Warwick Davis made a very brief cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, once again donning the visage of galactic champion Wicket W. Warrick. (Warwick's real-life son played the other Ewok.)

But Lucasfilm creature concept artist Jake Lunt Davies shared a behind-the-scenes process photo of the re-fabricated Wicket costume, before all the fur was added back to that badass indigenous teddy bear … and it is fucking horrifying.

View this post on Instagram

Ewok sans fur. Scary stuff. Fabricating Warwick’s costume in the Creature shop. From BTS extras on TROS Blu-ray #starwars #theriseofskywalker #starwarstheriseofskywalker #ewok #ewoks #bts #fabrication #sleepwell

A post shared by Jake Lunt Davies (@jakeluntdavies) on Jun 11, 2020 at 8:21am PDT

I thought I wanted justice for Ewoks: The Battle For Endor — also known as the greatest Star Wars film ever — being officially removed from the new Star Wars continuity. But now I just want this horrifying sight surgically removed from my memory.

Image: William Tung / Flickr (CC 2.0) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/15/ewoks-without-fur-are-absolute.html

To be fair, it would not be wholly inaccurate to describe the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone as an autonomous anarcho-syndicalist collective. But sadly, strange women in lakes and handing out swords might in fact be a better system of government than the one we tend to see promoted on Fox News. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/15/fox-news-confused-a-monty-pyth.html

If you found out 10 percent of your income was just being thrown away and wasted, you’d probably be angry. Then, once the anger subsided, you’d take some steps. You’d likely investigate where that money was going and try to make sure those dollars flying out of your pocket for no reason didn’t continue.

Well, that’s the current reality for most companies. Research done by the famed Project Management Institute shows that 11.4 percent of every dollar invested in projects is effectively thrown away due to bad performance. That means for every million dollar project, $114,000 is squandered.

That should give you a very clear idea of why effective project managers are in such high demand — and why they command some lofty salary figures. You can take steps to break into this big stakes, big reward field with the training in The Accredited Project Management course bundle.

The collection compiled by SPOCE Project Management, one of the longest standing accredited training organizations in the world, brings together training in two of the core methodologies that dominate the world of corporate project management, Agile and PRINCE2.

While one pivots around constant change and adaptation and the other thrives on unwavering fundamentals and routines, the two schools actually compliment each other surprisingly well, offering a clear vision for guarding projects successfully while never losing sight of everyday realities.

The AgilePM Project Fundamentals Qualification Course kicks off the 85 hours of training content, exploring the principles of the Agile method, a short-term, quick-sprint oriented attack plan that allows project teams to hit fast attainable goals while their results get instant analysis, feedback, and adaptation. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/get-this-accredited-project-ma.html

With just days until the official start of summer, your seasonal plans are likely much like everything else these days — unfocused, scattershot, and incredibly situational.

Well, it might be time to put some structure into the next few months, which could potentially start with getting reacquainted with the great outdoors. You remember that place, right? It’s the one you’ve been staring at from your bedroom window for months.

We think it’s time to correct that, so we’ve pulled together 19 great deals on some items that’ll help outfit you for an awesome summer camping trip — or at least have you ready if any emergencies pop up. 

A smaller version of the iconic Dave Duffel, this 18-ounce waterproof tarpaulin bodied-bag with an armor-plated SuperFabric bottom is crafted for a lifetime of reliability and usefulness. The tactical, military-grade metal hardware, burly zippers, a full lining, and internal bound seams will likely outlast even you.

Every outdoorsman needs a place to stay — and after 10 minutes of setup, this solo tree tent takes versatility, comfort, and connection with the outdoors to new heights. Featuring a patented 3-point anchor system, waterproof rainfly, and insect mesh, hikers, and backpackers to set up camp almost anywhere and leave virtually no footprint behind.

A trusty knife is an absolute essential almost anywhere — and this partially serrated, 420 stainless steel knife stands ready to assist. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/suit-up-for-the-ultimate-summe.html

For the past five years, the march toward getting a smart speaker in every home has pushed methodically forward. This year, more than a third of all U.S. adults will have one of the 88 million active smart speakers in your house. That number was up 32 percent from 2019 and up 85 percent from 2018.

But while users obviously love the convenience of asking questions to thin air and getting a knowledgeable response, there are a couple of design drawbacks to smart speakers...starting with that pesky power cord.

However, if you’re the owner of the popular Google Home Mini, you no longer need to worry about keeping your smart speaker plugged in all the time with the help of the Ninety7 JOT Battery Base.

Rather than remaining anchored to just one spot in your home, the JOT easily allows the Mini to slide right into its housing so you can pick up and move the speaker all-around your home or even outside, so long as you maintain your WiFi connection.

