Reel Pop

Columbian Devil's Breath

Damn I love Vice sometimes: "Demencia is probably one of the scariest people I have ever met. He smelled like a dead goat, played the flute like a faun, and would look you in the eyes in a way that gave you chills every time you happened to make eye contact. This guy comes from the deepest, darkest part of the Bogota crime world, the sort of folks you don't mess with under any circumstances. However, for a crackhead from hell, he is one verbose motherfucker. We were stuck in that tiny red car with him for over two hours just listening to him go on and on about a drug that can subdue you in minutes. If he wanted he could have drugged all four of us, stolen the car, taken the cameras, and probably raped me for good measure, and we would have deserved it for being so naive. I felt like taking the morning-after pill just for shaking his hand."

Mitt

Governor Mitt Romney has teamed up with Jumpcut for an ad-creation contest for his presidential campaign. Congratulations, America. You now have one more way to not contribute to political discourse.

Thoughts on the Facebook Diaries

On the occasion of the publication of the 3rd episode of the long-awaited Facebook Diaries, I thought I'd share a few of my initial reactions.

On the surface, Facebook Diaries seems like a simple idea -- i.e., Facebookers submit their short videos on a few broad themes (identity, heartbreak, memory, etc.) and producer RJ Cutler mashes them up into a cohesively-themed show. But the actual product is muddled. A few considerations:

• Facebook Diaries feels like a time capsule from the Web circa 2006
  The FBD are almost exclusively about teenagers. Except for the occasional early 20s backup singer for Britney Spears (true), all of the people involved are in college. Except FB isn't about college anymore. Half of my "friends" on FB are 40+ Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. FB has metastastized into the rest of the culture; beside this reality, the FBD look quaint. As if Cutler is saying "look, here's what FB used to be like."
• Facebook Diaries is acting
  On the one hand: These are videos of teenagers being "real." On the other hand: The teenagers are acting for the camera, submitting self-conscious, edited footage that's meant to entertain. That footage is then edited by Cutler to entertain even more. You can see the teenagers seeing their own production as they film themselves. It's almost like their mind's eye is a 3rd-person camera. It's like they're selling themselves back to themselves. So on the trend line from Real World to Facebook Diaries, we've somehow gotten less "real," even though the online video medium is supposed to privilege intimate revelation.
• Facebook Diaries feels like a telethon
  Seriously. 25 minutes each. With only a broad theme connecting the interwoven confessionals. There's no closure. It's like a music video. And reminds me of the Reality Bites tv show made within Reality Bites. Or wait! No no, it reminds me of the scene when Sammy comes out of the closet.
• The online video landscape has changed
  The FBD were announced to much fanfare back in February. RJ Cutler, a well-known producer, was attached to the project, and everywhere Hollywood was dabbling with online video -- Stephen Bocho was filming Cafe Confidential, Prom Queen was debuting on MySpace, etc. The idea of creating professional productions from amateur footage was relatively new. But not anymore. Now, for some reason, the FBD seems like overkill. It's in that uncanny valley between amateur and professional. It's not saying anything new. It's simply saying the same things over and over again.

p.s. FWIW, Ziddio is an incredibly hard site to navigate, and it's nearly impossible to find episode 1 from the series. Here's episode two. And here's the Facebook landing page for the series.

Also: The Facebook Diaries message board is deadddddddd...

How to bypass TorrentSpy restrictions

Following the news that TorrentSpy is blocking access to IP addresses in the US, Jackson at NTV explains the easy methods for bypassing the restrictions.

Afterworld

I missed this last week during my 'bout with alien clams, but The La Times compares Afterworld to lonelygirl15 and Prom Queen, arguing that the elaborate CGI dystopia (available on the web for months now, and now on MySpace) is a high-water mark in high-budget web-only video. It's an interesting show, but never held my attention past the 10th episode or so.

Extra TV profile of The Spot from 1995

"It's called The Spot and it's the first interactive episodic series on the worldwide system of connected computers known as 'the Internet.'"

David Lynch PSA

This New York public service announcement is apparently directed by David Lynch. Hard to believe given you can actually understand WTF is going on. Still. Rats.

Mr. Spriggs BBQ

Local commercial goodness nearly on par with Montgomery's Flea Market (it's like a mini-mall).

