Boing Boing: November 4, 2024
"What the f*ck is this place?" Inside the mysterious bridal shop that hasn't changed its window display in 20 years - plus Trump's latest threat to reporters and George Clooney's secret ballot ad
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"Secret" voting isn't just a woman's game — MAGA men can also vote for Harris, says newer ad (video)
Carla Sinclair / 10:48 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
If you're a MAGA man having second thoughts about Donald Trump, remember, "What happens in the booth, stays in the booth," says a new ad, narrated by George Clooney.
This follows last week's "Secret" ad, which reminded Republican women that nobody — including their husbands — had to know how they voted. But this vote-for-Harris sequel is aimed at men who care about the women in their lives. And in this version, the men aren't hiding their votes from their wives — they're hiding it from other MAGA men.
The ad starts off with a trio of macho buddies walking into the polling station together. "Come on, boys. Let's make America great again," says one. But as his friend looks at the ballot inside the booth, he sees a photo of his family on his phone, and then sees his excited young daughter, who is smiling from the other side of the room as she yells, "Daddy!" He decides to follow his conscience and votes for Kamala Harris. (See video, posted by Sky News Australia.)
"Did you do your patriotic duty?" his friend asks as they leave the voting center. "You bet I did, brother," he responds.
With just one more day to go, the ads, both paid for by Vote Common Good, have the same takeaway message: "Before you cast your vote in this election, think about how it will impact the people you care about the most," says Clooney. "Remember, you can vote any way you want and no one will ever know."
Good Liars confront MAGA couple wearing "PROUD TO BE TRUMP'S GARBAGE" trash bags
Mark Frauenfelder / 10:46 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
A cheerful MAGA couple dressed in black plastic trash bags spoke with Davram of the Good Liars in a Trump rally parking lot. The man had long hair sprouting out of his red Trump cap, while his partner (or mother) wore a blue denim Trump cap. The trash bags they wore like smocks were meticulously decorated with patriotic insignia and said PROUD TO BE TRUMP'S GARBAGE in large white box letters. They put significant effort into making sure the center-justified type and the letter spacing was perfect. They have good reason to be proud of their handiwork. They seem very sweet, and remind me of the contestants from Let's Make a Deal who created whimsical costumes in the hope of catching Monty Hall's attention.
But Davram seemed to shake their confidence by asking them why they chose to be defined by Biden's description of Trump supporters as trash.*
Here's how the conversation went:
MAGA Gentleman
The current so-called President of the United States called Trump supporters "garbage."
MAGA Gentlewoman
So we showed up as garbage!
MAGA Gentleman
We're going to wear that proudly because we are Trump supporters.
Davram
And so, can you tell me how wearing the garbage bags proves that you're not garbage?
MAGA Gentleman
[The MAGA Gentlewoman turns around to show Davram what's printed on the back of the garbage bag she's wearing] Just as the back says. "Biden calls us garbage. Trump calls us Americans."
Davram
Right, but you're dressed as Biden defined you, not as Trump defined you.
MAGA Gentlewoman
[Long pause, nervous chuckle, both trash-bag wearers look at the ground] Well…
MAGA Gentleman
Well, I think, I think more of we're taking it as a joke at this point.
Davram
Like it would make sense if you were wearing an American flag, and you said, "Biden calls us garbage and Trump calls us Americans," and you're wearing an American flag.
MAGA Gentlewoman
I'm confused.
I hate to break it to the MAGA Gentlewoman, but wearing a bag PROUD TO BE TRUMP'S GARBAGE is confusing to the rest of us, too.
So Kamala was able to make Trump work at McDonalds and Biden was able to make Trump wear a garbage man uniform.
I hope they call MAGA supporters "Former Trump cultists" next.
*Last week Biden referenced a statement made by "comedian" Tony Hinchcliffe at a Trump rally, where Hinchcliffe described Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage." In response, Biden said, "The only trash I see floating out there is his supporters."
"What the f*ck is this place?" The mystery of the bridal store that hasn't opened its doors for two decades
Mark Frauenfelder / 9:09 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
What is the story behind this mysterious bridal shop in New Jersey? It's seemingly abandoned, but has been well-maintained since 2006.
