Saturday, September 11, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The tabi shoes are an especially nice touch. From 
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Comic book autobiography of a teen girl's life with braces
Comic book autobiography of a teen girl's life with braces
A 215-page account of a teenage girl getting braces on her teeth may seem like thin soup for a comic book memoir, but Raina Telgemeier's art and storytelling brings Smile to life.
My 13-year-old daughter just got braces so I thought she would enjoy Smile, but I ended up taking it and reading it over the weekend. Raina starts the book with a visit to the orthodontist, who tells her she needs braces. That night she falls face down on the pavement and knocks her two front teeth out (actually, one falls out and the other one gets driven up into her skull bone -- yikes). So what was initially going to be a simple set of braces turns into something more complicated, which nicely parallels with the increasingly complicated issues that a young girl about to enter junior high school must deal with, including new friends and new feelings. The book ends up being less about braces and more about the day-to-day trials and triumphs of early teenagerhood.
Autobiographical comic books, especially ones about people's everyday lives, are my favorite kind of comic book, and I'd place Telgemeier near the top of my list. She's great at presenting image moments. Her use of timing and framing is probably what has gotten her nominated for Eisner, Ignatz, Cybil, and Web Cartoonists' Choice awards. Her use of exaggeration (see panel four, above) is employed sparingly and to good effect. When I was finished with Smile, I felt as though I'd really gotten to know what Telgemeier's early adolescence was like.
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Secret history of psychedelic psychiatry
Secret history of psychedelic psychiatry
A couple weeks ago, I posted about a new scientific paper looking at how an increased understanding of psychedelic drugs may lead to new anti-depressants. Over at Science Blogs, neuroscientist Moheb Costandi responds in a fascinating essay on "The Secret History of Psychedelic Psychiatry." From the article:
"The secret history of psychedelic psychiatry"LSD therapy peaked in the 1950s, during which time it was even used to treat Hollywood film stars, including luminaries such as Cary Grant (at left, dropping acid). By then, two forms of therapy had emerged. Psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") therapy was practised mostly in North America and involved intensive psychotherapy followed by a single megadose of LSD. It was thought that the transcendental experiences induced by such large doses, as well as heightened self-awareness, would enable the patient to reflect on their condition with greater clarity. Psycholytic ("mind-loosening") therapy, on the other hand, was practised mostly in Europe, and involved regular low to moderate doses of the drug in conjunction with psychoanalysis, in order to release long-lost memories and reveal the unconscious mind.
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More cool rolling shutter effects
More cool rolling shutter effects
Last week, Mark posted a shot of a boy blinking in a photo but with his eyes open in a reflection.
In the comments, several people explained that this was a rolling shutter effect. You can get something similar panning many DLSR cameras too quickly back and forth, causing a "jello" effect on solid objects. Commenter knodi shared a still of his propeller showing the same effect. You can get the same trippy effect in video based on the frame rate, as seen in Steve Talkowski's video above.
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Piranha 3D exec rants about Cameron ranting about Piranha 3D
Piranha 3D exec rants about Cameron ranting about Piranha 3D
It's a movie that probably nobody should be fighting over in any way, but the producer of Piranha 3D is really really upset with James Cameron for calling his film "exactly an example of what we should not be doing in 3-D." Why Cameron told that to Vanity Fair is anyone's guess, but producer Mark Canon is not amused.
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As drug violence escalates, entire length of US-Mexico border to be patrolled by unmanned drones
As drug violence escalates, entire length of US-Mexico border to be patrolled by unmanned drones
[Image courtesy General Atomics. An artist's rendition of Predator B, the unmanned aerial drone patrolling the US-Mexico border for human and drug trafficking, and other threats.]
Beginning this Wednesday, the entire 2,000 miles of border between the United States and Mexico will be patrolled by unmanned aerial drones. Three drones are already patrolling portions of that border, and a fourth Predator begins operations tomorrow out of Corpus Christi, TX, completing the full stretch of la frontera.
The news came in a Department of Homeland Security announcement yesterday, along with word that 1,200 additional National Guard troops will be deployed "to provide intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and immediate support to counternarcotics enforcement."
