In November I saw a strange little man named John Hodgman go on the Daily Show to promote his new book: The Areas of My Expertise. The interview was so funny that I eventually bought the book (when Amazon finally had it in stock in March). I read it on our vacation and I thought it was very funny. There's also a blog promoting the book.

Hodgman has started making more appearances on the Daily Show, this time as their Resident Expert. His complete deadpan delivery gets me every time.

If I didn't like the guy enough already, this would have sealed the deal. He got involved with my favorite band, They Might Be Giants. Hodgman has appeared in their podcast, reading selections from his book. He also has a starring role in their new DVD, Venue Songs (available only at their concerts right now). He plays the part of the deranged millionaire who issued the challenge to the band to write a new song for each venue on a tour. You can watch some of the videos at tmbg.com.

Finally, there's a new series of TV ads for Apple Computer that star John Hodgman as the PC. Apple hasn't advertised their computers on television for a while, but I think these ads are fun. I'm glad to see that they're pushing for more of the computer market share. It really is a good time to switch to Mac if you're considering a new computer.