This 1967 clip from American Bandstand starts with Dick Clark asking the kids if they think The Beatles will outlast The Monkees.  Almost everyone voted for The Beatles. And, of course, they were wrong!  The Beatles broke up in 1970 and The Monkees are still around, and released a (really good!) album in 2016.

Then the kids are treated to 1967 promotional films for "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" and Clark asks them what they think. The reactions were mixed. One kid said it was "great." A young woman complained about their facial hair.  Another said, "they look older and it ruins their image."

(Via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/american-bandstand-teens-react.html

"Mad About Me" is a Jizz song that was largely popularized by the Bith band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, who famously performed it during a bar fight at Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in that Tatooinian town of Mos Eisley.

I share this, because it's important to remember that the so-called "Star Wars Cantina Song" is, canonically, jizz.

So anyway here's an acoustic guitar player who goes by AcousticTrench doing a finger-pickin' cover of the classic tune, accompanied by his dog Maple on the kickdrum.

Image via YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/dog-plays-drums-to-the-star-wa.html

"Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" is one of the most significant documented viral songs among English-speaking children. Because it was spread as an oral tradition for its first quarter-century, many variants emerged. Tim Scott quizzed 64,000 people on their recollected version of the song, with some surprising results.

His thesis is that The Simpsons had a strong role in creating the current canonical version. However, it's clear why "Robin laid an egg" is a much better line than the competitors. First, it literalizes Robin as a bird. Second, is misgenders Robin (already a gender neutral name) by saying he laid an egg. Third, it's a thinly veiled poop joke to many little kids, who are always going to like a poop joke. Thus endeth my dissertation on why "Robin laid an egg" is the vastly superior one and true version.

Don't get me started on "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man."

Image: YouTube / Tim Scott Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/fascinating-deep-dive-into-the.html

On August 19th Netflix is premiering its 6 part documentary on the history of the video game industry. Above, the trailer. Below, the opening credits clip

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/watch-the-trailer-for-high-sco.html

One of my favorite websites is John Sisson's Dreams of Space, which is singularly focused on vintage non-fiction children's books and ephemera about space travel. Most of the stuff he posts is from the 1950s through the 1970s, a heyday for pie in the sky visions of humans breaking free of earth's wicked gravity.

This month, John is posting about books that speculated on space stations of the future. One of the books is simply called Space Stations, and was written in 1962 by Erik Bergaust.  In his introduction, he writes, "This book is a roundup of all current plans for space stations. It is based on official information provided by the Space Agency and by industry. The illustrations do not depict science fiction ideas; all artwork in the book was submitted by the companies currently working on our various space projects. It is based on designs by their own engineers and scientists."

Click here to see scans from the book.

Book caption for the above photo: "Back to Earth! Similar in design to the first space stations contemplated by the Space Agency, this illustration shows a 3-man crew returning from orbit. Soft landing by parachutes is accomplished after retro-rockets have been used to slow down the little space station from orbital speed."

Erik Bergaust died in 1978 at the age of 52. According to this Washington Post obituary published in 1968, he was "author of more than 50 books on aviation, space sciences and nuclear energy, as well as the official biographer of Dr. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/this-1962-illustrated-book-ima.html

This 1991 television commercial for the Nintendo Game Boy looks like it borrowed a bit of Terry Gilliam's look from Brazil. It's interesting that the Game Boy was being marketed to adults and not kids and teenagers.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/enjoy-this-whimsical-1991-tv-c.html

The Lockpicking Lawyer recently received a package from one of his viewers. The package contained a Kryptonite Lock that had been opened with an angle grinder. The person who sent him the lock explain that he had lost the key to his Kryptonite Lock and had taken it to a locksmith and ask them to pick it. The locksmith told him that he could not pick it and that recreational lock picking videos on YouTube were fake. The locksmith used an angle grinder to open the lock, and he said he would pay $75 if someone could pick the lock faster than he could grind it (2:14). The Lockpicking Lawyer accepted his challenge. If you are familiar with his videos, you can guess what happened. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/the-lockpicking-lawyer-makes-a.html

Bend, Oregon is home to the last Blockbuster Video store on the planet. Well, now it's been set up as an nineties-themed Airbnb rental. In September, for three one-night sleepovers, the room will be available for $4/night. Don't pull out your acid-washed jeans just yet though, this offer is open only to Deschutes County residents.

When you call dibs on this stay, you’re booking a night back in the 90s, but this time you won’t have to beg your parents to rent the latest horror flick–we’ll give you the keys to the entire store!

On 8/17 at 1PM PT, we’re inviting movie lovers from the area to request to book one of these three, one-night stays that will take place on 9/18, 9/19 and 9/20 for up to four people.

...As the last standing location in the world, our BLOCKBUSTER store is an ode to movie magic, simpler times and the sense of community that could once be found in BLOCKBUSTER locations around the world. Over the past few months, we’ve been missing the regular visits from friends, neighbors and tourists from around the world. So, we’re opening our store to three quarantine pods of Deschutes County guests for a socially-distanced movie night, just like those of decades past!