Those Predator B drones are made by military contractor General Atomics. You can read more about the drone specs here at the General Atomics website, and download a PDF here. Snip from Reuters:
They carry equipment including sophisticated day and night vision cameras that operators use to detect drug and human smugglers, and can stay aloft for up to 30 hours at a time.All of this is part of $600 million legislation signed by President Obama earlier this month to increase border security before midterm elections in November, and in response to the ever-escalating drug war in Mexico. Just today, at least 8 people were killed when attackers hurled Molotov cocktails into a bar in Cancun, a popular tourist destination. The attack is presumed to be cartel-related.
And a major drug kingpin nicknamed "The Barbie" for his light complexion was arrested this week— his takedown is seen as a badly-needed public relations coup for the Mexican government, as successive waves of horrific news hit the country.
Perhaps the most gruesome of those recent revelations was the discovery just last week of a mass grave filled with 72 murdered migrants, including a pregnant woman, who were all executed by a dominant cartel, the Zetas.
The incident took place just 100 miles from the US border.
From the Christian Science Monitor:
The massacre confirmed what analysts have begun to suspect (....) gangs are diversifying their criminal activities and targeting groups other than just rival drug traffickers.The lead investigator in that case "disappeared" last Friday.
[inset thumbnail: courtesy El Universal. The corprses of 72 men and women presumed to have been executed by the Zetas drug gang, inside an abandoned warehouse in the town of San Fernando, just 100 miles from the Mexican border with the U.S. near the city of Matamoros, Mexico.]
- Anti-emo pogroms rage throughout Mexico
- Report: Obama to send 1200 troops to Mexico border for ...
- Mexico's Museum of Drugs
- Helicopter shots of Mexico City neighborhoods -- stunning and ...
- Mexico: 'net advocates protest internet tax with ...
- Gadget-thieving Mexican narco-pirates ambush boaters on Texas lake ...
- The Mexican Narco-Insurgency
- Drug-smuggling sub
- New tactic for "narcoterrorists" in Juarez, MX: car bombs - Boing ...
- Mexico's pop stars are being killed by drug cartel bosses - Boing ...
- BB Video: "A VOLTA" from NASA Project: Narco-Cholo Game ...
- Tour of secret smuggling tunnel
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How do you like them apples' - Dimitri Tsykalov's amazing fruit carvings...
Koko Be Good: complex and satisfying graphic novel about finding meaning in lifecomplex
Koko Be Good: complex and satisfying graphic novel about finding meaning in lifecomplex
Jen Wang's Koko Be Good continues publisher FirstSecond's amazing run of thought-provoking, challenging graphic novels for adults. It's the story of Koko, a "free spirit" in San Francisco who trades on her manic energy and good looks to bumble by in mooched accommodations, borrowed clothes, and sponged meals. Then she meets Jon, a driven young man who is about to sell everything he owns to move to Peru, where his girlfriend is working in the remote orphanage her mother grew up in. Jon isn't sure about his move, but he feels he needs to be. He quit his band after finishing college (they're now becoming an indie sensation, which puts some urgency into his choice to succeed at something other than music), and now he's not sure what his life is for or what it will come to.
When Jon meets Koko (she steals his tape recorder after a raucous performance at the Zeitgeist in the Mission), he finds himself subject to her withering scorn and tough questions. But the interrogation isn't one-way -- in the process of criticizing Jon's do-gooder ambitions, Koko comes to realize how empty her own life is.
The two of them enter into a struggle to find meaning and happiness -- to be "good" -- and embark on a difficult journey that involves a huge cast of minor characters all engaged in their own existential battles.
All the above makes the book sound moody and brooding, but it's anything but. Koko Be Good brims with manic energy and comedy, a complex story engagingly told with ingenious layouts and lovely art.
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TransferBigFiles offers free app, Intel buys iPhone chipmaker, rumor says new iPhone 4 with fixed antenna next month
TransferBigFiles offers free app, Intel buys iPhone chipmaker, rumor says new iPhone 4 with fixed antenna next month
A company called TransferBigFiles has announced a new iPhone app that is being offered for free. The app allows you to send big HD video files to anyone you want that can be retrieved using any browser.
