Who could have predicted that the last few years would see such a vast increase in social media spam? Certainly not professional tarot card readers, whose identities have become ripe opportunities for online scammers looking to exploit gullible consumers. This has been a worsening issue in the spiritual advisor industry since at least 2021. — Read the rest

The post How psychics and tarot readers use software to fight online scams appeared first on Boing Boing.

Lover of Men is an upcoming documentary film directed by Shaun Peterson and written by Grace Leeson which explores the age-old question: was Abe Lincoln gay? Specifically, the movie examines Lincoln's relationship with four different men, with whom Lincoln shared clothes, sleeping arrangements, and deep emotional connections:

• David Derickson, Lincoln's Civil War-era bodyguard often stayed in his tent and wore his clothes
• Joshua Speed, Lincoln's former roommate and close friend, whose many correspondences were described by one historian as having a "streak of lavender, and spots soft as May violets";
• Billy Greene, another roommate from Lincoln's 20s who factually slept in the same bed with him and whose thighs Lincoln once described in writing as "as perfect as a human being could be";
• and Elmer Ellsworth, an army officer and close friend of Lincoln.

— Read the rest

The post Documentary highlights the men that Abraham Lincoln slept with appeared first on Boing Boing.

Last fall, amidst the ongoing national Adderall shortage, I decided it was time to start playing video games every day. That's because I learned about a new game called EndeavorOTC, which was in the process of gaining FDA clearance as a potential alternative treatment for ADHD. — Read the rest

The post A video game just got FDA clearance as an ADHD treatment appeared first on Boing Boing.

In the wake of the recent unionization efforts, such as the Writer's Guild strike, the Animation Guild is also pushing for more power in the industry.

Production houses such as Dreamworks and Pixar—once celebrated for their revolutionary in-house work and style—have increasingly outsourced their once-award-winning animation labor. — Read the rest

The post Inside the struggle to unionize the animation industry appeared first on Boing Boing.

Stan Lee was a beloved American icon—but he also may have been more exploitative and more exploited than most people realize. In recent years, Josie Riesman's fantastic book True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee and Tom Scioli's comic book-styled biography I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee have both explored the nuances and complexities around the man's self-styled myth-making. — Read the rest

The post Making sense of Stan Lee's many financial messes appeared first on Boing Boing.

Back in February 2024, the BBC reported that the United Kingdom had rejected resettlement applications for Afghan commandos who fought alongside British soldiers in the fight against the Taliban. From that original report:

When the Taliban swept to power in August 2021, members of Afghan Special Forces units CF 333 and ATF 444 – known as the "Triples" – were among the groups most at risk of reprisal, having supported UK Special Forces in their fight against the Taliban.

— Read the rest

The post UK Special Forces veto immigration applications for Afghan troops they fought with appeared first on Boing Boing.

Shrub Oak International School is a "specialized" "boarding school" in New York state that opened in 2018, ostensibly with the goal of providing services to students with disabilities. The student body is composed of about 100 students from 13 US states, most of whom have autism, if not other special needs. — Read the rest

The post Unregulated boarding school for autistic kids sounds more like a prison appeared first on Boing Boing.

In recent years, noted alt-right grifter Milo Yiannopoulos has been serving as Chief of Staff for Yeezy, the brand owned by Ye, also known as Kanye West, also known as that successful hip-hop mogul who got dumped by Kim Kardashian and then made a full-blown public embrace of Hitler. — Read the rest

The post Famed antisemites Ye and Milo Yiannopoulos part ways over porn disagreements appeared first on Boing Boing.

Electronic drum kits can do wonderful things, but even the best models out there still suffer from the same essential flaw: those god damn rubber¹ cymbals.

But a few weeks ago, my friend Chris (drummer for the Roland High Life) and I visited the headquarters of the Avedis Zildjian Company just outside of Boston. — Read the rest

The post Zildjian's new e-drum kit is a gamechanger in music technology appeared first on Boing Boing.

Like a lot of people who were reared on the underground and alternative rock sounds of the late 80s and 90s, I was heartbroken to hear about the unexpected death of Steve Albini earlier this week. When I'm not getting notifications about an algorithmically sponsored Instagram posts of a screenshot of a tweet I made about one of the last thing Albini posted on Bluesky (the kind of recursive human centipede of "content" that would absolutely make the man hurl), I've been thinking a lot about his infamous essay 1993 essay, "The Problem with Music," originally published by The Baffler. — Read the rest

The post Read Steve Albini's famous essay on the music industry's problems appeared first on Boing Boing.

Electronic drum kits can do wonderful things, but even the best models out there still suffer from the same essential flaw: those god damn rubber¹ cymbals.

But a few weeks ago, my friend Chris (drummer for the Roland High Life) and I visited the headquarters of the Avedis Zildjian Company just outside of Boston. — Read the rest

The post Zildjian's new e-drum kit is a gamechanger in music technology appeared first on Boing Boing.

Like a lot of people who were reared on the underground and alternative rock sounds of the late 80s and 90s, I was heartbroken to hear about the unexpected death of Steve Albini earlier this week. When I'm not getting notifications about an algorithmically sponsored Instagram posts of a screenshot of a tweet I made about one of the last thing Albini posted on Bluesky (the kind of recursive human centipede of "content" that would absolutely make the man hurl), I've been thinking a lot about his infamous essay 1993 essay, "The Problem with Music," originally published by The Baffler. — Read the rest

The post Read Steve Albini's famous essay on the music industry's problems appeared first on Boing Boing.

Electronic drum kits can do wonderful things, but even the best models out there still suffer from the same essential flaw: those god damn rubber¹ cymbals.

But a few weeks ago, my friend Chris (drummer for the Roland High Life) and I visited the headquarters of the Avedis Zildjian Company just outside of Boston. — Read the rest

The post Zildjian's new e-drum kit is a gamechanger in music technology appeared first on Boing Boing.

Like a lot of people who were reared on the underground and alternative rock sounds of the late 80s and 90s, I was heartbroken to hear about the unexpected death of Steve Albini earlier this week. When I'm not getting notifications about an algorithmically sponsored Instagram posts of a screenshot of a tweet I made about one of the last thing Albini posted on Bluesky (the kind of recursive human centipede of "content" that would absolutely make the man hurl), I've been thinking a lot about his infamous essay 1993 essay, "The Problem with Music," originally published by The Baffler. — Read the rest

The post Read Steve Albini's famous essay on the music industry's problems appeared first on Boing Boing.

We've recently had a bit of ant problem in our house, and no matter how much Terro ant bait we use, the little bastards keep finding new ways in. Every day this week, at approximately 7:15am — right when I'm hopping in the shower! — Read the rest

The post How to choose between white caulk and black caulk appeared first on Boing Boing.

The first time I heard Frank Turner live was at the Space in Hamden, Connecticut, USA (a venue I literally helped to build) in 2008. The English folk-punk singer was the opening act for some other artists I was interested in. — Read the rest

The post Frank Turner tries to break the world record for most concerts performed in different cities in 24 hours appeared first on Boing Boing.