I didn't know they make trailers for books now. "The World of Anathem" is by Seattle videographer Brady Hall, who I'm told makes a decent living from the genre.

It's certainly what Douglas Engelbart had in mind when he worked to develop his NLS or "oNLine System," for the Augmentation Research Center, which pulled together early networks, graphical user interfaces and hypertext way back in the late '60s in an effort to expand the scope of the mind. Since then, we've been told that multitasking lowers our IQ worse than marijuana — never mind the fact Englebart and other early computing researchers were a bunch of acid-dropping potheads.

That study probably revealed more about how dated the IQ test is than how harmful multitasking might be. Have you met people in Mensa? Not really as smart as you'd think. So feel free to go back to memorizing The Odyssey and reciting it in the town square if ancient measures of brainpower and conceptions of intellect are your thing — me, I'm just glad what few brain cells I have left are adapting at all. (Photo by Beatrice Murch)

• Web 2.0 start-up Kiko gets auctioned off for $50K. Kinda like that chick from "Family Matters" whose boyfriend pimped her out to porn. And both heed the disclaimer: Past traffic is no guarantee of future traffic. [Ebay]
• The Web 2.Ooh Hotties Men's Round turns positively political as contestant Jonathan Grubb accuses competitor Auren Hoffman of being a Bush fan. What's worse is he has proof and he's willing to use it. [Jonathan Grubb's Blog]
• Sometimes-journalist/PT Rogue Blogger Nick Carr pulls a Scarface on the blogosphere, and everyone in the gang shoots back. While some liken Carr to a troll, TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington asks, "Robin Hood or asshole?" A bit of both. [Nick Carr's Blog, CrunchNotes, Rex Hammock's Blog, BB Gun]
• Dot-Com Survivor cum Inarticulate Blogger shares some helpful tips about entrepreneurial failure. Remember always use the front of your hand for bitch-slapping. It packs more of a punch. [I Got News For You]
• Say goodbye to our big brother Sploid, whose future, like any 13-year-old at a "Girls Gone Wild" party, dictates it be whored off to the lowest bidder. [Sploid]
• We know no one really gives a shit about Chuck Norris lookalikes in cryptology, but we needed one more item. [Geekz]

Written by Gottfried the Intern

What happened to the nice Mike Arrington? We don't pretend to know, but now that the formerly friendly TechCrunch blogger has transformed into Fighting Mike, here's a round-up of his feuds and feuds-to-come.

Carr Wars: Mike insists that he doesn't avoid tech author Nick Carr because Carr called TechCrunch a whorehouse. Instead, it's Nick's bullying of others that gets Mike on edge.

Gillmor Gangbuster: A frequent guest on friend Steve Gillmor's "Gillmor Gang" podcast, Mike resigned during the last episode, claiming Carr's bully attitude drove him off. A week later, Mike says he's coming back. Steve says he's glad to have Mike back, even if that means the Gillmor Gang will turn into a trash-talking session instead of the comfortably boring tech talk it used to be.

No Valleywag at my party: After a certain gossip blog posted an e-mail from Mike, he banned that gossiper from his upcoming 500-person party. Now Mike's posted some of our mail in return, sending the hint that we'll have to pick up our beer and cake elsewhere.

You can't go Om again: Tech blogger Om Malik has more chops and a bolder attitude toward scoops than Mike. But he hasn't gained as much momentum, thanks to fewer and shorter blog posts. Now that Om has funding and a team of writers, will he stay friends with Mike, or will competition drive the two pundits apart?

Netscape scrape: Netscape's offer to hire away top users from other social news sites raises a red flag, says Mike. He thinks Netscape head Jason Calacanis is spinning a desperate move as an innovation in user economics. Jason counters, saying he'd planned to pay defectors from day one. So far, Mike let him have the last word.

Troll hunt: Like any blogger of stature, Mike's fighting an army of trolls, many of them anonymous, who leave nasty comments on his posts. Overwhelmed with the criticism, Mike's decided to delete comments at will. Nothing wrong with that — it's his blog, isn't it? — but so far the effect is like whacking a beehive with a baseball bat. Now the trolls are sending their deleted comments to anyone who will listen.

Honorable mentions
Ripping into Jigsaw
9rules don't play by my rules
I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed

• Professional troll (and a damn good one) Nick Carr invites the recently critical Journal writer to continue badgering Anderson about his book. The writer badgers on command. [Rough Type]
• VC blogger Fred Wilson, tired of reading about math, instead wants to talk about the virtual world, and how he's happier there than in the real world, and how all his friends in his Second Life book club are so supportive of his lifestyle choice. [A VC]
• Newsome.org takes the right tack and calls this debate like a by-the-rules boxing match. [Newsome.org]
• ZOMBIES! [Mickeleh's Take]

Earlier: A guide to the Gillmor Gang and its latest nerdfight

So the weekly podcast "The Gillmor Gang" is in limbo as members Michael Arrington, Steve Gillmor, and Nick Carr fight their personal demons. I'm wondering the same thing you are about this tiff: Who are these guys, what's their problem, and why should I care?

The short version: Michael is the TechCrunch blog founder with a heart of gold. Nick is the linkbaiting hard-ass. Steve hosts a podcast, which has twice included Michael and Nick. Michael's sick of hearing Nick be mean to other people, so he resigned. It matters because Nick is a leading tech pundit, thanks to his article and book, Does IT Matter? Michael is becoming a leading tech pundit as TechCrunch becomes the go-to site for IT business news.

The long version follows.

Before the latest Gillmor Gang show: Nick Carr wrote an article treating Netscape head Jason Calacanis as a pioneer for offering to pay top users. Michael Arrington writes an article calling Jason's offer a "red flag" for Netscape.

During the show: (A partial recording went live today. I'm still listening.) The first nine minutes are about some stupid gossip blog named Valleywag. Apparently I'm not invited to Michael's party any more, because I posted this e-mail.

Steve Gillmor asks to be bumped above other people on Michael's party guest list. Michael declines.

Nick, Steve, Jason, and Michael discuss Jason's Netscape offer.

During the show, still unreleased: Michael says he's not coming back to the show if Nick's on it again.

After the show: Nick blogs Michael's "resignation" and promises to leave the show so Michael can stay.

Michael blogs his reasons for leaving and denies that he left because Nick once called him a whore.

Nick updates his post, saying: "A madam is a very different occupation than a whore." Yes, a careful reading of the post in question shows that Nick actually called Michael's TechCrunch writers whores.

Still to come: Michael's famous for apologizing after big spats. But who will get his apology? Steve, whose show will be weaker without the one name people still recognize on the bill? Nick, who now left the show for no reason and can't return without looking desperate? Jason, for being rich enough that Michael should stay on his good side? Or me, for not banning me from his party sooner?

Gillmor Gang recording, part 1 [PodShow.com]
Photos by Scott Beale, Wired Magazine, and unknown

The Death of Wikipedia [Nick Carr]