Intel purchased the Infineon Technologies chipmaking arm, or at least it will if it gets regulatory approval. Infineon is the company that makes the iPhone baseband chips putting Intel inside the iPhone.
A rumor is circulating that I can't really believe has any accuracy, but you never know. The rumor says that Apple has a new iPhone 4 coming next month with a redesigned antenna.
Rape case re-opened in Sweden against Wikileaks founder Assange
Rape case re-opened in Sweden against Wikileaks founder Assange
In Sweden today, a prosecutor has re-opened the seemingly on-again, off-again investigation into charges of rape, "sexual coercion and sexual molestation" against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. He was questioned by police on Monday.
Read more: Washington Post, and DN.se.The case was dismissed last week by Eva Finne, chief prosecutor in Stockholm, who overruled a lower-ranked prosecutor and said there was no reason to suspect that Assange, an Australian citizen, had raped a Swedish woman who had reported him to police.
The woman's lawyer appealed the decision. Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny decided to reopen the case Wednesday, saying new information had come in on Tuesday.
"We went through all the case material again, including what came in, and that's when I made my decision," to reopen the case, Ny told The Associated Press by phone.
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10 Years Ago: The Wally Wood Letters
10 Years Ago: The Wally Wood Letters
From Boing Boing 10 years ago: In the late 1970s John Hitchock started up a mail correspondence with Wally Wood, inarguably one of the world's most gifted comic book artists. For a variety of reasons, Wood had fallen on hard times, but he was a generous man and wrote 18 replies to Hitchock's letters.
"So my advice is, don't be a creator. It's much more fun, and much more rewarding to be a defacer with a title . . . "Creative Director" or "Assistant Associate Editorial Consultant". If you're a creator, you'll find yourself at the mercy of a kid fresh from writing dirty words on walls, who will take work you have spent hours on and write the singularly revealing message "Kill This" across it in bold strokes of his big blue pencil."The Wally Wood Letters
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Chewbacca, Han Solo and R2D2 drawn as if part of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
Chewbacca, Han Solo and R2D2 drawn as if part of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
Illustrations by James Hance, used with permission.
I'm surprised I didn't catch this earlier, but James Hance has recently released a series of lovely images. Here, he re-imagines Han Solo as Christopher Robin, Chewbacca as Pooh Bear, R2D2 as Piglet, and even (this is cool) an AT-AT as Eeyore.
Definitely go to his Cartoon page to see the images in their full glory. Also this just in - James writes:
The first Wookiee the Chew book gets published today (September 1st) and will be available from either my website or comic stores in Jacksonville. My main hub is at Cafe 331, downtown Jacksonville. I'm there every Saturday with prints, paintings and books.Link
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Walking Dead already gets a season 2. Here are the gory details:
Walking Dead already gets a season 2. Here are the gory details:
AMC is apparently pretty confident about its new zombie series The Walking Dead because it's already ordered a second season before anyone's even seen a full episode. And Executive Producer Frank Darabont has a lot of ideas about what he wants to do with that second season, according to ComicBookMovie.com:
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More Top Stories: Tom Waits, Jane's Addiction
More Top Stories: Tom Waits, Jane's Addiction
Tom Waits Photo Book Out October 29th Over three decades, photographer Anton Corbijn has shot hundreds of portraits of Tom Waits. On October 29th, 200 of those photographs will be showcased in Waits/Corbijn 1977-2010, paired with lyrics from throughout Waits' career. [Twenty Four Bit] Jane's Addiction to Play Tony Hawk ...
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Controversy around "temporary marriages" in Iran
Controversy around "temporary marriages" in Iran
Controversy continues in Iran around legally-recognized Shi'ite marriage arrangements that permit a man and woman to marry for as little as one hour. As recently as last week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brought a law regulating such temporary marriages to the parliament where some of it was ultimately rejected. Human rights and women's groups have opposed parts of the regulation that, according to Haaretz Daily Newspaper, is "intended to help men and make it possible for them to marry another woman without the permission of their first wife, the tax that would be imposed on the dowry the woman would receive, and the registration of temporary marriages." From Haaretz:
The (temporary marriage) arrangement (has even been) significantly promoted as "a means to help women who have difficulty getting married for various reasons," as the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, explained. The various reasons can include the fact that a woman is divorced, that she is unable to give birth, or that she has committed some transgression that makes it difficult for her to find a husband."Iran's women defeat Ahmadinejad's 'legal prostitution' bill" (Thanks, Mark Pescovitz!)For some of the women who are forced to get married under an arrangement of this kind, as well as for young couples that are not officially married but require legal coverage to spend time together, this is the only arrangement that exists.
It is also convenient for thousands of students who go to the holy cities of Iran and want to have "legal" sex during their studies and before getting "actually" married.
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Gunman at Discovery Channel headquarters
Gunman at Discovery Channel headquarters
A gunman has taken at least one hostage at Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.
There's no official police statements about who the gunman is or what he wants, but there's a list of demands circulating on Twitter—said to be the gunman's manifesto. (Edit: The original site is now down, I'm linking to a version one of our readers saved.) I'm not sure what the original source of this list is, yet, but I'll let you know if/when I find out. The demands are centered around a proposed new programming lineup for The Discovery Channel, pushing Malthusian ideas on population and Daniel Quinn's "My Ishmael" pages 207-212. Seriously. This would be almost funny if it weren't for the whole hostage thing.
The Discovery Communications building is being evacuated. Here's hoping everybody makes it out safely.
UPDATE: According to DCist, the list of demands apparently dates to 2008, and is linked to James Jay Lee, a man arrested that same year for disorderly conduct while protesting at the Discovery Communications building. No one has any idea who the gunman is at this point, so it's unknown whether this is the same guy. WUSA9 TV in Washington D.C. first tweeted the old demands as being linked to the current gunman, but it's unclear how they came to that conclusion.
For now, let's assume they aren't linked. It's worth noting that Discovery Networks have received a lot of threats recently because of Animal Planet's Whale Wars show, which follows the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as it attempts to deter Japanese whaling ships.
UPDATE #2: Law enforcement officials are now saying that they believe the gunman is that 2008 protester, James Jay Lee.
Image of gunman taken by a colleague of Discovery employee Jason Divenere That colleague is now safely out of the building.
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Bad Robot Plans Alcatraz Series
Bad Robot Plans Alcatraz Series
JJ Abrams is looking to produce "Alcatraz," a series based on the famous prison, reports Deadline . The script, written by "Lost" vet Elizabeth Sarnoff, is currently being shopped around for a network but, outside of the title, very little is known as to the specifics of the project. Currently, Bad Robot produces Fox's "Fringe" and will launch "Undercovers" for NBC this fall. The company is rumored to be in development on roughly a dozen theatrical projects as well including the upcoming Super 8 and a sequel to 2009's Star Trek .
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Izzard and Conroy Join United States of Tara
Izzard and Conroy Join United States of Tara
Multi-faceted comedian and actor Eddie Izzard and multiple award-winning actress Frances Conroy will guest-star on the Showtime series "United States of Tara." Izzard will appear in eight episodes and Conroy in one episode of the third season opposite Toni Collette, last year's Emmy Award winner and this year's Emmy nominee for her role as Tara Gregson, a wife and mother who struggles with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Izzard will play Tara's brilliant psychology professor who is at first a DID skeptic, but becomes fascinated with Tara as a subject, leading him to further explore the condition. Conroy will star as Max Gregson's (John Corbett) mother, a recluse with a compulsive hoarding problem. Production on season three begins mid-September in Los Angeles...
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Neal Stephenson creates DVD-like special features for books
Neal Stephenson creates DVD-like special features for books
Neal Stephenson has always loved playing around with the format of books. He most notably created the fictional interactive tome Young Ladies Illustrated Primer in The Diamond Age, and he also built the Metaweb in the real world, a wiki site (since discontinued) where he annotated ideas
from his novel Quicksilver.