Here's a rare complete photographic catalog of Uzay, the Turkish bootleg Star Wars figurines, which are delightfully shonky and off-model.
No line of unlicensed Star Wars figures is as sought after as the Turkish line known as Uzay. Produced sometime in the latter part of the 1980s, the primary charm of the Uzay figures lies in their blister card art; not only are the card images incredibly cheesy, at their best they border on the psychadelic.
Vice speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Adam Martynyuk, on the right, throttles deputy Oleg Lyashko during a session in the chamber of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on Wednesday, May 18, 2011. According to reports, Lyashko had just asked Martynyuk to let him make a speech, which Martinyuk refused to do on procedural grounds. — Read the rest
A Skywalker Ranch staffer created "The Empire Strikes Bike," a Star Wars-themed, heavily modded classic cruiser bike with loads of Star Wars tchochkes affixed to it in funny and delightful ways:
Literally created in a residential garage, the frame, wheels, and crank were acquired directly from an official Skywalker Ranch staff bike.
"Wookiee the Chew" is James Hance's inspired Winnie-the-Pooh/Star Wars mashup, a series of prints depicting the silly old wookiee and his pal Chrisolo Robin, "in a world where AT-AT's lose their tails and bobaberries are ripe for the picking, join the adventures of the biped of very little brain." — Read the rest
This morning, I got an email from a BoingBoing reader, who is one of the many people worried about the damaged nuclear reactors at Fukushima, Japan. In one sentence, he managed to get right to heart of a big problem lurking behind the headlines today: "The extent of my knowledge on nuclear power plants is pretty much limited to what I've seen on The Simpsons". — Read the rest
Tax.com's David Cay Johnston exposes the truth behind Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's claim that unionized state workers get their pensions "subsidized" by the state, a claim that has been blindly repeated in the press from the AP to Politifact. This is a carefully argued, well-documented essay from a source that is hardly partisan for labor, and bears close reading. — Read the rest
The editor of The Buffalo Beast, Ian Murphy, called Wisconsin governor Scott Walker pretending to be billionaire financier David Koch, a major Tea Party financier. Murphy talked for 20 minutes with Walker, during which time Walker revealed that he was considering sending provocateurs to disrupt the protestors fighting his anti-union law. — Read the rest
Welcome to the second half of the 2010 Boing Boing Gift Guide, where we pick out some of our favorite books from the last year (and beyond) to help you find inexpensive holiday gifts for friends and family. Can you guess who chose a Sarah Palin book?
A former Columbian narco-sub pilot anonymously recounts his life captaining a homebrewed semi-submersible filled with millions of dollars' worth of cocaine, at gunpoint all the while:
At around 8 p.m., the tide was high and the night sufficiently dark as the ocean water tugged at the submersible.
Mr Simo's BoomCases are self-powered amplification systems built into vintage suitcases and briefcases. They run for seven hours on a single charge, and come with a built-in charging plug. Cost is $275 and up, which is steep, but here's a way to be stylish and audiophilic in one go, and they're hand-made by a skilled craftsman besides. — Read the rest
Rishab sez, "Here is a selection of old anatomical illustrations that provide a unique perspective on the evolution of medical knowledge in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868)."
From the artist who brought you the duct-tape AT-AT model, the "Alumnum Falcon," a Millennium Falcon model made from cardboard, styrofoam and aluminum tape.
The delightfully named Filth Wizardry blog ("Sharing messy art and craft fun for preschoolers, with the help of my own filth wizards") has a great HOWTO for turning a gallon-sized milk-jug into a dashing Storm Trooper helmet: "
Physics can seem a lot like a dirty trick. You spend most of junior high and high school being told that there are rules to this thing, that the Universe functions in predictable and rational ways. Apples always fall down from the tree onto Newton's head. — Read the rest
Pink Cake Box made this custom XKCD wedding cake for one of their customers in New Jersey: "The top of the cake includes cutouts of the comic characters with a red heart on a wire between them. The entire cake is covered in white fondant with black thin bands at the base of each tier. — Read the rest
Illustrations by James Hance, used with permission.
I'm surprised I didn't catch this earlier, but James Hance has recently released a series of lovely images. Here, he re-imagines Han Solo as Christopher Robin, Chewbacca as Pooh Bear, R2D2 as Piglet, and even (this is cool) an AT-AT as Eeyore. — Read the rest
A reader writes, "For this year's Threadcakes cake contest, baker Chloe Bird rolled her own custom silicone skull mold and used it for a 3-dimensional skull cake."
I got an anatomical model of a human skull and a whole load of food grade silicone.
In the news today, worldwide controversy around an Israeli commando attack on a "Free Gaza Movement" flotilla carrying aid supplies to the blockaded Gaza strip. NYT story here. Varying reports on how many were killed: 10 according to Israel, and 19 or more according to the activists and some news organizations. — Read the rest
