Entries For: January 2007
01/31/2007
Professor Brothers
Austin, TX comic artist Brad Neely is the funniest man on the internet right now. Beginning with his now notorious comic strip/music video Washington -- which was number one on my yearly top ten -- and now following through on that promise with his work at Turner's recently launched SuperDeluxe, Neely's art has become a singular presence of early 2007 in the offices of The Daily Reel.
His new series, Professor Brothers, is a sometimes-musical lecture series featuring two bald-but-still-in-the-game professors who tackle some of history's most fascinating subjects. Once Neely turns a subject like Washington out, it'll never walk right again. Check out his revisionist interpretations of the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah and President JFK. Online comedians could stand to learn a few things from Professor Neely.
01/29/2007
Everybody for a Hair
Juan Manuel Fraga stars in this six-part viral ad
series, Todos Por un Pelo (Everybody for a Hair). In an attempt to
drive sales for Argentinean telecom company Arnet while
simultaneously restoring his balding head to its once full-mained
glory, Fraga makes a deal with the company. For every customer who signs up for broadband in the month of
November, he'll receive a single strand
of hair.
Produced by Wasabi Films, these spots demonstrate
how every individual really can make a difference. Hair
by hair, we can get there together!
01/24/2007
IndieWire at Sundance
This daily Sundance coverage manages to pull your focus away from the parties and multi-million dollar deals, compiling a series of brief webisodes (including "Emerging Talent" and "60 Second Film Reviews") that cover the independent film being celebrated this week.
For a series with such short turn-around, the coverage is pretty insightful, with a broad scope and interesting insights from both the well-known and the newbies. By covering both the smaller and bigger films playing, viewers get a solid survey of this year's Sundance experience. And any time you can get emo indie icon David Gordon Green to talk about going Hollywood to indulge his "comedic impulses", the better off the world is.
01/22/2007
Diggnation Debates
Watching this discussion between two of the internet's most highly informed minds is a bit like having dinner at my parents' house. Please note, though, that my parents live in Silicon Valley and spend their lives online. This excerpt from the weekly podcast Diggnation is fun and intelligent, tackling everyone's new favorite fetish object -- the iPhone.
Debate gets a little heated between Mac loyalist Kevin Rose and soulless minion of orthodoxy Alex Albrecht (yes, we're typing this on an Apple Powerbook -- we know where our loyalties lie), though that might be because of the prominently-featured beer. The important thing is that if you enjoy fierce and funny technology debate, or find a shouting match between two nerds a soothing reminder of home, this is the series for you.