Matt Mason, author of The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism(Amazon) and Jesse Alexander, producer of Heroes and Lost, are producing a new TV show called Pirates Dilemma. The following is a teaser showing how the show might look:

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There is less than an hour before the Oscars air. I’ve decided to make some predictions again this year.

Best Original Screenplay:
Diablo Cody - Juno

I loved the writing in Juno—very clever.

And the winner is: Diablo Cody - Juno

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Cate Blanchett - I’m Not There

And the winner is: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Julie Christie - Away From Her

And the winner is: Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

He has creepy down!

And the winner is: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

“I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!” Loved it.

And the winner is: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Best Director:
Ethan and Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men

This movie was a bit insane, but some of the subtleties in performances were fantastic.

And the winner is: Ethan and Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men

Best Picture:
No Country for Old Men

I would rather see There Will be Blood get it, since I enjoyed it more. The unresolved plot in No Country for Old Men was a bit frustrating but it’s a movie that stays with you and I think it’s a sure thing for the win.

And the winner is: No Country for Old Men

Of the seven categories I made predictions on, I got 5 of them right. I think I am getting much better at predicting these things than I have been in previous years.

What are were your picks?

So here’s the question of the day:

“A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of band conveyor). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyor moves in the opposite direction. This conveyor has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyor to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?”

Personally, my first thought was that the plane would not take off because it wouldn’t have enough lift without moving up to speed relative to the ground. But after thinking about what it is that actually causes a plane to lift off, the wind going around the wings, I wasn’t so sure.

The wheels in planes aren’t generally what cause the plane to move forward, it’s the suction of wind through the propeller or engines. Presumably the plane would pull the same amount of wind whether or not it was riding the conveyor belt, therefore, I think it would take off.

While you’re taking a moment to think about this problem, let me tell you that tonight the Mythbuster’s are putting this question to rest once and for all. Will a plane on a conveyor belt take-off? (We’ll see tonight, but I think yes).

I’m excited to watch tonight’s episode of The Wire (The best TV show ever). As always, urbanfervor has a fantastic review. (Spoiler Warning).

I’ve talked about Richard Dawkins’ documentary The Root of Evil before, but something I came across the other day which I found very interesting (and coincidentally an acquaintance of mine is a producer for Avi’s other show, On The Map,) is The Big Picture: Debate on Dawkins’ Root of Evil.

After six very spread out seasons, The Sopranos series comes to a close tonight. Here’s a sheet and some suggested rules to set up a household pool about who’s going to die, how, and other predictions.

Personally, I think Tony’s going to get whacked.

“After the Warming”, stars James Burke, whom you may remember from the days when TLC actually showed educational television and not just a bunch of reality-tv remixes in various flavors of “how to buy a house”, “how to fix up a house” or “how to be an animal while making motorcycles” in the truly worthwhile show, “Connections”.

“After the Warming” is like a special edition of Connections in which we learn how changes in civilization, the weather, and industrialization brought on the current climate crisis we now face.

Hit play or watch full screen at Google Video.

["After the Warming" is] an early documentary about global warming. It theorizes and tells facts about the effects global weather has had on our history. It then theorizes a lot more about its effects on our future and especially the way in which we will overcome it’s bad effects. If you don’t mind some, not proofed, theorizing from a reasonably intelligent guy, and are interested in our climate, this is probably a must see.

I found the news clip style predictions of an increase in hurricanes, rising oceans levels, and the devastation of New Orleans particularly chilling. Some of the prediction dates were a bit off, but interesting to think about anyway.

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If you missed the first episode of This American Life on Showtime last night, you can catch it online on Showtimes website. Or if you’re in a country other than the US of A, you’ll have good luck with a bittorrent search. I just finished watching it, and it really is as good as the radio version.

Also of interest, the This American Life Parody.

This American Life, one of my most favorite podcasts/radioshows is coming to television.

What would a TV version of This American Life look like? And is making one even a good idea? Believe us, we’ve wondered all of that ourselves. But now we’re done, and we’re super excited. Our first season of half-hour episodes debuts March 22nd on Showtime. We wanted to make a TV show that feels like the radio show, but isn’t just the radio show on TV. Take a look and see what you think. Here’s a trailer we created for public radio station websites, just like this one.

Check out the teaser trailer.

Update: Here’s a second movie trailer.

And here’s an interview with Ira Glass about the new show on NPR’s Fresh Air.

“When you walk through the garden, you gotta watch your back.”

I’ve been watching HBO’s The Wire religiously and I’m compelled to say, it’s got to be hands down the best show on the air. Check out the Wikipedia article on the show for the rundown. I also recommend Salan’s article Breaking down The Wire.

This show is fantastic. If you haven’t seen it, find Season 1 and just start watching. No sense jumping in in the middle. I accidentally found myself watching an episode out of season 2 when I had only seen a couple of the episodes from season 1 and I was totally confused.

It’s a double-edged sword, but the design of the show is very dependant on the story arch continuing from episode to episode which means you can’t jump in the middle. However, it makes every episode twice as great because instead of rehashing plot points to make sure everybody is caught up, the time is spent on character development and moving the story forward.

I’m just finishing up on season four, but I recommend you check out this show. Start with season 1 episode 1; you won’t regret it.

One Red Paperclip is a site about one man’s successful attempt at trading one red paperclip for something bigger and better until, 14 trades later, he had a house. File under, “why didn’t I think of that?”

Coincidentally, because of the One Red Paperclip guy’s challenge to CBC’s The Hour, the show went to Yahk, BC and on the way they did a couple of shows in Calgary. It was one of those Calgary episodes that I was on.

The election results are in and Stephen Colbert is not happy.

This is one of the funniest Colbert clips ever!

Available for now anyway, every episode of the Simpsons from season 1 to 17 (and three from season 18) at just the click of your mouse:

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The city of Lethbridge, Alberta (the place where I live) was featured in a gag on the Simpsons. The Simpson family was watching a show called, “Hunch” and Lethbridge was the “filming location” for the City of New York.

From the episode: 17×22 - Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play

I laughed out loud at this hilarious scene from The Extras with guest star David Bowie.