complaining about some e-mail, service providers will block the sender, whether or not they pay some sort of a bond or fee. There's no substantive change here. If you're an existing sender with a good reputation, you should have nothing to worry about . . . well, nothing new anyway.

Link (Thanks, Paul!)

Update: Erik Olson sez,

My answer to AOL's two-tier email will be simple. Once they start doing this, this will be placed in my sendmail access file:

aol.com		550 AOL doesn't pay me to accept their email

I'd encourage others to do the same. Should enough do so, AOL subscribers might get annoyed that large portions of the Internet refuse to even accept their email.

Hacker/photographer Jacob Appelbaum, whose work has appeared on BoingBoing before, has some lovely new infrared photos up. Link (NSFW, photo set includes some artful nudity)

Dean says,

For thirteen years, in the depressed inner city of south central LA, 250 families have been feeding themselves on with organic fruits and vegetables grown on a farm that was once completely paved and considered completely useless for growing anything on.

The farm has almost zero fossil fuel imput and zero transport cost. It's a model the whole world should be copying, but instead the city has decided to give them an eviction notice. The sheriff's office delivered the notice on March 1st. This farm does great things, and its in everybody's best interest that it survive.

The city wants to replace it with a Wal-Mart.

Links to the farm's website, the eviction notice, and the mayor's email address are all included here.

Reader comment: Glenn Fleishman says,

NPR did a balanced story about this a few weeks ago -- Link.

It's more nuanced than what's being cited here. The farm is on private property. The owner is not being compensated. If you buy into a world view that property is theft, then the victims are the farm owners. If you're interacting in our capitalist society, then both parties are victims and losers in this situation.

Reader comment: eric richardson says,

I'm glad to see boing boing giving visibility to the South Central community farm story.

It's a good bit off the truth to say that the City wants to replace the farm with a Walmart, though. The City got the site originally via eminent domain, intending to use it for a waste-to-energy plant. When that project didn't go forward they made a deal with the Food Bank to let the land be turned into farm plots.

In the process they got into a sticky situation with the original owner who still had some refusal rights on the land. Lawsuits and negotiations went on for almost ten years, and the City finally sold the land back to the original owner to clear out of a legal mess. Whether they should have done so or continued to fight is a very valid question, but clearly the City would have preferred not to give the land back.

Smile Plastics makes a variety of recycled plastic materials, including a line of "soft and squishy" plastics recycled from plastic intended for use in medical applications; this clear, soft material is perfect for embedding weird, random junk into, like postage stamps, old shopping bags, film stock, pictures, etc. Link (via Cribcandy)

The widow of a National Guard seargant killed in Afghanistan last year is protesting the military's decision not to allow a pentagram -- the symbol of his faith -- on his grave in a military cemetary.

Stewart was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which is not recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs for use in its cemeteries.

Stewart's widow, Roberta, said she will wait until her family's religion -- and its five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, with one point facing skyward -- is recognized for use on memorials before Stewart's plaque is installed. "It's completely blank," Roberta Stewart said, pointing to her husband's place on the memorial.

She said she had no idea the pentacle could not be used on her husband's memorial plaque until she had to deal with the agency after the death of her husband. "It's discrimination," she said. "They are discriminating against our religion."

Link (Thanks, marc)

Reader comment: damion armentrout says,

Many of my dead female relatives have the Masonic symbol for the Order of the Eastern Star on their gravestones. It is a downward pointing pentagram that is sometimes colored in sections. Would the military allow this, and not the upward facing symbol of a fallen soldier's faith?

Reader comment: patrick says,

I heard the same Wiccan Tombstone article on Penn Gilette's radio show. But the following day, he announced the military had changed it's mind and was going to add the symbol. Couldn't find a website to support it, but I can't of been the only one to hear the show.

Reader comment: Jason Pitzl-Waters says,

Here is the Pagan Headstone Campaign. They've been working for some time to get the pentacle (and eventually other Pagan symbols) allowed on military headstones and memorials. This has been a uphill struggle for years. Not too long ago Anissa Alford, the director of communications for the VA's National Cemetery Administration said this about the matter. "We want people to prove that there is a viable organization. ... We're not going to willy-nilly approve emblems until there is a need." (Link) So it remains to be seen how open they will be to our requests for equal treatment.

