July 03, 2012:

Hey geeks! I did a comic “translation” for this awesome anthology. Basically, Ryan Estrada took a Korean comic and had us “translate” the text. Hilarity, hopefully, ensues!

[Wait, what? No no no no, no thank you. -egg]

Cops in USA to drive around in pornoscannerwagons, covertly irradiating people and looking through their cars and clothes:

American cops are set to join the US military in deploying American Science & Engineering’s Z Backscatter Vans, or mobile backscatter radiation x-rays. These are what TSA officials call “the amazing radioactive genital viewer,” now seen in airports around America, ionizing the private parts of children, the elderly, and you (yes you).

These pornoscannerwagons will look like regular anonymous vans, and will cruise America’s streets, indiscriminately peering through the cars (and clothes) of anyone in range of its mighty isotope-cannon. But don’t worry, it’s not a violation of privacy. As AS&E’s vice president of marketing Joe Reiss sez, “From a privacy standpoint, I’m hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be.”

You know, I never looked at that way. I guess that’s why I’m not the VP of marketing and he’s getting the big bucks.

It would also seem to make the vans mobile versions of the same scanning technique that’s riled privacy advocates as it’s been deployed in airports around the country. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is currently suing the DHS to stop airport deployments of the backscatter scanners, which can reveal detailed images of human bodies. (Just how much detail became clear last May, when TSA employee Rolando Negrin was charged with assaulting a coworker who made jokes about the size of Negrin’s genitalia after Negrin received a full-body scan.)

“It’s no surprise that governments and vendors are very enthusiastic about [the vans],” says Marc Rotenberg, executive director of EPIC. “But from a privacy perspective, it’s one of the most intrusive technologies conceivable.”

Also: “the vans do have the capability of storing images.”

Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans

[Can’t much argue with that. -egg]

Chuck D’s rules for the music business:

From Public Enemy frontman and hip-hop legend Chuck D’s Twitter feed, a short and useful list of rules for people who want to break in to the music business (hit the link below for the whole series).

Chuck D’s Rules for the Music Business

(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

#387 Alien Concept:

Interactive Paintings on the Streets of Malaysia:

A great new street artist is making a splash in Malaysia this month. Painter Ernest Zacharevic created four new works where his painted figures of mischievous children are seen interacting with their physical surroundings: an old bicycle, a motorcycle, or even windows on the side of a building. His most popular piece of two small children on a large bicycle has become a major destination in the city with dozens of people stopping to take creative photos. I want to thank Annie and Ross of the very fine AsiaDreaming blog for providing many of the photographs for this post. The rest you can see on Zacharevic’s Facebook. (via lustik, art and seasons)

Birds with human arms:

The Birds With Arms Tumblr has a simple command for the net: “Photoshop arms on to birds. Send them to us.” This turns out to be remarkably effective.

Birds With Arms

(via Kottke)

Video: Egg cracked 60 feet underwater:

The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) cracked an egg 60 feet underwater. Why? Science! “2011 Ocean Academy: Water Moves“

Spiral-cut your wieners for good topology, excellent condiment retention, and extra caramelization:

The Chow Video folks make a VERY good case for spiral-cutting one’s wieners.

Why You Should Spiral-Cut Your Wiener – CHOW Tip

(via Reddit)

[This is incredibly, incredibly interesting. I know I blog a lot of stuff, but if you look at one thing this month, look at this. -egg]

Causes of death: 1900 and 2010:

An editorial in the 200th anniversary issue of the New England Journal of Medicine looks at mortality and health through the centuries, and includes this chart of causes of death from the turn of the last century, which makes for quite a comparison. We’re doing great on kidneys, but hearts not so much.

During the 20th century, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions assumed more dominant roles (see bar graphTop 10 Causes of Death: 1900 vs. 2010.), although outbreaks of infectious disease — from eastern equine encephalitis (1938) and kuru (1957) to legionnaires’ disease (1977), AIDS (1981), and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (1993) — necessitated ongoing vigilance against microbes. New concerns also came to medical attention, from the terrifying consequences of thermonuclear war (1962) to the indolent but devastating effects of environmental pollution (1966) and climate change (1989). Optimism about prospects for the health of future populations persisted but remained tempered by concern about the pathologies of civilization. An obesity epidemic, feared in 1912, has come to pass. Our previously steady increase in life expectancy has stalled and may even be reversed (2005).

The Burden of Disease and the Changing Task of Medicine
(via Beth Pratt)

[This is just sick. Now I want them to get together with, say, Hush and Kid Koala, and we can have a complete picture of the global state of hip hop. -egg]

Japan-based beatboxer Hikakin meets US-based freestyle dancer Nonstop (video):

The folks at MYISH put together two beautiful talents in the video above: Hikakin, a beatboxer based in Japan, and Marquese Scott a.k.a. Nonstop, a US dancer from Georgia who achieved viral fame in this 2011 video. They’re both absolutely amazing, and together, man: what a beautiful collaboration. You’ll be able to watch this in-flight on the Boing Boing Virgin America television channel, along with other great Japan beatboxing videos from MYISH.