celebrities

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Nate Silver's Oscar Predictions, Reviewed

Statistician/poll-predictor Nate Silver (previously discussed) analyzed the Oscars before last night's telecast, and attempted to forecast the outcome of the six most popular categories: Supporting Actor (Ledger), Supporting Actress (Henson - wrong!), Lead Actor (Rourke - wrong!), Lead Actress (Winslet), Best Director (Boyle), Best Picture (Slumdog Millionaire). So he got four out of six right. Decent, but not great (the Intrade predictions actually got the Cruz win right, thus doing better than... READ ON

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Bill Gates, Philanthropist

Bill Gates is the world's third-richest person, and the driving force behind the vastly-endowed Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- which is concerned primarily with global health and education issues. Two days ago, Gates gave a great talk on the problems his philanthropy is tackling. The talk is remarkable first because he's actually a terrific speaker and knows his topic...but also because he released a small swarm of mosquitoes into his audience: "Now, malaria is, of course, transmitted by... READ ON

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Google's Ginormous Life Magazine Photo Archive

Remember Life Magazine? I sure don't. Well, I recognize the name, but I don't think I ever read an issue. Despite my ignorance, since 1883, Life has been published in various forms, with most of its twentieth-century existence focusing on photojournalism. Life's last incarnation -- a newspaper supplement -- ceased publication last year. Now, Google and Life have teamed up to host the entire magazine's entire photo archive online. And this isn't just some publicity snaps -- when they're finished... READ ON

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Another Immense Time-Waster: MTV Music Posts Tons of Videos

In a stunning move, MTV has returned to its roots: actual music videos. But don't look for the videos on TV -- now they're online. MTV announced today that they've posted over 16,000 videos, "Unplugged" sessions, and concerts to their new MTV Music site. The videos are nicely presented, with an easy search feature and video quality that rivals YouTube's "Higher Quality." The catalog is deep. Not ultra deep (this ain't MTV2), but there's a lot of back catalog content. For example, they have Yo La... READ ON
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John Hodgman: A Brief Digression on Matters of Lost Time

John Hodgman is known to millions as the "PC" of recent Apple ads, but that's hardly his best work. Hodgman wrote the instant classic The Areas of My Expertise (check out the audiobook if you have a chance -- it's the best thing ever), and his regular appearances As Resident Expert on The Daily Show are some the show's best segments. In February Hogdman gave a brilliant TED Talk in which he discussed a series of strange events in his past, each of which led him to believe that something strange was... READ ON

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A Profile of a Profile of Charlie Kaufman

Charlie Kaufman is the writer behind movies including Adaptation, Being John Malkovitch, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (He also wrote two episodes of the TV classic Get a Life, though he didn't win any Oscars for them.) In the leadup to Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, Wired decided to write a profile of the man -- because the Wired folks, like me, are huge fans. In true Kaufman style, the Wired editors decided to add a layer to the story: document the process of writing... READ ON

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One Mythbuster's Obsession With the Maltese Falcon

Adam Savage is best known for hosting the Discovery Channel program Mythbusters, but he's got a lot more going on than televised science experiments. He's a master builder and special effects guy for major movies, and he brings his craft to students (Savage teaches advanced model-making at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco). Oh, and he's obsessed with the dodo, which has been extinct for over 300 years. Savage, like any good obsessive geek, does his homework. In a talk (see below), he... READ ON

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In-Depth With the King of Kong

In last July's issue of Harper's, Joshuah Bearman revealed a wealth of information on classic gaming in general and Billy Mitchell specifically. Mitchell is one of the subjects of last year's documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Mitchell is a fascinating guy, with his supremely high-maintenance mullet, a list of arcade game records a mile long, and even his own brand of hot sauce. Bearman contributed some footage to King of Kong, but his encounters with Mitchell go beyond what we saw in the... READ ON

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Ze Frank Explains Why He's a Cool Guy

We've covered nerdy comedian Ze Frank and comedy nerd Jesse Thorn's The Sound of Young America before, but now these two great tastes are tasting great together. (See what I did there?) Jesse Thorn of TSOYA interviewed Ze Frank live onstage last month, and the (really fun) video is now available. Discussed: what Ze Frank's deal is, his super-famous video blog, Eskimo Kisses, calling the Mali regarding an Earth Sandwich, and more. Be prepared: awkward comedy is rampant. Ze Frank on The Sound... READ ON

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One For the Kids: Storyline Online

Story time has long been a completely analog process -- employing good old-fashioned print books, read together with a child. Well, like most things, there's now an option to enjoy kids' stories online: Storyline Online. Read mostly by professional actors (and one by Al Gore), the stories are well-produced, showing the illustrations as well as an optional follow-along written track at the bottom of the screen (be aware -- on some stories this may go by too fast for some kids). The site includes... READ ON

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