Mr. Spriggs barbecue it's always tender / meat falls off the bone / Mr. Spriggs barbecue, Mr. Spriggs barbecue.

Posting slow

The Reel Pop staff has succumbed to the dreaded "ate bad, expensive fish" last night virus and will not be in the office today. Ow ow ow ow ow.

Zygote mood ball

Two weeks ago it was a soccer ball that beeps when you kick it. Now, a lightweight inflated ball, illuminated from within, that responds to pressure applied to its surface.

Zygote Interactive Ball at BIP, Italy from alexbeim and Vimeo.

YouTube to start selling ads

Semi-transparent adverts will appear on the bottom 20% of the frame and appears after the video has played for a few seconds.

Google News adds videos

Google News has followed in the footsteps of Google proper and now shows videos (accessible via a plus box) in the search results. Interesting: Won't making videos viewable on the Google domain decrease traffic to primary news sources -- an issue newspapers have been complaining about (mostly erroneously) for years now?

HealthiNation

Dude in NYC tries to go healthy for 30 days. Hard to do when every breath in this city is equivalent to 1.5 smog burgers (no trans fats!).

Keanu Reeves vs. Bears (1984)

A 1984 CBC piece possibly featuring more Reeves monologue'n than his entire celluloid oeuvre. Woah.

Loren Feldman is hilarious. And racist. And still hilarious.

Truly scintilating background here about a wisecracking, possibly racist vlogger who's gotten the entire blogosphere riled.

After watching the video -- "Where are all the black tech bloggers?" -- and after reading blip.tv's post about why they've chosen to host the vid, you can break down your response to the drama by asking the following two questions:

1. Is the video racist?
2. Should the video thus be removed from whatever service hosts it?

Answers at the ready, you can now choose from a total of three logically defensible positions (the fourth illogical but hilarious option being, simply, to punch Feldman in the dick):

1. The video is racist and should be removed
2. The video is racist and shouldn't be removed
3. The video isn't racist and shouldn't be removed

[1.] If you think his video is racist and should be removed from blip.tv, congratulations: You're sensitive to others' feelings, but you're also censoring others feelings. Boo.

[2.] If you think the movie is racist and shouldn't be removed, you're either not sensitive enough, too much of a cultural relativist, or on the 1st Amendment's nuts. Whatever's clever.

[3.] If you think the movie isn't racist and shouldn't be removed, you're probably Carlos Mencia. Or Dave Chappelle. Or hell, any number of comedians (Lenny Bruce? Dice Clay?) who've performed this same shtick. Seriously. Not to put him on a professional comedian's level, but it's not as if Loren's comments are transgressive.

Ah, but they are, at least in a forum where a super-majority is white. And that's what's most interesting about this mess: It's not whether Feldman's a racist. It's the white blogosphere's self-agonized, self-conscious reaction. You're not scared of being racist, you're scared of being perceived as racist. Because the truth is, Techmeme-a-paloozers, most of you are white. And wealthy. And can't dance. And I know that last part is true, 'cause I saw you try at the Googleplex.

So FWIW, the video is hilarious. And racist. And still hilarious. And if you haven't figured out by now that those two adjectives aren't always contradictory, then you're guilty of too much guilt.

Finally, whether you agree with my reasoning or not, perhaps we can agree that it's a good thing that blip.tv decided to continue hosting Feldman's videos. Kudos.

Sparrow Love Crew

Unrecognized talent that should be getting more due: Sparrow Love Crew, found while I was shopping online at Mauve.

Essence magazine to create Web video

"We risk being irrelevant, frankly," said Essence President Michelle Ebanks, to AdAge.

Dirty Little Smuggler

I don't often post videos from TV shows, but this clip had me laughing harder than a push-up bra on Keira Knightley.

Philly on MySpace

The first episode of FX's upcoming show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is streaming for a week on MySpace. Proof that it's also retarded in Philly here.

Google Health

Does anybody else feel like Google Health is just one more step towards Idiocracy-esque types of diagnosis?

Google's attitude problem

I don't write about Google anymore. Blessedly. But Arj Barker does, with aplomb:

Living with Strangers

Phrogging: To sneak into a house and live among its occupants without their knowledge. Living with Strangers: A docu-logue about Phrogging.

