Pop Culture

23 minutes ago
Related to the last, "Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be human beings if you didn't have some pretty strong personal feelings about nuclear combat. But I want you to remember one thing, the folks back home is a countin' on ya, and by go...
Related to the last, "Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be human beings if you didn't have some pretty strong personal feelings about nuclear combat. But I want you to remember one thing, the folks back home is a countin' on ya, and by golly we ain't about to let 'em down."
23 minutes ago
Relink for a hump day smile, a collection of nice Kubrick cinemagraphs. Via Matt Zoller Seitz.
Relink for a hump day smile, a collection of nice Kubrick cinemagraphs. Via Matt Zoller Seitz.
23 minutes ago
Next month, Sky will shut down the Acetrax site, which streams films and downloads. So, if you’ve downloaded any of their DRM-encrypted movies for cash, tough. You’ve wasted your money and you might as well download things il...
Next month, Sky will shut down the Acetrax site, which streams films and downloads. So, if you’ve downloaded any of their DRM-encrypted movies for cash, tough. You’ve wasted your money and you might as well download things illegally from torrents to stop this from happening again. There is a way around the Acetrax problem without breaking the law… and it is a proper faff. You must download all of your purchased video again, then watch it all “for at least five minutes” so you can get fresh DRM settings. And that’s according to the company themselves. Acetrax will vanish on 21st June, so PC users can download their films. However, Mac will have to go whistle as they’re not being catered for at all. Re-downloaded films will be tied solely to the machine on which they’re first played too, which is yet another glaring problem with DRM. “You may only retain a copy of the content on the personal computer on which you make the original download. Resetting the factory settings on your PC will also result in removal of the license which can then not be retrieved,” the company warned.
35 minutes ago
Photo: Protest, Guatemala City, April 19, 2013. James Rodriguez/mimundo.org. Here's info on two special events in NYC and DC with visiting speakers from Guatemala talking about human rights accountability in Guatemala, where the histori...
Photo: Protest, Guatemala City, April 19, 2013. James Rodriguez/mimundo.org. Here's info on two special events in NYC and DC with visiting speakers from Guatemala talking about human rights accountability in Guatemala, where the historic genocide trial of former US-backed military dictator Ríos Montt has just been overturned. Both events are free of charge, but you need to RSVP. NEW YORK CITY: For Boing Boing readers who will be in New York City today, May 22 2013: "The Rios Montt Trial: Human Rights Accountability in Guatemala," an Open Society Justice Initiative roundtable featuring Helen Mack, sister of slain anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang. Panelists at the event will discuss "how efforts in the domestic criminal justice system and international courts have pressed Guatemala towards greater accountability," but also how these efforts have been challenged in Guatemala's highly polarized climate. May 22, 2013, 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. 224 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 RSVP required, but free of charge. WASHINGTON DC: For readers who will be in our nation's capital on May 29, 2013: "Genocide in Our Hemisphere: Justice and Reconciliation in Guatemala Beyond the Conviction of General Ríos Montt," at the New America Foundation. I will be moderating one of the panels at this event. Speakers include Marta Elena Casaus, Professor of History, Autonomous University, Madrid, Spain (an Expert Witness on racism at the genocide trial), Patrick Ball of hrdag.org (whose work focuses on using data to analyze mass human rights abuses), Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj of Support Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples Oxlajuj Tz´ikin, CUNY/Lehman College Anthopologist Victoria Sanford, and Kate Doyle of the National Security Archive. Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - 2:00pm - 5:00pm New America Foundation 1899 L Street NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 Sign up here, event is free of charge.
36 minutes ago
Margaret Killjoy sez, "Steampunk Magazine #9 is out and available for order. The pdf is up as well. New orders and pre-orders will be going out this weekend! 118 ad-free, Creative-Commons pages of steampunk mad science, lifestyle, fictio...
