Master haunt modeller Ray Keim sez, "After a little bit of experimentation and a lot of patience, I figured out how to carve Putka Pods [ed: small, pumpkin-like dried seeds] into extremely tiny jack-o-lanterns!"

Putka Pod Possibilities! (Thanks, Ray!)

November 9 would have been Carl Sagan's 75th birthday. To celebrate the man, his work and the awesome wonderment of science, Broward College in Davie, Florida is hosting the first ever Carl Sagan Day tomorrow (Saturday the 7th). If you're in that area, they've got a whole day's worth of activities going on---from planetarium shows and stargazing, to a "Cosmos" marathon, to appearances by Bad Astronomy blogger Phil Plait and James "The Amazing" Randi (who was a personal friend of Sagan's).

The majority of us not conveniently located in southern Florida, however, will have to find other ways to celebrate. Perhaps you've already got a Beethoven's Birthday-style public march planned, but, if not, you can at least enjoy some fine video tributes. BoingBoing already linked to the soothing memorial techno remix of Sagan's "Cosmos" PBS show, so I'm going to go in a different direction and offer you one of his last interviews, from May of 1996, on Charlie Rose. Among other things, Sagan talks about his (then) new book (and one of my favorites), "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark". Enjoy.

Thanks to the Bad Astronomy blog for the holiday tip-off!

Jim sez, "In a fit of creativity, my wife dressed our son and daughter as the Mario Brothers. Throw together a few simple items, and one hat pattern later and you have a simple sibling costume set."

Halloween 2009: Making Mario (Thanks, Jim!)

Eric made this smashing papercraft "Big Head" costume for Hallowe'en this year, based on the Big Head mode from classic video games.

Head (Flickr) (Thanks, Eric!)

Hayley and Rachel went out this Hallowe'en dressed, respectively, as Cory Doctorow (as depicted in the XKCD webcomic) and a floppy disk. GREAT costumes, folks!

Look, it's Michael Geist! (Thanks, Rachel!)

Sarah sez, "This Halloween my costume was inspired by Longoland's Monster Skin Rug (which I think is just so awesome). I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing some pics -- I called it the Longo Monster and got 3rd place for "Scariest Costume" at the 13th Annual North Halsted Halloween Parade here in Chicago. I spent the whole night getting hugged by strangers who thought it was adorable :) The body is a mechanic's jumpsuit covered in scales cut from white fleece."

Longo Monster -- costume inspired by Longoland rug (Thanks, Sarah!)

Penfold sez, "As a student of medicine and biomedical engineering, I enjoy the chance to make something a little creepy for Hallowe'en. The link shows a homemade anatomically correct latex-moulded mask of the musculature of the human face, as well as an unhappy pumpkin with an exposed brain. Feliz dia de los muertos!"

Hallowe'en 2009 (Thanks, Penfold!)

Two years ago, I blogged Flickr users andibob909's steampunk wedding and now they're about to have a baby! I learned this by admiring the awesome Darth-Vader-and-Death-Star pregosaur costume. That is one lucky foetus and one awesome mom-to-be!

Darth Vader and the Death Star

Zoran sez, "The night before Halloween is known as Mischief Night because it is a time for young people to act out and do things that may get them in trouble with neighbors, with the law, and with satan. One of those pranks is downloading music illegally, usually in search of a fitting soundtrack for All Hallows' eve, one that will frighten the trick or treaters. Well this year, we can all focus on bigger and better things, thanks to a set of demonic artists who believe that it is in their interest to give away some of their sonic concoctions for free, because it will help them to cast their spell on a wider audience."

Creative Commons Halloween Mix (Thanks, Zoran!)

