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Lonesome George: musical homage to last of a Galapagos tortoise species, from "2012:Mashed"

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:34:18 +0000

Rich Fulcher, comedian and writer whom some of you may know from his recurring roles on "The Mighty Boosh," shares this wonderful little musical video from "2012: Mashed," a new show debuting 28 December, 11.40 pm on Channel 4 in the UK.

"It's got some very bizarre and interesting videos on the news topics of 2012," Fulcher explains.

"What's good about the show is it doesn't cull clips from the internet but commissions various artists and internet gurus to do their thing."

The clip shared here, "Lonesome George," is about the last Galapagos tortoise to die, "done retro video game stylee."

Here's the official blurb on the new Channel 4 program in which this clip appears:

Rich Fulcher introduces an insane look at the big news events of 2012 through totally original, commissioned media mash-ups created by the internet's most famous names including Dan Bull, David Schneider, cassetteboy and Rob Manuel.
None of the videos shown on Mashed are currently on the internet.
News events given the mash-up treatment include: Jimmy Saville, Kate Middleton, Barclay's Bank LIBOR fixing, 50 Shades of Grey, the 2012 Olympics meets the London riots, C4's Drugs Live, Apple, the meltdown of the Murdoch Empire, Julian Assange, Banksy, Duncan Bannatyne, the BBC, David Haye and Derek Chisora, the U.S. Elections, the Jubilee and a truly ‘spaced out' version of the Felix Baumgartner...no one is safe...and that’s just a taste of the iceberg.

Caturday: dig this 2013 Japanese cat meme calendar

Xeni Jardin — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 20:20:51 +0000

I enjoy following Sakurako Shimizu, or "sakuracos," on instagram for daily cute-cat-photos from Japan. I was delighted to see that she has produced this attractively-designed "cat meme calendar," available on Etsy for $15.50 USD, with adorbzable photos of Fuku, Goma, and their furry friends.

Obama and Maroney are not impressed

David Pescovitz — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:56:43 +0000

Very cute. (CNN)

Fake Hurricane Sandy shark photo migrates to Chinese web

Xeni Jardin — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:25:10 +0000

A Weibo user identified “the U.S. hurricane” as the source of the "shark swimming in New Jersey streets" photo, which has been proven to be fake (we could totally tell by the pixels). He added of the shark, “In China, it would’ve been cooked already.” More at WaPo.

A closer look at that freaky, giant fish eye

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:33:07 +0000

Last week, Mark told you about a giant eyeball that washed up on the beach in Florida. Today, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released their preliminary analysis of who that eyeball once belonged to and how it likely ended up becoming the temporary toast of the Internet.

The Deep Sea News blog called it last week, but the official word from the experts is that this was the eye of a swordfish. The distinction is based on the size, the color, and the fact that there are bits of bone present around the edges (something you wouldn't see attached to a giant squid eye).

How do you get a swordfish eye without a swordfish attached? Simple: It's swordfish season. In the press release, Joan Herrera, curator of collections at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, said that, "Based on straight-line cuts visible around the eye, we believe it was removed by a fisherman and discarded."

But before we pack this mystery away, I think you should take one more close look at the giant eyeball, because it offers a great view a really interesting feature of fish eye anatomy. Fish eyes are similar to those of land-dwelling vertebrates. But there are some key differences. In particular, the shape of the lens...

In the human eye, you've got an iris, you've got an opening in the iris called the pupil, and you've got a flattish lens sitting behind the pupil. In a fish eye — including this one &mash; the lens is much more rounded and it sticks up through the pupil like a little nubbin.

In 2007, Advanced Aquarist magazine had a feature all about fish eye anatomy, which explained how this anatomical difference affects the way the fish eye works.

A prominent characteristic of the fish eye, from the outside at least, is its bulbous nature. Some of the reasons for this will become apparent. The outer layer of the eye, the cornea, is dome-shaped and transparent. It is the first to receive light. With the terrestrial vertebrate eye, light travels through the air and hits the cornea. Because the air and cornea are of differing densities, the light is refracted (bent and directed) into the opening called the pupil. Water and cornea are of about equal densities so there is little refraction with the cornea of a fish eye. Again, with terrestrial vertebrates, the iris is the colored aperture that opens and closes, adjusting the size of the pupil and the amount of light entering the eye.

