Ya Digg?

Digg.com is a fabulous site for catching the hottest news stories from around the web as soon as they are found. Its success is dependent on users finding and submitting stories, and after a story is out there, its visibility is determined by normal folks like us simply telling the world whether we think it's a worthwhile story or not. If you like a story, you "digg" it, if you don't, you just leave it alone. The community that has formed around the site will rarely let you down. The hottest diggers are brilliant at scouring the net and bringing back amazing and potent stories.

There are tons of behind-the-scenes calculations and algorithms that track a story's heat, and present the stories to users in different, unique ways. It's just as informative as cnn.com or Yahoo! news, but it works so much more intuitively, it gives you more news that you're interested in. It's a completely different news experience.

And, to add to the 21st centuryness of the Digg experience, the best part of the community that has formed around the site, is Diggnation. It's simply not enough for the site to be amazing, one of Digg's founders (and TechTV & G4 alum) Kevin Rose, along with Alex Albrecht (also a TechTV and G4 alum) have started one of the most contagious podcasts out there. Diggnation is just these two dudes talking to each other about the week's hottest stories...and drinking beer.

Somehow, though, these guys' engaging demeanors, their willingness to be normal (even though they are becoming minor celebs), and their passion for the obscure, the cool, and the bizarre makes listening and/or watching Diggnation a great weekly adventure. It's a favorite pastime here at AC, and we'd like you to consider checking it out.

I've been a fan for a while now (thanks to AC reader Prisoner of Question),but something happened in the last episode I watched (ep 49, at the 11:41 mark) that has me hooked 4-EVA. Alex is chatting about the new features coming out for XBOX 360 (or CAME out, the ep's from June), and he's trying to convince Kevin about how great the feature is. He has a little trouble getting the words out and he ends his diatribe by saying: "It's a f----n'....donut!"

This probably means NOTHING to almost everyone that saw it. And it didn't mean anything to Kevin, and even Alex didn't even seem to think he was doing anything awesome. But his little pastry shout-out was delivered in homage to AC's favorite comedian, Eddie Izzard.

The "donut" line comes from a monologue of his from Dress to Kill about Kennedy's "Ich bein ein Berliner" speech combined with an earlier comment about American Cinema. For Izzard, it's a throwaway line. But it's funny. And if you are a random curser, it's a very quotable line. Alex swears a lot, and very creatively almost every time (watch almost any episode of Diggnation to find out new ways to swear, mostly using monkeys), and I can easily see him incorporating Izzard's toss offs as his own.

I'm certain that Alex wasn't quoting Izzard at that point, but there is NO WAY he would have said the donut line if he hadn't watched DtK at least two or three times.

Izzard fans aren't a small cult. He sells out his comedy tours. But he ain't no Dane Cook. When a fan spots another fan, it's worth noting, all right? I'd rather not

I'll say it again! What an amazing time we live in! Seriously, read on. And much props to those that hung with us waiting for the temp post to disappear.


So, you probably heard the news. A few months ago, Bill Gates announced he is stepping down from his myriad duties at Microsoft, to go off and save the world with his Bill-ions of dollars. We here at AC think that's great. In fact, Bill, please support the AC foundation, dedicated to bringing cutting-edge cool to those that need it. Please send us a free Zune, and a passcode for unlimited downloads from the Windows Media Marketplace. P.S. Good luck beating the iPod.

So does that mean Microsoft is closing its doors? I mean, c'mon, Bill IS that company, right? It's hard to think of Microsoft without thinking of the meglomaniacal genius that is Mr. Gates. There'll be a new crop of suits coming up to take over for him. But will we be the same with a bunch of non-persons trying to fill Gate's large, sensible shoes?

Well, don't count them down yet... Seriously, please don't forget... They still have Steve Ballmer. Michigan's own, Ballmer first came to light as head of Sales for Microsoft, though he and Bill had been friends since college. This billionaire genius has always been a solid performer, but he's never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever been cool. Not even in a nerdy way (like Gates holds sway). Nah, he's just a square. A square in a round-peg's body...

But he's tried to be cool. Because really, if you want to succeed in a fast-changing tech world, it's best to have a rabid following of adoring fans (right, Mr. Jobs? We love you, Steve!!!) that will help ease the transition of your new policies as they get sent out to the masses. I had a friend once that worshipped Bill Gates, and was so proud of his T-shirt for being one of the first people to download Internet Explorer 3.0. (And let's take a minute to admit - The t-shirt was a better browser than the actual software...) ;-P So Jobs has it, Gates has it to a degree, but Ballmer...does...not.

