Gizmodo: comedy

Why It's Better to Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers

Matthew Inman — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:20:00 EST

Matthew Inman, aka "The Oatmeal," is a former web designer turned comic artist. He subsists primarily on a diet of dead crickets and malt liquor. If his relatives ask: He certainly doesn't know anything about computers.

Reprinted with permission from The Oatmeal

What Would Happen If Star Wars Characters Used Facebook

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

I know. I'm a total dork, but these Facebook status updates by Star Wars characters made me laugh this morning. Or maybe it's just all that turkey fat and pumpkin pie bits affecting my neurotransmitters.

Check the rest at College Humor. [College Humor via Geeks Are Sexy]

New Parental Filter Will Annihilate Internet Porn Forever

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:33:48 EST

Sorry, pervs, the perfect porn blocker is here. Conan O'Brien has saved the internets from the porn slime. Gracias, Conando! [Geeks Are Sexy]

Andy Samberg Explains How (He Thinks) Animation Works

Danny Allen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:45:00 EDT

I've no idea what's going on in this behind-the-scenes look at Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but I like it. The video has script-writing super computers (render farms), mo-cap suit delusions, and even a Street Fighter Hadouken attack. Fight!

Clearly tongue-in-cheek, and also a fun watch...

Moon Conspiracy Theorist Makes Neil Armstrong Realize Obvious Truth

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EDT

It was bound to happen, so I'm not surprised: According to The Onion—reportedly America's finest news outlet—Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong has finally admitted that the Moon landings were fake and staged. All thanks to Ralph Coleman:

"It only took a few hastily written paragraphs published by this passionate denier of mankind's so-called 'greatest technological achievement' for me to realize I had been living a lie, " said a visibly emotional Armstrong, addressing reporters at his home. "It has become painfully clear to me that on July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module under the control of my crew did not in fact travel 250,000 miles over eight days, touch down on the moon, and perform various experiments, ushering in a new era for humanity. Instead, the entire thing was filmed on a soundstage, most likely in New Mexico."

"This is the only logical interpretation of the numerous inconsistencies in the grainy, 40-year-old footage," Armstrong added.

About bloody time, Neil. Now, we only need to uncover where Elvis is hiding, and my life will be complete. [The Onion]

The App Store Is Just Like the Civil Rights Movement, and Other Lessons We Can Learn From iFart

John Herrman — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:50:00 EDT

The Daily Show tells the harrowing tale of iFart vs Pull My Finger, showing us the faces behind the farts. It's predictable stuff until about 3:00, when Pull My Finger guy compares himself to Jackie Robinson. Then, it's pure art.

I can't tell what's worse: the sleazy app developers' blithe comparison of one of history's great civil rights heroes to a stupid novelty app, or his apparent pride in leading the way in the transformation of the App Store from a great resource into a gurgling software cesspool. I mean, the first one, obviously, but I'm a little peeved that the Daily Show has managed to sum up the App Store better than a thousand app roundups ever could. [via AllThingsD]

'Hello, Phone Sex Operator? I'm Into Unemotional Robots.'

Adam Frucci — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:40:00 EDT

Comedian Gil Ozeri, of "I'm Into Clippy" fame, is back with another incredible phone sex call. This time, he tells the unassuming operator that he's into robots that were programmed to feel no emotion. Oh my god.

And yes, this is real. They made the animations to go along with the recording, but it was a real phone call. Amazing. [CollegeHumor]

We Discover the Dark Side of the New iPod Shuffle

Adam Frucci — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EDT

The new iPod Shuffle might seem innocent enough, but after having to listen to your music selection hour after hour, even it reaches its breaking point.

We teamed up with our friends over at UCBComedy.com to create this, our first original comedic video. It was written by myself and Mark Wilson, directed by Will Hines, edited by Nate Dern, and stars me.

Let us know what you think! Unless you don't like it, in which case keep your opinions to your damn self. We're sensitive. [UCBComedy]

Nick's Zune Warehouse Sells Zunes by the Pound

Adam Frucci — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EDT

If you're in the market for a Zune, you might as well go to the store that's completely dedicated to everyone's favorite portable media player.

[CollegeHumor]

Inappropriate DirecTV Commericals Won't Help Win Any Customers

Adam Frucci — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EDT

CollegeHumor looked at those DirecTV ads where they reenact a famous scene from a movie and asked "what if we used horribly inappropriate movies?" Hilarity ensues.

[CollegeHumor]

Comic Smashes Audience Member's Cellphone to Prevent Joke Theft

Adam Frucci — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:20:00 EST

A British comedian spotted a dude in the audience texting on his phone, so he took it and smashed it. His reason: the guy was stealing jokes to sell to TV people. But of course!

Lee Hurst, the comedian, clearly is a bit unhinged and doesn't quite understand the idea of marketing yourself via YouTube.

