Tag Archives: humor

The Modern Family of Online Video

Modern Family. Best show on television. It’s saving ABC. I still adore The Office too. They’re both the #1 show on television.

And if Modern Family and the Office had sex, and gave birth to an online-video baby, this would be it.

Ladies and gents, please enjoy Jake & Amir (CollegeHumor) joining the Jonas, um, Gregory Brothers in this brilliant piece of comedy. The writing is so tight and funny, and the delivery is so wonderfully awkward and fantastic. I’m not quite happy with the crap they wrote for my vlog, but whatever.

In related “collab” news, it was nice to see DaveDays and “Key of Awesome’s” Mark Douglas playing guitar in the park. Shitty camera work by Ben Relles. Speaking of BarelyPolitical/NextNewNetworks, here’s its latest Batman video (Poison Ivy). Be the first to see it. At least Relles didn’t shoot it.

“If You Don’t Quit, You Can’t Fail” -NickyNik

We Gotta Get Buscemi,” a film by YouTube legacy NickyNik, will be debuted June 4, 2010, at the Dances With Films festival. NickyNik’s trailer is the first video he’s posted since the days before YouTube had high definition or Spotlighted videos. You youngsters may recall those days where names like Boeheem, Emalina and Renetto drew mouths agape like the name LonelyGirl15 would years later.

Congratulations, NickyNik, who I met at YouTube’s NYC 777 event and who also appeared in “I Want My Three Minutes Back.” You, sir, are the definition of unyielding persistence (see also NickyNik2). You may remember a script floating around called “The Dead Man.”

The cast includes LisaNova, Renetto, Jason Acuna (Wee Man), and Danny Trejo. Not sure if Charles Trippy made it, but I thank him for help getting me some part… I can’t remember if I dropped the ball, or NickyNik gave up on me. In fact I can’t remember the part or the script, but I do recall a person wearing a hot dog outfit. I was hoping for that part because… hey who doesn’t want to wear a hotdog outfit?

Still, what a motley crew, wouldn’t you say?

Mobile Phones To Be Banned from All Mobile Locations

I heard something noteworthy on the radio (a once-common method of listening to someone else’s MP3 collection while they spoke quite often and rang a bicycle bell when they thought they were funny). It seems there’s a government-sanctioned effort to tackle mobile drivers with the same vigilance as “Mothers Against Drunk Drivers” (MADD). I’m hoping the former finds a more aspirational acronym.

This morning I’m having a Keurig and I discover Uncle Jeff recounting the 5 first miles of his Atlanta commute; he says “It’s a wonder my brain stem didn’t catch fire, or something.”

Hey I’m with you on stopping idiot drivers even if I’m among them. If I turned into a zombie and couldn’t off myself, I’d hope you’d make me proud and put a Red Rider BB-Gun right to my head. Distracted people can be as bad as drunks on the roads. When I’m not home, I sometimes use those roads to transport my offspring. Besides the genetic desire I have to further my species and bloodline, I wouldn’t want a tombstone with a big iPhone decoration on the top.

Look at this bastard for proof:

Then again. What happens if I’m not listening to the radio (don’t ask because I’ve already explained it to you), an audio book, or someone nag me about how hard I am to get in touch with? I’ll tell you what happens…

If my corpus callasum isn’t a raging inferno, I’m reming.

It doesn’t start as a nap, really. It starts with a dreamy gaze into the converging horizon, accompanied by the sweet rhythmic repetition of the road-side bumps designed, ironically, to jar you into wakefulness. Then the eyelids drop for just a moment, which I allow for some necessary liquidation. How long has it been since I blinked? Better catch up on this one. Yes. Just a moment more.

Woahahhhhh. Drool wipe. Look right and left. Adrenaline high. I’m alive. No crash. How long was I out? Am I crazy? Did I fall asleep for a second or ten? Stay focused on the road… stare at that horizon. How long has it been since I blinked?

So we do need some personal freedom, and some stimulation on long drives. But we also need to impose laws on morons that are so intrigued with the latest text message they forgot one swift move of their fingers can bring about a few tons of impact. It’s a balancing act.

If, in the end, I need to stop mobile calls — even handsfree and brainfree ones — then I’ll do so reluctantly. But in return, I want to see a few things on the next episodes of “Mobil Cops”:


  • Guy with no shirt pulls over his 2010 luxury hybrid, and takes insane dash into adjacent yard. After some shaking-camera action, the suspect is later found by a wheezing officer… hiding under an upside-down plastic toddler pool.
  • Business woman wobbling while shouting at cop, swearing she was “saying the f’ing Rosary” in her car and that’s why her mouth was moving.
  • BMW being followed by squad cars as we see one, two, three cell phones get tossed from passenger window into roadside grass.