With this powerful 5000mAh battery, the Mini enjoys up to eight hours of unfettered cordless mobility, perfect for moving to your office desk, the garage, or really anywhere you are that would be out of earshot of its original location. With the seamless transition, users can avoid all the plugging, unplugging, and reconnection steps of trying to move the Mini around.

In fact, if you have a vehicle with a built-in WiFi hotspot, this base would be the perfect vessel to make the Google Home Mini truly free as a constant traveling companion. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/your-google-home-mini-can-go-c.html

Wow. So inspiring. Now make it real.

From the official video description Vimeo:

defund12.org | Black Lives Matter

FIND WAYS TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO BLACK FOLX: nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-for-black-lives-matter.html

An Ex-Cop Speaks Out: medium.com/@OfcrACab/confessions-of-a-former-bastard-cop-bb14d17bc759

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/if-corporate-movie-production.html

Virginia Oliver is the oldest licensed lobster fishing person in the state of Maine — and, her local Rockland Historical Society suspects, possibly the entire world. She began lobstering in 1928, when she was just 8 years old, and still goes out three times a week with her son, depending on the weather. She was supposed to be the Grand Marshall of the Maine Lobster Festival this year until it was cancelled because of COVID-19, but she still got to celebrate this crazy in fashion with this short film about her life that aired on Maine Coast TV on June 6th — Oliver's 100th birthday.

Her advice for a long life of lobstering is simple: "I have friends. Maybe they've lost their husbands. They don't do nothin'. You got to keep going."

The Lobster Lady [Vimeo] Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/100-year-old-lobster-lady.html

We can almost see the Cosmo quiz already — what does your face mask say about you? 

Regardless of your personal stance or the shape of the re-opening of America, one thing seems pretty clear: face masks are a part of life now — and likely will be for the foreseeable future. So if you’re going to need coverage at the ready going forward, your mask should probably say a little something about you, right?

To that end, we’ve compiled 20 non-medical face mask offers to cover all manner of mask wearer, which pretty much includes just about everyone right now. From “look at me” masks to no-frills “get ‘er done” numbers, you should be able to find something here that just screams you.

If you’re the member of your crew that dresses each day as if you’re in competition with the rest of mankind, one of the mask models could be just your thing.

You an animal print type? Maybe you go in for the camo thing? These non-medical fabric face mask 3-Pack designs ($18.99; originally $29.99) are just dying to be noticed. In addition to those styles, the 3-packs also come in a star pattern and even the “evil eye.”

Of course, why just draw attention when your mask can also make a firm declaration? These two-ply statement face mask 2-packs ($17.99; originally $29.99). Each set comes with one white and one black mask, boldly exclaiming one of five statements: Love, Hi, Hello, Fine...You?, and Wear a Mask Save a Life. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/your-face-mask-is-you-so-it-be.html

Black Rock City is off this year, but Burning Man in the multiverse is on! Kindling is the Project's new portal for virtual Burning Man experiences, and one of them is a podcast. Burning Man Live is three episodes in:

Meet the people who make Burning Man happen, beyond the desert and out in the world. Artists, activists, and innovators. Builders and Burners, freaks and fools. Burning Man floats on a sea of stories, and the Burning Man LIVE podcast is a plucky little boat with a microphone.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/new-podcast-burning-man-liv.html

This is a really powerful (and painfully relevant) poem by Morgan Harper Nichols. I think it works even more profoundly in the carousel of images, as embedded in the Instagram post below. I'll copy the full text (from her original post) below.

View this post on Instagram

Engage in the long, faithful work. Surrender the need of striving to be the best or always right and focus instead on leaning into Light, that reveals all things. All that is good and all that stands to be corrected, and redirected. And as you lean into Light, be gentle with the word “darkness.” For more than it merely means wrong or bad, it is also the color of a full, starless night sky, and actual bodies of human beings who have been overlooked too many times. Many, many words hold more than one meaning. Language on “light” and “dark” may have its place, and this is also true, this very language has been used to say, “You are a threat. I am not. I am worth more than you.” It takes kindness to understand this, for even though kindness is a beautiful word. it does not mean that nothing gets disrupted. Sometimes a way of thinking must be interrupted in order for kindness to truly thrive. For as sure as kindness leans into what is good, it also speaks about what isn’t right. It is compassionate and gentle when long histories are pulled from mourning into morning. Engage in the long, faithful work of awakening with your heart and mind open to the possibility that things are more complex than they once seemed.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/14/engage-in-the-long-faithful.html

It never hurts to know your way around a bar. But unlike a TV bar like Cheers, a gregarious disposition and knowing everybody’s name does not a bartender make.

