Woo, what a downer that was. What say we lighten things up a bit with a little wacky pop culture hoo-haa before we sign off? Now, we all know that the iPod officially made the leap from "cool product" to "wide-ranging social phenomenon" sometime within the past year or so, but we have to admit that we weren't quite aware of just how deeply entrenched this whole thing has become-- possibly because we don't live in New York City, where the iPod has apparently welded itself permanently to the city's gestalt consciousness to such a degree that it's always hovering at the edge of everybody's mind. You know, like pizza. Or Bullwinkle.

Don't believe us? Well, maybe you'll believe WIRED, which reports that a simple search through NYC classified ads turns up far more (and far more revealing) references to iPods than just simple "for sale" notices. The iPod has become so firmly ensconced in the social order that it's now the bartering tool of choice, often requested instead of cash in exchange for performing certain, ahem, personal services. When cash is requested instead, it's often because the person either wants to buy an iPod or needs rent money because he or she already bought one. There's one guy asking for advice because his girlfriend dissed the swanky purse he bought her and wants an iPod instead. Another guy offered an iPod to any girl who'd pose as his girlfriend while his parents were in town. It's everywhere, we tell you.

And it's not just used as currency; indeed, the reason it's practically legal tender is because it's such an omnipresent accessory in the Big Apple. The iPod makes frequent appearances in the personal ads, both in lists of likes and dislikes (generally in the "likes" column, but not always) and as an identifier for "missed connections" ("Where are you my iPod man?"). It also serves as a continual topic of philosophical discussions among posters who debate the "meaning of the iPod on New York's streets."

WIRED lists a slew of examples of such listings in the New York craigslist classifieds, and notes that searches for iPod references in craiglists for "San Francisco, Los Angeles or London fail to return anywhere near the volume of posts, or anything like the same results." So why such rampant iPodism in NYC? Well, some people argue that the people in that city are simply more evolved than the rest of us who live in two-bit podunk burgs, but our sources report that New York is actually the guinea pig in a years-long Apple experiment involving certain behavior-modifying chemicals deposited in the city's water supply. Finally, a reasonable explanation for Apple's wild-eyed opposition to Macworld Expo's move to Boston!

This scene was taken from the 3/22/2004 episode:

		Tuesday, 4:39 AM: McDonald's finally signs a deal for a downloadable music promotion-- but not with Apple. Meanwhile, Apple chooses not to consider the possibility of a post-Steve era, and the iPod has officially become a social appendage in New York City...

Other scenes from this episode include:

"Robble Robble YOINK!": Oh, so you don't think there's a cosmic force of balance in the universe, huh? When Steve Jobs says that it's "bad karma" to steal music, you just chuckle condescendingly and keep right on illegally downloading Whitney: Greatest Hits, do you?... Scene

Speaking The Unspeakable: Prepare for a quick trip through Disturbingville, folks, because every discussion of karma eventually comes around to the subject of death-- and while it doesn't come up often, we admit that we get awfully nervous when someone makes us think about Steve Jobs's mortality... Scene

Click on one to see it. Or perhaps you'd like to see the whole episode as originally broadcast?

Bored? Take a trip down memory lane and see what happened One Year Ago, Two Years Ago, Three Years Ago, Four Years Ago, Five Years Ago, or even Six Years Ago today! Or leave your entertainment up to the fates, and see a Random Episode...

What disappoints you most about the video iPod 1.0?
	It doesn't get Cinemax
	It requires far too much physical effort to cram a DVD into the Dock connector
	You can't stick your face in the screen like with the TV in Videodrome
	Showing home movies on the iPod makes it too easy for viewers to escape
	I can fit 140 hours of TV in my pocket, but it sure is a hassle lugging this couch everywhere I go
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