Congrats to Webtaculators Justine and Josh on their wedding day! These two wonderful humans were actually the main reason I started Webtacular World – In December of last year, about, ohhhh, four months after it was relevant, Josh shared “What Does The Fox Say” on Justine’s Facebook wall, with her replying “dingdingdingdingdingdingding lol.” Needless to say, they required an “Internetervention,” so I created Webtacular World with this short paragraph: “Whelp. Looks like project ‘Webtacular World Weekly’ just invented itself. As it’s first subscribers, you and Josh will be receiving a newsletter every Sunday night filled with the best things our friend, the internet, has to offer.” The rest is history. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: For Something Different, Let’s See How Things Are Going In Asia…
Why: Because China has been relatively silent as of late, but things seem to be picking back up with harsh restrictions on democracy in Hong Kong.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (8 min. interactive)
What: Get Back To Your Desk, You Lazy Artists!
Why: Because it’s important to know how much more your profession works than everyone else’s.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Human’s Inability To Withstand Blunt Force Trauma To The Head Might End All Fun
Why: Because I headed the ball all the time when I was growing up, and I turned out fine… What was I just talking about?

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (4:30 watch)
What: Take Me To The Moon
Why: Because Ms. Johnson is a bad ass.

FOOD THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. watch)
What: How To Sushi
Why: Because I bet most of you didn’t know that turning ebi on it’s side was actually the way to go (I didn’t).

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. interactive; 9 min. read)
What: Football Is Coming! So Let’s Talk About Tennis. Fine Here’s Some Football For You As Well.
Why: Because one-handed backhands are hard. Also, losing sucks. Luckily for me, I coach winners.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Not To Sound Like I’m Bad… But I Would Hit That
Why: Because I saw Chris Pratt while he was staying in our hotel in Davis. However, I was too dumb and slow to say or do anything clever about it. But I bet the guy probably appreciates not being accosted by people, so I guess I did him a solid.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (1ish hr. watch)
What: Why Are There Still VMAs On MTV?
Why: Because Lorde somehow won best rock video. I like Lorde and all, but she is NOT rock, and she knows it.

NOT NEWS THING OF THE WEEK (2 min. read [if you absolutely must – I’d recommend just looking at the headline])
What: Whatever The Hell This Is
Why: Because Michael Rothman, the “author” of this article, should not be allowed to work in news ever again. This is garbage, and he owes us all an apology.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (10 min. read)
What: Queue Jamiroquai And The Moving Floor
Why: Because this history of virtual reality is as real as it gets in terms of a nascent technological development. 

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK
What: Marsupials, Man; ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Thwarted By Handsomeness; In Memoriam
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Firework Proof Suit
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian

This week’s Webtacular World comes straight from Carmel By-The-Sea, a wonderful place that has a terribly incorrect name. But I guess Carmel By-The-Ocean doesn’t sound as quaint. Also, it’s going to take more than 6.0 quake to make it Carmel In-The-Sea. On to the news. 

STORY OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Yup, That Was A Big One
Why: Because California is statistically still waiting for the actual BIG ONE, but this one was a decent reminder of the power that quakes have.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (9 min. read)
What: Uniquely Similar  
Why: Because Starbucks is legion. At least you can still escape business as usual at Burning Man.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (6 (billable) min. read)
What: Give A Lawyer A Hug
Why: At least now you can understand why some people may be upset when even Shakespeare wants them dead.

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: The First Law In Practice
Why: Because Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics are about to face real world testing.

POPULATION THING OF THE WEEK (25 min. look/read)
What: Movin’ On Up
Why: Because state-by-state immigration patterns are really interesting. Also, it’s almost funny how much the signs of gentrification have stayed the same. Almost. 

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read/look)
What: The Opposite Of Golf
Why: Because endurance athletes are in a league of their own. Also, they don’t require fake crowds.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (__ hrs. listening pleasure)
What: The Best Of The Teens So Far
Why: Because most of these songs at least deserve a listen.

LONGFORM THING OF THE WEEK (15 min.
What: Off The Grid
Why: Because it’s amazing that an individual could remain undetected for so long in the modern era.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Mom! Turn That Damn Game Off And Come To Dinner! This Is The Last Warning!
Why: Because adult women have unseated teenage boys as the largest game playing demographic. 

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK
What: Someone Needs To Invent An Irony Or Satire Font; Work Like Ira; Don’t Give Me Your Baby If You Want It To Live; Breaking Pawn; Deep Thoughts With Ron Swanson
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: A House Would Be Nice
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

A super special shout out to webtaculators Jan and Nora for tying the knot this weekend! On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (8 min. read)
What: American Battleground
Why: Because Ferguson, Missouri has made it brutally clear that the United States still has massive issues with race relations, policing, and a divergence of what it means to be an American. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

TECHNOLOGY THING OF THE WEEK (15 min. read)
What: Snowden In The Flesh
Why: Because this is the first time since Edward Snowden fled the United States that he has given an in person interview, while still revealing even more damning information.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (10 min read)
What: Yup.
Why: Because at least not all law news is bad news this week, and some is actually pretty funny.