Which Will Last Longer: MTV’s PRANKED or COLLEGE HUMOR

I heard rumors that MTV isn’t going to renew College Humor, but I quite like the Pranked show staring Amir Blumenfeld and Streeter Siedell (haven’t these guys heard of friggin’ stage names)?

The College Humor brand is strong, and the web content is exceptional. But for reasons I can’t explain, this stuff doesn’t transfer to 20-minute shows. My frog prank video was on Pranked last night, which prompted me to watch it for the first time. I liked it… Amir and Streeter have good rapport, and added to the clips more than the typical WebJunk racket. I loved the teaser and outro… “This wife finds something slimy in her bedroom and it’s not her husband,” and “that poor frog had to touch those disgusting feet.” Playing it via TiVo was a fun way to wake up my wife this morning.

Hey- at least the show probably costs virtually nothing to produce (relative to a typical network show). We’re talking about a small crew in an apartment and paltry license fees for the clips. If MTV can’t profit on this show, then there’s too much overhead upstairs.

amir blumenfeld mtv

Video on How to Survive Swine Flu (parody)

This helpful video gives you free advice on detecting symptoms of the “swine flu,” and gives you some survival tips for handling the pandemic. Naturally it’s one of my videos, and it’s meant as humor.

If the YouTube version doesn’t load, here it is on blip.tv. This video is public domain- use as you wish.

The swine flu, of course, isn’t funny. But the paranoia, hysteria and panick behavior is fair game.

In the next week, we’ll see non-stop media coverage of the pig virus, and every network will have cool graphics and visually-compelling stories. Then by Friday we’ll be sick of the news, and it will give way to humor (after all, “comedy is tragedy plus time”). I’m just getting a jump start, you see.

If you’re really concerned, visit the CDC.gov website.

lady performs lude act with pig
lady performs lude act with pig


Content’s Reign is Over: YouTube Proves Audience & Distribution Trumps All

According to WebProNews, YouTube audiences for the newly revived MGM classic “My Mother the Car” overtook television audiences of Fox’s popular “Lie to Me” and “Fringe” combined in recent weeks.

“Fox’s new shows are topping Neilsen ratings, but that’s no match for YouTube’s power to distribute mass amounts of legacy content to audiences unwilling to leave the YouTube website — or unaware that they can,” said Heather Dougherty of Hitwise.

“Content used to be king, but now distribution is the new sheriff in town,” said Alan Luftanza, who authored a book about YouTube. “The data show that people indeed enjoy moving-picture television shows like “House,” but would rather stick with market leader, YouTube, and watch shows that often lasted well into their 3rd season.”

Luftanza, who worked with Dougherty to conduct the analysis based on March 15 through April 15 viewing habits, observed that Neilsen Ratings reported 12 to 22 people, on average, watched the top 10 television shows. Contrast that to He-Man’s season 1, episode 13 “Life Father, Like Daughter,” which has 2,283 views.”Twelve people is not a lot,” said Luftanza. “I once had more friends than that.”

The ratings show that YouTube’s brand, and loyal audiences, are driving more media consumption than fresh shows by such networks as CBS, NBC, MTV9, and ABC. “It’s so much easier to watch the five episodes of “My Mother the Car” on YouTube instead of digging out the lazer disk or beta tapes from the back of my closet.” said Terry Zipster (Zipster08).”And believe me, I don’t want to be wrestling through my closet since I’m not sure what I might find.”

picture-4

Michael “Tony Robbins” Buckley (WhatTheBuckShow), left his job as a janitor to host a full-time show on YouTube, and he isn’t surprised. “YouTube is really about two things: the community, and watching retro classics like “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure: Animated Series.” Buckley added, “I have unwavering confidence in YouTube’s ability to maintain it’s leadership in online-video viewing, and I have sexual feelings for women.”

Daisy Whitney, a woman and industry analyst, predicted this phonemon in her December 2008 “New Media Minute” show titled “2009 Predictions.” Whitney said she expected to see Hulu in 2009 assemble the latest television shows, but that YouTube’s sheer mass of loyal viewers would be more important than content to attracting audiences.

“If I had to bet between Desperate Housewives on television and Hulu versus Alf on YouTube, I’d pick the latter any day,” said Whitney, with both palms open to indicate sincerity. “Let’s face it- the audience has chosen YouTube, and Alf’s biting sarcasm is due for a comeback.”