Link (via Gizmodo)

Artist Nathan Sawaya makes awesome Lego sculptures, but he also produces some super-sweet candy art. Case in point, this human heart fashioned from Necco Conversation Hearts, and "star bursts" made from Starbursts. (Thanks, Candy Addict, and more about Sawaya on his blog here)

Howard Rheingold needs an assistant. Sounds like a cool gig. Link.

This looks like a lot of fun: a DVD compilation of old 8mm monster movies made by kids.

I made a bunch of monster movies when I was a kid, and it was as fun as anything I can remember doing -- the make up, the sets, winding the camera, creating a cassette soundtrack with music and vocals. What a great way to spend summer.

Be sure to check out the trailer on the sites "Screaming Room." It's a hoot!
Link (thanks, pJ!)

MIT grad student Carl Dietrich won the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Inventiveness. A PhD candidate in the Aeronautics and Astronautics program, he's created novel designs for a personal flying car, desktop fusion reactor, and a lower-cost rocket engine. According to an article in Newsweek, he plans to take pre-orders for the flight vehicles, called the Transition, starting in July. It will cost around $100,000. From Newsweek:

The Transition runs on regular gas. But you can drive it to the airport, extend its origami-like wings, take off at double the highway speed and fly up to 500 miles away, then touch down and park it in your host's garage. With the wings folded, the Transition is about the size of an Escalade, with a little less cargo space. Of course, it's a little more difficult to maneuver—it requires a sport pilot's license—so it's not likely to replace your standard flightless car.

"It's not like every Joe Schmo and soccer mom on a cell phone is going to be driving one," says Dietrich...

Link to Newsweek article, Link to MIT press release (Thanks, Dave Gill!)

This photo appeared in the Bryan-College Station Eagle newspaper on Thursday. Click the image for a bigger version and look closely. Apparently the newspaper claims it's an "unfortunate optical illusion."
Link (Thanks, Carlo Longino!)

The world's greatest typeface designers House Industries will be lecturing at two Apple stores in LA next week. I promise it'll be standing-room only, so get there early.

Made on a Mac
Andy Cruz/Rich Roat
House Industries

House Industries: From Hot Rods to Swiss Modernism and All Graphic Design In Between

Andy Cruz and Rich Roat of House Industries will share the process by which they approach each project using a unique blend of traditional, commercial art techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to create a unique look and feel to all of their work.

Apple Store Santa Monica
Monday, March 6, 6:00 p.m.
1248 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica
http://www.apple.com/retail/thirdstreetpromenade

Apple Store The Grove
Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 p.m.
189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles
http://www.apple.com/retail/thegrove

Link

Steve Worth says:

"I just posted a pencil test from the UPA cartoon, 'Grizzly Golfer.' It's animated by Art Babbitt, the guy who defined Goofy's character for Disney and animated the Chinese mushrooms in Fantasia.

"ASIFA-Hollywood is doing a retrospective of films by UPA at the Egyptian theater in Hollywood on March 26th. Jerry Beck has some amazing films lined up."
Link

Desmond Irvine, 74, was so heartbroken by the death of his wife Veronica on Valentine's Day that he put her in a nice dress and, with the help of his son, took her in a taxi from Edinburgh, Scotland to their holiday home in Berwick, England where they put her in the freezer. Two weeks later, police were tipped-off by concerned family members and discovered the body. Desmond was detained by police for nine hours. Apparently, Desmond and his son are now trying to bring Veronica back home. From Scottsman.com:

Philip, 36, was today reported as saying: "The police have not respected my mother's wishes.

"They have been very insensitive - it's legalised body-snatching...

It was reported today that Philip and his father staged a last supper for his mother on February 15 where they placed her at a table before putting her in the freezer...

(Desmond) kept her in a chest freezer, similar to the kind used to store frozen food in a supermarket, in the family's run-down holiday home in the town and stayed there for 11 days grieving.

Philip said: "We did it because we had not said goodbye to her."

Desmond added that he did not expect to be arrested by police...

"I told the police how the chiller cabinet worked to keep my wife safe. I did not want to leave her at an undertaker's."

"I had to notify my relatives abroad - they couldn't just come at the drop of a hat."

