Glenn Fleishman on the legendary science and science fiction magazine's murky proprietorship.

Pick-up artists are, sadly, a community. It even has a handy three-letter abbreviation: PUA. It dates back to the 1970s and has been enabled and expanded, like all affinity groups,… Read the rest of the article: Kickstop: how a sleazebag slipped through Kickstarter's cracks

The Princess Who Saved Herself [MP3] The "Code Monkey Saves World" project is about to stretch itself into the world of kickass princesses. Troubadour Jonathan Coulton and filmmaker and comics… Read the rest of the article: The Princess Can Save Herself, Thank You

Photo: Matt Bresler Whatever you do, don't call Ophira Eisenberg a comedienne. That's an outdated, patronizing term from an era when men patted women on the head (or, unsolicited, on… Read the rest of the article: How Ophira Eisenberg slept her way to monogamy

Jonathan Coulton and Greg Pak launch a crowdfunding campaign to create a series of comic books based on characters from Coulton's songs

Amoeba Records' new out-of-print music service proves a deep knowledge of the industry it cherishes. But the much-loved music store's archive of obscure classics is also a potential time bomb, ticking away inside a bizarre legal tangle that few in the business are inclined to unravel.

I don't have more to say about Aaron Swartz's death; I knew him a little, but felt his loss keenly. As coverage appeared, however, I found myself concerned about his… Read the rest of the article: Setting the record straight on Aaron Swartz's contributions

The Library of Congress occupies three massive and ornate buildings in the center of Washington, D.C. But those edifices house just part of the collection, which spans hundreds of miles… Read the rest of the article: The Sound of Silence in the National Library

A spam filter almost scotched my chance to be on television. I was scanning through the usual detritus of offers in July 2011 to enhance body parts and transfer large sums of money from people in distant lands, and spotted this subject line: "Jeopardy! Contestant Audition in Seattle"

Andrea Seabrook had a brilliant career at National Public Radio (NPR), and spent the last several years covering Congress in Washington, D.C. If you listen to NPR, you know her… Read the rest of the article: Andrea Seabrook's DecodeDC

Kickstarter updated its policies for product design today: a move that will cost the firm money but relieve tension caused by fast promises and slow delivery.

I have fallen in love with a building, hundreds of people, a MakerBot, a portable toilet trailer, food trucks, and two men each named Andy. Is it possible to fall in love with a conference? If so, I have. The organizers named the conference XOXO for hugs and kisses. This was presented without hipster irony or marketing-speak. They meant it. They delivered.

We spent $2.5 billion to put Helvetica Arial on Mars (and incidentally, an SUV-sized robotic science rover), and yet not a cent was devoted to kerning. The Curiosity rover carries… Read the rest of the article: In Letterspace, No One Can Hear You Kern

The 1980s had many surreal and outré comic-book stars. I recall particularly following The Tick, Concrete, and Nexus. They were respectively a nigh-invulnerable, possibly mentally ill superhero with a chubby… Read the rest of the article: Strange superhero Flaming Carrot goes digital

Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt are enthusiastic fellows. The makers of the Glif iPhone tripod adapter and Cosmonaut stylus for capacitive touch screens, you can't help but get a contact… Read the rest of the article: Indie Capitalism relies on crowds—and you can do it too

We told the story of Richard Thompson, the cartoonist behind the fey and subversive comic strip "Cul de Sac," back in April, describing his battle with Parkinson's, and his plans… Read the rest of the article: Cul de Sac Cartoonist Racks His Pen

I am kneeling on a sun-dappled hardwood floor with stacks of $20 bills in $2,000 bundles in each hand helping to spell out the word "douchebaggery," and thinking: $220,000 just… Read the rest of the article: Oatmeal Spells F U in Money Shots

Crowdfunding has fascinated me since 2009, when Kickstarter, Sellaband, Indiegogo, and others were starting to pick up steam in allowing hundreds to thousands of individuals to contribute relatively small amounts… Read the rest of the article: Crowdfunding a guide to crowdfunding

Photo: Scott Snider The phone system doesn't allow us to hear people at a distance in the same way they quite literally sound to us when up close. Alexander Graham… Read the rest of the article: Raise Every Voice

Photo: Diorama Sky (cc) I stood at the top of the stairs of a friend's apartment building in Washington, D.C., with a dead iPhone, a burned-out porch lamp, and no… Read the rest of the article: Dead Battery and Live Skype