ICYMI - 4/5/2014

Vladamir Putin, a portrait by George W. Bush.

Image Credit: NBC via Gawker

My Father Graduated From Hamburger University (Eater)

K. Annabelle Smith explores the curious history of "Hamburger University," McDonald's legacy management training program, while drawing on anecdotes from her father, who attended "HU" almost 40 years ago.

Outfoxed: How Protesters Forced Mozilla's CEO to Resign in 11 Days (The Verge)

When word that newly-named Mozilla CEO Brenden Eich had donated money to support Proposition 8 in 2008 went viral, it stirred up hornet's nest in tech circles in and outside of company. The public reaction, which culminated with OKCupid blocking Firefox users and encouraging them to switch browsers, forced Eich to resign after less than two weeks.

How The Most Expensive Game Jam Crashed and Burned in One Day (Indie Statik)

The game jam — a multi-day "event" where game developers get together and create working games in just a few days  — seems like a great setting for a reality show... Assuming the producer's with aggressive branding experts and offensive artificial narratives don't push its contestants to walk away. Despite an occasionally off-putting bias against "the man," Indie Statik's account you see inside the train just before it goes off the rails.

Who Will Replace David Letterman on The Late Show? (Splitsider)

Obviously there's been a lot of talk about Letterman's retirement plans, including speculation as to who might replace him. This list came closest to a definitive rumor round-up based on conspiracy theories I've seen that offer an explanation beyond "we think he'd be a good fit," and a couple of actual reports.

The popular guesses not on this list include Tina Fey, Louis C.K. and extreme underdog Amy Schumer. Interestingly, CBS reportedly approached John Oliver to replace Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson, which he declined in favor of a new weekly "news-style" show on HBO.

Nerd Shirt of the Week — We're All Mash'd Here

Image Credit: Austin James

Most of the tees I highlight in these posts are merely novel combinations of two pre-existing creative entities, ranging from TV to movies to video games to books. Internet-era creativity has generated an exponentially increasing number of deep cultural callbacks. As a shirt that blends together many of those references, you could say that this is the nerd shirt to end all nerd shirts. 

It's a mash-up in mash-up about mash-ups. Who wouldn't want to put that on their chest?

"We're All Mash'd Here" is currently available on The Yetee for $11 until 1:00 Eastern on April 2. The shirt may be available at a later date from a different retailer for a different price.

Nerd Shirt of The Week — Groot Loops

View fullsize

Image Credit: Shirtoid

A space tree and a raccoon with a gun save the universe from a conveniently colorful alien warlord. If that doesn't sound like the inspiration for breakfast cereal box art, then... Well then I think you need to try some new cereals.

Groot Loops Will be available on TeeFury.com for $11 until 11:59pm Eastern on March 24, 2014. The shirt may be available at a later date for another price at another location.

Five Things I Learned on a Flight to Chicago

1. A coat and a messenger bag can't both fit under the seat in front of you. If you try it, people will get hurt.

2. Taking a piss standing on an airplane going through turbulence could be a pretty good event for a reality show.

3. You can't jump back into a turn-based RPG after putting it down for a week or two. It's just too hard to get back into the swing of things.

4. For better or worse, Esquire really is just Oprah for dudes. This month's favorite things include: Trains, high-proof liquor, fatherhood and pants.

At least the writing's good.

5. It's rude, person sitting next to me, to fall asleep with your arms crossed. You will poke people and they (I) will silently judge you for it.

Nerd Shirt of The Week — Hardboiled Professor

Image Credit: Adho1982

I think we need more stories about "hard-boiled" people who aren't detectives. What about a Hardboiled blogger? Or is that a contradiction in terms?

Hardboiled Professor is available for $11 on TeeFury.com until 11:59pm on March 8, 2014. The shirt may be available in the future from a different retailer for a different price.

ICYMI — 3/8/14

The Wiggle Jiggle

As a news-blogger/digital journalist, I spend most of my day reading stories online. "In Case You Missed" (ICYMI) It is a round-up of the best stories and posts published this week that are worth reading. That way I can say that all that reading was good for something.

The Face Behind Bitcoin (Newsweek)

Someone has (probably) found the impossibly secretive creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamura. Guess what? He's a paranoid recluse that doesn't want to talk to you.

How Weed Became The Hippest Term for Marijuana (Slate)

I'm a sucker for etymology stories, and this one's an interesting, albeit shallow dive into what I've always thought of as an ubiquitous term.

Alan Thicke, The Most Interesting Man in The World (Grantland)

You may know him as the dad from Growing Pains, but there was a time when Alan Thicke was the coolest guy ever and we had no idea. He was either involved with or at least hanging out behind the scenes at a bunch of major sports-related happenings in the 90s. He helped get Wayne Gretzsky to leave Canada.

Big Score (The New Yorker)

In honor of the SATs reverting to the old 1600-point format (or not) New Yorker Staff Writer Elizabeth Kolbert took the SATs again as an adult. Her experience, along with others' who did the same, serves as more evidence that standardized testing does more harm than good.

The End of The Hunt (The Verge)

Forget about all those stupid reality shows about ghost hunters. This is a real story about some of the crazy people who spend their time trying to show the world that ghosts are real.

And if you have too much time... 

Is The Wiggle Jiggle The New Harlem Shake? (The Daily Dot)

Somebody made a dance called the Wiggle Jiggle. Apparently it may be the next endlessly repeatable YouTube meme, even though it's a line dance and it's called the Wiggle Jiggle.

You got Titanfall in My Atari Games!

Titanfall+Asteroids

"Life is better with a Titan."

Developer Respawn Entertainment is trying to prove their Titanfall tagline rings true in any situation, including other video games. The Titanfall Arcade, a set of promotional browser games, adds a giant robot to classic Atari-era games like Asteroids.

Unfortunately, Asteroids isn't really "better" with a Titan. It's definitely easier, which is fine, but I wouldn't really say it's better.

Titanfall+Asteroids, is the only titan-infused game that's playable now, but Titanfall+Missle Command and Titanfall+Centipede are apparently on the way.

The real Titanfall, the one with the shooting and the jumping and the robots, is coming to Xbox One and PC March 11.

Source: Titanfall Arcade

Nerd Shirt of The Week — Cookie Wookie

Image Credit: Graf-Guy

Black and brown color-clashing aside, the shirt combines two of the best things ever. If you can't get behind putting that on your chest, why bother buying a t-shirt at all?

Cookie Wookie is available on Unamee.com until 11:59pm Eastern on February 26th, 2014. The shirt may be available in the future from another retailer at a different price.