michael cera

The 404 713: Where we're ready to believe you (podcast)

Wilson's taking a day off to devote more time to early-morning photography, so Mark Licea sits in his seat to fill in. We received a handful of listener responses about yesterday's TSA scanner conversation, so we spend part of the first half clarifying our stance on the issue, but also discuss our typical Friday stories--Asians, vacations, video games, Apple, Kool-Aid, and paper airplanes just a few things you can expect to hear on today's show!

A 17-year-old geek bearing a striking resemblance to Wilson in middle school is getting heat from Apple after running a six-figure business out of his home selling white iPhone 4s. Six months ago, high school senior Fei Lam contacted Apple's Chinese supplier Foxconn and somehow convinced them to sell him white iPhone 4 parts.

He used those parts for Whiteiphonefournow.com, a site specializing in converting black iPhone 4s into the missing white version. After selling more than $130,000 worth of parts since, Lam just received a letter from a private investigator hired by Apple to investigate accusations of stolen goods, but there's no word yet from Apple about what they plan to do with the litigation. Another reason explaining Wilson's absence today!

Social networks are all fun and games until someone gets outed for digging Asian girls--that's the lesson of the week for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose old Friendster profile is making the rounds on the Internet for comments made about Asian females under the "What I Enjoy Doing" heading.

We'll grant Zuckerberg some slack since he was just a 19-year-old teenager at the time, and the rest of the content is equally lighthearted--he also lists "coding," "IN n Out," "bad life decisions," and "defeating nemeses" under the same category.

Our final story of the day comes from South America, where Brazilian Christians have banned the use of all USB connections and their associated products after claims that the logo for USB resembles the Satanic trident.

The Web is divided on the origin of the USB logo, but some suggest that the artist based the design on Neptune's Trident, with three shapes adorning the points that symbolize several connections to one destination.

Unfortunately, the ban on USB devices means that flash drives, mice, keyboards, and printers all fall under the same devil-worshiping umbrella, so hold onto your parallel port cords and PS/2 extensions--someday you might need them in Brazil.

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Facebook movie pinning down director, cast

David Fincher is in "advanced talks" to direct the Columbia Pictures movie about the origins of Facebook, according to Variety.

The movie, based on Ben Mezrich's upcoming "The Accidental Billionaires," was written by "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin. It's being produced, Variety reported Tuesday, by Scott Rudin and Michael De Luca along with Dana Brunetti and actor Kevin Spacey. Variety said the movie is called "The Social Network." We hear this is a very preliminary working title. (It, obviously, could also be called "Accidental Billionaires.")

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The 404 204: Where we want to know what love is

Justin was late, again, and the boys recap Friday's 200th episode meet up. You'll never get ahead in life if you're always tardy Mr. Yu! Graciously, The 404's worst student offers a scathing recap of Michael Cera's performance in the worst movie ever. He, surprisingly, portrays a nebbish teenager who doesn't know how to talk to girls, yet scores with them anyway. We also gear up for new Apple laptops, send SMS messages to elephants, and prepare for Larry Flynt's latest.

Psst...check out the photos from our 200th episode celebration last Friday! A bunch of our buddies came out to Gstaad Bar to party with us, so big thanks to YOU if you came. If you didn't, we'll be having more 404 meet ups in the near future, we might even be breaking out of NY, who knows?! Anyway, check out our Flickr set for photos from the night. Mike, you owe me two drinks! -Justin

Dan the Mantern here. Sooo, it's official, Larry Flynt has confirmed the rumors that an adult film chronicling Sarah Palin's life is in the works. In it, pornstar Lisa Ann, as Palin, "will be nailing the Russians who come knocking on her backdoor." One thing's for sure, Justin is superexcited. He's not sure whether to laugh, cry, or lock himself in a dark room with a box of tissues. Like the Wall Street bailout plan, the film has been fast tracked, it will be pushed through before the elections. Swing voters, you might want to wait for this little doozy before making a decision. I'm sure that at least 10 seconds of the film will include some factual information about the veep candidate!

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The 404 198: Where we put the taint in tainted love

Dan the Mantern is responsible for a majority of the stories in the rundown today, so don't hesitate to burn him at the stake if you don't like what you hear. Personally, I think today's show is hilarious: Craigslist crime, driving exams and racial stereotypes, video game pirates, and the evolution of the Chinese "impossible" space drive. Once again, it's East meets West on The 404!

Big thanks to our buddy Jeff Sparkman for today's show title. We are literally the taint on the massive organ that is CNET.com. Anyway, even though Dan helps us by suggesting the stories for the show, I managed to sneak one by him, and apparently Caroline McCarthy also caught wind. It seems like Craigslist just can't stay out of trouble. This time around, a man used the job listings to post an anonymous ad for construction workers and requested that they show up wearing a blue shirt, yellow vest, safety hat and a blue shirt. The man then proceeded to rob an armored car before stripping his clothing to reveal the exact same uniform, effectively allowing him to disappear into the sea of construction workers. He later reappeared to make his getaway by riding an innertube down the local lake. I love the fact that robbers are getting more creative with their schemes--Jason Bourne over here, did this guy just watch "Ocean's 11" or something? For all that Craigslist has given the internet community (apartments, bikes, jobs, casual "encounters"), I think we can let this one slide.

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