• Why shouldn’t food look like the stadium? (1. It’s disturbing. 2. See 1.)
• We know why you watch: A guide to all the new commercials
• And the reason you’ve probably seen most of them already
• If you’re feeling nostalgic, check out the last 40 years worth of spots
• And if you’ve got something to say, big brands are listening
• Of course not everyone’s into the game; that’s why there’s counterprogramming here and here
• A good rule of thumb for the day: Don’t believe the hype

And, our vote for the best commercial of the 2012 crop.

Not sure what happened, or why it’s even important? Well, we took some time turning out our usual Friday post  to look at the whole picture, understand everything that happened, and attempt to explain it in a way that adds clarity. So here goes…

First, what are SOPA and PIPA? The short answer is they’re different versions of the same bill, both intended to give the US government more power to fight online piracy. Sounds good right? And it would be, however, provisions of both bills allowed the government unprecedented and near-unilateral power to shut down sites with little evidenced justification.

What does that mean? Well, as written, the legislation would enable the government to make a site with ‘infringing content’ (i.e. something posted without permission from the copyright holder) unreachable. And while we all understand the intent of such an effort — namely, protecting the integrity of legitimate copyrights — the reality may be somewhat different. For example: Let’s say you upload a video of your kid’s birthday party — piñata, balloons, cake…the whole nine, and all in the name of good, wholesome fun. But in the background, just over Aunt Jean’s massive, hunched shoulder, is a TV showing a Magnum P.I rerun (yeah, it’s still on). Well, because you didn’t get permission to air that footage, the rights holder would be able to alert the authorities, and the site hosting the video would have its DNS entries altered so no one could reach it.

On its own, that seems a little extreme; but what if that site is Youtube? That’d be crazy, right? And in that light, the legislation looks  Draconian, even. That’s why so many people who know more about this than you and I spoke out against it.

So January 18, 2012 was Blackout Day. Hundreds of sites across the web either blacked out their logo or their entire site as a way of getting attention for efforts already in motion to defeat the bills. Millions of phone calls, emails and other communications were generated, and politicians seemingly got the idea that no one wanted this legislation.

Well, almost no one. We haven’t touched on why these bills were introduced in the first place. Initially, there was speculation and lots of evidence that SOPA and PIPA were the result of lobbying efforts from the media and entertainment industries. That speculation was subsequently confirmed (we’ll pause here for you to collect yourself after that shocking bit of news) in an alarmingly blunt, callous manner by a Senator-turned-shill openly admitting the entertainment industry is pissed off that they’re not getting something they paid for.

The question we need to be asking is ‘Why?’

Some say it’s a desperate attempt by old media to protect its dying business model. Instead of coming up with new ways of creating and delivering content, they’re asking the government to pass laws that stifle the very type of sharing that is responsible for artistic innovation in virtually every medium.

At the crux of the matter is a critical question: Is piracy a problem? On the surface, it would seem so. However, there is lots of data and evidence that suggests otherwise. There are ways of approaching the issue that would likely result in methods that would benefit everyone, not just just the labels and studios. Silicon Valley and the Whitehouse are openly seeking input. No one thinks the independent artist should have to face-off against Internet pirates alone. However, many are developing business models that actually embrace piracy or leverage the power of the web.

Whichever side of the issue you’re on, you can be sure of a couple of things: 1) Political contributions will be affected, and 2) supporters of a free, unrestricted Internet will temporarily retreat to posting cat pictures and riffing on memes — but only until the next bill is introduced…

This week, though, we’ve been busy `wrapping’ a virtual gift to you that’ll be delivered early next week.

It’s a collection of our own awkward holiday photos. Think horrific sweaters, faux reindeer antlers, inappropriate glances, uncomfortable poses…you know, pretty much all the uncomfortable stuff in pics that friends and family have been sending you since Black Friday — with one major exception:

You’ll be able to write your own captions for each photo, share them with friends and, if yours are voted most popular, win $250 for the charity of your choice.