TikToker Eli Rallo visited the shop and said, "This bridal shop has been here in my hometown for two decades. They've never changed the window displays. Nobody has ever been in or out. It's always locked. I always wondered if one day I got married, I could try on dresses here. There's no website; there's no Facebook page; there's no phone number."
She pointed to a mannequin in the window display and said, "This lady has been wearing that cloak since 2006. What the fuck is this place? What is it? We're trying to get in. Like does anybody know? Help us uncover this mystery."
The video has generated over 9000 comments, with viewers speculating about po ssible explanations:
Estate/inheritance dispute preventing changes
Money laundering operation
Tax write-off property
Foreign investment vehicle
Art installation similar to Prada Marfa
Abandoned property maintained by the city for appearances
A 2020 article in Red Bank Green about the shop has a few nuggets of information:
"No dresses go in and no dresses come out," said the manager of another shop, who asked not to be identified because she wishes to "be a good neighbor."
According to an anonymous local employee, mail piles up and deteriorates at the storefront until it mysteriously disappears.
Property records show someone named Kei Lau from Massachusetts purchased the building for $89,500 in 1999, and Yi Lau registered Haute Couture Creations as a "family clothing" business in 2006; when reached by phone, Kei Lau, who pays taxes on the now $508,000-assessed property, told the reporter, "It's just a building that's sitting there."
And this is where things get weird:
But why has the shop never opened? we asked. Just as Lau began to speak, the connection went bad. Repeated attempts to reach him again were unsuccessful and he did not respond to a voice message over the weekend.
I can't wait for someone to get to the bottom of this.
Trump wants to "shoot fake news" reporters for their own good, says his campaign
Carla Sinclair / 9:05 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
When Donald Trump said he wouldn't mind if someone shot at the reporters covering his Pennsylvania rally over the weekend, his MAGA followers laughed. If he told these same blind disciples to drink the Kool-Aid, they'd laugh before taking their final swig. Yeah, these folks act weird, but even more bizarre is the response to Trump's dangerous remarks by his campaign.
But first, to refresh your memory, while knocking the "bloodsucking" reporters throughout his rally on Sunday, Trump at one point brought up the glass partition protecting him from any would-be assassins. He then pointed to the reporters standing on the other side of the glass, and said, "To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much. I don't mind that." (See video, posted by Republican Voters Against Trump.)
But rather than finally quit and hang his head in shame, Trump's campaign spokeschump, Steve Cheung, used MAGA logic to explain the ex-president's tyrannical suggestion: "There can be no other interpretation of what was said. He was actually looking out for their welfare, far more than his own," he said, via ABC News.
Wow, this nonsense takes "You can't make this stuff up!" to a whole new level. But in MAGAland this is a moot point, because: 1) Trump fanatics believe whatever their cult leader feeds them. So if inviting shooters to kill reporters means it's for the reporters' own good, then by gum, it's for their own good; and 2) It doesn't matter what the campaign's response is. Trump fanatics don't care.
Previously:
• Dictator Trump threatens Liz Cheney: 'Let's see how she feels'…with 'guns trained on her face' (video)
• King Trump plans to jail lawyers, donors, and other opponents at "levels never seen before"
Amazon pauses shipping on color Kindles after display problems
Rob Beschizza / 7:30 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Amazon recently announced its first color Kindle e-reader and began sending them out, but a problem with the displays means it won't be shipping to more customers just yet. Michael Kozlowski writes that those who have already received one report text quality flaws and a yellow cast near the bottom that you can see photos posted in this Reddit thread
Amazon customer service has told many customers that they are working on a software update for the Kindle Colorsoft as a patchwork fix. They will likely try to fix the yellow bar with software, maybe by muting it so it's less noticeable. The estimated time for the fix is at the earliest in a week and, at the latest, in two weeks. Amazon has told Good e-Reader that this yellow bar issue might go away if you physically reboot the device and leave it powered off for a couple of minutes before restarting. … Dark mode is also unavailable on the Kindle Colorsoft; they have updated their product description page on the US website to let customers know this feature does not work. Dark mode inverts the colours on the screen, so the background is black, and the text is white.
Strangely disastrous, not least because competitors are now well-ahead when it comes to color e-Ink displays and similar technology. Looking forward to insiders telling all about this one.
