Modofly — who laser-etch designs into moleskine covers — are hosting a contest for new designs for the next batch — one of the themes is steampunk: Get your steampens… Read the rest of the article: Call for steampunk designs to be lasered into moleskines

Tim sez, "Ruth Whiting show's 'Plug In' is a show oil paintings at the Wedge Gallery in Asheville, NC. Ruth Whiting's paintings create a luscious mythology surrounding the ordinary plugs… Read the rest of the article: Oil paintings of computer cables — show in Asheville, NC

Jake Bronstein says: Wait, you ran some pictures of my Fun Idea machine the other day before I'd even posted it. I don't know why it didn't occur to me… Read the rest of the article: Fun-O-Meter vending machine update

Zak-n-Wheezie is a two-headed Bearded Dragon lizard that lives on the Wittes family farm in Fowler, California. They (it? he?) just turned one. From McClatchy Newspapers: When Zak-n-Wheezie were younger,… Read the rest of the article: Two-headed Bearded Dragon

A friend of mine, a journalist, recently emailed to tell me he likes the Olympus WS-110 digital voice recorder I recently recommended. He said: I just wanted to thank you… Read the rest of the article: Olympus TP-7 telephone recording device

Reason TV has a story about Owen Beck, a 17-year-old high school kid from California who got bone cancer and had to get his leg amputated. The medicine Owen was… Read the rest of the article: Medical Marijuana and minors

Everyone's seen those "living statue" street performers who pretend to be sculptures and then try to surprise you by moving. A few weeks ago in Barcelona, prankster artist Mark Jenkins… Read the rest of the article: Fake "living statue" prank by Mark Jenkins

In the 1960s, retired US Army colonel James S. Ketchum led efforts to develop a nonlethal incapacitating agent as a weapon for a "war without death." Along with LSD, they… Read the rest of the article: Synthetic pot and the 1960s military

This handsome Periodic Coffee Table contains samples of all stable elements. The radioactive elements are not included. Boo. Brownlee has the details over at Boing Boing Gadgets. Periodic Coffee Table… Read the rest of the article: Periodic Coffee Table

One Step Beyond, billed as "your guide to the supernatural," was a docudrama TV program airing from 1959-1961. The episode about psychedelic mushrooms and psychic experiments is a trip to… Read the rest of the article: One Step Beyond: shrooms and ESP

Daniel Larusso says: William Hope "Coin" Harvey was a businessman, author and former Presidential candidate. He was also a first-class eccentric, building a large (now underwater) resort in the middle… Read the rest of the article: The bizarre tale of William Hope "Coin" Harvey

Avon and Somerset Police are running the recordings of telephone calls from foolish (and probably drunken or drugged) people who want to report trivial problems, such as losing eyeglasses, wanting… Read the rest of the article: Avon and Somerset Police publish 999 (911 in US) calls from foolish people

To promote the Beijing Olympics, a city in China has erected several statues depicting a cartoony athlete mouse with curious square holes punched in its ears. Here's the YouTube video.… Read the rest of the article: Fake Mickey Mouse statues at the Beijing Olympics

Dr. Edgar Mitchell, the 6th man to walk on the moon, told a radio station yesterday that he knows for a fact that space aliens exist and have visited Earth.… Read the rest of the article: 6th man on moon says space aliens are real (and have visited us)

Jen sez, "This is a link to a Times Online article describing an ISP surveillance and throttling scheme announced by the UK government today. It's unclear what proof is required… Read the rest of the article: British ISPs sign up for surveillance and throttling of accused file-sharers

A group of esteemed British scientists and academics have sent an open letter calling on the British government to give more financial support to Bletchley Park, the site of the… Read the rest of the article: Brit academics call for Bletchley Park funding

Damien from Amnesty UK sez, Binyam Mohamed – an Ethiopian national, and a former resident of the United Kingdom – has been detained at Guantánamo Bay since September 2004. Amnesty… Read the rest of the article: Turning 30 in Guantanamo — Unsubscribe from the War on Terror

The NY Yankees banned sunblock at Yankee stadium "to prevent terrorism." On a blistering hot day. And sold high-markup, crappy sunblock inside the gates. You know, as soon as we… Read the rest of the article: New York Yankees ban sunblock "to fight terrorism" — sell replacements at $5/oz

SarahL sez, "I've been posting a portrait of a citizen of Toronto every day, painted in under an hour. Some are famous, others are friends or people I meet on… Read the rest of the article: Painting a portrait of a different Torontonian every day

Continuing in the Blade Runner theme of our most recent Boing Boing tv episode, today BB Gadgets editor Joel Johnson speaks with artist and futurist Syd Mead about this rare… Read the rest of the article: BBtv – Blade Runner LEGO Spinner Car: Syd Mead with Joel Johnson