July 2010

  • Fiction Runs On Dead Naked Ladies

    By erika on 7/30/10 1:42pm
    Add Comment

    Have you ever noticed the preponderance of dead naked ladies in fiction?  I'm talking television, movies, books, graphic novels, the whole shebang.  If it's aimed at adults, it probably has a dead naked lady in it.  This goes extra for any work of mystery or suspense.

    Just as a random example, where would CSI and all its clones be without dead naked ladies?  I wonder what CSI: Miami would look like, if its producers decided to challenge the writing staff by banning dead naked ladies from the scripts.

    I began pondering this recently as I was reading Stieg Larsson's runaway global bestseller The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  What started out as a fairly intriguing mystery at one point (not to give anything away) suddenly devolves into a collection of dead naked ladies.  How disappointing.


    Read more >

  • Girls Gone Wild Can Strip You Without Your Consent

    By erika on 7/26/10 1:33pm
    5 Comments

    In 2005 a woman goes to a bar, planning to drink and party.  Turns out the "Girls Gone Wild" video team is there.  Signs are posted.  However, she refuses to sign the consent form.  If there is a more clear way to signal "I do not consent" than refusing to sign a consent form, I can't think of it.

    As she's dancing, the video camera is moving through the crowd.  As she turns away from the camera, a hand reaches out from behind it and pulls off her shirt. 


    She says "No no no no," pulls it back up, and turns away.  Again - that's a pretty clear sign of not giving consent.  Saying "no" and putting your top back on.  

    But somehow she ends up on the Girls Gone Wild tape anyway.  And when she sues?  The jury finds in favor of Girls Gone Wild.


    Read more >

  • I Hate The Five Hour Energy Guy

    By erika on 7/19/10 11:27am
    4 Comments

    Watching television as I do, mostly on Hulu, you end up seeing the same ads over and over again. 

    One run of ads which I can virtually recite by heart is the Five Hour Energy series.  Those other fizzy sugary energy drinks make you fat!  They're for kids!  You, my friend, are mature enough to be drinking Five Hour Energy.

    Unfortunately for Five Hour Energy, they chose the most obnoxious spokesman in the history of the form.  Imagine my glee, then, when I saw an ad with a new Five Hour Energy Guy!  Hooray!


    Read more >

  • 4 Reasons The Old Spice Guy Is Hot

    By erika on 7/13/10 4:01pm
    1 Comment

    1. He made us love commercials all over again.  

    And I say that as someone who doesn't have a television!  I heard so much about the first Old Spice ad that I finally reluctantly, with much eye-rolling, looked it up on YouTube just to see what the fuss was about.  

    Surprise!  The fuss was justified!

    Commercials have become so obnoxious that even the best special effects are wasted on a jaded audience.  But something about the combination of innovative storyboarding, tongue-in-cheek script, and Isaiah Mustafa's smirking self-confidence makes it all worthwhile.


    Read more >

  • Childrens Hospital: TV Premiere

    By msarko on 7/12/10 1:03am
    Add Comment

    Back in 2008, Daily Show alum Rob Corddry teamed up with a gaggle of seasoned comedy vets to create a web series called Childrens' Hospital. With David Wain as co-producer, Corddry created ten, 5-minute episodes of the show that soon caught the eye of his old bosses at Comedy Central. TV being the business that it is, CC eventually passed on Childrens' Hospital, leading Cartoon Network's Adult Swim branch to snatch the show up. Starting in August Adult Swim will be airing a collection of all new episodes produced specifically for the network. Between now and then they'll be airing the entire first season of Childrens' Hospital two episodes at a time on Sundays.



    Read more >

  • Youtube Nation: Your Best Friend Zack

    By msarko on 7/2/10 1:59am
    Add Comment

    Of all the totally not true, quasi-intellectual bits of wankery to which I subscribe in increasing numbers as the years go by and I become less hip, my favorite is the idea that one can cobble together a virtual family entirely from Youtube videos. Clara from the "Depression Cooking" series can be your immortal Internet grandmother, capable of whipping up a pot of pasta and peas for you even if the real-life Clara passes as all grandmothers are destined to do. You don't need to interact with your actual father when you can just catch up with Kevjumba's dad every now and then. And everyone knows your annoying brother, Phil. That guy can just go on and on about a bunch of stupid pop culture stuff and he's really opinionated, but hey, he's your brother. Whattaya gonna do? Heck, there's not even a good reason to try to maintain a real relationship with a woman when you have a standing date with a busty Russian philologist who's just brimming with interesting facts. Well, for those of you out there who have been carefully constructing your surrogate Youtube family, I'd like to introduce you to your kooky best friend, Zack Scott.



    Read more >