2010 May 10, 8:59Iggy Pop interviews Shepard Fairey, including his Obama HOPE poster and AP lawsuit:
"... but the American public is generally pretty superficial, so an image like that just allows them to project whatever limited idea they have onto it. Obviously, not everyone is like that—I
actually think there were a lot of people who were bummed by the image because they felt it was shallow propaganda."
"If I spend time conceiving and making a piece of art and somebody else sees that it has market value and replicates it in order to steal part of my market, then that’s not cool. But the way I make
art—the way a lot of people make art—is as an extension of language and communication, where references are incredibly important. It’s about making a work that is inspired by something preexisting
but changes it to have a new value and meaning that doesn’t in any way take away from the original—and, in fact, might provide the original with a second life or a new audience." artlegallawipshepard-faireyobeyinterview
2010 Jan 25, 5:25"...file a complaint with the World Trade Organization, contesting China’s internet censorship as a breach of the international trade rules to which China, as a WTO member, is subject. The US can
argue that China’s “Great Firewall”–a system of filters and bottlenecks that effectively shutters the country within its own intranet–is an illegal restraint on international trade because it bars
foreign companies from competing, via the internet, in the vast Chinese market."economicswtopoliticsgooglechinainternetcensorshipus
The New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a great game. Its the fun of old school Mario with the addition of great graphics and the kind of multiplayer I've wanted for Mario since playing the original as a
child: its got up to four player simultaneous cooperative multiplayer. I recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed Mario in the past. Watch this amazing video of level 1-3 you can unlock in the game.
As noted elsewhere, multiple players attempting to navigate platforms, grab power ups, and throw turtle shells creates new
challenges but along with that there's new ways to be incredibly cheap.
Jumping Higher
A second player means a head one can jump on to reach higher locations. Jump on your friend's head at the apex of their jump while holding down the jump button yourself for maximum jumping. In
the game you can also grab other players and hold them over your head. This is useful for reaching the top of the flagpole at the end of levels. On that same line, if the player you grab has a
flying cap you can now use them to fly in the same manner you would use a flying block which makes it easy to get two players to the top of the finish flagpole if only one of you has a flying
cap.
Power-Ups
Normal power-up blocks now spawn enough power-ups for everyone. A mushroom is spawned for each small player and full power-ups for the rest, except in the case everyone is small: then one of the
power-ups is a full power-up. If there's two players and you're both small, the full power-up always jumps out of the block to the right. Some hidden power-up blocks only give out one power-up
and in that case its a mushroom or not based on the player who hits the block - so be sure that a big player hits that if you have one.
Death & Bubbles
When a player dies but at least one other player lives the dead player comes back in a limbo bubble from which they must be released before they may play again. Because of this, in a tough spot
you can send one player in and leave a second behind. If the first dies you don't lose your place in the level and the first comes back in a bubble ready to try again. For instance, if you're
trying to get the last star coin in 2-1 which sits just above the abyss, one player can just jump to their death for it and as long as another player lives you've collected the coin. However you
need not sacrifice your life to do this: you can press down and 'a' to force yourself into a bubble saving yourself from death. This is true in general as long as you have enough time to see your
death coming. This is also useful if one player runs ahead to the right. The screen will expand a bit but then it will just move to the right following the player in the lead. Players left behind
walls or now forced into lava pits will die unless they use the bubble.
Misc.
If all players hit the ground at the same time from a ground pound it acts like hitting a pow block, killing the enemies on the screen.
If you hold a player who has a projectile power over your head they can still use their power.
Bubbles can be popped by hitting them with your fire or ice projectiles as well as thrown shells or blocks.
All players get the extra lives from anyone collecting 100 coins or finishing a level with more than 7 enemies on the screen.
2009 Dec 3, 2:20"We're pleased to announce the overall winners in the Android Developer Challenge 2. These winners were selected after two rounds of scoring by thousands of Android users as well as an official panel
of judges. Please see our official page for more information about the challenge."cellphoneandroidgoogleappcontest
2009 Sep 25, 12:14"Phil Elwood presents the complete recordings of two concerts organized by John Hammond and given on the Christmas Eves of 1938 and 1939 at Carnegie Hall; featuring the best Swing, Blues, and Gospel
musicians of the day. Performers include Charlie Christian, Lester Young, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Bill Broozy, and many others"musicccswingconcert
2009 Jul 14, 4:28"Can you please let the staff use an alternative web browser called Firefox? I just – (applause) – I just moved to the State Department from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and was
surprised that State doesn’t use this browser." Starts at 26:30 in the video.firefoxgovernmentvia:boingboingvideobrowserwebclintontechnical
2009 Jun 29, 1:20"The Music of Erich Zann is a short film based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft. Though conditions inside the abandoned Savoy Hotel made this a very challenging project (Sub-freezing temperatures;
cramped quarters; enough dust to suffocate Cthulhu himself), I was thrilled with the opportunity to work in such a haunting location, with such a talented and dedicated group of filmmakers."chris-sheltonhp-lovecraftvideomovie
There can be no doubt that infomercial pitchmen Billy Mays and Vince Offer are awesome,
but how can I decide which is my favorite?
