Yesterday on Boing Boing Gadgets, we applauded Microsoft's attempts at creating an booze detecting bar countertop, and tested it with some rotgut served in Rob's tacky Pac-Man shot glass set.

Our thirst for alcohol temporarily satisfied, we looked to slake our thirst for violence, and fell in love with a Mac vs. PC video that was one part West Side Story, one part Reservoir Dogs.

A walking house was discovered, although it was slightly disappointing and nowhere near as arachnid-like as we'd all hoped. Beschizza liked an iPhone speaker system that looks like a Star Wars trash droid and a Bluetooth keyboard with "industrial anti-charm." Brownlee, meanwhile, liked an attractive watch with a futuristic occulus and a pair of color changing spectacles only David Pescovitz could ever get away with wearing.

There was a stupendous set of home-made steampunk goggles and a wonderfully morbid hangman lamp. Google added WiFi geolocation to its services, and the Nintendo World Store has a hard drive Wii.

And finally, at midnight, we turned out the lights and communed with the dead with an automated Ouija board.

Link

Boing Boing Gadgets colleague and Vice President of Photoshoppery Rob Beschizza says,

Brits older than maybe 20 or so will doubtless remember the general election of 1997, which saw Tony Blair — then a young center-left liberal running on a platform of change — defeat incumbent conservatives with a tarnished reputation.

The parallels with 2008's presidential race go beyond just a similar placement of pieces on the board, though: by the end, Blair's opponents were reduced to running personal attacks on Blair that make the McCain-Palin's recent larks looks like a vicar's tea party. They were incredibly bizarre.

Check out these campaign posters (above). They actually ran these on billboards, in newspapers and other media!

I was feeling a little sorry for the Republicans, given the thrashing they're about to be dealt. Perhaps this sort of thing will work a little better on this side of the Atlantic? (below).

Perroquet, a project inspired by science photography and nature documentaries, from fashion photographer Sølve Sundsbø.

Conventional fashion photography allows the image-maker to draw on a wealth of outside creative resources -be it a hair-stylist, make-up artist, or fashion stylist - to enable them to realise their intentions. In Parroquet, the subject matter encouraged Sundsbø to take a somewhat different approach, focusing on one specific element: the movement of the bird in flight.

It was always Sundsbø’s chief intention to document the parroquet using photography and film; both mediums enabling him to steal moments that would normally be missed. Shot in a controlled studio environment using high-speed cameras, the slow-motion shorts show the bird mid-flight. The distinct physical characteristics of the parroquet –its strong curved bill, and its clawed feet– are all visible, but it is the bird’s feathers that are the central focus.

Sundsbø also gives special consideration to the bird’s slender silhouette, by cleverly incorporating shots of its shadow.

The photographs present ‘frozen moments’ of the bird’s journey; rather than showing its full body, the cropped viewpoints bring abstract qualities to Sundsbø’s powerful images.

(ShowStudio, via Clayton Cubitt)

Hey, remember how Anil Dash overanalyzed LOLcats and sucked all the fun out of a perfectly vapid internet meme? Well, the internet killjoy has done it again, this time with last night's epic Yo Momma Intergalactic Political Smackdown, which took place on The Twitter. Read last night's Boing Boing post first, then dive in to Anil's post-game analysis. Snip:

While this is all in good fun, what's startling to me is that none of the jokes I've seen mention, or even allude to, race. Playing the dozens is a uniquely and explicitly African American tradition, and we obviously have an African American candidate favored in the race for the first time ever, and yet it hasn't come up.

Some of this, of course, is selection bias due to the audience that Twitter reaches. (At least so far.) But as these jokes from last night are already making their way around online as email forwards and apparently getting quoted in offices across the country, it seems to me like the playfulness of the language and the absurdity of the medium may have masked something timely and fitting. This obviously and instrinsically black tradition has been adopted by a community like Twitter that is, frankly, disproportionately not black. You could see it as the deracination of the tradition, or even worse as a deliberate omission of cultural context in its appropriation. But I actually see it as something positive.

