Found this on TED today: Kenichi Ebina appears to defy the limits imposed by the human skeleton. He combines breakdancing and hip-hop with mime using movements that are simultaneously precise and fluid.

The much anticipated Sony Bravia ad shot in NYC is out. The crew used two and a half tons of plasticine and stop-motion photography to create quite a unique advertisement. Sony is spending a lot on these ads that included bouncy balls in SanFran, exploding paint in Glasgow and now the NYC bunnies. CNET dubbed Sony as the “first big tech company to embrace the idea of advertising as content.”

First it was the Office and now it’s The IT Crowd, another British comedy to be adapted for American audiences by NBC. The IT Crowd has been a favorite of tech geeks for some time now, but it has mainstream appeal as well. Some of the jokes only geeks will understand, but the hilarity of their geekdom is familiar to all. I’ve really enjoyed watching both seasons, which are available online. Here’s Wikipedia’s explanation of the show:

The IT Crowd is set in the offices of Reynholm Industries, a fictitious British corporation in central London. It focuses on the shenanigans of the three-strong IT support team located in a dingy, untidy and unkempt basement - a stark contrast to the shining modern architecture and stunning London views enjoyed by the rest of the organisation.

Moss and Roy, the two technicians, are portrayed as socially inept geeks or “standard nerds”. Despite the company’s utter dependence on their services, they are despised by the rest of the staff. Roy’s exasperation is reflected in his support techniques of ignoring the phone in the hope it will stop ringing, and using reel-to-reel tape recordings of stock IT suggestions (”Have you tried turning it off and on again?” and “Are you sure it’s plugged in?”). Moss’s wide and intricate knowledge of all things technical is reflected in his extremely accurate yet utterly indecipherable suggestions, while demonstrating a complete inability to deal with practical problems like extinguishing fires and removing spiders, as well as his being socially inept.

Jen, the newest member of the team, is hopelessly non-technical, despite claiming on her CV that she has “a lot of experience with computers”. As Denholm, the company boss, is equally tech-illiterate, he’s convinced by Jen’s interview bluffing and appoints her head of the IT department. Her official title is “relationship manager”, yet her attempts at bridging the gulf between the technicians and the business generally have the opposite effect, landing Jen in situations just as ludicrous as those of her team-mates.

How do know what’s going on in our community, the communities next door and the rest of the world? Most of us rely on the traditional new gathering and distribution establishment (ie, CNN) to provide us information. In some occasions that source can have real value. But in others it can really under deliver.

Over the past few years I’ve begun to seek additional news sources to stay informed. I’ve subscribed to the WSJ, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Mag, Wired, Fast Company, Business 2.0, and Inc. I learned an enormous amount by reading these publications. But the most valuable new source I’ve developed over the years is citizen news.

Blogs, videologs, podcasts, and social news sites provide a wealth of news that the networks ignore or simply never hear about. They also provide great coverage on very niche topics while giving you opinions that the networks are afraid to express.

I thought I’d share the news sources that I find most valuable to my tastes and interests:

• Digg.com — social news site
• BoingBoing — obscure but entertaining news
• TWiT’s This Week in Tech podcast — great tech news discussion
• CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast — more tech news discussion
• BusinessWeek’s podcasts
• NPR’s podcasts
• A ton of blogs — complete list is here