Update: hey the wiki's already updated:
Quincy Jones dead at 91
Rob Beschizza / 6:47 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Legendary music producer Quincy Jones is dead at 91, reports the Associated Press.
Jones' publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. Jones was to have received an honorary Academy Award later this month. "Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing," the family said in a statement. "And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him."
There are many brilliant works of his, made in collaboration with famed artists from Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles—he amassed 28 Grammies and countless other awards. But today it has to be Michael Jackson and Thriller.
M4 Max posts spectacular benchmarks
Rob Beschizza / 6:35 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Apple's new M4 Max chip is the "performance king" in single-threaded benchmarks, reports Tom's Hardware, with a clear lead over high-end (~$600) competition such as AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X and Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K in multi-threaded tasks.
The M4 Max is Apple's flagship SoC targeted at data scientists, 3D artists, and professionals. The top-end configuration packs 16 CPU cores (twelve performance and four efficient) and 40 GPU cores alongside up to 128GB of unified memory – accessible by both the CPU and GPU. Apple has also kitted its new MacBook Pro lineup with support for Thunderbolt 5, delivering speeds of up to 120 Gb/s.
I'm a little sad the M4 Max is not on offer in the new Mac Mini; it tops out with the M4 Pro, at 20 GPU cores. And a MacBook Pro with one starts at $3,200, though that's with a base config of 32GB with 1TB of storage. You can get very nice gaming laptops with 4090s in them for less that that! A new Mac Studio will surely land soon for Apple users wanting the best for a relatively reasonable price. The Mac Pro, at $7k and up, is not really for everyday users anymore and will reportedly get an M4 Ultra.
Apple's M4 Max is the single-core performance king in Geekbench 6 — M4 Max beats the Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 9 9950X [Tom's Hardware]
Fans save iPod clickwheel games for posterity
Rob Beschizza / 6:15 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Apple's iPod is gone—phased out between 2014 and 1017, with the touchscreen version discontinued in 2019—but the ingenious clickwheel interface is immortal. Fans of games that used it are evading Apple's DRM controls to rescue those titles from the history books, reports Kyle Orland at Ars Technica. Thanks to a convenience baked into Apple's implementation, it's legal: the "digital locks" do not have to be boltcut.
Luckily for the sizable community of classic iPod enthusiasts, there is a bit of a workaround for this legacy DRM issue. Clickwheel iPod owners with working copies of any of these games (either in their iTunes library or on an iPod itself) are still able to re-authorize their account through Apple's servers to sync with a secondary installation of iTunes. If multiple iPod owners each reauthorize their accounts to the same iTunes installation, that copy of iTunes effectively becomes a "master library" containing authorized copies of the games from all of those accounts (there's a five-account limit per iTunes installation, but it can be bypassed by copying the files manually). That iTunes installation then becomes a distribution center that can share those authorized games to any number of iPods indefinitely, without the need for any online check-ins with Apple.
The action is happening on Reddit and the code is on Github.
This gadget deshells sunflower seeds
Popkin / 4:19 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
The cute little face on this machine makes it even better. I like how it looks as if the machine is spitting out the shells each time the seed gets dropped into the lot on its head.
I searched for the seed sheller and found it here on Amazon for $20. Alternatively, it would be cool to find a blank desheller machine and paint your own face on it. I can imagine endless possibilities for funny cartoon faces that spit out sunflower seeds, and now I want to make one of these myself.
NYPD using drones to combat subway surfing
Gail Sherman / 4:11 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Teens have been subway surfing, i.e. riding on top of a moving subway car, in NYC since at least the 80s. The trend comes and goes, as trends do, and some kids always die because, you know, it's incredibly dangerous. It was inevitable that it would become a TikTok trend. So far this year, six youths have been killed in the TikTok subway surfing challenge, surpassing last year's total of five, with two months left in the year.
To avoid signal-boosting the scofflaws by sharing their videos, I would like to present a fun alternative: the Subway Surfers challenge, in which you reenact the popular Subway Surfers mobile endless runner game in real life.
Mayor Eric Adams, who definitely isn't trying to deflect attention away from anything, announced the success of the MTA's current initiative to use drones to find and stop subway surfers.