Excuse Moi

For all you French speakers out there, a snail fly-by. That makes no sense. Excuse moi.

PostSecret

A great web site and book, although this saccharine-y video makes too much use of Sia's "Breath Me" (which I'll always associate with the finale of Six Feet Under).

Why Stephen Colbert Is YouTube's Best Friend

Comedy Central anchors Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert may be deposed in court in the ongoing Viacom v. Google lawsuit. Why? Because both of the anchors are employed by Viacom, and both have made favorable comments about YouTube on air.

Last year I wrote a post called Why Stephen Colbert is Google's Best Friend, and the logic of its argument has never been more true:

Enter Stephen Colbert. The faux media maven has made an art of using the Internet--especially online video--to promote his Comedy Central show. After successfully inciting his users to edit Wikipedia entries on his behalf (the traffic uptick may have crashed the server), Colbert exhorted fans to create video mashups of his light-saber antics in front of a green screen. The result: Hundreds of thousands of people watched his show on YouTube. Apparently satisified with the exposure on YouTube, Colbert is now asking participants to upload videos to colbertnation.com.

Thus, Colbert has become a prime example of Mayer's message: The Internet bolsters your audience, it doesn't degrade it. Colbert's show is on TV for 2 hours every week. The Internet is on 24/7.

Colbert's success bridging the offline/online gap is good by itself, but that's not all. Colbert's embrace of online video will eventually translate to more ad dollars for Google and Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom. Google recently began testing video ads using the media company's channels, including shows from Comedy Central.

So now imagine if Viacom started using Colbert's video mashups as advertisements. In a media world where fame is its own reward, show me a fan of Colbert Nation who wouldn't want his creation syndicated across the Internet.

And show me a TV exec who wouldn't smile at that virtuous circle of profits.

Joost has a video quality problem

Jackson West at NewTeeVee points to a quick side-by-side comparison of Joost and DivX's video quality, and Joost disappoints. Perhaps not too big a problem, since consumers seem to still be willing to abide lower-quality for free, over-IP video. At least for now.

Nerve video blog

I've become a big fan of Nerve's video blog. Below, a Smirnoff ad found on the blog. Recommended for you and all your pop-collared friends.

Gapminder Visualization

Hans Rosling, professor of health at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, created Trendalyzer, a software program that uses graphics and animation to display data. Google bought the program in March for an undisclosed sum. Totally cool, but the vids need some tunes to make them compelling for casual viewing. More of Rosling's videos here, here and here. For related infographic goodness, see this post.

Leaking TV shows on the web (for dummies)

On the heel of news/conjecture about networks purposefully leaking their fall lineup online, Janko at NewTeeVee explains exactly how to seed P2P nets with your wouldbe warez.

The Putin Generation

My friend Adam Ellick, a video journalist for the New York Times, writes with news of his latest mini-doc about a massive anti-American youth group created and funded by
President Putin (highly recommended viewing).

And then there's this: "Also, you can view a 4-minute video I filed from Russia on the 60th anniversary of the AK-47 rifle, Russia's contribution to modern warfare. It features a Zimbabwean government official talking about how the gun has contributed to democracy in his nation. Why's that funny? The country is run by a dictator."

Blockbuster buys Movielink

The all-too-limited, overly-DRM'd, PC-only but otherwise perfect movie downloading service, Movielink, was bought by Blockbuster for $20M, according to the Wall Street Journal. More competition for Netflix, which a few months ago began allowing subscribers to stream movies direct from the site.

R. Kelly Trapped in the Closet, again

Beginning Monday, IFC.com will present everyone's favorite fount of lyrical R&Bness (not to mention everyone's favorite fount of golden showers), R. Kelly, and chapters 13-22 of his seminal hip-hopera, Trapped in the Closet.

The new chapters will be presented here. You can check out chapters 1-12 on Google Video. The full DVD will be released August 21.

Dude 'N Nem's Watch My Feet

Dude 'N Dem's Watch My Feet demos the latest from Chicago's juke-centric dance scene. Almost catchy enough to get Chocolate Rain out o' yo' head.

All This and World War II

Found on Coudal, the trailer for All This and World War II, a 1976 musical documentary featuring newsreel footage and film clips juxtaposed with covers of Beatles songs.

