Some interesting news coming from writer Ian Bogost. Bogost was a guest on The Colbert Report recently, and he revealed on his blog that there was another guest on the show that got into a water fight with host Stephen Colbert, and that the segment wasn't exactly lighthearted and might not even air.

Now it can be revealed that the other guest was billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson. He was on the show to talk about his new Virgin America line of jets, one of which was going to be named after Colbert. Supposedly Branson wasn't happy that they didn't have enough time to talk about the new venture and poured a mug of water on Colbert, ruining his suit. Colbert got some water from a stagehand and dumped it on Branson. Now, no one knows for sure if this was a staged bit or serious, but Colbert had to change clothes to do another segment, and in video for Bogost's segment you can see a Poland Spring water bottle on the mantle (see pic above).

[via Boing Boing]

I've never seen an episode of Nickelodeon's Dora The Explorer. My Nickelodeon viewing is limited to The Fairly Odd Parents and maybe SpongeBob SquarePants once in a while. What is the show about, exactly? Is it one of those shows that's animated but is really for adults more than the younger set? Does Dora work for the vice squad or maybe an escort service?

The reason I ask is because of this, the Dora The Explorer Aquapet, from Wild Planet Toys. Oh, it's wild alright, if wild means offensive. And please note that it says that the toy is "fun for all" and "interacts with you." Frankly, it looks like something that a woman would buy at Spencer's Gifts, or, as one of the reviewers says on the Amazon page, "maybe as a prank for a bachelorette party." Did the company realize what they had when the product was done, or even at the drawing board stage?

The men of Boing Boing recently chatted with comedian John Hodgman, he of The Daily Show, The Areas of My Expertise and 700 Hobo Names. The men talk about current events, politics, and weird stories from the news. The podcast is less like an interview and more like a random discussion, which is actually, I think, more interesting. Hodgman maintains his usual dry wit, and interjects whenever he can get a word in edgewise as the Boing Boingers go on about whatever is they go on about. You might learn a few things about Hodgman, but mostly it's just some guys kicking back and chatting.

Speaking of the 700 Hoboes, Hodgman alludes to a project started by Boing Boing to have artists illustrate each of the names in Hodgman's lengthy but engaging spoken word project. You can see the works here.

I was going to use the title "Battlestar Galacticakes," but Boing Boing beat me to it.

A fan named Matt had a 31st birthday recently, and he decided to make a bunch of cakes as a tribute to Battlestar Galactica. I'm not that familiar with the show, actually, so I'm not sure if these are to scale or not, and I'm not sure if he has all the technical specifications right. But they look delicious. Check out all the cakes in his Flickr set.

I think we should start making cakes and other desserts based on other TV shows. How about some Nip/Tuckcakes? Or maybe Boston Cream Pie Legal? Or maybe a Lost cake? That would be pretty cool.

[via Boing Boing]

I'm transitioning from an IT career to one of a full-time freelance writer. Because of this, I'm spending more time at home during the day. And, despite my better judgement, I leave the TV on in the background while I work. I've been getting in the habit of putting on Dr. Phil at 3:00, and, while I think Phil's a blowhard who often states the obvious, I do like seeing him yell at the idiots that come on his show.

Case in point: today, a couple comes on to talk about the major strife in their marriage. It's so troubling, that the woman, a mature, pretty and intelligent blonde, breaks down and cries. What's the problem? Infidelity? Health problems? Money issues?

Nope, it's none of those things.

She's got "heavy legs".

Lawyers. They're the real "Debbie Downers" of this world. The fellas over at YouTube have been told by NBC that they can no longer play the now-infamous Lazy Sunday rap from SNL. That rap was huge for SNL, which has been at rock bottom for several years now. After it aired on Dec. 17, Lazy Sunday spread rapidly on the web, including at YouTube, which reportedly had 1.2 million downloads of the video within ten days. The popularity of the rap led to an article in the New York Times about the song and the "viral" power the internet has when people think something is cool. NBC finally got a clue and put the video on its website (for Windows users only) and in iTunes, where it now costs $1.99 to download.

Boing Boing has a really good argument about why NBC should be "sending flowers and chocolates to YouTube, not love notes from lawyers."