The ACTA Timeline on Dipity.

Michael Geist writes, "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is generating growing concern as many people learn about the secret copyright treaty for the first time. I've create a visual timeline to trace its emergence that includes links to the leaked documents, official government statements, and NGO letters and work in the area."

The ACTA Timeline

Here's an inspiring video of Mohammed Makokha, a master bike mechanic in Nairobi who has designed and built a bunch of custom tools for repairing bikes.

Video of home made bicycle repair tools and gadgets in Nairobi

She's not packing heat, but she does have a camera hidden in her (apparently attractive) breast. Researchers at the University of California, Davis built a robotic version of a female sage grouse in order to get a bird's-eye view of courtship rituals. They're hoping to learn more about the evolution of sexual selection, and what the sage grouse do to survive in a shrinking habitat. Bonus: The video features Miles O'Brien. Yeah, Miles O'Brien!

NSF.gov Science Nation: Bird Courtship

THE STORY SO FAR: The story shifted to Houston, where billionaire oil tycoon A.U. Rookman conducted a videoconference with a John Alpha. Michael, John, Dr. Mike and the 7th Son soldiers reached Los Angeles. After a tense ride through the streets of West Hollywood, the team arrived at Folie a Deux. At the 7th Son facility, Father Thomas, Jack and Jay learned more about Kilroy2.0’s world. A powerful benefactor helped Kilroy in a time of need.

Check out this week's installment below. If you're enjoying this serialized experience, support the book by purchasing a copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Borders, or printing this PDF order form and presenting it at your favorite bookstore. You can learn more about the book at J.C.'s site.

JC Hutchins's sf novel 7TH SON serial, Part 8

All that aside, it would be nice to establish December 11 as the official anniversary date of the formation of SF fandom. And certainly it's a more pleasant thing to associate with December 11 than the assassination of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II in 969, the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936, or the arrest of Bernard Madoff in 2008. Go, fandom, may you always be creative, unconventional, and neurodiverse.
Happy 80th anniversary, SF fandom

I'm loving this: you can click on any of those dots (on the actual web-page) to see what it represents. The slider moves you back and forth year-to-year. It's an amazing way of visualizing public spending.

Where Does My Money Go? (Thanks, Yishay!)

Terror police to monitor nurseries for Islamic radicalisation (Thanks, Marilyn!)

(Image: Nursery School, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from Editor B's photostream)

That said, I have a few caveats. At £57.50, I think it's pricey, especially given the use-case for this as a portable chair you can keep in the car or under the stroller for those times you're out and about at a restaurant or relative's place. I can see paying a small premium to have a really beautiful piece of furniture for home use, but I don't see shelling out to ensure that my kid's chair doesn't clash with the restaurant's decor for the hour we're having lunch there. The composite wood is extremely sturdy and lovely besides, but it's heavy, especially relative to equally hard-wearing (and much cheaper) plastics. Again, the weight isn't a big deal if this is meant to be a permanent home seat, but as a portable seat, every gram counts. Finally, the first-time assembly, during which all the straps have to be threaded through various slots on the seat, is fiddly and confusing. You only have to do this once, but at nearly £60, I'd expect the thing to come ready for use.

Conceptually, the Cinch Seat is fantastic, and I love the idea of making kids' furniture and gadgets out of simple materials with an eye for good design. If price is no object, the Cinch Seat is a great idea -- if I were running an upscale restaurant, I'd certainly consider buying a couple of them.

Cinch Seat (Thanks, Adam!)

Update: Adam adds, "I know it's expensive for a portable booster so I'm happy for you to offer a discount to your readers if anyone orders one before christmas day. I'll reduce it to £50. They just have to let me know they saw it on your site."

Last month, I blogged about a group of Mad Max superfan cosplayers who hied themselves out to the desert in a variety of amazing vehicles (including a flying one-person chopper!) and costumes and spent the weekend playing at apocalypse. The event's organizer, DJ Wolfie, has put together a (mildly NSFW) video of highlights from the weekend.

