Richard Kadrey is a New York Times bestselling author and a friend of this website. His dark, horror-tinged urban fantasy books have been a fixture in bookstores and libraries since 2009. 11 books (and counting) into his Sandman Slim series, his novels have been optioned to become a film directed by John Wick’s Chad Stahelski. To say that he’s a success as a writer would be an understatement.

Now, he’s looking to help you build the skills to hone your literary talent as well.

Starting in March, Richard will be teaching a four-week online course on writing dark urban fantasy. Speaking to him from his digs in San Fransisco on Wednesday, he told me, “...during the class, I want to help students get a strong beginning to a story or novel. More importantly, I want give them the skills they need to keep creating new work.”

In order to do that, he’s laid out a clear road map to help get the asses of potential authors into gear.

From Richard’s Litreactor page:

Week One: What is Dark Urban Fantasy? What is dark or noir urban fantasy and how does it differ from horror? Who lives there and why? And why do we want to bring the strange and the dark into the world?

Week Two: Dark Urban Fantasy Characters

Who lives in these strange, invented worlds? How do you construct characters that walk the line between good and evil? Even in the most extreme world and stories, there must be some core of truth to it.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/00QNxFSzBA4/new-york-times-bestselling-aut.html

We've all heard that Boy Scout motto, "be prepared." These days most everybody is, thanks to the most useful emergency device of all time: The smartphone.

Except, of course, when they run out of power. Which is why if you really want to be prepared, get a power bank like the HyperCharger PRO V.2 All-in-One Charger.

This Best of Innovation award winner at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show packs plenty of juice - 8,000mAh, to be exact. But it's really the connectivity that makes it unique.

The PRO V.2 can output through Apple Lightning, micro USB or USB-C connectors, which means its suitable for iPhones, Androids, tablets of various types and generations - basically any device you come across. It can even charge up to three devices at the same time and do it quickly with 25W HyperCharging capability. You'll be able to come to the rescue of anyone who needs a quick jolt at the local coffee shop, not to mention backup for yourself.

The charger is now half off the original retail price, but you can take an extra 15% off by using the holiday discount code MERRYSAVE15. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Qre319YU2_E/power-up-3-devices-at-once-on.html

Someone is going to get a bollocking at the U.S. State Department, because they added Wakandathe fictional high-tech African kingdom from the marvel Black Panther movieto an official list of trade partners.

The fictional country was removed soon from the list after US media first queried it, prompting jokes that the countries had started a trade war.

Wakanda first appeared in the Fantastic Four comic in 1966, and made a reappearance when Black Panther was adapted into an Oscar-winning film last year.

The unusual listing was spotted by Francis Tseng, a New York-based software engineer who was looking up agricultural tariffs for a fellowship he was applying for.

More furtive associations with Anglo-American imperialism from Wakanda's corrupt, complicit ruling elite! Killmonger was right. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/EfkTDO-VsbU/wakanda-removed-from-official.html

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/8VEbTvlGadE/ups-dogs-is-an-instagram-accou.html

Last-minute stocking stuffer! After many requests I have finally made the Choam-azon logo available on tees, mugs and housewares, with absolutely no-one's permission.

Celebrate the crushing monopoly on interstellar trade enjoyed by Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles with this handsome design evoking its distant origins on Old Earth. Shipped directly by Guild Heighliner to your sietch!

For those not in the know, it's a parody of the Amazon logo referring to CHOAM, the overwhelming retail cartel from the Dune universe. But of course, abominations that you are, you already knew that.

CHOAM-azon logo tees and mugs [inktale]

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/r3m7dLPXKwA/choam-azon-logo-tees-mugs-and.html

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/AiZ0XMiZykk/look-at-this-complicated-robot.html

The phrase “You couldn’t make this shit up” clearly hasn’t reached the corridors of power at the tabloids, where they can, and do.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/b8hxk5UBSuY/killing-the-queen-john-lennon.html

For all the good that many organized religions try to do in the world (albeit, often with ulterior motives,) there's no end to the amount of greasy shit that individual preachers and congregations get up too. Every creed has its assholes. Many are worse than others. If the allegations against SPAC Nation—a UK-based Christian organization, praised for working with young men and women in London to reduce the amount of knife violence that the city has been plagued by of late—are true, they'll have positioned themselves pretty high up there in the scummy religious ranks.

From The Telegram:

A scandal-hit church is being investigated by the charity watchdog over claims that pastors pressured young congregants into selling their blood for money to donate to the church.

