tech@vedella

[Video Link] Occupy Wall Street protests took place in New York and around the world yesterday. In New York, thousands packed Times Square, then broke off into smaller groups occupying other public areas of the city. Josh Harkinson of Mother Jones was reporting from the protests in NYC yesterday, and captured this video that shows [...]

[Video Link] A video shot at the Occupy Wall Street protest at Times Square yesterday, which at its peak included some 15-20,000 protesters. The man in this video, whose identity we do not know yet, is arrested by NYPD officers in what looks like a situation of entrapment.

Another find from New York Comic-Con: this epic Star Wars snark tee from Joel Watson, creator of Hijinks Ensue, a most excellent webcomic.

A tip for New York Comic-Congoers: don't miss the Romanian booth for a look at some of the weirdest, coolest comics being made in the world today. See my piece in Forbes from a few years back on Romania's "otaci."

Writer Doranna Durgin sez, "For eighteen months, publisher Fitzhenry & Whiteside has refused to honor the contract reversion clause for one of their fantasy titles; they have persistently demurred, ignored, and rebuffed attempts to discuss the situation, whether approached via agent, SFWA GriefCom, or directly. At this point, silence is their friend--but not in the [...]

ಠ_ಠ Anyone got any spare change for the anonymous submitter?

[Video Link]Ken Layne at Wonkette: Be patient through the first 90 seconds — haha, attention span of a gnat! — because a remarkable little drama unfolds with protesters inside the Citibank branch communicating with protesters outside, all very reserved, collecting names and birthdates of the people about to be arrested inside. And then, brutish cops [...]

Snapped by Ben Furnas. Protester/sign-maker's name unknown. Ben got another funny shot here.

Watch live streaming video from occupynyc at livestream.com 445pm ET: Happening as I post this. Watch live video here. More on the New York City protesters' longer-term plans back at Zucotti Park, including a map, at Mother Jones. (via @antderosa) Update, 715pm ET: I've been following live reports on Twitter from various sources, and the [...]

Seen at New York Comic-Con, which I'm presently attending: the forthcoming "Create Your Own Zombie Action Figure" kits, which are available for pre-order, and sport arms, legs, torsos, heads, chest prosthesis, and wardrobe items that you can mix and match to make the perfect zombie toy. The box-art is fantastic -- the whole package stopped [...]

Seen at New York Comic-Con, which I'm presently attending: Yaya Han's hand-cut foam cosplay wings, which come in a variety of styles, including devil, fairy, angel, cherub and steampunk. They're darned cute, and I bought a set of batwing devil versions for my daughter.

From multiple news sources in Japan today: "Researchers from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology collected plankton in waters up to 60 kilometers from the coast of Iwaki City in July. They found 669 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium in animal plankton from waters 3 kilometers offshore." Details and video at NHK WORLD [...]

Bloomberg News has published a two-part, first-person investigative piece by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, a professor of sociology at the University of Southern California, on the lives of Filipina sex workers in Tokyo, Japan. To study the living and working conditions of these "hostess bar" migrant laborers, Parrenas became one. The Bloomberg pieces are excerpts from [...]

A federal judge has ruled that police need only a judge's permission, not a warrant, to force cellphone service providers to hand over data to law enforcement that reveals where a suspect used their mobile device. More at AP via MSNBC.

This is really cool: "Downs Designs." Snip from a post on Springwise: When Karen Bowersox’s granddaughter was born with Down syndrome, she saw the challenges her mother faced trying to find clothes that fit her properly. After extensive research she still could not find any clothes made specifically for people with Down syndrome and so [...]

Activists in hundreds of cities around the world are planning demonstrations for today, Saturday, October 15th, inspired by Occupy Wall Street.

Seen at New York Comic-Con, which I'm presently attending: Banana Design's whimsical bare-bones lights, which consist of flickering LEDs set into sweet, cut-out circuit boards that look like candelabras, fireplaces and angler fishes. The 9V battery on the back acts as a stand and stabilizing weight.

Seen at New York Comic-Con, which I'm presently attending: these terrific Johnny Cupcakes tees, entitled the "Lycanthriller." The site lists the men's tee as sold out, but the woman's edition is in stock. They had both at the booth.

Video Link: "Bonkers Kitty." (thanks, Jose!)

Seen at New York Comic-Con, which I'm presently attending: Jason Edmiston's "Cereal Monsters" illustration (available as a print) which portrays the Frankenberry family of cereal monsters in the style of Universal classic monsters.