Road Warrior Weekend Dj Wolfie

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 laying down quality standards for bananas (as amended)

A nanomanipulation system was used to assemble the parts 'by hand' and platinum deposition was used to weld all elements together. The snowman is mounted on a silicon cantilever from an atomic force microscope whose sharp tip 'feels' surfaces creating topographic surveys at almost atomic scales. Christmas 2009 : Educate + Explore : National Physical Laboratory (Thanks, Simon!)

By December 17th, 2009, European negotiators will submit their position regarding the proposal put forward by the U.S Trade Representative for the Internet chapter of the ACTA. It is now time for the European Union to firmly oppose the dangerous measures secretly being negotiated. They cover not only "three strikes" schemes, but also include Internet service providers liability that would result in Internet filtering, and dispositions undermining interoperability and usability of digitial music and films.

The first signatories of the open letter include: Consumers International (world federation of 220 consumer groups in 115 countries), EDRi (27 European civil rights and privacy NGOs), the Free Software Foundation v(FSF), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), ASIC (French trade association for web2.0 companies), and civil liberties organizations from all around Europe (9 Member States so far...). The letter is open for signature by other organizations. ACTA: A Global Threat to Freedoms (Open Letter) (Thanks, Jérémie!)

SteamPunk Buttons - FIVE Steampunk Watch Buttons 1066 (Thanks, Liz!)

]]>eBay seller Treasure Cast makes pewter coat-buttons cast from the guts of old mechanical watches, a lovely idea. SteamPunk Buttons - FIVE Steampunk Watch Buttons 1066 (Thanks, Liz!)...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=c390292b0a9c16080ddb5f5aeabb3616&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=c390292b0a9c16080ddb5f5aeabb3616&p=1"/></a> <img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226"/>http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/10/steampunk-pewter-coa.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/7rY7Mc-_5Bg/goldman-sachs-banker.htmlNewsCory DoctorowThu, 10 Dec 2009 22:18:59 PSTtag:www.boingboing.net,2009://1.69173blogged a Bloomberg column by Alice Schroeder that alleged that Goldman Sachs bankers were buying handguns to protect themselves from peasant uprisings. The Wall Street Journal has investigated the claim, and they think it's bogus:

New York police spokesman Paul J. Browne says that their records show only four Goldman employees have applied for gun permits in recent years -- and the last application was made in 2003. That application, by the firm's head of security for a "carry permit", was granted. The only other employee granted a NYPD carry permit" is a building security guard. It was issued prior to 2003, said a police spokesman. Those applying for a permit must list their employer.

Two Goldman employees have residential permits, allowing them to have guns in their homes. The last of these permits was issued in 2001, Browne said. One of the permits was issued to a trader and the other was given to a graphic designer.

"We haven't seen a surge of applications of any kind for Goldman Sachs employees," said Browne.

Police report that Alfonso Frank Frazetta (above) was caught red handed stealing 90 of his famous father's paintings. They said he and an accomplice had broken into the Frank Frazetta museum in rural Pennsylvania and were loading the paintings, worth $20 million, into a trailer.

Alfonso, 52, told the police his father had instructed him to "enter the museum by any means necessary to move all the paintings to a storage facility." But Frazetta, who is 81 and was in Florida at the time of the alleged theft said he did not give his son permission to remove the paintings from the museum. (Thanks, Antinous!)

He barely knows how to talk yet, but he's already a better ukulele player than I'll ever be. (Thanks, Gabe!)

]]>He barely knows how to talk yet, but he's already a better ukulele player than I'll ever be. (Thanks, Gabe!)...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=3625515d682096a03c8919eb17e080cf&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=3625515d682096a03c8919eb17e080cf&p=1"/></a> <img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226"/>http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/10/very-young-kid-is-a.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/j4ccVz6pcn8/medical-marijuana-re.htmlWeirdLisa KatayamaThu, 10 Dec 2009 14:45:41 PSTtag:www.boingboing.net,2009://1.69167is taking a fun new approach to distributing pot — it's marketing itself as a restaurant. Called Ganja Gourmet, it has a full menu of international dishes — lasagna, pizza, paella, jambalaya — made with medical marijuana. The waiters are all dressed in tie-dye and they offer free rides home to people who are too high to drive after their meals.

