Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Jon Stewart is back!


I would bet you never even knew that he was gone. Fear not, Viacom and YouTube have reached common ground. According to AdWeek, Viacom had this to say:
"Like our peers in the media industry, we are focused on finding the right business model for professionally created content to be legally distributed on the Internet," the Viacom rep said. "We want our audiences to be able to access our programming on every platform and we're interested in having it live on all forms of distribution in ways that protect our talented artists, our loyal customers and our passionate audiences."
Although no official licensing agreement has been reached, YouTube has Viacom's blessing to store and show short clips from The Daily Show, Colbert Report, South Park and others.

Merry Christmas.

Link (via Digg)

Labels: , , , ,

Monday, October 30, 2006

Jack Thompson misses the point...again


Jack Thompson has really made a name for himself. As a self-proclaimed champion for conservative morality, he has been single handedly (and heavy handedly) "fighting the good fight," setting his sights on Take 2 Interactive (makers of Grand Theft Auto), much to the ire of many gamers. Lately, his antics have earned him his day in court, although not in the context that he'd prefer.

But enough about his contempt hearing, and his subsequent personal attack on the judge who levied the charge against him. That's last week's news. This week's chapter of the ongoing Thompson saga involves another game company.

Apparently, Jack caught wind of the fact that his likeness could be found in the latest installment of Mortal Kombat, subtitled "Armageddon." It seems that a few intrepid gamers have come up with a formula for creating our hero in the game's Kreate-A-Fighter mode, along with four other "real" people, including Hulk Hogan and Silent Bob (Silent freaking Bob!)

It appears, however, that Mr. Thompson believes that his likeness was the result of a deliberate attempt on Midway's (the game publisher's) part to disparage him, rather than the handiwork of a few creative souls using a pretty nice character creation tool. This was apparently too much, as he has issued a cease-and-desist order to Midway. From Next Generation:
"It has today come to my attention that the newly recently Mortal Kombat: Armageddon contains an unauthorized commercial exploitation of my name, photograph, image, and likeness within the game. [...] You are commanded to cease and desist immediately [emphasis Thompson's] from the distribution of this game because of this unauthorized, illegal content..."
Next Generation goes on to say that "[it] is believed that the content of this e-mail is regarding the images of a Jack Thompson character, which were created using the in-game character creation tool" and that "Thompson is not an officially selectable character in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon."

Go get 'em, Jack. Chasing this'll do wonders for your credibility.

Link (via Xboxic)

Labels: , , , ,

The Internet

This guy's got it all figured out:


Link (via Boing Boing)

Labels: , ,

Finally someone actually reads the small print

I always intend to read the small print that comes with most contracts that I sign, but rarely do I take the time to read software EULA's (End User License Agreements) or cell phone contracts. Finally there's a site that does just that, and points out the ones that are particularly disagreeable. Check these out:
Link (via Boing Boing)

Labels: , ,

St. Louis edges out Detroit. Again.

According to Morgan Quitno Press, St. Louis, Missouri is the most dangerous city in the country. The company made their decision based on 2005 crime data for the city proper (they didn't include the county), and put the long standing battle between Detroit (MI), Camden (NJ), Compton (CA), St. Louis and others to rest.

At least for another year.

Link

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Worst Halloween costumes of all time


Here are the worst Halloween costumes of all time, according to retroCRUSH. I don't know about you, but that Rubik's Cube costume is glorious.

Link (via MAKE)

Labels: ,

Little Superstar [Video]

As if it wasn't weird enough, they sped up the little guy's vocal track to sound like one of the Chipmunks. Little dude's got some moves!



Link (via Shawn Hogan)

Labels: , , ,

Lego ice cubes

Now these are just plain sweet! If only they had a way to include the bottom part of the Lego on the cube, then you'd actually be able to stack 'em.


Link (via Shawn Hogan)

Labels: ,

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Suburban Denver subdivision name generator

The Village at Pine Creek Crossing

The Homes at Shadow Peak Place

The Sanctuary at Wolf Shire Ranch

These sound just like one of the planned cookie-cutter neighborhoods I lived in when I lived in Boulder County. With development proceeding along at such a fast pace in the area, I wouldn't be surprised if these haven't already been used. I'm going to throw out a guess here, but I'd imagine that most of these planned communities were developed by no more than half a dozen developers, which helps explain to common naming convention.
Over the years, as new subdivisions have stretched farther and farther out onto the plains, their names have become wordier, more elaborate, and more pretentious. Today, there is an obvious trend in the naming of new subdivisions in metro Denver. Developers now use a variety of semantic tricks in their attempt to increase the perceived exclusivity of the development. [...] Thus, new suburban development names now begin with phrases like "The Estates at..." or "The Preserve at..." or "The Retreat at..." followed by not just one or two words to describe the incredibly special patch of prairie on which these homes have been built, but three words or more.


Link (via Boing Boing)

Labels: ,

Well Behaved Tire [Video]



Link (via Digg)

Labels: , ,

Friday, October 06, 2006

Stop: Hammer Time! [Flickr]

The last word


This plaque, presumably commissioned by Mona's children, represents the last word on what was a seemingly bitter woman. Boing Boing questions it's authenticity (rightly so), but a read named Peggy adds:
According to the Social Security Death Index there was a real Mona Vanni who lived Oct. 14, 1912-Apri1 12, 1996. Her social security number was issued in California, and her last known residence was Sedona, Arizona.
Link (via Boing Boing)

Labels: ,

I'll show ya tough... [Video]



I wouldn't want to run into these guys in a dark alley (or ever, for that matter).

Link (via Shawn Hogan)

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Unnecessary Censorship [Video]

It may not sound like it, but it's all safe for work.



Link (via Digg)

Labels: , , ,