Lenore "Free Range Kids" Skenazy has a stirring editorial in defense of Hallowe'en and kids in today's Huffpo:

It's not that I'm cavalier about safety. I'm just a sucker -- so to speak -- for the facts. And the fact is: No child has been poisoned by a stranger's goodies on Halloween, ever, as far as we can determine. Joel Best, a sociology professor at the University of Delaware, studied November newspapers from 1958 to the present, scouring them for any accounts of kids felled by felonious candy. And...he didn't find any. He did find one account of a boy poisoned by a Pixie Stix his father gave him. Dad did it for the insurance money and, Best says, he probably figured that so many kids are poisoned on Halloween, no one would notice one more...

It's not just the fact that churches and community centers are throwing parties so that kids don't go out on their own. It's not just the fact that Bobtown, Pennsylvania has gone so far as to "cancel" Halloween altogether -- for the sake of "safety." (The authorities there were surprised to find this decision unpopular.) It's not even that those of us who'd like to hand out homemade cookies know they'll be instantly tossed in the trash.

No, the truly spooky thing is that Halloween has become a riot of warnings that are way scarier than the holiday itself. The website Halloween-Safety.com recommends that if your child is carrying a fake butcher knife, make sure the tip is "smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen upon."

As Goes Halloween, So Goes Childhood

The Anatomy Suit Zombie Costume is a $200 one-piece head and body suit with detachable arms. Pretty freaky. They should do a fleece-lined version for skiing.

ANATOMY SUIT COSTUME (via Street Anatomy)

The host of NPR's awesome news quiz/comedy extravaganza, "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!", has put up his annual Halloween display. It is a nativity scene of evil. I heart it. Image via Peter Sagal's Twitter account. Which you should be following.

Frank sez, "Looking for a Halloween decoration? Place this on your table and watch it pump blood from around an eye socket, flowing into the mouth, of the undead! This Zombie Head measures 7 inches tall and it runs on standard 120v power source with an indoor adaptor. No doubt an eye-popping for your guests with this gruesome Eyeball Fountain."

I can't believe they're trying to sell this without a video of the head in action! Also: does it make gurgling, sucking, choking noises as it drinks its own blood? It says, "uses tap water," but can you put in other stuff? Rum? Chocolate? Kaopectate? Blood? Also: could you fit it with a small digital clock and a lamp so you could keep it on the bedstand?

Spinning Eyeball Fountain

Better link: Spinning Eyeball Fountain

(Thanks, Frank!)

Update:video here -- Thanks, Fester88!

Cobwebs sez, "Since Halloween is galloping up, I thought you might like this tutorial for making a 'dead fairy' wunderkammer object out of a miniature plastic skeleton. Fun! Easy!"

Tutorial: Mummified Fairy (Thanks, Cobwebs!)

On the news that Bobtown, Pennsylvania has outlawed Hallowe'en to "keep kids safe," Lenore "Free Range Kids" Skenazy points out that there has never been a single substantiated incident of a kid being sickened, hurt or killed by doctored candy handed out during trick-or-treating in the history of America.

Ever.

Was there ever really a rash of candy killings? Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, took it upon himself to find out. He studied crime reports from Halloween dating back as far as 1958, and guess exactly how many kids he found poisoned by a stranger's candy?

A hundred and five? A dozen? Well, one, at least?

"The bottom line is that I cannot find any evidence that any child has ever been killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating," says the professor. The fear is completely unfounded.

Goodbye Halloween, Hello "Safety"

(Image: Me as a pirate, Hallowe'en 1975, Toronto, Canada -- photo by Gordon Doctorow)

Here's the 2010 calendar featuring art from the great jazz record art director and illustrator of the 1940s and 1950s, Jim Flora.

JimFlora.com is offering three hand-printed 2010 calendars sporting comic Flora illustrations. The spunky figures date from the mid-1950s.

The calendars, which were hand-printed by Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress, of Knoxville, and are packaged in clear sleeves, sell for $12.50 (+ shipping) each.

The backing cards are letterpress printed on recycled stock, measuring 10" x 4-1/2". The attached calendar, with 12 pull-off pages, measures 3-1/4" x 4-1/2".

