cananian

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/25/video-of-new-wizarding-world-ad-rumor-of-feature-on-celebrity-apprentice

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/QXoLpwhYnvo/video-game-wedding-a.html

Dear Ms. Katayama, Thank you very much for watching our wedding ceremony online. Because of your blog post, we received some comments from what appeared to be international viewers, and we were very happy about that. I had heard before the groom is very busy during a Japanese wedding, but this was much more than I expected!

Both the actual wedding space and the livecasting web site were full on the day of — I'm so happy so many people were able to witness this. There were over 3,000 connections and 7,000 comments made online, and the people who showed up in person at the ceremony also offered their congratulations. It was great.

Now that the ceremony is over, I feel like I've been able to achieve a major milestone in my life. Some people have expressed doubts about my actions, but at the end of the day, this is really just about us as husband and wife. As long as the two of us can go on to create a happy household, I'm sure any misgivings about us will be resolved.

As for what's next, we still haven't gone to see my parents, so we will be going home together on New Years to officially announce our marriage.

The two of us hope to continue to let our love for each other grow as time goes on.

Sincerely,

SAL9000 & Nene Anegasaki

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/SNSdhaPEatw/grim-and-delightful.html

This is one of my favorite rhymes, along with "There's a hole in the bucket," since it contains such an important lesson about life: some solutions are really just problems in disguise.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/25/bonnie-wright-on-a-return-trip-to-kings-cross-station-for-deathly-hallows-epilogue

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/25/etalk-canada-et-canada-feature-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/1JsjGYjYWbw/national-gaming-day.html

* Number of libraries registered to participate: 1,365
* Number of libraries that submitted # of players for NGD activities: 549
* Total number of players for NGD activities: 31,296
* Number of libraries in the national Super Smash Bros Brawl tournament (simultaneous): 42
* Number of libraries in the national Rock Band High Score tournament (asynchronous): 14
* Number of non-US libraries that participated (that we know of): 2 (Canada, Japan), with interest expressed from Morocco for next year)

* "...I really witnessed a sense of community as potentially shy teens reached across the table and helped one another by whispering tips to each player during their SSB brawl matches. Additionally, without any prodding, those waiting to play or those who had "lost" their match, began forming groups to try out and play the board games sent to us from North Star Games and Hasbro. It was wonderful to see middle school aged contestants and high schoolers come together to teach and play against/with one another."

* "It is usually very difficult to get boys into the library, but National Gaming Day changed that. On November 14th, there were boys waiting outside for the library to open! The boys all came for the Wii bowling tournament. Although our group was small, we had more boys in the library at one time (for a non-summer reading program) than I have seen in my eleven years working here."

(Image: Gaming Day-4066)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/YV5orzRoJnI/two-us-senators-dema.html

We are surprised and unpersuaded by assertions that disclosures of basic information about the negotiation would present a risk to the national security of the United States, particularly as regards documents that are shared with all countries in the negotiations, and with dozens of representatives of large corporations. We are concerned that the secrecy of such information reflects a desire to avoid potential criticism of substantive provisions in ACTA by the public, the group who will be most affected by the agreement. Such secrecy has already undermined public confidence in the ACTA process, a point made recently by Dan Glickman, the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) - a group highly supportive of the ACTA negotiation, as well as by the members of the TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue -- a group more critical of the negotiations.

We firmly believe that the public has a right to know the contents of the proposals being considered under ACTA, just as they have the right to read the text of bills pending before Congress.

Senators Sanders and Brown ask White House to make ACTA text public (via /.)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/4PvJmM1xud8/conscious-coma-mans.html

And therein lies a problem, because facilitated communications has been widely discredited as a kind of Ouija board, in which the aide's unconscious movements guide the disabled person's hands around, without the aide even knowing that she's doing it.

Mr Houben's brain activity seems normal, and he can apparently communicate a little by moving one foot, but without more information, it's impossible to say whether the words attributed to him that we're reading are his, or a product of his facilitator's unconscious mind.

"If facilitated communication is part of this, and it appears to be, then I don't trust it," said Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics. "I'm not saying the whole thing is a hoax, but somebody ought to be checking this in greater detail. Any time facilitated communication of any sort is involved, red flags fly...."

"I believe that he is sentient. They've shown that with MRI scans," said James Randi, a prominent skeptic who during the 1990s investigated the use of facilitated communication for autistic children. But in the video, "You see this woman who's not only holding his hand, but what she's doing is directing his fingers and looking directly at the keyboard. She's pressing down on the keyboard, pressing messages for him. He has nothing to do with it."

