Luke.stirling

Via the Funny subreddit.

Late last year Playboy sued the popular blog Boing Boing for publishing an article that linked to an archive of every playmate centerfold till then.

“Kind of amazing to see how our standards of hotness, and the art of commercial erotic photography, have changed over time,” Boing Boing’s Xena Jardin commented.

Playboy, instead, was amazed that infringing copies of their work were being shared in public. While Boing Boing didn’t upload or store the images in question, the publisher took the case to court.

The blog’s parent company Happy Mutants was accused of various counts of copyright infringement, with Playboy claiming that it exploited their playmates’ images for commercial purposes.

Boing Boing sees things differently. With help from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, it has filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that hyperlinking is not copyright infringement.

“This lawsuit is frankly mystifying. Playboy’s theory of liability seems to be that it is illegal to link to material posted by others on the web — an act performed daily by hundreds of millions of users of Facebook and Twitter, and by journalists like the ones in Playboy’s crosshairs here,” they write.

The article in question

The defense points out that Playboy’s complaint fails to state a claim for direct or contributory copyright infringement. In addition, it argues that this type of reporting should be seen as fair use.

“Boing Boing’s reporting and commenting on the Playboy photos is protected by copyright’s fair use doctrine,” EFF Senior Staff Attorney Daniel Nazer says, commenting on the case.

“We’re asking the court to dismiss this deeply flawed lawsuit. Journalists, scientists, researchers, and everyday people on the web have the right to link to material, even copyrighted material, without having to worry about getting sued.”

The lawsuit shares a lot of similarities with the case between Dutch blog GeenStijl and local Playboy publisher Sanoma. That high-profile case went all the way to the European Court of Justice.

The highest European court eventually decided that hyperlinks to infringing works are to be considered a ‘communication to the public,’ and that a commercial publication can indeed be held liable for copyright infringement.

Boing Boing hopes that US Courts will see things differently, or it might be “the end of the web as we know it.”

“The world can’t afford a judgment against us in this case — it would end the web as we know it, threatening everyone who publishes online, from us five weirdos in our basements to multimillion-dollar, globe-spanning publishing empires like Playboy,” Boing Boing writes.

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A copy of Boing Boing’s memorandum in support of the motion to dismiss is available here (pdf). The original Playboy complaint can be found here (pdf).

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN discounts, offers and coupons

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You could make a pretty good version of this by just having the machine say 'NICE' every time you make any kind of purchase.

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... your priorities change.  The graph shows viewership at Pornhub at the time of the (false) nuclear
bomb warning.  Via Boing Boing.

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Saying we need to bring together art and science is like telling a longterm couple they need to get married.

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In October of last year, I made one of the best, and prettiest, dinners I’d had all year and couldn’t wait to tell you about them. Then I got a *little* (29 flights and 24 cities in 7 weeks) busy and somehow (somehow!) they — along with the Dutch apple pie, this endive salad and some brown butter carrots I’m still holding out on you — fell by the wayside. And so let me present a long-overdue entry in the Best of 2017 files, eagerly hoping to make a run in 2018.

Read more »

Some people have been lucky enough to find themselves in paintings at art museums.

Now the Google Arts & Culture app lets you take a selfie and find your own art doppelganger. The results are kinds iffy — even when making my best Jesus-suffering-on-the-cross face, I couldn’t get it to match me with an actual Passion painting — but you can see some of the results here.

See also Stefan Draschan’s photos of people matching artworks.

Update: And the NY Times is on it!

Tags: art   Google   iPhone apps

Stay with the video past the 1 minute mark to see how the rings would look from the surface.

Reposted from 2012 because it's still a cool video (I hadn't thought about the rings lighting up the nighttime sky).  It's low-res but still looks pretty good in the fullscreen mode.

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How come no's working on the forthcoming problem of Robot Ennui?

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Tre nye tilfeller av meslinger er registrert i Sverige. Til sammen er nå 22 personer smittet.

Via Reddit.

Most LEGO castles appear to lie in the grassy woodlands of Northern Europe, the sun-baked sands of the Sahara, or in a dizzyingly vibrant fantasy land. Brick Monkeys, however, is ready to take us somewhere new. This castle is set in what appears to be a drought-stricken clime where you can almost feel the dry leaves crackling as they fall from the trees.

The extensive use of earth tones blends well in this arid scene. The castle itself features many great details also, from the stained glass windows of the great hall to the ramshackle upper roof of the round turret, where plates have been layered haphazardly for a unique texture.

The post A Castle in drought appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

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Thinking about the frequency of showering and availability of basic cosmetics should ruin pretty much any fantasy you have that's set before about 1930.

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Late at night, he would sneak into the bathroom, turn the volume down, and read Bloomberg.

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Take a stroll through the medieval village of Daydelon created by Isaac S. Here you’ll find a bakery, general store, and even a toy shop. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the gallery where you’ll see neatly crafted vignettes of the building interiors that slide out of the buildings themselves. Just don’t forget to shake off all the snow from your boots when you go inside!

The post Ye olde winter village appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

Interesting composition.  Via the OddlySatisfying subreddit.

The University of Colorado Boulder has an ongoing project to construct a LEGO version of its campus, built by a team of LEGO builders. Imagine Rigney has just finished building a LEGO version of the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall, where dozens of major College of Music performances take place each season. The auditorium is over a century old, and its Neo-Gothic architecture style has been nicely captured in LEGO bricks

Can I ask that you please turn off your cell phone, as a concert is currently in full swing.

Situated in its surrounding landscape, the structure only becomes more impressive.

 

We have also highlighted Imagine’s LEGO versions of two other UC Boulder buildings that form part of the installation, the Koelbel Building and Old Main, and together they all comprise an amazing diorama.

Here Imagine works on one of the buildings, and also provides a sense of scale to this incredible layout.

The post Musicians will be bricking it when playing at this amazing LEGO concert hall appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

It's increasingly difficult to get consensus on what makes the most healthful diet, but I think we can all agree that eating more nutrient-dense plants after an overly-indulgent holiday season is a positive thing. Putting a handful of new, veg-centric recipes into rotation this time of year can help move the needle in the right direction. Hopefully this will provide a bit of inspiration! Many of the recipes are easily adaptable, and weeknight friendly. Enjoy!

1. Garlic Lime Lettuce Wraps - I love these! Ginger and garlic tempeh rice, folded into lime-spiked lettuce wraps with lots of herbs, cucumber, and carrots. A one-pan meal that comes together in no time! Get the recipe here.

2. Quick Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Sauce - These are knock-out delicious, in the oven in less that ten minutes, and a healthful alternative to all the heavy cheese versions out there. With black beans, sweet potatoes, and a stealthy turmeric boost.Get the recipe here.

3. Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables - A weeknight winner! Make a simple, thinned-out tahini sauce, roast some vegetables while your pasta water is coming to a boil, toss and serve on one platter. If you like those old-school Chinese restaurant spicy peanut noodles, these are sort-of their tahini slathered distant cousinsGet the recipe here.

4. California Tom Yum Soup - The perfect antidote to holiday over-indulgence. This version is a distant relative of the vibrant, brothy tom yum soup you likely know and love. Get the recipe here.

5. Last Minute Red Lasagna - A true weeknight lasagna. No pre-cooking sauces, no pre-cooking noodles. You, literally, stir the first five ingredients together into a vibrant crushed tomato sauce, and start layering. Also, it isn't a cheese bomb.Get the recipe here.

6. Ten Ingredient Alkalizing Green Soup - Ten ingredients in a blender and you've got a potent, alkalizing green soup - spinach, herbs, garlic, with silky coconut cream, and some green split peas for staying power. Get the recipe here.

7. Chickpea Cauliflower Korma - A riff on the Chickpea Cauliflower Korma recipe in Jennifer Iserloh's The Healing Slow Cooker - chickpeas, cauliflower, combined with a not-shy simmer sauce. (conventional / Instantpot versions) Get the recipe here.

8. Vibrant, Vegan Double Broccoli Buddha Bowl - Made with seven ingredients on green overdrive. You double up on broccoli through a coconut green curry pesto and florets, then toss with a quinoa base. Get the recipe here.

9. Immunity Soup - A soup built on a monster white pepper broth. White pepper with jolts of ginger, and stabs of garlic - clear and strong topped with tofu, mushrooms, watermelon radish, and lots of green onions. Get the recipe here.

10. Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh - The best tempeh recipe I've highlighted to date - it features a simple ginger and garlic-spiked orange glaze that plays of the nutty earthiness of the pan-fried tempeh beautifully. Get the recipe here.

11. Chia Breakfast Bowl - So easy, so good! Soak the chia seeds in your favorite nut milk, top with smashed berries, fresh passionfruit juice, pepitas, and big flakes of toasted coconut. A bit of bee pollen adds a boost and some pretty. Get the recipe here.

12. Sriracha Rainbow Noodle Salad - A radiant, color-flecked tangle of noodles, cabbage, shredded carrots, pickled sushi ginger, and an abundance of cilantro, basil, and scallions. It has tofu and peanuts, coconut, ginger, avocado, and hemp seeds. Get the recipe here.

13. Mung Yoga Bowl - The kind of bowl that keeps you strong - herb-packed yogurt dolloped over a hearty bowl of mung beans and quinoa, finished with toasted nuts and a simple paprika oil. Get the recipe here.

14. Vegetable Noodle Soup - This vegetable noodle soup is as simple, direct, and delicious as it gets. Vegetarian and vegans looking for an alternative to chicken noodle soup, try this! Get the recipe here.

15. Anna's California Miso Avocado Salad - So good! A California-inspired Miso, Avocado, & Bean Salad from A Modern Way to Eat, by Anna Jones. Seasonal greens and beans are tossed with an assertive, creamy miso dressing. There are crunchy seeds, and broccoli, and avocado - it all comes together into a brilliant, beautiful, feel-good salad.Get the recipe here.

16. Rainbow Cauliflower Rice - Lightly cooked cauliflower is chopped, then tossed, with turmeric, cumin, cayenne, and a touch of ghee - add sliced avocado, hard-boiled eggs, toasted seeds, rainbow chard stems, lettuces. Get the recipe here.

17. Mushroom Stroganoff - This fantastic vegan mushroom stroganoff is a total crowd-pleaser. You can make it in an Instant Pot, or stovetop. Made with caraway-spiked vodka, and a hearty mushroom base, you get all of what you love about mushroom stroganoff, without the all the butter and cream. Get the recipe here.

18. Winter Green Miso Paste - Keep this on hand for flash-quick, healthy meals. A herbaceous, green miso paste with some garlic bite, rounded out with lots of scallions, cilantro, ginger, and some rosemary. Plus ten simple ways to use it. Get the recipe here.

Continue reading 18 Recipes to Kick off your Post-Holiday Reset...

We feature a lot of amazing LEGO fan creations here at The Brothers Brick, lovingly constructed by  builders from all over the world. As 2017 comes to a close, we have been taking a look back over the past year with our  Top 10 LEGO set reviews, Top 10 Custom LEGO Build Instructions and  our shortlist for The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2017 . Now it’s time to look back and reminisce once more, as we count down the top 10 most popular LEGO creations featured on The Brothers Brick.

#10: Rubrikon by Joe Perez

Our tenth most popular build is a cleverly constructed Rubik’s Cube that transforms into a colourful mecha. Joe posted the just the initial Rubik’s cube image as a teaser initially, so the surprise ‘functional’ element was the transformation to Rubrikon.

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#9: Modular LEGO store by Shirley Yoong 

Shirley Yoong’s modular LEGO store featured three floors of details mirroring the features of a real store.  With a Pick A Brick wall, shelves full of expensive sets, a play area and a busy cashier, this creation was a clear winner with fellow LEGO fans.

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#8: Cityscapes by Jeff  Friesen

One of our contenders for The Brothers Brick Creation of the Year 2017 comes in at number 8. Jeff’s beautiful utopian cityscapes certainly captured the imagination of many readers.

