Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. More gems from Bay Area Maker Faire 2008: Boing Boing co-editor David Pescovitz speaks with Kaden Harris, author of Eccentric Cubicle, and the brains behind Eccentricgenius.ca -- eccentric antiques from a parallel universe. He shows us his Silicon Projectile Centrifuge (a lovely lethal weapon that shoots marbles at high velocity), a combination lamp/bong, and other exotica from the halls of beautiful Eccentric Manors. Then, Xeni is zapped by Jack Sparx, who uses his body as an electrical transformer, zapping all who come near with low-level shocks in the name of science. As Xeni demonstrates, the jolts from his mini-Tesla Coils are not *that* low-level, either. Bonus: ironic t-shirt catwalk; Xeni and the BBtv crew stopped Maker Faire attendees in their tracks, and asked them to explain their hipster t-shirts. Previous Boing Boing tv episodes from Maker Faire: Star Simpson's fuzzy logic, MacGyver, MIT lasers, and trippy glasses: Maker Faire with Phil Torrone Combat robots, warring battleships: Xeni at Maker Faire (special thanks to Scott Beale, Eddie Codel, and Waneco Leisure Industries)

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. The San Francisco-based Billboard Liberation Front has been transforming the world of advertising since 1977. When Austrian art-pranksters and regular BBtv guests monochrom recently visited the United States to spread their Sculpture Mob dogma, a historic meeting with the elusive BLF took place. Boing Boing tv's hidden cameras captured everything. And in part two of today's BBtv episode, Xeni travels with the BLF and monochrom to document their first-ever joint exploit to build "The Great Firewall of China" around one of the Google signs on the internet giant's Mountain View campus. Hijinks ensued; dogs, cops, and GOOG security guards pursued; TV news crews newsed. The goal of their "unpaid advertising services"? To draw attention to Google's role in online censorship within China. As it happened, this particular day was the same day of a Google shareholder meeting, during which related proposals came up for vote. Link to Billboard Liberation Front press release, and here's monochrom's side of the story. Here are previous BBtv episodes with monochrom.

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Today on Boing Boing tv, Cory Doctorow invites you to create and share HOWTO videos based on an ongoing series of Instructables posts that draw from his latest book, Little Brother. Here's how Andrew “bunnie” Huang, author of Hacking the Xbox, describes the book: [A] scarily realistic adventure about how homeland security technology could be abused to wrongfully imprison innocent Americans. A teenage hacker-turned-hero pits himself against the government to fight for his basic freedoms. This book is action-packed with tales of courage, technology, and demonstrations of digital disobedience as the technophile’s civil protest. Here's how to submit your Little Brother HOWTO video to Boing Boing tv: (1) Shoot it! (2) Upload it to YouTube or another video hosting site! (3) Tell us where to find it! Submit the url here. (4) Selected videos will be featured on BBtv! Also in today's episode (which, by the way, is Cory's BBtv debut): Legendary dumpster-diver Darren Atkinson was the subject of Cory's first-ever WIRED magazine feature in 1994. Cory returns to the trash-heap for BBtv with the "modern industrialist philosopher of garbage," who also performs in multiple WHO cover bands. In related news, here's a Little Brother library/school donation project update, and if you're in Chicago, come on out to one of the Little Brother events taking place in your area over the next two days!

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Kevin Kelly is one of the most fascinating people I've ever had the honor of meeting. For today's episode of Boing Boing tv, I visited his Bay Area home to learn more about the stories behind the stunning images that comprise Asia Grace, one of my favorite books by Kelly (there are many others). Before he helped launch Wired 15 years ago, and served as the publication's founding editor, the onetime "nomadic photojournalist" wandered throughout Asia with a backpack crammed full of film -- and little else. The resulting images, most of which were taken in the 1970s, form the body of Asia Grace. We see worlds that no longer exist: Afghanistan and Iran before wars that changed them forever; and traditional lifestyles in Tibet, Nepal, China, and India that fade further into history with each passing year. Here's an Amazon link for the book. In part two of today's episode, Kelly explains his hypothesis of "A thousand true fans," an idea that generated much debate and discussion on Boing Boing recently when we pointed to his blog posts on The Technium (which you should read regularly, if you don't already). His question: in the internet age, can an artist subsist on the micro-patronage of a thousand true fans?