Infomercial Performance.
Among other things they sell Zorbeez and ShamWow respectively, both of which are absorbant towels so first up I can get a somewhat apples-to-apples comparison on informercials for comparable
products. Thankfully someone has created a Vince Offer vs Billy Mays youtube video featuring these informercials.
Billy has an upbeat yell to everything he says while Vince has an endearing condescension to his "You followin' me camera guy?" In the end I must give this one to Vince Offer.
Billy has challenged Vince to a pitchman-off which on the surface sounds like a point for Billy, but if you listen to the challenge Billy says that Vince attempted to extend the olive branch.
Billy Mays calls out Vince on the Adam Corolla Show
2009 Mar 26, 2:24"Yesterday's remix challenge -- to mock the ridiculous new "anti-terrorism" posters the London police have put up that tell you to spy on your neighbors -- was a smashing success. I've collected the
25 or so that came in to date below". I enjoyed: "A bomb won't go off here because people tend to be quite nice really." "Terribly convenient, isn't it? Incriminating evidence left right out where
you'll spot it and call it in..." "A bomb won't go off here because the true likelihood of you being the victim of a terror attack is really very low, especially when compared to other causes of
death or injury."humorpoliticsposterparanoiasecurityvia:boingboing.commentsphotoshopprivacy
2009 Mar 10, 9:22Justin Frankel (Previously Winamp/Nullsoft guy) makes a designated graffiti box on his garage with the note: "All are welcome to express themselves in the box below. Printing within the above box is
hereby expressly permitted and shall not be considered 'graffiti' in accordance with article #23 of the San Francico Municipal Code." Before graffiti: , And with graffiti:graffiticultural-disobediancelegalsan-francisconullsoftjustin-frankelblog
2009 Feb 4, 4:16From Sorting it all Out wrt the weather gadget in Vista's sidebar, this link to China's laws on weather forecast: "Article 22 The State applies a unified system for the issue of public meteorological
forecast and severe weather warning... No other organizations or individuals may issue to the community such forecast or warning." "Article 25 When the media, including radio, television, newspaper
and telecommunication, issue to the community public meteorological forecast or severe weather warning, they shall use the latest meteorological information provided by a meteorological office...
Part of the revenues from the distribution of meteorological information shall be drawn to support the development of meteorological service." Whether an application is legally allowed to provide a
weather forecast is not an attribute I would have imagined necessary for a localization API.via:michael-kaplanchinalawlegalpoliticsweatherforecastlocalization
Microsoft isn't completely shielded from our economies issues but I still have a job and
still get free soda. While that's all still the case, I decided to test Sarah's claimed ability to differentiate between Pepsi, Coke, and their diet counterparts by taste alone. I poured the four
sodas into marked cups and Sarah and I each took two runs through the cups with the following guesses.
Soda Identification Challenge Results
Drink
Sarah
Dave
Guess 1
Guess 2
Guess 1
Guess 2
Coke
Coke
Coke
Pepsi
Diet Pepsi
Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Diet Pepsi
Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi
Coke
Coke
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi
Diet Coke
Diet Pepsi
Pepsi
Total (out of 8)
6
3
As you can see from the results, Sarah's claimed ability to identify Coke and Pepsi by taste is confirmed. The first run through she got completely correct and on the second run only mistook Diet
Pepsi for Diet Coke. Her excuse for the error on the second run was a tainted palate from the first run. I on the other hand was mostly incorrect. Surprisingly though my incorrect answers were
mostly consistent between run one and two. For instance I thought Pepsi was Coke in both runs.
2009 Jan 22, 9:48"Revocation presents another challenge. If a system relies only on a biometric for both identity and authentication, how do you revoke that factor? Forgotten passwords can be changed; lost smartcards
can be revoked and replaced. How do you revoke a finger?"articlemicrosoftsecurityidentityauthenticationbiometrics
2008 Nov 20, 11:30KITH + Portal! "We're not sure how deep into the goof juice the Kids in the Hall were when troupe funnyman Scott Thompson started sulking and playing Portal in the back of the tour bus, but something
got into Kids during this sad little gaming session. Yes, the comedic stylings of Valve writer Erik Wolpaw are most amusing, as is the struggle of watching Thompson attempt to do anything more than
move a cube - uncrouch already! - but something tells me there's something magical in those cups. Thanks for the tip, Sascha23!"portalvideohumorvalvekithscott-thompson
Microsoft isn't completely shielded from our economies issues but I still have a job and
still get free soda. While that's all still the case, I decided to test Sarah's claimed ability to differentiate between Pepsi, Coke, and their diet counterparts by taste alone. I poured the four
sodas into marked cups and Sarah and I each took two runs through the cups with the following guesses.
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