A billion served?
Does anyone else find it ironic that McDonald's-Japan gaveaway MP3 players infected with a spyware virus? Come to think of it...does anyone else find it weird that an MP3 player can exist on a cup?

I heart webisodes
I love that more and more webisodes are rising to the top of online muck. They are little nibbles of creativity with video...I especially enjoy the ones that have nothing to do with an advertisement. Here comedian Demetri Martin offers this Wes-Andersonian take on an overachiever. Check out the debut, "A Rare Condition" at clearification.com.

Google...Godzilla?

In what I can only describe as, "ya think?" Google has bought YouTube for 1.65 billion. The company's largest acquisition to date. They describe the deal as "natural":

"The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. (As quoted in AdAge)

Does this give anyone else pause? I am a Google fan - and have been since before the Google bandwagon went locomotive over the Internet landscape. But I'm starting to feel as if I've been hookwinked. It used to be that MicroSoft was the big bad. Has Google graced us with user-centric content to passify us into thinking they were on our side?

It should be worrisome to us all when one company's footprint grows so large that it blocks the sun. Godzilla never brought people flowers and presents when he came to town.

I'm suspect is all I'm saying.

September’s [ LI ] My montly list of best ofs and eceteras

Best site: www.captainsofindustry.com

Bloody hell they have cool gadgets. Where do they find the time?

Drama, Turtle, E: Last month I gave Abby Lou a Turtle – this month I give her a resounding E for taking her show on the road: Sydney, Beijing, Singapore, Frankfurt, London…all in the company of the wicked witch of Palo Alto.

Drama—To Chray for at least thinking about his resume…and for always trying to solve our differences by showing up with sporting equipment.

Best iPod Morning Shuffle: This month it’s going to Wed 19 Sep when I had the privilege of iPod-ing for the dept. Yea, I rocked it.

Jayner’s LOL: Altruistic Deshelling Really anytime Jayner’s parents make it into the blog – you can be sure it will be mentioned as a best of:

At this point, Mom jumps in: "Have dad tell you why we have 78 containers of unshelled peanuts in the cupboard."

[Camera pans back to me.]

"Uh, dad, why do we have 78 thingies of whatever on the shelf?"

Dad: "Oh. Mom and I have a one-armed squirrel that comes to the door."

Fran of the month: Fran’s been behaving herself lately…mostly, cause I’ve been busy. Never fear…she’s off to Italy this month—nothing like some Italians to bring out the crazy in Fran.

Is Pandora one of the good gals?


As those of you who know me, the proliferation of Internet radio has me waving a flag of HA HA in the face of Clear Channel. And as a Sirius subscriber, having so much music at my eardrums is pure bliss. I love the idea that the Internet grants us easy access to a plethora of musical choice. I love the idea that bands are not beholden to big corporations and a lot of money to get their music out there.

(Although – and I pause here with an irony of tangentative thought: the true age of DIY – the kind that was a lot more gritty then a myspace page, born truly great music and an ethos of questioning and challenging the status quo that I worry we will not see in this our culture anytime soon).

Where am I going with this – ah, yes, Pandora.com is the kind of Internet radio that develops its playlist based on what you already like: you tell it Death Cab for Cutie and Radiohead are your favorite bands, it plays Nada Surf and Broken Social Scene. Fantastic! When I first played with Pandora a year or so ago, not only did I love the music, but the technology of it was yummy. A big music brain playing before me.

Reading about the growing number of similar sites popping up in the paper today, I was challenged with the idea: is this good – or bad? Is it good to keep listening to music similar to music you already know? Or does that pigeon-hold you into a pattern of dullness? That is to say – by listening to things – ideas, music, words, do we prevent our brains from expanding into something new and learned? Sometimes I fear our new world has created so many silos that the experience of the big picture -we are incapable of hearing, seeing, feeling.