Salvatore Rivieri, the Baltimore police officer who can be seen in a YouTube video wearing cute shorts and knocking a skinny 14-year-old skateboarder to the ground (David posted about it yesterday) is the star of another video that's recently surfaced.
This time he confronts Billy Friebele, an artist from Washington D.C., who was videotaping at the Harbor last summer.
Friebele told ABC2 [a Baltimore TV station] he was taping the reactions of passersby to a box he was moving with a remote controlled car. Officer Friebele is seen on tape kicking the box off of the car and then kicking the car. The officer then orders Friebele to leave the area.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find the video on the ABC2 site so I don't know if Officer Rivieri is wearing those shorts.
Link
The U.S. Government said it's going to try to shoot down that errant spy satellite out of the sky when its orbit decays to about 120 miles above Earth. It contains 1,000 pounds of hydrazine fuel, which "could turn into a toxic gas capable of causing deaths and injuries if it crashed in a populated area." They hope that by destroying the tank, the poison gas will disperse in the atmosphere without causing harm to living things.
In cases of controlled descents, the fuel can be burned off before reentry. But in the case of the errant spy satellite, ground controllers lost all communications shortly after it was launched in 2006, and the fuel tank remains full. U.S. officials were concerned that the fuel tank could survive reentry and that a crash landing in a populated area could disperse the hydrazine, which causes deadly effects similar to ammonia or chlorine.
...
Last year, China used a missile to shoot down one of its failing weather satellites and was harshly criticized by U.S. officials and others.
Collector of anomalies, esoterica, and curiosities.
Markus Kison's CharmingBurka is a Bluetooth-enabled Burka that sends a photo of the wearer to nearby mobile phones. From the project description:
The Charming Burka deals with Freud's idea that all clothes can be positioned between appeal and shame. The Burka was chosen, because it is often perceived in the west as a symbol of repression. A digital layer was added so that women can decide for themselves where they want to position themselves virtually. The Burka sends an image, chosen by the wearer, via Bluetooth technology. Every person next to her can receive her picture via mobile phone and see the women's self-determined identity. The virtual appeals can not be gathered by the laws of the Koran and so the CharmingBurka fulfills the desire of living a more western life, which some Muslim women have today.
Therefore the Burka is equipped with bluetooth antenna/micro-controller and uses the OBEX protocol, already working with most mobile phones.
Collector of anomalies, esoterica, and curiosities.
Over at the MAKE: Blog, Mike Dixon posted his first installment of "Made In Japan," a weekly roundup of DIY activities happening there. Seen here is a snow sculpture of the villainous Baikinman from the anime series Anpanman. Made In Japan Vol.1 also features circuit-bent Pikachus, recipes for fermented soybean-based Natto, and eccentric maker Dr. Yoshiro Nakamatsu, inventor of the floppy disk. Link
Collector of anomalies, esoterica, and curiosities.
This incredible antique automaton, circa 1915-1925, just sold on eBay for $1,775. It's 32" high and 16" wide. The auction listing says it may have been "a knight from a King Arthur type of display." I think it'd look right at home in a crucifixion scene. I hope the buyer completely restores and revives the (holy) ghost in this machine. From the eBay listing:
ORIGINAL MECHANISM AND PAPER MACHE HEAD. ARMS ARE WOOD AND POSSIBLY MADE BY SCHOENHUT. GLASS EYES. ELECTRIC MOTOR CAM DRIVEN MULTIPLE ACTION MECHANISM. WORKS FINE, HEAD MOVES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. EYES MOVE LEFT TO RIGHT, AND EYELIDS OPEN AND CLOSE. BREATHING ACTION AS A CHEST PANEL RISES AND FALLS. OUT OF AN ESTATE IN STATEN ISLAND , NEW YORK. POSSIBLY FROM HAPPYLAND AMUSEMENT PARK . BELIEVED TO BE A KNIGHT FROM A KING ARHTUR TYPE OF DISPLAY. THE MAKER IS SAID TO BE WILLIAM H AND CHARLES W COOK OF COOK STUDIOS AT 550 EAST DUPONT STREET,ROXBOROUGH PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. MAKERS OF DISPLAYS, AND ADVERTISING DISPLAYS.
Mark Fiore has a great little animated sequence explaining the U.S. government's domestic spying program from the point of view of the cutest homeland security advocate in the world -- Snuggly the Security Bear!
This video is oh-so-wrong, but I got a good chuckle out of it, especially since I'm a list freak. (If I complete a task that I forgot to add to my list, I'll add it to the list after the fact and then cross it off.)
(UPDATE: I put the wrong timestamp on this post, so it got buried. I'm putting it back at the top of the stack, so everyone has a chance to join the fun.)
(Click on images to biggify)
Paintings of iconic musicians made from colored disks at Buzz Coffee in Los Angeles (323-656-7460). I can't remember the artist's name, but they are selling for $1000 each.
Earlier this week, I pointed to reports that John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, was said to be planning legal action against with a young singer-songwriter named Lennon Murphy, who sought to trademark the name of her band, "Lennon."
Ms. Ono tells Boing Boing today that the reports (from Fox, NME, TMZ, and others) she was suing Ms. Murphy are untrue -- she just didn't want Murphy to seek an exclusive trademark on "Lennon."