A running joke on Twitter is all in good fun, but I find the unselfconsciousness of this little political gag to be a comforting reflection of the way that the larger trend around this election is moving as well. Like Barack Obama, playing the dozens is obviously black but we're able to just include that implicitly in our participation without having denying or diminish it. That feels like progress.

Yo Mama's So Fat... (dashes.com). You really should read all the way to the last graf in his post. I'm not gonna blog any spoilers here.

Smart and insightful, and one of a million reasons I love Anil Dash. Even if his momma's a ho.

This is why we have the internet. If you feel moved to sneer, *you* try re-creating a Beyoncé video, shot by shot, shimmy by shimmy, while clad only in asymmetrical underwear. Single Man Dances To Single Ladies. BB reader BettyWu reminds us that not everyone has seen the original, which is required: Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It). And other commenters wisely ask: is this the real Mango? And: do the original and the fan-remake not look awesomer when played side by side simultaneously? Whoah. (Thanks, Susannah Breslin)

Buzzfeed points to "leaked promotional material from Sarah Palin's upcoming ad council campaign." Don't miss the video referenced there, either. (Thanks Richard Metzger, via)

UCLA physicists demonstrated that if you pull off a piece of Scotch tape inside a vacuum chamber, the tape releases enough X-rays to image bones through skin. Grad student Juan Escobar and his colleagues managed to make an X-ray of a thumb using the technique. (Composite image, including the thumb X-ray, below.) Apparently, Russian scientists reported fifty years ago that the act of peeling sticking tape can emit X-rays, but the new research confirms the early results. The latest experiments are presented in this week's issue of the journal Nature. From Nature News:

"At some point we were a little bit scared," says Juan Escobar, a member of the research team. But he and his co-workers soon realized that the X-rays were only emitted when the kit was used in a vacuum. "We don't want to scare people from using Scotch tape in everyday life," Escobar adds.

This kind of energy release — known as triboluminescence and seen in the form of light — occurs whenever a solid (often a crystal) is crushed, rubbed or scratched. It is a long-known, if somewhat mysterious, phenomenon, seen by Francis Bacon in 1605. He noticed that scratching a lump of sugar caused it to give off light.

The leading explanation posits that when a crystal is crushed or split, the process separates opposite charges. When these charges are neutralized, they release a burst of energy in the form of light.

Sticky tape generates X-rays(Thanks, Bob Pescovitz!)

Last week, I mentioned that Subliime Stitching's Jenny Hart would be conducting an embroidery workshop at Maker Faire.

Mister Jalopy and I took the workshop and had a ball. Here's what I made (click image for full size). It's from the Chi Chi Fever kit.

Sublime Stitching

This ain't no SpaceShipOne. Copenhagen Suborbitals is a Danish group of maverick researchers hoping to launch a human being into space on a rocket booster vehicle. The nosecone holds one astronaut in an upright position, "with a full view through a polymer plexiglas-dome to experience the entire ballistic ride." From the Copenhagen Suborbitals mission statement:

We are currently developing a series of suborbital space vehicles - designed to pave the way for manned space flight on a micro size spacecraft.

Two rocket vehicles are under development. A small unmanned sounding rocket, named Hybrid Atmospheric Test Vehicle or HATV and a larger booster rocket named Hybrid Exo Atmospheric Transporter or HEAT, designed to carry a micro spacecraft into a suborbital trajectory in space.

The mission has a 100% peacefull purpose and is not in any way involved in carrying explosive, nuclear, biological and chemical payloads.

We intend to share all our techninal information as much as possible, within the laws of EU-export control.

Copenhagen Suborbitals (Thanks, Jens-Martin Skibsted!)

Evan Ravitz has a knoll about curing parasitical infections naturally with Quassia, which contains the "phytochemical quassin, the bitterest substance found in nature."

