Boing Boing
Adorable baby octopuses, living happy and free
To make up for the research kittens.
Note: This starts out somewhat depressingly, with the body of a female octopus that died after reproducing—as all octopuses, male and female, do. But it quickly gets past that, and on to the wee, baby octopuses, floating around the sea. Turn off the sound to block out the sad song, and focus on that.
From jenniel, via Submitterator


Research on horribly cute kittens is kind of horrible looking
"In order to study the way that experience can influence the brain, there has been a great deal of research done on the visual cortex of the kitten."
Oh, this is going to end badly, isn't it?
This short documentary from the 1970s explains, in depth, some research that I mentioned earlier this year in a BoingBoing article on fetal senses. Long story short: Kittens are born blind and do a lot of their sight-linked brain development in the first few weeks after birth. Because of this, they make a handy model for studying how the brains of human fetuses form neural connections and how our sense of sight develops in the womb. It's important research that has helped medical science better understand how to care for premature human babies, besides adding valuable details to our understanding of the brain, in general.
Unfortunately, because kittens are adorable, said very important research looks almost comically evil when filmed. Seriously, this video is one "Thittens" joke away from working as a segment of Look Around You.
So, thanks, blorgggg (Thorgggg?), for sending this video in via Submitterator. I'm sure the Moderators will be thanking you (and me) as well. I do ask that, as we get into the inevitable discussion on animal research, you remember that the scientists involved did not raise kittens in completely dark rooms for sociopathic shits and giggles, but because they thought the potential benefits of the research outweighed the (mostly temporary) damage done to the kittens' visual abilities. You may disagree with that calculation—and you're welcome to do so. In fact, I think that complex discussion about ends and means in specific studies is valuable. And interesting. Far more so (on both counts) than simply labeling anyone who uses animals for research as a for-kicks abuser of fluffy baby kitties.


What Things Do: excellent webcomics

Panels from "Unraveling," part 2, by Jordan Crane What Things Do is a stunningly good webcomics site, launched by comics artist Jordan Crane and featuring some of the best independent comics artists around, including Gabrielle Bell, Abner Dean, Sammy Harkham, Jaime Hernandez, Kevin Huizenga, Ted May, John Porcellino, Ron Regé Jr., Steve Weissman, and Dan Zettwoch.
Many of the artists here seem to have been mildly influenced by Tintin's Hergé (and Joost Swarte). This is not a big surprise, since Jordan Crane selects all the artists for his site, and Crane himself shows a little Hergé in his work. (I can't think of a better artist than Hergé from which to draw inspiration.)
The comics in What Things Do all have the same yellow-gray color scheme (with a few exceptions) that give the site and elegant cohesiveness. The comics are large clear and readable.
In addition to showcasing the work of contemporary cartoonists, What Things Do, runs "decades-old work" from worthy but not-so-famous cartoonists, as well as articles about comics. What Things Do: excellent webcomics


The Imp, a great journal about comic books, now as free PDFs

Daniel Raeburn has done the world a favor by creating free PDF versions of his outstanding self-published journal about comic books, The Imp. Though he published only four issues (I have them all in hard copy) Raeburn's journal is regarded as a masterpiece of comic book criticism. Each issue covered a single subject: Daniel Clowes in Vol 1, Jack Chick in Vol 2, Chris Ware in Vol 3, and Mexican "historietas perversas" in Vol 4.
The Comics Journal called The Imp “One of the very best things to come out of comics.”
Here's what This American Life creator Ira Glass said about The Imp:
It was clearly the work of an obsessed person, in the very best way possible. A really smart obsessed person. There was a kind of Talmudic completeness to the whole thing, in a way that journalism rarely even aspires to. Not much journalism tries to be so emotional, and funny, and analytical, and thorough. There’s really very little like it out there. The closest you get is one of those big stories they used to do in the old New Yorker, where at the end you feel like there’s nothing else that needs to be said on the subject. I read it admiringly and jealously. In the years since I read the Chris Ware issue I’ve actually become friends with Chris Ware, real friends, we talk all the time, and probably a third of what I know about Chris still comes from that issue of The Imp. It was that complete and emotionally insightful.
Stefan Jones, who also bought The Imp in hardcopy says,
The issue about Jack Chick is an amazing piece of journalism. It makes you feel some sympathy for the loon behind all of those hate-filled comic tracts.
Much of issue 3 was reprinted in a monograph about Ware. I prefer The Imp version, which resembles one of Ware's big-format comic collections.
Volume Four was mind-boggling. I'd never heard of the Mexican comics in question. I keep meaning to get my hands on some.
Download The Imp here


