Tag Archives: Youtube

Safety is fun!

Move over, Southwest Airlines.  There’s a new contender for ‘funniest in the air.’

Delta Airlines

Their new safety video is filled with sight gags large and small.  I’ve seen it on two flights, and am still discovering all the little surprises they have left for the attentive viewer.

juggling chainsawscartwheelsMy favorites?  Bogus safety stickers featured on distant cabin walls.  Sure, we are used to observing “No smoking” and “No electronics”…but “No juggling chainsaws” and “No cartwheels”?

(The video version on my flight also featured “No comb overs”, which I sadly could not find online.)

A robot turns himself off when the cabin door shuts.  The main spokesperson changes clothing and accessories for no apparent reason. And remember the “cat lady” who did the previous safety video for Delta? She makes a cameo, too.

It’s worth a watch or two or seven.  I’ve never enjoyed a safety video more. Or, in fact…

Watched one.

Carrey’d away

File this one under:

Brilliant self-promotion most people don’t get

Even seasoned media outlets like the Chicago SunTimes were shaking their heads at Carrey’s online profession of love for actress and comedienne Emma Stone.

You’d think they would understand good ol’ fashioned PR.

Who’s the hottest actress on the planet right now?  Emma Stone.  So if you’re Jim Carrey and you’re trying to draw attention to your TruLife website, who are you gonna target?

Emma Stone

Is the video weird?  Sure.  Is it funny creepy?  Uh, yeah.  Is everyone talking about it?

Absolutely.

And that’s exactly what Jim Carrey wanted.  So, for the SunTimes to say Carrey’s video love note “falls flat”…

…means the jokes on them.

Sad, sad conversation

You’ve probably watched Inside the Actors Studio with host James Lipton.

He interviews your favorite actors who talk about their past, their craft, and all their successes.  They’re polished up all bright and shiny under the lights at Pace University in New York.

But how about actors via webcam looking scruffy and unkempt, talking about how hard the acting biz really is…and how they fear their careers are in the toilet?

Now, that’s a show.

It’s called sadsadconversation, and it’s played out on Youtube by actor Josh Malina (Sports Night, The West Wing), Michael Ian Black (Ed, Michael & Michael), Steven Weber (Wings, Studio 60), Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope) and most recently, a Go-Go or two.

They wear their sweats and pj’s, little or no makeup — Steven had on a Breathe-Right strip in one notable entry — and share their appropriately named ‘sad sad’ thoughts on the entertainment industry.

Now, I’ve heard wanna-be actors complain about the injustice of show biz on TV and movie sets before, but it’s a whole new level of sad to listen to actors have seemingly “made it” share those same insecurities.

‘Cause some of that sad…is actually pretty hilarious.

Duck and cover

Can you quack like a duck?

Then Gilbert Gottfried’s loss may be your gain.

After the comedian’s insensitive tweets about the Japan earthquake and tsunami, Gottfried was dismissed by insurance giant Aflac as the voice of their iconic duck.

The company has said a nationwide search will be held in the near future for a new ‘quacker,’ but no dates have yet been announced.

That hasn’t stopped folks from getting their ducks in a row — sorry, couldn’t resist — and uploading their audition videos on Youtube.  America Online is further encouraging the practice by promising to have a professional voiceover agent review any videos tagged “aol jobs aflac video” and posting their favorites.

Quack me up.

Personally, I think Aflac is going to have to find a pretty perfect match to Gottfried’s distinctive squawk, or the switcheroo will just be a distraction. Everyone is aware of the circumstances and the timing, and folks are going to be listening and comparing and critiquing and no doubt finding fault…

Even if there’s none on the bill.

Shake it up, baby now

“Bueller.  Bueller.  Bueller.” — Ben Stein, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

As if I really needed to credit that quote….

Everyone seemingly knows Ferris Bueller and his idyllic day off with his friends in the city of Chicago.

But imagine you were really young — or had been living under a rock for the past 20 years — and saw this trailer for “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

What would you think the movie was about?

Isn’t that brilliant??

This new take on “Ferris Bueller” comes courtesy of Joseph Brett on Youtube.  Brett used some of the more artsy photographic shots from the movie and substituted a more angst-ridden soundtrack for his movie trailer.   The two combine to change the entire mood of Ferris’ day-away and give it an indie film air of menace.

In this context, you’re led to wonder:  did Ferris end it all?  Did Cameron really drown?  Was Ferris too late to save him ??

Brett even managed to dig up that wonky shot of Sloane, so even she appears depressed.

Not to repeat myself, but…it’s kinda brilliant.

Brett has inspired me as well.  I want to go back and pull trailers of my favorite comedies and edit them into edgy dramas — my favorite dramas into slapstick!

Whether you meant it as a challenge or not, Brett — I’m in!

Bread is buttered

I was singing when I made breakfast this morning.

It’s not that I was in an exceptionally chipper mood.  Instead, two recent events brought a song forward from the inner recesses of my brain.