The Charity Commission today announced that it had opened an inquiry into SPAC Nation, based in London, to probe financial and safeguarding concerns.

The commission, which describes the church as a charity set up to "advance Christianity" and that works particularly with young people, has ordered it to bank all cash while the investigation takes place.

The announcement comes after HuffPost UK reported allegations that some members of the church had been taking teenagers to donate blood for medical trials in a practice known as "bleeding for seed".

The publication reported that that some members go to donate blood and are paid up to lb100 by medical trial companies. This money is then handed by the young people over to the church’s pastors.

I mean, is it on the same level as torturing and robbing native children of their cultural heritage in a residential school, marginalizing the rights of women or sexually abusing defenseless congregants? Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/5HFpnF2Br2I/congregants-allegedly-pressure.html

If Sesame Street characters doing impressions of each other doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.

The cast of 'Sesame Street' test out their best impressions of Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Bert, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Rosita and The Count.

'Sesame Street' is celebrating its 50th anniversary of helping kids everywhere grow up smarter, stronger and kinder. The 50th season is currently running on HBO and will premiere on PBS in the summer of 2020.

Previously, and definitely worth a watch: "Start Wearing Purple" as sung by Sesame Street's Count

Thanks, Mark! Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/CAqSXIp813I/sesame-street-characters-doing.html

In 1984, Norwegian pop band a-ha struggled to get the first version of their now-iconic song "Take on Me" to chart. And record sales of the single were dismal at just 300 copies. The video itself? Eh.

Now I Know reports that it was the band's new music video that made a revised version of the song soar:

A-ha’s version of Take On Me was the #1 single in the U.S. and nine other countries in 1985, and their pencil-art video linked above won six MTV Video Music Awards and was nominated for two others, including Video of the Year. But that all almost never happened. The song that topped the charts was a re-release of an earlier version that the band released in 1984, and that version failed to make it into the top 100 singles on the U.S. Billboard chart. The pencil-art video is widely credited with giving the song the necessary boost...

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/iUwCEhC-pGQ/the-original-sketch-less-musi.html

Although you won't find any official toys of "the Child" from Disney's The Mandalorian in stores yet, you can decorate your tree with this authorized papercraft version of Baby Yoda in his floating bassinet. All you need is scissors, glue, and a healthy amount of some patience to get all the fiddly bits stuck together. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/p6AcdnWHEvw/baby-yoda-in-his-floating-bass.html

A holiday letter to John Wilcock from Hunter S. Thompson (written exactly fifty years ago this week!) - Describing Thompson's intentions to run for sheriff of Aspen and Joe Edwards' nearly successful run for Mayor.

Read John's previous encounter with Hunter here.

From John Wilcock, New York Years, by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall.

(See all Boing Boing installments)

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/v30ybN0FzDk/john-wilcock-a-xmas-letter-fr.html

The Premier League’s official fantasy football league has over seven million entrants. And as of a few days, World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen was number one in the league. As of this writing, he's down to third place.

Apparently, Norwegians tend to do well in the league:

Carlsen, like many Norwegians, is obsessed with both the Premier League and its fantasy league spin-off. In 2017, eight players from Norway were in the top 50 FPL players in the world.

Along with a "phenomenal memory for Premier League details," Here's his strategy:

This qoute may have been included in the @guardian story, but since a lot of people are asking about my #FPL strategy, mine is the not so groundbreaking one of part stats and part gut feeling. Part @Opta-mist and part optimist. Patent pending

 Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 9, 2019

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/HRybhNpO4GQ/current-chess-champion-magnus.html

Want to get people really into the music at your next house party? Well, a killer playlist is clearly key. But we have to say, this amazingly striking sculpture/speaker combo is a pretty good plan B.

This polygonal curiosity is the AD'OM Prime: Kalium Humanoid Speaker. He looks like he just stepped off a prog album cover, which is fitting because he's also a first-rate Bluetooth speaker. Oh, and he puts on an impressive light show to boot.

The ABS plastic sculpture is hypnotic enough to look at on his own, but he's also outfitted with strategically-placed RGB LED lights that can set the mood or pulse to the music in a range of 16 million colors. It's all controllable through the Sound Heroes app, which you can also use to sync up your favorite music player via WiFi.

You can also use its 4.0 Bluetooth connectivity, which is good for players up to 33 feet away. The sound is impressively clean even at high levels, and the rechargeable battery is good for over 6 hours of playtime.