Jim Flora 2010 hand-printed calendars

Wil Wheaton's Dungeon-Mastering a pair of Dungeon Delves (45-minute speed-dungeons) at RinCon next weekend in Tucson, at $50/head to benefit Child's Play, a charity that sends toys, games, books and cash to sick kids. Sounds like a blast!

First, some history: Way back in the olden days, when 8 bits were enough to blow your mind on a 13-inch television and digital watches were a pretty neat idea, the concept of the Dungeon Delve was born. It's pretty straightforward: a group of players and a Dungeon Master sit down together, and the players have 45 minutes or so to make it through the end of a short dungeon, while the Dungeon Master does his best to kill them. The delve ends when the players defeat the final boss (or solve the final puzzle, or something like that), the time limit is reached, or the players all die horrible but noble and heroic deaths.

It's different from the collaborative storytelling experience that we experience in my regular D&D games, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun, and the time limit makes it perfect for running at conventions.

Wil Wheaton's 2009 Dwarven Dungeon Delve of Doom! Benefitting the Child's Play Charity

Ravensblight has a great collection of free spooky papercraft models, just in time for Hallowe'en.

free Human Skull paper model (via Paper Forest)

Jesse Brown, a BoingBoing guest-blogger, is the host of TVO's Search Engine podcast.

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Let's hope it's a sweet one! No better way to kick it off then with this sweet classic from Moishe Oysher and the Barry Sisters, Halevai.

What a tour de force! Check Oysher's vocal gymnastics as he bounces off of the Barry Sisters' harmonies! He coulda been one hell of a freestyle rapper...

This song makes me happy every time I hear it.

Brian Dereu sent me a sample of the hollow spy coins that he makes and sells. It came with a metal collar that makes it easy to open. I don't think I'll ever find a use for it, but I like having it anyway!

Hollow Spy Coins

Here's my T-shirt for Woot. Only $10 and shipping is free! (Price skyrockets to $15 after 24 hours).

My 11-year-old daughter Sarina gave me the drawing of Bun Bun and I traced it in Illustrator and submitted it as "my" T-shirt design. I suppose I'll have to give her a share of the royalties.

(Here's Ape Lad's shirt. He is the curator / editor of all the shirts on Woot this week.)

Bun Bun shirt by Mark (and Sarina)

Adam Koford (real name: Ape Lad) has a terrific new shirt for sale on shirt.woot for $10. Adam was the curator/editor of series of shirts for sale this week on shirt.woot. He was also kind enough to ask me to contribute a design, which I'll post when it becomes available later this week.

The Evil That Men Do Except Instead Of Men It’s A Kite

Yesterday's episode of CBC Radio's As it Happens celebrated Canada Day with an interview with Jowi Taylor, author of Six String Nation: 64 Pieces, 6 Strings, 1 Country, 1 Guitar. The book chronicles the creation of Voyageur, a remarkable guitar that was inspired by the near-separation of Canada as a result of a close referendum in Quebec. Taylor crisscrossed the country, collecting artefacts to build a guitar from, from the national (former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's canoe paddle) to the local (the handle from the oyster shucking knife of a champion Míkmaq shucker); from the wonderful (a piece of a spruce tree held sacred by the Haida) to the tragic (a piece of the Westfahl, Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children). It combines everything from a piece of a hockey-stick from the most famous hockey game ever played (Canada vs. USSR, 1972) to a piece of Newfoundland's floating X-ray clinic, established to treat the post WWII TB epidemic.

After the guitar was built, by master luthier George Rizsanyi, Taylor took to the road again, getting all manner of people to play it, from Canadian musical legends (Gordon Lightfoot on his birthday, in his home) to world-famous musicians touring the country, to hundreds of ordinary people, who were all able to touch, hold and play this remarkable instrument (it has a case that is every bit as storied, of course -- part of it is sewn from the trousers of veteran hockey announcer Don Cherry!).