Whether you want to stay up until sunrise or pass out on the couch, we’ve created the perfect space complete with a pull-out couch, bean bags and pillows for you to cozy up with “new releases” from the ‘90s. Crack open a two-liter of Pepsi before locking into a video game, charting your future in a game of MASH, or watching movie after movie.

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/last-blockbuster-video-store-t.html

The late great Stevie Ray knew how to get it done. Watch the master swap guitars onstage like it ain't no big deal.

screengrab SRV Bootlegs/YouTube

(The Awesomer) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/12/this-is-how-you-do-a-mid-song.html

Considering the state of our world, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to find lots and lots of people pushed to their breaking point. Anxiety and stress are often constant companions during the best of times. But now, with fear and frustration running rampant, it’s easy to be subsumed by all the distractions and pressures and general uncertainty of everyday life.

The Calmind Mental Fitness app might not be able to answer all the questions keeping people up at night, but this digital therapy app thinks it can at least help keep the dark thoughts and confusion at bay. 

Calmind combines elements of neuroscience, psychoacoustics, positive CBT, and technology to form an entirely new method for improving your life by reducing stress and soothing your senses.

This digital therapy regimen attacks what ails you from a host of different angles. For those with trouble sleeping, Calmind slows everything down with calming, sensory-rich stories that can help those with elevated stress or even insomnia peacefully fall asleep without melatonin gummies.

For battling more generalized anxiety, Calmind works with musicians and artists to combine ASMR triggers with binaural beats and tranquil tones into a brand-new experience they call B-ASMR. As it reduces stress levels, it literally helps increase the production of positive hormones in the body, exiling bad feelings or worries more easily.

Even if you’re just trying to focus on completing work tasks or procrastination-rich projects like writing, Calmind helps remove distractions and surrounding noise so you can concentrate on your goal, push past the mental blocks and get to finishing your task. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/calmind-can-beat-back-the-anxi.html

Well folks, Jonathan Mann has done it again.

[video link]

Jonathan 'Song a Day' Mann : Spotify, Bandcamp, Instagram, Twitter. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/wet-ass-p-word-wap-the-ben-s.html

“The tactic, which experts in mobile-phone security said was concealed through an unusual added layer of encryption, appears to have violated Google policies”

The Wall Street Journal reports Tuesday that TikTok exploited an Android vulnerability to obtain user MAC addresses, possibly for ad tracking, with no ability to opt out.

They stopped the practice in November, 2019, WSJ reports:

The tactic, which experts in mobile-phone security said was concealed through an unusual added layer of encryption, appears to have violated Google policies limiting how apps track people and wasn’t disclosed to TikTok users. TikTok ended the practice in November, the Journal’s testing showed.

The findings come at a time when TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd., is under pressure from the White House over concerns that data collected by the app could be used to help the Chinese government track U.S. government employees or contractors. TikTok has said it doesn’t share data with the Chinese government and wouldn’t do so if asked.

The identifiers collected by TikTok, called MAC addresses, are most commonly used for advertising purposes. The White House has said it is worried that users’ data could be obtained by the Chinese government and used to build detailed dossiers on individuals for blackmail or espionage.

Read more at the WSJ: TikTok Tracked User Data Using Tactic Banned by Google

Skirting a privacy safeguard in the @Google #Android OS, @tiktok_us collected unique identifiers from millions of mobile devices, allowing the app to track users online without allowing them to opt out, reports @WSJ.

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/tiktok-exploited-android-secur.html

Putin said on Tuesday Russia is the first nation to approve a COVID-19 vaccine after only two months of human testing, a move Moscow compared to its success in the Cold War-era space race.

They claim to have tested it on Putin's daughter. The vaccine is called 'Sputnik V'.

No clinical trials yet.

From Reuters:

Moscow’s decision to grant approval before then has raised concerns among some experts. Only about 10% of clinical trials are successful and some scientists fear Moscow may be putting national prestige before safety.

Putin and other officials have said it is completely safe. The president said one of his daughters had taken it as a volunteer and felt good afterwards.

(...) The vaccine is administered in two doses and consists of two serotypes of a human adenovirus, each carrying an S-antigen of the new coronavirus, which enter human cells and produce an immune response.

The platform used for the vaccine was developed by Russian scientists over two decades and had formed the basis for several vaccines in the past, including those against Ebola.

Read more at Reuters: Putin hails new Sputnik moment as Russia is first to approve a COVID-19 vaccine[Gabrielle T'etrault-Farber, Vladimir Soldatkin]

PHOTO: SPUTNIK/KREMLIN, Vladimir Putin, August 11, 2020 Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/putin-names-russia-coronavirus.html

Massachusetts-based Dunkin' Donuts says they're about to launch breakfast cereals based on two of the most popular beverages at the coffee and donuts empire: Caramel Macchiato and Mocha Latte.

Said one 10-year-old girl who taste-tested the cereals for The Boston Globe: “They should make a doughnut flavored cereal.”

From AP:

The team-up with Post Consumer Brands, the makers of Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat, Raisin Bran and other familiar cereals, is expected to hit grocery shelves later this month.

The companies say Dunkin’ coffee concentrate is added to the cereal, which consists of little crunchy spheres mixed with flavored marshmallow bits. A serving has about as much caffeine as a tenth of an 8-ounce cup of coffee.

