Business as usual...

Rolling Stone's interesting, depressing and semi-terifying article at how Congress really works... wow.
Way different than they taught me in "School House Rock".

Link via EFF.

Cool Bike

... but without a bannana seat, streamers on the handlebars and hockey cards clipped into the spokes... wait... no spokes?

Link via Gizmodo.

Gallery of Star Trek Business Cards

I guess Harry Mudd wasn't "good for nothing..."

Link here via Xeni at BoingBoing.

"I canna give ya anymore"

Scotty's turn to get beamed up.
May he rest in peace.

London Calling

A letter to the terrorists.

"The Supremes"

These posts on the recent Supreme Court decision in the MGM v. Grokster case really caught my eye. The concensus seems to be that the Supreme Court got basically got it right...

A legal perspective from Electronic Frontier Foundation staff atorney Fred Von Lohman here.

On the business front:
* A Mark Cuban post entitled Kaboom!
* Former RIAA CEO Hillary Rosen throws her two cents in here.
* and my pal Chris Nolan comments here and here.

Interesting stuff.

"Pass the butter"

This is just a straight quote from Gizmodo, but I simply couldn't resist:

"Wow, Sony can’t catch a break. First the Queen of England buys an iPod mini. Then, at a luncheon with new Sony CEO Howard Stringer—a known Englishman Welshman (Welsh, English, whatev! Don’t make us bomb you.)—the Queen chided him for making products that are difficult to use. “I have a lot of trouble with your remote controls,” she’s quoted. “Too many arrows.”

What Queen Elizabeth II neglected to admit, however, is that due to the long history of in-marriage in the Hapsburg line, she has only a single lobster claw at the tip of each arm."

Link to Gizmodo

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"

Most of us know about the "Cult of Steve" and have heard about the "Reality Distortion Field" he's famous for, but I thought this was simply the...
Best. Commencement. Speech. Ever.

(although I doubt parents who shelled out $200,000 to send their kids to Stanford would agree :-)

Take a minute to read it here.

iPod case made of wood.

Pretty cool. Made from recycled wood from Hot Tubs and Tables.

Link via Cory at BoingBoing.

Motion Cognitive Phone

Make the sign of the cross with your cell phone -- it automatically dials the Vatican. How cool is that?

Link to SmartMobs

Apple Tablet

Apple has received a patent on a tablet device.

If this is true - I want one.

But I wonder what happens if you whack your forehead with it... like a Monty Python monk... "Qui es est ou Dominay"

Pop a 6 and you move twice!

Calm down willya?

Research/Orange have created a concept "game" based around a sensor that you rest between two fingers. The sensor reports on your relaxation level as measured by galvanic skin response, and assigns more points based on how calm you are.

Link via BoingBoing/Gizmodo.

Voice Over IP a fad?

Well, today Skype hit the 100 million download mark... does that sound like a fad to you?

Link via EuroTeloc Blog.

Measuring TV

(NYTimes article)

If you're "incumbenet media", this has gotta hurt...

"...Turow said he now sees little difference between television and the Internet. Nor do his students at Penn. They watch ''The O.C.'' wherever and whenever -- on their laptops, at home on TiVo and by swapping the show (perhaps illegally) through a Web-based file-sharing program called BitTorrent. The coming generation is accustomed to the idea of watching or listening to anything on any device that's nearby, Turow said. In the meantime, his generation (he's in his 50's) ''still thinks of media in these compartmentalized ways.''..."

Link via The Long Tail and the NYTimes.

"mnayh, were's your innovation now?, mnayh"

Chinese hardware and Indain software?
China's PM thinks so...

Link via Slashdot.

Brad Bird: "Mr. Incredible"

A great audio interview with Brad Bird, writer/director of "The Incredibles" and "Iron Giant". He's a true visionary in the world of animation.. and he's also the voice of "Edna" the fashion designer who makes super hero costumes.

Link to "Fresh Air" at NPR.

NYC Event: Who Owns Culture?

An event hosted by Wired, at the New York Public Library.

This should be an interesting one... think it's going to webcast live and hopefully made available as a archive.
Look for a link after the jump.

Link via LessigBlog.

Link to review of the event via Unmediated.

Now this IS sweet!

A "knock-off" Nelson Ball Clock... made out of Tootsie Pops and an Oatmeal container.

Link via BoingBoing.

"That'd be pretty sweet"

Hope this comes to fruition. I can't imagine Apple not competing (well, actually, kicking SONY's ass) in this device category.

Link via Gizmodo.

How young people will consume news...

Media guru Merrill Brown and the Carnegie Corporation have just released a must-read report about the future of the news business. "In short, the future of the U.S. news industry is seriously threatened by the seemingly irrevocable move by young people away from traditional sources of news," writes Brown.

Link via Lost Remote.