The net effect is of an instrument -- an artefact -- that is sacred and profane, precious and invaluable, common and unique. Marketers try to imbue their products with stories in order to create emotional ties with customers (think of Apple's Think Different campaign, or the mythology spun around Walt Disney), but this is the genuine article, a genuinely storied thing that is as much socially constructed as it is physically crafted.

I've asked the publisher for a review copy of Six String Nation (it comes out at the end of July) and if it's as good as it sounds, I'll have a review of it up as soon as I can.

Six String Nation: 64 Pieces, 6 Strings, 1 Country, 1 Guitar (Amazon)

Six String Nation (site)/Guitar Explorer

As it Happens show notes

MP3 Link

Abbey Ryan creates one painting a day and auctions them on eBay. Other artists do the same thing. What a fun way to make a living! Here's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich she painted (6 x 8 in. oil linen on panel). The current bid is $152.50.

It's interesting to watch Abbey paint. Here's a video of her painting a picture of a strawberry and blueberries.

Abbey knows I am a cigar box guitar maker, so she sent me a photo of her cigar box easel (click for bigger).

Ryan Studio: A Painting a Day by Abbey Ryan

With the release of its Neutraface Slab family of fonts, House Industries is selling a number of products, including a set of alphabet blocks, totes, T-shirts, mousepads, posters, and this handsome boomerang chair.

Irwin Chusid wrote to let me know that he has teamed up with Barbara Economon and Drew Friedman to begin offering Drew's art in the form of high quality prints. Drew is one of our favorite artists so this is great news!

Look at this gorgeous rendition of Tiny Tim, the late ukulele player and respectable historian of early 20th century music.

Launched in June 2009 by Irwin Chusid and Barbara Economon in collaboration with the artist, DrewFriedman.net is the exclusive source of fine art prints featuring the works of the iconic illustrator. All prints are personally approved and hand-signed by the artist.

Prints are offered as limited editions in archival-quality formats at affordable prices. All prints are priced in the $150-$200 range upon first release. However, as editions sell down, prices for remaining prints will increase.

Drew Friedman fine art prints

Moleitau took this photo of a "Get Excited and Make Things" shirt at Howies, Carnaby St. London.

Eyal sez, "The Saturday, (May 2nd 2009)is 'Free Comic Book Day' all over the world. Here is the scoop, you go into any participating comic book store (and there are a lot of them) on Saturday and you get to choose a free comic from over 30 comics. That's it. No catch. As a 40 year old self professed comic geek and a dad of 3 boys who is always looking for ways to get them to read more. The first Saturday in May is a great way to combine both activities. I am in no way affiliated to this promotion or its sponsors. I just feel it's a shame more people don't know about this great day. Did I mention that the comics are free?"

Free Comic Book Day (Thanks, Eyal!)

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On Saturday, May 2nd, from 12noon to 5pm our friends at GAMA-GO will be celebrating the opening of the GAMA-GO flagship store in San Francisco at 335 8th Street (cross street is Folsom).

Greg Long says:

Indeed, we will delightfully lavish free gifts and effervescent carbonated beverages upon you.

No promises, but there's probably gonna be booze.

Of note, we're giving away a specially-designed-and-limitedly-produced t-shirt to the first 100 customers. The multi-talented Wednesday Kirwan designed this tee and it's frickkin' awesome.

GAMA-GO Flagship Store Opening Party

Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine.

Where will you "get away from it all" this summer? Personally, I'm going to the Bay Area Maker Faire at the end of May. But if you still need ideas, my book, Be Amazing, contains a few interesting--if somewhat impractical--holiday suggestions.

All Aboard for Antarctica!
Get Away From: Stupid people. Without any permanent residents, the folks you're most likely to encounter are the 4,000-odd scientists who live in the continent's research stations.

Also Left Behind: Your clock. Antarctica lacks a standard time zone system. Instead, the various researchers use their home country's time, the time on the nearest land mass, or Greenwich Mean Time. In Antarctica, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere.