But in most teleost fishes, because of the protruding lens, the iris is rigid, making the pupil a fixed size. Therefore, to compensate for the amount of light entering the eye, an amount which could be too intense or not intense enough to measure, the retina adjusts the position of the photo receptors. And whereas our terrestrial eyes adjust to light levels within a few moments, fish eyes take much longer. We can observe this in aquarium fish that have been subjected to suddenly having their tank light turned on. Such fish typically hide until their eyes have adjusted to the light, which can take fifteen or twenty minutes.

A handwriting font for doctors

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:59:35 +0000

Link to larger size. Created by Orion Champadiyil (web, Twitter).

(via Steve Silberman)

Tumblog of greatness: Celebrity Googly Eyes

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 05:20:44 +0000

I like it: celebritygoogly.com. Above, Wil Wheaton. Say the editors of this fine site, "To submit a picture, just post it on your tumblr and tag it 'celebritygoogly'." (via badastronomer)

Deep question about Public Enemy, from 7-year-old girl

Xeni Jardin — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:12:10 +0000

Scott Matthews shared a photograph with me, and I'm sharing it with all of you, with his permission. His daughter Sasha handed him this note yesterday. Sasha is a pretty special girl, in no small part because she's already been on Boing Boing once before. What, indeed, does it really mean?

(thanks, Scott + Amy + Sasha)

NYAN BART

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:33:01 +0000

Boing Boing reader Parker Higgins shares this photograph, and explains:

I took this picture of a nyan cat sticker on the map of the San Francisco bay area public transit system, BART. The cat’s right where all four colored lines go over the Bay Bridge, so it takes advantage of the map’s implied rainbow. I love it.

Link.

Caturday: watch these live nude kittens on the internet (video)

Xeni Jardin — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:06:04 +0000

Livestream video link. Do you know what I'm going to do this weekend? Sit here and watch ALL OF THE KITTENS, for ALL OF THE WEEKEND. Sometimes the mommy cat is there, sometimes not. The cute little squeaky kitten sounds are the best part. (thanks, Antinous!)

He's Watching You: WWII poster meets Darth Vader in Star Wars mash-up

Xeni Jardin — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:32:33 +0000

Boing Boing reader Brock Davis (FB, Twitter, Tumblr) shares this wonderful illustration in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool: "He's Watching You," a mash-up of Star Wars and World War II propaganda art.

"I've been wanting to draw this for a while," says Brock. "I love Glen Grothe's original 'He's Watching You' poster from 1942. The helmet of the soldier in that design is so visually prominent, it always made me think of Vader."

Royce Reed, star of campy-bizarro viral videos: RIP

Xeni Jardin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:59:57 +0000

At Dangerous Minds, our friend and former (frequent) guestblogger Richard Metzger writes about the death of Royce Reed, co-star of the “Royce and Marilyn” viral videos. She passed away last night.

"In 2009, when I was guest-blogger at Boing Boing," he writes, "I helped get the ball rolling on the Royce and Marilyn craze." Indeed he did. His post today on the sad news includes many more videos and links.

Back in 1999, the LA Weekly ran the definitive profile on Royce and her comic partner Marilyn Hoggatt. A great loss to Weird Culture. These women were basically real-life versions of Absolutely Fabulous meets Norma Desmond, shaken up with a little Englebert Humperdinck samba. More great videos here.

Pinterest Bingo

Xeni Jardin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:41:10 +0000

[Large size] Thanks to everyone who contributed "square" ideas. I'm no hater, by the way; you can follow me and Boing Boing there.

* 'shooped by yours truly.

Caturday: cat vs. printer (video)

Xeni Jardin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:27:41 +0000

[Video Link]

An internet classic from 2010 by Chris Cohen. (via @nytjim @janinegibson @bengoldacre)

Joy Division's "Atmosphere," accompanied by slapped cats

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:14:17 +0000

[Video Link]. Yes, this remix video is months old, but you probably missed it—and it's not like stuff this weird ever grows old. The song is here. (Thanks, Tara McGinley!)

