The benchmark for useless talents is constantly shifting, evidenced by this video of a German game show. Here we see a young girl, blindfolded, with the uncanny ability to detect the identity of a Star Wars figurine by simply placing it in her mouth. I will leave the erotic ramifications of this talent to your own twisted imagination, but the video will clearly speak for itself. How does one stumble upon this ability? I guess we all have a purpose after all.

With the Oscars fast approaching, word has been leaking about what viewers can’t expect from the ceremony. One story that came out this week was the Sacha Baron Cohen, better known as Bruno/Borat/Ali G, would be a presenter. This meant we could expect some weird and wonderful to happen, as Mr. Cohen is known for going off-script and ratcheting up the embarrassment level for his victim.

Further details emerged that Sacha Cohen would be dressed as a female Na’Vi from the movie Avatar, his words interpreted by co-presenter Ben Stiller. At some point, it was to be revealed that Sacha’s Na’Vi character is pregnant with James Cameron’s love child. It’s at the mention of James Cameron, a man notorious for not having a sense of humor about himself, that this bit has completely fallen apart, according to New York Magazine.

Mechanic, now both a producer of motion pictures and of this year’s Oscar telecast, was head of Twentieth Century Fox when Cameron’s Titanic famously went massively over budget and over schedule, so he’s well acquainted with Cameron’s sense of humor — or lack of it. “Let’s just say that Cameron isn’t known to be, shall we say, ‘self-deprecating,’” explained one insider familiar with the decision to cut the sketch.

Academy spokesperson Toni Thompson would only confirm that Baron Cohen was no longer presenting, but Baron Cohen’s spokesman, Matt Labov, tells Vulture that “I hate to use the term, because it’s so ubiquitous, but there were ‘creative differences.’ Nothing acrimonious, but both sides felt that since they couldn’t agree, [Cohen] might as well remain in London.” (Calls to Mechanic’s office were not returned at deadline.)

So in case you’re ranking celebrity senses of humor at home, you can now safely put Cameron below Eminem.

If you happen to own a PS3 or Xbox 360 and are looking for great media-streaming software, then TVersity is a worthy option. It’s fast, stable and free, my three favorite words when it comes to media-streaming. While it doesn’t support as many formats as Java PS3 Media Server, it does benefit from having a simple design, making it more accessible for your average consumer.

TVersity has just been updated to a new beta version and with it comes some pretty cool new features.

Download Version 1.8:

Pro edition

• Completely new off-screen browser, based on Google Chromium: runs out of process for increased stability and solves all the known issues with premium content (it used to occasionally fail to start on some systems).
• Premium content site are now defined in an external file (osb.xml), advanced users can easily add their sites.
• List of supported websites can now be updated without requiring a new release, so expect many new sites to be added and pushed to you from now on. (Advanced users should send us their additions since from time to time we overwrite your osb.xml automatically).
• New premium content sites:
  • CNN
  • Food Network
  • HGTV
  • Snag Films
  • YouTube Movies and Full Episodes

All Versions

• Update and expand YouTube support to include subscriptions, favorites and playlists by user (in addition to user video uploads which were previously supported). Also support adding YouTube content by search queries (replaces the “by tag” category which YouTube has obsoleted).
• Various minor bug fixes.

Max Headroom was an original and creative television show created in 1987 that only ran for 13 episodes, yet was beloved by the small group of fans who rallied around the science-fiction show. We’re not talking your typical science-fiction. Hell, Max Headroom was cyberpunk before the movement had really began, presenting a strange future ruled by media companies. It was a great show, perhaps too creative for its own good, forgotten by most. Now, after all these years, Max Headroom is finally making a grand return to DVD.

“Max Headroom” starred Matt Frewer as a reporter whose mind is downloaded into a computer to create a virtual clone who exists in the digital world. Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambor and W. Morgan Sheppard also star in the series, which ran for 14 episodes on Cinemax and ABC in 1987 and 1988. Set in the near future, “Max Headroom” depicted a world of television run amok.

Shout! Factory has a “Max Headroom” complete-series DVD set slated for August, according to a spokesperson. Episodes are being transferred from their original elements to provide the best quality, and Shout! Factory is planning a robust range of extras for the set. Bonus content may include the original U.K. telefilm 20 Minutes Into the Future, upon which the series is based, though nothing has been confirmed. Max Headroom also appeared in a series of Coca-Cola commercials in the 1980s, raising speculation such content may also be fodder for bonus material, but Shout! Factory said planning the extras is in the early stage.

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