Cannabis Catering

Cannabis Catering offers gourmet meals laced with pot. The delivery service isn't cheap, around $100/person, but damn those pot-atoes look tasty. And yes, you need a medical marijuana card to order. From Fast Company: The idea for Cannabis Catering came to (Chef Frederick) Nesbitt when he learned that his friend's diabetic mother had been diagnosed with cancer. "I would bring back edibles [from the dispensary], but they're so high in high-fructose corn syrup that she was high off sugar rather than being medicated," he says. So Nesbitt began experimenting with his own pot food--starting with mashed potatoes.
"Meet the Personal Chef of Pot" (Thanks, Mathias Crawford!)

WTF stamp

For all your puzzlement needs: the self-inking WTF stamp. WTF Stamp (Thanks, Alice!)

o WTF?!, a Flash-based World of Warcraft parody
o Raygun: WTF 2000
o WTF: "Kids' lingerie" photos featuring Miley Cyrus' 9-year-old ...
o Web Zen: WTF? zen
o Wisconsin Tourism Federation loses to WTF, changes name
o WTF is "Dairy Drink?"
o Cellphones and Cancer: OMG + FUD + WTF
o WtF Magazine (Welcome to Finland)


Jewelry made from laminated, polished cross-sections of books

UK designer Jeremy May makes jewelry by laminating and polishing pages from old books together to make striking pieces: "The beauty of the jewels extends within the piece: text and images pass all the way though the object, only exposed at the surfaces - giving a tantalising glimpse of the book within." LITTLEFLY (Thanks, Irene Delse via Submitterator!)

o Apartment made out of books
o Font made of stacked books
o Furniture made out of used books
o A House of Books
o Xmas tree made from books
o Chair made from discarded paperbacks
o Furniture made from books
o Blank books made from discarded vintage hardcovers


Flying carpet sofa

Tonio de Roover's East meets West sofa is meant to evoke flying carpets. I can't figure out how comfortable it'd be, but it looks great. East meets west (via Craft)

o Sofa turns into a punching bag
o Sofa/bookcase
o Coffin sofa
o Sofa modelled on brainwaves
o Accordioning sofa - mindblowing video
o Sofa that lets you float in the clouds
o Doc sofa bed converts into a bunk bed within seconds ...


Old tabriz rug becomes bear rug

An unnamed artist transformed a worn antique tabriz wool rug into a wonderful, fanciful bear rug. I imagine the reported "repaired knots and moth damage" just enhance its charm. 87" x 59", $1800 from CS Post. Repurposed Antique Tabriz Wool Rug (via Make)

o Monster skin rug
o Relief map rug
o World's biggest handmade rug


Resignation cake sender has invoice cake delivered to People.com
Last year, I posted about how W. Neil Berrett quit his job by presenting his boss with a resignation letter on a sheet cake. Here's the story behind Berrett's latest cake document, a frosted invoice delivered today to People.com: Today I sent an invoice on a cake to People.com. I'm demanding $500 from them after my Cake of Resignation photo was used without permission and without payment.
Here's a timeline:
On August 10 this year I received an e-mail from an employee of People Magazine requesting permission to use my cake resignation photo in an article. This is shortly after the Jet Blue Steward event, prompting many 'Weird ways people have quit their jobs' news stories.
I replied to People and said they needed a license to use my photo - meaning they have to pay me to use it. I did not receive a reply.
On August 11 my image was used without authorization and without payment on People.com, in an article titled "Take This Job and Shove It! 8 Memorable Quitters".
I sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding my image be removed from their website. Six days later I receive an e-mail stating my image had been removed from their website. I received an offer at that time of $75 for the use of my image. That may have been reasonable if my photo's copyright had not been willfully infringed and used for six days.
So, today I sent the photo director an invoice for a usage license of my cake resignation photo. This cake was delivered today, September 3rd.

Invoice Cake to People.com (Thanks, Jess Hemerly!)



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