The Timekiller: A Trip Down Music Video Memory Lane

In the midst of some channel surfing the other day, I came across something remarkable – a channel that showed images put to popular music. I believe they called them, “music videos.”

My buddy told me that once upon a time there was an entire channel dedicated to showing these things and that it was called “Music Television.” He tried to convince me that MTV actually stood for Music Television, but I’m no sucker. If he wants to get an April Fool’s joke like that past me, he’s going to have to do a lot better than trying to convince me that the home of My Super Sweet 16 and Life of Ryan used to play these cool “music video” things.

Anyway...the music videos which I actually did see on television were on FUSE, a network which apparently has a series called Video Yearbook. Each episode features about a dozen videos from a single year. It’s mesmerizing.

The episode that I happened to come across was the Video Yearbook from 1995 and I had an epiphany while watching it – music in 1995 was a mess. Here’s my thoughts about the videos they showed with some clips of those same videos so you can play along at home.


The Video Yearbook kicked off with a pair of “alternative” (I think that’s what they were calling them then) vids including Bush’s “Come Down” and Green Day’s “When I Come Around.”





It reminded me that once upon a time Bush was as big a rock band as there was – and that that time lasted for approximately 3 months. Also worth nothing in the Bush video is the extensive use of a fisheye lens which leads to one obvious question – did Hype Williams steal that style from Bush or did Bush steal that style from Hype Williams? And which is more troubling?

As far as Green Day goes, the video is one of those videos that you’re pretty sure either has a really deep meaning that is impossible to decipher, or it was designed to imply it has a deep meaning to cover the fact that they had no budget to make a proper video.

Shifting gears (one of the best things about Video Yearbook is they play videos from a variety of genres), next up was the classic Tupac-Dr. Dre Thunderdome video for "California Love," which is best known in my mind for the behind the scenes clip of Tupac flashing cash and talking about how he fucked Biggie’s wife (it gets shown in every documentary about the Biggie-Tupac “thing”). I guess this was before the “keep it real” era, because there’s nothing really “thug life” about playing make-believe and dressing up like a sci-fi Mel Gibson. Another amusing thing in this video is the appearance of Chris Tucker, who would now only appear in a music video for a Jackie Chan song I assume.



Speaking of gangsta’s, the only other hip hop (or was it still called rap in 95?) video to make the yearbook was Coolio’s "Gangsta’s Paradise." Talk about not aging well. It’s impossible to take Coolio seriously as a “Gangsta” after you’ve seen him on Celebrity Fear Factor. Side note – whatever happened to the sweet harmonies of LV?



Presenting an alternative to the alternative, Video Yearbook next hits me with “Just” by Radiohead, “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins, and “Hey Man, Nice Shot” by Filter. In turn, I find myself wishing they had shown “Creep” by Radiohead, wishing Billy Corgan wasn’t so creepy looking, and wondering why people insist to me that Filter had a hit song even though I don’t think I ever heard it in 1995 or since then.







Wrapping up the Yearbook was a pair of songs featuring what I assume had to be 1995’s biggest freaks. First, Marilyn Manson goths up a cover of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.” I’m no Manson fan, but you watch the video and it’s easy to see why he had his moment in the sun. I mean, he makes me wanna go shoot up a high school and I’m not even in one.



Luckily, we don’t have to go out on the sour note of a school-shooting joke. That’s because our final video is Michael Jackson’s “Scream.” It features Jacko and his sister Janet in space (for no apparent reason) and throwing matching temper tantrums (for no apparent reason). Much like 1995’s music itself, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it’s still pretty fun to watch.

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about the state of web comedy and bachelor party surprises. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: State of the Web Comedy Union

As the Editor-in-Chief/Publisher/Mastermind/Guru of Whip It Out Comedy, I spend a whole lot of time checking out comedy on the web. And once a month, I examine where web comedy's been and where it's headed. This is that time of the month.

Big News: Hulu Is All It’s Cracked Up To Be (Sort Of)

There was no shortage of speculation about whether the studios and networks could get their act together to actually make something “work” on the Internet. Well, it’s been a few weeks since their creation, Hulu, officially went live and it seems surprisingly successful so far. The site’s already got a ton of great content on there that’s easy to find and embed. Perhaps more importantly, the site claims that 5 million people viewed Hulu videos in the month BEFORE it officially opened to the public at large. Pretty impressive (if it’s true). However, before crowning Hulu the king of the web, it’s worth noting this article that points out one minor detail – Hulu doesn’t actually own any of the content it’s broadcasting. Oops.

Little News: The Dramatic Hampster Can Destroy The Internet


The English aren’t always known for being the most accurate journalists in the world, but nonetheless this article in the Guardian caught my eye. It describes the dangers that the current online video boom are causing for the Internet as a whole. As the article explains, “Experts have warned that the amount of data traveling across the internet is growing so fast that the network could become overloaded and grind to a virtual standstill...Last year it was claimed that YouTube consumed as much bandwidth in a year as the entire internet took up in 2000.” Just something to think about the next time you get high and watch two hours of iguana videos on Youtube.

Trend I Love: The Media Starting To “Get It”

After years of fighting and suing to keep their content off the Internet, mainstream media and the entertainment industry finally seem to be starting to understand that online video can really help them if they would just stop trying to prosecute everybody who posts or views their stuff. Jimmy Kimmel saw his show’s ratings spike after they let people run wild with video clips of everybody that he and Sarah Silverman have been fucking. Meanwhile, fans can now find just about anything they want from South Park and Jackass online, Absolut Vodka hired Zach Galifianakis to make a viral video for them and were smart enough to get out of his way and let him do whatever he wanted, and even CNN is now trying to cater to the world of web video.

Trend I Hate: The Comedy Blogosphere’s Gallagher Obsession

Uh...did I miss a memo or something? For some reason, every comedy blogger in the world seemed to have a major Gallagher fetish this month. I confess that I didn’t even bother to read any of the posts so maybe I missed something awesome, but I find that hard to believe. I mean, it’s Gallagher. Come on people.

