The Old Reader

04 Feb 19:41

Sir Slicer on Horse | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

by hado

Christopher Lantz
Great episode of Adventure Time, BTW.

via http://www.flickr.com/photos/84568447@N00/5136749569/lightbox/

04 Feb 06:22

In Porphyria’s latest set, Gonzo, she’s...

Christopher Lantz
#NSFW Like definitely. But I appreciate the take on my fav comic Gonzo journalist, Spider Jerusalem.

In Porphyria’s latest set, Gonzo, she’s everyone’s favorite muck-raking journalist, who isn’t afraid of powerful people, drugs, or foul language. Check it out, only in the members area of Cosplay Deviants.

Christopher Lantz, Matthew Koch and -1 others like this

03 Feb 03:51

Safe and Warm in Haiti

by bl00

Christopher Lantz
My good friend, thank you for sharing your experiences.

The day I arrived in Port-au-Prince was a whirlwind, joyful and strange and a bit overwhelming, soothed by stints of reading, and coding, and a nap. Adaptation is something all humans tend to be incredible at, myself being no exception (and possibly programmed to be even more so). Learning new social cues is fascinating rather than daunting, my main concern being not to fixate too long on any one person, lest they be put off by my stares.

That night, Emilie and I walked down the hill to a new restaurant/bar, recently opened. My own friendliness matched by one of the owners, Em asking if we already knew each other, given our laughing and kissing on cheeks (no hugging here), comrades in awareness and intent. He wants the area to be the Castro of Port-au-Prince, helping others to open shops and bars nearby, seeing the cultural shift rather than the competition. I feel the beginnings of something big – possibly struggle and tragedy, but more hopefully the expansion of the safe space we experience in their courtyard out into the streets. The weather had cooled, and the open floor plan with beautifully graffiti’d walls reminded me of Berlin. Brazilian pop played, and we capped our beers and talked for long hours. The same kind switch to English, accented by French and Creole here rather than German, so that I might participate.

Lit by oil lanterns, I feel the sort of quiet happiness you only get from stolen moments, the knowledge that you have participated in safe space when which is rare outside your bubble. But too often we long to use these spaces as sanctuaries of permanence, rather than celebration. Mecca is where we go to understand the world we strive for on a daily basis, to remind us to look up and see, rather than feel like we taking incrementally smaller steps, like some role in a philosophical mathematical proof. To be only around like-minded people is easy and wonderful, we can dive deeply into our shared interests and create esoteric structures of understanding. But those structures are fragile, not shored up by webs of links to other aspects of the world. And it is selfish to hoard those understandings, to not challenge ourselves and other people. As I recently read on the twitters, “design like you’re right, listen like you’re wrong.”

And yesterday, I found myself amongst a group of hackers who gave up their weekends to fly continents away. They learned to interact at a different pace, waiting for translations. They learned just as much as the students and call center staff who came to talk. A day spent in a hot room, wind drifting through, my own tie and vest and dress shirt too much. My eventually exposed shoulders disrespectful but for my own profuse apologies and broken english allowances. One founder saying “the heat is a violence against you,” me not knowing possibly how to respond.

A sudden rush to get out the gate before the street is repaired, who knows where the means to do so came from. Despite our attempt to collect our equipment and pack into bags and into the truck, we are left watching as 7 Haitian men spread a small hill of asphalt via wheelbarrows and shovels. Rather than hover, we walk up the steep hill to drink beer from a shop made out of plywood, held together by a nail gun, and hand painted in more of this language I fail to grasp. The sun sets over the ocean, reminding us that we’re on a tropical island. Well, that and the mosquitos. We finally see some cars come up from the road we came from, and we head back to our Van of Privilege.

On the way to dinner we stop in a gas station supermarket to change money and get local rum. Again, children giggle at my hair (and the now showing tattoos) and stern adults walk them away. The numbers etched on my skin having an extra layer of indiscerability here. The harsh florescence and my own exhaustion make this a less welcoming place. Blocks away, our dinner includes goat, and taro root, and a very polite cat who holds the chair at the head of the table. The cat’s body language renders understandable, though I’ve struggled at times to understand the social cues here. I’ve realized how much of my interaction is based on wit, and compassion, and a deep understanding and care of what people expect and can handle. Here, I have none of the same leeway (because I have not built it, because I do not understand). It is atrociously good for me.

We return back to the hotel. Expats around tables, snow-marked (not pixelated) Alan Rickman and Bruce Willis on same small screen which showed Se7en the night before. We talk about making safe space for people in taking leadership roles (or at the very least being heard) who might not otherwise, and what it is to learn new things, and what tomorrow looks like.

This morning, I forgot to think about if I was being proper or not, and joked about my stick figures, and heard about cocreation. We played Bear-Ninja-Cowboy in the courtyard, and everyone laughed and cheered. Today they have a lot of work ahead of them – not the kind of work you plow through on your own, but the kind where you ensure the people around you are on the same page. Today is about building consensus, buy-in, and understanding. I am excited.

Tertiarymatt, Lindsay Oliver and one other like this

03 Feb 03:30

Osamu Kitajima: “Tengu (A Long-Nosed Goblin)” From the album...

