BB reader fergus1948 says, My friend Keith Bates has uploaded a lovely set of scans of his original full set of Mars Attacks bubble gum cards from 1962, purchased in… Read the rest of the article: Mars Attacks: scanned Flickr set of original, vintage cards

Boing Boing's Rob Beschizza is prowling the floors at CES 2011 in Las Vegas this week, reporting all he observes with characteristic wit, road-tested skepticism, and—when warranted!—enthusiasm for cool new… Read the rest of the article: Boing Boing live at CES 2011: all our coverage in one handy link

Photograph contributed to the Boing Boing Flickr Pool by BB reader denverkid, who is a cartographer based in Colorado. Presumably, this image documents one of those spas in Asia where… Read the rest of the article: Fish Massage (Boing Boing Flickr Pool)

Photograph contributed to the Boing Boing Flickr Pool by BB reader Ken Fager (website) of Whitewater, Wisconsin.

Boing Boing reader Revurt says, Though commissioned by him, MOCA director Jeffery Deitch had this antiwar mural by Blu whitewashed, deeming it "offensive" — a clear act of censorship and… Read the rest of the article: Street artists laser graffitti LA MOCA to protest commissioned-then-censored public art

Cosplay with a purpose in Seattle, WA, over the holidays: "A local man said he came within seconds of having his car broken into, and perhaps stolen, until a real-life… Read the rest of the article: Real-life league of superheroes in Seattle?

In a 5-2 ruling Monday, the California Supreme Court allowed police to search the cell phones of people who are arrested even without possessing a warrant, saying defendants lose their… Read the rest of the article: CA court okays cellphone search without a warrant

A local councilman shot to death on New Year's Eve in the Philippines accidentally photographed his killer pointing a gun at him just before pulling the trigger. In the photo… Read the rest of the article: Philippines: Murdered politician photographed his killer before he was shot

"Propaganda has been a staple of warfare for ages, but the notion of creating events on the battlefield, as opposed to repackaging real ones after the fact, is a modern… Read the rest of the article: Toppling the statue of Saddam in Iraq: a media moment, revisited

Egypt: A Coptic Orthodox priest uses his Apple iPhone before conducting a prayer for the relatives of the victims who died after Saturday's bomb attack, in a house in Alexandria… Read the rest of the article: In Egypt, an iPrayer

Chen Kecai (L) and Jin Songhao (R) are seen in glass containers during a cold endurance competition on the Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hubei province. Chen and Jin competed by… Read the rest of the article: You may be cold, but you are not as cold as these two gentlemen

State Dept. cables newly released by WikiLeaks show that U.S. diplomats served as deal-brokers, pressuring world leaders to purchase billions of dollars worth of Boeing jets (instead of European competitor… Read the rest of the article: Wikileaks: cables show that US diplomats are key part of Boeing sales force

Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky have once again produced a beginning-of-the-year "State of the World" conversation, their eleventh annual edition on The Well.

Happy New Week. Photograph contributed to the BB Flickr Pool by Boing Boing reader Mike Levad.

On January 6 (that's this Thursday) at The Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington, DC, The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) will hold "a one-day public conference devoted to an… Read the rest of the article: EPIC.org hosts TSA Screening summit: "The Stripping of Freedom"

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female monster with venomous snakes growing out of her head. Her unblinking eyes turned to stone all humans who gazed upon her.… Read the rest of the article: Air Force names new drone after Greek she-monster Gorgon: what could go wrong?

[Direct MP3 link for audio] This morning, I joined the Madeleine Brand Show to talk about the latest personal data privacy aggregator that has many of us spooked: Spokeo. Listen… Read the rest of the article: Spokeo, personal data aggregators, and your privacy rights: Xeni on The Madeleine Brand Show

Link (thanks, Jason Weisberger!)

Glenn Fleishmann has a piece up at Ars Technica with advice on how to "secure all the connections over which you pass anything personal, financial, or confidential." These tips are… Read the rest of the article: How to stay safe at public WiFi spots

Why is disgraced former New York Times reporter Judith Miller not fond of Wikileaks and Julian Assange? "Because he didn't care at all about attempting to verify the information that… Read the rest of the article: LOL: Judith Miller criticizes Wikileaks' Assange for not verifying his sources