MATH THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Woman Wins Math
Why: Because I still cannot quite believe that it has taken this long for a woman to win the Fields Medal.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. listen)
What: I Wish I Could Throw Like A Girl
Why: Because this girl has a rocket for an arm.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Rest In Peace You Wonderful Man
Why: Because Robin Williams still remains the best stand up comedian I have ever seen perform, and the world is a little darker without him.

TELEVISION THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Comcast, The Multi-Headed Monster
Why: Because this is what I do for a living.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. watch)
What: Why Is Purple?
Why: Because our stupid brains are actually pretty clever sometimes.

FOOD THING OF THE WEEK (15 min. watch)
What: I Hear You Guys Like Cheese
Why: Because cheese is the best. Also, stop defrosting your steak before you cook it.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. watch)
What: Sometimes It IS Your Controller’s Fault
Why: Because creating game systems that run at the speed of light are often unfair for our less than light speed reflexes.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK
What: I, For One, Greet Our Autonomous Overlords With Open Arms; Right… “True Love”; Later, Bro; Golf 
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Wayne Coyne Of The Flaming Lips Has One, And I Want One Too
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

Really? Iraq again? At least the Israel – Palestine ceasefire seems to be holding for the moment.

STORY OF THE WEEK (8 min. read)
What: Back To Iraq
Why: Because this is why we can never leave the mess that we created.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Monkey Law
Why: Because monkeys can’t actually own property (haven’t these people seen Planet of the Apes?!).

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Cat Hack
Why: Because now you can finally put your cat to work.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Beer > Baseball
Why: Because I am pretty sure I go to baseball games primarily to overpay for beer in a crowd rather than watch men stand around and occasionally hit a ball with a stick.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: The Comic Is Better Than The Movie
Why: Because this is especially true for the new TMNT movie (sigh).

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (8 min read)
What: Too Many Festivals
Why: Because I am still rocking out at Outside Lands regardless of the bubble. Listen along with me, or just listen in any order you want.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE WEEK (10 min. look)
What: War Through The Ages
Why: Because soldiers have been carrying essentially the same thing since humans decided to get together in groups to kill other humans in different groups.

LITERATURE THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. read)
What: Cat Man
Why: Because some guys really like their cats.

FOOD THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Yelp Louder
Why: Because Yelp is actually making the food you eat better.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Twitch Pulls A YouTube
Why: Because the largest game streaming sight just limited audio access to thousands of older videos, and potentially paved the way for a competitor to provide a better service.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK ()
What: Does What It Says; How To Get All Your Ducks In Order; This Is Why I Don’t Do Triathlons Anymore; What Not To Do At A Music Store;
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: The Original Heroes In A Half Shell
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

Hopefully Israel’s withdrawal actually lasts. Here’s this week in the Internet. Happy August!

STORY OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Israel Pulls Most Of Its Troops Out Of Gaza
Why: Because this month-long period of violence might actually be ending.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Being Good At Soccer Doesn’t Necessarily Help Your Economy
Why: Because Argentina defaulted again, even though it seems like it could have been avoided if a small group of investors hadn’t been so damn greedy. Related: Messi made a small messi of his taxes. (Sorry)

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Quitting Is For Winners
Why: Because I want to congratulate two of our very own webtaculators who just left Big Law this week without needing to pay for a service to do so.

TECHNOLOGY THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. read)
What: Almost A Decade Of Reddit
Why: Because Reddit somehow remains one of the few portals of the Internet that balances the weirdness of humanity with a relatively earnest and friendly demeanor.

HISTORY THING OF THE WEEK (multiple links)
What: World War 100
Why: Because World War I’s impacts are still felt today.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (100 power point slides)
What: Breaking – Sportsball Players Like To Party As Much As Other College Students
Why: Because as a former college lacrosse player, these results *SHOCK* me.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: The Marvel Train Keeps On Rolling
Why: Because the director of Guardians also takes his PG rated porn scenes seriously (NSFWish).

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (10 min. read)
What: Bob Dylan’s A Weird Dude, And That’s Just The Way He Likes It
Why: Because one of the most successful acts from the 60’s seems to try to do everything possible to not be.

FOOD THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Gazpacho
Why: Because now you know how to make it.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (25 min. watch)
What: Ocarina Of Time Beaten In 18 Minutes
Why: Because the strategies used  to achieve this time require multiple perfect timing inputs that must occur during 1/20th of a second moments – basically, this is almost impossible to do.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK
What: Samuel L. Jackson Says It Best; So Fast!; Elelator Go Down The Hole
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Guardians Of The Galaxy Tickets
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™