Christopher Lantz
shared via my new sharebro @Billtron

Osamu Kitajima: “Tengu (A Long-Nosed Goblin)”

From the album Benzaiten (1974)

This highly grooveable hybrid of progressive rock and traditional Japanese music was the first release by multi-instrumentalist Osamu Kitajima (disregarding his 1971 “homage to British pop-psychedelia” under the pseudonym Justin Heathcliff). After followup albums Masterless Samurai (1980) and Dragon King (1981), Kitajima moved decidedly in the direction of new age music.

The album takes its name from Benzaiten, the Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati, patroness of knowledge, music, arts, and science. It features a cameo by Haruomi Hosono, who would carry on the torch of Japanese avant-pop in projects such as his exquisitely weird 1978 solo album Cochin Moon and the synthesizer-driven juggernaut Yellow Magic Orchestra, of which he was a founding member.

Tertiarymatt, Russian Sledges and one other like this

02 Feb 08:58

Sesame Street video mashed up with Beastie Boys's "Sure Shot"

by Cory Doctorow

Christopher Lantz
Cause it's been way too long since a good muppet's mashup.

The Sesame Street/Beastie Boys mashup from summer 2011 was later expanded to a full 3:44 version, and the additional material is even better than the original. What a piece of work!

Sesame Street vs Beastie Boys - Sure Shot mashup (whole song) (via MeFi)

Tertiarymatt likes this

02 Feb 08:24

Check Your Hipster Cred

Christopher Lantz
Fuck. I did the math, this puts me at Entry Level Hipster... Whyyyyyyyyyyy??????

Submitted by: Unknown (via Endless Origami)

Tagged: lineup , coachella , hipster , Music FAILS , g rated Share on Facebook

02 Feb 04:05

Ruined Childhood: Power Rangers Edition

by Don

The Power Rangers have arrived to ruin your childhood.

baron, Tertiarymatt likes this

01 Feb 23:45

This Tyke Could Knock You Out

Christopher Lantz
Wow, that kid's got some good reflexes.

Submitted by: Unknown

Tagged: Kickass Kid , parenting , boxing , BAMF , Video , g rated , win Share on Facebook

Dark.saian, Christopher Lantz and one other like this

01 Feb 20:08

I Think We All Know That Feeling

Christopher Lantz
And by sometimes, I mean all of the time.

Submitted by: Unknown

Tagged: that feeling , orgy , llamas , dog , dating fails Share on Facebook

Tertiarymatt likes this

01 Feb 07:25

I hope the comment about you not receiving a blowjob since before the internet is not true. Either way, I volunteer.

Christopher Lantz
#NSFW

I just realized that this anon was probably born after I first was on the internet.

But I appreciate your offer. Would we have to keep this like a gloryhole thing to keep it anonymous or do I blindfold or how does this work?

01 Feb 07:02

Trailer for season 2 of Black Mirror, scariest/best sf on TV

by Cory Doctorow

Christopher Lantz
Whoa! has anyone seen this?

Here's the trailer for the new season of Charlie Booker's Channel 4 science fiction series Black Mirror. The first season was the best science fiction TV I've ever seen, better even than The Twilight Zone. The trailer itself is so gloriously creepy and wonderful in every way that it makes me want to hide under the bed until the episodes start airing.

Black Mirror (via IO9)

Christopher Lantz, Lindsay Oliver likes this

01 Feb 01:26

Short documentary about competitive gaming tournaments

by Mark Frauenfelder

Christopher Lantz
I just got done watching Iron Squid 2, the super bowl of the SC2. Man, there is something exciting hearing the crowd cheer on an effective Zerg attack.

TL Taylor (author of Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming) talks about competitive gaming and e-sports in this short PBS documentary.

01 Feb 01:19

Sam the Permanently Worried Cat

by Don

This adorable cat with eyebrow-like markings on his head has attracted over 10,000 followers on Instagram in the past month. Can someone start an entry for our latest feline star?

01 Feb 01:10

Your Muscles Look Plump and Juicy

Submitted by: Unknown

Tagged: physics , isaac newton , science , g rated , School of FAIL Share on Facebook

Tertiarymatt likes this

31 Jan 22:18

Portlandia just keeps getting better.

by Xeni Jardin

Christopher Lantz
Yeah, the 3rd season is seriously good. Major props to Fred and Carrie.

The third season of IFC's Portlandia is just unbelievably, astonishingly good. It's one of my favorite shows on television (well, iPad) right now. Above, the "nerd" PSA I've always been hoping someone would make.

I also loved the recent segment featuring George Wendt as a Portland Tribune journalist who is newly demoted to “linkalist,” in a scenario many working newsmen and women will unfortunately find familiar.

Carrie and Fred, we know you love Boing Boing; now you know Boing Boing loves you back.

If you haven't dug in yet, dig in. Below, another couple of recent clips. Anyone who's ever been to a raw vegan restaurant knows the necessity of a Fart Patio. And, below that, "The Battle of the Gentle Bands," featuring Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis. Actually, "Gentle Bands" may really just be an Ambicon promo.

[Update: Some Boing Boing readers outside of the US report that the videos are region-blocked. There are workarounds! Google 'em.]

31 Jan 18:00

Edwardian Ball and World's Faire 2013, captured in video

by Xeni Jardin

Christopher Lantz
Looks lovely.

Funny person and accomplished video storyteller Mark Day sends us this wonderful video he's just completed, and explains its contents: "Operatic shenanigans at the Edwardian Ball 2013, with the Vau de Vire Society, excessive corsetry and several steampunk googles sightings!"