Jon Stewarts North Korean Summer Home

In my media savvy mind, this video from The Daily Show last night proves Indiana University's recent study.



Julia R. Fox, assistant professor of telecommunications at Indiana University, recently conducted a study that found The Daily Show to be “as substantive as network news.”

"Our findings should allay at least some of the concerns about the growing reliance on this non-traditional source of political information, as it is just as substantive as the source that Americans have relied upon for decades.

The analysis was run again using the half-hour program, rather than the story, as the unit of analysis, and Fox still found no significant differences in substance. The study does not address differences in the ways viewers of both programs process and remember political information or the differences in tone between them.

"It is clearly a humor show, first and foremost," Fox said of Stewart's program. "But there is some substance on there, and in some cases, like John Edwards announcing his candidacy, the news is made on the show. You have real newsmakers coming on, and yes, sometimes the banter and questions get a little silly, but there is also substantive dialogue going on … It's a legitimate source of news."

With no analysis to back my addiction, I have been relying on Stewart as a primary news source for at least a year. I think I learned more from Stewart coverage of the CNN reports on North Korea's reported nuclear weapons test than I would have from the clips themselves. And as an added bonus, it its pretty darn funny. I almost fell out of my chair. Don't believe me? Just ask the Arrowhead delivery man who watched me laugh so hard I could barely breath.

Predators of the Sprawl

The Nursery is a collective of young animators, filmmakers, writers, and illustrators devoted to creating fresh, edgy entertainment for your enjoyment.



Predators of the (Urban) Sprawl is a crude yet funky look at hipsters in the city. Now in their third episode, Predators takes issues that are commonplace to city dwellers and transform them into animated vignettes.

In this episode,

Life in the Sprawl heats up as summer temperatures soar and brainless hipsters take to the streets for relief. There is danger in them hoods hater: QuarterWatersaurs!

As a former New Yorker, I must say that Predators III perfectly present summers in the City when the heat becomes stifling, oxygen feels slimy, and the brain starts hallucinating.

You can find more Predators of the Urban Sprawl on the Nursery’s YouTube channel and their website. Here’s a Behind the Scenes video created by The Nursery.

I also recommend The Nursery’s other animated web series: Flex n’ Zepher and President of the Future.

Scorsese's Student Film

An NYU student film by Martin Scorsese titled What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In a Place Like This?



You would think being a former student of the NYU film department, I would have seen this brillant little number. (Alex tells me that she had seen it the first week of film school; us Cinema Studies folks missed out)
Instead, I found the early cinematic works of Mr. Scorsese posted to The Little Round-Headed Boy's blog. He called the short film:

a mini-masterpiece. It's a comic autobiography of Algernon, a cheery Brit who comes to the big city as a writer and tries to discover who he is through a series of misadventures. It's full of witty comic touches, visually inventive montages and one shadowy character who reminds you of the Mobsters who would inform his later films.

A big fan of Scorcese, I have to agree with the Little Round Headed Boy. His early work shows growth and potential. The writing, the music, the shadows, the slow pacing, are all unmistakeable Scorcese. I just can't look away.

Maybe this YouTube capture of Marty's early works will pump me up for the several hours that l am about to commit to see The Departed in theatres. Pretty sure it will be worth it!

The Moogie Show

The Muppet Show meets JibJab, the Moogie show offers a virtual escape by combining current political figures with sketch comedy.



I came across The Moogie Show when it was first introduced to Youtube about a month ago. The opening is what you would expect of toddler’s educational program and then introduces the to a crude and “bovine ball breaker”.

With only 5,000 views, the channel isn’t hugely popular, yet I think there is unique and inventive about this personified hand puppet.

In his short-lived career, Moogie has also interviewed Osama Bin Laden and Ahmadinejad. In this episode, the cuddly cow who asks hard-hitting questions sits down with an Elvis-impersonating King Jong Il. Watch as he uncovers hidden secrets about the Supreme Leader of North Korea!

One Night Stand

This video adds an unexpected twist on the common "what did I do last night?" crawling out of bed scenerio.



I swear, nothing makes me more uncomfortable than seeing a man coming to terms with his own mistakes. There is no happy ending or needless reality in this video clip.

It is just a small glimpse into denial. It's the moment you wake up and realize that the life you are living is so unfamiliar to you that you just need to pick up your pants and run away.

If this bloke looks somewhat familiar, you may have realized that he is Brit. actor Nick Frost. A friend and frequent co-star of Simon Pegg, Frost appeared as his on-screen best friend in my favorite film to be released in the past three years, Shaun of the Dead. The zany zombie feature is comedic genius. I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't seen it should go to the nearest video store or move it up to the top of your Netflick’s list.

Alfred Hitchcock's Cameos

Much like the answers in the back of a Where’s Waldo puzzle, this video highlights and exposes Alfred Hitchcock infamous cameo appearances.



Set to the music in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, this video is a friendly reminder of the many historic and memorable films created by auteur, Alfred Hitchcock. Using DVD’s of the feature length films, the video creator strings together the title cards and cameo's of Alfred Hitchcock.

The creator notes on his YouTube post that some of Hitchcock’s cameo appearances are missing: Easy Virtue (1927), Blackmail (1929), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), Spellbound (1945), The Paradine Case (1947) and Under Capricorn (1949).

I have seen almost all of Hitchcock’s films, yet I am always so absorbed by the plot and the numerous details that I never focused entirely on his cameos. My favorite appearance has always been Lifeboat when Hitchcock is featured as a fat guy in a weight loss ad on the back page of the newspaper, the image created from his shadow in The Wrong Man wins my aethestic tastes.

Biff's Question Song

In my opinion, The Back to the Future Trilogy is one of the three most recognizable cultural classic film series, the others being Indiana Jones and Star Wars.



With no snakes or intergalactic wars, the enemy or dramatic dilemma in Back to the Future is accidentally changing the Future, losing time, and Biff.

Playing a school bully with cronies in tow, Tom Wilson’s character tries to steal Lorraine (Marty’s mother) from his father and threatens the main character’s entire existence.

With no masks or face altering make-up in his Role as Biff, Tom Wilson still looks like a slightly older, not so mean, version of his classic character. In this comedy sketch that is currently topping the highest ranked and most watched videos on YouTube, Wilson jokes about his life after the "I love the 80's" classic film.

Free Hugs Campaign

With life so consumed by professionalism, busy schedules, firm hand shakes and an affirming nod, I have noticed increasingly less social interaction between myself and those I encounter in my every day life.

It is easy to ignore one’s lack human contact especially in a big city that surrounds you with similar unaffectionate people.



Free Hugs is a real story of Juan Mann, whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. Instead of offering money or advice, Mann targeted those in need of affection. Such unsolicited affections may be prejudged and misunderstood in a society full of paranoia and mistrust.

Many, including myself, would fall to scheptism upon the idea of welcoming the arms some a stranger on the street. Who is this guy? What does he expect in return? Who else besides some “sicko” would spend their time donating hugs to people they have never seen before and may never see again? I think that for this reason, the callous and mistrust of society, free hugs were banned.

Featuring music by the Sick Puppies (sort of ironic that the band would be called this), Mann proves that a hug can be a sign of affection, welcome, or the willingness to accept people for their similarities and differences. The campaign for Free Hugs has become popular on several user-generated sites to become the most watched videos currently on the web.