My brother-in-law Mark introduced this video at a family get-together this weekend. It had us in absolute stitches; I had to share.

I haven’t seen one of the new 3D movies. We didn’t go watch Avatar when it was in theatres, and personally I think the technology seems pretty hokey. But what about choose your own adventure?

The clip below, from a company called 13th Street is advertising a new kind of cinema, one in which the viewer can interact with the film and change the outcome. In this case, it’s done by phoning different viewers in the audience and changing the outcome of the film based on recognized voice commands. Is this the new step in immersive horror films or just another hokey Hollywood breakthrough?

What do you think? Leave a comment.

I’m personally quite pleased at the result of this scholarly study published in the peer-reviewed journal First Monday.

It finds that while Wikipedia is indeed used by the majority of college/university students, its use is restricted to only the beginning and very beginning of the research stage, and only for initial information. I know, in the past, I’ve read studies purporting the high use of Wikipedia among post-secondary studies with fear and trepidation. Are people really relying on an online encyclopedia that anybody can edit for their research? It was a bit unnerving. But, thanks to some deeper digging, the results are far more soothing.

And it’s true, if you think about it. Personally, I used Wikipedia for every term paper I ever wrote but at the most basic level—and that’s what this study shows. You hit the lowest common denominator, Wikipedia, to get just the basic facts. You know that they’re possibly riddled with inaccuracies and bias but you get the basics, you get a jumping off point, and then hit the hard stuff from there. It makes sense, and it’s good research methods. Of course, if the article you’re reading is wholly inaccurate than perhaps your jumping point might not give you the best footing but other studies have shown that, on the whole, Wikipedia is pretty accurate after all.

Gosh, I wish I was born in the 60′s.

If you haven’t visited yet, I suggest you take a look at my friend Andrew’s music blog.

He’s stumbled upon a great idea, and it’s very entertaining to read. His goal: to listen his way through the All Music Guide to Rock (3rd edition). He’s going alphabetically and has already covered artists from ABC, ABBA and Aaliyah to, most recently, Brian Adams. His reviews are fun to read and surprisingly informative.

Check out Rock 1272, and tell a friend.

My favourite cryptozoology website, Cryptomundo, has this latest break in the Bigfoot case file. Toy-maker Fisher Price is set to release this Bigfoot toy at Toy Fair 2010, in New York City this weekend. Bigfoot the Monster, is remote-controlled and capable of makes faces, stomping around and can even flip over (now that’s something we haven’t even seen in the real Bigfoot).

When asked if footprints, photographs, video footage and eyewitness evidence surrounding Bigfoot was simply an extremely clever 50-year long viral marketing campaign, the toy-maker refused to comment.

An incredible clip from the CBC archives featuring a young Lloyd Robertson interviewing a “street surfer” or “skurfer” in 1965.