According to Randi, facilitated communication could only be considered credible if the facilitator didn't look at the keyboard or screen while supporting Houben's hand, and helped him type messages in response to questions she had not heard, thus ensuring that Houben's responses are entirely his own.

The James Randi Educational Foundation has offered a million-dollar prize to a valid demonstration of facilitated communication, and Randi invited Houben to participate. "Our prize is still there," he said.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/t3cONCyIjM8/new-disney-princess.html

But Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams has me convinced. This sounds like a damned good movie. Maybe I'll take the kid to see it.

Tiana takes the princess role a step further -- she's not just Disney's first African-American to wear the crown, she's the first one with a regular job. (Unless you count Mulan's gig as a warrior.) She also, like "Ratatouille's" Remy, makes the case for great food as a social leveler and the cornerstone of a good life. Tiana knows that food "brings people together" with more reliable results than even voodoo.

But the strides here aren't just for princesses. Those Charming Guys of bygone days have traditionally been even less interesting than the ladies they rescue. Campos makes his Naveen such a cocky player that he doesn't stop seducing even when he's turned green and asks for just one kiss ... "unless you beg for more." He's a spoiled rich guy who needs to grow up, and the movie is just as much about his journey as it is about Tiana's.

And what a felicitous spot to take that journey. The Crescent City, in all her late 19th-century glory, shines like a jewel here: an enchanted, lively, multicultural town full of bright blossoms and infectious songs. As they say in the movie, "Dreams come true in New Orleans." Randy Newman [ed: ugh], who wrote the score, does a bang-up job of paying tribute to the city's rich musical heritage in a series of colorful, trippy numbers. There's a jazzy Armstrong-like song (featuring a crocodile named Louis), a gospel-tinged showstopper, a zydeco throwdown, and a boogie-woogie paean to the town sung by Dr. John [ed: that's more like it].

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/xoHG2mGZKgY/tv-vs-web-consumptio.html

Velocity of Media Consumption: TV vs. the Web (via ResourceShelf)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Nn6GV9oDPdA/eff-sets-sights-on-a.html

"READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer."

Using a TOS, online service providers can dictate their legal relationship with users through private contracts, rather than rely on the law as written. In the unregulated and unpredictable world of the Internet, such arrangements often provide the necessary ground rules for how various online services should be used.

Yet TOS agreements also raise a number of concerns for the consumer, as they can be a vehicle for abuse by online service providers. For starters, TOS provisions are usually written by the service providers themselves. As a result, they tend to end up being one-sided in the service provider's favor, and are often designed to be beyond any judicial scrutiny. Even more importantly, most users never even bother to read, let alone understand, these agreements, filled as they are with confusing legalese.

The time has come to shed light on what these Terms of Service agreements actually say, and what it means to users. In conjunction with our TOSBack project, EFF is working to make the contents of these TOS more transparent for the average user.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/YtBTuUnlgL4/delicious-sprinkles.html

Fudge and Sprinkles 5

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/wQ1ZrUxNt8c/nyc-tenants-rights-f.html

Many residents in New York are unfamiliar with their housing rights. What is my landlord required to repair? How does rent stabilization work? When can my landlord enter my apartment? Thanks to a generous grant from Sappi Ideas That Matter, Candy collaborated with non-profit group Tenants & Neighbors to develop and produce a boxed set of 30 flash cards on tenants' rights. The flash cards translate New York's official Tenants' Rights Guide into a fun and friendly format that covers everything from security deposits and subletting to privacy and eviction so residents can enjoy good times while becoming empowered residents. The flash cards are available for $10 in Tenants & Neighbors' online store and all profits go towards their good work. Buy one for yourself and all of your friends - a righteous gift for anyone in New York state!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/lZeNk_dpR-Q/bad-ass-mad-max-camp.html

OK, so not only are these incredible vehicles and costumes -- but those are some damned stylish and attractive cosplayers. They should do a runway show.

Road Warrior Weekend (Thanks, Erin!)

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/vgn92mnxZwQ/1125gaston-chevrolet-dies

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/11/1125gaston-chevrolet-dies

http://xkcd.com/667/

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/SjRjmcM9xbU/stonehenge-virtual-3.html

During production of the animation, we turned the LIDAR data into a solid 3D model of whole landscape surrounding Stonehenge. Aerial tours of the most famous sites and monument groups were animated in HD (720i) resolution. What is exciting is that much of the upstanding archaeology, from well-preserved barrows to the subtle earthworks of prehistoric field systems, are clearly visible.

