Todays Mighty Oak

A couple more things for you to watch.

First up: OH GOOD GRAVY I AM NEVER GOING TO BRAZIL:

My friend Teri directed me towards this video, which I enjoyed (in an artsy way):

Moments from Everynone on Vimeo.

But I like this one better:

I can't find a clip that I can embed, but here's the link.  Watch until the first commercial break, I almost spit ice cream out of my nose, and then of course, I was cheering.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/351492/mon-august-23-2010-rod-blagojevich

Google and Verizon had a proposed contract of some sort, and while both companies state that it will not affect net neutrality at all, EFF is still worried:

On Monday, Google and Verizon proposed a new legislative framework for net neutrality. Reaction to the proposal has been swift and, for the most part, highly critical. While we agree with many aspects of that criticism, we are interested in the framework's attempt to grapple with the Trojan Horse problem. The proposed solution: a narrow grant of power to the FCC to enforce neutrality within carefully specified parameters. While this solution is not without its own substantial dangers, we think it deserves to be considered further if Congress decides to legislate.

Unfortunately, the same document that proposed this intriguing idea also included some really terrible ideas. It carves out exemptions from neutrality requirements for so-called "unlawful" content, for wireless services, and for very vaguely-defined "additional online services." The definition of "reasonable network management" is also problematically vague. As many, many, many have already pointed out, these exemptions threaten to completely undermine the stated goal of neutrality.

The FCC had been trying to move forward, but was not fast enough, and this is what's happening:

Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.

Wired covers it here, and Slog does here.

I haven't heard anything about this really since I've been back, so I'm thinking that the deal fell through.  But I'll try to keep updated.

Whole bunch of stuff to add in today, still not quite caught up, but it's a big dent, I hope you enjoy:

It's no longer illegal to jailbrake your phone!  I could have put this under the Great and Secret Show, but I have some other ideas for that, so I figured I would just link this here.  Hooray!

I have no idea where I found this, but it involves The Muppets and Kick-Ass:

Jane Lynch is going to be hosting SNL!  Be sure to tune in on October 9!

Over the summer we searched for fake merit badges and found this page.  I really like the "Easy Button" on!

How about a lot of Iron Chef America secret ingredients?  Ok:

Amazon is now selling more eBooks than physical books.  Kind of scary, but interesting.  Slate takes a look at it, I can't remember if it is that article, or another that makes mention of the idea of dynamic eBook covers, which I think is an awesome idea.

Good.  Freaking.  Gravy.  This is why I get fed up with people.

I've been reading PostSecret for a while.  Frank's mail carrier retired, but she put some thoughts up on her own blog.  Check them out here.

And here's another fun video for you:

And here's an awesome news story coming from I'm not even sure where.  But I have to say, The strippers sound more level-headed than the pastor:

And I was up at camp when it all went down (and continues to go through the legal system), but here's some updates on Prop 8 being struck unconstitutional:

Andrew Sullivan pulls out the facts from the Judge's ruling.  He also links to some other excellent writing.

The lawyers go on both Fox News and CBS, and absolutely destroy their opponents (not legal opponents, in these clips, the talking heads).  Both are amazing to watch.

And strangely enough, Fox News seems to be flipping.  One anchor supports Marriage Equality and Bill O'Reilly tries to make Obama stop enforcing Don't Ask Don't Tell.

And on a related note, a candidate for Governor of Florida (and their current Attorney General) wants to ban same-sex couples from adopting, based on his personal religious views.  Dan Savage takes him down a few pegs:

We're not allowed to slam McCollom for this because, you know, he's talking about his personal, religious faith here... a personal, religious faith that McColloum would like to impose on everyone in Florida by force of law. And I think we can all agree that every child deserves a mother and a father—particularly the 20,000 kids that are in foster care in Florida right now because they were failed, neglected, abused, or abandoned by their mothers and fathers.

And finally, AFER (American Foundation for Equal Rights), the lawyers for the plaintiffs in the trial, put together this video about one of the couples they represent (points for including Wii Tennis!):

Paul and Jeff from American Foundation for Equal Ri on Vimeo.

That's it for now, catch everyone later!

