By Cory Doctorow at 7:56 pm Tuesday, May 22
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A Reddit thread called "Did you ever think you were going to die from a shit?" sparked a lyrical/scatological series of reminisces of epic dumps, including a two part series by ErikPDX recalling a storied moment of colonic glory following a period of post-surgical bedrest during which he consumed enormous amounts of painkillers and protein shakes without bestirring himself to relieve himself, until such time as his body could stand no more. Mr PDX included a picture of the result. I beg you not to click the link in his post which leads to it.
My entire body tingled. I felt lighter. I was covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. I felt high, delirious, in shock and awe. Great waves of increasing euphoria washed over me. Feelings of amazing pleasure I simply cannot describe. I felt as if I was bathing in a golden light of goodness. This was a transcending event. I felt like I had just touched the universe itself.
Did you ever think you were going to die from a shit? (self.AskReddit)
By Cory Doctorow at 1:52 pm Tuesday, May 22
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Holmes sez, "A crowd-funded, Texan-themed billboard for Lamar Smith (R-TX) is currently emblazoned across the Texas sky. The billboard says 'Don't Mess with the Internet', and it just took flight this morning right outside the San Antonio offices of SOPA-sponsor Lamar Smith. The crowdfunding campaign went so well that in just two days in March we raised enough for two billboards, so there's one in up in Austin too (on 'Lamar Blvd', appropriately enough). There’s even a t-shirt, available from Breadpig, Reddit co-founder’s philanthropic merch site. Proceeds support Fight for the Future and its latest project, the Internet Defense League."
SOPA author Lamar Smith (R-TX) gets a crowd-funded billboard... right outside his San Antonio office.
(Thanks, holmesworcester!)
By Cory Doctorow at 4:00 pm Friday, May 18
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Redditor Surprisemailbox posted this image of a note left by a seven year old for her parents, regarding security policies at home: "If you put a pasword on that I will make your life a nitmare."
The day Poesy leaves me a comparable note, I will have validation that all my parenting was not in vain. (Of course, that's assuming she doesn't just shoulder-surf the password and leave me in a fool's paradise.)
My friends 7 year old sister left this note for her parents on their computer.
(via Neatorama)
By Cory Doctorow at 10:43 pm Saturday, May 5
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TestPAC, the PAC founded on Reddit to carry on the momentum from the SOPA fight earlier this year, is in the midst of its inaugural campaign: seeking to oust long-term Texas congressman Lamar Smith, who authored the bill and attempted to ram it through his committee without any substantive debate, after taking large campaign contributions from the entertainment industry through several election cycles. Now, TestPAC has "boots on the ground" in Smith's home district and the campaign is in full swing, and seeking your support:
As some of you are aware, for the last 3 months, TestPAC has been working tirelessly to put together a comprehensive campaign to increase awareness about Lamar Smith’s legislative irresponsibility with the ultimate goal of defeating him in the May 29th primary.
It’s amazing to see what we have accomplished in the last 3 months. We went from a handful of Redditors passionate in their opposition of SOPA to a membership base of over 1,200 subscribers, we have over 500 followers on Facebook, and almost 600 on Twitter. We have funded a billboard in Lamar’s backyard, produced a professionally done advertisement, and have been featured in some major media outlets like Mashable, Mother Jones, BoingBoing and TheNextWeb.
In addition to all of this, today we are proud to announce the launch of our field campaign.
Boots are on the ground, led by Andy Posterick, TestPAC’s Treasurer who drove 12 hours from Phoenix, AZ to Kerrville, TX to lead a group of 10 volunteers to assist with handing out fliers, putting up signs and interacting with the voters in Lamar’s district. We are stepping out from behind our keyboards and monitors and getting out into the streets. We are making it happen, and we are here in TX-21 every weekend for the next 3 weeks.
Lamar Smith knows TestPAC is knocking. Several reporters who wrote about us have contacted him and his staff for comment. They know we are out there working to send him home from Washington. Now it’s time that he sees us in his district, connecting with voters and working to send him packing.
We need Reddit's Help
We're holding a 5k moneybomb today, in order to double our TV exposure and help fund the ground campaign. Reddit, every day there are posts about SOPA, PCIP, or CISPA. TestPAC is turning those words into actions. Can you help us?
If you can donate, here is the link to do so. If not, please spread the word on Facebook & Twitter.
If Canadians were allowed to donate, I would donate. As it is, all I can do is ask you to kick in to support the campaign.
TestPAC has boots on the ground in Lamar Smith's district. Our field campaign has started. Our TV ad is ready to go. Reddit, let's do this thing. (self.politics)
By Cory Doctorow at 10:16 pm Friday, May 4
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Redditor Laporkenstein created his own wedding ring out of meteorite and nickel, and documented it with a gallery of more than 40 images. Then he posted it with this headline: "I hand forged my own wedding ring out of a chunk of Meteorite and Nickel Tooling Steel. Here is a huge gallery with 40+ pictures!"