Visit the Beautiful Demilitarized Zone!
Get Away From: Civilians. The Demilitarized Zone is a 2.5-mile-wide demarcation line separating North and South Korea. Other than tourists (and the very small populations living in dueling North/South propaganda villages), the only people around are soldiers.

Don't Forget: Your sense of adventure. After all, the DMZ is home to the World's Most Dangerous Golf Course---a single par 3 hole, where the "rough" is actually a live minefield.

Zdravstvuj From the 101st Kilometer!
That Means: "Hello" in Russian. For some reason it's not as common in the American vocabulary as "Do Svidanya" (Rough translation: "Goodbye, Mr. Bond").

Get Away From: All the "good" communists. Back during the heyday of the Soviet Union, dissidents (both actual and otherwise) were shipped off to the gulag prison camps in Siberia. The lucky few who survived that ordeal returned home to find they couldn't actually return home. To keep former political prisoners culturally silent, Soviet law stipulated that they weren't allowed to settle in cities. Instead, they had to live at least 100 kilometers (62 miles) away---leading to the creation of 101st kilometer towns where nearly every resident was a "reformed" subversive.

Maker Shed is having a huge clearance sale right now on kits. For instance, the Blubberbot, an inflatable autonomous robot kit (shown here), is selling for $49.95 (regular price is $99.99). The cool telekinetic pen magic trick, regularly $14.99, is $5. And the Bare Bones Arduino Board Kit (a full-featured Arduino clone), regularly $19.99, is selling for $12.50.

(Disclosure: I am editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine.)

Maker Shed April Blowout Clearance Sale

Smith House Toy and Auction Company offered a bunch of old metal toy robots from Japan. The winning bids are between $1000 and $6000.

Circa 1955. Advances with walking motion as arms swing. Gun tip and springs are original. The bottom edge of his jacket has some factory touchup. Box bottom has several tears. The box top has several light creases and a small stain of some sort over the word "Explorer" that may be removable.

Winning Bid $ 6,328.00

(Levonidas@gmail.com has one of these for sale if you are interested.)

Smith House Toy and Auction Company

Alex sez, "I recently had the chance to visit Peleliu island - a tiny 14 square miles of coral limestone in the middle of the Pacific. In 1944 it was the scene of one of the most ferocious battles in the Pacific War. Tons of the war stuff (tanks, guns, ruined buildings) lies out in the jungle, and I took a tour round, snapping some interesting photos and listening to stories (and weirdly, I discovered during writing the post that the battle was the origin of the phrase 'thousand yard stare')."

Unlike previous battles in the Pacific, the Japanese didn't place the entire emphasis of their strategy on defending the beaches - they fortified the island, in particular a mountain called Umurbrogol. The Japanese riddled Umurbrogol with a huge network of caves and tunnels from which to operate (this image shows a plan of one complex). Once they had completed their work, they evacuated the civilians, and waited for the Americans.

Below you scan see the entrance to one of the Japanese caves, and beneath that, a shot from inside, looking back to the entrance. The entrance itself probably isn't more than 3 or 4 foot high; inside the cave ceilings are slightly higher, although very uneven - but it's not a great place to be when, like me, you're 6 foot 2. It was a horrible place to spend 15 minutes, but caves like these were where the Japanese forces lived for the two month duration of the battle of Peleliu. Inside, you can still see discarded boots, bottles and bullets.

Thousand Yard Stares: Ruins and Ghosts of the Battle of Peleliu, 1944, 2008 (Thanks, Alex!)

The tiny $40 Robo-Q looks like a lot of fun. Check out the video.

The all-around control, you may never experience it! The 6 directions control plus 3 speed levels. Also the Robot can be controlled via Artificial Intelligence (AI) after you press the AUTO button, then the Robot can detect-and-escape from the barriers. What's more, after you press the AUTO button and Direction button, the Robot can detect-and-trace the objects. In the Trace mode, the Robot can be charged and run to the controller automatically! The controller as a Robot Station can be stored a Robot inside.

