Dan Das Mann's fork lift gone crazy will be celebrating the coming eclipse at The Oregon Eclipse Festival!

There has been no shortage of eclipse coverage on Boing Boing, over the last few days. When Dan called asking if I wanted to join his Funn Machine team at the festival in Oregon, how could I say no?

Dan has spent the last few decades making things that delight festival attendees. From gigantic structures at Burning Man to a disco-ball and laser laden backpack, Dan's creations are always a blast. He's even helped us out at few Boing Boing events!

Can't imagine a better way to see the sun blotted from the sky! Read the rest

One of the best tv themes of all time will be coming back, if they got the rights. Hipster jokes I can likely skip.

Inspired by the original series, the half-hour single-camera The Munsters, now in development, follows members of an offbeat family who are determined to stay true to themselves but struggle to fit in in hipster Brooklyn. (In the original, the Munsters resided at the famous 1313 Mockingbird Lane address in the city of Mockingbird Heights, a fictional suburb in California.)

Kargman will write the script and will executive produce with Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions’ Meyers and Mike Shoemaker. Universal TV is the studio.

Via Deadline (appropriately) Read the rest

Fascinating and detailed map of the eclipse path. Read the rest

I've been in love with Coleman liquid fuel stoves since I was a boy scout. They are nearly indestructible and last decades with some simple maintenance. My old Powerhouse 414 was in need of some love, before serving a group of pals next week, and this video came in handy!

You can run any Coleman liquid gas stove on white gas or unleaded fuel, but the unleaded will clog up the generator after a while unless you have a dual fuel model. I prefer white gas and it stores very well, but the gasoline option is very nice.

If you need one, I recommend the 414 model. While it puts out slightly more heat, the real joy of the 414 over the 425 is space for 2 10" frying pans or pots. The 425 is very crowded.

Coleman Guide Series Powerhouse Dual Fuel Stove Read the rest

Mine wears a bow-tie, but I'd bet he's into a Princess Leia halloween!

Look at this poor cat!

Star Wars Princess Leia Hood For Pets Read the rest

Randy Gamel-Medler, his husband, and their son moved to a small town in Oklahoma. Town leaders treated them abusively and threatened them on a number of occasions.

The threats were made good when Gamel-Medler's home was vandalized, set aflame, and then Fire department did not react. The home was located just a few blocks from the Station, but burnt to the ground.

Gamel-Medler is suing the lot of them in Federal court.

Randy Gamel-Medler, his husband and their 7-year-old adopted African-American son moved to Hitchcock, Oklahoma in August 2016. Roughly a month later, Gamel-Medler was threatened by a town trustee at a town council meeting after he learned that Gamel-Medler, a white man, had a son who is African-American, according to the complaint. “What’s going to happen when your house burns down and we don’t send out the fire trucks?” Meradith Norris, a defendant in the lawsuit, asked. Town officials ignored the police report Gamel-Medler filed.

In May, Gamel-Medler was assaulted by defendant Jonita Pauls Jacks, who called him a “fucking queer” and threatened his son, saying that she was going to grab his son and “rip his nigger head off and shit down his throat.” The town deputy sheriff refused to allow Gamel-Medler to file a police report and chalked up the incident to free speech.

On May 28, the complaint describes an incident in which Gamel-Medler called the sheriff’s office to report a burglary after he heard glass breaking in his garage. He then called the fire department to report a fire in his garage.

I love space saving gadgetry when camping. I fell for this collapsible silicone kettle.

This silicon kettle folds down for easy storage. I can boil water in a pot, but this adds just the missing touch to morning tea while camping.

LevelOne Collapsible Silicone Outdoor Camping Kettle via Amazon Read the rest

This Owl helped make a recent road trip a lot more fun!

Simple to construct by following the numbers, this is a cute Owl-y way to pass some time.

3D Wooden Owl -- $8 via Amazon Read the rest

Youtuber Tucker Gott howls like a giddy child as he pilots his paramotor to McDonalds.

Punctuated with delighted peals of "Yeah Buddy!" this video is full of gems. I especially enjoy Gott's observation of irony, flying over a cow and eating a hamburger that notionally lists "beef" as an ingredient. Read the rest

It will be the best around!