And I'm back!  Enjoy some of this awesomeness as I continue to go through my e-mail, back logs of links and find all kinds of stuff from around the Net for you to enjoy:

Lifehacker takes you through the steps to disable Places on Facebook.  As with anything regarding privacy on Facebook, the steps necessary are long and involved (or at least, longer and more involved than they should be), but I did them this afternoon, so they aren't impossible.

Did you know that the Old Spice man wants to be a superhero?  Check out his transformation here:

And in other amazing video, watch this deleted scene from Return of the Jedi, available on the soon to be released Blu-Ray versions.

I came cross a new blog, Better Book Titles.  A personal favorite (and what has turned into my white whale):

(It's really Infinite Jest, which I have started and gotten about 100 pages in at least four times now...)

A Chinese mall has a new "rage center" where women can go in and smash items that were going to be thrown out anyway.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

This article is just blowing my mind a little bit:

Intel announced Tuesday that it had made the first chip that sends and receives information using beams of light...And the company expects to make one eventually that can transmit a laptop's hard drive in one second and the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in less than two minutes.

One of the designers of the U.S. State Quarters has released a couple parodies, including this wonderful one of New Jersey:

China is planning huge buses that run on rails (so I guess it is a mix of light rail and bus) that cars can drive underneath.  Amazing:

Sharpie is developing a new pen that can be erased for up to three days before becoming permanent.  Crazy!

Check out historical events, if they had Facebook status updates.  My favorite is Issac Newton, way down at the bottom.

This has been floating around for a bit, but here's the trailer for the movie adaptation of The Oregon Trail (not real):

And finally, for the D&D kids out there, here's t-shirt designs for D&D inspired sports teams.  I love the gelatinous cubes (because who doesn't love to say 'gelatinous') and the Displacer Beasts:

That's it for now, but I should be back tomorrow, have a great one!

Well, this is my second attempt at this post, everything crashed, and I know I lost two articles, but nothing that we can't live without, so we'll just muddle through.

First though, watch this trailer, which is to my favorite book in the series:

This made me very happy.  Mostly because I'm mean.  But happy.

Do you want a printer made of Legos and a marker:

Lost may be over, but ABC will sell you merchandise, including the best onsie in the history of the world:

You can also purchase some cool posters here.  I like the number 8 rabbit one.

I can get behind this immigration checkpoint:

Want to go into space?  How about just your picture, which comes complete with an official flight certificate.  Only two chances left!

And finally, I don't really trust the guys from the Mysteria Film Group, mostly because they just kind of inserted themselves and made themselves official.  I'm sure there is all kind of stuff going on behind the scenes that I don't understand, but I think it's when they called the fans "they."  Just rubbed me the wrong way.  I wish them the best, I want them to succeed, I'll be the first in line here in Pittsburgh, but I still don't have to trust them.  Anyway, it's a great tour of Cyan Worlds' studio and a fun time with Rand:

Cyan Visit from Delve Films on Vimeo.

Have a great one everybody!

Okay, back for some more clearinghouse items.

Check out this awesome article about the two ATMs that are in Antarctica.  Pretty awesome.

Here's two recut trailers for you.  First, Seinfeld as a thriller movie:

And Arrested Development as an action movie:

This is something I feel that my friends would do, and I kind of love it, as it reminds me of Kingdom of Loathing.  Ladies and gentleman, the Baby Seal pinata:

Did you know that Jerry Springer ran for governor?  I didn't, and this is an awesome ad:

This has been floating around for a bit now, but I have to ask.  A blue cape?  Really?

In case you hadn't noticed, YouTube has been blocked in part of Russia.  Bad Russia!

I wonder what they would say about this (Republicans blocked the passage of a bill that would extend benefits to emergency personnel from September 11th):

Also, if Weiner would run with Grayson from Florida, I honestly don't know what I would do, I would just move and work on their campaign for free.

The FDA just approved Stem Cell trials, which is pretty awesome, I can't wait to see what will come out of this.

Is it possible to embed Facebook videos?  If it is, I can't figure it out.  Anyway, check out a rare moment of downtime in the Keystone office.

