Tag Archives: award

Public School Choir Wins Webby Award (June 14)

The PS 22 Choir will receive the “Artist of the Year” award at the June 14 Webby Awards. The “YouTube sensation” elementary school chorus joins previous winners Roger Ebert, Amy Poehler, and OK Go! (see press release for such quotes as, “We’re thrilled to honor these outstanding young men and women for reminding us all about the joy and power of music.”

The 14th annual award event will be hosted by B.J. Novak of NBC’s The Office, and feature winners and honorees delivering five-word speeches in the tradition of past Webby victors like Beastie Boys (“Can anyone fix my computer?”) and Jimmy Fallon (“Thank God Conan got promoted”). Speeches and ceremony highlights will be broadcast on the Webby Awards YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/TheWebbyAwards).

5 word acceptance speech. La la la la la, anyone? Check out the choir’s channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/agreggofsociety. Here’s the group’s most-popular hit, which surprisingly is a Lady Gaga song. You just can’t go wrong with Lady Gaga, but if these kids can’t make you smile you’re taking life too seriously.

When you’re done enjoying this, check out when Latifah sneaks into a rehearsal. Ever seen kids scream like this for someone that old?

Best Parody of Oscar Trailers: Meet BritAnick

This is so clever, and well executed. It’s a spoof of every moment of every trailer you’ve seen for Oscar-Award-Winning movie trailers. But it’s self aware. Thanks to George from YouTube for including it in his e-mail footer.

Folks it’s content like this that makes the viewer in me very excited, and the creator hope that my 15 minutes aren’t completely done.

BritAnick (pronounced to rhyme with Titanic) are not new to YouTube (see channel), and are Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, and they met in Atlanta and have a manager. But to be clear, they’re at this moment far, far less popular than me on YouTube. Okay?

The reality is that I like to see people like this zoom past me. It’s not great for my ego, but it’s inevitable and deserving. Let the shakedown continue. Or as one YouTube employee says, “the popularity race is representing a marathon, where the distance between the popularity grows as the race continues.”

Did I mention I’m a sprinter at best?

And, yo, Brian or Nick… ready for a collab so you’ll remember me when you get to the top? What? You haven’t heard of a collab’s ability to propel your popularity on YouTube? Oh you should read this crap.

Tired of Waiting for Permission to Make My Art (Felicia Day)

I always get a bit upset when people don’t recognize the name Felicia Day or The Guild. Almost like the face I get when I say, “are the Phillies going to make it to the Superbowl?”

If there was a little Felicia Day doll I’d buy it for my daughter (then steal it). She’s so cute, neurotic, nerdy, sincere, curious, passionate. And ever time I see her on television (more and more often), it’s like I’m watching my sister or a neighbor. Did you see her in Dr. Horrible? What about Fox’s Lie to Me? Dang- her nervous chemistry with Brendan Hines while a guy might blow up the White House?

If Ashton Kutcher is the Florence Lawrence of online video, then Felicia Day is Katharine Hepburn or Judy Garland.

And if I wasn’t already a fan, check out the “best acceptance speech ever” (Tim Street says) from her Streamies award.

Did you know Kim Evey (who produces the Guild) is the spouse of Greg Benson of Mediocrefilms? Greg directed some early episodes, and they shot some of it in their home. Sometimes when I’m talking to Greg I ask him to scream “I love the Guild” to Kim. And Kim screams back, “I love Norts or whatever his name is.”

So I’m only 3-degrees of separation from Felicia. And I will meet her some day, and have nothing to say. Just stare like a weirdo.