Julia Reda, a Pirate Party MEP who had campaigned against the legislation tweeted: "Great success: Your protests have worked! The European Parliament has sent the copyright law back to the drawing board."
BPI Music, which represents UK record labels, had supported the bill and tweeted: "We respect the decision... we will work with MEPs over the next weeks to explain how the proposed directive will benefit not just European creativity, but also internet users and the technology sector." ...
The Copyright Directive is intended to bring rules around content in line with the digital age. The two most controversial parts of it are Article 11 and Article 13. The first of these is intended to provide fair remuneration for publishers and prevent online content-sharing platforms and news aggregators sharing links without paying for them. But it has been called the "link tax" by opponents and raised questions about who will have to pay and how much. Article 13 puts more onus on websites to enforce copyright laws and could mean that any online platform that allows users to post text, images, sounds or code will need a way to assess and filter content.
I spent a lot of time away from home over the past few weeks, visiting With friends in Edmonton in between business trips to New York City and Boston. As a freshly-minted Nintendo Switch owner, I wanted to take my console with me to spruce up my downtime while I was on the road. As I can be kind of hard on my gear, one of the first things I do, especially if it’s a piece of kit that I plan on traveling with, is invest in a good case to protect it. As I’d had success with their bags and cases in the past, I opted to take Waterfield Designs’ Cityslicker case for Nintendo Switch for a spin.
For the most part, it was a good decision.
Heavily padded and well-stitched to within an inch of its life, the Cityslicker Case looks and feels great. When I ordered the case, there were a few different color options to choose from. I opted for Grizzly Leather: a light brown that gets better looking the more you beat it up. Aside from its leather lid, most of the case is made from ballistic nylon. It feels good the touch and should (although I wouldn’t recommend trying it) offer your Switch a bit of protection from liquids, too. Most importantly, the CItyslicker comes with enough padding that I don’t think much would happen to my Switch were it dropped from, say, the height of a dining room table while it was in the case.
In addition to their being room for a Nintendo Switch and a pair of Joy Cons, I was also able to jam a USB C cable into the case so that I can charge my console on the fly, a cloth for wiping the console’s display, a slim portable battery bank for recharging my Switch or smartphone on the go (I’ll be damned if you'll ever catch me using an airplane’s power system to charge anything) and a leather card that can hold ten Switch game cards in it. The latter’s likely overkill, as the case itself has slots in it to hold up to five game cards or microSD cards. Right now, I only own two games published to physical media. But I hate paying taxes and shipping on small items like a game card holder after the fact, so here we at.
The case’s lid is secured by a pair of magnetic snaps. Given what a terrible idea pushing on buttons with your delicate Switch console inside of the case would be, I think this was an outstanding design decision. I’m also fond of the wee loop of fabric, located on the bottom of the case. By slipping a finger through the loop and grabbing my Switch with my free hand, it’s really easy to remove the console from inside of the snug-fitting case.
The only thing that makes this case a little less than great is its price: it’ll set you back $79. That’s a lotta cheddar to be laying out after investing in a Nintendo Switch. But I look at it this way: It could end up costing me a whole lot more if I were to buy a less expensive, less capable protective case for my console. Drop a Switch once in a shitty, under padded case and that’s all she wrote. I suspect that the Cityslicker will serve me well, for as long as I own my console.
FOR THE KIDS IN YOUR LIFE, AND THEIR SUMMER READING: Get Ruben Bolling’s hit book series for kids, The EMU Club Adventures.
"The EMU Club inhabits exactly the world I always hoped to live in when I was 12, when the answer to questions like 'Where did I put my toy' led inevitably to alien conspiracies and secret underground tunnels. A book for the curious and adventurous!" -Cory Doctorow, author of "For the Win" and "Little Brother"
"The type of non-stop action and improbably hilarious fun that only a kid could dream up. ... The EMU Club's adventures perfectly capture the intersection of imagination and wonder - the crossroad that's so often found in cardboard boxes, pillow forts and backyards everywhere." -GeekDad
Context, contemplation, careful study: things all but lost in the modern rush to shovel information into our eyeballs. Here's The Indy on slow reading, the antithesis of speed reading.
By default, most people read as quickly as they’re comfortable with – this happens without any conscious effort. To start slow reading, you read as slowly as you’re comfortable with – it should feel comfortable, not labored. The goal is to achieve an enjoyable experience – slow reading should never be stressful.
There's nothing new here, not even the term, found in Nietzsche ("perhaps one is a philologist still, that is to say, a teacher of slow reading") more than a hundred years ago. But the Slow movement is recent, dating to Roman irritation at the opening of a McDonalds there in the 1980s.
Not all heroes wear capes, people. Take this bear, for instance. Mark Hough of Altadena, California first spotted the bear climbing over his fence. He then witnessed the critter slipping into his (unheated) hot tub for a cool soak. Wait, it gets better. Then the bear knocked over and lapped up the margarita Hough had left by the edge of the tub. Later, the bear was found napping in a nearby tree.
After first spotting the bear, Hough retreated inside, only to later find the furry intruder "bobbling away in the Jacuzzi enjoying himself."
Hough recorded video of the bear lolling in the unheated hot tub with the jets on. The creature played with the chlorinator and tossed the thermometer in the air, Hough said.
"He was playing having a grand old time," he added.
The bear's dip only lasted a few minutes before it emerged and lumbered around the yard. Then it "popped out of the bushes, walked right over to the margarita, knocked it over and lapped it," Hough said.