Though I think he really wants it. He's tried to be a rockstar, and he's tried to stir up enthusiasm when none existed. But unfortunately, his efforts usually end up hurting his image rather than helping it. Watch the linked videos. Tell me if the nickname "Monkeyboy" is undeserved.

It's weird that videos like this exist, and are available in, like, thousands of places on the web. Because these are the pieces of minutiae that end up informing our opinions on the man. Did I mention he scored a perfect 800 on his math SATs? Did I mention he's a Harvard grad? No? Well, have you seen these videos????

But on the other hand, I like having embarrassing footage of billionaires available online. It makes my current hundredaire status seem...okay. There's still no videos of me online! Though to be fair, I don't sweat as much as Ballmer, so it might not be as interesting...

Speaking of interesting, though. Watch what happens in today's world when stuff like this gets out there. Someone thought it was soooo crazy that Monkeyboy went nuts, that they put the man in his own techno video. But before you watch that, let me take the craziness one...step...further... This is why I love the 21st century.

In Japan, their major network developed this little fuzzy mascot, eons and eons away in concept from Michigan J. Frog. His name: Domo-Kun, and his purpose, to naively learn about the ways of the world from his rabbit mentor...and TV. He has appeared in interstitials for the network, and is a beloved cultural icon (again, unlike Mr. Frog...RIP, Michigan...). He's caught a worldwide audience just for being so...cute and scary. Whatever you do, though, please do not Google the worlds "God kills a kitten." Thanks.

Well, here in the 21st century, someone decided to take Domo-Kun clips, and make the Ballmer music video a THOUSAND times better. This, ladies and gentlemen, is ART. It's a thing of grace and amazement. Something I wish I had the talent to pull off. It's also something I watch almost every night. So I hope you can enjoy it, too.

Remember the equation

Domo-Kun + Developers =
Domopers


All assail!

P.S. Please, don't visit echo23.com right now. I'm not trying to be a censor, but the other ART that's on there right now is a little scary. At least wait until Halloween. I've had nightmares... Seriously...

And, much thanks to http://plex.us/videos/random.html for having all of the Microsoft/Apple videos in a convenient one-stop spot! Rock on!

Today is the birthday of a comrade who is no longer with us...

By "us," I'm not talking in the colloquial "everyone" sense, I'm just talking about the people I work with at the office. My friend Giovanni is still living (I hope!), but he moved on to better things, and the Land of Lincoln, and opened the minds of all of us left behind to the fact that maybe we shouldn't just settle for where we are, that there might be other plans to consider.

I wished him the best when he left, and though I haven't been too good at keeping up on emails, I still think about him a lot, and keep thinking of scenarios where he might come back and join the car pool again...

Why does he deserve a birthday shout out, though? Well, this fella was one of the first visitors to this site, and one of the first people to post a comment. So on this special day of his, I have this AC1 to offer.

Albert Hammond, Jr. is (get this...) the son of Albert Hammond, Sr.! The older A.H. was the dude that gave us "It Never Rains (In Southern California)," and went on to produce an impressive Latin music heritage. His career was going so well, seemingly, that he sent his son off to an exclusive school where he met like-minded dude Julian Casablancas. They went on to nab a couple of other guys to form The Strokes. Heard of 'em?

I liked learning this, because I like the Strokes. But I don't love them. When I listen to them, I always think that there's a little something missing. Good songs, but there seems to be some sonic portions that got left behind in the studio. I think Hammond, Jr. might have been sweeping them up and keeping them in baggies, waiting to unleash them in this album. "Scared" moves along very nicely, nodding to the world he would have grown up in with his dad, and homaging its way up to the DIY aesthetic of the Strokes "Is This It" (Never with a question mark!!!).

When this song ends, I'm always amazed that 4 and a half minutes have already gone by. It seems so effortless, but that has to be it's brilliance.

So, if you're Giovanni, or if you're not... You still owe it to yourself to give this track a hear, hear! And to you, Pappa G, Happy Birthday!




AC EXTRA:

For all of you that have trouble figuring out how to pronounce my friend's cool Italiophile name, this nifty restaurant chain in Boston has it all spelled out for you...




Happy Birthday G'vanni!