Welcome To The Neighborhood: C Spot

The neverending onslaught of comedy video websites continued this month with too many new entries to mention. But perhaps the highest profile (read: most financially stable) of them is the C-Spot, launched by Sony-backed Crackle. The site is intended to showcase several new weekly comedy series including Owen Benjamin’s Gaytown.

Video That Deserves More Views: Ronna and Bev

I had heard of Ronna and Beverly for a long time, but for some reason never bothered to check out their live show or videos. Probably because I am a self-hating Jew. Turns out that was a mistake. Because their videos are pretty damn funny and deserve a lot more views than they seem to be getting.

Video That Got More Views Than It Deserves: The Rick Rolling Phenomenon

Sure, I helped contribute to the Rick Rolling phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean I’m proud of it. It’s kind of funny, but do we really need to help Rick Astley make a comeback?

Just Wondering...

There's a good chance that we're going to be adding a couple columnists to the site soon, so now seems like as good a time as any to ask what kind of columns you'd like to see us add. Got suggestions for column themes? Interested in joining our team yourself (assuming you're not illiterate)? Feel free to leave any suggestions you've got as a comment or email me at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com. Thx!

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about bachelor party surprises and the secret to standup comedy success. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: Bachelor Party Surprises

As I previously mentioned, I spent the past weekend in Lake Tahoe for a friend's bachelor party.

I've attended more than a few bachelor parties over the years (almost always in Vegas), though this was the first time I had ever been to one in Tahoe. Coincidentally, it was also the first time I had been to one in which all 11 guys attending shared a huge house in the middle of the woods for the weekend.

It was an interesting experience and one I thought I'd share with you (at least the parts I am able to share without ruining any marriages or friendships) in a list of the Five Most and Least Surprising Moments of the bachelor party weekend.

THE FIVE MOST SURPRISING MOMENTS

The Stripper Smoke Break
Since Tahoe's not exactly known for its strip clubs, we decided to have a couple of "entertainers" come out to our house for a little private show. The show itself was excellent, but the most surprising moment came during an intermission (yes, there was a intermission because I roll with a classy crew) when the talented ladies headed out to the front porch for a smoke break. Naked. In 20 degree weather surrounded by snow. They did a lot of impressive things that night, but that may have been my favorite (that didn't involve "toys").

The Hot Tub Action Was Not Hot
Our house in Tahoe had a hot tub which sounds very sexy until...you realize that the only people to use it all weekend are going to be two of your hairy-chested friends (one bald, one wearing fogged-up glasses) who have a leisurely chat about whatever two half-naked short guys talk about while surrounded by bubbles and steam.

The World's Greatest Dancer Can Be Found In Tahoe
If you want to see the greatest dance moves ever, then you should check out the dance floor in a lounge inside Tahoe's Montbleu casino. That's where you will find a guy we came to call "Brown Shirt Guy." His moves were so amazing that I was dragged away from the blackjack table and into the lounge by friends who insisted I see this guy in action. When I arrived at the lounge to check him out, all I saw was a guy in a brown shirt, doubled over on the edge of the dance floor, looking as if he was about to puke. "What's the big deal?" I asked. But then, right on cue, the Brown Shirt Guy did a somersault on to the dance floor and unleashed an array of moves the likes of which have never been seen before on a mostly empty dance floor - Air Flute, a remix of the Thriller dance, and some kind of jumping jack-type maneuver. I was so doubled over in laughter I almost missed a final crucial element - he had a posse of three other guys who would mimic whatever move their leader initiated, including a Rockettes-style kickline. Rumor has it that this guy also had a rival (who I did not see, but my friends did) who was just as awe-inspiring and had a repertoire of moves that included "air fencing."

The Wedding Wasn't Cancelled
True story - I went to a bachelor party in Vegas a couple years ago with friends from the East Coast. Everybody flew to Vegas, partied all day and night, and then went to a big dinner. A couple guys got up and made speeches toasting the groom-to-be, and then the bachelor himself stood up to make a speech. He thanked everybody for coming to his bachelor party, and then told us that the wedding had been cancelled as of a week ago and that he and his girl had broken up. Apparently, he didn't tell anybody earlier because he knew people were excited for his bachelor party and didn't want to take that away from them. To this day, I can't decide if this is the most selfless or selfish move I've ever seen. Maybe both? It was definitely the longest awkward silence I've ever seen. Anyway, the fact that this weekend's bachelor didn't cancel his wedding counts as a surprise to me based on my past bachelor party history.

Reality Is A Damp Smack In The Face
When you're at a bachelor party weekend, it's as if all the problems in your life have been washed away. Then, you return home at midnight on a Sunday night and discover that they've all washed up on the flooded floor of your apartment which now stinks because the soaked and mildewed carpet has been sitting there for four days while you were busy convincing yourself that a parlay of North Carolina in the first half with Louisville for the game was somehow a good idea. Not exactly the welcome home present I was hoping for.

FIVE LEAST SURPRISING MOMENTS

Bachelor Parties Are Bad For The Bank Account
It turns out even in Tahoe, the casino has an advantage at the 3 Card Poker tables.

Tahoe Women: Good For The Married Guys, Bad For The Single Guy
I'll say this about the women in Tahoe - they make it easy for a guy to stay faithful. The downside is that going to a club in Tahoe as a single guy is the equivalent of taking a tour of the Jimmy Dean sausage factory. But with more fat chicks.

The Breakfast Guy Can't Be Relied On
Any time you get a group of a dozen guys together for a weekend, there's always going to be one guy in the crew who declares himself the ultimate cook and promises to make everybody the best breakfast they've ever had the morning after a night of partying. And inevitably, this King of Breakfast will then sleep later than everybody else and wake up after everybody's already eaten.

The Skiing Guys Will Get Hurt And Humbled
I don't ski (because to the best of my knowledge there aren't craps tables on the slopes), but there were a couple guys in our crew who did. Sure enough, one took a spill and came back with a banged up knee and another got lost and came back on the back of a ski patrol's snowmobile.

I Need Another Friend To Get Married Soon
The least surprising thing about a bachelor party weekend? When you leave, it's the only time you will start encouraging all of your friends who have been dating a woman for at least two weeks to get engaged because you need to have another bachelor party to look forward to. So come on guys, let's get over that fear of commitment. Besides, just because you have a bachelor party doesn't mean you actually have to go through with the wedding.