Link

360 Electrical outlets rotate into 18 positions so you can more easily deal with wall-wart AC adapters. Excellent idea! "Coming soon," says the site.
Link (via Gizmodo)

My Institute for the Future colleague Lyn Jeffery is a brilliant cultural anthropologist who has been spending extended periods in China for twenty years. Now, she and Jason Li, a former IFTF intern and engineering/education/design student at Brown University, have launched Virtual China, a blog exploring "virtual experiences and environments in and about China." It's an eye-opening window onto the "other" Internet and online culture in China. Link

If you enjoy cartoons and illustrations from the fist half of the 20th Century, I highly recommend subscribing to Shane Gline's Cartoon Retro. For $5 a month (using PayPal to subscribe) you not only get hundreds of pages of out-of-print cartoon treasures by the masters of the genre, you also get to ogle scans from Shane Glines' fantastic personal sketchbook.

This week, Shane posted a four-page Milt Gross cartoon from the 1930s, called "Hiawatta," and the art and words are terrifically charming. No wonder Gross is considered by many of today's best cartoonists to be the king of cartoons. Here are the first two pages of the strip.
Page 1 Page 2

BarCamp LA is "an ad-hoc un-conference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees." It's being held at the Little Radio Warhouse 1218 Long Beach Ave Los Angeles, CA 90021. Boing Boing is a sponsor, and I hope to see you there! Link (More Boing Boing coverage of BarCamp)

Andy "Waxy" Baio has been threatened with a lawsuit for hosting a parodical video about Bill Cosby called "House of Cosbys." In the video, a Bill Cosby fan clones the comedian several times, and each Cosby comes out more degraded than the last. It's clearly parody and clearly fair use, but the originators of the series shut down their effort when Bill Cosby's lawyers threatened them.

But Andy isn't backing down -- instead, he's vowing to defend this in court. He's also collecting videos of well-funded TV shows parodying Cosby, and has already compiled a list that includes Family Guy, the Simpsons, South Park, Saturday Night Live and MAD Magazine -- none of which have received the legal threats that Cosby's lawyer seems to reserve for independent creators.

More than anything, this strikes me as a special kind of discrimination against amateur creators on the Internet. Mad Magazine, Saturday Night Live, South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and countless other mainstream media sources have parodied Bill Cosby over the years (see growing list below).

But because it takes so little effort to threaten a small web-based artist (or the blogger who hosts their work), the Net is constantly targeted regardless of just cause. Justin Roiland, creator of House of Cosbys, and Channel 101 were forced to remove House of Cosbys because they couldn't risk the possibility of an actual lawsuit.

But I know my legal standing, and I'm not backing down unless ordered by the court. This is free speech and creative freedom, and even though it's just one guy's goofy labor of love, that's worth fighting for, dammit.

Link (Thanks, Andy!)

Update: Ed sez, "For clarification, channel101.com stood its ground for several months after receiving the ceast&desist. When Cosby's lawyers realized that channel101 was not going to fold to their bullying, they sent a legal threat to channel101's ISP who told channel101 to remove the videos or find a new ISP. Their strategy seems to be to keep sending legally baseless threats until someone finally folds. You can read the details here."

WNY Media Network has a recent news video clip compilation that reveals the close connections between the Bush family and the United Arab Emirates. No wonder Bush is turning a deaf ear to the concerns expressed by Democrats and Repulicans.

President Bush's family and members of the Bush administration have long-standing business connections with the UAE... Bush defying his very own party leadership and his party in defending the Dubai port deal... The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is a major investor in The Carlyle Group, the private equity investment group where the President's father once served as senior advisor, and is a who's who of former high level government officials... Just last year, Dubai International Capital, a government buyout firm, invested in an 8 billion dollar Carlyle fund. Another family connection, the president's brother, Neil Bush, has reportedly received funding for his education software company from UAE investors. Then there is the cabinet connection: Treasury Secretary John Snow was chairman of railroad company CSX. After he left the company for the White House, CSX sold its international operations to Dubai Ports World for more than a billion dollars.

Link (More about The Carlyle Group here)

A man whose wireless ISP's signal was blocked by a nearby church spire built a low-cost, 60-foot-tall tower in his yard and mounted his antenna atop it.

Final costs:

* About 14,000 pounds of cement
* About $404 CND (including ISP installation) * Days and days of work

Getting high speed internet was the most challenging experience in my life. Now that I have it you can't even imagine how much I appreciate it! I’m pretty proud of this achievement. Some may think I'm crazy, and maybe I am... but when I want something THAT much, if there's a way to got it, I just can't turn back. I gave all I’ve got to this project, using every connection and workaround I could to achieve a complete success.

Link (Thanks, Pete!)