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Xeni visits the offices of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and speaks with Jake Appelbaum and Bill Paul, two of the authors of a security research paper that shows how your computer's memory can be tricked into revealing data you thought was safely encrypted, and out of the reach of others. One method involves using a can of compressed air to quickly cool the memory chip, but freezing the target isn't the only way to lull it into submission -- Paul shows us how to use an iPod or a USB thumb drive to do the same thing. These methods have been shown to defeat three popular disk encryption products commonly used to protect data on laptops: BitLocker (Windows Vista), FileVault (MacOS X), and dm-crypt (Linux). Here's the entire text of the report draft, released earlier this year: Lest We Remember: Cold Boot Attacks on Encryption Keys . Authors: J. Alex Halderman, Seth D. Schoen, Nadia Heninger, William Clarkson, William Paul, Joseph A. Calandrino, Ariel J. Feldman, Jacob Appelbaum, and Edward W. Felten. The team plan to research additional software tools and a final version of their report at Usenix Security Symposium in July/August. Special thanks to Seth Schoen and Peter Eckersley of the EFF.

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Today on Boing Boing tv, part two of Xeni's visits with John Gaeta, the Academy Award-winning Visual Effects supervisor of the Matrix trilogy -- his new film, Speed Racer, opens today in theaters around the US. This latest Wachowski brothers project reinterprets the classic 1960s Japanese anime series of the same name. In this second part of BBtv's conversation with Gaeta, he reveals some of the art, anime, and pop culture elements that combine to form Speed Racer's "poptimistic photo-anime" feel. The live action Speed Racer is saturated in a candy-colored palette so rich, audiences may just leave the theater with a contact sugar high. View interactive samples of the digital building blocks behind the movie in a related online feature in VRMAG, "Speed Racer Uncovered." And Gaeta adds a special message for Boing Boing tv viewers, who are already well accustomed to all things digital -- "For optimal viewing experience, see Speed Racer at a digital cinema or IMAX theater." He's not kidding, with a feature like this, analog projection just doesn't do the work justice. (Special thanks: John Gaeta; Andy and Larry Wachowski; and David Pescovitz)

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Boing Boing tv's embedded robo-combat reporter Xeni Jardin witnesses warfare inside Robogames and Combots at Bay Area Maker Faire 2008, where robots battle until death -- or at least 'til one competitor busts a sprocket. Next, BB-gun wielding battleships go BOOM!, with the Western Warship Combat Club. Participants painstakingly re-create historic battleships on small scale, and outfit each warboat with actual artillery. He who sinks last wins. The cameraman took a pellet or two in the pants, but the goofy safety goggles kept all eyes intact. If you dig the robots, you may enjoy the upcoming Robogames. The world's largest robot show takes place Fri, June 13th through Sun, June 15 in San Francisco. Link to tickets.

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Make Magazine senior editor Phil Torrone guides us through the wonders of Maker Faire 2008 in San Mateo. First, we learn about "fuzzy logic," soft electronic circuit components, with Star Simpson -- the 20 year old MIT student arrested for a "fake bomb" at Boston's Logan Airport in 2007 when authorities mistook her interactive LED t-shirt for a terrorist device. Her trial is scheduled for May 23, by the way, so she wasn't able to answer our questions about that ordeal just yet. Next up, also from MIT -- Ed Baafi introduces us to the fabulous "fab lab," where complex fabrication technologies are made easy. Then, Phil shows us affordable laser etching to personalize your iPhone or laptop. Inventor and hacker Mitch Altman demonstrates the "brain machine," a device that stimulates your mind's eye. Mitch also invented TV-B-Gone, a sort of secret kill switch for kills television sets ("the only TV remote you need!"). And Lee Zlotoff, the creator of TV's MacGyver reveals plans for a MacGyver film project.

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Boing Boing Gadgets editor Joel Johnson recently spent a week in the woods with a backpack full of electronics, to see if he could work on the internet in the wild using only solar power and his bare hands. This video reveals to the world, for the very first time, what happened to all those bears.

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Today on Boing Boing tv, a classic animated work from Syd Garon: "SNEAK ATTACK" by DJ Q-Bert. Music video by Eric Henry, Syd Garon, and Rodney Ascher. Next, an animation based on work by illustrator Jon Burgerman for his forthcoming book Pens are my Friends, produced by Jason Arber and Wyld Stallyons.