Former teen stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka will be back in Cobra Kai!, a series that picks up some time after the legendary Miagi taught Daniel to apply wax, and Johnny swept the leg to no avail.

The title gives a hint as to what the series will be about. "Cobra Kai" was the dojo where Johnny had trained (and, presumably, honed his brand of '80s yuppy villainy). The new series moves the spotlight slightly away from Daniel, giving the former foes equal standing. The story takes place about 30 years (!) after the original events, and confirms something that we'd all known hoped to be true: bullies get their just desserts when they grow up. While Daniel has grown to be successful, Johnny is now a wreck. The series follows Johnny as he goes on his search for redemption by re-opening Cobra Kai (and possibly churning out more kids who look like Children of the Corn crossed with Enter The Dragon).

Mr. Miyagi, Daniel's pal and instructor, won't be around for the series, as actor Pat Morita passed away in 2005. The death of the character will be written into the series.

While there wasn't a public push for another Karate Kid revival (not one that we know of, at least), the title was a hot property, apparently. THR reports that YouTube had beaten out Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and AMC to land the series. Cobra Kai will run on YouTube Red, YouTube's subscription service.

Yowza!

Read the rest

Scooby or Spiderman? Gah.

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Rest in peace, Kosmo. Read the rest

I needed a pair of purple paisley bell bottom pants. Everyone does!

Needed.

These fit pretty true to size.

Mens Run & Fly 60s 70s Vintage Grape Paisely Corduroy Retro Bell Bottom Flares via Amazon Read the rest

You only need to read the Table of Contents to know the ACLU of West Virginia's Amicus Brief on the case where coal company CEO Robert Murray, of Murray Energy, is suing John Oliver for defamation is gonna be special.

I am especially looking forward to section III.

Read the rest

In yet another display of zero competence or situational awareness, President Trump issued new unhinged commentary in his "Statement by President Donald J. Trump on Signing the 'Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.'"

Still, the bill remains seriously flawed – particularly because it encroaches on the executive branch’s authority to negotiate. Congress could not even negotiate a healthcare bill after seven years of talking. By limiting the Executive’s flexibility, this bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia, and North Korea much closer together. The Framers of our Constitution put foreign affairs in the hands of the President. This bill will prove the wisdom of that choice.

Yet despite its problems, I am signing this bill for the sake of national unity. It represents the will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States. We hope there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues so that these sanctions will no longer be necessary.

Further, the bill sends a clear message to Iran and North Korea that the American people will not tolerate their dangerous and destabilizing behavior. America will continue to work closely with our friends and allies to check those countries’ malignant activities.

I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected. As President, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress.

Siberian Husky, and Alaskan Malamute rescues are overflowing with dogs named Nymeria and Ghost. Thanks, Games of Thrones!

Siberian huskies, the strong, wolf-like dogs originally bred for sled-pulling in the Arctic, have along with some of other wolf-esque breeds like the Alaskan malamute been gaining huge popularity in the US and the UK the last several years, due in large part to the influence of Game of Thrones — and before that, the Twilight movie franchise. The Daily Mail reported on the problem of large numbers of abandoned huskies showing up in British shelters three years ago, and here in the Bay Area, the phenomenon continues — and as the Chronicle reports, the dogs often show up in shelters with weird GOT-inspired names like Ghost, Nymeria, and Grey Wind.

The dogs are likened to the Stark clan's direwolves, and it seems that far too many people are buying or adopting huskies hoping to add some Stark-like swagger to their homes, only to find out these dogs are a heavy-shedding handful.

Angelique Miller, president of Northern California Sled Dog Rescue, tells the Chronicle that her numbers of monthly intakes of abandoned dogs has more than doubled, and she's seeing about 45 new dogs per month. "These people, they watch these shows and think how cool these dogs are. People can't even tell the difference between a husky and a wolf because they're always asking us at adoption fairs if these dogs are wolves — and it's clearly a husky. They're just following the trend of what they think is cute."

She says in the past there have been upticks of abandoned dogs connected to movie releases like Snow Dogs and Eight Below, but clearly the biggest influence is now GOT — with many owners who sought out huskies as pets after the show premiered in 2011 now recognizing that they can't take care of the dogs anymore because they require too much exercise and grooming.