Andrea Lattanzio knows a thing or two about building cozy scenes for minifigs to live their best lives – after all, his A-Frame Cabin remains one of the most charming sets to come from the Ideas program. For his latest creation, Andrea draws on another master of coziness – Miyazaki – specifically, the film Porco Rosso. Andrea recreates Porco’s beach hideout in LEGO with a painterly eye for detail. Of course, the Savoia S.21 seaplane is here, as well as a campsite filled with details from the film. Most impressive is the limestone cove and crystal clear water, inspired by the Croatian coastline.

We’ve seen many stunning takes on the Savoia S.21 in LEGO over the years, most recently this version from Eero Okkonen, and it’s always great to see another expert builder take it on. Andrea digs deep into the parts archive for elements to incorporate, such as a Fabuland engine block.

A custom Porco minifigure looks quite comfortable surrounded by everything an aerial ace needs. The cloth tent from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull matches Porco’s tent perfectly.

If you’re a fan of Andrea’s work, like the now-retired A-Frame Cabin, his latest Ideas project – the Stilt House – is up on the platform now and could become a set with enough support.

The post Porco Rosso’s Beach Hideout in LEGO is the perfect getaway appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

A gift for Beanie, one of my incredible discord moderators! They requested something with critters and something spaced themed, so it naturally followed that I had to draw space raccoons.

My second favorite thing to draw 🌳

Every year, we have a blast covering a fresh crop of winners of the Ig Nobel prizes. After 35 years in Boston, the annual prize ceremony will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, this year and will continue to be held in a European city for the foreseeable future. The reason: concerns about the safety of international travelers, who are increasingly reluctant to travel to the US to participate.

“During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country,” Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of The Annals of Improbable Research magazine, told The Associated Press. “We cannot in good conscience ask the new winners, or the international journalists who cover the event, to travel to the US this year.”

Established in 1991, the Ig Nobels are a good-natured parody of the Nobel Prizes; they honor “achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.” As the motto implies, the research being honored might seem ridiculous at first glance, but that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of scientific merit. The unapologetically campy awards ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and the 24/7 lectures, in which experts must explain their work twice: once in 24 seconds and again in just seven words.

Read full article

Comments

The Department of Homeland Security has a tell: every time the ACLU shows up in court to challenge one of its subpoenas targeting ICE critics, DHS withdraws the demand before a judge can rule. The agency subpoenaed Meta for the identities behind Instagram accounts documenting ICE activity in California and Pennsylvania — then dropped the cases the moment legal challenges arrived. — Read the rest

The post EFF tells Big Tech to stop helping DHS unmask ICE critics appeared first on Boing Boing.

In early February, we reported that the City of Chicago Streets and Sanitation Department was running its fourth annual "You Name a Snowplow" contest. Residents could vote for up to six names from twenty-five finalists. Some of my favorites included: Abolish ICE (my absolute, hands-down favorite); Chance the Scraper; Live, Laugh, Plow; Plowing 6-7 Inches; Cheryl Scott Warned You About This; Plowasaurus Sue; and Pope Frío XIV. — Read the rest

The post "Abolish ICE" wins overwhelming majority of votes in Chicago's "Name a Snowplow" contest appeared first on Boing Boing.