Nothing says sxxy nrrd like T-shirts with "FLAG PROFILE AS MATURE" on the front, and the Tribe.net logo on the back. I think former BoingBoing guestblogger Karen Marcelo is behind this, but I'm not sure. Link

In a few days, God willing, I'll be floating around on one of the first ever commercial weightless flights in the USA. Friends, colleagues, and astro-nerdy strangers have been offering all sorts of advice ranging from scientifically substantiated to silly.

Some have even suggested some crash-course reading over the weekend. Lloyd Fonveille says that Air & Dreams: An Essay on the Imagination of Movement by Gaston Bachelard is a must: "Dense writing but amazing stuff about flying and flying dreams... he argues that images and dreams of flying are the highest state of the imagination, and emblems of the mental place where all real creativity happens."

As I prepare for Wednesday's adventure, I'll share some of this microgravity advice here on BoingBoing. I'll start with insights from experienced zero-g flier Raffi Krikorian of MIT (and O'Reilly).

I rode on NASA's KC-135a a few years ago (I was running a series of experiments to determine whether the brain's ability to localize sound was affected by being in a microgravity environment -- the anwer is that it is, but I digress), and it was an awesome experience.

NASA requires a lot of pre-training before they even allow you to get on the plane (a series of lectures about what to do if your sinus collapses, a hyperbaric chamber ride to have you experience what happens in the case of a rapid decompression of the cabin as the KC-135 is a single hulled plane), and going through that type of training is quite exhaustive. You spend a day in the classroom, then you spend a day learning how to work the emergency equipment and how to breathe through a reverse pressurized mask.

When the day of the ride comes, everybody tells you a few pieces of advice
1. bring jolly ranchers and gum
2. eat bananas and muffins for breakfast (extra credit for eating food coloring) [Ed note: I suppose this way, everything will look super-pretty and colorful IF YOU HURL IT ALL OVER THE FUCKING PLANE]
3. don't look out the window when flying.

As we were climbing for our first drop, I was chewing my gum like mad. The common advice is to get your mouth a little wet and to distract yourself of what was going to happen next. And then, all of a sudden, you lift right off the floor. I, personalily, was terrified on the first drop. I flailed around trying desperately to grab hold of something. I grab onto the floor, and it must have been amusing to see me hanging upside down, trying to pull myself down.

After that, it gets a lot easier. You just float around. Pushing yourself off the walls, and just bounce around. I was busy running an experiment, but it seems as though you will have time to play around.

What they don't tell you is that you will experience portions of negative gravity where you are pulled for the roof. Those freak you out. You're hanging out, chillin' in the air, and then all of a sudden you are rocketing towards the ceiling and pushing yourself off from it. Enterprising people invert themselves at that point, and go walking around up top. But, if you manage to close your eyes and somehow end up upside down, your brain will be convinced that you are right side up. You'll see people who are the other way from you. And then. Oh no. You puke.

The interesting thing about puking (or playing with any liquid) is its fascinating to watch it ooze around. Try it. Squirt some water into the air while you're floating -- it's gorgeous to watch these bubbles float around. and you can poke at it. Catch them. I'ts amazing. If you have a chance also, light a match. The flame makes a perfect sphere. Things you never think you'll see.

Image: photograph of a balloon full of water exploding in zero gravity on NASA's vomit comet (the KC-135 which Raffi discusses above). Link to full-size. The experiment was part of an Imaging and Photographic Technology project between NASA and the Rochester Institute of Technology: Link

Link to previous post: Xeni Flies Zero-G, part 1

From the BoingBoing archives -- this full-screen QTVR panorama of the light tribute to victims of 9/11, shot by Jook Leung. Link

Platinum icon of Hello Kitty with a diamond-studded crown and 0.753-carat pink diamond scepter, created in honor of the character's 30th birthday. 100 of them are available at a cool 10 mil yen JP (just over $91,000 US). Link to Xinhua news story. (Thanks Ivy)

Screenwriter/Director/bon vivant Lloyd Fonvielle recently relocated from New York to Las Vegas, and teamed up with NYC-based graphic artist John Sosnovsky to create the Official Nowhere T-Shirt, available only through the end of this year. Says Lloyd, "Someday owning one of these shirts will be your only way of proving that you were on the road to Nowhere before the rest of the world caught on. Be sure to buy some extras to keep in mint condition for sale on eBay in years to come, when they will undoubtedly become passionately coveted big ticket items!" Link to T-shirts in English, Link to a global variant strain, and link to Lloyd's Fabulous Nowhere blog.

who is that with jeremy
you and stevie nicks
key speakers
morrissey gets a job
new wave photos
from heiress to fammous
awful plastic surgery
casting mistakes

Image: Genesis P-Orridge and Psychic TV shot by Phillippe Carly on September 23, 1984, in Deinze, Belgium (holy crap, that's 20 years ago)

. web zen home, web zen store, (Thanks, Frank).

