Spider-Man's new Status Quo (CBR)
Interesting one-sheet about the new Spider-Man reboot, post Mephisto. Although I'm fine with erasing the marriage to Mary Jane (I never liked the Erik Larsen big hair soap star MJ years), watering down the Civil War unmasking is pretty stupid. ("...some people seem to recall it, but nobody quite remembers who was under the mask"). Looks like Mephisto has the power to edit the Daily Bugle archives.

Smash Bros. Brawl Pushed To March? (Kotaku)
Bad rumor! Bad rumor!

Ok, so first I'm ready to take off a week in December 07 for Smash Bros... then some days in February 08 and have people up for a weekend Brawl-a-thon. Now maybe I'll have to set this up for March? I need to stop trying to plan my vacation time around major game releases, 'cause this is bullshit.

Chicago law prof blasts OLPC (Fake Steve Jobs)
FSJ points to some incisive commentary on the epic fail of the One Laptop Per Child campaign. Read the original, too.

I waterboard! (Straight Dope via Reappropriate)
Dude waterboards himself, then posts about it on his favorite political message board. Turns out it's torture. And no, that wasn't the guy's point, but rather that too few Americans - and most politicians - have no idea how waterboarding actually works and how insidious it is.

I Knew There Was a Reason I Detested Doctor Phil (PeterDavid.net)
Peter David comments on Dr. Phil's not-so-altruistic public session with Britney Spears.

CES: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Roughly Drafted)
A little Bill Gates bashing by route of CES. Includes this painful bit about the Xbox division...

Microsoft's fans like to think of the 2001 Xbox and 2005 Xbox 360 as successful products, but both have only lost the company billions of dollars. Over the last seven years, Microsoft has shipped 24 million Xbox units and 17 million 360 consoles to stores, but has yet to make any profits. By way of comparison, Apple in its "beleagured" decade of the 90s sold over 30 million Macintosh systems, generating far more revenue and making a significant operational profit throughout. In the last seven years, Apple has sold around 30 million more Macs, earning record profits rather than losing billions per year.

And by the way, if you haven't done Guest House yet, get over there right away. Don't forget to click around on stuff you've already zoomed in on. I was escapee #48041.