Yoko Ono (yes, really) writes:
Dear Xeni,
A musician named Lennon Murphy is claiming that Yoko Ono has sued her and that Yoko is seeking to stop Lennon Murphy from performing under her name, Lennon Murphy. Both of these claims are untrue.
Several years ago, Lennon Murphy sought Yoko's permission to do her performances under her name, Lennon Murphy. Yoko, of course, did not object to her request. Subsequently, without Yoko's knowledge, Lennon Murphy filed an application in the United States trademark Office requesting the exclusive right to utilize the name "Lennon" for musical performances. Yoko's attorneys asked Lennon Murphy's attorneys and manager to withdraw her registration of exclusivity to the name LENNON for the trademark. Yoko also offered to cover all costs Lennon Murphy had incurred in filing for the trademark. But Lennon Murphy went ahead to register.
Yoko did not sue Lennon Murphy, but sought to stop her from getting the exclusive right to the name Lennon for performance purposes. For that, Yoko's attorneys, simply notified the Trademark office that Yoko did not believe it was fair that Ms. Murphy be granted the exclusive right to the "Lennon" trademark in relation to musical and entertainment services. As you can see, this is a very important issue for Yoko and the Lennon family.
Yoko says: "I am really hurt if people thought that I told a young artist to not use her own name in her performances and had sought to sue her. I did no such thing. I hope this allegation will be cleared."
Photographer Richard Mosse got in touch over the weekend with these photographs of air disaster simulations: fire crews racing to put out temporary fires, amidst fake airplane bodies on the runways of airports all over Europe and the United States.
"I spotted my first air disaster simulator on the tarmac at JFK," Mosse wrote. "You can see it yourself next time you fly into that airport. It's an intimidating black oblong structure situated dangerously close to one of the runways. Ever since, I have hunted for air trainers while taxi-ing across each new airport that I've had the chance to fly into."
St. Mary's Academy (25 miles northwest of Topeka) won't let women referee boys basketball games.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association said referees reported that Michelle Campbell was preparing to officiate at St. Mary's Academy near Topeka on Feb. 2 when a school official insisted that Campbell could not call the game.
The reason given, according to the referees: Campbell, as a woman, could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy's beliefs.
Collector of anomalies, esoterica, and curiosities.
This photo is so amazing I'm not entirely convinced it's real, but it reportedly shows Rio de Janeiro's 130-foot-tall Christ Redeemer statue getting hit by lightning. Link
The New York Times has the full run
of Daniel Clowes' (Ghost World, David Boring) "Mister Wonderful" online for free in PDF format. Link(Thanks, Adrienne!)
Authorities in Australia are considering the use of Creative Commons licensing to facilitate sharing of geographical and meteorological data:
Last month, the government of Queensland approved the use of Creative Commons, which allows free re-use of copyright material subject to certain conditions, as part of a new licensing framework. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth (federal) government is expected to give the green light to creative commons in a new set of guidelines for the management of the government's intellectual property.
The new Australian policy will be watched with interest by Britain's free-data movement. Historically, Australia is a pioneer of free data: a 1968 law exempted most data produced by the federal government from copyright protection.
On Tuesday, the US Senate approved a bill that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that illegally spied on millions of Americans' private communications.
The fight is not over yet; the bill must be ratified by the House before it becomes law. This means the votes cast by your Congresscritter in the next couple days will likely be our last chance to hold the telecoms accountable and discover the full extent of the Bush administration's lawbreaking.
"Cabling" is a new sport founded by Steven Schkolne in which competitors must race to detangle bundles of CAT-5 ethernet cables. The person who unravels their wire bundle the fastest at this particular meet wins a spaghetti dinner (hm, perhaps it's all a front for Pastafarianism).
Cabling enthusiasts are not fooling around: there are detailed rules about the types of wire permitted:
CAT-5 Ethernet cables are to be used. Contestants may use any cable they wish, as long as it is capable of carrying 100Mb/s prior to competition. During competition, the colors red, blue, and yellow are used for the 7, 15, and 25 foot cables resepectively.
Link to full post with video, discussion, and "tangling regulations" on Boing Boing tv.
The Charming Burka deals with Freud's idea that all clothes can be positioned between appeal and shame. The Burka was chosen, because it is often perceived in the west as a symbol of repression. A digital layer was added so that women can decide for themselves where they want to position themselves virtually. The Burka sends an image, chosen by the wearer, via Bluetooth technology. Every person next to her can receive her picture via mobile phone and see the women's self-determined identity. The virtual appeals can not be gathered by the laws of the Koran and so the CharmingBurka fulfills the desire of living a more western life, which some Muslim women have today.
Over at the MAKE: Blog, Mike Dixon posted his first installment of "Made In Japan," a weekly roundup of DIY activities happening there. Seen here is a snow sculpture of the villainous Baikinman from the anime series 
Last month, the government of Queensland approved the use of Creative Commons, which allows free re-use of copyright material subject to certain conditions, as part of a new licensing framework. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth (federal) government is expected to give the green light to creative commons in a new set of guidelines for the management of the government's intellectual property.