Describing this delightful Etsy item, Bill sez, "Apparently the Easter Bunny was killed in a tragic accident at a Peep factory and he donated his body to science. Finally, an answer to mystery of the origins of Easter eggs!"

The Easter Bunny donated his body to science (Thanks, Bill!)

Eileen sez, "For Lovelace Day, I chatted with geek-grrl guru and virtual-worlds visionary Linda Stone, who tells how she introduced Apple-like compassion to Microsoft's rough-and-ready corporate culture. Wish I'd been there to see that!"

Linda's one of my favorite people of all time -- what a great appreciation of a deserving subject!

I brought in interesting speakers when I was in Microsoft Research, and then started the Visiting Speaker Series in 2000, which is still around today. I brought in thought leaders and critics like Eric Raymond, Larry Lessig, and David Farber, to talk and meet with people. I brought in Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, and John Lasseter. These are people who inspire all of us, who open our minds and stimulate our thinking. The series gave employees access to these people and their ideas, and that proved to be a very powerful way of keeping dialog flowing. Many other companies have now instituted their own series, and Kim Ricketts, a bookseller in Seattle who supported my efforts at Microsoft when she was at the University Bookstore, has now created a business around organizing and hosting book signings and author tours in corporations. While I worked for Ballmer, I managed and significantly improved Microsoft’s relationship with the World Economic Forum. At conferences, in the Valley, in NYC and elsewhere, I was visible and accessible, so that people could talk to me and I would be aware, as much as possible, of problems as they arose and before they became serious. I also helped nurture dialogs on important topics like open source, and followed up on them. I wanted to encourage a general curiosity in the Microsoft community, and to encourage Microsoft employees to develop relationships with the larger community outside of the company.

Welcome to Ada Lovelace Day! :: An interview with Linda Stone (Thanks, Eileen!)

Joe sez,

A group of seven Irish comics artists - Stephen Mooney, Stephen Thompson, PJ Holden, Nick Roche, Will Sliney, Bob Byrne and Declan Shalvey - recently set up their own collective comics sketching blog, Eclectic Micks. As Declan put it, they were trying to raise the profile of Irish comics creators and make readers as aware of them as they are of the great talent we have in the UK.

With seven artists the guys are effectively taking a day each to post sketches - for today Declan has posted up a piece that isn't actually comics related but dammit, it's so good it has to be shared: St Patrick's Day greetings from the always charming and deeply pious Father Jack Hackett from Graham Linehan's brilliant Father Ted series (surely one of THE stand out comedy series of the last couple of decades). If you're getting ODed on dyed green rivers and people donning ginger beards and green hats here's a St Pat's Day antidote for you. Now where's my drink, you feckers? DRINK!!!

HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY FROM FATHER JACK HACKETT! (Thanks, Joe!)

"House Industries presents the oeuvre of Alexander Girard with a suite of fonts and objects. Sunny faces beam from a set of childrens’ blocks; hand-made dolls speak volumes about relationships among designers; wise men preach tolerance in a nativity set; snakes, fish and foxes form a puzzling menagerie; an illustrative legacy challenges the intellect with a 72-piece memory game."

Effunia created this 3.5-inch tall critter named Basil the Miniature Mushroom. She also has an Etsy shop where you can buy her creations.

I love these mugs from Poketo that Carla gave me for Valentine's Day.

A prankster in a Darth Vader suit joined the annual procession of the clergy of the Lutheran Church of Iceland. And you know what? It works.

Cult Procession Fail (via Making Light)

Christmas Tree Fire Safety Video from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). (via Esthr Dysn!)

