15 February 2010 | 4:47 PM
Valentines Day gift-giving can be a tricky terrain to navigate. Some girls like candy. Some girls like flowers. Some girls like inviting the paparazzi on their intimate dates. And some girls? Well, let’s just say that these teenaged fellows know how to lay on a little of the ol’ death metal charm for the special ladies in their lives.
Awww.
Posted by Andy in Ummm...? | Comments (0)
12 February 2010 | 2:02 PM
As an American, male thirtysomething, I’ve probably seen Star Wars more often than I’ve had sex – a concept which is either depressing or impressive, depending on how often you suppose I get laid. Be that as it may, the film’s lasting impact has less to do with the betterment of cinema and almost everything to do with its place in our collective consciousness: to this day, nothing has even come close to supplanting Star Wars as a pop-culture juggernaut. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the best indicator of societal saturation for a phenomenon could be boiled down to one simple question: could Donnie and Marie Osmond do a parody of it on their variety show? I think the answer speaks for itself:
Kris Kristofferson as Han Solo is brilliant casting, no? Although I’m not entirely sure what Star Wars character Redd Fox is supposed to be an analog for. Incidentally, I’m no Bible scholar, but I’m pretty sure that Paul Lynde dancing with Darth Vader is one of the seven signs of the apocalypse.
Posted by Andy in Comedy = Tragedy + Time | Comments (0)
10 February 2010 | 10:50 PM
I must confess that I gave up watching television news years ago: these days, whenever I’m looking for perspective on world events, I watch Glenn Beck and then just believe the exact opposite of everything he says. That said, allegedly there are still “hard journalism” organizations out there, chasing down stories and presenting them in, well, pretty much the same fashion as every other news outlet in the history of recorded time. Look familiar?
Wow, that shit was tight. Armed with this sort of tutorial, maybe Bill O’Reilly can finally score himself an actual Peabody Award? Dare to dream.
Posted by Andy in Comedy = Tragedy + Time | Comments (0)
9 February 2010 | 4:55 PM
I always knew there was a reason I loved watching Star Trek: The Next Generation – I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Heh heh, I said “put my finger on it”:
Now if only I can get someone to perform Cardassian neck trick on me, I’ll be cooking with gas!
Posted by Andy in Horndoggery | Comments (0)
8 February 2010 | 10:34 PM
Aside from Letterman’s jaw-dropper, the only commercial that really caught my eye during this year’s Super Bowl Registered Trademark Bowl was Google’s “Parisian Love” advert. However, while it was refreshing to see an ad built around subtlety, nuance and romance rather than talking babies or sub-par “lite” beer, I can’t help thinking that perhaps The Goog wasn’t really offering very much truth-in-advertising in their spot. Thankfully for us, the Upright Citizens Brigade was able to quickly churn out this much more realistic version of the ad:
Truth be told, maybe this revised ad should really be part of a campaign promoting Bing? After all, doesn’t this thing practically scream “decision engine“?
(Thanks, Giz)
Posted by Andy in Ummm...? | Comments (0)
8 February 2010 | 11:13 AM
Personally, I find the vast majority of the screen-captured how-to webcasts that the web is awash with to be irritating and irrelevant. They seem to typically be filled with content that is more editorial than educational, and I’m generally able to figure out how to do something myself from either a) reading about it or b) actually, you know, doing it. Perhaps my own issues with the medium are why I find this so funny:
It just goes to show that one man’s infinite loop is another man’s infinite jest.
Posted by Andy in Fail | Comments (0)
5 February 2010 | 12:55 PM
As I was watching this music video for Good Shoes’ latest single, “Under Control”, two thoughts came to mind.
Namely:
Yikes.
Posted by Andy in Words Fail Me | Comments (0)
3 February 2010 | 9:54 AM
Many times, we hear stories of journalist who are willing to put themselves on the line, going to the most hostile environments to bring us the story. While I’ve got a certain amount of admiration for that, that sort of thing doesn’t even come close to the amount of cajones, grit and abject stupidity shown by Ryan Duffy from VICE, an independent online-news collective. Sure, your Murrows, Cronkites and the like might’ve broadcast from war-zones and rooftops during bombing raids, but have any of them ever willingly asked to be shot at point blank range? That’s right, that just happened:
The story is actually really compelling, one of those things of reality that makes you think all those dystopian visions of the future are all-too-real and all-too-present. But it’s hard to even concentrate on the content of the piece. I mean, seriously? Dude just asked to be shot. In Bogota. By a tailor. That shit’s just not right.
Posted by Andy in Words Fail Me | Comments (0)
2 February 2010 | 9:38 AM
I know people like to highlight differences in British and American senses of humor, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this life, it’s that there are no borders when it comes to comedy. At its core, funny – even of the unintentional variety – is funny, especially if it’s got a few good “motherfucker”s dropped into it. By that logic, this video featuring British game-show hostess Carol Vorderman in some unintentionally profane splicy goodness might well need to be placed in the pantheon of comedy.
Sure it’s sophomoric, but trust me: when you see the UK’s version of Vanna White (only hotter, since she has both a British accent and an engineering degree from Cambridge) speaking like a Welsh stevedore, that’s nothing short of comedic gold.
Posted by Andy in Awesome (To Me, Anyway) | Comments (0)
1 February 2010 | 2:44 PM
I’m thankful that nobody recorded my childhood ramblings about where babies come from. After all, it’s not like anyone needs to hear my silly version of the process, which somehow simultaneously involved storks, belly buttons, Spanish fly and high heels. That said, I find this short film to be pretty charming:
Although, if you think about it, in a way these concoctions sometimes seem far more plausible than the real explanation.
Posted by Andy in Ummm...? | Comments (0)