Please Don't Be That Guy » Awesome (To Me, Anyway)

Don’t Go Blaming The Kids Again

Andy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:04:11 +0000

I’m having trouble deciding which version of the video for OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” I like better.

The original, live-action marching band version?

Or the insane Rube Goldberg version?

In the end, both of them are amazing, and both of them seem like they might have been equally difficult to pull off (admittedly for very different reasons). While I might quibble at times with the quality of OK Go’s music, these two videos (along with their “WTF“) just add to the esteem I hold them in for their innovative use of the medium. Plus, anyone who can pull off these types of amazing visuals in a single take deserves some serious credit in my book.

The British Heart Americans

Andy — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:21:28 +0000

I’m not generally sophisticated enough to watch the BBC, so I’m not much of an aficionado of their wildly popular automobile enthusiast programm(e?), “Top Gear”. But after catching co-host James May’s un-prompted public service announcement for the UK’s ministry of tourism, I might have to start tuning in:

Whoa, James! Easy. I mean, I find Bill Bryson as insufferable as the next guy, but I am not sure that I’d elevate him to public-menace status. Just go us easy on us Yanks, mate: we can’t all be as dignified and respectful as you Brits when we’re abroad, but we’re trying.

Making A Great Impression

Andy — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:10:27 +0000

I’m not much of an impressionist. Pretty much the only character I can mimic with any sort of plausible similarity is Dick Van Dyke’s dreadfully bad cockney chimney-sweep from Mary Poppins. But people who can do impressions have my respect, especially if, like this guy, they’re able to get do so merely by uttering a single word.

It’s got me to wondering, though, just what my own one-word impression might be, were someone to be so bold bored as to attempt it. Maybe…..”no-talent-ass-clown”? That’s one word, right?

The Universal

Andy — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:38:30 +0000

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.

Master Opus

Andy — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:02:20 +0000

Yes, your suspicions are correct: had I elected to formally complete my education as a film-maker, I most likely would’ve gone on to direct this exact movie.

I smell an Oscar™! Or, at least a Golden Globe.

Heyo! I’ll be here all week, folks – try the veal!

I Know Awesome When I See It

Andy — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:33:53 +0000

My knowledge of Japanese is mostly (surprise!) limited to slang for sex acts, so I freely admit that I have no idea what the hell is going on in this clip. However, I don’t need to know what’s being said to know that I’m witnessing greatness. Observe:

Easily Quentin’s best acting since Destiny Turns On The Radio. Ahem.

You Sunk My Battlequeen

Andy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:43:59 +0000

Sakes alive, I sure loves me some Barats & Bereta! These two have been my favorite web comedy tag team ever since I happened upon their transcendentally funny “Mother’s Day sketch a few years back. Here, the boys tackle a task I’ve long thought about but could never work up the courage: namely, combining all of the board games on the top shelf of my hall closet into one, colossal Thunderdome of entertainment for the whole family. To wit, I give you “Mousemate”:

Now, sure, it would have been slightly more impressive if the lads could’ve worked in Connect Four, Trivial Pursuit and Boggle somehow, but still, give the fellas some props.

Fresh Prince Look At My Life, I’m A Lot Like You

Andy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:35:21 +0000

Typically, I steer clear of the comedy black whole that is Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which historically has been out-sucked only by Leno (the physical personification of a funny vacuum). However, even I can recognize that Fallon’s can occasionally display some truly mad impersonation skills from time to time. Last week saw just such an occasion, as Fallon somehow managed to get his Neil Young and Will Smith on simultaneously. Observe:

This stuff is so completely bonkers and funny that it almost makes me want to forgive him for Taxi. Easy, tiger: I said almost.

[Via Waxy]

Let Your (Arc) Light Shine

Andy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:37:45 +0000

In this day and age, I think we’ve all become slightly jaded about advertising. Whereas in times gone by (read, the 50’s) commercials gave us consumers an honest, un-embellished view of well-made, utilitarian products, these days it’s all blustering pantaloons, hawking useless, two-bit crap in their slick, sixty-second blather-fests. Case in point, I give you one “Amazin’ Blaze”, clearly a Madison Avenue huckster if there ever was one:

I mean, of all the nerve! This guy thinks he can use his silver tongue and polished, big-city mannerisms to simply charm us into submission. Well I for one am not going to stand for it!

Personal Balance

Andy — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:53:57 +0000

I don’t know a lot about love and marriage, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned…

…it’s that when you quietly torture your partner, make sure you videotape it so they’ve got material to use against you in your inevitable dispute in family court.

After all, it’s the loving thing to do.