]]>A medical marijuana dispensary in Denver is taking a fun new approach to distributing pot &mdash; it's marketing itself as a restaurant. Called Ganja Gourmet, it has a full menu of international dishes &mdash; lasagna, pizza, paella, jambalaya &mdash; made with medical marijuana. The waiters are all dressed in tie-dye and they offer free rides home to people who are too high to drive after their meals....<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=f94709b1dd7a1ff04a4c07aa1ff13ff3&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=f94709b1dd7a1ff04a4c07aa1ff13ff3&p=1"/></a> <img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226"/>http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/10/medical-marijuana-re.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/W0ONJ6oEGyI/rick-warren-does-the.htmlActiongbltqpublicpressureworksrickwarrenugandaMaggie Koerth-BakerThu, 10 Dec 2009 13:26:10 PSTtag:www.boingboing.net,2009://1.69166Rick Warren has officially come out against the proposed laws in Uganda that would make homosexuality a crime, punishable by death in some cases. In an open letter to the pastors of Uganda (with whom Warren has a great deal of influence from his missionary work) the American mega-pastor says,

As an American pastor, it is not my role to interfere with the politics of other nations, but it IS my role to speak out on moral issues ... the potential law is unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals, requiring the death penalty in some cases. If I am reading the proposed bill correctly, this law would also imprison anyone convicted of homosexual practice ... I urge you, the pastors of Uganda, to speak out against the proposed law.

Obviously, Warren holds (and reiterates in the letter) beliefs about sex and about queer men and women with which I thoroughly disagree. But I want to thank him for doing the right thing here, for putting his influence and power to use to save the lives of innocent people. Hopefully, Warren's letter will make a difference.

Rick Warren: Letter to the Pastors of Uganda

Artist Audrey Kawasaki posted a bunch of photos of her in-progress paintings, which will be unveiled at her Hajimari solo show at Jonathan Levine Gallery in NY this coming Saturday.

Sneak peek at Audrey Kawasaki's upcoming Hajimari show

"A loud pop was heard from the student's room," the ukranews.com portal said, citing an aide to the city's police chief. "When his relatives entered the room they saw that the lower part of the young man's face had been blown off."

A forensic examination established that the chewing gum was covered with an unidentified chemical substance, thought to be some type of explosive material.

Police questioning revealed that the student had a bizarre habit of chewing gum after dunking it into citric acid. On his table, police found both citric acid packets and a similar-looking unidentified substance, believed to be some kind of explosive material.

Improv Everywhere travels back in time to 1971, or mind-lock virus? (Via Arbroath)

"Singer/songwriter/guitarist, musical anthropologist, and one of rock and roll's pioneering forces in the Dominican Republic, Luis Días, passed away from a heart attack and other health-related complications on the morning of Dec. 8th, in Santo Domingo."

That's from an obit at Kiko Jones's blog, written by someone who knew Luis Días and felt what he was about.

I borrowed the photo from writer-photographer Eliseo Cardona's fine music blog Blue Monk, which also has an appreciation of Luis's life and work.

In the Santo Domingo daily paper 7 Días, Alfonso Torres writes a eulogy (in Spanish):

Nadie como él desafió la muerte, la noche terrorífica del último cuarto del siglo 20 dominicano, con su lírica estremecedora, su irreverencia, sus acordes exóticos tan lejanos y tan cercanos de nuestra cultura popular.

Which I crudely translate to (though I have to repunctuate):

Nobody could defy death—the terrorific night of the last quarter of the 20th century in the Dominican Republic - like him, with his shake-you-up lyrics, his irreverence, his exotic chords so far away from and so close to our popular culture.

Luis Días was a folklorist, albeit an unorthodox one, and a Dionysian theorist of his own musical culture. He and his generation had to find a creative cultural response to a national history that still lives in a direct way the consequences of 16^th-century Spanish conquest, the 18^th-century Haitian Revolution, and 20^th-century US clientism. (In 1965, when Días was a teenager, US President Lyndon B. Johnson invaded the country with tens of thousands of troops and blockaded it with the US Navy to keep the Dominican government right-wing so that it wouldn't become "another Cuba.")