People traveling in 3rd world countries are often afraid of intestinal parasites, but, having lived for 3 years in poorer areas of Mexico and 2 in Guatemala, I learned there are easy solutions. I picked up amoebic dysentery several times while on long bicycle trips, and knowing how to deal with them, I was able to continue with no problems. This method is for healthy people only!

Here's how I do it: If my gut hurts, I wait two days. If it's just a bacterial infection, you should start to feel better. Coconut milk is very soothing. Definitely avoid alcohol and sweets, which bacteria and other parasites love.

If after 2 days, you feel as bad or worse, you should start treatment with a “full-spectrum antibiotic” -or the herb Quassia, which is used in much the same way -especially if there is mucus in your feces and sulphur in the gas you pass.In most of Latin America, just go to a Pharmacia and ask for Flagyl (or the generic Metronidazole), the cheap drug available everywhere or say “tengo amebas” (“I have amoebas”) and they'll almost certainly give you Flagyl. In the U.S. you need a prescription, so DON'T WAIT until you return or you'll have to pay for expensive tests to get treatment -while the amoebas are eating your lunch, dinner and breakfast and you are getting weaker.

Quassia won't make you feel as bad as Flagyl, but neither is fun. Both are killing everything in your gut, so you need to replenish the beneficial bacteria with probiotics, like yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, etc., after the treatment.

Often people with amoebas will wait longer until they're really sick and go to a doctor for a stool test. If they don't find the amoebas with a microscope the first time, and you wait longer, it will take weeks or more to recover your strength after you take the treatment. That's why I assume I have them if I don't feel better in 2 days. Neither treatment is pleasant, but you'll function fine, which is nearly impossible with amoebas.

Quassia is available at herb and health food shops. It will be either shredded or chopped. Take a large handful on your trip, which should cost a few bucks.

How to cure amoebic dysentery, giardia and worms with Quassia

Evan Ravitz says:

This 1958 episode of the Bell Telephone Hour, "The Unchained Goddess" clearly explains Global Warming and its dangers. But for 50 years the oil and gas and coal and car industries have bought the ads and politicians to pat us on the head and turn us into addicts.

(I loved these old Bell Telephone Hour Shows. ) 1958 TV show on Global Warming

My friends Matt and Loretta (Matt wrote several fantastic articles for the print edition of bOING bOING) have launched the website for their delightfully eclectic retail store in Brattleboro, Vermont, called Boomerang. You can order products online ranging from Cherry Print Rhumba Panties, Mirrored Die-Cut Acrylic Seahorse Necklaces, to Think Fast Hippe T-shirts.

Amid Boomerang's pistachio striped walls and Pacific Coast-meets-New England woodlands décor, retro-styled classics pack the racks alongside fashion-forward lines, high-end resale, and designer vintage pieces. Artful political tees and one-of-a-kind hand crafted jewelry round out a jumble of expertly edited wares, all subject to the savvy eye and fun-loving spirit of Palazzo, a former actress turned retail dynamo who prefers to keep the business on a short leash, working the floor herself—along with Boomerang's famously helpful staff—five days a week.

Boomerang in Brattleboro, Vermont

Gareth writes: "On Sunday afternoon at Maker Faire Austin, the lights went out. All power was lost in one whole area of the fairgrounds. It turned out that a dome tent from the camping area had taken flight in a dust devil and crashed into the power lines. Fernando Rizo got a couple of great shots of the tent moments before impact."

Flying tent at Maker Faire

From BailoutSleuth.com:

When the Treasury Department's bailout czar provided an update this week on the government's $700 billion plan to rescue troubled financial institutions, he vowed that it would be an "open and transparent program with appropriate oversight.''

The next day, the Treasury Department put out an announcement about a major bailout-related contract with Bank of New York Mellon Corp. that fell short in the transparency department.

The copy of the agreement that was made public had blacked-out paragraphs in the section covering Bank of New York Mellon's compensation. If the Treasury Department is unwilling to disclose the particulars of that contract -- or even the general outline of the compensation scheme -- that raises questions about how it will treat disclosure of other bailout transactions.

The End of Bailout Transparency Already?

Two years ago, I posted about artist and software designer Julian Voss-Andreae who sculpts protein molecules from a variety of materials and had written a HOWTO on his process. Julian has just completed his largest work and I think it's breathtaking. Titled "Angel of the West," the 12-foot tall metal sculpture will be installed next month at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida. He sent me an email with background on the piece:

(Angel of the West) was inspired by the striking similarity of the human antibody molecule (the key molecule in our immune system) in proportion and function as well: It has 'arms' that grab on to viruses etc. with hand-like region that are highly variable and fit perfectly for each new intruder.

My idea was to use the Leonardo man ('Vitruvian Man', 1490) in the circle, replace the man with the molecule (in my mitered cut technique) and use Leonardo's composition, extrapolated into 3d. To subtly strengthen that connection I made 'rays' under 'wings' that converge visually where the man's head would be.

Julian Voss-Andreae's "Angel of the West"

Previously on BB:
• HOWTO make a protein sculpture

James says: "I'm 37, 6'4", 235 lbs, haven't shaved in 9 days, and I play drums in a metal band. Tears are running down my face like I'm a little kid lost in an amusement park. This is really something." Video of Big Bird singing at Jim Henson's funeral

The new Make: television program is coming to public television stations in the United States this January. It's hosted by my friend, John Park. I met John at a Machine Project event a couple of years ago and invited him to contribute for Make. He wrote some amazing how-tos for the magazine, and when he came to Maker Faire in San Mateo in May, the Make: television producers spotted him and thought he'd be great as the host. And he is! Make: television preview

Psychology researchers have suggested that if you grew up on black and white TV, you are more likely to dream in monochrome than people who have watched color TV all their lives. Dundee university psychology student Eva Murzyn studied data on the color (or lack-thereof) of people's dreams dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Then she ran her own survey on more than 60 people, half older than 55 and half under 25. My informal survey of a statistically insignificant number of people supports her thesis. From The Telegraph:

Only 4.4 per cent of the under-25s' dreams were black and white. The over-55s who had had access to colour TV and film during their childhood also reported a very low proportion of just 7.3 per cent.

But the over-55s who had only had access to black-and-white media reported dreaming in black and white roughly a quarter of the time.

Even though they would have spent only a few hours a day watching TV or films, their attention and emotional engagement would have been heightened during this time, leaving a deeper imprint on their mind, Miss Murzyn told the New Scientist.

"The crucial time is between three and 10 when we all begin to have the ability to dream," she said.

"Television and films which by their very nature are interesting and emotionally engaging and even dreamlike. So when you dream you may copy what you have seen on the screen.

"I have even had a computer game player who dreams as if he is in front of a computer screen."

"Black and white TV generation have monochrome dreams" (Thanks, Mathias Crawford!)

Berlin-based artist Adele Lack has a show of her micro paintings opening tonight at The Montalbán Gallery in Hollywood, California. The exhibition, titled Small Miracles, runs only until October 26. The gallery was kind enough to share these sneak preview photos with BB. Click on the images above to see them larger. Small Miracles: The Paintings of Adele Lack (Thanks, Angelique Groh!)

UPDATE: As BUNT points out in the comments, I should probably note up front that this installation is related to Charlie Kaufman's new film, "Synecdoche, New York," featuring a character named Adele Lack.

I AM HITTING THE ROAD. As such, posting will be briefer. Maybe not even complete sentences.

AND I AM PAINED.

For during this exact same time, KAKI KING (incredible guitarist and science fiction movie fan) and THE MOUNTAIN GOATS (led by John Darnielle, American songsmith and horror movie fan, with a band that includes Wurster, drummer and legend of radio comedy) will ALSO be touring, BUT NEVER IN THE SAME CITY AS ME.

BUT YOU MUST NOT SUFFER as I do. Please go and see them, and say hello.