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently revealed the secret to standup comedy success and explained how to choose a team to root for in March Madness. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: The Secret To Standup Comedy Success

What I’m about to say is liable to ruffle some feathers, so before I begin, I’d like to issue a brief disclaimer: Everything I’m about to say concerns the standup comedy “business,” not the “art” of standup. And even though I’m not a standup myself, I have been around the business of standup for long enough to have some idea what I’m talking about.

With that in mind, here’s my theory...

The secret to standup comedy success is NOT doing standup.

Variety’s Brian Lowry (who I actually once served jury duty with - true story) recently wrote a column about how television development executives are no longer developing material for standup comics. Among other things, Lowry mentions the following:

"(TV executives) eventually learned that building concepts around standups is trickier than it looks, especially because most acts don’t lend themselves to becoming the template for a weekly series. Many comics were given shows despite slim resumes, and lacked the necessary foundation to survive the transplantation process, chewing through all their best material in a matter of weeks. Hell, it even took multiple tries to capture Cosby’s rumination about the vagaries of parenting, which yielded a payday sizable enough to keep a good-sized country up to its eyeballs in Jell-O pudding.

Ultimately, the lure of TV proved too intoxicating, and the talent pool wasn’t equal to the demand."

This set off a firestorm of criticism from the standup comedy stalwarts over at Shecky magazine who took great offense at what they perceived as Lowry’s put-down of the caliber of today’s standup comedians compared to the 1980s standup (and standups-getting-sitcoms) boom, among other things.

I’m not going to address that argument, but Lowry’s article does highlight something else that I think is worth discussing.

There has been a real shift in the standup business over the last couple decades and because of it, standup comics who focus all their energy on standup are likely doomed to never have more than a moderately successful standup career at best.

Once upon a time, the path to standup comedy success was as follows: Develop your act, work the road, get yourself booked into festivals like Aspen or Montreal, book a couple late night TV or cable appearances, work your way up through the clubs to become a headliner, and then have a TV executive give you a sitcom deal based on the persona you created in your act.

But as Lowry points out, that end game no longer exists. And that makes that plan a big mistake.

Sure, the road may hone your skills, but is it really going to get you any closer to being able to pack a club as a headliner? Probably not. The #1 goal of clubs (including rock clubs or other alt-venues) is to sell tickets. That’s why they’ll always take some hacky sitcom sidekick or third-rate reality star who can sell tickets off their notoriety as opposed to a solid comic that nobody knows.

And as far as TV goes, with the splintered audience of an 800-channel universe there is no real launching pad on television for standup specifically – there’s no equivalent of the Johnny Carson show (where an appearance could literally make your career "legit" overnight) and the only real standup comedy ever seen on network TV these days is Last Comic Standing, which, at best, buys a handful of comics one really good year of touring.

Even if you’re lucky enough to work your way into being a headliner the old fashioned way, little good that will do you. As Lowry references in his article, the days of TV execs handing out sitcoms to every headlining comic in town are long since gone.

So what are comics supposed to do? I suggest they invert the process.

Instead of hoping your standup will lead to other opportunities, pursue other avenues to create opportunities for your standup. Spend your time and energy concentrating on ways to get yourself known by as broad an audience as possible (broad as in large, not necessarily mainstream). Whether that means acting, writing, making dumb pop culture jokes on shows like Best Week Ever, podcasting, posting videos (not standup videos) online, or embracing new technology to build an audience so large that people have no choice but to give you opportunities (see Dane Cook).

After all, what will truly get you closer to achieving your dream standup career? Chasing down open mics to get stage time five times a week or shifting half of that time and energy to taking acting classes? Or writing screenplays? Or making videos? Or building a fanbase online?

This is a much better success plan than scrambling to get feature gigs in 2nd-tier road clubs and driving yourself crazy about every festival or Live at Gotham audition you come across. Think about it – a memorable cameo on How I Met Your Mother would get you way closer to achieving your standup dreams than would 10 weekends on the road in random clubs. It pays better too, but that’s just an added bonus.

Nobody’s saying you should give up on standup if that’s what you love and want to do. It’s not an either/or situation. But if you want to “make it” as a standup, you’d better be pursuing other avenues to break in with the same dedication you have to standup. Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels.

At the end of the day, the time comics are spending working on their acts are not necessarily getting them any closer to having the opportunity to really use those acts. Your skills as a standup are very important (obviously), but equally important are the things you need to do in order to get the opportunities to use those skills.

And that’s what so many standups seem to ignore these days.

But you know who hasn’t ignored it? Many of standup’s biggest success stories.

Patton Oswalt’s first love may be standup (I assume), but it was his work on King of Queens that allowed him the opportunity to launch Comedians of Comedy. Dave Chappelle may be most passionate about standup, but it wasn’t until he did a sketch show that he really had the opportunity to explode his standup career. Aziz Ansari may be a great standup who was even hailed by Rolling Stone as an "It" comic, but it's not his standup that kickstarted his career - it's his sketch/internet work with his buddies in Human Giant.

I’m not saying that you should give up on your standup dreams. I’m just saying that the best way to achieve them might be to spend a little less time working on your standup, and a little more working on something else.

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about how to choose a team to root for in March Madness and using the 99 Cents Store as your Valentine's Day headquarters. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: March Madness

March Madness has arrived and I, for one, could not be happier.

It's like Christmas, Hannukah, Virginity Losing Day, Free Chipotle Burrito Day, and a Junior High Snow Day all rolled into one batch of greatness. With gambling.

But despite my excitement that March Madness is upon us, I must admit that this year I face a rare dilemma (I'll pretend it's rare even though it has actually happened 3 out of the last 4 god damn years!): my beloved Maryland Terrapins are not in the big dance. I'll spare you the specifics of my pain (I'm not still paying college loans to that school so that they could go play Minnesota in the NIT dammit!), and instead try to turn my negative into a positive for you.

