This episode features probably the single meanest segment aimed at an individual YouTuber we've ever done. I mean, Jake Walmsley is definitely crying out for some negative attention, but still...I may have gone too far. Even Maria Sansone doesn't usually have to deal with this much of my wrath.
Gonna be tough...I mean, the Federal Commission of T-Pain signed off on this one. PLUS you get the return of Katie Couric. But these just keep getting better, so I'll have to hold out hope.
So what could be so useful about depression? Depressed people often think intensely about their problems. These thoughts are called ruminations; they are persistent and depressed people have difficulty thinking about anything else. Numerous studies have also shown that this thinking style is often highly analytical. They dwell on a complex problem, breaking it down into smaller components, which are considered one at a time.
Basically, the idea is that sad bastards sit and home and think about their lives over and over again, and that this in turn causes their brain to function in a more intensely focused, analytical manner, which in turn makes them smarter, or at least better at critical thinking and problem solving.
These people who wrote the article are scientists, whereas I host a weekly web show in which I make sarcastic remarks about cat videos and Shane Dawson, so you decide who to trust...but I'm not sure I buy this idea. It implies that the thinking you do when you're depressed is, in some ways, analytical, and even productive. And it's not. Repetition alone doesn't count as critical thinking...and that's all depression is...the repetition in the mind of negative, hateful thoughts without an "off" switch.
It's not like depressed people are really looking at their lives analytically and breaking the shit down in an organized, strategic manner. "Well, let's see, on this side, I hate my father, but I love gelato! And I'm not happy at my job, but puppies! And I'm uncertain as to whether I'll ever find true love, and deep down, I suspect that it's all meaningless and I could die at any moment and no one would ever care...but, hey, that new Final Destination movie's coming out soon!"
I don't think there's anything productive about being depressed, and the idea that it might make you better at math strikes me as counter-intuitive. Sure, you're focused when you're depressed, but only on one thing - feeling depressed.
60 episodes and we're not totally out of ideas yet...I'm stunned.
And for all those asking in the YouTube comments, the Percolator Girl seems fine at the end of the video. I think there's a chance that clip might actually be less funny if she had expired. (I'd probably still want to show it, though, cause it's awesome.)
Mahalo has launched its first white-label Q&A community, for Conundrum Wines. I actually tried their white table wine the other night, and it was pretty good. (Plus, it has a screw top, which makes you feel extra-classy.)
Anyway, ConundrumLand is a great to post any sort of puzzling or baffling decision you've been wrestling with. I've asked a few questions of my own on there and gotten some reasonable answers. Give it a try...we're pretty proud of it: http://www.whatsyourconundrum.com/
Trailer DOES feature Fred Willard and Zach Galifianakis, and is actually kind of funny, but even Cera's "dangerous" alter-ego pretty much seems exactly like George Michael Bluth. Nevertheless, I'm intrigued...
For the pedantic people out there, yes, yes, I know that Shane Dawson will still work with The Station. We shoot these early, okay? I didn't know that at the time! Geez!
Also, I seriously could not believe the blatant insertion of FULL ADS in the middle of Barely Digital videos. I'm not one of those people that's intensely bothered by online advertising. I will gladly wait through a 15-30 second clip in front of some good content, no complaints. But interrupting the middle of your 3 minute video with an extended ad for a movie is just insulting, PLUS it ruins the continuity of your video because I'm guaranteed to shut it off halfway through. Just awful.
A lot of contemporary games seem to share a similar style. Feels like there was more variety back in the NES/SNES days than there is today, where you'd get a "Castlevania" game and a "Super Mario" game and "Pilotwings" and they'd all be very different experiences. This essentially looks like "Devil May Cry" meets "Assassin's Creed" set inside the forthcoming "Dante's Inferno."
I'll still have to check it out. I love me some old-school Castlevania.
What's the deal with putting "From the director of 'Titanic'" on this trailer? I mean, yes, it's the most popular movie of all-time, but "Terminator 2" and "Aliens" are no slouches, either, and seem to have more in common with this intergalactic war film. Just saying...
This is pretty impressive stuff, in that it appears much of the film will center on the computer-generated Na'vi characters, and that they will spend much of their time emoting.
Though motion-capture has clearly come a long way, there have only been a few instances where I've really felt that it was used successfully to create a real, sympathetic, relatable character as opposed to just effects. Gollum is obviously still the gold standard for this, though I guess "Benjamin Button" last year was also impressive. Curious to see what Cameron does with it.
Anyway, clearly a must-see, and a movie we've been waiting to get a look at for a long time.
Seems like all of these guys (and of course it's all guys) are going for the same maneuver. Pull your bottom lip way up over your upper lip. I guess there are no points for originality.
The cast of season nine of the popular reality show Dancing with the Stars was announced on August 17, 2009. The season will premiere on September 21, 2009, on ABC.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/08/dancing-with-the-stars-meet-the-season-9-contenders-none-of-whom-are-named-paula-abdul.html1The 2009 cast includes Aaron Carter, Tom DeLay, Macy Gray, Melissa Joan Hart, Kathy Ireland, Michael Irvin, Chuck Liddell, Mya, Kelly Osbourne and Donny Osmond, among others.
If they're bringing DeLay on to be this season's "villain," it's sort of a master stroke. I'm also curious to see who will be more blisteringly insane - DeLay or Michael Irvin. Seriously, can we get some Vegas odds on this? Compared to the two of them, Macy Gray's behavior will likely be boring and predictable.
Was just not into the last Flaming Lips album...They're a genuinely goofy band, but the sing-songy cutesy vibe of stuff like "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" (I mean, even that name) just got old fast.
But this "See The Leaves" song is old-skool Lips at their best. Trippy, weird, discordantly infectious...I'm digging it. The new album, "Embryonic," comes out October 13.
Really well-executed parody of the "Inglourious Basterds" trailer...The sound effects make it.
...using the awesome power of hilarity. Well played.
HOLY GOD there are some crazy trippy insane fantasy films coming out this year. "The Lovely Bones," "Alice in Wonderland," "Where the Wild Goddamn Things Are" and then this mind-bender from Terry Gilliam, featuring the final screen performance from the late Heath Ledger.
The trailer looks a bit like "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," but with updated special effects and a ton of movie stars. And Tom Waits as the Devil. I'm in.
This compilation of scenes of Cera doing his trademark "mumbly embarrassed guy" schtick certainly makes the case that he's been permanently and horrifically typecast. I've seen all these movies/shows save "Nick and Nora" and even I occasionally would need a minute to figure out where a given clip came from. This guy needs to do an action film or something.
Though I've sort of tired of his whole routine at this point, I AM considerably pleased that he's agreed (according to the most recent rumors I've heard) to come back for the potential "Arrested Development" movie. You need the entire Bluth Family intact for that to work, I suspect...
I think this one came out particularly well. Also, I get to insult the people of Belgium, coming right on the heels of my mocking the people of Argentina a few weeks back. Shall we just start doing this alphabetically? Look out, Cambodia!