This image of a threatening snowman is from a 1927 postcard. It was reproduced in a Smithsonian magazine feature about the history of the snowman in pop culture. From Smithsonian:

While no one knows for sure when exactly the snowman began smoking a pipe and drinking hard liquor, it may have started as early as 1890, based on a label from a bottle of whiskey from that year. An 1898 postcard shows a snowman carrying two bottles of champagne off to an office party. On holiday greeting cards from the 1900s through and on (up to the 1930s), the snowman often has a drink in one hand and a pipe in the other, mirroring our society’s changes and America’s fascination with smoking and drinking. This would eventually escalate to the snowman cavorting with women and offering drinks to minors. One could argue that these depictions were, in a way, humanizing, but seeing a tipsy snowman chasing a girl with a stick is disturbing at best.

By 1908, there was clear evidence of his partying ways were out of control. In the silent movie The Snowman by Wallace McCutcheon, a chain-smoking snowman is swigging whiskey and appears in the rest of the film sloshed, inspiring a flogging by the townspeople. This behavior would continue on film and media through magazines and postcards as a pickled, skirt-chasing, under-the-table lush. In other words, he had become a frozen W.C. Fields. By the ‘30s and ‘40s, there is no question, the two started to look alike, both wearing straw hats, putting on more weight and looking more round and sporting crimson noses. And both enjoyed prolific silent movie careers based on their reputations as charming drunks. It’s hard to say if either had copied from the other but they were both enhanced by the other’s notoriety. Ironically, W.C. Fields hated the holidays and passed away on Christmas Day, 1946.

Snowman Gone Wild

UPDATE: In the comments, Bob Eckstein, the author of the Smithsonian article, points out that his book, The History of the Snowman, explains how snowmen developed their drinking problem. He says that his book is filled with many more fun images and deep insight into the secrets of snowmen. Bob also suggests we check out his Webzine, appropriately titled Today's Snowman.

Yesterday, I posted that oddity auction scout Michael-Anne Rauback has been seeking unusual vintage chairs this week (just for kicks, not to buy). Here is the second of her top three online finds: A chair fashioned from a child's drum, circa 1940s. Child's Drum Chair

Yesterday, I shared some scanned hand-drawn Christmas cards from children (and their parents) in a K'iche' Maya village in Guatemala -- people who participate in the work of an international nonprofit I volunteer with there, along with family and friends.

This year, we included two additional elders in the foundation's Christmas festivities in the Guatemalan highlands, which brings the total number of participating elders in our Ancianos de Honor program to 22. Two of the most recently honored ancianos are blind. You can see them in the photograph below. They both completed their hundredth birthdays this month. They were brought to our foundation's center by some very caring young people.

Above, the elders receive their gifts from our local director in Sololá, Don Victoriano. It's the first time in the lives of these two new elders that they have received a gift or been honored in this way.

Upon receiving his gift, centenarian Don Juan expressed thanks to Ajaw (the Mayan creator god) and to the givers of the gift who had "the good conscience to remember the forgotten elders."

The Christmas gift baskets they are receiving typically include bread, dried pasta and rice, chocolate and candies, corn flour for making tortillas or tamales, dried beans, fruit, and household necessities. The local project directors, who are from the community themselves, make those arrangements and include things that are customary, and part of the local diet.

These elders are among the most at-risk and neglected members of the community, and often suffer malnutrition and health problems related to a lack of food, water, and protection from the elements. They live literally on the fringes of the village, and fall through the cracks -- they become invisible.
Our foundation works to reach out to them, document their existence and their needs, and provide basic support, bringing them back into the center of the community where they belong, with honor and respect.

We are working toward establishing the same ongoing support system within the community for these elders that we are providing for the children of the village.

- Happy holidays to all of you from the people in our communities in Guatemala and Nima Mam Ajq'ij, Dr. M. X. Quetzalkanbalam, international executive director, and our international staff of directors: Anamaria de To and David To Quiñones, Guatemala; Jolon Bankey, Costa Rica; and Xeni Jardin, Mike Outmesguine, and Mar Doré, USA.