IN THE MEANTIME, I have posted this before on my imitation blog, but in case you are one of MOST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD who did not read it, please watch this amazing document: KAKI KING RECITING VIRGINIA MADSEN'S OPENING MONOLOGUE FROM THE DAVID LYNCH VERSION OF DUNE.

THIS IS not just for the win: it is FOR THE TRIUMPH!

That is all.

Safari Books Online, the folks who bring O'Reilly's menagerie of books and thousands more online in the form of an electronic reference library, are now one of BB's sponsors. They're offering every BB reader online access to any one of the following three titles for free:

• JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
• Learning Perl
• Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

Joel and I thought it would be fun to have a contest based on the kinds of things you might learn from these books. So we came up with a bit of a challenge and Safari put up a sweet prize: a one year subscription to Safari Books Online which normally costs $515. We'll announce the contest here in a few weeks! Free O'Reilly books from Safari

One of my favorite blogs, Photoshop Disasters, found this photo from the Sept. 2008 issue of Marie Claire, and compared the faces of the people in the photo with their reflections in the glass table.

Marie Claire: On reflection, perhaps not

UPDATE: Tokyo Times now says this was a joke.

According to Tokyo Times, this broom shop hasn't sold anything since 1972.

A store that, perhaps due to a niche that’s not exactly necessary nowadays, unfortunately hasn’t had the pleasure of a patron since 1972 — Saturday, September 2nd, to be precise. And even then the customer in question was after a hand brush that unfortunately they didn’t have.

Will someone in Tokyo reading this please go to the store and buy a broom? (And take photos of the transaction so we can post them here?) Tokyo retail reflection

Radley Balko of Reason says the current GOP is nothing like the limited-government party of days past, and because of that, the Democrats must win in the upcoming election.

While I'm not thrilled at the prospect of an Obama administration (especially with a friendly Congress), the Republicans still need to get their clocks cleaned in two weeks, for a couple of reasons.

First, they had their shot at holding power, and they failed. They've failed in staying true to their principles of limited government and free markets. They've failed in preventing elected leaders of their party from becoming corrupted by the trappings of power, and they've failed to hold those leaders accountable after the fact. Congressional Republicans failed to rein in the Bush administration's naked bid to vastly expand the power of the presidency (a failure they're going to come to regret should Obama take office in January). They failed to apply due scrutiny and skepticism to the administration's claims before undertaking Congress' most solemn task—sending the nation to war. I could go on.

As for the Bush administration, the only consistent principle we've seen from the White House over the last eight years is that of elevating the American president (and, I guess, the vice president) to that of an elected dictator. That isn't hyperbole. This administration believes that on any issue that can remotely be tied to foreign policy or national security (and on quite a few other issues as well), the president has boundless, limitless, unchecked power to do anything he wants. They believe that on these matters, neither Congress nor the courts can restrain him.

That's the second reason the GOP needs to lose. American voters need to send a clear, convincing repudiation of these dangerous ideas.

Why the Republicans Must Lose

Rob Ullman writes:

A few years back, my good pal J Chris Campbell and the fine folks of Wide Awake Press published the Wide Awake 666 anthology. As a way of celebrating one of my favorite holidays, and because I don't imagine I'll have time to create anything new before said holiday, I thought I'd share one of my pieces from that fine book. It's one of two pieces I did for the book, the other which I mentioned quite awhile ago.

Now, as you're well aware, I'm kinda known as a guy who draws the girls. I wanted to do something in that vein for WA666, but I didn't want to do some gross thing where some cutie is being killed by a zombie or something, so I compromised, and came up with something totally gross yet pretty funny. I used the cover of an oft-seen collection of pin-up paintings by the great Gil Elvgren as a starting point, and did my own little homage to this familiar image.

Zombie Gil Elvgren

The art of gigantic wall decals nears perfection with this huge-mongoose zombie silhouette design, up for bids on eBay.

HUGE LIVING DEAD ZOMBIE ATTACK WALL ART VINYL DECAL! (Thanks, Chip!)