Thursdays mean The Scanner - Twenty-five cent wings and cheap sarcasm until 10 p.m.

Why ask for directions? So this is a pretty sweet new local site for foodies or anyone really ever looking for a place to catch a bite or a big meal. The Portland Food Map breaks things down along types of cuisines as well as what type of dining experience you're in for. (Hat Tip: Portland Psst.)

Of COURSE suing people creates loyalty to a record label Once again the Recording Industry Association of America has sent pre-lawsuit letters to University of Maine Students. This seems to be turning into a game of chicken.

What's wrong with a little caffeine in the beer? Finally someone in the government realizes that maybe mixing the concepts of beer drinking and XTREME energy drinks is a bad thing, especially when it seems tasty to the kids.
(Commenter of the Week points for whoever can ID what the picture/label comes from)

Speaking of getting tipsy Sure we all joke about needing a little "something" to take the edge off at work. But the good people over at Pocket Shots want to take things further. Sure these shots could be snuck into all sort of places, but really, who are they kidding? (Thanks to NXT reader AC)

If it's good enough for Will Ferrell movies In the battle for DVD supremacy between Blu Ray and HD DVD, Paramount (and some may say more importantly) Dreamworks, are siding with HD DVD.
This left "Transformers" director Michael Bay not pleased. And if Michael Bay's not happy, something's likely to blow up.

But does it have a taste? Apparently there is a new slang for certain e-mails out there. It's not quite the real stuff, but it's not quite spam. So that makes it bacn? The e-mail updates and notifications from Amazon, MySpace, Twitter and Google. Seriously, Bacn?
I'm not sure I see the connection? (Thanks to NXT reader Réal)

Cause if you're going to travel through time ... I feel like we've been down this route before, either that or I've been subconsciously mentioning "Back to the Future" a lot. But wouldn't you know it, Emmit Brown would be proud The Delorean will be coming back. For realsies.

The gopher was unavailable for comment If you haven't already seen it, Bill Murray may or may not get a DUI for driving a golf cart down the streets of Stockholm, Sweden. This seems like a good opportunity to break out your favorite Carl Spackler lines from Caddyshack.
"Correct me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key." (Thanks to NXT reader Alex)

He really is Superbad Here's an interview with "Superbad" writer/star Seth Rogen. If you have not seen "Superbad" yet, go do it. Now. Seriously. Why are you waiting?

Outside the pixels and panels More than a few people have sent me the link to Comic Foundary, a new magazine focusing on comics, pop culture and entertainment. Looks like it's worth checking out, in the meantime they've got this quiz which aims to help the uninitiated comics reader find the right book for them.

Would My Super Sweet 16 offer the same thing? Though it did not quite develop the following it wanted in its first year, the NBC show "Friday Night Lights," is betting people will like what the see on DVD. The producers are offering a money-back guarantee if you don't like the show's first season DVD. I may be biased because I love this show, but how many shows out there would have the guts to do something like that?

With great power, comes great paperwork Sure this news is at least a week old, but it's worth mentioning the whole "I received a lengthy bill for my iPhone" story that's been circulating lately. This week AT&T announced it will be sending iPhone users a shorter, summarized bill. To get a good idea of why people are so unhappy, check out this guy's blog and his creative visualization of the iPhone bill.
Score one for the people of Maine on this count - with the quality of cell phone networks up here, there's not likely to be that many users at the moment.

Because our street, neighborhood and earth were not enough Google's launched a new application, Google Sky which lets you see the stars. Now we can even catch aliens coming out of porn shops.

Yeah, your parents are doin' it. Yeah, the story of the day for today's news cycle: Old People still like to get it on. (As Bill Simmons might say - "I will now light myself on fire.") You may want to turn down CNN, FOX and MSNBC today.

Crime? Poverty? Homelessness? No. Sagging. Would you believe that sagging pants is still a big issue? Its enough of a concern that the city wants to create a law to ban it.

Now you really don't have to leave home to buy a new ... home The Internets and sites like Craigslist have made looking for apartments slightly less of a hassle, and a little user friendly. Now some realtors and renters are going one step further, showing properties through the magic of YouTube.

They'll always be watching R. Kelly Hat tip to NXT reader AC who caught this photo of Mr. Kelly leaving court in his child pornography trial. Sometimes a photo can say it all.

Today's the last day to get your comments in for Commenter of the Week. You can also vote, either by emailing me or voting right here in the comments. Votes need to be in by 6 p.m. today. If you need a refresher on who's been running on at the mouth this week (Head, we're looking at you) take a look at the recent comments on the right.)

Remember, if you got a Web site, video or otherwise bizarre phenomenon on the Internet, e-mail me or IM me (JustinNXT) and it’ll end up in the Scanner.

E-mail this entry to a friend