Mark Cuban and Grokster vs. MGM

In a recent web log post Mark Cuban has indicated that he plans to lend a hand in the MGM vs. Grokster case which threatens the Betamax shield.

Way to go Mark!

via Slashdot.

Dick Tracy

Tadiran Spectralink LTD, a military contractor, has developed wrist video systems for use by Israeli armed forces.  The screens display data from unmanned drone planes, allowing forces to see over hills or into areas they wouldn’t normally have access to. 

Link via Engadget.

Halle Berry: Best to Worst

Good for her for showing up...

Berry was named worst actress of 2004 by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation for her performance in "Catwoman" and she showed up to accept her "Razzie" carrying the Oscar she won in 2002 for "Monster's Ball."

"They can't take this away from me, it's got my name on it!" she quipped. A raucous crowd cheered her on as she gave a stirring recreation of her Academy Award acceptance speech, including tears.

She thanked everyone involved in "Catwoman," a film she said took her from the top of her profession to the bottom.

"I want to thank Warner Brothers for casting me in this piece of shit," she said as she dragged her agent on stage and warned him "next time read the script first."

Link to Reuters via BoingBoing.

Robin Williams "song of freedom"

A brilliant, impromptu, anti-Disney / pro-Pixar, piece by Robin Williams, delivered at a press conference where he was promoting the new Fox Film "Robots".

Link to MP3 file via Xeni at BoingBoing.

Uncle Nino

Uncle Nino, the movie: “Without love, life itself is meaningless.”
This is a movie about a family that learns to love each other again after their lives are invaded by a crazy uncle from the Old Country.

Uncle Nino was the longest-running movie in the U.S in 2004. So why haven’t you heard of it? Because it ran for 54 weeks in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Link.

Silver Lining in HIV?

The BBC reports "HIV could destroy cancer cells"
US scientists hope to be able to use a harmless form of the Aids virus to seek and destroy cancer cells.

Link the BBC.

Buy or Rent?

Me?
I'm still buying CD's and this is why.

Gizmodo makes a good point referencing the Napster Superbowl pitch that bombed with consumers. Link.

Chicago's Copyrighted Public Park

This is a wired one... a public work of art (Cloud Gate) in Chicago's Millenium Park is copyrighted by the artist (Anish Kapoor).

You are not allowed to photograph it.

Link via BoingBoing.

UPDATE: more here.

a great Mashup

Artists and DJ's keep cranking these things out much to the dismay of large media corporations and their legal departments.

If you don't kow what a "mashup" is or have never heard of them this is a great primer.

These things are usually constructed with one or more songs but there have been a few videos made as well.

Here's a great example of both: link to video.

chillin'

oh yeah baby... geek nirvava.

Link via cult of mac.

Ode to Johnny

A letter to Johnny Carson from Steve Martin.

Link to NYTimes via Dave Winer.

Me too.

A great rant on cell phones from Mark Cuban... I happen to agree.

Link.

What's up Doc?

... and conservative Christian groups think SpongeBob Squarepants is a little light in the loafers?

Link via Xeni at BoingBoing.

First & Last

This is one of the best designed cell phone's I've ever seen. Too bad Siemen's is dropping out of the business.

Link via Gizmodo.

Voice Over IP Networks

I started using Skype last week. Actually purchased some SkypeOut credits so I can make calls to any Land Line (POTS) phone numbers from any high speed internet connection -- Ethernet, WiFi, etc. ("Skype to Skype on the internet are free).

The quality is surprisingly good the rates are incredibly low. Calls to my pals in Vancouver sound great when I chat with them from Toronto -- even from WiFi hot spots around the city.

A company called Vonage is also gaining serious traction in the global VoIP market and now Bellster, a new P2P VoIP service, is looking to join the pack.

The P2P space is really heating up so it was just a matter of time before something like Bellster showed up :-)

Link to BoingBoing.

Bunny Suicides

Admittedly not a topic to make fun of... but some of these panels are hysterical.

(Note: you can't see this on the image above but the Video Cassette Case reads "Fatal Attraction")

Link via MeFi to an artist in Belgium?

Mmmmmm...

Looking at this makes me feel kinda funny, like when I climbed the rope in Gym class...

Onkyo says:
“we’ve thrown in every feature, connector, and port we can think of, including some nobody is ever going to use.”

Link to Engadget.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours"

UC Irvine researchers have found that men and women have very different brain designs. Women have more much white matter and men more gray matter related to intelligence. Still, there are no real differences in general intelligence between the two sexes.

Link via BoingBoing.

Microsoft & Bloomberg?

Might Microsoft buy Bloomberg? What sounded like an idle (and odd) rumor is heating up. Microsoft MVP and Regional Director Bill Evjen is blogging about why such a purchase might give Microsoft a leg up in the financial services space.

Link to MJ Foley.

Monty Python goes HiDef?

The United Kingdom's Film Council wants to encourage people to see more specialty films and thinks installing high-tech projectors is the way to do it.

Link to Wired.