Link roundup

1. The mock Ted Talk for Prometheus was a clever marketing stunt, but the video itself is incredibly tedious and the flying cameras look stupid. I'm also surprised that the Weyland Industries url doesn't include a sign up option.

On the other hand, I just finished and greatly enjoyed Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, which was written by Damon Lindelof. It's $13 at Amazon (athough I picked it up when it was $6 at Comixology). I mean, this is the second page in the story, and the story keeps the throttle down after that.

2. Work hard in school. Or else.

3. Freakonomics tries to explain why every team missed on Jeremy Lin:

The last team to overlook Lin was the Houston Rockets — they cut Lin back in December. At that time, the point guard the Rockets decided to keep was Jonny Flynn. Back in 2009, Flynn – after posting a 4.7 WS40 at Syracuse in 2008-09 (that is a below average mark) — was the 6th player taken in the NBA draft. As of last December, Flynn had played more than 3,300 minutes in the NBA and again posted below average numbers. Despite all this evidence that Flynn is not an above average basketball player, the Rockets kept Flynn over Lin.

What explain this “Flynnsanity”? Not only do NBA decision-makers focus on the wrong issues on the NBA draft, they also are slow to let these decisions go. A player’s draft position impacts minutes played – even after we control for performance – several years into a player’s career. So it’s not surprising that Flynn – who did not play well in college or in the NBA – was chosen by the Rockets over Lin. Flynn was supposed to be a star in college. He was supposed to be a star when he was drafted. And I am sure, people still believe Flynn may someday be a star in the NBA.

*Buy Prometheus posters at eBay.