There’s actually a lot more that goes into slinging drinks like Tom Cruise than a quick pour or an umbrella on top.  The average cocktail requires about four ingredients to make — and one slip up in the ratio can be all the difference between a satisfied customer and getting a drink thrown back in your face. Or even, something far worse. 

Even for amateurs who aren’t looking for a career in bartending, there are a lot of advantages to having a solid command of wine and spirits. With the knowledge found in The Mixologist & Budding Bartender Bundle, you might even find you have what it takes to be the center of any party or get-together, dazzling all with your prowess.

The collection features nine courses, each covering a different corner of the wine and liquor world. For each family of beverages, the training doesn’t just explore how much ice to use or how to attain the proper drink balance. This coursework examines the actual properties of different spirits, giving students a thorough understanding of each variety so they don’t use grasp how a certain drink works, but why it works. 

With this training, students will rise from novice to expert in an amazingly short time with the talent to even create some amazing drink masterpieces of their own. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/learn-how-to-make-the-perfect.html

If you need a new laptop or tablet, you’re in luck. Every once in awhile, we like to compile all the best deals we’re seeing in one place, so you can upgrade your tech while still saving a boatload of money. 

Whether you’re a Microsoft fan, a Lenovo believer, an HP devotee, or completely brand agnostic, you should find something here to whet your tech whistle, regardless of what you seek. And of course, practically everything is a decent chunk of change off its regular price.

Jump in — the water’s fine!

PC Mag loves the Surface 2, calling this flagship laptop “a sleek ultraportable with a top-notch build, a stellar screen, and a very long-lasting battery." Whether you go with one with an ultra-fast Intel Core i5 processor or an equally ultra-fast, slightly more powerful Core i7, you’ve got a machine more than capable of multitasking with the best of ‘em. 

Each with 8GB RAM, a 256GB SSD hard drive, a wide 13.5" LED touch display and about 15 hours of battery life, all three models also come with the Windows 10 OS and more than enough horses to do all the app work, web surfing and video watching you’ve got.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/these-desktops-laptops-and-t.html

In a time of high anxiety, there are few activities quite as calming as looking for shells, shaking trees and maybe catching a fish or two. Nintendo’s Animal Crossing might just be one of the most soothing video games ever created — and in an age of constantly escalating fear levels, we’re all for anything that’ll help chill everybody out.

To help, we want to give you your own copy of the brand-new Animal Crossing: New Horizons game, a Nintendo Switch to play it on and some more cool stuff if you win The Nintendo Gaming Bundle Giveaway happening right now. 

If you aren’t up to speed on your gaming sensations, the latest installment in the popular Animal Crossing game series New Horizons dropped in March — and a quarantined world went nuts for it. The game sold 5 million digital copies in the month, the first console game to ever reach that plateau.

In the game, you play a little guy who just moved to a deserted island — and now, it’s up to you to make it a true tropical paradise. Of course, there’s no real pressure because there’s no time limit or real goal to reach. It’s just a free and easy exploration of the island as you gather supplies, invite friends to visit and start your own community of anthropomorphic animals. No, seriously, it’s super tranquil — and incredibly compelling at the same time.

Of course, a game isn’t much good without a gaming system, so we’ll also throw in a Nintendo Switch. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/win-a-nintendo-switch-animal.html

Before Lindsey Graham became a Stepford Republican, he used to bash Donald Trump and praise Joe Biden.

"You want to know how to make America great again?" he once asked in 2015. To which he promptly responded: "Tell Donald Trump to go to hell."

Now the old Lindsey Graham is the star of this new anti-Trump ad, created by Republican Voters Against Trump, in which Graham calls Trump a "xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot."

According to HuffPost, the ad will run in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Washington DC on Fox News. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/lindsey-graham-says-joe-bide.html

On Thursday, June 4, 2020, a 22-year-old activist named Kennedy Mitchum reached out to the publishers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to express her frustration with their definition of the word "racist:"

A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

Mitchum felt this was inadequate to fully cover the scope of systemic issues and unconscious biases that affect race relations in America. Growing up in Florissant, Missouri — just a few miles away from Ferguson — she'd grown tired of trying to explain to people that racism can come in different forms than cross burning in white hoods. It's not always a conscious, intentional, or deliberate attitude of hateful violence; it's often something more insidious. As she explained to CNN, "That definition is not representative of what is actually happening in the world. The way that racism occurs in real life is not just prejudice it's the systemic racism that is happening for a lot of black Americans."