Snipped from Bruce Sterling's Viridian Design email newsletter, a New York Times story about wild animals reclaiming the heavily-landmined DMZ that divides North and South Korea.

[E]nvironmentalists have recognized this area one of the most enduring symbols of the cold war and one of the most fortified and heavily mined stretches on earth as the Korean peninsula's, and possibly East Asia's, most important wildlife refuge. They have been pressing to preserve it but are feeling a special urgency now because of the growing reconciliation between the North and the South. The environmentalists fear that a South Korea that puts economic development first and a North Korea that has no environmental movement could together lead to the zone's rapid destruction as a refuge. (..)

"The DMZ is the last major vestige of Korea's natural heritage," said Kim Ke Chung, a professor at the Center for BioDiversity Research at Penn State and chairman of the DMZ Forum, an organization based in the United States that is dedicated to preserving the zone. "It's probably the only good thing to come out of the Korean War and cold war. So we have to preserve this as a nature reserve." [Bruce Sterling says: "How did the Cold War become the 'cold war' all of a sudden?]

The DMZ Forum recently held a conference in Seoul to gather support for designating the zone a Unesco World Heritage Site, a classification that would curb all development. William B. Shore, secretary of the forum and a former fellow at the Regional Plan Association of New York, said the zone should become a center for eco-tourism as an alternative to turning it into a weekend getaway for residents of Seoul.

"People are now willing to pay large sums to see wild animals in the proper setting," Mr. Shore said. "Eco-tourism would protect the DMZ from becoming the Hamptons of South Korea." [Bruce Sterling says: "Perhaps it's possible to transform the Hamptons into a DMZ."]

reg-free Link

A company called Colorcalm has created a sort of ambient DVD called "Skies" -- soothing, color-specific programming set to music. The content was produced by Atmos Pictures, together with Pantone. This sounds like it would be really lovely on a large, flat-screen display in your living room. Company founder Robert Norton tells BoingBoing that upscale retailer Conran spotted the product during fashion week in New York, and promptly placed it on all of the TVs in their stores.

From the press release:

"Colorcalm pioneers a new and non-traditional way to use your TV to create a calm atmosphere. Colorcalm Skies, a continuous display of skies with 28 color and audio variations is designed to soothe your senses... Robert Norton, Founder and CEO of Atmos [says], 'Colorcalm is a response to the abundance of TV screens that surround us. Many homes now have more screens than family members. Colorcalm lets you bring color to your life in a soothing, calming way, which you can control. By adding color to your life, Colorcalm enhances your surroundings and improves your well-being.' Colorcalm also offers corporate clients the opportunity to use their own corporate, Pantone Colors to create tailored, color programming for brand-marketing purposes."

$19.99 at this Link

Cliff sez: There's a new software shop here in Mill Valley, of all places. They've made a pretty cool little "virtual private network for the rest of us" ... called Grouper and here's a bit about it:

Current release version is in beta. Runs only on Win2000 and XP. Requires broadband.

With the client installed, you can create groups of up to 30 members and invite people to join them. The invitation includes the client.

Each peer can choose to share selected files. The client includes group chat and 1-to-1 IM.

You can download all but MP3s. Those you can only stream. I know that will be a point of contention, but it's not meant primarily to be a source of free music. I think it's more for groups of friends, family, classmates, associates who share photos and other large files. Link

Funder sez: "MasaManiA describes itself as 'Japanese culture report by MasaManiA with fucking photo & poor English you never seen at boring CNN, Time or major sophisticated jurnalism.' In this entry, he visits a cosplay convention and shows some of the costumes/performers that were rejected by the organizers. The first picture - a sad, rejected robot - sums up everything that is pitiful and sad and surreal and totally hysterical in the world. Hope you like it! "Link

The secret society behind the subterranean cinema recently discovered by police in Paris have come forward. According to a Guardian article, the mission of the group, called La Mexicaine de la Perforation, is to "reclaim and transform disused city spaces for the creation of zones of expression for free and independent art."

"There are so many underground networks - the quarries, the metro, the collective heating, the electricity, the sewers - and each is the responsibility of a different bureaucracy... Urban explorers are the only people who, between us, know it all. We move between each network. We know where they link up - often, it's us who made the link. The authorities, the police, town hall, they don't know a hundredth, a thousandth, of what's down there."

Link

Engadget posts word of a rumored new line of consumer electronics -- from Yahoo. An official launch announcement is said to be due within the next two weeks. This could also be nothing more than someone with a good imagination and functional Photoshop skills.

The initial line up is supposedly a portable DVD player, two LCD televisions, and a home theater in a box system. Like most of these kinds of releases (assuming this is for real), they're really just slapping their logo on products built by somebody else (in this case, it's supposedly Diamond Electronics). This is either a really big deal or someone just went to a lot of trouble to try and dupe us -- regardless, everything looked like it checked out, and it was too good to not pass along. Make sure you click to see pics and product descriptions.

