Whiz of the Web: Thirsty Thursday

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you.

• The Wall Street Journal has a video and an article about horse riders in Strawberry Mansion. We're not sure we like the tone, but at least they are putting a spotlight on a positive thing happening in an inner-city Philadelphia neighborhood.
• You've probably heard about the skeletons of Hobbit-like, near-human creatures found in Indonesia. If not, Scott Adams will fill you in on them - and on his plans for how to make use of them should they be cloned. So wrong, and yet so right.
• Today's Halo 3 news: Nerd World suggests it can be read as a geopolitical allegory, whilst Microsoft savors its triumph, calling the launch of the game the "biggest day in US entertainment history." And indeed its opening day sales of $170 million were greater than the first day sales of the blockbuster film Spider-Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
• Any scream queens out there? You might want to try out for Miss Horrorfest 2007, either by submitting a video on YouTube or going to one of the live auditions. Details are through here.
• NBC is putting together a two-hour TV pilot for a new Transformers-inspired Knight Rider series, with filmmaker Doug Liman producing and possibly also directing. Apparently this one will focus more on evil cars to offset the heroic K.I.T.T. So, they're thinking Decepticons versus Autobot? We used to love the original Knight Rider, but it was pretty cheesy, and this one is already sounding worse. Still, we can't say we're not intrigued.
• Apparently Terminator 4 is the start of a trilogy about the epic war of machines versus humanity, and will be a special effects extravaganza focusing on a new main character, who will be to John Connor as Ben Hur was to Jesus. Interesting...
• Some Rock Band updates: if you got an email from Amazon telling you the game would be delayed, Harmonix says not to worry and that the notice was a mistake. Meanwhile, some new track info has been released: REM's "Orange Crush" will be in there, Flyleaf's "I'm So Sick" will be available as an unlockable bonus song, and songs by Harmonix employee bands will also appear.
• In a move to discredit another lawyer, Jack Thompson has submitted hardcore gay porn with some of his court documents, thus making the stuff available for unlimited public viewing on the court's docketing system, and earning himself the ire of the judge - the same judge who happens to be deciding whether he'll be disbarred. Good move, Jack!