Mitchum didn't expect to hear anything back from Merriam-Webster. But to her surprise, they responded the very next day — and after a brief back-and-forth, they were sufficiently convinced of Mitchum's point, and agreed to update the entry. "This revision would not have been made without your persistence in contacting us about this problem," wrote Editor Alex Chambers in an email. "We sincerely thank you for repeatedly writing in and apologize for the harm and offense we have caused in failing to address this issue sooner." Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/the-merriam-webster-dictionary-2.html

There's been a lot of news lately about taking down monuments to terrible people, or renaming buildings that were christened after them.

In related news, there's still a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside of the UK House of Commons in Westminster. Cromwell led English Army against King Charles I and served as Lord Protector of the British Isles until his death in 1658. In 2002, he was chosen as one of the 10 greatest Britons by the BBC. He was also responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in Ireland, and the export of thousands more Irish into forced (non-chatel) servitude in the Caribbean.

But you wouldn't know any of it from this delightful children's book about his life!

Did you know Cromwell was basically great and you got most of your freedoms from him? Go figure! pic.twitter.com/cdCcQXAQgh

 David Kenny (@dkennytcd) May 5, 2020

The book clears up many misperceptions you might have about this era. For example, yes, most puritans were no craic. But they weren’t ALL like that. Some were like Cromwell, who literally cancelled Christmas. pic.twitter.com/HksIlG0vh7

 David Kenny (@dkennytcd) May 5, 2020

You certainly couldn’t accuse the book of whitewashing Cromwell’s character or underplaying his campaign in Ireland. These dashes add an important parenthetical for the reader’s inevitable conclusion that he was basically great. pic.twitter.com/tmdbwZr90R

 David Kenny (@dkennytcd) May 5, 2020

Even Winston Churchill — who did not have a particularly positive relationship with the Irish — thought Cromwell was a dictator:

Cromwell’s record was a lasting bane.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/this-childrens-book-about-ol.html

We spent the entire spring trapped indoors — and now, summer and its blistering hot temperatures are right around the corner. Hardly seems fair, does it?

Over the next few weeks, the heat will be ratcheting up, which means this is an opportune moment to start considering the big question: do you suffer through and sweat; or do you break down, crack up the AC and brave the ugly power bill to come? Or worst of all, what do you do if you don’t even have central air in your home?

Evapolar has a pair of devices ready to help you combat the summer temperatures without putting a huge dent in your already strained wallet.

If you’re just looking for simple relief, the EvaChill EV-500 Personal Air Conditioner could be the game-changer you seek. A 2019 Red Dot Design Award winner, this portable unit fires up in a hurry, blanketing a room in its cooling effects in about 10 minutes. 

After filling the tank and plugging it in, this leak-proof unit starts absorbing water into its cartridge, spreading that water through its cooling pads, then firing it via air jets into your environment, cooling the surrounding air temperature by as much as 59 degrees.

At the same time, the EvaChill also humidifies and even filters dust particles and other pathogens out of your air for both a cooler and healthier environment.

While the EvaChill is a workhorse, the EvaSmart Personal Air Conditioner takes your comfort to another level, featuring smart features that can start cooling down your space even before you get there. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/these-evapolar-air-conditioner.html

It's a beautiful spring morning in America and footage of an angry, unmasked woman coughing on people is going viral. It's hard to know where she lies on the spectra of politics, narcissism or partiality to facts. But internet sleuths have apparently identified her and she works in healthcare. This fact, if it's true, is as stark a warning you're going to get about what the second half of this year will be like in America. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/unmasked-woman-filmed-berating.html

On June 12th, 1970, Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the San Diego Padres while he was high out of his god damn gourd on LSD. As he told the Ottawa Citizen:

I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the [catcher's] glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters, and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes, I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn't hit hard and never reached me.

Ellis also regaled the tale for a 2009 NPR interview, the audio of which was animated by cartoonist James Blagden into the animated short above, which has long since been one of my favorite things on YouTube.

Follow your dreams, children.

More on Dock Ellis's legacy and drug habit:

The Man Who Pitched a No-Hitter While Under the Influence of LSD Has Found a New Delivery: He Coordinates a Substance-Abuse Rehabilitation Program : Ellis: ‘I Couldn’t Pitch Without Pills’ [Jerry Crow / Los Angeles Times]

The Long, Strange Trip Of The Dock Ellis LSD No-Hitter Story [AJ Daulerio / Deadpin]

How Dock Ellis dropped acid and threw a no-hitter [Larry Getlen / New York Post] Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/today-is-the-50th-anniversary.html

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/13/brazil-now-digging-up-the-dead.html