Medical aid worker on Kony 2012: "The aid industry has just been Biebered."

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:35:21 +0000

(Photo: Joseph Kony, via Reuters)

On his personal blog, Marc DuBois of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors without Borders) writes about the impact of the viral Kony 2012 campaign on the work of long-established humanitarian efforts in Africa.

"Most madmen love the idea of fame, so Joseph Kony’s wet dream just came true," writes DuBois.

Many aid workers are simultaneously offended by the project and jealous of its unprecedented reach. At the time of this blog post, the promotional video for Invisible Children's fundraising/"awareness" campaign about the fugitive African rebel leader has exceeded 70 million views, making it the fastest-growing viral video in internet history.

Snip from DuBois' blog post:

So why, really, are we aid insiders so bothered? It’s the big green monster. Is there another charity whose message has captivated so many so fast? About six months ago, my niece “Lisa” in Chicago excitedly asked me to contribute to Invisible Children. At the time, I’d never heard of it. I poked around. I can’t say I was taken by the cause, but I couldn’t help feeling envious of IC’s having so effectively reached Lisa, usually more interested in dance and boys. These young upstarts at IC are the next big thing. And we aren’t.
Why? Well, for one, they have a simple message that people grasp. For another, good looks. More importantly, Invisible Children has discovered what the entertainment industry figured out a decade ago. It’s not about us old timers. It’s not people who read the Philip Roth or contribute conscientiously to their pension fund. It’s about the under 25s, maybe even the under 15s. It’s about the kids. That’s why there are a couple dozen TV shows about teenage vampires. That’s why we have Jedward.
The aid industry has just been Biebered. IC’s hundreds of thousands of donor / activist – they were invisible to us. Kids. That’s the target and that’s the message. If you think the aid world depends on gray haired HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals, aka rich folk), wait and see what IC does with its pubescent legions. My advice to the aid industry? First, get over it. Then, get on the boat.

Read the rest here.

DuBois isn't speaking for MSF, but I spoke to another MSFer via Twitter today: Avril Benoît, the group's Director of Communications, who pointed me to DuBois' blog post. I asked her if MSF had released an official statement in reaction to the Kony campaign: No. But, she said, "MSF teams in LRA-affected regions of DR Congo, Central African Republic & South Sudan are likely wary of retaliation risks."

Does the viral campaign, and reactions to it on the continent, up the risk for aid workers, I asked?

"It's more that, historically, military offensives v. LRA (as the campaign calls for) triggered retaliatory atrocities against villages," she replied.

Too bad those ugly, complicated realities don't easily fit into Invisible Children's 140-characters-or-less narrative.

The Invisible Children viral video may be the "most-viral" in history, but it's one of the most expensive, too. The group raised $13.8 million in 2011, according to the non-profit's financial statements [PDF]. In an interview with CNN, co-founder Jason Russell says they spent one-third of raised funds on the film, another third on "film-related advocacy" and the rest on a "a mission to end the war, and rehabilitate war-affected children."

They've released no specific price tag on the film, but: do the math. This is a group that is, ultimately, calling for military intervention.

(Photo: The Kony 2012/Invisible Children guys posing with SPLA soldiers on the Sudan-Congo border in April 2008. Photograph by Glenna Gordon.)

Leave Kony Alone

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:48:20 +0000

Video Link. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a riff on a classic internet meme. Well played. (via Oxblood)

Nyan Cat orchestra: composer creates classical music variations on a meme theme

Xeni Jardin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:54:42 +0000

[Video Link].

Craig Davis Pinson, a composer who is a Boston Conservatory student, writes in the liner notes for the video embedded above:

This is a set of variations written on the melody heard in the Youtube video Nyan Cat. It is an experiment, in which I tried to find the limits of how far I could transform the melody before it begins losing its identity. The theme is known as Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!, originally posted by username daniwellP on the Japanese video sharing website, Nico Nico Douga. The Nyan Cat phenomenom has become ingrained in popular culture, and amazes me both in its sheer absurdity and its freakishly colossal popularity. However, fascinating as they are to me, the origins of the theme are not played upon in this composition. Instead, I treated Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya! as pure musical material from which to generate music. The motivation to use this theme came from my repeated viewings of the video, and slowly realizing that it is a strangely alluring melody. Therefore, this is my tribute to Nyan Cat. Credit goes to daniwell-p for creating this theme, prguitarman for creating the gif animation, and saraj00n for joining them. Theme used for non-commercial purposes as per daniwell-P's request.
On a large scale, the work is structured along a simple alternation pattern. The theme and its variations alternate, similarly to rondo form. However, the theme is progressively dissolved, meaning that each time it returns it contains less percentage of the source material. This chipping-away continues until there's nothing recognizable left. In the variation episodes, more tools are employed to change the essence of the theme, especially, pronounced changes of duration, texture, harmonic character, and of the intervallic makeup of the melody. Each of the variations has its own defined character, and they contrast sharply with one another in mood and technique. Despite of the contrast of its sections, the piece exploits a long-scale narrative arc, playing on the contrast between the theme's duration - which remains essentially consistent at each iteration - and the durations of the variation episodes, which seem to grow out of control as their proportions become subverted.

This is a recording of the Juventas Ensemble performing the premiere of the work, on the Composer Recital Series 12, February 9, 2012 at Seully Hall in The Boston Conservatory. Many thanks go to this amazing ensemble for valiantly performing a very demanding score! I really appreciate it!!  
Juventas New Music Ensemble:
Lidiya Yankovskaya, Conductor
Zach Jay, Flute
Marguerite Levin, Clarinet
Julia Scott Carey, Piano
Yohanan Chendler, Violin
Drew Ricciardi, Viola
Rachel Arnold, Cello

(thanks, @parches!)

Breaded Cats

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:42:04 +0000

The Breaded Cats (or Breading Cats, or Cat Breading) website has been making the rounds for some weeks now. Like a fine wine, or a cat, but not a loaf of bread, it seems to improve with age.

Cat Breading How To:
1) Take a piece of bread
2) Cut a hole approximately 1 inch larger than your cat's head. This trips some people up. Remember: the bread has to fit around not just the cat's head, but it's ears, too.
3) Gently place the bread around your cat's head.

Warning: NSFGF (Not safe for the gluten-free).

(via Sean Bonner and many others)

First World Cat Problems

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:27:31 +0000

I approve of this meme. (thanks, Antinous!)

Stuff scientists say

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:26:15 +0000

Finally, a science-themed entry in the "Shit ______ say" meme. Science journalist Ferris Jabr and friends put this together and it's pretty funny. Reminds me a conversation I had earlier this week with a friend about her brother's social insect research. Another thing scientists say, "The hissing cockroach experiment is not going according to plan."

Bonus: Watch for a slide that references a previous scienceLOL you may remember.

Video Link

WTF is happening with SOPA now?

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:30:50 +0000

If you followed my tweets from the markup session for SOPA in the House of Representatives, you know how frustrating it was to watch: you had these lawmakers blithely dismissing the security concerns of the likes of Vint Cerf, saying things like, "I'm no technology nerd, but I don't believe it." In other words: "I'm a perfect ignoramus, but I find it convenient to disregard the world's foremost experts." Another congressman from Florida kept saying things like "No one can explain to me how this bill harms political debate or academic freedom."

The markup hearing ended early yesterday, surprising many who concluded that the early adjournment meant that SOPA was off the table until Congress reconvened in 2012. But committee chair Lamar Smith quietly announced that there would be a special session on the 21st of December (when the press and opponents of the bill are likely to be distracted by the impending holiday) to finish up the bill's markup.

I think I've got the perfect metaphor for the hearings: there's a scene in the Disneyland Jungle Boat Cruise where you pass the "gorilla camp," in which a tribe of gorillas have taken over an explorer's camp, upending the jeep and taking deadly possession of the firearms. One gorilla is staring up the barrel of a rifle, while another is firing a pistol into a collection of floating explosive barrels in the river.

That image is what I keep returning to as I listen to committee members blithely dismiss the experts who warn that this bill will undermine civic debate, academic freedom, and the security of the Internet. Of course, these are the same committee members who refused to hear testimony from the bill's opponents.

