Andrea James
Boing Boing
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Contact Andrea
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Andrea:
Watch Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray meet Johnny Carson to promote 'Ghostbusters'
Despite years of huge successes on film and TV, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray did not meet Johnny Carson until the 1984 press tour for Ghostbusters. The clip starts with Aykroyd doing a delightfully odd show-and-tell about paranormal research that sucks all the air out of the room, then Murray comes out halfway through… → Read More
Smartphone attachment lets you test your eyesight at home
EyeQue is a nifty little gadget that lets you test your eyes using your phone, then order lenses with the specs it produces. TK Bay says: This is a budget-friendly stay at home eye exam that you use your smartphone to be able to track and find out what your prescription is. You can… → Read More
Blocking 8 emoji stopped 90% of my unwanted Instagram comments
At the start of the pandemic, I thought I'd start using my Instagram more to share some positivity. Cue the creeps. Instagram gives a little more control over comments than more toxic platforms like Twitter. From the front of your profile, tap the menu icon at top right. Menu > Settings > Privacy > Comments… → Read More
Stunning abstract shots of paint soaking into paper in 8K HDR
Filmmaker Roman De Giuli created "Satellike" from local materials for the National Palace Museum of Taipei. The museum ran an exhibition on culture treasures of the history of Taiwan in 2020. I was hired to create fluid and abstract interpretations of some iconic items, a collection of several drawings and artworks. I decided to… → Read More
Very handy numeric guide to those little stickers on fruit
The shoppers from the grocery app I use sometimes got the wrong produce. This guide to PLU codes helped me make sure I get a tasty Honeycrisp (3283) and not a disgusting Red Delicious (3284). This … → Read More
Pilot takes off in 2.5 feet, lands in 16.5
The competitive world of STOL (short takeoff and landing) includes some impressive feats using specialized planes: Kevin Quinn has a global stole competition going on and a couple of weeks ago I ha… → Read More
Kinetic polarized light art
Austine Wood Comarow creates lovely pieces like "Garden Gold," which shift in hue as the pieces move. The materials themselves have no colors: We perceive the color as a result of the interaction of polarized light and certain optically active materials such as cellophane. The image is created by cutting and laminating thousands of… → Read More
One man's search for the exact shade of "Apple Beige"
With the apple ][ in 1977, Apple ushered in a case color that had an outside influence. But what are the exact values of Apple beige? Ben Zotto took a deep dive and found the answer in a bottl… → Read More
Proofreading trick: use a proofreader-friendly font
I wanted to share a little trick some proofreading pros use. I use proofreading fonts (previously) like DP Sans Mono, which supports a wide range of Unicode characters. Some people with visual issues, dyslexia, or other reading impairments may also find it a more legible option for some uses. The primary use is for checking… → Read More
Trailer for new Errol Morris doc 'My Psychedelic Love Story'
Errol Morris profiles Timothy Leary companion Joanna Harcourt-Smith in My Psychedelic Love Story. The film focuses on the government’s successful attempts to break Leary and get him to become… → Read More
Novice spends a year building a cabin by hand
Erik Grankvist's first attempt at building a traditional log cabin in the Swedish forest may be just your thing if you like slow television and miss the Primitive Technology channel. He says: Sometimes we hear a call from nature. When I was 18 years old I ventured out alone with only a backpack full… → Read More
Which of America's biggest pizza chains has the best value? A deep dive
The fine folks at Food Theory tackle the question of who gives the most pizza bang for the buck among America's four top chains. They also have some surprising insights about toppings. Warning: this jagbag has one of the worst cases of YouTube voice I have ever heard, which may become unbearable within 10… → Read More
How China ended the lie of recyclable plastic
The plastics industry did a great job of convincing everyone that their product was easily recyclable, but China finally put an end to that pleasant fiction in 2017. A 2017 memo sent by China to th… → Read More
Explore Ed Ruscha's shots of every building on Sunset Strip since 1966
The Getty has digitized 60,000 Ed Ruscha photos as 12 Sunsets, a 35-year exploration of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. In 1966, decades before the origins of Google Street View, artist Ed Ruscha … → Read More
Hacker Marcus Hutchins and the massive cyberattack he thwarted
Earth's Deadliest Virus is a great overview of the 2017 Wannacry ransomware attack, and Marcus Hutchins' efforts to halt its progress. The Disrupt video is based on the terrific Wired article by Andy Greenberg, which describes Hutchins' arrest and questioning about the Kronos banking malware he had written as a teen: For those… → Read More
Huge crystal ball vs. a 50 caliber round
The fine folks at Demolition Ranch blast a giant glass sphere with a few 50cal rounds after working up from some smaller ones. The big one is at about 14 minutes in. Trigger warning for those who d… → Read More
Relaunched Aptera electric cars get thousands of pre-orders
Last month, Aptera announced they were taking orders for their three-wheeled electric vehicles with solar panel options that allow for a “never charge” experience for low-mileage commut… → Read More
The arms race in wind turbines is heating up
The size of wind turbines is increasing so dramatically that the industry faces the same issue solar farms have faced, where by the time construction is completed, the whole farm can already be obsolete. The New York Times looks at a massive new GE Haliade-X turbine with a blade span of over 200 meters:… → Read More
Watch pool legends Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi in historic match
On Valentine’s Day, 1978, 20 million viewers watched hustler Minnesota Fats trash talk dapper champ Willie Mosconi in what was supposed to be an easy win for Mosconi. Fats gave him a run for … → Read More
Watch the orbits of dozens of Jupiter's moons
This map of 63 of Jupiter’s 79 known moons is fascinating. There is a cluster orbiting relatively close that includes many of the best-known moons, then a significant dead space before the re… → Read More