The comedian claimed in court that there was a growing problem with writers recording rival comics' material so that they could pirate their jokes and sell them to television shows. He claimed that footage of his gigs ended up on websites such as YouTube.
"TV programmes have writers writing for the performers and they go around to gigs and take the material and sell it to the BBC and ITV and that material is gone," said Hurst, who defended himself.

"You are then accused of stealing your own material. It has happened to me with material shown on national TV that I had already done.

[Times Online via Boing Boing]

The Downside to Time Travel: Your Past Self Might Be a Dick

Adam Frucci — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:50:00 EST

This new Funny or Die video, featuring Paul Scheer, takes a good hard look at the unforseen crappy things that can happen when you try to travel through time. Spoiler: hilarity ensues.

[Funny or Die]

Monty Python Puts Free Videos Online, Sells 23,000% More DVDs

Adam Frucci — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:40:00 EST

Monty Python started a YouTube channel with tons of their sketches streaming for free. The included links to their DVDs at Amazon. The result was a whopping 23,000% increase in sales.

For 3 years you YouTubers have been ripping us off, taking tens of thousands of our videos and putting them on YouTube. Now the tables are turned. It's time for us to take matters into our own hands.

We know who you are, we know where you live and we could come after you in ways too horrible to tell. But being the extraordinarily nice chaps we are, we've figured a better way to get our own back: We've launched our own Monty Python channel on YouTube.

No more of those crap quality videos you've been posting. We're giving you the real thing - HQ videos delivered straight from our vault.

What's more, we're taking our most viewed clips and uploading brand new HQ versions. And what's even more, we're letting you see absolutely everything for free. So there!

But we want something in return.

None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years.

Are you paying attention, MPAA and RIAA? A controlled release of free material keeps people from resorting to piracy and keeps them in your controlled ecosphere, which can include, yes, ways for fans to give you money. But when you're a bunch of pricks, people go to The Pirate Bay and think of you as the enemy, and then you don't get any money. Take notes, you idiots. [Mashable via BoingBoing]

Windertech Tape Rewinder Lets You Rewind Your VHS Tapes Over the Internet

Adam Frucci — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:45:00 EST

While VHS might be dead, according to former Colbert Report/Daily Show writer Eric Drysdale, tape rewinders are alive and well, brimming with new features designed for the internet age. [Funny or Die]

Parody: Obama Caters to the YouTube Crowd

Mark Wilson — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

We've all heard about Obama's YouTube addresses, but even a popular President Elect has to compete for clicks using cleavage, kittens and funny dance moves. (video after jump - beware, big braziered breasts be ahead)

I wouldn't mind seeing Obama up the ante a bit by introducing Biden as his own Ed McMahon. [via digg]

Harsh Reality Behind the Gizmodo/Reader Symbiosis Revealed by Dilbert

Adam Frucci — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST

It's not often that a simple three-pane comic strip says something meaningful and true about your life, but I think it's safe to say that today's Dilbert strip essentially sums up what this here website and its readers are all about. We post about gadgets, sometimes cool, sometimes not, and you read about them either way. Not because you want to, but because you need to. We understand. We're all in this together, friends. Now just set up a webcam of your cubicle so we have something to distract us from our jobs with. Then, the cycle will be complete. [Dilbert]

You Aren't the Only One Who Never Watches the Serious Movies You Netflix

Adam Frucci — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

It's a common practice: you put a bunch of movies in your Netflix queue that are classics. You know, long, serious, depressing movies that you feel like you should have seen by now but haven't. Then they arrive and sit untouched for weeks while you watch Wayne's World 2 for the fifth time. Now, those epic movies are fighting back. [CollegeHumor]

What if The Matrix Ran on Windows?

Adam Frucci — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:20:45 EST

The crew at CollegeHumor have outdone themselves with their latest short, The Matrix Runs on Windows. The concept is pretty self-explanatory: the movie The Matrix if the construct was run on Windows XP. It's incredible that content shot for the web is reaching the quality of the movies that it spoofs. Seriously, how good does this look? [CollegeHumor]

AT&T Ad Spoof Argues that Using Verizon Will Get You Murdered

Adam Frucci — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST

You've probably seen those cutesy AT&T commercials that shows someone talking about how they're missing an important phone call because they aren't getting service. You know, oops, I messed up this business meeting! There was an awkward misunderstanding that lead to a mildly humorous situation! This spoof on the spots takes that idea to its dark, violent extreme. NSFW if swear words and serious violence aren't cool in your office. [Greg and Lou]

Mini Slasher Musical Movie Inspired by Macs Vs PCs Debate

Kit Eaton — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:15:00 EDT

Forget the old Macs Vs PCs rap and its slightly worn-out ilk, this has to be my new fave geek-inspired musical tribute. If only for its Dusk Till Dawn-alike transformation into a slasher gore-fest after a few minutes. Seriously—beating someone to death with a MacBook? Strange stuff. There's just one flaw taking the shine off its geek status: the iPhone doesn't have a flash, guys! [YouTube Thanks David!]