Margaret Killjoy sez, "Steampunk Magazine #9 is out and available for order. The pdf is up as well. New orders and pre-orders will be going out this weekend! 118 ad-free, Creative-Commons pages of steampunk mad science, lifestyle, fiction, and history. Including an interview with Cory Doctorow and how to make hydrogen airships out of condoms." SteamPunk Magazine 9 (Thanks, Margaret!)
about 1 hour ago
OK, not just carbon fiber: Oakley created this über-flask for Macallan by wrapping it in aerospace-grade aluminum, food-grade steel, and a carbon fiber composite. "Features include a rubberized bottom to keep it from sliding around, a d...
OK, not just carbon fiber: Oakley created this über-flask for Macallan by wrapping it in aerospace-grade aluminum, food-grade steel, and a carbon fiber composite. "Features include a rubberized bottom to keep it from sliding around, a double-sprung cap, and a machined aluminum funnel that threads into the mouthpiece and sports a small air vent on the side."  Passes the drop test with flying colors. Also the wee dram test. £600 ("Note: This product contains no whisky"). [via Uncrate]
about 1 hour ago
The all-new Xbox One is coming soon, and that’ll mean a whole host of brand new games to play on it. The thought of it is generating so much drool here that we’re all wearing Microsoft-branded bibs today. But let’s not forget about the h...
The all-new Xbox One is coming soon, and that’ll mean a whole host of brand new games to play on it. The thought of it is generating so much drool here that we’re all wearing Microsoft-branded bibs today. But let’s not forget about the humble, soon-to-be-obsolete Xbox 360. There’s still a bit of life left in the powerful old dog, and the good people in the Xbox Live Marketplace have just thrown out a particularly tasty, chewy bone in the shape of Alan Wake’s American Nightmare. It was 1200MSP, but you can have it for just 320MSP, which of course is two quid in Earth Money. Enjoy your nightmare… WAIT! THERE’S MORE…!!! • 32GB Nexus 7 Tablet – only £179.00 with £10 off voucher. • Dead space 1 & 2 (PC) – just £6.24. • Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS3) – yours for £13.98. • Acer Iconia 7 8GB Android tablet – only £89.00 with code. • The Complete Sopranos (DVD box set) – yours for £37.46. • Holidays to Greece, Turkey and Cyprus – under £200. • Anker Uspeed 4-port USB 3.0 PCI-E Card – just £10.99. • Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed (PS3/360 limited edition) – only £12.99. • Panasonic Lumix G compact camera with interchangeable lens – just £249.99. • Resident Evil 6 (PS3/360) – £11.99 delivered. All those and more can be found over at HotUKDeals…
about 1 hour ago
The R&B Divas spoke on her power as an executive producer in a recent interview.
The R&B Divas spoke on her power as an executive producer in a recent interview.
about 1 hour ago
Undergraduate mechanical engineering students at Rice University built a shoe that recovers and stores energy generated by walking. This energy could be used to power small electronic devices, such as cell phones:The Agitation Squad &nda...
Undergraduate mechanical engineering students at Rice University built a shoe that recovers and stores energy generated by walking. This energy could be used to power small electronic devices, such as cell phones:The Agitation Squad – Carlos Armada, Julian Castro, David Morilla and Tyler Wiest – decided last fall to focus their attention on where the rubber meets the road to create a shoe-mounted generator. Another device to draw energy from the motion of the knee had already been developed and patented and led them to analyze other sources of energy.Working with the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston, the team determined the force at the heel delivered far more potential for power than any other part of the foot.“We went to the lab and saw the force distribution across the bottom of your foot, to see where the most force is felt,” Morilla said. “We found it would be at the heel and at the balls of your toes, as you push off. We went with the heel because, unless you’re sprinting, you’re letting gravity do the work.” […]The prototypes deliver an average of 400 milliwatts, enough to charge a battery, in benchtop tests (and a little less in walking tests, where the moving parts don’t move as far). They send energy through wires to a belt-mounted battery pack. A voltage regulator keeps it flowing steadily to the battery.The PediPower hits the ground before any other part of the prototype shoe. A lever arm strikes first. It is attached to a gearbox that replaces much of the shoe’s sole and turns the gears a little with each step. The gears drive a motor mounted on the outside of the shoe that generates electricity to send up to the battery.You can watch a video of their device at the link.Link -via Inhabitat
about 1 hour ago