Posts Tagged ‘humor’

I wrote a short story for a client, and it turned out really good. Then, after all was said and done, my client mentioned he stole the idea from the Internet.

If all you need to do is right-click on something, why be original? Creativity isn’t rewarded, it’s just copied. People who want to copy something because they like it, but don’t realize there’s a value there.

There’s an assumption that if it’s online, it should be free. If this was the case, no one would be making any money off their creations and you’d see much less of it online.

Anything can be ripped off. That’s why it’s even more important to be 100 percent original. Don’t fall into the easy trap of generating content mashed up from other people’s ideas. You won’t stand out. You’ll be exactly like everyone else who is doing it.

We don’t revere people like Steve Jobs because he copied other people. He got the respect he did because he created something new.

When anything can be copied off the internet the only thing I have is originality. People want original content, not the same old thing. That’s why, for instance, Charlie Sheen jokes got old very quickly.

My writing might not be much, but at least it’s my own.

 

 

Here’s my YouTube channel. You’ll find some very funny and some very wrong short films here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/verylittleknowledge

When something as popular as Twilight invades pop culture the way it has, it’s not hard to write about it with at least a passing knowledge.

I recently wrote a parody of it for an animated sketch. Here’s the video. I hope you like it. But you should be warned there’s some disturbing footage in here:

cartoon parody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncjwZ2CJoTQ

When I wrote this parody, there were certain truths I kept to:

1. It’s about the characters. A lot of people rip on Twilight because of the drama. However, the drama is what drew fans to the series. Critics whine that vampires and werewolves should be more visceral, not lingering in love triangles. So I played on that.

My parody is about a Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn video game. So I made the first part of the gameplay about relationships, which I see as the strength (not the weakness) of the books.

2. Take it too far. Parodies work if you take it just far enough outside of the spectrum of what’s acceptable in the book’s real world. The second act of the video you’ll see just how far I pushed it.

3. Prey upon people’s preconceived notions. The interaction between Edward Cullen and Jacob at the end is based upon what pretty much every guy thinks Twilight is. It’s an easy joke, and I’m not proud.

4. End with a 180 degree change. The problem with some parodies is that they just keep doing the same joke over and over. So, I wanted to make sure the last thing my protagonist says is a surprise.

Just another horrible thought I’ve had:

This is true, by the way:

 

 

 

 

Just a silly thing I thought of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rizDSlGwFpo

 

This is a bizarre thought I had the other day. I always wonder why things turn out the way they do. This is just an extreme version of that.

Deep Thoughts

Posted: December 5, 2010 in All, Comedy, TV, YouTube
Tags: , , , , ,

I’ve been producing a series of web videos that I think are pretty funny, and all of them are under 30 seconds. So take a look. They’re kind of like Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey, or Old Fashioned Guy by The State.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML3JBHdHgKY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk25xnErT98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gQPVWhZBeg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQlzghHdvMg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F4F9uR6wRk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zbXTiWKQp0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSkRtFgNcPo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvqHfD2UNZ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OKUja2MLaI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5QOytO8Pi4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAyrHejq280

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h4mPU49HHw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iQXmrcgy4Q

Is it really unintentional humor?

When Scholastic publishes a book about collecting nuts in a nut sack, how could they not realize what they’re doing? Or a “Miss Spider” game with a terribly sexual version of Frogger?

Watch these videos and decide if these mistakes could be anything but intentional.

Get the Nuts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO7_lz8JVG0

Inappropriate children’s products

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m14XyxUx41E

Hot Milf Site…I Think…

Posted: March 2, 2010 in All, Comedy
Tags: ,

I found the hottest MILF site on the net. I think.

When you open Getmommed.com, you are greeted by eight mothers, or actresses pretending to be mothers. It doesn’t really matter. They each say a token phrase. And then you get to choose which one you want to be with. The fact that the site appears to be sponsored by Kleenex pretty much guarantees that it’s a spank site, right?

You can click on links like “Choose a mom,” “Buy Kleenex tissue” and “See moms on film.” You even need to sign in and get a password. The cutest one is this little blond. A little too spunky for my tastes, but she’s young. Her kids are probably still at the age where she makes cookies for the class on their birthday. She says: “I always like to have fun and hang with my friends. And why should that stop because I’m a mom?” Giggity. There’s an Asian mom, and a Hispanic mom. The one who looks like Tootsie says “Hiiii cutieeee…” when you roll your mouse over her. I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I sure bought a lot of Kleenex after viewing this site.

You can find more silliness at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/verylittleknowledge

A funny thing happened when I tried to send my humor book out to publishers.

First, I did my due diligence. I went to a book store, looked at books that were similar to mine, and wrote down the company names. I did my research.

Some of the companies seemed small and accessible, addressing a small niche. But when I looked them up online, they are really just a tentacle of some larger company. And that larger company doesn’t accept unsolicited submissions.

Everything seems to be an imprint of something else. I’m sure there was a financial reason behind this. And in today’s economy, you can do anything you want and say it’s a financial decision.

Three Rivers Press and Crown are through Random House, which is agent only. There’s an imprint called It through HarperCollins, and HarperCollins in general is agent only. Gotham is part of Penguin, which is agent only.

Black Dog and Leventhal is part of Workman Press. Lyons Press is part of Globe Pequot. These aren’t as big as the others.

Citadel, Seven Footer, Running Press, Ulysses, Cider Mill and Skyhorse seem to really be small publishers that are more open to new writers, as long as your work fits their bill.