Paul Boutin has written a tutorial that shows you how to watch the FIFA World Cup live on your PC. Link

(Boing Boing would like to thank Baker & McKenzie, and their client, Infront Sports and Media for letting us know about the World Cup. — Read the rest

A while back, law firm Baker & McKenzie sent Boing Boing a snippy letter warning us not to do something we wouldn't do even if they begged us — broadcast live streams of the FIFA World Cup.

I wonder if Baker & McKenzie will send Wired News a letter complaining that Wired News is facilitating piracy for explaining a variety of ways in which FIFA World Cup fans can enjoy live video streams of the tournament on their computers without paying the rightsholder, Infront Sports & Media? — Read the rest

Timothy King created a hilarious video in response to pre-emptive cease-and-desist letter that asshat lawyers at Baker & McKenzie sent to Boing Boing. The video begins with stunning footage of a crumpled up paper napkin and ends with a "short list of things that are more important to us than World Cup footage." — Read the rest

Twitter recently imposed blue checkmarks, previously assigned only to people paying to use the site, on all users meeting a certain threshold of paid followers. And soon users assigned blue checkmarks will no longer be able to hide them.

The blue checkmark, originally a form of verification and implicit status, was turned into a paid feature after Elon Musk's takeover of the site. — Read the rest

The New York Department of Motor Vehicle blocked requests for more than 3,000 vanity license plates in 2023. WGRZ asked for and received the list of them all. There are many reasons why a plate request may be rejected, ranging from the "use of the number zero (0) between two letters to form a word" to, of course, "combinations that are considered obscene, derogatory or offensive." — Read the rest

How do you prepare a tomahawk steak and make it worth $1000? Not by doing it the way this chef in an unnamed Los Angeles restaurant does it.

The process starts promisingly with a high-quality tomahawk steak, known for its flavor and tenderness. — Read the rest

A Florida nurse who allegedly poisoned two cats and a pregnant dog faces three counts of felony animal cruelty and one of depositing poison in a public area. Polk County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday that they arrested Tamesha Knighten, 51, after the three pets were killed. — Read the rest

Take a gander at this adorable baby platypus—also known as a "puggle"—who is being rehabilitated at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. In the video that was posted on their social media, Taronga Zoo explains:

We are delighted to introduce you to the newest member of our Taronga family – Matilda.

Steven Seagal, the famed American martial artist and actor, was today given an award by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Seagal has resided there for some years, posing himself as a cultural ambassador, receiving citizenship, and occasionally making straight-to-streaming films in which he moves as little as possible. — Read the rest

Skateboarding continues to circulate and reform the transitions of concrete, wood, and metal across the globe, hopping curbs and fences, flying and twirling across the air, and, like stoked acrobats, transcending the walls and borders of nations and identities.

A new short film by Jonathon Mehring, Walls Cannot Keep Us From Flying, posted at Thrasher Magazine, tells the story of "Two Palestinian youth [who] seek freedom through skateboarding while growing up under occupation in the West Bank." — Read the rest

I recently shared a few resources that explored the dark side of the World Cup and its organizer, FIFA. Today I'll be sharing some that shine a critical light on American football, and specifically on the NFL. First, I found this terrific and disturbing piece, titled "Plantation Logics at the NFL Combine," in Anthropology News by Tracie Canada, a cultural anthropologist who studies race and sport at Duke University. — Read the rest

You know, I thought that once the World Cup was over, the news surrounding the event would stop. I mean, once we've finally figured out who the best team in the world is, what else is there to cover? Well, there's actually quite a lot to cover, as the winning team of Argentina and its star player Lionel Messi keeps making the news. — Read the rest

The World Cup final, featuring Argentina versus France, is happening on Sunday Dec 18. There's bad news for France, however—several of its players, including Kingsley Coman, Dayot Upamecano, and Adrien Rabiot, are sick with "flu-like symptoms," and it's unknown whether they will be able to play. — Read the rest

If, like me, you're not a sports fan and you've only sort of half been paying attention to what's happening in Qatar for the World Cup, do yourself a favor and watch this 25 minute segment from John Oliver. He provides an excoriating overview of the corruption at FIFA, and a disturbing discussion of the human rights and labor rights violations that have been happening in Qatar, as they have exploited migrant workers to build and maintain all of the new stadiums that were necessary to host the World Cup. — Read the rest

Soccer reporter Grant Wahl was stopped and detained while attempting to enter the USA vs. Wales opening match at the World Cup in Qatar. Why? He was wearing a rainbow t-shirt which security told him was prohibited. (See the shirt below.) — Read the rest

Awarding the world's largest sporting event to authoritarian emirate Qatar was a disaster from the outset. Countless slaves died building the air-conditioned stadiums (BBC), it isn't safe there for travelers, especially people whose social media identifies them as LGBTQ, and local officials are content to be filmed threatening journalists covering the tournament. — Read the rest

Qatar has been prepping for the FIFA World Cup for 10 years, building stadiums, a new airport, new roads, and much more (to the detriment of at least 6,500 migrant workers, who have died since the constructions began).

And their latest project? — Read the rest

Andrew Wodzianski is a DC-area artist whose work often riffs off of nerdy pop cultural touchstones and ephemera. His pieces make references to comic books, 8-bit video games, monster movies, and tabletop gaming.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, September 28, 1987, he created pieces of meme-styled art that draw inspiration from the Star Trek coloring books and ship blueprints of his youth. — Read the rest

Jerry Hsu is a professional skateboarder.

It is lore that Taiwanese-American skater phenom Jerry Hsu is best-known for his part in Emerica's 2010 release Stay Gold, where he skates switch for the entire video. Skating switch essentially means leading with your non-dominant foot, while doing the same tricks. — Read the rest

The US Soccer Foundation has agreed to equal pay between the US Men's and Women's teams, ending a long dispute and signaling to FIFA that the times are changing. It has been a long time since I was even aware the US had a men's soccer team, but the women have been stellar and it is time they are treated fairly. — Read the rest