The mayor said there have been 900 NYPD drones deployed that have caught and stopped 114 riders, including one that was just 9 years old. The average age of subway surfers is 14. The oldest was 33.
The drones are used to monitor the most popular subway lines used for the dangerous activity, including the No. 7 train. The NYPD used 911 calls to send drones and officers to the necessary areas.
Officers have apprehended 41 people who have been arrested more than once for subway surfing, police said.
The MTA has been working with social media companies to remove videos of subway surfing and has produced a PSA with the mother of a 15-year-old boy who was killed subway surfing last year.
What was the most popular candy in your state?
Jennifer Sandlin / 4:08 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Hopefully you're all recovering from the candy comas you might have slipped into after eating too much candy on Halloween. Judging from your (or your kids') candy hauls, do you think you could guess the most popular candy in your state? After reading this report from consumer research firm Innerbody, I have to confess my guess for Arizona was woefully wrong—more on that,.
Innerbody analyzed Google Trends search data over a year to identify the most popular candy in each state. They describe their methodology:
We set a 12-month time period (September 14, 2021–September 14, 2022) and used the numerical search values to determine which popular brands of candy were searched for the most in each state. Then, we analyzed the data to discover which candies were the most popular in which states, as well as which states were the most interested in candy based on the sum of their search values for all of the 24 included candy varieties.
Here are some highlights from their findings:
Dubble Bubble Gum was the least popular candy in the U.S. by far in 44 states.
28 states showed no interest in Dubble Bubble Gum and at least one other type of candy.
Charms Blow Pops and Jolly Ranchers were tied for the type of candy of greatest interest to the most states (seven).
In second place was Starburst (six states), Kit Kat (five states) stole third place, and Almond Joy (four states) was our runner-up.
With the highest combined search value (1,508), Utah is the most candy-loving state.
Alaska, with the lowest combined search value (616), loved (or at least searched for) candy the least.
So what was Arizona's favorite candy? It's something called Sour Punch Straws, which I've never even heard of. The Phoenix New Times answered some of my questions:
When the study turned its attention to Arizona, Sour Punch Straws came out on top. The sour straws come in flavors like blue raspberry, strawberry and rainbow. More unique versions include pickle and ghost pepper flavors. Sour Punch Bites are also available, which are essentially sliced up straws.
Although ghost pepper Sour Punch Straws intrigue me, because I like hot things, I think I'll stick with my favorite candy, peanut M&Ms. How about you?
Read the rest of the report—which is actually pretty interesting—here.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore won Halloween 2024!
Jennifer Sandlin / 4:03 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
I know there were lots of terrific costumes this Halloween—including this wonderful father/daughter "Wonka Mobile" and of course Heidi Klum's perfect E.T.
But I think my favorite was Maryland Governor Wes Moore and his wife Dawn's recreation of the sitcom "The Jeffersons," which ran on CBS from 1975 to 1985. Governor Moore posted on his social media:
Maryland, we love to have a little fun with our Halloween. We hope this brings back fond memories and lots of laughter. #Halloweeen2024
The Moores dressed up as George and Louise Jefferson and absolutely nailed it! They even created a short video that looks like a show trailer. And Governor Moore's renditions of George Jefferson's swagger walk and dance moves were brilliantly spot-on. As a child of the 70s and 80s who used to watch The Jeffersons every day after school, this really took me back!
Enjoy!
Watch Will Ferrell and John Oliver's patriotic song and video for new U.S. citizens (video)
Ruben Bolling / 3:51 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
John Oliver's show "Last Week Tonight" examined the fact that for years a video featuring Trumpist Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the U.S.A." has been played at naturalization ceremonies for new U.S. citizens.
The show found that when Greenwood discovered that his song was played at these ceremonies, he forced the U.S. government into a $22,000 for a six year licensing contract to play the song at these ceremonies, which Oliver says "is both a surprisingly small amount of money and also, I would argue, $22,000 too much."
When that contract expired in 2018, there was a new deal to pay $700 per year to play the song at citizenship ceremonies, but there was somehow a snag with whether the government could pay by credit card! The deal fell through, and the government lost the right to play the song.
"Last Week Tonight" produced its own song and video, performed by "an actual American treasure" to be played at citizenship ceremonies, and magnanimously offered to pay the U.S. government $701 per year to play it.
