Author: Joey deVilla

I’m just sayin’…

For some weekend reading, I present the bittersweet Gospodin Libar (Mister Bookseller), a short story in comic form by Darko Macan and Tihomir Celanovic. Originally published in Croatian, a comic enthusiast has lovingly translated and re-lettered the comic into English, and I’m glad she did. If you’re a bibliophile, you’ll love this story.

I’ve posted the first two pages here, and you can read the full eight pages over at the comic site here.

Click the images above to read the full comic.

[This article was also posted on Global Nerdy.]

“Was this ad supposed to be funny?” is the question that a lot of techies are asking after having seen the first of the new series of Microsoft ads featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. The ad, which sets up both the tone for future commercials and the Bill/Jerry dynamic, could’ve been lifted straight from any number of Seinfeld episodes. In fact, the “Churro? No thanks” exchange is practically a repeat of the “Snapple? No.” exchanges in the episodes The Virgin and The Visa.

It’s a real shame that the ad turned out this way because there’s prior work with Bill and celebrities that is funny and gives Microsoft a warmer, fuzzier image. Here are two of the most notable ones…

Bill and John Heder in a Napoleon Dynamite Spoof

This video was shown at Microsoft’s 2005 Professional Developers Conference, and unlike the ad with Seinfeld, it makes good use of the source material and the guest star, and better still, it’s actually funny. They could’ve easily repurposed this ad or called Jon Heder to shoot some more:

Bill Gates’ Last Day

This one’s not as funny or as clever as the Napoleon Dynamiteone, but it’s still amusing and cute: it’s a video shown at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year that purports to be a documentary of Bill’s last full day at Microsoft. This one features a boatload of celebrities: Bono, Hillary Clinton, Bob Costas, Al Gore, Barack Obama, George Clooney, Jay-Z, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg and Brian Williams.

We’ll have to wait ands see if the next Gates/Seinfeld ad is any better, or at least generates more than a mild chuckle. They’ve got nowhere to go but up…

[This article was also posted at Global Nerdy.]

At last, the first Microsoft commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates! Its humor follows the Seinfeld formula with one difference: Jerry plays the Kramer-esque role while Bill plays the “Seinfeld” part.

The ad runs for 1 minute and 30 seconds, the first minute of which is devoted to Jerry helping Bill shop for discount shoes. Microsoft or what they promise for the future isn’t mentioned until the 1:02 mark, and the big revelation is that they’re going to make computers moist and chewy like cake. The commercial ends with Bill shaking the junk in his trunk, followed by three cards: “The Future”, “Delicious”, and finally the Windows logo.

My guess is that the purpose of this commercial is to set the tone and flavor of the Gates/Seinfeld relationship for the ones to follow, which presumably will have a little more substance.

Anyone who was impressed by the “he’s just a community organizer, I’m a governor” crack in Sarah Palin’s speech last night would do well to remember this:

(Thanks to Jonathan Martin at Politico.com for the quip.)

I got an automated message from Google AdSense — the service that puts ads on this blog and gives me a small cut of the ad revenues every time someone clicks on an ad — that says that my bank account is no longer valid for electronic funds transfers because the transaction failed last night. When I went to AdSense’s site, I was informed that I couldn’t set it to directly deposit the money into my bank account ever again and that I’d have to provide a new bank account. A single technical hiccup has rendered my bank account invalid to receive payment from AdSense forever. Thanks, guys.

Although this is an annoyance, this is also an opportunity. I’ve been considering opening an account completely separate from my existing one for discretionary savings. After the rent and other living expenses have been covered and after I’ve made my monthly payment to my “Wealthy Barber” account, I’d like to take a portion of the remaining money and squirrel it away in a high-interest savings account for saving up for little niceties. I’d much rather save up for those things rather than buy them immediately on credit.

I’ve been looking at the high-interest savings accounts offered by PC Financial, ING Direct and HSBC. Have any of you had experiences with these accounts? Are there other accounts I should be checking out? Let me know in the comments.