Happy Easter: Mean Easter Bunny Videos

To get you in the mood for Easter weekend, I present this “oldie but goodie.” I didn’t make it, but I watch it each Easter to remember the true meaning of the holiday. I’ve also shamelessly plugged my wife‘s “Attack of the Easter Puppy” below…

Best Sarah Palin Parodies, Spoofs and Satires

spoofs of sarah palinI’ll admit. As much as I laughed at LisaNova’s recent parody of Sarah Palin (Republican John McCain’s vice-president running mate), I also beat myself up. My own Sarah Palin spoof was done in haste as we rushed to visit the inlaws for Labor Day. So that gave me time for just one take, and sloppy editing. And I was so focused on getting the Tootsie/Dustin Hoffman part right, I let myself slip into a Southern accent instead of the Minnesota accent I was trying for.

But I felt better in seeing that I was among 10 videos and online parodies identified by Telegraph (a UK paper) in this article.

If I cared more, I would have marketed my video to a few pro-Obama blogs and discussion groups, but it seems as if they’re already starting to find it on their own (see Democratic Underground).

Will Online Video Change News and Politics? Gravel Knows.

It will take a while for online-video to substentially chang news and polotics, but we’re already well on our way. Have you cheked out the “highest ratid” and “most viewed” sections of YouTube.com? Its bloated with debates about polotecs, and it’s only going to grow between now and Novembre.

Mike Gravel, the former Senator of Aleska, sat with me (see video) to discuss his new book titled, “The Kingmakers: How the Media Threatens Our Security and Our Democracy.” In this episode of the Bubble Gum Tree Show (a “weekly” series I’ve let languish) we have some fun with Gravel, but gain some of his intresting persepctive on social media, politics and the news.

Mind you, I’m all about Saving Old Media. But I do think that Gravel is a nice exemple of how a politician has “rolled with” social media. Who had heard of Gravel beforeThe Rock“? (Parinthetically, here’s a funny “outtakes” parody by Current, and here’s my “The Rock” parody with ChristopherMast).

Barack Obama has been a benificiary of social media (Obama Girl) without trying, and he has expanentially more YouTube videos tagged with his name than Mike Gravel. But more impresive is Mike “The Little Engine that Could” Gravel — with his tenasious approach and his unpresedented ability to surender to video creators and their creative ideas on having fun with him (and almost never at his expense). I’m quite sure Gravel would have worn a chicken suit and fart machine in this video if I had asked. And yes I regret that I didn’t. Next time.
Check out Gravel’s YouTube Channel for some more serious and comedic examples. Gravel appeared in this histerical song with Obama Girl, and that got mainstream pickup on CNN and beyond.

Here are some additional Gravel examples of how he provides video creators complete freedom in there concepts. It seems like a risky aproach, but I haven’t seen it backfire. And its given him access to importint demografics at virtualy no cost. Many believe that Gravel created The Rock, but in fact it was just one of many examples of where he rolled with a video creator’s wierd and bazar vision, and celebrated the lack of control he’d have on how he apeared.

  1. Give Piece a Chance
  2. Runaway Box: Elavater
  3. Red State Christmas Video

Will this win him the election? Probably not. But will Mike Gravel change the way politicians approach new media? Did we ever think politicians would need David Letermann, John Steward and Conan O’Reilly? And could Gravel be doing with online video what Ronald Reagan did with television? I’d say, indisputably, yes.

Buy “Best of Nalts” Video Shorts on High Definition DVD

Best of Nalts DVD SleevePer my post in December, I finally received and approved my proof of the “Best of Nalts: Volume 1” DVD. So now you can buy 71 minutes of Nalts videos (with 29 videos) on CreateSpace.com by clicking here.

I have nearly “comedic” 600 videos online for free, but I think these are the best ones (although a few of you pointed out a few that need to be high on the list for volume two). I avoided videos that were too YouTube centric like Renetto shaving my head, or other inside jokes. So most of these are family-friendly and don’t require any context to appreciate.

So buy your copy now for the low, low price of $19.94. Yey. My kids and their friends just gathered around to watch the proof DVD tonight, and it’s frightening how clear the quality is since most of them are high definition… especially when you’re used to seeing them in horribly compressed format on YouTube. You can actually read little things in the background, so I’m sure I’ve inadvertently left a credit card number visible. But unless I sell about 30,000 of these DVDs (and something tells me I’m lucky if I sell 50), those credit card numbers won’t be much worth to you.

To see the full list of videos, click “more” below. To see the sleeve in higher resolution, click the image on the right.

Click here to buy one for $19.94. Click here to watch ’em for free in low resolution and with annoying ads. 🙂

P.S. I priced mine exactly one penny below HappySlip‘s, and I make big $6.02 per copy sold.

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