Here is Will Ferrell singing (at 14:19) what I'm calling "That Stuff's American, and Now So Are You," and not only is it a great song and very funny, but it's actually genuinely touching and more patriotic than Greenwood's.
Codeless, AI-generated video game is a terrible Minecraft clone
Grant St. Clair / 3:49 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
With any luck, the ouroboros of plagiarism that is Generative AI will eat itself in the next few years – but until then, we're going to have to deal with uncanny six-fingered art and hours of YouTube slop. The next step in the Elon Musk cult's attempt to speedrun the death of art has come in the form of Oasis, a Minecraft clone being touted as the first AI-generated video game.
Etched, the Cupertino-based AI startup behind Oasis, has been unusually transparent about the "game", touting, among other things, the lack of any actual code. Every frame is generated by the Oasis AI model in real time based on the user's key and button inputs, meaning that it's kind of like playing Minecraft if the game itself had dementia. With no hardcoded mechanics and no capacity for memory, each frame only has the frame preceding it for reference, meaning that what starts as something resembling Minecraft invariably descends into a hazy hellscape where there are no rules and nothing is real. It's vaguely reminiscent of early art games like LSD Dream Simulator, but those actually had some degree of intentionality behind them.
Etched has boldly declared that "within a decade, [they] believe a majority of internet content will be AI-generated." (Isn't that a comforting thought?) If it's going to look like this, count me out. Generative AI has, thus far, only amounted to a jittering, uncanny imitation of human talent, and it's likely that its rampant energy consumption is going to burn out the planet before we reach the promised days of being able to generate triple-A games with a single button press. Oasis seems to fit right into that trend: spending vast amounts of money, manpower and energy to make a worse version of something we already had for no discernible purpose.
It's probably still better than the movie's going to be, though.
Squid Game Season 2 looks fun, if unnecessary
Grant St. Clair / 3:45 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
It inspired a reality show, a Mr. Beast video, and absolutely ruined Halloween for a year: after the massive cultural phenomenon that was Squid Game, a second season was a foregone conclusion. After initially announcing a release date, Netflix has finally put out a full teaser for the second season. Front and center in the trailer is a Gi-hun who's evidently chosen not to keep the red hair infiltrating the games in an apparent attempt to derail them entirely, which is an interesting twist on the formula.
As with any fresh project that makes the leap into being a franchise, however, one worries about the continuation missing the point. Under the candy-colored aesthetic, the first season of Squid Game managed to be a biting commentary on the legendarily hellish class disparity of South Korea (which also inspired similar works of art like Parasite), with the games themselves serving as a sort of miniaturized stand-in for greater society. Whether or not a bigger budget and doubtlessly greater Netflix oversight will allow the second season to carry on that same message is anyone's guess – but I'm going to be watching regardless for the sheer fun of it, which I recognize kind of defeats the purpose.
Obvious Plant's satirical Halloween costumes
Popkin / 3:02 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Here are some killer satirical halloween costumes made by artist Obvious Plant. I wish these were real, especially the "pair of jorts". This costume features a blue bodysuit with a pair of shorts that have a hole in the center so you can wear them around your head.
My second favorite costume here is the "cover yourself in cheese" costume. The packaging for this one features a shirtless guy covered in real slices of american cheese. The costume itself says that it does, in fact, actually contain cheese that clings naturally.
I was disappointed by all the boring old options this year. Take some inspiration from this for next year and step up your game!
Delusional conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf believes she was hacked because she endorsed Donald Trump
Jennifer Sandlin / 2:58 am PT Mon Nov 4, 2024
Author and journalist-turned-conspiracy theorist-and-MAGAt Naomi Wolf is at it again. She posted yesterday on the site formerly known as Twitter that all kinds of strange things have been happening to her electronics since she formally endorsed Donald Trump for President.
She wrote:
I endorsed Pres Donald Trump yesterday. Today all day my phone froze, the cursor on my computer started wandering around the desktop, and my wifi continually disconnected. All coincidentally.
I guess things miraculously fixed themselves, though, because she's been tweeting up a storm ever since.
Please, universe, make it stop.
Feature request: a link on every piece so that we can go directly to the relevant comments.