You see, since I won't be able to root for the Terps this year in the tournament, I need to find a new team to root for. I figured that I'm not the only one in this predicament this year (I'm looking at you, Syracuse fans), so I thought I would put together a simple 10 Step formula to help you determine what team you should root for in the tournament when your own favorite team isn't even in it. Here it is:

How To Find A Team To Root For In March Madness When Your Favorite Team Didn't Make It Because They Suck

Step 1: You've Had Enough Losing This Year, Pick A Winner.
If you're using this formula it's because you've already had enough disappointment from rooting for your own shitbag of a team, so this time around why not pick somebody in the tournament that actually has a chance to win it? That means eliminating every team that is not a top 4 seed in their region.

Step 2: Bye Bye Boring Teams.
Eliminate any team whose games are about as exciting as the guy with the painting show on PBS. If you wanted to cheer for a team that struggles to score 40 points a game, you’d be watching the women's tournament. Seeya Wisconsin, I won't be rooting for you.

Step 3: Hold A Grudge.
Eliminate any school that never would have accepted you as a student and justify it with the belief that good academic schools can't really be good basketball schools anyway. In my case, this means Stanford, Georgetown and Vanderbilt are all history. (Grudge Exception: Duke probably wouldn't have accepted you, but they've proved more than able to overcome the academic handicap so you have to keep them in the mix.)

Step 4: Fuck Duke.
Eliminate Duke because, can you really root for Duke? Not if you're a Maryland fan.

Step 5: The Roy Williams Rule
Eliminate teams coached by guys that you know will find a way to screw up a team no matter how much talent they have - especially if that coach has already won one more title than he deserves. This takes North Carolina and Kansas (apparently Bill Self inherited more than just Roy Williams players when Roy left Kansas) off the list.

Step 6: No Mini-Me's.
Eliminate any teams whose coaches are lesser clones of a better coach who is also in the tournament. This means Memphis and John Calipari are history since Rick Pitino is still around, and Jamie Dixon and Pitt are gone since Ben Howland and UCLA are around.

Step 7: The Merch Rule
Eliminate any team whose name just won't look right on national championship merchandise. Can you really see yourself rocking a championship hat with either Xavier or Washington St. on it? Just not gonna happen. They're gone.

Step 8: The "Mission Accomplished" Rule
Eliminate any school that has any affiliation with President Bush. Sorry Texas, but we can't root for a school from the state that spawned this disaster.

Step 9: Analyze Your Final Four
Now that we've narrowed the field down to four teams we would consider rooting for, it's important to look at what the consequences would be if each were to win it all.

If Connecticut won it all, it would only help them get even more top recruits that should go to Maryland. So ICAN'T go with UCONN.

If UCLA won it all, living in Los Angeles would be unbearable because suddenly everybody would pretend to be a huge Bruin fan and talk about how much they love that Mayo kid (yes, Mayo plays for USC, but most LA fans probably don't know that). So much for UCLA.

If Louisville won it all it wouldn't be too bad, but we would probably be submitted to another book about success from Rick Pitino. And unless that book is titled "Don't Go To The NBA: Rick Pitino's Guide To Success," I'm not interested. That leaves us with one obvious choice to root for...

Step 10: Choose An Underdog That Could Actually Win
The Tennesse Volunteers. Talk about a team that's easy to root for -- they're coached by Bruce Pearl, an insane guy who has built a great basketball program in a football school, is not afraid to paint his chest and cheer for the women's basketball team, and has single-handedly doubled the state's Jewish population. He's probably the best interview in the whole tournament, and there's no doubt that if this team goes on a run he will provide us with at least a dozen hilarious quotes/moments along the way.

Still need convincing? Check out these clips of Bruce in action. Go Vols!

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about using the 99 Cents Store as your Valentine's Day headquarters and the state of the web comedy union . He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: All You Need Is Love (And 99 Cents)

This past Valentine’s Day, I drove past a 99 Cents Store which had a big banner in the window advertising the store as “Your Valentine’s Day Headquarters.”

This got me thinking...how bad does your relationship have to be for you to treat the 99 Cents Store as your Valentine’s Day headquarters? How little do you have to care about your Valentine in order to get her a 99-cent gift? And at that point, aren’t you better off just getting her a zero-cent gift?

Instead of doing your Valentine's Day shopping off the dollar menu, wouldn’t your special lady rather have a book full of thoughtful, cost-free coupons such as the “You Get To Control The Remote Night” coupon, the “I’ll Admit You’re Right Even If I Don’t Actually Believe It” coupon, or the always popular “Get Out Of Blowjob Free” coupon?

And what do you do if you’re on the receiving end of a 99 Cents Store Valentine’s Day gift? Do you still have to pretend that it’s the thought that counts? And if that’s true, then the thought that will be counting is the fact that your significant other only “thought” you were worth 99 cents.

Even the Hookers at the Point are worth more than that.

My point is that the 99 Cents Store should change their banner to “Your ‘I Want Out Of My Crappy Relationship But Can’t Figure Out How To Tell This Crazy Chick So I Need To Really Fuck Up Valentine’s Day In A Major Way – It’s My Only Chance - Headquarters.’”

But I also figure that if the 99 Cents Store is willing to declare itself a Valentine’s Day headquarters, it will likely stoop to similar measures to drum up business for other holidays. Therefore, I’ve taken the liberty of coming up with some catchy ad taglines to help them with other upcoming holiday headquarter pushes:

99 Cents Store: Your Halloween Headquarters
There's no scarier costume than a trash bag over somebody's head who isn't expecting it.

99 Cents Store: Your Father’s Day Headquarters
You could spend more on your Dad, but why bother? It won’t be good enough for him anyway.

99 Cents Store: Your Black History Month Headquarters
Our stuff’s only 99 cents because the man won’t let us charge more.

99 Cents Store: Your Yom Kippur Headquarters
All the atonement, none of the cost.

99 Cents Store: Your Arbor Day Headquarters
You’d have to be retarded to spend more than 99 cents on Arbor Day.

99 Cent Store: Your “Congratulations On Passing Your HIV Test” Headquarters
You survived your condom-less evening with a Hooker at the Point – shouldn’t you celebrate with a candy bar?