The AD'OM Prime: Kalium Humanoid Speaker is already on sale for 33% off retail, but you can take an additional 15% off the final price by using the holiday coupon code MERRYSAVE15. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/RdXWLllOl4U/this-polygon-sculpture-is-actu.html

On a party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Trump on two counts this evening. Trump is only the third U.S. head of state to be impeached, and now proceeds to the U.S. Senate for trial. There is no illusion about what will happen there, as leaders of his party have already signaled they will not convict him irrespective of the evidence presented. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Xb6YHwaUURY/trump-impeached-u-s-house-of.html

HOUSE VOTES FOR IMPEACHMENT IN HISTORIC VOTE

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/I7AztT-zISg/us-house-votes-to-impeach-trum.html

“Sir? This is an Arby's card.”

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/oX5AwK4TR04/preacher-tried-to-pay-for-grin.html

Bluetooth audio is all about convenience. It's so convenient, in fact, that it's somewhat disappointing when you return from a run with those wireless earbuds to home audio or TVs that aren't equipped with the technology.

There's an easy fix: The beamit Wireless Bluetooth Audio Transmitter & Receiver.

The unit connects easily to most any device in your home by way of digital outputs or old-school 3.5 mm AUX outlets. From there, it switches easily between receiving transmission mode.

The possibilities are endless. Hook it up to your TV and you can listen to the audio on wireless headphones while your partner studies quietly. Conversely, you can listen to streaming music services from your phone on a stereo system connected to the beamit. You can even transmit sound to two headphones simultaneously. And thanks to low latency audio coding, you'll have the optimal sound no matter what your listening device of choice is.

The beamit Wireless Bluetooth Audio Transmitter & Receivers already on sale for 20% off retail, but you can knock off an extra 15% by using the holiday coupon code MERRYSAVE15. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/mnphpHdKE-o/transmit-bluetooth-audio-from.html

Facebook offered a revealing explanation to lawmakers for why it continues to track users’ locations even after those users turn Facebook's location tracking services off.

Responding to a letter from Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-MO), and Sen. Chris Coons, (D-DE), Facebook said it needs that extra location data to target ads, and for various security functions.

The two senators asked Facebook last month to “respect” users’ decisions to keep their locations private.

Coons and Hawley now say that Facebook needs to give users more control over their data.

I say, delete Facebook.

Here is Lauren Feiner, reporting for CNBC:

In a letter dated December 12 that was released Tuesday, Facebook explained how it is able to estimate users’ locations used to target ads even when they’ve chosen to reject location tracking through their smartphone’s operating system.

Facebook said that even when location tracking is turned off, it can deduce users’ general locations from context clues like locations they tag in photos as well as their devices’ IP addresses. While this data is not as precise as Facebook would collect with location tracking enabled, the company said it uses the information for several purposes, including alerting users when their accounts have been accessed in an unusual place and clamping down on the spread of false information.

Facebook acknowledged it also targets ads based on the limited location information it receives when users turn off or limit tracking. Facebook doesn’t allow users to turn off location-based ads, although it does allow users to block Facebook from collecting their precise location, the company wrote.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/GYyuOPVC_Zs/facebook-offers-funny-answer-f.html

After LifeLabs was hit by a a cyber attack in November, the Canada-based medical lab paid a ransom to recover stolen data belonging to more than 15 million of its customers. That stolen data included usernames, password, and some 80,000 or more test results.

"We did this [paying off the hackers] in collaboration with experts familiar with cyber-attacks and negotiations with cyber criminals," the company today said in a press release.

"I want to emphasize that at this time, our cyber security firms have advised that the risk to our customers in connection with this cyber-attack is low and that they have not seen any public disclosure of customer data as part of their investigations, including monitoring of the dark web and other online locations," said Charles Brown, LifeLabs President and CEO.

Catalin Cimpanu has more in a report for ZDNet.

There's more information for impacted users of LifeLabs in a security notice on the LifeLabs website.

LifeLabs pays hackers to recover data of 15 million customers [www.zdnet.com]

We recently identified a cyber-attack that involved unauthorized access to our computer systems. We are sorry that this incident happened. The data has been retrieved, and a law enforcement investigation is underway. For more info, visit https://t.co/gUYdHeR0Kh.

 LifeLabs (@LifeLabs) December 17, 2019

40% of Canada was breached in October - I totally missed this one amid all of those other data breaches that happen every day.

Compromised information may include:- Name- Address- Username/password- DoB- Health card number- Lab test results https://t.co/dk9P67MHIX

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/pZRq6juyAkA/after-hack-canadian-lifelabs.html