Días not only spoke truth to power, he spoke Dominican truth to Dominican power. To understand his importance fully, you have to know something about the insults endured by Dominican music.

Rafael Trujillo, who from 1930 until he was assassinated on May 30, 1961 was "the dictatingest dictator who ever dictated" (Junot Díaz's Pulitzer-winning words), unsubtly imposed on the country a musical monoculture of one strain of Dominican music that he favored, along with a murderously racist anti-Haitian ideology that demonized the republic's hardest-laboring class, to say nothing of his near-total disinterest in educating children. Moreover, because Trujillo's brother owned the radio broadcasting industry and didn't want competition from records, there was almost no recording of Dominican music for thirty years—three decades of music, wiped out of history. (This story is told in Deborah Pacini Hernández's Bachata: A Social History of a Dominican Popular Music.) So the fact that Luis Días was a student and connoisseur of the diverse unrecorded, under-researched musics of his land — a precious, neglected cultural legacy — was a case of speaking rhythmic truth to power.

After Trujillo was assassinated, the music called bachata began to be heard. Días was at the head of a new songwriting movement that valorized this romantic but realist guitar-driven music of the Dominican underclass. He was at the cutting edge of a brilliant Dominican artistic generation in the years preceding the megasuccess of Juan Luis Guerra (who titled one of his albums Areíto, something Días had done eight years before; areíto was the indigenous form of music of the Taínos). His rock band, Transporte Urbano (urban transport), is often credited as the beginning of a Dominican rock movement. His megahit, "El Carnaval," first recorded with his great interpreter Sonia Silvestre, became a street-and-stadium anthem in 1985 as sung by Fernando Villalona; with its simple, impossibly catchy refrain of "Baila en las calles de noche, baila en las calles de día," it's a carnival perennial 25 years later.

His Dominican colleagues, including Silvestre, Guerra, Sergio Vargas, and Víctor Víctor, remember him (in Spanish) at hoy.com.do

Luis Días was the kind of person about whom everyone has a story. My friend Henry Mena is a songwriting Dominican rocker in New York and leader of the band La Ruta, which in summer 2009 played a short set of Días's Transporte Urbano classics as a birthday present to him at New York's Quisqueya on the Hudson Festival. Henry recalled a hang with Luis:

"One afternoon I dropped in on Luis at his and then-wife Laura's apartment in Manhattan's Stuyvesant Town. He confessed not having more than $5 on him but, regardless, asked me to accompany him to get a six-pack and spend the afternoon listening to Soundgarden. As we made our way back to his place form the corner bodega, he noticed the mail had arrived and with it, a check for a few hundred bucks: airplay royalties from "Carnaval (Baila en la Calle)".

Sweet!

"But the best part came a few hours later: between beers, 'Superunknown,' and tales from his days working with Dominican record producer/music biz impresario Cholo Brenes—'I've got a smash for you, Cholo. A hit. Send the messenger with the money, so I can send you back the cassette,' and then after hanging up with Brenes, he'd proceed to hurriedly write the promised winning song, heh heh. Invariably, Brenes would excitedly call back a short time later: 'Damn, Luis! What a song!' heh heh—ASCAP called asking if he'd stop by or would he prefer they mail him a royalty check for $2,000+ he'd earned from 'Si He de Morir,' which Luis had contributed to Marc Anthony's debut salsa album.'Man, you're my lucky charm!' he said to me. And so, we rushed uptown to get that loot."

I said to Henry, what makes this story perfect is the listening-to-Soundgarden part. He answered, "The man loved his rock and roll, Ned."

[PHOTO: Eliseo Cardona]

Support EFF with a Year-End Donation! (Thanks, Hugh!)

Kermit the Frog joins Minnesota Public Radio's "In the Loop" to sing a song in support of Iran's Green Revolution protests, which have had a resurgence over the last couple of days.

Increasing the N! (Thanks, David!)