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about the state of the web comedy union and the Oscars as he watched them. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: State Of The Web Comedy Union

As the Editor-in-Chief/Publisher/Mastermind/Guru of Whip It Out Comedy, I spend a whole lot of time checking out comedy on the web. And once a month, I examine where web comedy's been and where it's headed. This is that time of the month.

Big News: Quarterlife Tanks

This month was a big step in the wrong direction for anybody that thinks the jump from web series to actual TV series is going to be an easy one, thanks to the colossal failure of the much-hyped NBC series Quarterlife. Despite being created by some legit TV producers, and (allegedly) developing a strong web following, the television debut of the series drew an audience that was slightly bigger than a typical Comedy Store Belly Room crowd on a Tuesday night. To put it in perspective, more people watched a 3-year-old talk about Star Wars than watched Quarterlife. As a result, Quarterlife has been banished to the gay ghetto known as Bravo, where it will likely air a couple more times before being put out of its misery.

Little News: (Half) The Country Is Watching

While the Quarterlife crash and burn is definitely bad news for webheads hoping to make the leap to TV riches, the good news is that the audience for online video is continuing to grow. Apparently, half the population of the United States is now watching videos online, and 80% of those peeps are watching at least a video a month. Unfortunately, 80% of those monthly video watchers still have bad taste and probably aren’t interested in hearing what your favorite beer is (but we are).

Trend I Love: Localize It

One of the things that the web does best is cover niche topics. Sure, comedy is something of a niche, but when you narrow that focus to a specific city’s comedy scene, you’ve got a really strong niche. We’ve long been fans of New York’s Apiary and Chicago’s Bastion, but lately they’ve been joined by local comedy blogs representing several other cities. This is a great thing for comics, comedy fans, and people who believe that the Internet currently doesn’t have enough websites on it.

Trend I Hate: Top 10 Lists

Wanna get yourself a lot of web traffic? Just come up with a list of Top (Insert Number Here) (Insert Subject Here) things and then pass it around to the Gorilla Masks and Diggs of the world. Chances are, you’ll get featured and tons of traffic will come flooding to your website. Now, we like lists as much as the next comedy blogger, and we’ve even used this crass technique on occasion ourselves, but there’s so many lists going around these days that it’s starting to get annoying (yes, we’re looking at you Cracked). Please stop, people. Don’t makes us post a list of our Top 10 Most Annoying Lists. Though that actually sounds like a good idea, now that I think about it...

Welcome To The Neighborhood: AST Video, Comedy.com, ICN, Killing Frogs

The web comedy neighborhood continues to expand by leaps and bounds. This month, we saw the debut of AST Video, a spinoff from the popular comedy-geek message board; the official launch of Comedy.com with its mix of Digg-like features and Yo Mama joke ticker; the Independent Comedy Network, with the belief that series are the secret to web success; and Killing Frogs, a serious comedy blog with a name that seems a little too similar to a comedy blog mainstay.

Video That Deserves More Views: Tighty Whiteys

We’re not just saying this because we’re pals with a couple of the guys featured in the video. This video has really high production quality, it’s catchy, relatable, features semi-nudity, and is about underwear. Seems like it should be a lot more “viral” than it is at the moment.

Video That Got More Views Than It Deserves: Awkward Pictures “I Love You”

With a little help from being featured on the front page of Myspace and Youtube, this video from the guys in Awkward Pictures was everywhere around Valentine’s Day. It collected over 2 million views on Youtube alone. We love the Awkward Pictures’ guys work and have featured several of their vids before, but to be honest? This one ain’t funny.

Just Wondering...

One of the big web comedy mysteries this past month was who Saturday Night Live was going to cast to play Barack Obama when the show returned to the air after the writer’s strike. For a few days, it seemed that every comedy blog was weighing in with their own guesses and suggestions. Of course, Lorne Michaels wound up choosing somebody already on the cast – Fred Armisen – for the role, which was a huge letdown and missed opportunity in my opinion. With all the interest that had surfaced, why not allow the people of the web to vote for who they thought should get the role? At the very least, let them choose a few finalists for the gig? An Obama casting contest would have been great press for SNL, and would have made the revelation of who was playing him a much bigger moment than it turned out to be. Plus, we probably would have ended up with somebody a lot better at playing Obama than Fred Armisen has been.

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about the Oscars as he watched them and what it's like to have 40 jobs. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: Live Blogging The Oscars

In a first for Whip It Out Comedy, I've decided (as of about 5 minutes before the show's scheduled to start) to liveblog the Oscars. Can you stand the excitement? Refresh this page to get my latest meaningless opinions on these meaningless awards as they happen. And we're off!

(NOTE: This was posted in real-time, so scroll down to read the posts from the bottom up, in the order they were posted.)




***

Well kids, that wraps up my first-ever liveblogging of the Oscars. I hope you had as mediocre a time reading it, as I had writing it. But before I call it a night (read: go do some laundry), here's a cliff notes version of what happened on the Oscars tonight:

Big night for Jews, ponytails, strippers, and Wesley Snipes.

Bad night for Iranian animated films, Enchanted haters, people hoping to see something crazy happen, and Regis Philbin.

***

A bald Denzel Washington delivers the night's final award. Best Picture goes to No Country For Old Men, which gives us another glimpse at the Coen Brothers and our first look at another bespectacled Jew, producer Scott Rudin. Oh yeah, remember what I said before about the good old days when you could always assume that the Miramax movie would win? Well, guess who distributed No Country For Old Men? And it all comes full circle...


***

We're in the home stretch, and Martin Scorcese comes out to prove that there are no small roles, only small directors. He hands out the Best Director award to the Coen Brothers, who relate a slightly amusing story about a movie they made as kids called "Henry Kissinger On The Go."

***

Daniel Day Lewis wins Best Actor. There Will Be Boredom.

***

Diablo Cody wins Best Screenplay. This is our best chance at a "crazy" Oscar moment. But...instead we get her thanking a bunch of industry people and then starting to cry as she thanks her family for loving her exactly the way she is. What a disappointment. Would it have killed her to give a shout out to all the pervs that put dirty dollar bills in her G-string when she was working the lunch shift years ago?

***

Harrison Ford comes out and they play the Indiana Jones theme. What, did the band lose the sheet music to Hollywood Homicide?

***

Tom Hanks comes out to introduce a video feed from Baghdad in which a group of soldiers read the nominations for a bunch of films they have never seen or heard of, also known as the Documentary Short Subject nominees. The winners are a pair of weepy women who apparently made a 38-minute movie about the fight for same sex marriage and then promptly thanked their husbands upon receiving the award. That kinda seems like rubbing it in your subject's face, doesn't it?

Taxi to the Dark Side wins the Documentary Feature award. We're not sure, but we believe that documentary is a BET remake of HBO's popular Taxicab Confessions series.

***

It's time for the death montage, or as Hilary Swank describes it, a look at "those whose work is done." Personally, that seems a little misleading since Hilary Clinton is nowhere to be found in the montage.

***

Cameron Diaz comes out to present the Best Cinematography award, breaking one of the golden rules of Oscar presentation - never have a presenter who can't pronounce the word "cinematography" present the cinematography award. After fumbling the name of the award, Cameron has no trouble with announcing the winner as There Will Be Blood since the title only has one-syllable words.

***

Thankfully, the musical performances are all over and John Travolta has come out (so to speak) to present the award for Best Song. It goes to the song from Once, aka Not Enchanted. What can you say? Sometimes, the Academy gets it right.

***

Another Enchanted musical performance. Enough already. If I wanted to see a million musical performances from that movie, I would have actually gone to see it. Or been born a girl.

***

Best Foreign Film goes to The Counterfeiters from Austria. Apparently, it's a movie that has something to do with the Nazis. Presenter Penelope Cruz tries to get as far away from the filmmaker as possible after handing him the award, which leads me to wonder where the Nazi's stood on Kabbalah? I guess Penelope's probably right - better safe than sorry.

***

We're running out of time in this thing for somebody to do something crazy. Britney Spears isn't nominated for anything, is she? I don't suppose Lindsay Lohan's stripper movie got a Best Craft Services nomination, did it? Any chance Jeff Conaway will show up for a special tribute to Grease? Come on, throw us a bone Oscars. There's got to be somebody in that crowd with a few screws loose. Is it too late to add Gary Busey as a presenter?

***

The Bourne Ultimatum wins again. This time for Editing. It prompts Jon Stewart to say "Film Editing, wow. Somebody just took the lead in their Oscar pool on a guess."

***

It must be late in the show (but not too late), since somebody dusted the cobwebs off Jack Nicholson and sent him out on the stage. He introduces a montage featuring all 79 Best Picture winners to date. It reminds me of a simpler time - when you knew that whatever movie Miramax put out would win the Best Picture honor.

***

Marion Cotillard wins Best Actress. She seems genuinely giddy. It's boring. Though she does thank "life," which I believe is French for "my agent."

***

Speaking of glasses and Jewfros, here comes Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. No word on whether or not Judd Apatow is hanging from the rafters, pulling their strings. Anyway, the guys present a sound editing award to a ponytailed guy and a woman who's showing off her chunky arms in a dress with see-through sleeves. Apparently, these two had something to do with the volume of Bourne Ultimatum.

But wait, Rogen and Hill aren't done quite yet. They also give out another sound award nobody cares about to the Bourne Ultimatum. This one is accepted by three different guys, including another one with a ponytail. Take note, wannabe sound tech people, you'll never get anywhere in this business without a ponytail.

***

"Obviously Angelina Jolie couldn't be with us tonight. It's tough to get 17 babysitters on Oscar night." Nice one, Jon. Way to bounce back from "CabinPatchgate".

***

Time for another musical performance. This time it's Kristin Chenoweth doing some song from Enchanted. We find it rather disenchanting.

***

The Coen brothers win Best Adapted Screenplay. You've gotta love how they break the mold of what you expect a "Coen" to look like by wearing glasses and rocking Jewfros. Uh...never mind.

***

Jessica Alba comes out to present some technical awards, leading to one obvious question -- is she technically a MILF yet or not?

***

Tilda Swinton wins Best Supporting Actress. It appears that her dress was made by Hefty. She goes on to make a heartfelt speech about how she owes it all to her agent. Gotta love Hollywood.

***

Just when we thought we were finally finished being bombarded by Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie character, it surfaces again to present the Animated Short Film award. A moderately cute chick (read: no neck wrinkles) and a guy that for some reason is holding a wooden puppet comes on stage to collect the award.

***

Hey, it's Owen Wilson! We heard his cufflinks tonight were made by Gillette, but that might just be a rumor. Too soon?

***

Stewart flubs a joke after the musical performance. "You know that was an inspirational song when you've got Hal Holbrook in the aisle doing the cabin patch." Uhh...it's cabbage patch, John. You're attempt to be "down" by referencing popular 1990's hip hop dances failed miserably. But you're still doing a fine job, don't panic.

***

Keri Russell introduces a musical performance of some song from some movie she was in called August Rush. This has bathroom break written all over it.

***

Jennifer Hudson and her boobs just came on stage to present the Best Supporting Actor award. Javier Bardem wins and thanks the Coen Brothers for giving him the most horrible character ever created to play. Those are big words from Javier - hasn't he ever seen Encino Man? Where's Brendan Fraser's Oscar?

***

Best Art Direction goes to a bald guy and another wrinkle-necked woman, both of whom have a lot of vowels in their names and speak broken English. Oh yeah, it's for their work on Sweeney Todd, which we're told is a movie with Johnny Depp.

***

Can you smell what Dwayne Johnson is coooking? The artist formerly known as The Rock just came out to present the Visual Effects award. And the winner is...The Golden Compass. Four geeks come on stage and collect the award - they're literally jumping for joy. Should be a big celebratory night on YouPorn for them tonight.

***

The Best Makeup Award goes to a French guy with awful hair and a woman with a crooked eye who apparently did the makeup in La Vie En Rose.

***

Ratatouille wins the award for Best Animated film. Who would have imagined that a Pixar movie about a cute dreamer of a mouse, would beat out an obscure, subtitled, black and white Iranian film?