Link to Engadget post with photos.

Update: Jason says he's received this email from a Yahoo spokesperson:

This is a licensing agreement through our marketing department. It's just another component of a licensing program that we've had in place for several years for a variety of items such as computer peripherals and we're now extending to additional items such as those you see in the photograph.

The manufacturer is Diamond Electronics and we will be providing our branding and logo. The manufacturer is working to sell these products into major retailers.

It's an exciting extension of the Yahoo! brand, but it won't be a significant announcement for the company as the blog suggests.

Link

The review of the microniche fetish porn vid "Zenra Ballet 2" on Something Awful is a hoot.

At a Glance: Get out your copybooks, because you can now cross "ballet" off of the "Big List of Things the Japanese Won't Make Porno Out Of". If you are an avid fan of ballet - but, you aren't such an avid fan that you actually have some modicum of respect for the art of ballet dancing - then you are probably the target market for this DVD. It features exciting behind the scenes interviews, some regular and wholesome non-erotic ballet dancing, and then multiple nude and even sex-filled dance sequences. You have not lived until you have seen a Japanese pirate rip a boner out of his leotard and plunge it into the waiting food-hole of a sassy ballerina.

Sexual Content: Heavily mosaic censored dancin' and a prancin'.

Link to SomethingAwful review, and link to Fleshbot post with more info. (Thanks, Fleshbot, and thanks Super Nice Guy)

General John Perry "Dance Dance Revolution" Barlow says:

My sweet song-writing collaborators and shirt-tail family, The String Cheese Incident, are playing a free concert for peace tomorrow in Golden Gate Park along with Michael Franti (whom I'm convinced is some kind of avatar) and various others. Looks like this:

6th Annual 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival
Saturday September 11, 2004 (11am-5pm)
Speedway Meadow - Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA, USA
Featuring Michael Franti and Spearhead, String Cheese Incident Acoustic, Gift of Gab of Blackalicious, John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, and Amy Goodman.

Link to event website.

And BoingBoing pal Jose Marquez sez, "This 'Election Protection' event might be less bumpin'," but it too is devoted to giving power to the peaceful.

September 11, 2-5 p.m., Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission St. between 3rd and 4th Sts.
Featuring Eva Jefferson Paterson of Equal Justice Society, Ralph Neas and Sharon Lettman Pacheco of the People For the American Way Foundation, and Michael Kieschnick of Working Assets.
Join Working Assets, Mother Jones magazine, People For the American Way Foundation, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Equal Justice Society, True Majority, AlterNet.org, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, and others to learn about opportunities to help protect voting rights in key states on November 2. Participants in this outdoor rally and training will receive an update on efforts to prevent minority disenfranchisement and intimidation at the polls, challenges posed by computer voting systems and an overview of the key states where voting rights are at greatest risk.

Link to event website.

Snipped from the site:

" Rowboat Vets for Truth is here to share the real story, to correct the misleading use of our images, against our will, in paintings, woodcuts and pamphlets across the colonies.

The Rowboat Vets for Truth will counter the outrageous claims made by Mr. Washington and the liberal printing presses in Boston and Philadelphia.

We speak from personal experience - our group includes men who served beside Washington in combat against unarmed Germans on Christmas night, 1776. Though we come from different backgrounds, shoe menders, haberdashers, stable boys, candle holders to the wealthy. etc., and hold varying political opinions, we agree on one thing: George Washington lacks the potential to lead."

Link

Hugo-award-winning author James Patrick Kelly's "Free Reads" site is a place where he posts Creative-Commons-licensed studio recordings of him reading his works. He's a fantastic reader, and an even better writer, and he made enough off his tipjar the last time around to go into the studio and record three more:

"Faith" first published in Asimov's Science Fiction, June 1989. Time:59:25, File Size 27.86 MB.

"The Best Christmas Ever" first published in SciFiction, May, 2004. Time:39:38, File Size 19.03 MB.

"Serpent" first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 2004. Time:22:53, File Size 10.74 MB.

Link (Thanks, Jim!)

Thom sez: Atrius has a copy of a funny and insightful Mad Magazine parody of a TV commercial Bush would air if he were running against Jesus. Bottom line: "Jesus wrong on social services. Wrong on crime. Wrong on defense. Wrong for America." Link

The British Library has digitised its collection of Shakespeare quartos and made them available as a series of lavish scans. They've posted 93 quartos of 23 plays, so you can see how the text changed over time. Link (via Raelity Bytes)

Over on Terra Nova, academic Timothy Burke has posted a fascinating state-of-the-nation report on the fight between "narratologists" (who argue that the value of games is best understood by treating them as stories) and "ludologists" (who argue that the value is best understoof by analyzing games as a form of play). This is a new discipline a-borning, and its paradigm is being framed before our eyes:

In the context of games criticism, this tendency might lead to a narratologist placing enormous interpretative weight on the fact that most first-person shooters are structured by conflicts between the player’s avatar and small groups of three to six enemies, seeing this as a narrative choice that has authorial intent behind it, that can be related to various similar kinds of narratives in other media (e.g., the ur-narrative of Die Hard or Rambo or James Bond films, the narrative pacing of action films where the uber-masculine hero crushes small packs of slightly-less-manly bad guys). The problem is that the narratological kinship between Die Hard and first-person-shooters is a much more complicated matter in its actual historical evolution. If anything, when first-person-shooters first appeared with narratological structure that resembled the narrative of action films, to some extent that content was a superficial add-on rather than a deep structure of gameplay, a kind of narratological “skin”. The original Doom is a very good example of this pattern. The deep structure of the game (single player avatar versus distributed clusters of enemies) was, before anything else, a technical requirement dictated by the number of enemies it was then possible to have on the screen. This continues to be the case even though computers have much more processing power because the enemies have become much more graphically demanding.

Link

I've been practicing self-hypnosis since I was a kid, and as an adult, hypnosis helped me overcome a five-year bout of writers' block, get rid of lifelong chronic back-pain, and painlessly kick an 18-year-old smoking habit. For all that, I know precious little of how hypnosis works -- it just works (for me, at least).

Now the New Scientist reports that functional MRI scans of the brains of regular practitioners of hypnosis reveals physiological differences from those who are not susceptible to hypnosis.

But under hypnosis, Gruzelier found that the highly susceptible subjects showed significantly more brain activity in the anterior cingulate gyrus than the weakly susceptible subjects. This area of the brain has been shown to respond to errors and evaluate emotional outcomes.

The highly susceptible group also showed much greater brain activity on the left side of the prefrontal cortex than the weakly susceptible group. This is an area involved with higher level cognitive processing and behaviour.

Link

Wagner James Au sez, "A medical doctor/computer programmer recently built a simulation of visual and aural hallucinations in Second Life, based on the descriptions of real schizophrenics. In other words, it's a virtual, first-person recreation of the illness, and the potential applications (therapeutic, neurological, social, etc.) are pretty exciting. Also eerie, disturbing, and likely to disturb your sleep for a day or two afterward." Link (Thanks, James!)

Vegas, baby. BoingBoing reader Clive says, "Atari has signed a deal to produce a series of casino slot machines based on their early arcade classics -- including Pong, Asteroids, and Centipede." Link to Atari press release.

Management guru Tom Peters has written something called "60 Tom's TIB," (This I Believe) available for download as a PDF. On his Brianstorms Weblog, Brian Dear highlights this interesting excerpt about prioritizing from the Peters document:

I once watched a highly energetic chief ripped asunder by a senior member of his board. “Richard,” the determined board member almost shouted, “you are smart, energetic, creative to a fault, perhaps even a genius. But much of your 'genius' is dissipated because you apply it to ten different things at a time, albeit with great skill.

“Let me tell you what you need,” he concluded. “A 'to don't' list.”

I don't know about “Richard,” but for me that was a profound moment. Fact No. 1: We all have 50 genuine priorities. Fact No. 2: If we get even two Big Things Done in a six-year tenure on the current job, we will have had a...Great Ride. Axiom No. 1: Therefore, what we choose not to do (the sole subject of that “To Don't” list) is at least as important, or more important, as what we choose to do.

And, finally, effective “To Don't-ing” is far, far more difficult than effective “To Do-ing.”

Link

Our friend Jason Calacanis, head of Weblogs, Inc., wants to hire two bloggers to fill the vacancies at the wonderful Unofficial Apple Weblog. Link

Matthew sez: "Last night, BBC Radio 4 aired a fascinating programme about Yale's ultra-secretive Skull and Bones club. Both George W and John Kerry are members of the club and the programme suggests it has a wide-ranging influence in American life. Direct link to the RealPlayer stream of the show, which should be available for seven days.

In today's Wired News, a photo-report I filed from Wednesday night's Kaiju Big Battel performance in Hollywood. At left, a snapshot I took of a space insect monster dude creature whose name escapes me.

Despite the fact that combatants may look like costumed humans, event organizers maintain they're real, and warn of the danger posed to mankind by the growing threat of city-crushing beasts.

"There is an abundance of empirical evidence that the threat posed by monsters is serious and far-reaching," Kaiju Big Battel referee Jinji told Wired News. "A number of great documentaries like Godzilla have reported these historic facts in great detail. Our world leaders would be wise to pay closer attention to this under-recognized menace." (...)

Featured villains and heroes included Dr. Cube, a sinister plastic surgeon who boasts of an "unstoppable malpractice technique"; an inebriated Hell Monkey wielding a large bottle of primordial booze; a pair of freedom-fighting plantains from Central America who toted color-coordinated AK-47s; and garbage-can-dwelling Gomi-man, who spewed a rain of fetid sludge on human observers.

Link to Xeni's report and photos at Wired News: "Kaiju Monsters Invade Hollywood," Link to previous Wired News story "Monster Mashes Attract Big Masses."

See also: Link to Jason DeFillippo's superb photos of the event. This one's my favorite. And BoingBoing reader Teresa Ortega says, "I went to Kaiju Big Battel in Los Angeles based on Xeni's post and did a write-up at my site." Link

It's a sad week in music instrument history. First, the death of Donald Leslie. And yesterday, pioneer guitar string maker Ernie Ball gave up the ghost at just 74. Ernie Ball's strings are as ubiquitous in rock and roll as Fender guitars. According to the Associated Press, Ball developed his first strings in 1962 after "complaints from customers (at his guitar shop) that they couldn't find lighter-gauge, flexible strings for their rock 'n' roll instruments." Shortly after, the Slinkys were born. And, well, the guitar solo has never been the same. Link (Thanks, Vann)

Here's an excellent HOWTO for retrofitting a PC into Nintendo Entertainment System. Link (via Engadget)

Here's the text of Eisner's letter announcing his intention to resign from Disney in 2006.

We are different from companies not in the entertainment field. We are a creative company, and as a result, we are so much more. We must consider, develop, discard and reconsider, literally masses of ideas each day, based on few inexact criteria, using experience, talent, judgment, instinct, and hope as our guides along with our education and experience and sense of fiscal responsibility. This is a complicated and risky process, unlike the manufacture and sale of a single or related line of product. We are judged by definitive standards. But it is the creative that pushes to new heights that which can be measured, that which has lasting value to our culture and company.

I believe we have learned who we are, and who we are not; what we do best, and what we don't. Of course, that does not mean we stagnate into a museum or play safe. It just means we play smart. There are so many opportunities available to utilize our core assets, our brands and capabilities around the world. We must be completely informed and involved in the future, in new technologies that can help us maintain our leadership in creating and distributing and protecting our content. We must be prudent entrepreneurs and pragmatic capitalists. We must not forget that we are always singing and dancing "for our supper."

Link (via The Disney Blog)

The Aquadom is the world's largest cylindrical aquarium. It's in the lobby of a multi-use development, stretching 5 storeys up, with a glass elevator down the middle of it. Link (Thanks, kokogiak!)

Michael Eisner has announced that he's quitting as CEO of Disney when his contract runs out in 2006.

Eisner recently told Walt Disney directors that company president Robert Iger would be a good successor, the Los Angeles Times reported. Iger, whose contract expires in September 2005, has recently met with investors and executives and told the Times he would like the top job.

Link (via The Disney Blog)

Rich sez,

We're 4 Toronto nerds, we're attending the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, we're blogging our reviews.

We don't get media passes, we don't go to press conferences or release parties or even the suit-and-tie gala screenings. We pick movies we think we'll like, count ourselves lucky if we get tickets, then line up on the sidewalk to try to get a good seat. Then we write honest nerd's-eye reviews.

Link (Thanks, Rich!)

In this month's of Lab Notes from UC Berkeley Engineering, I look at:

*Sniffing Out Airborne Diseases: integrating human cells and microfluidics to detect pathogens in the air

*Wireless Ways to Go Green: the environmental impact of reading the news online

*Protecting Planes with Fabric: testing next-generation ballistic cloth

* The Invention of Virtual Cinematography: the key to The Matrix's "bulllet-time" sequence

Link

BB mourns the passing of Donald James Leslie, the inventor of the Leslie Rotating Speaker that provided the Hammond organ with its signature sound. The "Leslie" speaker spins inside its cabinet at a constant speed around a fixed point, providing an unmistakable Doppler effect. From the Associated Press obituary:

Leslie was captivated with the sound of the Hammond organ when he heard it at a Barker Bros. furniture store in downtown Los Angeles, where he worked repairing radios. In the store's large showroom, the organ introduced in 1935 sounded much like a theater or church pipe organ. However, Leslie, was unimpressed with the organ's sound quality in the confined spaces of his home. He began tinkering with devices to make the instrument sound more like labyrinthine pipe organs, using mechanics and electronics experience he gathered from a series of jobs, including one at the Naval Research Laboratories in Washington, D.C., during World War II.

Donald Leslie was 93. Link (Thanks, Vann)

Next week, on Wednesday September 15, I'm going on a zero-gravity flight about 32,000 feet above earth.

The company operating this flight is ZERO-G, whose founder Peter Diamandis is also the man behind the Ansari X-Prize competition. I invited Dr. Diamandis to speak at Wired Magazine's NextFest earlier this year, met him there, and learned he'd been working on this program for more than ten years.

The flight I'm taking next week (for NPR and Wired News) is part of ZERO-G's five-city media launch. Soon, they'll begin a commercial service on specially-equipped Boeing 727-200s. For about $3,000 US, passengers will be able to experience about 20 doses of parabolic weightlessness during a 90-minute trip.

Nothing like this has ever been offered to American consumers before. ZERO-G is the only company with FAA approval to conduct weightless flights for the public within the US.

NASA operates flights similar to this for training astronauts (Link), but not to the public. Space Adventures -- the company that made space tourists out of Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth (and, almost, N'Sync's Lance Bass) -- sells "vomit comet" flight experiences to paying passengers, but they cost closer to $10K and depart from a remote location in Russia. The combined costs of the flight, the prep, and getting to the departure site add up to a hefty five-figure sum. With the launch of this new service in the US, zero-G above the earth will now only cost a few G.

I've never done anything like this before. What will weightlessness feel like? A rollercoaster? Or floating in water, but without the water? When I was little, I used to have lots of recurring dreams about flying -- the dream-sensation of weightlessness felt so vivid, once I half-woke-up and sleep-jumped right off a flight of stairs. How is it that our bodies already know what zero-g feels like? Are we remembering what it felt like to float in utero? That waking dream of flight and floating -- it's something each of us physically understand. I'm looking forward to feeling the real thing.

My grandfather was an amateur astronomer. He taught me a lot of things about stars and space when I was a kid. He was there, downstairs in the living room, when I realized I couldn't fly that day -- about halfway down the stairs. He picked me up, held me in his arms, wiped my tears, and probably had to work really hard at not laughing.

Later, after lots of band-aids and kleenex, he explained what gravity was. I remember feeling really sad and crying all over again when he told me, "Honey, people just can't float like that." I wish he could still be here now, and float with me next Wednesday.

Blogger and photogger Jason DeFillippo joined me at the Kaiju Big Battel event last night, held at the Avalon in Hollywood. I was covering the event for NPR's "Day to Day," and for Wired News (links to those reports to follow as soon as they're online). Jason took some amazing photos, as usual -- I always love his stuff. The monster shots rock, but here I'm posting a snapshot he took (link to fullsize) of me interviewing Kitty Bukkake, the now LA-based blogger who lived a former life in Boston as the Kaiju monster Dino Kang Senior (here's a link to his offspring, Dino Kang Junior). She still works with Kaiju Big Battel, and was filming last night's mayhem for the group. I'm not sure how a murdered monster manages to be reborn as a drop-dead-hot blogger babe with washboard abs, but those things happen in Hollywood.

Link to Jason's photo gallery.

Last week in LA, I went to a Channel 101 screening -- monthly events where a edgy creatives show short films before a live audience, who in turn vote the work on or off the proverbial viewing island. The project isn't a cable TV show yet, but it ought to be. I understand they recently shot a cable pilot for FX, so perhaps it will.

One of the teams who participate regularly in the Channel 101 showdowns is The Lonely Island, and they've just posted a bunch of their work online. It's terrific stuff. One of their pieces, which screened at last week's event, is a dry, deadpan music video performed by two guys, called, uh, "Just 2 Guyz." (MPEG-4 Link, MPEG-1 Link, 2 min.). I loved their "Nintendo" animated short, too (MPEG / Quicktime, 3 min.)

Episodes of the Lonely Island short series The 'Bu are here (Link), with Sarah Chalke of Scrubs and Roseanne fame. Other celeb links -- Brooke Shields has a 5-minute bit in the begining of Episode 2: Regarding Ardy. (Link). Kal Penn (of Harold and Kumar and Gilmore Girls) plays Fred in Episode 2. A source close to the project says, "Kiefer Sutherland interrupted the filming of episode 1, then told all sorts of fanciful embellishments about it on Leno and Letterman. (Link)."

Link to The Lonely Island, and Link to the Channel 101 site where you'll find more online shorts.

Following up on an earlier BoingBoing post about fuel-cell powered UPS trucks (Link), we present a roundup of links related to alternative energy vehicles submitted by BoingBoing readers from around the world.

Robert in Australia says, "Transperth has acquired 3 Daimler/Chrysler fuel-cell buses for trial. This trial is being done in conjuction with a number of European trials." Link

Paul says, "UPS has been using alternative fuel vehicles since the 1930's (electric vehicles in NYC). 95% of the company's Mexico City vehicles burn propane. The company's earned 26 environmental awards." Link

Max says, "[San Francisco Bay Area public transportation system] AC Transit has been running a fuel cell bus since June. It is very eerie when it glides silently by. Brakes still screech, of course." Link

Matt says, The Hysun 3000 is a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered recumbant bike that began a 3000km tour yesterday, from Berlin to Barcelona. The vehicle is projected to use 3kg of hydrogen -- roughly equivalent to 1022 miles per gallon. Link to bike info, Link to tour diary, and Link to a good image.

Peter says, "Honda's hydrogen scooter might be the seed that grows a third world hydrogen fuel infrastructure for future cars and trucks." Link.

And Tim emails, "This site says that 'RunAbout Cycles go twenty miles an hour, as regulated by a new federally mandated classification for electric bicycles and tricycles. They have a forty mile range on motor alone, and the more you pedal, the further and faster you can go.' Available early 2005." Link

Brad says, "I have a friend in London who has spotted many fuel cell buses and has some pictures of them in use here: Link."

If you're in New York today through Sunday, don't miss the 8th annual edition of digital film festival RESFEST. Organizer Jonathan Wells says:

There are lots of amazing elements at this year's fest -- among them,

1) Bushwhacked! - a special program for this election year of great viral political films from media jammers (The Yes Men, Bryan Boyce, Michael Moore) around the world, includes some world premieres like Pinocchio (image shown here) which was too hot for MoveOn.org, and a "Schoolhouse Rock"-style animation from Eric Henry, Pirates & Emperors (Or Size Does Matter)
2) Thomas Campbell's SPROUT -- presentation of amazing globetrotting surf film from acclaimed artist Thomas Campbell will be preceded by a in theater acoustic performance by the UK-based band Mojave 3 (who also contributed to the soundtrack).
3) RESFEST Live - Emergency Broadcast Network and Hexstatic -- our closing night event will feature an audio visual event from VJ pioneers NYC's EBN and UK's Hexstatic. EBN will showcase their Video Baby Grand Piano, while Hexstatic will preview work of their forthcoming Master View DVD album.

Event takes place at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center through Sunday, September 12. Link

Following up on yesterday's post (Link) about my week-long test drive of BMW's new iPod-integrated 330ci convertible, more in-car audio tech pointers from BoingBoing readers. Meanwhile, I'm still mopping up drool around the office. That iPod Beemer was nerd-o-licious.

Michael Morgan says, "One of the better approaches I have seen relies on using the CD changer inputs that many car stereos have. The simpler products, such as the one I have, provide RCA audio jacks. Better ones allow iPod control through the CD changer controls. The sound quality is better than FM or cassette tape adapters although the integration of iPod display and control is either poor or absent." Link

Nik Clayton says, "You should try out Dension's IceLink 1.1. This provides a cradle/dock that you can mount on the dash (damage free). Just drop the iPod in the dock, and the audio's taken from iPod's dock connector (far better quality than the headphone socket) and routed to the stereo, in place of the CD-multichanger. So the steering wheel controls work for changing tracks, and so on. And, of course, your iPod's there on the dash, so you can see all the information it displays. It also works in cars other than BMWs." Link BoingBoing reader Chris says, "There are two other common solutions; some car radios now have a front panel auxiliary input. Just get a 'stereo plug to stereo plug' cable, and away you go. The other option is one of the FM modulators that plugs into the antenna lead. See the Farenheit EFM-01 or the JVC KS-IF200 - likely found many places but they re listed at Crutchfield. They are a little trickier to install, but as long as your car FM radio has an antenna (!) they should work. Link."

Neil replies to a comment submitted to BoingBoing by reader Becky (Link). He says, "To follow-up on Becky's problem with iPod installations in cars without cassette adapters there is actually another solution. Blitzsafe makes adapters that plug into the CD changer port that lives in most cars, and converts it to an AUX input for your car stereo. Then you can run a regular stereo cable to the front of the car to plug in any device you like (such as an iPod). I used one to install XM Satellite radio in my BMW. Sadly, it doesn't look like they have any for Saturn cars yet :( -- Link to Blitzsafe."

Tom Karches says, "A company called Soundgate (Link) makes a number of devices that allow iPods to be attached to factory or aftermarket stereos. Their auxillary input adapters attach to the cd changer plug on cd changer ready stereos and pass the audio through the changer input. If you have a changer already, they have a model that plugs in between the stereo and the changer and provides a switch to select the changer or the ipod. This does not provide ipod control, unfortunately. Perhaps something like this would help: Link. I'll probably put the Soundgate adapter in my minivan. If I decide to equip the honda similarly, I'll probably go with an inline RF modulator like this or this."

Anthony Hall says, "Although BMW claims they are the first car manufacturer with integrated iPod support I actually saw ads for Smart cars shipping with iPod cradles several months ago... I dunno, perhaps it's considered third party but Smart was plugging it in the own ads in the UK. Looks liker a much simpler proposition to me. I agree with you that having the iPod just rolling around loose in the glove compartment is nuts." Link

(Thanks to other readers who sent in great tips, including Wes, Adrian, Josiah, and Brian King!)

If you're in the LA area Friday night: Chicago-based artist Jason Salavon, whose work we've blogged here before, has a show launch at The Project.

Salavon digitally reconfigures raw source data into abstract, and often painterly, photographs and videos. Utilizing self-designed software programs, Salavon's hybridized artworks fuse information technology with pop cultural aesthetics. Salavon's recent photographic series, 100 Special Moments, culls images of newlyweds, graduates, little league players and traditional Santa portraits to manifest composite images of each scenario. The artist deconstructs nostalgia to its average mean, subverting and blurring the lines between singular and collective social experiences within the framework of commemorative photographs. For the Emblem series, Salavon interrogates the social implications of 1970s iconic films, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now, by algorithmically abstracting their filmic frames in time and subsequently reorganizing them in a circular structure reminiscent of traditional Mandalas. Late Night Triad, a three-channel video projection, overlays introductory monologues from late night talk show hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Conan O'Brien. Salavon digitally aligns and averages the comedic routines to expose the inherit repetition in their underlying structure and rhythmic timing.