To do this, we had to work out how to use the data at 1:1 for our animations (for this kind of task it is often necessary to reduce the complexity of the data by half or quarter (1:2 or 1:4) due to enormous memory and processing requirements). This we achieved, and using lighting techniques we have been able to show the archaeology of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site as it has never been seen before.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/PAWr2OwClVs/missing-phil-agre-in.html

Philip Agre was reported missing by his sister who resides out of state. She indicated that she had not seen Agre since the Spring of 2008 and that she became concerned about him when she learned that he had abandoned his apartment and his job sometime between December 2008 and May 2009.

Philip Agre is described as a White Male, 49 years old, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He sometimes wears a full beard. He is 6'0" tall and 120 lbs. Agre suffers from manic/depression. Agre is a former UCLA Professor.

"Friends and Colleagues Mount a Search for a Missing Scholar, Philip Agre" (Chronicle of Higher Education)

"The Mysterious Disappearance Of Phil Agre" (NPR)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/_PufhvJWxBc/wikileaks-we-will-re.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/RO4NjEWZkPU/fangst.html

The coinage "fangst," referring to Twilight's genre of emo teen-girl vampire stuff, turns out to already be the name of a delightful and diaphanous hanging storage unit from Ikea.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/b2TMjP2xjcs/gallery_sleep

http://www.wired.com/culture/art/multimedia/2009/11/gallery_sleep

Though Wired.com readers selected 10 excellent photos in our sleep photo contest, we here at the photo department like to fight for the underdog. Here are our 10 favorite submissions that we think deserved more attention.

The morning after

by J.C. Rojas

"Morning comes and you know the sun will wake her up pretty soon. You take a mental note on how the light looks on her legs before leaving."

Seasons

by Jorge Aragon

"Dreaming about the sun"

The Cocoon

by Alexandra Mederrick

"Suspending sleep, hammocked in dreams fluttering; secluded now until she wakes."

Jerusalem Syndrome

by CoVisions

"Late-nite at the Western Wall ..."

Mizouen's Back

by Van Royko

"France has co-ed hostels. Go figure. This girl was sleeping in the bed across from me. I liked the light."

Linn-Kjersti

by Anonymous

"Sleeping beauty"

Asleep at the Wheel

by Eric J Scott

"This taxi driver in Delhi seemed exhausted."

Beauty Sleep

by Anonymous

"All that glitters is gold"

sleepy sleepy

by adeyinka s

"sleeping on d bus home"

Book Store Nap

by Mark Lazarus

"Taken in the Tattered Cover bookstore in downtown Denver."

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/8lYxRFWdRww/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/11/storyboard-james-camerons-epic-quest-for-avatar/

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24441/

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/XgcS98BR3kE/

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/houben-communication/

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/2ihH2dfOg6Y/washington-post-to-c.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/8-03nULob2M/anti-energy-drinks.html

(CC-licensed photo by Francis Bourgouin) </em>

As a gimmicky antidote to "energy drinks," several companies are selling calming beverages in a can. (No, not beer.) DailyFinance recently surveyed the choices:

Promising a "vacation in a bottle" or an "acupuncture session in every can," makers of anti-energy drinks, as they're known, say that after bailouts, foreclosures and Ponzi schemes, Americans nowadays would rather chill out than tweak out. To help us do so, they're spiking their new beverages with ingredients such as chamomile, melatonin, and valerian root -- all known for their supposed calming effects. Now in convenience-store display cases across America, drinks with names like Slow Cow, Ex Chill and Malava Relax are increasingly jockeying for space with their amped-up alter-egos like Jolt, Monster and Rockstar.

"It's my quest to relax the world," says Innovative Beverage Group Holdings (IBGH) CEO Peter Bianchi, who developed the anti-energy beverage Drank. "I saw America becoming more and more hurried. We are going to burn out after a while."

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/wldAUTECUxw/alligators-in-nyc-se.html

Mr. May decided to go down to sewers himself to determine whether there was anything other than an excess of whiskey behind his inspectors' reports of narrow escapes from alligators. That startling description of what he found, given by the man affectionately known as the King of the Sewers and recounted by a journalist, was immortalized in "The World Beneath the City":

Alligators serenely paddling around in his sewers. The beam of his own flashlight had spotlighted alligators whose length, on the average, was about two feet. Some may have been longer. Avoiding the swift current of the trunk lines under major avenues, the beasts had wormed up the smaller pipes under less important neighborhoods, and there Teddy had found them. The colony appeared to have settled contentedly under the very streets of the busiest city in the world...

"These tales had a journalistic background," said Loren Coleman, director and curator of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Me., who has researched and written about the topic for decades. "Daley's book came along, and it was almost like independent confirmation."

More background at Cryptomundo

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/9718/video-49ers-offensive-philosopy

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/24/ben-shepard-to-film-behind-the-magic-of-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows