We can’t help but talk about this. Love him, hate him or don’t give a damn, Michael Jackson was one seriously talented dude, writing and producing some of the best music of our generation as well as redefining pop culture and creating a new musical genre.  He achieved a level of fame rarely equaled before or since – people passed out when he came on stage.  That’s some serious adoration.

Still, it’s shocking to see the ripple effect of MJ’s death on social media, the web and our “21st-centurified” life as a whole.   To put the true impact in more tangible terms: Google and Twitter both crashed under the burden of hundreds of millions of web surfing fans of the late pop star.

In the US alone, Google saw 36 of the top 100 searches related to Jackson’s death.  The spike in searches related to Michael Jackson was so big that Google News initially mistook it for an automated attack. As a result, for about 25 minutes, people searching Google News saw a “We’re sorry” page.  Additionally, Google saw one of the largest mobile search spikes ever, with 5 of the top 20 searches about the Moonwalker.

You only THOUGHT that the Savannah Music Festival (SMF) was once a year.  But, thanks to Georgia Public Broadcasting and the luxuries afforded us through technology, you can access past SMF concerts from your home, office or even your car.  So if you missed a performance you wanted to see, or if you want to relive a great moment in music, now’s your chance to catch some of the best performances of the world renown Savannah Music Festival.

Hosted by SMF Executive and Artistic Director Rob Gibson, the Savannah Music Festival LIVE radioshow is a weekly public radio show aired on the Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio Network.  It features performances from the last five years of Georgia’s largest musical arts event, including many concerts from the 2009 season.  The show also features special productions about past and present Georgia music luminaries such as Wycliffe Gordon and Johnny Mercer.

When can you hear it?   Tune into the GPB Radio Network on Mondays at 9 pm (or if you happen to be in Athens, listen to WUGA – 91.7 fm on Thursday nights at 8pm). But if once a week just won’t satisfy your SMF cravings, you can stream the concerts anytime through their website.  (Start streaming now.)  Available today are performances by the Prazak Quartet, Punch Brothers with Chris Thile, Mariza Live from the Lucas, and many more.  So listen while your work, drive or clean house.

If you like helping local environmental causes, here’s your chance. All it takes is one click. (Ok, well two.)

Two neighboring waterways worth knowing more about are the Ogeechee and Canoochee rivers.  One, the Ogeechee, meanders south from Crawfordsville until it meets with the other just north of Interstate 95 at Kings Ferry.  Together, the two rivers cover hundred of miles of rural recreational oppportunities from birding to fishing to paddling.

They are rivers rich with historical knowledge as well as ecological importance.  Their banks were home to countless tribes of Native Americans (hence the Indian names for the rivers) and now host landmarks that include ancient burial grounds and military forts from the Spanish-American, Revolutionary and Civil war eras.  More recent events in history, however, left behind more compromised legacy.

Over the past 70 years, the rivers have been steadily hammered with pollutants from sewage and stormwater runoff from aging or poorly regulated water treatment plants, storm-water systems, agricultural operations and septic tanks.  The Canoochee River has witnessed an excessive nutrient load from an upstream poultry processing plant, resulting in algae blooms that suffocate plant and aquatic life.

We’ve been telling you how great a place Savannah is to live, work and play until we’ve turned blue in the face.  Now it’s time to hear what others have to say about our great coastal city.

We’ve recently added five new business testimonials, highlighting the great work and entrepreneurial spirit of some of Savannah’s hottest local businesses.

• Lott + Barber - This team of creative architecture professionals has grown to be one of the most respected and recognizable names in the coastal architecture community.  (Not to mention their integral role in supporting both our 2008 and 2009 Innovation Awards!) Read more…

• The Fiduciary Group - More than a company, they are a story of the transformation of a second-generation Savannah based business through innovation, technology and design.  (Now if that doesn’t intrigue you, I don’t know what will.)  Read more…

• Clark Creative - Cari Clark and TCCa go waaaaay back.  Yep, she’s part of the reason that we all have cSpot to look forward to on the last Wednesday of the month.  She’s also the matriarchal force behind Clark Creative, a company with a feminine identity that excels in visual communications.  Read more…