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Two BoingBoingish Things

First off, a tear free onion. Not only am I deeply saddened at the notion of future generations not experiencing the simple joy of watching another person cry over a vegetable, but I’m pretty sure they’re trading something (taste, nutrition, etc) for this convenience. Honestly, people, just use a sharp knife and it’s not that bad. My main interest in the article, though, is the term “gene jockey.” Is this becoming common parlance for scientists doing genetic modification? Because that would be awesome. I’ll still stick with the heirloom veggies when I can though, thanks.

Second, ongoing reports that a fifth major undersea communications cable has been cut. This story just keeps getting more bizarre. Apparently, at least one was shut down, not cut, but the other four have been severed. I should make this clear: to my knowledge, it’s really hard to sever one (they’re buried and well insulated and such), and they’re also very hard to repair when damaged (since you have to , find, retrieve, patch, and rebury and sensitive fiber optic cable in deep water). Apparently, no one is crying “terrorism!” just yet, which strikes me as really strange for this administration (c’mon, blame Iran!). Officials don’t have any good theory right now though. BoingBoing readers have the answer: giant monster.

This Is Amazing

This video of Ian from 3 Panel Soul coloring an image is amazing. I’ve always been a big fan of his art and, now that I’m taking drawing classes myself, it’s really interesting to see how he does it. Watch for the moment around 14:30 where suddenly the cherub stops being cartoony and becomes three dimensional. Art is freaking weird sometimes.

Awesome Art

I found a pretty impressive artist today. His work is mostly done with ballpoint pen on huge sheets of paper. The level of detail is amazing. I find some of the images he chooses somewhat strange, but the snapshot aesthetic is pretty popular at the moment. And hey, it must be art, there are some exposed breasts!

Oh yeah, NSFW. A little.

Awesome Site

Thanks to the modern wonder that is Facebook, I discovered a new charity site which asks little more then your time and a little thinking. It’s called Free Rice, and you play it as a simple vocabulary game. For every answer you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to help feed starving people through the UN. I was a little dubious at first (after all, you pay nothing) but then I noticed the small note at the bottom that the site’s single banner ad pays for the rice donations. Good enough for me.

You can learn some pretty sweet words, too.

So donate a little time and earn some rice!

Wow

Yay for the Lakota, apparently. I wish someone in the US government would actually take this seriously, but I doubt it. Maybe I should move. I think they are within their rights, which is pretty cool.

Is It Just Me

Or is this little device pretty cool? It’s a newspaper brick maker. Apparently, the idea is to use recycled paper pressed into little bricks to fuel your fires. It’s relatively cheap, and I get the feeling it wouldn’t be too hard to make if you are handy.

From my little bit of googling, it seems there are a few points the site leaves out (whether or not the product’s instructions include this I don’t know).

• The device was originally designed for (and by?) people in third world countries who need the material to fuel wood stoves, etc.
• The paper needs to be more then just wet – it needs to soak for at least two days, four is better (longer then seven and mold sets in). A few drops of bleach hep the process along, but the idea is to break the paper down into pulpy material. So if you’re going to do it, soak up a big load of paper and make a bunch.
• Failing to do that will produce bricks which only smolder, not really burn.
• They also burn much better if other scrap fuel (wood chips, grass clippings, coal dust) is added.

Still, seems like it would be fun to play with.

Ridiculous Hypotheticals

The title sort of says it all. It’s a blog devoted to ridiculous hypothetical situations. Some are pretty tricky, others seem really obvious. I’ll let you decide.

Thoughts

So I was thinking last night, walking home from the Student Union, that quite little can buoy the spirits like a good, hot meal and good conversation.

I know, pretty random, but it seems true, right?

Now, enjoy this piece about not-so-good meals.

(Or, if you are of the Anime persuasion, you might find this video even funnier.)

(Also, if you liked the Naruto version, here is another great one. Apparently, this is common? Anime covers of comedians by fans?)

A Poem

Not mine (luckily for all of you), but good none-the-less. It’s interesting, because I know I had read this before, and not liked it very well. However, it was in Into the Wild (the movie), and in that context I found it really moving. Enjoy!

Sharon Olds – I Go Back To May 1937