...About an hour later, Hough was talking to a neighbor when some oak leaves fluttered to the ground. Hough looked up to see the bear slumbering in the tree.
After watching this, I think it's clear I need to up my summer game.
Robot vacuums have been around for a while, but the technology has been somewhat hit-or-miss. All too often, these machines get stuck, miss spots, or simply don't work the way you need them to. The ECOVACS DEEBOT Slim2 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, however, is designed with a myriad of smart features to make it more autonomous an even clean your living space when you're not around. It's available in the Boing Boing store for $140 and you can save an additional 15% off with code JULY4TH.
Engineered with stair safety, obstacle detection technology, and auto-recharge functionality, the ECOVACS DEEBOT Slim2 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner is more than capable of navigating your living space and tidying up your hardwood floors. It features selective cleaning modes for various messes and is capable of tangle-free suction and dry mopping. What's more, using the app, you can start the DEEBOT remotely and program it for daily or weekly cleanings, making for a smarter tidying experience.
The ECOVACS DEEBOT Slim2 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner is available for $140 in the Boing Boing store.
In the first part of this video, the guys at the sports/comedy YouTube Channel Dude Perfect launch a ping pong ball through a Rube Goldberg-like contraption that fills a room. Once it's made its way through, then they show off their mad trick shots using ping pong balls. The video's vibe is bro-ish but the tricks are impressive!
This is their fourth in a series of (gone-incredibly-viral) "ping pong trick shot" videos. Here are the other three:
"Like Sugar" is the lead single from Khan's upcoming album, which she promises to add to her 22-album canon sometime in 2018. The project — her first since 2007 — will be released on Diary Records, a new label run by producer and M.I.A. collaborator Switch.
In the video for "Like Sugar," dancers in their best vintage duds show off their dance skills in a vacant industrial plot. No glitz or glam needed, just the beats and the moves.
I'm no futurist but I think I've spotted the future of beverage-dispensing devices. Marin County Fair vendor Phil's Lemonade is selling lemonade-filled (philled?) jetpacks for $19.99 a pop. Phil'er up!
You might be thinking: “Well, if Juggalos constantly wear this makeup, wouldn’t the facial recognition technology just continually recognize their Juggalo faces?” According to @tahkion, that depends on the Juggalo consistently wearing the same style of makeup. This problem also assumes that Juggalos wear their makeup all the time—which they don’t. The style is reserved for Insane Clown Posse shows and other special occasions, like the March on Washington.
Only Apple FaceID, which uses a different method to most facial recognition technology, is not fooled. But it only works close up.
DEVO headlined Burger Boogaloo this past weekend in Oakland. John Waters introduced them to the stage in an epic nearly four-minute-long speech that attacked Trump and celebrated the band:
...Originally from Ohio, why-oh-why-oh-Ohio, they started their careers like I did: pissed off. And they had a real reason to be nuts, their fellow friends were killed at Kent State University by the police. So they started a De-Evolution that we're still feeling. They challenged illegitimate authority, they said, and so should YOU. It's worse now than it ever was. Trump is a feckless prick. A shithole of a president. An orange anus, as Rosie McDonnell called him. Who kidnaps children. Tosses paper towels to hurricane victims. It's so dumb he stares at the eclipse with that stupid wife who's a clueless dresser who no drag queen would ever imitate. What better band to protest his stupidity and first-degree asshole-ism than our boys tonight from outer space. But our political situation is not science fiction, it's real. Before New Wave, ahead of Industrial, "alternative" way before the word was coined, this band was no media invention, it was a grassroots movement that everyone here has embraced. David Bowie loved them, Iggy loved them. I loved them. One of the bandmates even told me once that I was in a titty bar with them doing coke. I thought, "What was *I* doing in a titty bar?" I was under DEVO's spell, that's it. And tonight even more so, with my friend Freddy Armisen playing the drums. All I know is that they're one of the influential bands in musical history. Promoters used to unplug their equipment to stop their messages but not tonight. Cause we're a cult, glad to be brainwashed. Tonight is Jonestown with a happy ending. Let's pray to them. Let's levitate and enjoy. It's a miracle, playing together for the first time in four years. It's a Burger Boogaloo wet dream, It's DEVO.
Our friend Fred Armisen, longtime DEVOtee, will be joining us on drums for the Burger Boogaloo show in Oakland, CA this weekend. He brought his vintage Club DEVO membership kit to rehearsals, which he purchased in the early 1980s. Duty Now For The Future, Fred! @BURGERRECORDSpic.twitter.com/nE4HY4Etmj
In 1961, Wisconsin optometrist Arthur Duperrault chartered a yacht to take his family on a sailing holiday in the Bahamas. After two days in the islands, the ship failed to return to the mainland, and the unfolding story of its final voyage made headlines around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll recount the fate of the Bluebelle and its seven passengers and crew.
We'll also sympathize with some digital misfits and puzzle over some incendiary cigarettes.
The Southern Poverty Law Center says this is a form some of their clients who have been detained under Donald Trump's racist “zero tolerance” program have been presented with, to request that ICE give back their children.
You would think this driver who missed his exit would have stopped after causing a truck to flip over.
But even being the cause of two trucks crashing is not enough to make this sociopath think twice about the disastrous consequences of his actions. I have a feeling that, no matter how many trucks crashed, he'd doggedly pursue his goal of driving his car onto the exit ramp.
Indiana State Police arrested 129 people in a massive drug bust on Friday. They recovered cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, prescription medication and these garish orange MDMA tablets in the shape of Trump's head. The back of the tablets say "GREAT AGAIN."
