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!