...as featured on Conan O'Brien's show. Crazy Conan. "It's sideburns". Exactly. I love you, man.

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From the very respectable brains at Wieden+Kennedy Portland. And it has Bruce Campbell. But who is Bruce Campbell, might you ask? "Hark!", I retork. You don't know Bruce Campbell? That's quite alright. I had no idea either. But now that I know, it all makes sense. And knowing is half the battle! Bruce Campbell (a-real-ame-rican herooooo!)

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Nice Coca-Cola ad presenting once again the Coke Side of Things, this time with a view on celebrating difference. From agency Santo Buenos Aires and production company Stink.

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I just had to show this to you, folks, as I find it truly amazing: a fully-functional, quill-writing automaton dating from the 18th century -- 1772, to be precise.

Two small keys are used to wind-up the automaton which, once started, can write any pre-programmed sentence upon a velin sheet. It dips its feather in the inkwell, shakes it twice with incredible human-like movement, and actually forms letters better than I could using a quill. His eyes actually follow what is being written, and his head turns as he dips the quill again.

From fogozanos.blogspot.com: "The Writer is able to write any custom text up to 40 letters long. The text is coded on a wheel where characters are selected one by one. According to Wikipedia, some authors explain that this automaton is a forerunner of the computers. This statement is certainly justified since the machine is composed of a "program" and a "memory". The "program" is a wheel which makes it possible to choose the words the android is to write, and the "memory", which is made up by a set of cams, make it possible to form the letters. However, other authors think The Writer works more like a music box than like a computer."

Amazing. (Thanks, Boingboing and Fogozanos!)

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I don't know if any of you have been following the first few steps of The Venice Project? An ambitious endeavor started by Skype creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, which consists in having the best of Internet meet the best of TV: Broadband internet television. Well, it's now called Joost (tm). Sort of a YouTube, but with actual programs and user-generated shows, instead of snippets of curiosities. MTV might be on there with special shows, as much as any regular joe wishing to have his own basement show in there.

Blogging has made "print" publishing accessible to the mass, Joost will make TV publishing accessible to the mass. Let me tell you: this is the next holyland for advertising.

Check out the Joost website! They're looking for people to beta test the thing. Wanna try it before everone else? Apply now!

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