Need a little Friday afternoon pick-me-up? Then look no further than this video from Los Angeles comedian/rapper Dragon Boy Suede (aka Howard Kremer) with a little assist from none other than Morgan Murphy. They team up for a very romantic duet on Dragon Boy's song "Nut Valet."

Time for a bit of self-promotion as Whip It Out Comedy's newest video release hit the Net today. It's the first episode in a new series called DUMBBELLS, which revolves around a pair of unlikely guys who inherit a gym and become personal trainers by default. The episode features Kyle Kinane (a recent addition to the Daily Reel community), Matt Braunger, and Sherry Sirof. Check it out...

The web may be great for gaining global attention, but it also works well when trying to get the attention of locals. That's why the recent rise of local "neighborhood" comedy blogs - many of which regularly feature videos from local performers is something worth keeping an eye on. In particular, the Apiary network - which includes New York-based The Apiary, Chicago-based The Bastion, and Los Angeles-based The Coming do a great job of covering their respective local comedy scenes. Those three sites also regularly feature new videos every Wednesday and it's a great way to get some attention for your work. Tell 'em the Daily Reel sent you...

On a side note, the Bastion recently put out a call that they are looking for some new writers for the site in case anyone in the Chicago comedy scene is looking to contribute.

When she's not busy working her way into the finals on Last Comic Standing, comedian Amy Schumer has found time to make some pretty funny videos which can be found on her MySpace page as well as on Black20.com. Our personal favorite of Amy's work might be this video in which she pays a visit to a Chinese New Year's festival and gives you a chance to get to know her a little better.

The explosion of online comedy videos is relatively recent, but there's already a long line of success stories - particularly when it comes to comedy groups, who seem to be particularly appealing to the Hollywood crowd. First, the boys at Lonely Island took the Net by storm and parlayed it into Saturday Night Live gigs and upcoming movies. The next wave featured Human Giant and the Whitest Kids U Know taking their sketch acts to MTV and FUSE. So, the question now is, who will be the next comedy group to explode into the mainstream media on the heels of internet stardom?

One likely contender is the boys in Blerds (who just created a Daily Reel profile as well), a collective of Chicago comedians and a filmmaker who have taken the web by storm over the past few months. The crew has been featured on just about every video site around, collecting well over a million views for their work - much of which features a unique presentation of their standup material that acts as kind of a mashup of standup and sketch comedy.

The next step for the group is the development of some episodic online series (we hear that deals are currently in the works) as they set the table for what they hope will eventually be a transition to television and/or film projects. Here's a sample Blerds clip if you want to see what all the fuss is about...

For anybody on the lookout for the next big thing in the comedy world, here's more than a few names to keep an eye on - the roster of comedians who made it into this year's Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. You can find links to their individual websites on the Just For Laughs Myspace page.

Masters:

Ian Edwards
Jim Short
Pete Correale
Robert Rothstein
Megan Mooney
Maria Bamford
Joe Matarese

New Faces:

Matt Braunger
Lucas Molandes
Sheng Wang
Nikki Glaser
Geoff Keith
Hugh Moore
Mike E. Winfield
Tom Segura
Julia Lillis
Pat Candaras
Amy Schumer
Julian McCullough
Kurt Metzger
James Patterson
Matt McCarthy
Tommy Johnagin