***

And the first award of the night, Costume Design, goes to some creepy old chick with a wrinkled neck who apparently designed the costumes in Elizabeth. I'm guessing she had an unfair advantage since she looks like she actually lived during the Elizabethan era.

***

Wow - a Wesley Snipes sighting, seated next to Spike Lee. You know what it took in order for us to get to see them? A cutaway after Jon Stewart made a Barack Obama joke. Oh Oscar telecast director, you are so cutting-edge. It's a shame we don't have an Asian running for President because it's the only way we'd get to see Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan in the crowd.

***

Stewart on his happiness over Norbit's nomination -- "Too often, the Academy ignores movies that aren't any good."

***

Jon Stewart's on a roll with his opening monologue. Hopefully, Oprah and Uma aren't in the audience to derail him.

***

Heads up - Regis is on the loose! He's mingling with the seated celebs in the theater during the last minute before the show starts. He's basically just pointing at celebrities and saying their names. And...he just called Javier Bardem "Xavier Bardem." Awk-ward. It's been a rough night for Reege already.

***

Apparently, ABC doesn't trust Regis to be around celebrities after that Clooney interview. The last few times we've seen him, he was interviewing an 84-year-old woman in the bleachers who claims to be Oscars' oldest fan, a kid from Ohio who won some contest that got him tickets to the Oscars red carpet (and the right to sit out there in the rain since 7 am), and now he's backstage with the Bavarian dancers that are going to be featured in one of the musical performances during the show.

***

In the interest of full disclosure, we should probably reveal that we've only seen three of the five Best Picture nominees. We're pretty sure this means we've seen approximately two more nominated films than the average Oscar viewer.

***

Regis Philbin's hard-hitting red carpet interview technique consists of asking George Clooney if he remembers when they had dinner together and watched an early screening of Michael Clayton. Clooney's answer is equally puzzling - he replies, "Did Notre Dame win today? They were winning at the half." Can anybody remind me why the whole world watches these awards?

***

Seeing Diablo Cody on the red carpet is a real reminder that one out of every 800,000 Midwestern strippers can achieve greatness if they are only given an opportunity.

*********

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about what it's like to have 40 jobs and Beautiful Babies Week. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: Getting The Job Done

I’ve had more than 40 jobs and I’ve never been fired. Pretty impressive, huh?

Working that many jobs over the years (it's only been about 16 years since I entered the workforce, not counting my stint as world's worst babysitter when I was a teenager) has been a very interesting experience and it's taught me a lot of lessons. So I figured I might as well share with you a few of the things I've learned from some of these jobs over the years.

I’ll spare you the list of all 40-something jobs, but here’s what I learned from five of them:

Ice Cream Scooper, Baskin-Robbins (16-years-old)
I learned that some people are so desperate to have their ice cream cake personalized, that they are willing to overlook the fact that my handwriting on their cake made it look like a retarded blackmailer had decorated it. I also learned that when it comes to ice cream flavors, stereotypes are 100% true. For example, Latino customers always ordered fruit flavors and huge banana splits for their kids, even if the banana split weighed more than the kid it was ordered for. Black customers always ordered Butter Pecan, Pistachio, or Jamoca Almond Fudge. And white customers were the only ones to ever order Vanilla.

Clothes Folder/Cologne Squirter, Abercrombie & Fitch (19-years-old)
Technically I was a salesperson, but we weren’t that busy so it pretty much amounted to just folding clothes and walking around the store spraying Abercrombie cologne into the air so that the store “smelled like Abercrombie” all day. On a side note, I don't think I've worn cologne since my last day at Abercrombie. This job taught me a few things. First, don’t take a job folding clothes when you don’t even fold your own clothes at home. Second, nobody wants to deal with female customers in a clothing store – they are awful. Even the women who worked at Abercrombie wanted nothing to do with the pain-in-the-ass women shoppers. Third, don’t ever take a job 20 miles from where you live when you don’t have a car or means of transportation to get there – it’s a recipe for disaster. Finally, if your boss says he wants to talk to you and you think he’s gonna fire you, tell him you quit first. It will allow you to keep your “I’ve never been fired” streak alive so you can seem responsible in a column you write a decade later.

Telemarketer, Cable Company (20-years-old)
I learned that just because you lucked into getting a sales lead that happened to be a family friend’s house, it doesn’t mean that you will necessarily get the sale. Sometimes, a family friend so adamantly doesn’t want HBO that even the knowledge that they would be helping put you through school isn’t enough to convince them to spend $10 for a month of “Tracey Takes On.”

Junior High Party DJ (21-years-old)
I learned that schools have a very odd sense of what is and isn’t appropriate for their students to hear at a school dance – especially religious schools. For example, at one Catholic school party, I played Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love To You.” In retrospect, maybe I should have known better, but it was the #1 song in the country at the time and seemed harmless enough. Apparently not. The teachers came running over to me, freaking out, and demanded that I immediately change the song. So I grabbed the nearest CD and put it on. It was a 2Pac song about thug life (I forget exactly which one, but that’s pretty much what they’re all about), and it was perfectly fine with everybody at the school. I’m pretty sure that’s because they couldn’t understand the lyrics. So if you ever find yourself making a playlist for a Catholic school, remember – 2Pac’s ok, Boyz II Men is not.

Marketing Consultant, Unnamed Career College (22-years-old)
I learned that just because the person running the career college thinks your fresh-out-of-a-real-college ideas are good enough to warrant bringing you in to tell the Career College’s Board of Directors what they should do with your business, it doesn’t mean that the Board will share his enthusiasm. I also learned that middle-aged people with degrees in school administration are not likely to follow the business advice of a recent college grad with a degree in Journalism. Especially when your pitch to them is basically "The only reason people would ever go to your school is to make a little more money than they currently make at their crappy fast-food jobs. Forget selling the education. I think you guys should just sell them on your school as a way to make a few more bucks. What do you think about flashing dollar bill signs throughout your TV commercials?"

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about Beautiful Babies Week and the state of the web comedy union . He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: Beautiful Babies Week!

It's Beautiful Babies Week, can you stand the excitement? Yeah, neither can I.

