digital detritus

If you know me, then you know that of the things I love two of my favorites are crazy musical performance art and radio plays. So what do I read about today in two of my favorite blogs (WFMU’s Beware of the Blog and boingboing) but that The Residents are releasing a serialized set of true crime radio plays featuring their own music. How cool is this?!?!?!

Here’s the blurb from the The Residents’ web site:

THE RESIDENTS’ RIVER OF CRIME is a character driven podcast series of 20 shows, based on the time honored concept of TRUE CRIME. Rooted in 1940’s style radio drama, THE RIVER OF CRIME not only updates the original form with modern production values, but also heavily leans on a distinctive soundtrack as one of its primary dramatic devices. A modern day DRAGNET, the series follows the reminisces of its unseen narrator as he discloses a lifelong obsession with wickedness and vice. But, as opposed to the ironic and terse Joe Friday, a classic crime solver, THE RIVER OF CRIME’S narrator is a crime collector.

So I make my living as a Windows monkey (I take care of computers running Microsoft Windows). Depending on the circles I travel in this can either be neutral or mark me as the target for derision. The reality is that folks love to hate Microsoft.

Today I read this on Fleshbot:

Bill Gates is helping sex workers in India by giving out smart cards that remind them when to get health check-ups and can be used for discounts at the grocery store. Hate on Microsoft all you want, but what has Steve Jobs ever done for prostitutes? (dnaindia.com)

I know that folks have a lot of different opinions about the sex industry and prostitution but this is pretty damn cool no matter how you spin it. Now consider that this is the kind of work that Gates is leaving Microsoft to do full time. Steve Jobs and Mark Shuttleworth should consider this to be an open call to do something really cool.

Here’ the link.