This story has been floating around, and That's Church has been covering it as well, but it's still funny: Kings of Leon cancel show after being pooped on by pigeons.

And finally, I have to disagree with this article, Dollhouse figured it out by using Active Architecture.  And then by not needing that Architecture.  Maybe I'll just stay in denial, that sounds like a good idea.

I have a very full back log of links and other assorted things to pass on.  I'm going to try to get to posting some of them over the next couple weeks, so this is a clearinghouse of sorts.  These are fairly current too, so you're in luck!

The apps available for cell phones are getting kind of amazing!  You can order pizza and have ti delivered to your blanket...in Central Park.

And speaking of iPhones, here's a fun parody:

A follow up to the periodic table of meat I posted a bit ago, here is the periodic table of swearing (which, incidentally, will probably offend you):

I stumbled across "Continuity" a game from the Independent Games Festival, and it's a lot of fun, check it out here.

So my birthday is coming up, here's a gift idea for you:

Probably not that safe, but still freaking cute!

World War Z is being made into a movie, and Brad Pitt is going to be in it!  I think I'm most excited that it will be a movie, though.  If you haven't read it, it really is an amazing piece of work, even if you don't like zombies, the writing is simply amazing!

Also in awesome writing, check out this article from Nerve about hitting on your waiter/customer.  It's a really fun read, check it out.

And for fun, check this mash up out:

For some strange reason, I feel as if my cousin would love this product.  However, I don't know how one tactfully asks a relative their bra size in order to purchase a Christmas gift.  I feel as though that is a sentence most people don't ever write or say out loud.

He's just asking, did Glenn Beck steal his credit card information and sell it to the Russians?  All signs point to yes.

So, Mel Gibson.  I feel as though I don't need to say much more besides that.  I'll add two things.  One, adorable kittens (and here's my favorite)!

Make sure to check out the link to see the other 19 worst rants by Mel (as presented by adorable kittens).  Also, did you know he's dating a man:

That's it for now, catch everyone later!

The Myers-Briggs test is a way to classify your personality.  A similar test has popped up but in regards to the Internet:

1. Exceptionalist (E) vs. Ordinarist (O). Exceptionalists believe that the Internet is exceptional, extraordinary, and disruptive, the way, say, the printing press was. Ordinarists believe that the Internet is just another new medium, no more revolutionary than, say, CB radio.

2. Technodeterminist (T) vs. Contextualist (C). Technodeterminists believe that the Net by itself brings about transformations against which it is futile to struggle. Contextualists believe that technology by itself does nothing and changes nothing; other factos determine the effects of technology.

3. Optimist (H) vs. Pessimist (P). Optimists believe that the Net is, or brings about, good things. Pessimists believe otherwise. (Note: Since everyone believes their beliefs are true, everyone thinks they are a realist. When someone actively asserts s/he is a realist, s/he is actually asserting a form of counter-optimism, i.e., pessimism.) (Note: The “H” stands for Happiness or Hope.

I think I'm an ECH (but it's a weak C).

Check out the classification here.

Quick update for everyone, which will be a whole lot of pictures, actually.  Another update with video will be coming later, probably tomorrow.

First off, WWNPHD?  Get your t-shirt here:

There is a Star Wars convention coming up in Orlando.  Even though I'm a huge nerd, I didn't know about this.  But most importantly, they are giving away custom cereal!  I really want the Admiral Ackbar cereal, but I'm afraid it's a trap.  Check out Greedo's and Raisin Han, too!

Quantum Mechanix has some new merchandise, including this awesome figure of Wash from Serenity (I actually just washed that episode yesterday):

Not a picture, but it was an awesome video.  More reasons why I love Rep. Grayson!

An Anglican church in New Zealand has some awesome billboards, including this one which I absolutely love:

Here is the other one I've found from them:

Did you follow along with the Old Spice one day social media blitz?  It was pretty awesome, but I loved reading about how they pulled it off.  Sounds tiring, but worth it!

And finally, copyranter takes a look at an ad from  Beirut.  And their nightlife.  Which is apparantly reminiscent of bombs.  Sigh.

That's it for now, but I'll be back soon after I get some more work done, catch everyone in a bit!