This is the love-child of Turbo from Breakin’ and Alfonso from Silver Spoons. He looks animatronic… It’s a Small World 2: Electric Boogaloo

I wonder what these guys think of it.

BTW – Nothing says “I’m a superior breakdancer” than a Pink Floyd painter’s hat with flaps.

The WSJ posts a debate between Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, and Encylopedia Britannica editor-in-chief, Dale Hoiberg. Barbs are thrown, caught.

Hoiberg: We want our articles to be correct before they are published. We stand behind our process, based on trained editors and fact-checkers, more than 4,000 experts, and sound writing. Our model works well. Wikipedia is very different, but nothing in their model suggests we should change what we do.

Wales: Fitting words for an epitaph…

In case WSJ takes the article down from their site, I saved a copy as a PDF.

More from McSweeney’s:

Ten Things the Guy at Starbucks Is Thinking While Looking at the Brunette Barista Behind the Counter.

• Look, I’m reading the business section. I have lots of money. Want sex?
• I am eating this scone with earnest sincerity. I am sincere. Want sex?
• I will swivel slightly in my chair to display my well-pressed slacks. Sex?
• I am drinking coffee and staring thoughtfully out the window. I can be deep. And long.
• I make a remark about the rain using the word “inclement.” I am intelligent. Do me.
• Someone else has said a winning joke about baseball. I laugh along with you. We share common interests.
• I say, “Do you have sugar, Sugar?” and smile. I have gleaming white teeth. So will our kids.
• I put my head in my hands. I am tormented and mysterious. Join me for sex?
• Someone says something about the latte you made. I give you a face. I empathize. You. Me. Sex?
• I am getting up to leave now saying, “I’ll be back tomorrow.” You crinkle your face. Ah! I’m making an impression!

Why does “being nice” have to be ironic?

Here’s a “Grand Theft Auto” Coke ad that is funny because it’s so positive.

It’s news to me that Weird Al still makes music. He has a parody of Ridin’ Dirty, called White and Nerdy (listen). It’s actually pretty funny.

Commentary tracks on DVDs have been around for a long time. Now they’re on video games. Half-Life 2: Episode One has a mode where you can play the game with interactive commentary. From Waxy.org:

As great as the game was, I was blown away by the in-game Developer Commentary system. Each bit of audio is a “commentary node,” a little floating speech icon that can be activated by aiming at it and hitting the “use” button. The dialogue then plays, with additional information about who’s speaking and the length of the clip. (See videos below.)

Most of the game’s 115 nodes are audio only, pointing out interesting tidbits about the scene you’re currently in, such as the visual design, character dialogue, or gameplay. Some of the best examples discuss the iterations a stage or puzzle went through, why original versions didn’t live up to expectations, and how they reached their final design. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the minds of the developers, very much like sitting next to them as you play through at your own pace.

But a few commentary nodes do much more, taking over the player’s view to show them something hidden or entirely new. I’ve captured video from some of my favorites.

There are several videos there. I only watched the first one since I haven’t played the game yet and didn’t want any spoilers. Luckily, that first one didn’t reveal too much of the plot.

Here’s a video of two olde tyme swing dancers set to modern hip hop music. I might try a few of these moves out at the next wedding or bar mitzvah.

(video requires Flash 8)