More at AP.

SO, A QUESTION, DEAR READER: Would you try it? Replies in the BBS!

[IMAGE courtesy Post Consumer Brands/Dunkin Donuts] Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/dunkin-donuts-is-launching.html

This is quite an interesting public records find from Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) of the nonprofit Open Secrets. Years ago, Kamala Harris once received a donation check for thousands of dollars from Donald Trump.

She writes:

Fun fact: Campaign finance & court records show Donald Trump donated thousands to Senator Kamala Harris—Joe Biden's 2020 VP pick—for her 2011 attorney general election as the AG office investigated Trump University's allegedly illegal business practices

Harris was announced as Joe Biden's running mate earlier today.

Here's the weird story behind the Trump donation to Kamala Harris.

Fun fact: Campaign finance & court records show Donald Trump donated thousands to Senator Kamala Harris—Joe Biden's 2020 VP pick—for her 2011 attorney general election as the AG office investigated Trump University's allegedly illegal business practices https://t.co/pjuyGnEHfZ pic.twitter.com/EKwg9UFDeg

 Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) August 11, 2020

Update: Kamala Harris' spox said she gave campaign money from Trump to a nonprofit advocating for Central Americans' rights in 2015—a year after her AG re-election as she launched a Senate run https://t.co/snCrJ6Byze

Disclosure data shows $6k in "civic donations" to @Carecen_LA https://t.co/tGSSi7gu80 pic.twitter.com/jR3KHLI3Eq

 Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) August 11, 2020

Katrina Pierson tells @albamonica, re: Trump donations to Harris' AG race that Trump "as a private businessman donated to candidates across all aisles & I'll notice that Kamala Harris is a black woman & he donated to her campaign so I hope we can squash this racism argument now." pic.twitter.com/f4507Xhib4

 DJ Judd (@DJJudd) August 11, 2020

And there's more. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/donald-trump-once-donated-thou.html

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/biden-keeps-this-framed-haga.html

Typeface nerds, prepare to scrutinize the new logo design of that just-announced Biden-Harris ticket.

“The solo Biden campaign logo used the typeface Brother 1816 and the new Biden-Harris campaign logo uses the typeface Decimal,” says Hunter Schwarz [@hunterschwarz].

There have only been four female candidates on major party presidential campaign logos: Ferraro, Palin, Clinton, Harris. pic.twitter.com/TLEknIQnGm

 Yello (@yello_zine) August 11, 2020

Writes Hunter:

The new Biden logo uses the sans-serif typeface Decimal, unlike the previous logo Biden used during the primaries which was set in the sharper-edged sans serif Brother 1816. Decimal was released in 2019 by Hoefler & Co., the type foundry behind former President Obama’s campaign typeface Gotham. Decimal was inspired by vintage watch lettering and makes the new logo appear sturdier. Biden senior creative adviser Robyn Kanner told Yello in July the campaign decided to introduce it into its visual identity because it was “true as time.”

Read more at Yello: The Biden-Harris logo is here

Biden picks Kamala Harris as his VP

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/biden-harris-typeface.html

Tarot is a stunning deep dive into 600 years of oracular decks (TASCHEN/$40).

Trace the hidden history of Tarot in the first volume from TASCHEN’s Library of Esoterica, a series documenting the creative ways we strive to connect to the divine. Artfully arranged according to the sequencing of the Major and Minor Arcana, this visual compendium gathers more than 500 cards and works of original art from around the world in the ultimate exploration of a centuries-old art form.

Here's a taste of some of that art:

Six of Cups from Barbara Walker Tarot (1986)

Rider-Waite tarot deck artist Pamela Colman Smith created puppets too, as seen in this photo from a 1912 issue of "The Craftsman Illustrated."

images via TASCHEN, used with permission

Lead image info: The Hermit: Osvaldo Menegazzi, "Le Conchiglie Divinatorie" (1974) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/art-and-history-of-tarot-decks.html

Joe Biden celebrated today's double-digit polling lead by picking his veep: Kamala Harris. If he doesn't make it to 86 years old, she's set to be the first woman U.S. President.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said the appointment of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's running mate is a "defining moment in U.S. history."

"This moment is long overdue. For far too long, we have undervalued Black women's political power and their role in shaping our culture, communities, and country," Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, said in the statement Tuesday.

Congrats to Maya Rudolph! Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/biden-picks-kamala-harris-as-h.html

Even though I write posts on Boing Boing almost every day, I’ve been wanting to write a newsletter that goes a bit deeper into my personal interests, and so I decided to start The Magnet. Every week in The Magnet I’ll write about tips I find useful, things that interest me, what I've learned, interviews, recipes, quotations, and more. I’ll also include excerpts from my favorite newsletters.

You can read the first issue of The Magnet here (where I share my recipe for very low-carb almond flour bread, present a tip from Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia (1732), share Richard Feynman's advice for problem-solving, take a look at Marvel Comics Mini-books from 1966 that were sold in 10-cent capsule toy vending machines, and more.

If you like it, I hope you'll subscribe. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/11/why-im-launching-the-magnet.html