I love everything about this. The project itself is brilliant. Just as importantly, though, the headline tells you exactly what's in the tin. I love Reddit, but I'm often frustrated by the site's characteristic "clever" headlines that "tease" the subject matter without actually telling you what you'll find at the link. If you grab the front-door feed off of Reddit, you'll get a couple hundred new items a day. A feed that voluminous needs what Bruce Sterling calls "Attention Conservation Notices" -- good descriptions that tell you, before you click, whether you're likely to find something you like when you get there.
So thank you, Laporkenstein, for having the pride and confidence in your link to describe it well, rather than coming over coy and cryptic in the hopes of luring the unsuspecting to it.
For the record, Laporkenstein notes that his wife didn't want a "space ring," so he only made one.
I hand forged my own wedding ring out of a chunk of Meteorite and Nickel Tooling Steel. Here is a huge gallery with 40+ pictures! (imgur.com)
By Cory Doctorow at 12:00 pm Friday, May 4
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Blake Boston, the young man who appears in the "Scumbag Steve" photo-meme (a picture of a teenager in a sort of "urban" outfit, captioned with various wry sayings that imply that "Steve" is kind of a jerk) sent a moving and sensible letter to "Annoying Facebook Girl" (another meme-unfortunate, featuring a photo of a girl pulling a face, captioned with expressions of enthusiasm over irrelevancies). Boston/Steve has clearly experienced a serious impact on his life as a result of his meme-status, and has given the matter a lot of thought.
But here’s what I need you to know. When you go off to college, and you’re walking down the hall and a group of kids see you and scream, “Oh my god it’s Annoying Facebook Girl,” don’t cry. You see. Some people can’t distinguish the internet from real life. There are people who refuse to believe my name isn’t Steve and that I am not really the scumbag (well not all the time, that is). Just remember who you are. And that you know you’re a decent kid.
You’re going to be in shock for a while, when you see what people have written. But the most important and self-preserving thing you can do is know that it’s not you. You can’t take this personally. I’ll say that again, you can’t take this personally. Hell if I did… well let’s not go there.
The part that will suck though is that there will always be those people that somehow think YOU did this, that you made the meme, and that you could stop it if you wanted to. That you have some control over it. You don’t. The internet birthed you and they’ll decide when you (the meme) will die.
There will also be those people who assuage their guilt by telling you how great it is, how lucky you are to be a meme. Just smile. What they are really saying is, thank god it wasn’t me.
Scumbag Steve’s Advice for Annoying Facebook Girl
(via Reddit)
By Cory Doctorow at 7:59 am Saturday, Apr 28
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Generique is a redditor with a BSc in forensic science, no job, and an unlimited US air-travel pass for the summer (he has a family member who works for an airline). He's volunteered to go anywhere and do anything, based on Reddit upvotes, to have an "epic summer adventure."
Want me to hand deliver a letter to someone across the country or overseas? Attempt to help you with homework? Volunteer at your organization for a day? Need an extra pair of hands to do that landscaping project you've been putting off for months? Know a sweet hiking spot but have no one to go with?
I will attempt to complete the highest voted tasks to the best of my abilities (IE they take place in destinations I can reach- most major cities worldwide except and almost any US destination, and I don't get an unlucky string of fully booked flights). Be sure to say the city your request takes place in. Feel free to assign me random adventures where ever you live.
Need help getting something done? I have unlimited flight benefits this summer and want to spend the month of May helping out Redditors. (self.AskReddit)
By Cory Doctorow at 8:04 pm Wednesday, Apr 25
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Redditor BillyAppletini surprised a friend with an "Imperial CAT-AT (All-Terrain Armored-Transport)" -- a cat-condo/AT-AT walker. His Imgur gallery , which documents the build, has some rudimentary plans as well.
I wouldn't consider myself a great woodworker or an artist - but I will take credit for being committed to a joke. I wrecked my house for a month building this, which was about 27 days longer than I wish it would have taken. The trickiest part was keeping any of my friends from coming inside my place for that whole time - I knew they wouldn't be able to keep it a secret!
The inside of the CAT-AT has a fully furnished luxury cat condo.
I was originally going to forge an Amazon receipt and make it look like my buddy's cat ordered it on his Amazon account and have it delivered while he was at work, but enough was enough - when it was complete, I had to get it out of my loft and clean up.
My buddy loves Star Wars, and has two cats. So I built him this, and put it in his apartment.
By Cory Doctorow at 12:25 pm Sunday, Apr 15
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Here's an unsourced bit of netstuff (the shortened URL resolves to Weibo, the Chinese Twitter analog) showing an Asian woman with half her face made up, to startling effect (though perhaps her unmade-up substrate is also very asymmetrical, see this split-and-matched version).