Doggy Poo

It's not often that I turn turn to poo-themed, hokey scat porn to entertain, but when I do, it's such charmingly animated fare. Hence: This trailer for Doggy Poo, a Korean DVD about the no-crap-is-too-small purpose of all life, completely rentable from Netflix.

100 places to watch TV online

The new blog TV Geekery lists 100 places to watch TV online. Personally, the only thing I watch offline anymore is Comedy Central and Rock of Love.

Tom Waits on Fernwood 2Nite

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."

Marilyn Manson on the Phil Donahue Show

Circa 1994, methinks. So much to unpack here. Manson: "I think that moshing is a sign of what Christians would call the apocalypse."

Grayson

Oh nancypants. Of all the superhero sidekicks to grace the pulpy pages of my childhood comic mags -- the Green Hornet's Kato, the Tick's Arthur, Aquaman's Aqualad -- surely Robin deserves the title of most ostentatious pantywaist. No matter what kind of dark knighted drama DC tried to infuse into the comic, the boy just never outgrew his acrobatic boy wonder legacy.

Nevertheless, the trailer for this as-yet-unmade fanfic movie called "Grayson," named after the first Robin (there have been all too many; lookin at you, Nighthawk) looks pretty damn sweet.

ABC and Merry Miller are idyuts, true true true

Have you seen Merry Miller's shockingly atrocious debut as a talking head on ABC's What's the Buzz? In what's possibly the most awkward interview since, I dunno, Cheney admitted he shot a dude in the face, Miller asks actress Holly Hunter a series of inane non sequitur questions before a) squinting at the teleprompter, b) giving viewers the wrong air date for Hunter's new show, and then c) directing the audience to nbc.com -- awkward, Miller's show being on ABC and all. Various online videos of the interview have received over a million views.

But that's not the real tragedy. In a follow-up interview on What's the Buzz, in which she attempts to explain what went wrong, Miller says that while the videos of her performance embarrass her, all they really prove is -- and this is a direct quote -- "now I just proved that wow, people really do want to see what's on the internet more than anyone knew, including myself. It's a living case study."

She followed that blazingly moronic and out-of-touch statement with: "It's really proven the power of YouTube, that anybody can go to sleep and wake up famous."

Wow. Really? You think YouTube wasn't recognized as a cultural arbiter before you came along?

And 'lest you think that the misunderstanding of the situation is Miller's alone, during the Miller interview ABC ran taglines at the bottom of the screen that read "viral video star" and "internet sensation." The host interviewing her, Rob Simmelkjaer, seems equally clueless when he acknowledges her Internet celebrity as a positive thing.

And that's the tragedy. Miller's celebrity isn't positive, no matter how much she or ABC tries to spin it. Her appearance was a series of simple mistakes, good for a laugh. But by conflating notoriety for celebrity, ABC reveals they're just as out-of-touch as Miller. As Miller herself would say, "true, true, true."

p.s. ABC: Please fix your web site so that it doesn't auto-refresh every seven minutes. 'Cause when I try to watch the 10-minute Miller interview follow-up, guess what? Exactly. And then the 30-second pre-roll loads again. And guess what? Exactly. That's annoying. And bad design. Did I mention annoying?

YouTube slammed by Japanese musicians & UK teachers

Tough day for YouTube, which was criticized by a group of Japanese music, film and television representatives for poor copyright controls, and then blamed by UK teachers for aiding students in after school hours bullying. Sigh. Sad day when the only recommendation teachers can come up with is censorship.

Manchester United signs 9-year-old YouTube star

LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United have signed a gifted nine-year-old after his grandfather sent the Premier League champions a DVD showcasing the boy's talents which has become a YouTube sensation.

Chocolate Rain, the Darth Vader remix

A Vader-ful rescrobbling of Tay Zonday's Chocolate Reign. Deelightful. Kinda reminds me of yourethemannowdog.com.

Flavorpill's Out of Town

Sandra and Najwa, lucky winners of Flavorpill and Redken's                         first Out of Town contest, are two dandified urbanites exploring small town culture. Check out their first four vids, in which they go skeet shooting, fishing, flying and, uh, ice cream-ing in Kutztown, PA. The site takes a minute to load, but once it does you can subscribe to the podcast.