It’s our admittedly odd but (trust us) hilarious way of spreading holiday cheer around our little community, and beyond.

Get ready: Follow us on Twitter and like us on FB for updates and outtakes.

Then spread the word. And the awkward.

• First, the chill part: Your phone says more about you than you think
• Makes us wonder if somebody out there’s looking for something
• Fortunately there’s a new way keep your secrets private
• What’s not private is how our government’s doing in the Tweet department
• However bad it may be, it’s gotta be better than the worst book ever
• And while we’re on the subject of printed material, why not create your own mini-newspaper?
• It’s pretty awesome; as is being able to  find your way around the mall this holiday season
• Amazing how things have changed, innit?
• And how some things are gone for good
• Thankfully we’ve still got a few distractions

That’s about it for us. What’ve you got?

• First and foremost, Google for Veterans is a functional tribute to the folks in uniform
• A different kind of hero, Andy Rooney, passes
• Passing 26.2 miles and recording it all, old school
• Sesame Street is old school, but it taught us how to ask our friends for help
• Texting helps us do it smarter, and with fewer characters
• It’s no surprise, then, that the invention of SMS is one of the greatest light-bulb moments
• Also pretty great: ye olde infographics — even Mr. Tufte approves
• We approve of Amazon’s lending library; publishers, not so much
• Maybe they could make money with a hair-as-mustache book

• Like a zombie movie that’s worth the 7-minute running time
• The scariest comic books of all time (as if something’s gonna top ‘Blood Clot Boy’)
• And what may be the most impressive carving endeavor of this or any season

• For instance, there was confirmation that Siri is human (or at least not Glaswegian)
• A primer on how to keep leaf raking to a minimum
• Microsoft’s vision of the future, followed by snarky comments about whether they’d be the ones to bring it to us
• A report asserting that you’re no longer 1 in a million; an application to determine  what number you are
• And, for anyone who uses the interwebs, something that should scare you silly

• Normal isn’t normal anymore.
• Trick or treating in one of these cities not likely to be fruitful.
• Feel free to try these places, though.
• It turns out no one wants the stuff we don’t need.
• Man on bike hit by animal. That is all.
• An examination of washroom signage.
• 1 year old doesn’t know how to work a magazine.
• Did Apple make a mistake by including Siri?

• Maybe not as hot as the Kindle Fire, but what is?
• Twitter, perhaps. And not just as a social media platform, but as a burglary add-on
• And an amazingly accurate barometer our mood swings
• On the subject of highs & lows, you may be interested to know how that Facebook timeline thing started
• Or how it never really stops, unless you take extraordinary measures
• All of which might make you question the amount of time you spend with that social stuff
• And think about people and numbers and history in a whole new way
• Which is weird and wonderful and might make you cry; or laugh
• This, however, will make you wonder how you ever lived without such insight

• We begin where all weekends should: Waffle House
• From there, it’s on to the moon. For pizza. (Where else?)
• Not hungry? You could time travel to the future for a joy ride with your entire social network
• Speaking of the future…wait, what’s the future again?
• Back in the day, computers were the future. Then the sh&% got real—in this order
• Strangely absent from the evolution of the web: The moment when ‘top secret’ was rendered meaningless
• Speaking of meaningless—and, in this case, hysterical—listen in to this exchange
• Is it odd that both those bots are more attractive than this morphed thing?
• No more odd than a stand-up desk (just don’t tell those hipsters at Fb that Rummy was doing it first)

Got a few goodies of your own? Let’s have ‘em!

• Unfortunately, this pale geek will have a hard time finding the right sun protection (but that has nothing to do with the sun);
• these dudes will be standing vigil in anticipation of the next shuttle launch;
• and some poor bastard in Japan is will still be recovering from this harrowing experience.
• You, on the other hand, will probably not be clicking on any banner ads;
• ‘acting’ like such a dork around the little’uns;
• taking your pizza box for granted;
• or goofing on suburban Moms who spend their days watching The View and updating Facebook (anymore)

Weather permitting, take a few minutes to comment and, as always, send us some links of your own.