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#7: Autobots Roll out! by Alex Jones

Transformation featured once more, albeit in a much larger scale,  with Alex’s large collection of LEGO Transformers. Alex’s builds not only looked the part, but amazingly they also transformed into the robot version. His collection includes Ratchet, Tracks, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Prowl, Hound, Mirage, Jazz, Sideswipe, Arcee, Ironhide, Grimlock and Optimus Prime.

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#6:UCS LEGO Star Wars U-Wing from Rogue One by Mirko Soppelsa

Star Wars is always a popular LEGO theme and we have already listed our Top 10 LEGO Star Wars set released in 2017. Mirko’s hugely impressive UCS U Wing was popular with our readers, not just because of its size, but the accuracy and attention to detail.

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#5: Star Wars Hoth Echo Base by Brick a Ben, Ferroh12 and Brick_Phil

Our fifth most popular build is also Star Wars inspired, a massive diorama of Hoth Echo Base built using over 200,000 bricks and taking 2 years is definitely eye-catching .  Get out those sunglasses out to protect your eyes from snow-blindness, there’s a lot of white on show.

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#4: Massive wooden LEGO roller-coaster by Chairudo

LEGO roller-coasters may be an official offering soon, but meanwhile we were astounded by this massive creation which stands at 6.5 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, 1.4 meters tall using over 90,ooo pieces.  Don’t let those cardboard boxes fool you, this coaster is a thing of beauty and the video of the carts flowing around the 26 meter long track is mesmerising.

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#3: Huge  Steampunk Mega Wheel by Chris Wright

Our third most popular creation also rolls, but in a very different manner. Chris’ huge steam-powered mega wheel with a central galleon that seems to defy gravity was amazing to watch in action.

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#2:  Functioning 1:24 scale LEGO Liebherr LR 11000 Crane by Dawid Szmandra 

We only highlighted this amazing model a few days ago, but it has already become the second most popular creation this year.  Dawid’s 1:24 model crane is remote-controlled and uses 4 EV3 bricks, 9 motors, 7 light sensors, 1 touch sensor to function, it’s easily capable of lifting a chair.

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#1: The Last of Us by Tim Shwalfenberg

It will come of no surprise to learn that our most popular creation in 2017  is also one of the contenders for The Brothers Brick Creation of the Year 2017.  Tim Schwalfenberg’s hauntingly beautiful diorama based on the video game, The Last of Us was a huge favourite, and rightly so. Flora creeps into the dilapidated buildings, as floors sag and furniture rots after 20 years of disuse – this is an incredible build.

Do our top 10 most popular builds reflect your own favourites from this year?

The post Top 10 most popular LEGO creations featured on The Brothers Brick in 2017 [News] appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

The actual Liebherr LR11000 first went into operation on July 7, 2014. A mere 1,269 days later, Dawid Szmandra brings us a fully functioning LEGO build that’s not just ANY model, but one that’s at an astounding scale of 1:24, weighing in at 27 kg, uses 4 EV3 bricks, 9 motors, 7 light sensors and 1 touch sensor! The maximum height of this towering crane is 24 feet (7.5m)!

And lest you think it’s all for show, this crane has some serious lifting capacity.

According to Dawid, it’s made of 99.9% LEGO elements, with the only exceptions being the printed pulley wheels, stickers and strings. Even the turntable in the base (aka slewing ring) is made of 100% LEGO with minifigure heads used as bearings. And before anyone asks, no, David hasn’t created instructions for it (and you wouldn’t like the cost of parts even if he had).

To even fathom the scale this crane has, take a look at the detail of the hook piece. Even on its own, it’s astounding!

If you’re still not impressed, have a look at this to see it lifting a chair and transporting it just like an actual Liebherr Crane would.

 

 

The post Fully Functioning 1:24 scale LEGO Crane is over 24 ft tall and can lift a chair [Video] appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

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Weinersmith spent Christmas accusing God of things, as was his wont.

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Can you believe the industry spent decades believing that people wanted 'realistic' sex robots?

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Of course, in real life if you formed a grammar club, the only attendees would be linguists looking to talk shit.

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