(Photos: Top and bottom, courtesy Don Victoriano; center thumbnails, Xeni Jardin).

Happy holidays from Boing Boing tv! Continuing in our retrospective of favorite episodes from our first year:

Each year, David Silverman (director of the Simpsons Movie, and longtime director of the TV show) illustrates holiday cards for friends and family. Xeni visits him in his home studio for a re-enactment of the craziest years in holiday cheer, complete with tuba carols.

( Flash embed above, and here's a direct MP4 download link. )

(Flash video embed above, MP4 download is here.)

This week, the Boing Boing tv crew is taking a week off, and we've been revisiting some of the episodes that mean the most to us over the past year.

For me, for many reasons, the three episodes we produced from a K'iche Maya pueblo in the Guatemalan highlands were the most personally important. I'll embed one above.

It's about taking a traditional sweat bath, which is something they might well be doing today there during the holidays, provided there's enough water -- that only comes every few days.

Here are all three:

(1) BBtv WORLD: Through the eyes of the pueblo.
(2) BBtv WORLD: Migration, and a Mayan Sweat Bath.
(3) BBtv WORLD: El Molinero.

And other episodes of "BBtv WORLD" about Guatemala are here. But I also wanted to take this opportunity to share something else that means a lot to me. Last night, I scanned some of the hand-drawn Christmas cards from participants in an international non-profit I work with there, and uploaded them to Flickr. These were private cards, sent from folks in the pueblo to project participants in the US (in other words, they weren't for sale or anything, they were just heartfelt communication from one person to another).

I'm sharing some of them here with permission. They're beautiful and very meaningful to me.

Some of the cards refer to the old Mayan gods (for instance, references to "Ajaw", or "Tzaq'ol and Bit'ol", primordial entities who were present at the creation of all things), other cards refer to to Christianity. Some were created by children, others by adults, and the one with the Mayan house and the big Christmas tree and the volcano, thumbnail above? That man is considered the best painter and illustrator in the town. Every one of the cards, all in a stack next to me on my desk here right now, every one reflects soul, kindness, and hope.

To really appreciate them, click on "all sizes" and look at the larger size. The one I received personally read, "Feliz Navidad, y Paz a Todas Las Naciones Del Mundo." I know the woman who drew it, and she's survived so much.

On behalf of the Boing Boing tv team, and my colleagues in the nonprofit that works in that village, I extend that greeting to each of you who reads this blog post today. Friends we know, and friends we do not.

Flickr set: Christmas cards from a K'iche Maya Village in Guatemala

I'm not much of a Christmas music person. For me, Tchaikovsky and Guaraldi are pretty much the only things that don't make me hurl. Maybe because they're both a little melancholy.

I really like the YouTube video from a guy who calls himself "alabamaharpist" (aka Steven Todd Miller) above, doing a cover of "Christmastime is Here," my favorite Guaraldi / Charlie Brown Christmas song. The harp is like the unicorn of musical instruments. It's easy for people to make fun of, because it's so pure and innocent. And like the unicorn, it ends up in a lot of bad, cheesy art, and is the stuff of fantasy cons and filkfests. But so what. I think the harp is totally awesome, and Harpo was my favorite Marx brother by far, and Christmas is about the only time of year I'll let my guard down to admit any of this in public, and by the way shut up.

I love this, too, and I could listen to it all day on loop, at least 'til the soy-nog runs out.

So what's your favorite holiday music? Post some linkage in the comment thread here. Internet videos, internet radio channels (surely Soma FM's multiple holiday channels deserve some props), MP3 blogs? What are you eating fruitcake to? Or when you spin the dreidel, what do you spin on the vinyl? Talk to me. Link-discuss-hohoho.

Over at Boing Boing Offworld, Brandon posted about these joystick coat hooks. They're not DIY, but they certainly could be!
Hanging Joysticks

Henrietta and Merna's enthusiastic Christmas cheer is positively infectious. (Via Arbroath)