The power of makeup (i.imgur.com)
By Cory Doctorow at 12:54 pm Tuesday, Apr 10
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TheRealDuckie (and friends) is working on a complete, functional replica of Walt Disney World in Minecraft, and has posted an update to Reddit. The Magic Kingdom is largely down, with the rides all ridable, and working restaurants. Epcot is underway. The files are available as free downloads.
This project started on the Reddit Creative Server and was later moved to Redstonehost.com. It took us 4 months of work and over 25 Cast Members to finish. We have recently started on EPCOT and will be continuing the resorts soon. As each park is finished we will release another download. As always, these downloads are free. We seek no monetary gain.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom - Finished! + EPCOT started (w/ world download) (imgur.com) (Thanks, Dave!)
By Cory Doctorow at 6:14 am Friday, Apr 6
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An unnamed brand of smoke grenade includes "Don't be a dick with our products" in its instructions. Apparently this is Canadian (judging from the bilingual instructions).
Smoke grenade instructions.. (imgur.com) (via Lowering the Bar)
By Cory Doctorow at 11:33 am Wednesday, Apr 4
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Test PAC, the Reddit-based PAC founded to raise money to support opponents of Lamar Smith, the author of SOPA, has placed its first billboard and is set to run its first advertisements. The materials direct people to unseatlamar.com. Ajpos from TestPAC explains:
Analytics take a few days to come in, and the billboard has been up for only about three hours.
I want to stress that the PAC has about 300 members right now and we have plans to air two commercials, so the billboard serves a few other purposes besides getting Texans to visit the website:
1.) This is an example of the internet flexing its muscles and showing that we can make political speech. This is Test PAC's first venture into the "real world" and shows that we have some teeth. The NYT, Guardian, and Forbes all wanted to do an article on us but ultimately decided not to until we've grown a bit. This is the first example of how we're growing.
2.) We hope this will generate some publicity nationally so people from other districts and states can generate more public support for the campaign. 300 members is not enough, in my opinion, to air two commercials.
3.) It also gives both Mack and Morgan something to use in their own campaigns. They can show how people besides their campaign staff are interested in them. We are a "tertiary" campaign, so we cannot do their campaigning for them, but this certainly helps.
Of course, we would absolutely be thrilled if we start getting hits from San Antonio, and I'll be disappointed if we don't, but it's not the end of the world.
That Reddit-funded billboard in Lamar Smith's district is up (i.imgur.com)
By Cory Doctorow at 3:28 pm Monday, Apr 2
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A Reddit user called capt_wink_martindale wrote a piece last month describing what he claims happened to him as a student film-maker who'd licensed the rights to an Isaac Asimov story for his thesis project, and his project was shut down due to legal intimidation from the film studio producing the I, Robot film. He does not offer any source to substantiate his allegations, but they're awfully damning, and sound -- to my ear, anyway -- plausible.
Somehow the legal team from the studio found out about a student project, in a small private college in the Midwest, with no budget, being shot in a warehouse basement, and decided to issue a cease and desist order. Basically, what that means, is that the studio’s lawyers said to us, “You’re using our property. Stop, or we’ll sue you into the stone age.” I responded by sending them the consent form from the Asimov estate, and explained that it was a student project, not a commercial venture worth litigating. I turned over our script, our shooting notes, our shot list, copies of our tapes and even the concept art drawings.
Instead of the letter recognizing our valiant efforts as students that I expected, I found myself on the tail end of a phone call that changed my life. I was contacted directly by the lead of the studio’s legal team, who explained my situation to me very clearly. He told me that I was technically in my legal right to use Isaac Asimov’s material. However, if I chose to proceed, they would file multiple lawsuits totaling over 2 million dollars against me. In the end, I might win, but it would take hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees just to fight it, but would cost them nothing more than the salaries they already pay their lawyers. It would be 10 years before any type of verdict could be levied, and by then it wouldn’t matter what the outcome was, since their film would be long since released...
This is Why I Oppose the MPAA (self.SOPA) (via JWZ)
By Cory Doctorow at 4:20 pm Thursday, Mar 29
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In this 2000 clip from a presentation at the Paley Center, South Park co-creator Matt Stone discusses his experience with the MPAA's ratings board, and explains how, as an independent, he found himself playing a kind of high-priced censorship guessing game with the board, who wouldn't tell him which scenes to change in order to go from an NC17 to an R rating. Once he signed up with a major studio, the ratings board began supplying explicit, frame-by-frame guidance on what to cut and how in order to salvage a better rating.
The MPAA ratings board has been in the news lately, thanks to its refusal to give the documentary Bully anything but an R rating, which would exclude the school-age children that are its intended audience. Kirby Dick's 2006 documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated exposes the lies behind the MPAA's ratings board, which go beyond the material covered by Stone here.
South Park - Matt Stone on Problems with the MPAA (Paley Center, 2000) (via Reddit)
