I guess this is kind of old news, but Ottawa’s 20Q has a Disney version of their 20 questions game, a very addictive game I would add. Think of a place, thing or character that has something to do with Disney and see if you can stump the application.

Speaking of Disney, if you visit their webs site, you can now create your own Disney page. On a side note, when are they going to get rid of the failed go.com part of the URL?

I’m a big fan of Michael Geist. CTV reports, “Critics of the Harper government’s proposed changes to the Copyright Act have launched a cyber crusade to fight the controversial bill. They’re using everything from Facebook to YouTube to Wikipedia to blogs to get their message out. They want the government to either scrap or make serious amendments to Bill C-61 when Parliament resumes next month. At the helm of the digital movement is Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in Internet and e-commerce law. In addition to his own blog, Geist runs a Facebook group called Fair Copyright for Canada that boasts 90,000 members.” I am also a big believer in the effectiveness of social media tools, so I will be interested to see how effective this campaign is.

The Daily Show and Colbert Report are two of my favs. The American Political Science Association has posted an article about what is coined, the “Colbert Bump“. Democratic politicians receive a 40% increase in contributions in the 30 days after appearing on the comedy cable show The Colbert Report.  In contrast, their Republican counterparts essentially gain nothing.  These findings appear to validate anecdotal evidence regarding the political impact of the program, such as the assertions by host Stephen Colbert that appearing on his program provides candidates with a “Colbert bump” or a rise in support for their election campaigns.

Since seeing the show for the first time, and being the geek I am, I have worked out in my head how they must be creating the live experience for the audience. Now I don’t have to imagine it. Thanks to the folks over at My Take on Disney, I can actually see how it is done.

And here it is for you to enjoy, behind the scenes with Crush:

Here’s a link over to their site … MyTakeOnDisney.com

Speaking of footprints — in today’s news an image from NASA that appears to be a footprint on Mars.

Scientists believe that we can see into the future — explains optical illusions.

Will Panama disease wipe-out the supply of bananas?

After Toshiba stepped-down (apparently) from the high def format wars, ceding to Sony’s Blu-Ray technology, many thought they were done. Now word out of Japan is that Toshiba is jumping back into the fray with a high-res upgrade to current DVD technology that provides a picture that rivals HD DVD and Blu-Ray. Is this a stroke of genius or stupidity? You could make arguments either way. The reports claim that not only is the technology backwards compatible, but it can also improve the picture of existing DVDs.

A group of students from Ottawa University is taking Facebook to task. The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), as part of a project, has prepared a brief requesting that the Privacy Commissioner of Canada investigate, what they claim, is Facebooks failure to outline how private information is used for commercial purposes.

Ever wonder who’s calling you? I was curious about a number that had called me about twenty times over a 48 hour period. Upon Googling the number, I came across this great service that allows you to enter a phone number, and if others have reported it, you will see who has called you and add them to your blocked numbers list.

I guess there are people who always need to be entertained. A couple Belgians have developed a video game played by — wait for it — peeing in a urinal. That’s right, if relieving yourself is too boring, you can now virtually slalom down ski slopes or kill aliens to pass the time.

Speaking of which — does ‘away from the Internet’ anxiety kick in while commuting to work or taking the family for a drive? Well, along comes .Car. Web content delivered to your dash. Just what we need. More distractions while people drive. You know there is some good in a service like this such as finding amenities while traveling. But you also know that there is some bonehead that’s going to ram into the back of you because he’s too engaged in the great video he’s watching on YouTube.

Mashable Photoshop? “The appeal of extending one’s app with lightweight, cross-platform, network-aware widgets is so obvious that we were busy building support in my first app some eight years ago–and we had to build our own Flash Player clone to do it!” John Nack, product manager at Adobe wrote on his blog.

 
Wall-E Spotted in LA! from Blink on Vimeo.

Needless to say, there is a generation of Star Wars kids who are now old enough to be in a position to buy toys a little bigger than the action figures and card sets we purchased as kids. And here is the absolute pinnacle of cool — the R2-D2 RC DVD projector/iPod player/card reader/game projector …

A piece of our cultural lexicon holds on — the New York Times profiles what is thought to be the last pinball machine manufacturer. They are able to stay open as their market shifts from the arcade and pub to the rec room.

The University of Texas has discovered a new source of bio-fuel. To me, for a whole host of environmental, social and political reasons, it is clear that we do need to find new sources of energy — clean energy. And I don’t think that there is one answer or one technology that will satisfy our needs. It will take a combination of technologies and behavioural changes.

Spam is turning 30! Happy Anniversary! While I detest spam — as both a consumer and marketer, I also appreciate legitimate use of email marketing tools. Opt-in newsletters, service reminders, news updates and subscription notices are all useful communication between organizations and subscribers. Always try to offer value in your communications.

Disney invests money in public transportation to help get its 62,000 employees to its Walt Disney World parks and resort properties. As the country’s largest single location employer, its important to guarantee that service to the parks will not be reduced due to budget cuts.

Here is a story about a woman who was falsely accused by the RIAA of music piracy. She is now taking the RIAA to task for their questionable investigative procedures. Good luck Tanya!

Speaking of the RIAA, since the success of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails releasing their music online for free, there is a hint in the air that Metalica may follow suit (pun in tended).

This 3D sidewalk art kit from Crayola looks like a lot of fun! Chalk this one up with the, “Where was this stuff when I was a kid?” department.