Amanda Visell is having an art exhibition of her paintings and toys at Munky King in Los Angeles tonight (12/13/07). Link...

Shahram Sharif of ITIran.com blogs, "Last week one of wide street TV in central of karaj shows porn pics for 10 min mistakenly , police banned TV and arrested people who link." More importantly, here's a YouTube video shot on the scene by someone who sounds young and profoundly amused: Link. (thanks, Cyrus)...

Gee. If only I could figure out what seems so familiar about the cover art (larger size jpeg) on Rick Smolan's new book, Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the World. All hijinx aside, it looks like a very interesting read, and I'm ordering a copy....

Bob says: I just saw the BBtv post about Mark's guitar amp, and thought I'd share my similar project. It's also based on the LM386 although the circuit is a little different (and sounds way better). To save time and cost for anyone wanting to make this amp I offer either a bare PCB, or a simple parts kit (including PCB). This is available at my online store. There are also some video examples of the Minty Amp in action. Link...

Boing Boing reader Sibyl alerted us to this 75-page article on "copyfraud," by Jason Mazzone. Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School. From the abstract: Copyfraud is everywhere. False copyright notices appear on modern reprints of Shakespeare's plays, Beethoven's piano scores, greeting card versions of Monet's Water Lilies, and even the U.S. Constitution. Archives claim blanket copyright in everything in their collections. Vendors of microfilmed versions of historical newspapers assert copyright ownership. These false copyright claims, which are often accompanied by threatened litigation for reproducing a work without the owner's permission, result in users seeking licenses and paying fees to reproduce works that are free for everyone to use. Copyright law itself creates strong incentives for copyfraud. The Copyright Act provides for no civil penalty for falsely claiming ownership of public domain materials. There is also no remedy under the Act for individuals who wrongly refrain from legal copying or who make payment for permission to copy something they are in fact entitled to use for free. While falsely claiming copyright is technically a criminal offense under the Act, prosecutions are extremely rare. These circumstances have produced fraud on an untold scale, with millions of works in the public domain deemed copyrighted, and countless dollars paid out every year in licensing fees to make copies that could be made for free. Copyfraud stifles valid forms of reproduction and undermines free speech. Link...

Popular Science is running a Christmas special with a bunch of internet folks talking about the gadgets they lust for. I would like to drink eggnog with all of these people in one room, that would be fun: Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Amanda Congdon, Kevin Rose (Digg), Wil Wheaton (arch-nerd), Ray Kurzweil (futurist), Chris Burke (musician), Daniel Lyon (Fake Steve Jobs), Nolan Bushnell (Atari), Matt Harding (Internet Filmmaker), Timothy Ferris (4-Hour Work Week), Jonathan Coulton (Musician), Phil Torrone (MAKE), Dave Prochnow (How 2.0 Blogger/Builder), and me and Mark from Boing Boing and Boing Boing tv. Link. Photo credits, above: Coop (me) and Bart Nagel (Mark)....

Lincoln's Oak Ridge Cemetery tomb in Illinois is going to be heated and cooled with a brand new $282,000 geothermal energy system. We think this is particularly appropriate for the Lincoln Tomb because Abraham Lincoln is the only president to hold a U.S. patent,” [Illinois Historic Preservation Agency spokesman David] Blanchette said. “He was fascinated by the latest inventions and the latest technology, so we certainly think it’s appropriate to use this latest green technology on his final resting place.” Lincoln’s patent was for a device to help free riverboats that got stuck on sandbars. Link (Thanks, Julie!)...

DeanJ says: "If Senator Bond invites you over for an afternoon pool party you really should make other plans." Gwen Ifill (PBS Newshour host): "Do you think that waterboarding, as I described it, constitutes torture?" Senator Kit Bond: "There are different ways of doing it. It's like swimming, freestyle, backstroke. The waterboarding could be used almost to define some of the techniques that our trainees are put through, but that's beside the point." Link...

As the Canadian DMCA turns: the government has cancelled its plans to revive the flagging Canadian version of the US's disastrous 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act: The roller coaster that is the Canadian DMCA has taken another turn. Sometime between yesterday afternoon and this morning, the government decided to hold off. At 10:00 am this morning, the introduction of new government bills came and went without a new copyright bill. The Industry Minister's press secretary has advised journalists that the bill will not be introduced today or tomorrow. Since the House of Commons will break at the end of the week, the Canadian DMCA will not be introduced until at least late January. Link See also: Canadian DMCA to be reintroduced -- your action needed NOW! Canadian DMCA stalled, won't be introduced (today, at least)! Canadian DMCA rally in Calgary -- photos, videos, reports O Canada! The Canadian DMCA version of the national anthem Canadian DMCA introduced CANADIANS! Tomorrow is your best chance to fight the Canadian DMCA! Event in Calgary, national phone-in Canada's DMCA won't get any consumer rights added to it for a decade Facebook group for fighting Canada's DMCA growing fast Ranting hand-puppet tackles Canada's DMCA HOWTO Fight Canada's coming DMCA copyright law Canada's coming DMCA will be the worst copyright yet Canadian DMCA: how it might have happened CBC radio show needs your input for question with Minister responsible for Canadian DMCA Canadian Industry Minister refuses to defend Canadian DMCA in public...

Danny sez, Michael Geist says that flip-flopping Jim Prentice may announce his Canadian DMCA bill tomorrow morning after all, following what looks like pressure from the US, and a government that doesn't want to appear "weak". If they do, the thousands of Canadians who thought it was smart of him to actually pause and consult the voters on this bill will be furious. Online Rights Canada, whose letter campaign has already sent 2500 letters to MPs, has launched a site to keep track of all the protests, photos, Facebook groups and political developments as they happen. One page, and an RSS feed is all you need at http://www.copyrightforcanadians.ca/ Like I said before, this thing won't die until we cut off its head, sew its mouth full of garlic, and bury its head at a crossroads. Link (Thanks, Danny!) See also: Canadian DMCA stalled, won't be introduced (today, at least)! Canadian DMCA rally in Calgary -- photos, videos, reports O Canada! The Canadian DMCA version of the national anthem Canadian DMCA introduced CANADIANS! Tomorrow is your best chance to fight the Canadian DMCA! Event in Calgary, national phone-in Canada's DMCA won't get any consumer rights added to it for a decade Facebook group for fighting Canada's DMCA growing fast Ranting hand-puppet tackles Canada's DMCA HOWTO Fight Canada's coming DMCA copyright law Canada's coming DMCA will be the worst copyright yet Canadian DMCA: how it might have happened CBC radio show needs your input for question with Minister responsible for Canadian DMCA Canadian Industry Minister refuses to defend Canadian DMCA in public...