I've posted before about my brother Mark Pescovitz's fine art photography. In his spare time, Mark is a transplant surgeon and medical research scientist. Today, he and his colleagues published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine about

British legislators have created new crimes at a rate of one a day since 1997....

My latest Guardian column looks at Peter Mandelson's new "Digital Economy Bill," a sweeping piece of proposed British legislation that would give Mandelson broad powers to act as the Pirate-Finder General, with the implausible aim of reducing UK file-sharing by

Dan Bull (he of the musical open letter to Lily Allen about copyright) has recorded another open letter to Peter Mandelson, the UK Business Secretary who's set himself up to be Pirate-Finder General, with nearly unlimited powers to enforce copyright.

Two bits of lighthearted holiday history from my old friends at mental_floss. About The Presidential Turkey Pardon The first official National Thanksgiving Turkey was presented by members of the Poultry and Egg National Board to Harry Truman in 1947. According

Dr Peter Watts, a PhD biologist and a hell of a science fiction writer, talks about what it means that a bunch of climate scientists Science doesn't work despite scientists being asses. Science works, to at least some extent, because

Every year in New York, Boing Boing buddy Danielle Spencer organizes a Turkey-shaped Jell-O® Mold art competition that rivals the great art showcases of our time -- think of it as the Venice Biennale of holiday-themed foodplay. The 2009 edition

Cellular carriers claim that their contracts offset heavy subsidies on handsets. They claim they'd love to sell phones contract-free at retail--you're just not interested. But there's a problem with this story: these "full price" handsets are grossly overpriced, suggesting that

what the heck's that, you ask? Before Halloween became the holiday it now is in the United States, children would dress up in masks on the final Thursday in November and go door to door for treats (think: fruit!), or

Mark and I have rounded up some of our favorite items from our 2009 Boing Boing reviews for the second-annual Boing Boing gift guide. We'll do one a day for the next six days, covering media (music/games/DVDs), gadgets and stuff,

Bill sez, "Today, Thursday, is the 90th birthday of Fred Pohl, science fiction novelist, who has also been a literary agent, teenage magazine editor, political activist, globetrotting lecturer, and member of SF fandom." I recently wrote a Fred Pohl tribute

You! Stop! Drop those marshmallows! Before you make a mistake you'll regret, consider this recipe instead. Grammy Althea's Marshmallow-Free, Awesome-Full Stove Top Sweet Potatoes You'll Need Sweet potatoes, probably about two pounds, peeled and chopped into thick hunks. Two pounds

Senseaware is FedEx's cellular-connected sensor-package. Drop it in your super-important packages (they're targeting it at people who ship human organs around) (Matthew from FedEx sez, "We're not targeting shipping of organs. It's life sciences. So that's pharma, medical devices/equipment, diagnostic

Alan F Beck paints watercolors of mice posed and modelled on classic and famous portraits -- including wonderful versions of Poe, Asimov, and Frankenstein's Monster as mice. Saw some of these last weekend at Philcon and was very amused --

from Muji's gift lineup. Sadly, their ecommerce-fu is about as terrible as it gets, but if you're near a Muji store, it's £16 well-spent. Wooden Solar System (Thanks, Alice!)...

Jazz up your Hannukah Bush this year with these gamer-themed ornaments -- game controllers, new-school and old-, laser-cut from acrylic. Available in red or white. Controller ornaments - Red (via Wonderland) Previously:Geeky xmas ornaments galore - Boing Boing Sculptural hood

Zadcat snapped this superb graffiti in Montreal's Chinatown -- snake-fire-escape! Sssnake stairs (Thanks, Zadcat!) Previously:C graffiti - Boing Boing Graffiti of giant people stuffed into small building - Boing Boing Graffiti: "I Love Cops!" - Boing Boing Graffiti of Koshi's

Joris sez, "Turn any logo or words into a custom metal 3D printed branding iron. It snaps on over a lighter, you turn on the lighter for 30 seconds and presto you are ready to leave your brand anywhere." I

John sez, "We all know EULAs, and for the most part, we hate them. However, they do serve a valid purpose. In a complex consumer society it allows quick contracting without teams of lawyers hashing it out over every consumer