"They go to this planet full ofthe brown Muppets..."

Star Wars, Episode IV-VI, as told by someone who has never seen it before.



(via Bonnie via Boing Boing)

Meme of the week: The Room

Not the real trailer but a real movie.

"The Room" trailer from George Gross on Vimeo.

There's is a ton of backstory about this film.

(via Bluvband)

Everything's drawn and super 80's

The only thing that would make this better is an Altered States reference at the end.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

(via ruby sneakers)

A crab riding a jellyfish

(via CNN via iReport via clodia83)

Obama: Master of Wolves

I post this because it made me laugh (in a sad way).

To be fair, I am glad I was it because I read the FactCheck.org stuff and it clarified some issues for me about Palin (especially the stories about book banning, etc). But the video sure makes it look like the "attacks" were coming from Obama's campaign and not mostly from one woman's comments on a blog. This video is a wonderful example of how powerful images are over actual words.

And it sure makes it look like Obama is personally in control of a pack of wild wolves that he has sent into Alaska to do his bidding and hunt down Palin.

2009: A True Story

I really like Blair Witch Project-style films. Yeah, yeah. It's gimmicky and often an easy way out ("What? I can make film and just not care about film quality? Awesome!"), but they also tap into how we have started to view the world. Video cameras are now everywhere, on almost every street corner and on almost every cell phone (yes, not mine... mock me). Almost every moment has the moment of being recorded and distributed instantly. Raw footage, unfiltered, is now part of our collective mind scape and watching film makers look for ways to tell stories with it is fascinating to me. Film has always had a voyeuristic quality and the highlighting that the frame of the camera can only capture a small rectangle of the whole, leaving things out in the boarders, is compelling. (See Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics for an interesting take on this concept and see the telephone scene from Rosemary's Baby for a perfect use of this in a 'traditional' film.)

I also like a good apocalypse story.

2009: A True Story, has potential. I hate the title but whatever.

Episode 1:

Edit: After I posted this I realized it is about 8 months old. After watching more episodes it is all pretty heavy handed, but at about 4 minutes an episode it's not too bad.

(via io9)

Penis

In honor of The Incredible Hulk opening today, a song from the set of Flight Club.

Sound NSFW... as if you couldn't tell from the title.

(via JoBlo)

When Walls Attack

(via Boing Boing)

"Clowns can look rather intimidating if you see a lot of them in one place."

Look, I am not a religious man. I respect religion and I certainly try not to mock religions for no reason.

But I have to say I am loving GodTube.

Christian Clown Training pt. 1

"I'm a Christ Follower" "And I'm a Christian."

Baby Got Book

Idiotarod: My Damn Cheese Balls!

Idiotarod - Jan 27th.

Remember The 4th Annual NYC Idiotarod is this Saturday.

Time is running out. Pre-registration only lasts until Thursday. Go to the site. Do it.

The lives of small fluffy critters count on it.

If, for some god awful reason, you are too lazy to run (shame on you!), the after party shall be an event to remember.

WHEN: Sat., Jan. 27th, doors open at 6pm.
WHERE: 21-03 44th Ave (corner of 21st Street), Long Island City, Queens, NY
HOW MUCH: $10 (free with race registration)
WHAT: $5 Booze, $4 Beers
Kickass bands! Peelander-Z, Golem, Robert Urban & R.U.B., Flaming Fire, The Impulse, Gowanus Corral.
Jaw dropping Burlesque! Blackie Deuce, Moxie Block & Meatfingers, Runaround Sue.
Amazing! Dirty Finger (Black Label), James Stacher (Black Label), Rench.
Live Video Mixers!
Award ceremony!

Seriously, kids. How can you miss this?

Burn Me Elmo

I'm in a grouchy mood today. Just one of those things. I just have certain things that are a bit up in the air. It's fine, I just like knowing. Ah, well. It will work out or it won't. If it doesn't I am not worse off than I was before. In fact, the experience itself was worth it.

But it made me grouchy today. I also have no food in the house and I don't feel lke going shopping... but I will. Maybe pick up a movie.

So, in honor of my grouchy mood, I bring you Tickle Me Elmo Extreme on fire. Burn, Elmo. Burn and laugh.

I take it back. There is definitely a god... just look at the banana!

Bananas, An Atheist's "Nightmare." It is all so clear now. Easy to grip surface, hand to open, color coded system to tell if it is ripe. Clearly God exists. (I won't go into that an easy to eat fruit makes it god for animals to eat and travel with, thus distributing the banana seed farther, thus making evolution come to such a nice "design"... no, I won't.)
Bonus points for Kirk Cameron.

Cool Sink

Really that is all this post is about: a cool bathroom sink.

More Practice, More Fun

I've been having the issue of the Level 2 slump that apparently everyone goes through. My whole class has, I think. (Actually it is now dawning on me, hearing stories of others, that this "slump" often extends deep into Level 5... horror!) Just being stuck in my head. I am fully aware of the cause of this. Improv, especially long-form, has a bunch of "rules." These rules are not hard and fast, but are most often just a series of things that help you avoid the many many pitfalls that folks often fall into. The idea is that you learn them, make them "muscle" memory and then forget about them.

But after Level 2 and the start of Level 3 you have gathered a tons of DON'Ts. You haven't done enough scenes/Harolds to run into the same problem twice, so you are always hitting a new "wall." You are (or at least I am) still thinking about what went wrong LAST time, that you stumble over something else. I know it is all part of the process, and I am extremely passionate about it, but I am also hyper-analytical.

So what gets lost is the "fun."

But today we had a practice class. Six of us. And, with the help of our coach of the week, Ben Schwartz, I finally was able (in a small way) to just let it happen. Certainly not in every scene, but when it happened, it was so so sweet. Like an embrace. Yes, a damn embrace of sweetness. I also allowed myself to get bigger in my characters. I also started to trust my instincts more.

It is also a thrill to "perform" with someone whose work you have admired for awhile. For the last few minutes, Ben joined us in a montage. When you are with someone who just makes such fascinating moves, it is inspiring.

(If you are curious about Mr. Schwartz, check out his site RejectedJokes.com.)

Now I have to go write some sketches and drink my tea.

What goes best with your Saturday morning coffee?

How about some Muppets?