We lost one of the greats today: Morrie Robert Yohai, better known as "Mr. Cheez Doodles." He was born in Harlem in 1920, "one of four children of Robert and Mary Habib Yohai, Jewish immigrants from Turkey," reports the NYT. — Read the rest

As noted earlier today, the government of Indonesia recently commanded ISPs to block all internet porn within the country by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan—August 11— or else. Today, some sneaky prankster managed to broadcast hardcore porn inside the Parliament, during government sessions. — Read the rest

This is the exquisite work of artists Jeremy Mayer, Benjamin Cowden, and Nemo Gould. The three are part of an incredibly-creative collective called Applied Kinetic Arts, formed several years ago to cultivate collaboration and awareness of artists who make work "incorporating motion, light, sound, and interactivity." — Read the rest

This friendly face is an albino raccoon caught Thursday in West Knox County, Knoxville. Randy Wolfe, owner of a business called Varmint Busters Wildlife Management Services (!!!), says this is the fourth one he's nabbed in more than two decades. Sadly, they killed the lovely critter. — Read the rest

I was in Detroit this past weekend for Maker Faire Detroit 2010. It was held at the Henry Ford Museum (look for an upcoming post about this incredible museum) and I'm guessing 20,000 people showed up. There was a great deal of excitement and energy in the air, and I went home with the feeling that Detroit is going to rise to greatness again very soon. — Read the rest

This video is totally pickled. [via DF] — Read the rest

The appeal of the Telenoid R1 robot cannot be denied (otherwise it will sneak into your bedroom at night and kill you). (Via Pink Tentacle)

The Mayor of Mt. Holley says: "Inspired by the Retro Wireless Handset project from Make Vol. 20, I decided to mod a Bluetooth earpiece for my phone out of a kid's plastic toy gun." He adds, "I've been debating on painting it to look like a real gun." — Read the rest

Tempus II from Philip Heron on Vimeo.

James Gurney says: "Did you ever wonder what happens in slow motion when a martial arts expert whacks his hand against a stack of bricks? The fingers flex alarmingly."

You'll also see what happens when an egg is dropped on a mousetrap, and a water balloon is thrown with force at a person. — Read the rest

"It's really a hard thing to do in technical terms. For me, it's almost an impossible task."—Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association member Valens Riyadi. He and fellow ISPs are tasked with banning internet porn in the predominantly Muslim country "by Ramadan or else."

Sean Bonner has gathered what may well be the most comprehensive index of Hitler emoticons ever seen on the internet.

TorrentFreak reports that the RIAA and FBI are sending takedown notices to people sharing Radiohead's "self-released" album "In Rainbows," which was released in MP3 form at the time for whatever fans wanted to pay (though there were some oddly conflicting messages later from the band's management). — Read the rest

Via the Submitterator, Boing Boing reader Trotsky points to some news from the recent Defcon hacking conference in Las Vegas: "Project Vigilant says they hope to add 1,300 new employees by 2011 to help profile and identify 'adversaries.' One of their better known and longstanding 'adversary characterizers?' — Read the rest

In making "the commercial and moral case for newspaper paywalls," the Financial Times' John Ridding points out that people do pay for access to high quality journalism such as his organization produces. Interviewer Roy Greenslade of The Guardian concludes with this:

But he clearly backs all such moves and concludes our conversation with a sharp observation about the digital revolutionaries who have argued that "information wants to be free."

I see a lot of familiar faces in this upcoming documentary about Arduino, the open source microcontroller system that is the basis for thousands of neat DIY projects.

[Submitterated by alphabomb]

You have died of dysentery: "In 1864, a family embarks on an impossible journey into the untamed American West. Based on the classic educational computer game, The Oregon Trail by MECC."
YouTube Link. Created by HalfDayToday.

[Submitterated by Rev. — Read the rest

Tara McGinley points us to this seemingly real series of funny videos on YouTube documenting the Kafkaesque hell that is the daily life of a music store employee.

Not only are you laughing at the "musicians" testing out instruments at the store, but when this guy makes his cameo appearance, the look on his face will have you in tears.

Susannah Breslin writes,

The google meta description for this website reads, "Which suit is right for you?" I am fond of the Tychem TK710 Chemical Hood, and the baby wrap.

The iPhone Dev Team released a jailbreak for iPhone4 over the weekend, authored by Comex. For a taste of free-ishdom, go to the site with your iPhone and let it do its work.

A jailbreak is simply the ability to run apps and use themes and tweaks not approved by Apple.

Shades of Milk and Honey is the hotly anticipated debut novel from Mary Robinette Kowal, who has already made a name for herself in science fiction with a series of outstanding short stories. It's a Regency drawing-room romance, told in pitch-perfect style, with one important difference: these mannered and well-bred nobles are able to do magic. — Read the rest