  1. The cupboards were bare, and toast was my only option.
  2. My friend Joan mentioned on Facebook that she saw a very funny comedian at a recent stand-up show in Lexington, KY.

If you’ve ever seen Heywood Banks, then you already know the song that I was serenading Rory with after our morning walk –

Yeah, Toast!

If you haven’t heard or seen Heywood Banks, well, ya need to.  And a lazy Sunday morning is the perfect time to tool around his website and check out  “Yeah, Toast!” and some of his other classic comedy songs, including “Eighteen Wheels on a Big Rig” and “The Cat Got Dead.”

I even discovered a brand new gem when I was clicking around this morning called “Taser Her Again” based on a true story.  It’s no wonder the man has won songwriting awards.

And with his Uncle Sam coif, he deserves a few style awards, too.

When the first cave man drove in from the dregs
Didn’t know what would go with the bacon and the eggs
Must’ve been a genius got it in his head
Plug the toaster in the wall buy a bag of bread make toast….

Yeah, toast!

Summer school

The Fourth of July was the official start of summer, and for some peeps, that means summer school.

Regis and Kelly are both going this week — for ratings, not grades — and are studying some really cool subjects: pizza-making, gymnastics, acting, bicycling, even how to be a ball boy at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.  (Heck, if they had offered stuff like that in summer school when I was a kid, I would have wanted to go.)

Which begs the question:  what kind of fun courses could I take this summer…if I wanted to go?

The Art of Walking” — Once I tell you this is offered at a college in Kentucky, you’ll be less surprised.

Maple Syrup: The Real Thing” — This Alfred University class teaches students how to make maple syrup.  (No prior experience is required)

“The Phallus” — Occidental College in Los Angeles offers this one.  Hope I get an A.

“Learning from YouTube” — Once I tell you this is offered at a college in California, you’ll be less surprised.

But seriously, here are a few that I would take:

“The Science of Harry Potter” — At Frostburg University in Maryland, you can see the science behind the movie magic.  (Insert spell here)

“Star Trek and Philosophy” – In this Georgetown University class, you watch Star Trek, read philosophy and talk about it. I’m guessing William Shatner will sit this one out.

Twilight: The Texts and the Fandom” — Brand new at Cambridge University, this course examines the saga’s impact on popular culture, even allowing people outside the class to participate online.

Hmmm.  Wonder which one I’ll take first…?

I object

Why do I have to be wrong for you to be right?

I’ll tell you why.  At our core, we are all judgers.  That’s judgers, judgers, judgers.

From the first moment we see someone — whether in person, in a photo, or in a Youtube video — we dissect their looks, voice, dress and actions, and in a matter of seconds, decide whether they are worthy of our time.

It’s a wonder we have any friends at all.

Now, obviously, there are some people who pass our test. The men featured in the 2009 Sexiest Man Alive issue of People magazine were judged exceptionally attractive by a national panel of editors.  There has also been an obsessive frenzy surrounding the stars of the “Twilight” movie franchise. Those actors have been judged worthy of their fans’ time, attention and somewhat scary mania.

But probably most fascinating to me is how quick people are to judge other people who like something that they don’t.

The “Twilight” movies are a great example. The fans of this franchise have been practically demonized by those who haven’t read the books or seen the movies.  The Comments page of this week’s New York magazine was brutal.  One reader said of the Twilight moms: “Their poor children, and their poor husbands! I wish they’d get some perspective and see how sad they really look.”

Wow.  There’s some judging going on there.

Why can’t people just be different?  Or think differently?  Or, god forbid, like different things?

Why do they have to be inherently wrong?

We say ‘live and let live,’ but as a society, we don’t practice what we preach.  What we really mean to say is,  ‘let me live the way I want, and you live my way, too…’cause if you live or think differently or enjoy different things, that’s wrong.’

Now, “Twilight” isn’t the most important issue in the world — believe me, I know.  But it’s also not the most deadly, god-awful, dangerous book ever written.  Teenage girls and their families are exposed to more controversial things on episodes of “Gossip Girl” — can you say three-way? — so I find it interesting that people are trash-talking a very old-fashioned romance with vampires.

If you don’t like the series, that’s fine.  That’s your choice. But other people liking it isn’t wrong…it’s simply their choice.

So, stop your judging.  That’s right.  I’m looking at you.  Judger.

That’s judger, judger, judger.

Head shot

I have lost faith in Youtube.

Apparently a production assistant or intern didn’t deliver. Even a disobedient audience member with an iPhone couldn’t bring the goods.

No one was able to capture footage of the head bonk that halted taping of Friday’s “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”  NBC aired a rerun instead and issued this statement from Conan on its website:

“Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice.”

Pretty funny stuff from a guy with a head injury.  My guess?  A writer penned this response while they were putting  Conan on the gurney.  He may have been conscious, but if he could have pulled off a quip like that, the show would have gone on.

I honestly hope he’s okay; I just want to see what went down.

Did he lose any blood?  Did he lose any hair?  Did he cry?  Did Andy cry?  I can’t believe no one got the shot.

I wanna seeeeeeeeee.