Links of the Day

Billy May, Pitchman, Dead at 50 - Sunday morning, famed pitchman and co-star of Discovery Channel's Pitchmen, was found dead by his wife. The autopsy report indicates he died due to heart failure, not a head injury as many news stories inferred. I watch his show and he seemed like a cool guy and pretty anyone that has stayed up late knows the face and loud happy voice. Condolences to his family. Image from here.

Oscar Rule Changes - Next year’s telecast of the Oscar's could have as high as 10 best movie nominees and zero best song due to rule changes. The song changes essentially requires the songs to be judged based on how they are used as a part of the movie rather then added as Oscar bait for the end credits. Considering how songs have been replaced with orchestration or older (cheaper) songs, it means that the possibilities are high that no one will get nominated.

Fall 2009 Premiere Dates - Click the link for a day by day breakdown for the premiere dates of the new fall season on the five major networks starting with the CW on September 8th.

Supreme Court rules in Favor of White Firefighters - In a surprise to no one, the Supreme Court rules 5-4 that white Connecticut firefighters were unfairly denied promotions. The promotions when it discovered that no minorities had passed the required exams. The Court said that it could not be proven that discrimination had occurred (nor was a case made on how the test was unfair to minorities). This is a rare recent case where I agree with the court. Tests shouldn't be re-written just to increase the odds of a certain group passing. While they should be written to be as neutral as possible, all should meet the same requirements.

Starcraft II Hands-On - It is starting to appear that Blizzard just might get the game out this year as Joystiq describes a hands-on session with the game and provides video. Probably the part I like best is a "spectator mode" that allows players to watch online matches and view stats, something that is difficult to do in the first game.