BoingBoing has been off the air for a few days, apparently with server issues:
We're having server problems and working on them -- I hope to be up in a day or so again, but it's exacerbated by my crazy travel schedule.Please direct your friends to this note, and ask for their forebearance in sending email asking what's up with Boing Boing. I'm getting several hundred of these a day, and it's gotten so that answering those messages is actively interfering with my efforts to reestablish service.
In the meantime, we're still blogging, and the mailblog still works:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/boingboing-mailblog/
posted by doctorow at 1:36 PM PST on October 30
Fear not - they'll be back soon.
boingboing [via MetaFilter]
Update: You can reach BoingBoing by going here: http://216.126.84.59/
A novelty toy dog which breaks wind sparked a major security alert at an American airport.Armed security staff were alerted when the toy's wind-breaking mechanism registered as a high explosive on sensitive monitoring equipment.
Mr Rogerson, 31, from Thorner, Leeds, was questioned by FBI agents and looked on in amazement as they took a series of swabs from the mechanical toy's rear end.
Bomb alert over 'break-wind' dog [BBC News]
Glorious collection of dating dealbreaker stories, like this one:
I was at a date's house and she asked me to get some ice from her freezer. Things between us were heating up that night, and altogether it had been a nice evening. While getting the ice, though, I found her dead ferret frozen right next to the ice cube trays. She tried to explain ("I'm from Wisconsin and I want to take it home to bury it") but all I could think of was seeing that little shriveled paw sticking out of the aluminum foil.
What broke the deal? [Salon] (Premium, watching an ad required)
On 5th October at 9pm, Derren Brown will attempt not to shoot himself in the head live on Channel 4.Filmed in a secret location, one person selected from the thousands who applied will load a real handgun with one bullet and then hand it to Derren. Using a series of psychological tests, Derren will then determine which chamber contains the bullet, put the gun to his head, and fire until he comes to the live chamber.
A headline-grabbing stunt from a fascinating genre-defying mentalist/illusionist/hypnotist/magician. The clip of him using mass hypnosis on shoppers in a mall is not to be missed.
Mass Hypnosis of Unaware Mall Shoppers (RealVideo) [from
Derren Brown: Mind Control show on Channel 4 Television]
Update: So he didn't kill himself; but he was by no means certain of the outcome.
Riveting finale to Russian roulette stunt [BBC]
The excellent Aardman Animations are reprising their old Creature Comforts, and you can get a sneak preview. Although their style has been used for straightforward advertising, the genius of these characters is that these shorts - like the original ads - were animated from real interviews with ordinary people, giving them a clear contrast to polished commercials, and making them instantly stand out and seem perfectly ordinary at the same time.
Creature Comforts [The Sun]
Sue and Lorraine the Walruses (Quicktime)