Link to gallery website, Link to Salavon's website.

In his Cool Tools newsletter, Kevin Kelly says:

The most savvy travellers I know log onto Thorn Tree as they vagabond. Thorn Tree Travel Forum is where you get the latest, greatest, most dependable travel advice for exotic destinations. Originally set up by Lonely Planet as an online way for readers to update their guidebooks, this bulletin board now bypasses and surpasses the guidebooks altogether. Reliable travel info has been completely revolutionized by the ubiquity of internet cafes around the globe.

Let's say you want to know whether the border between China and Kazakhstan is open this October, or whether its safe to visit Katmandu, Nepal, or where the newest climbing spots in the Peru Andes are. You log on to the appropriate Thorn Tree "branch" where a traveler who is in Katmandu, or who has just arrived in Almaty yesterday after a harrowing 11 hour border crossing from China can tell you all the specific details of what is true and what is not. Someone else might post that the popular beach shack on Lombok island, Indonesia you were headed for is now closed. And, to complete the circuit, you may be on the road yourself, at a dusty internet cafe in Morocco, when you read this. It's true real-time advice, from real folks who've done it. Thorn Tree is a remarkably efficient way to score hard-to-get facts from and to the field. And for armchair planners at home, the sheer details available at a distance is heavenly.

I've found that the third world locations, rather than Europe and the US, are best served by the forums; but these after all are the very places instant ground-truthing is so badly needed. Thorn Tree is also a great place to connect up with others bent on long-term Around the World tours, and up-to-the-latest tips on long haul travel.

Link

Fleshbot points us to a pervtastic online gallery of zentai bondage fetish photos. What is zentai, you ask? Generally, it means a hot chick dressed up in a tightly fitted, opaque, body sock-y thing that covers every inch of her skin. Latex, leather, cloth, whatever. I'm trying to imagine what it must be like to be really turned on by this stuff. After a few minutes of squinting at my laptop, I still can't, so fuck it, I'll instead offer you this snip of engrish prose from the site:

"The wonder space which cannot be moved satisfactorily ... How can the sound of the outside which can be heard through cloth really be heard?"

Ponder that, grasshopper, while you click this Link.

Following up on two earlier BoingBoing posts about a Silicon Valley church that boasts the world-famous Jesus Christ Skate Ramp and Cellphone Tower of The Lord, Paul Robichaux says, "That was interesting, but this blog post from Scoble points to a description of the most tech-savvy church I've ever heard of. Plasma screens. WiFi in the building. Every sermon is recorded in full HD. It's astonishing." Link to blog post, and link to the church's home page.

The BBC reports that prison inmates in Australia milked redback spiders and shot up the venom to get high.

But a prison spokesman, Brian Kelly, was sceptical about the veracity of the claim the venom was used as a narcotic, saying it had come from a single unreliable inmate. Mr Kelly said the spiders were more likely to have been kept as pets.

Tarantella lessons in the yard after evening count! Link (Thanks, Kelly!)

MIT researchers looked at why some scientific data shows that ginseng promotes blood vessel growth while other studies report the opposite.

Chemical fingerprints of four different varieties of ginseng—American, Chinese, Korean and Sanqi--show that each has different proportions of two key ingredients. Additional studies showed that a preponderance of one ingredient has positive effects on the growth of blood vessels; more of the other component tips the scale the other way.

The study, they say, supports the need for "regulations standardizing herbal therapies through compositional analysis." While that statement is sure to piss off a lot of people, the researchers also believe that reverse-engineering ginseng could eventually lead to the development of new wound-healing compounds. Link

World's Shortest Blog is offering a bounty to the first person to publicly pose the following question to the erstwhile President: "How many times have you been arrested, Mr. President?" They're accepting PayPal donations to drive up the size of the bounty, which currently stands at $854.29. In the event of no award being given, the funds will be turned over to the DNC. Link (via Electrolite) (Thanks, Ivy!)

My cow-orker Cindy Cohn, EFF's Legal Director, gave a hell of a talk at the last USENIX Security Conference, a kind of geek-security-law 101 crash-course, usingthe fight over the leaked Diebold code as her example. EFF's just posted that talk in audio and as a set of slides. I just finished listening to it and man, did I get a lot out of it. Cindy is an amazing speaker, an amazing lawyer, and she's got a lot to say. Link

Mack sez: "I've posted a rich trove of new heavy little objects, including early mass-produced potted-meat propaganda, a rare bronze life-cast of Walt Whitman's hand, an anthropomorphic turn-of-the-century stapler and F. Scott Fitzgerald's very own water-closet pull handle." Link