Ted Balaker of ReasonTV interviewed Neill Franklin, the Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Commentators like Bill O'Reilly claim that ending the drug war would lead to more children being abused by drug-addicted parents. But 33-year law enforcement veteran Neill Franklin sees it differently.

Nature on role of mosquitoes in larger ecological context: "You know, when you think about it, we could probably live without them just fine."

In 1991, coffee-drinking seemed to be on its way out in the United States. From a peak consumption of 3.2 cups per day per person on average in 1962, coffee consumption was down to measly 1.75 cups. There were good reasons for this: Nobody liked the cheap, nasty sludge generally available and the entire experience reeked of Grandma. — Read the rest

Über-ostentatious and fabulously future-forward rap icon Kanye West joined Twitter last week, to much fanfare. His early 140s were—how shall we say—boldly unmodest, and unabashedly self- (and brand-) conscious. At left, a Versace cereal bowl which was the subject of one early missive. — Read the rest

"Information artist" Jess Bachman has done it again: he's designed a "History of Search" chart that shows how search became a $20 billion business over the past two decades. Above, a small snip. The chart is broken down more or less by company (the defunct and swallowed-up also-rans get a cluster all their own). — Read the rest

There's so much to love in this all-superhero cosplay wedding photo. But one to love above all others: Bananaman. Just look at him. (via Mark Yturralde)

Russian photographer (and Photoshopper) Sergey Larenkov merges WWII-era photos with contemporary shots of identical locations in Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Leningrad, and other European cities, to haunting effect. Many entries filled with images in sets organized by city at his livejournal. — Read the rest

Scott Underwood says: "My grandparents had this toy at their house since before I was born. This is a battery-operated mechanical toy from the early '60s. He shakes a drink, takes a gulp, then his face turns red, After a while, smoke comes out his ears — you can see it after his last drink in this clip." — Read the rest

George Hart of Make: Online says, "A twisted torus is a donut which twists as it closes on itself." Besides making me hungry for a Krispy Kreme, this twisted torus makes me want to ask one of my MakerBot-owning pals to print out a bunch of parts so I can try to build one myself. — Read the rest

The Snails, parted from one another by the cruel hand of man, found themselves in distant lands. Beginning a long and perilous journey home, each tuned into the ancestral ley, the viae gastropoda, which despite its name is truly understood only by those of Clan Helix, Wanderers of the Gardens. — Read the rest

New York painter and graphic designer Scott Albrecht has a show of new work opening August 27 at San Francisco's Curiosity Shoppe. I wasn't familiar with Albrecht's work until now, but I find his fine art, typography, and woodworking to be very warm, rich, and modern. — Read the rest

If you can't have a brain in a jar, the next best thing may be a knitted brain in a frame. The beauty above is handmade by Emily of aKNITomy and available for sale at the Boing Boing Bazaar in the Makers Market. — Read the rest

When the Space Shuttle program ends, where will they retire? A slew of museums and NASA facilities are applying for the opportunity to house one of the vehicles for public display. The Discovery is headed for the Smithsonian, but NASA has delayed the decision on Atlantis and Endeavour. — Read the rest

Herman Miller's Lifework blog today turns the company's impeccable eye to a design object most of us take for granted: The lowly pencil. Blogger Brian Greene highlights five models, from the Mirado Black Warrior (probably the closest pencil in the bunch to the iconic, schoolbus-yellow Ticonderoga #2) to the exotic mechanical Kuru Toga, which "has a tiny clutch mechanism built into the point, and as you write, the pressure from writing and then lifting the pencil off the paper engages the clutch mechanism that rotates the lead for you. — Read the rest

It's time again for Shark Week on Discovery Channel. For a taste, Discovery posted a collection of their "Top 10 Shark Attack Videos." From Jaws:

What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution.

There is an awesome subterranean tunnel network under Rochester, England, dating to World War 2. [Ianvisits, submitted by IanM]

A man in Sundsvall, Sweden with a gash in his leg got sick of waiting in the emergency room so he sewed up his own leg. Now that's the DIY spirit! The hospital reported him to the cops. From The Local:

"They had set out a needle and thread and so I decided to take the matter into my hands," he said.

Following its dismal keyboard-less iClone, RIM's taken another stab at the touchscreen revolution with the BlackBerry Torch. Combining a full-on QWERTY keyboard, expansive capacitative touchscreen and a new version of its operating system, it hopes the new phone will reel in Apple and Android's technical advantages without alienating BlackBerry stalwarts. — Read the rest

"Although music is halal, promoting and
teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime
of the Islamic Republic. It's better that our dear youth spend their
valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill
their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music."— — Read the rest

Above, a dreamy, ambient music video for the Icelandic band For a Minor Reflection's song, "A Moll," on their new album "Höldum í átt að óreiðu." No, I don't know how to pronounce it.

Directed, shot and edited by Lorenzo Fonda. — Read the rest