Ok, in case you're not already familiar with what Beautiful Babies Week is (I wasn't until this morning when I accidentally stumbled across it on my TV), it's a special one week celebration of babies on Live with Regis & Kelly.

Since I don't watch that show regularly (I swear!), I have no idea exactly what goes on as part of this celebration, but I did notice one thing this morning -- apparently, they have a monitor behind Regis and Kelly and just continually flash photos of random babies behind them throughout the whole show.

As if staring at Kelly and Reege wasn't enough joy to jumpstart your day, now you can watch an endless supply of scrolling random baby photos at the same time. Some people might think it's distracting, but those people are curmudgeons. It's beautiful. It's beautiful babies week!

Anyway...

As I watched the baby parade this morning, I couldn't hep but think of all the proud and determined moms out there who had searched through hundreds of baby photos to find just the right one that would capture the incredible cuteness of the thing they popped out of their vagina. I pictured them, glued to the TV, hoping that their pride and joy would make the cut and get his/her/its 5 seconds of syndicated morning television show fame. And I thought of how excited they would be when they found that their spawn was indeed deemed cute enough for millions of television viewers.

But then I thought about something else.

I thought about the mothers whose babies were not beautiful enough to be featured on Beautiful Babies Week. The ones that didn't make the cut. I thought about the arguments that will surely fill their households tonight when they accuse their husbands of photographing their babies' "bad sides," or "not knowing a god damn thing about lighting," or "ruining their baby's looks with their hideous gene pool." Who knows, maybe some of the moms even got worked up enough to run out and grab themselves one of those cute, off-white babies that Angelina Jolie keeps buying.

But then I thought about one more thing.

I wonder what the credentials are for deciding which babies make the cut for Beautiful Babies Week and which ones wind up on the cutting room floor? Now I have no actual inside information about the process, but I imagine that there has to be some set of guidelines in place for the selection committee to help them make their choices. I imagine that some of those guidelines are as follows:

- The baby must be beautiful, but cannot be sexy.

- No babies that look cuter than Kelly.

- In the case of twin submissions, only one of the twins can be featured because we have a strict one baby per family policy. In the case of identical twins, choose the one that looks more like Schwarzenegger and pass on the one that looks like DeVito. Also please note that Siamese Twins will be counted as only one baby, but will also be disqualified because they are creepy.

- None of Regis' illegitimate babies are eligible.

- Retarded babies are ok, as long as they don't "look" retarded.

- All babies must have actually been born in order to be considered for featuring. No aborted fetuses.

- No black babies. Even though Beautiful Babies Week falls during Black History Month, we've already set aside a Bangin' Black History Week to celebrate that culture so let's not double up. If black babies want to be featured on our show, they will have to beat out Denzel Washington, Fantasia Barrino, and the Flavor of Love girls for a guest spot during Bangin' Black History Week.

- No babies in flower pots. This is known as the Ann Geddes clause.

- No Nazi babies. Unless they are wearing a Hitler mustache, in which case we will make an exception because nothing's cuter than a baby with a Hitler mustache.

- All babies must be circumcized. Because there's nothing "beautiful" about being uncircumcized.

- Babies that have been featured on Tyra Banks' "Baby Booty Makeovers" episode, Maury Povitch's "My Baby Weighs A Bundle" episode, or Oprah's "Baby Giveaway" episode are automatically ineligible.

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about the state of the web comedy union and driving a porn star carpool . He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.

Read More......

The Timekiller: State of the Web Comedy Union

Watching George Bush stumble his way through his final State of the Union speech the other day gave me an idea – once a month, I’m going to write up my own State of the Web Comedy Union report and share it with you here on Whip It Out Comedy.

My qualifications for this are basically that I spend a lot of time watching comedy videos online and dealing with my fellow web comedy peers. I also have opinions. And, since I run this site, I’ve got a place to state them.

Anyway, here’s my inaugural State of the Web Comedy Union report – if you have any of your own thoughts on the current state of comedy online (or off for that matter), I encourage you to leave them in the comments and share your opinions with the rest of us.

Big News: Funny or Die Hits The Road
Funny or Die will become the first comedy video website to launch its own live national tour, and they’re doing so in a major way with a ridiculously good lineup that includes Zach Galifianakis, Nick Swardson, and Demetri Martin as well as Funny or Die frontman Will Ferrell. We’ve heard the tour is selling out big college arenas – something that’s sure to bode well for Funny or Die as well as hopefully set the table for other comedy websites to expand into future live adventures.

Little News: The Strike Strikes Out
Even as the writers strike continues to drag on, it hasn’t had nearly the effect on online comedy content that a lot of people predicted it would. Sure, there have been some striking writers trying to get themselves some cash to start up their own online ventures, and there have been some seriously mediocre propaganda vids from the WGA, but the strike of 2007/2008 certainly hasn’t led to a golden age of web comedy videos quite yet.

Trend I Love: The Fame Game
It’s clear that celebrities are getting the message that there’s no better PR move for them at the moment than to show up in a comedy video. Matt Damon’s the latest big name to surface in a video – singing, dancing, and rapping about how Sarah Silverman is fucking him – and it’s impossible to watch the video and not think better of Damon for doing it. Even Jerry O’Connell’s picked up on the trend. Ok, so maybe not all of these star-studded videos are going to be winners, but in general this trend is probably going to lead to a lot more good than bad.

Trend I Hate: Bad Impressions
I'm pretty sure that if you are going to make a comedy video in which you are doing an impression of somebody, you'd better be able to do the impression really well, or at the very least give people more bang for their buck. I've seen way too many videos lately of people combining their terrible George Bush jokes with their terrible impressions of the terrible President. Please stop.

Welcome To The Neighborhood: 60 Frames and UCB Comedy
Two major web comedy hopefuls launched this past month. First, 60Frames.com launched with a six web series featuring strong production values and some hit or miss comedy values. Then, the kings of alt comedy over at the UCB Theater, launched their own online home at UCBComedy.com featuring an interesting mix of live show footage from their NY and LA theaters in addition to plenty of funny and oddball videos from the talented stable of UCB performers.

Video That Deserves More Views:
I Miss Moranis. It’s ca