If anyone out there has a good, high-resolution photo of the gorilla camp (especially the gorilla who's staring quizzically down the rifle barrel), I'd be much obliged if you could upload it somewhere under a Creative Commons Attribution license, so that we could use it as a meme during Wednesday's upcoming markup session.

SOPA Markup Runs Out Of Time; Likely Delayed Until 2012 [Update: Or Not...]

"The Internet is For Porn" entered into official SOPA debate record

Xeni Jardin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:51:34 +0000

Video Link.

Rep. Jared Polis (Colorado Democrat who previously founded BlueMountainArts.com) has entered the complete lyrics of "The Internet is for Porn" into the official record of the SOPA debate.

Pepper-spraying cop gets Photoshop justice: Xeni's Guardian op-ed on meme-ing of UC Davis police brutality

Xeni Jardin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:22:19 +0000

LALO ALCARAZ

The nice people at the Guardian invited me to write an op-ed about the meme-ification of Lt. John Pike's unforgettable act of brutality against UC Davis students last Friday.

Photoshop out the students from that picture with your mind. Forget about Pike's uniform, let's say he's just wearing street clothes. Now, instead of a policeman spraying a less-lethal chemical weapon down the throats of peacefully seated 20-year-olds, you might be able to interpret this tableau as a figure sauntering through a garden, spraying weeds. Or maybe he's your paunchy, moustached uncle, nonchalantly dousing bugs in the basement with insecticide.
One way the internet deals with that kind of upsetting dissonance is to mock it. And that's what the internet has done with Pike. The "casually pepper-spraying cop" is now a meme, a kind of folk art or shared visual joke that is open to sharing and reinterpretation by anyone. This particular meme has spread with unusual velocity – in part, I imagine, because the subject matter is just as weird as it is upsetting.
Even Kamran Loghman, one of the men who developed pepper spray as a weapon with the FBI in the 1980s, had a hard time reconciling it. "I have never seen such an inappropriate and improper use of chemical agents," Loghman told the New York Times. And Loghman might add "insouciant" to that list of adjectives. I mean, look at the guy. He's not braced for imminent attack by a foe; he does not move with tension as if navigating a hostile environment. He's administering punishment, and his face says: "Meh."

"The pepper-spraying cop gets Photoshop justice" (Guardian)

GRATUITOUS BONUS PLUG: Illustrator Lalo Alcaraz, who is responsible for the 'shoop above, is releasing his 2012 Cartoon Doomsday Calendar, available by mailorder at laloalcaraz.com.

Photo:Brian Nguyen/The Aggie.

"A Pepper Spray Thanksgiving," Norman Rockwell's long-lost Saturday Evening Post cover

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:40:31 +0000

By artist and illustrator Bob Staake, whose work you may have seen on the cover of the New Yorker. Gonna have to add this one to the meme-stack. As I post this, word's coming in that the ACLU has just delivered a letter of condemnation to UC Davis chancellor Katehi.

Occupy Lulz

Xeni Jardin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:49:59 +0000

Everything becomes a meme, eventually: Occupy Lulz. Here's a direct link to the photo collection. More "greatest hits" below.

Oakland Riot Cat

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:41:00 +0000

OAKLAND RIOT CAT. Here's the background.

(via Renny Gleeson)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses: a Tumblog of Greatness

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:35:28 +0000

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA NOSES, by Simon Fletcher. "GOD IS THE ARTIST. I JUST FIND THE NINJA TURTLE IN HIS WORK." (thanks, Joe Sabia)

NONONONO Cat

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:22:18 +0000

[Video Cat]

Today's weird animal viral video is, like all great examples of the genre, equal parts funny, creepy, cute, and sad. Apparently, the cat in this video is having a fear/anxiety/aggressive reaction to the presence of a young girl (sounds like under 5 years old?), a friend of the daughter of the guy who shot the video. Or I don't know, hairball?

I've never seen this behavior before, and wonder how the owners might best deal with it. But also, I couldn't stop laughing.

And is that a Maine Coon? They're usually so mellow and sociable.

(thanks, Tara McGinley)

How To: Make your science/Lady Gaga mashup better

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:11:58 +0000

Lady Gaga parody videos filmed in laboratory settings have become a hot meme among scientists. Want to make your own? Carin Bondar has some tips for quality video production.