Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Interregunum Ends / Music Prevails

Soooo...

I used to discuss other subjects on this blog. I can't really even recall what they were, though I suppose you can find it in the archives. But it's music for now. Videos (with accompanying mp3s when available) for the songs you must have to make your soul complete.

The Go! Team - Doing It Right




Doing it Right is from Proof of Youth, the 2nd album from Brighton, England's Go! Team, released this past September. Not a huge departure from 2004's Thunder Lightning Strike, its still an awesome mix of indie and dance sensibilities with unbridled joy to get you groovin'. And my 7-year old son pronounced it his new favorite song yesterday. I think the schoolyard-sounding sing along part won him over.

You can download an mp3 of Doing It Right here, courtesy of the fine mp3 blog Can You See The Sunset From The Southside.

Links of Note:
Go! Team on wikipedia.
Official Band Site
The obligatory band myspace page
What Pitchfork told you to think about Proof of Youth (Rating 7.2)
What PopMatters told you to think

---

ETA: 2/11/2008: Well, I can see I have no inspiration to really be an mp3 blogger. Scratch that idea.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Goodbye


I'd rather Bree had left defiantly.

"Don't leave the key underneath the mat for me, cause I won't be coming back around here."

Thursday, August 02, 2007

LG15 Season One Finale Tomorrow (Friday Aug 3, 2007)

The "new art form" has a new twist: It's 12 videos in 12 hours. It starts tomorrow, Friday August 3 at 8am Pacific Time (that's 11am East Coast US Time, and 4pm London).

12 into 12 = 1

Most people who read this blog may possibly know about lonelygirl15, so I'm not going rehash any of that here. Here is a "recap" (read: "psuedo movie trailer") that was released yesterday. It's a slick 7-minute "what's happened so far" kinda thing.


Prediction: I'm gonna be sad when Bree's head gets chopped off by the Order and rolls right into her Logitech Orbit Webcam.

Also intriguing is the fact that the finale is going to be appear exclusive on Myspace. Myspace, you say? Doesn't lonelygirl15 show up on youtube? Or is it revver? Or is that lonelygirl15.com? Yes, all of that is true. But apparently the finale is going to myspace. NewTeeVee has the story.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Thoroughly Post-Modern Bree?: How to Watch Lonelygirl15 Now

a new world view

After taking a sabbatical from Lonelygirl15, Terryfic returns in this guest blog to find that he now views Bree & Co. through a delightful new lens.

by Terryfic

It’s July, and Lonelygirl15 has enchanted me all over again.

But not quite to the point that I’m ready to break out into song.

After a long break from watching LG I have now finally caught up, and despite swearing up and down when I left that I was done with the show for good and that a simple break wouldn’t allow me to enjoy the show again, I have to say – LG15 is the very model of a popular YouTube auteur.

I’m not sure if my break simply reset my fan cycle, and after a few more weeks I will again grow frustrated and disheartened with the show. Or it could just be, that in my summer entertainment-starved state (where I find myself enjoying Dr. Who far too much) my expectations are so low that LG seems wonderful again.

But I think the big difference was my realization that LG isn’t a mystery or drama as it is usually billed: it's a comedy.

As a pure drama it is slow, frustrating, and nonsensical. It would be difficult to argue it wasn’t a complete failure.

As a comedy it is quick witted, snappy, ironic, comically absurd and at times oddly informative.

I rejoined LG at episode 148 – Beach Bum. This was shortly after Jonas was tied up and before Aunt Alex entered the show. About five videos into where I started watching again was the video where Bree goes off and trains with Tachyon. I think it was this video that cemented the idea of LG as a comedy rather than a drama. In it Bree constantly jokes about not being cut out to be a ninja and in general doesn’t take the situation very seriously. She suddenly reminded me of a very post modern character, the kind of person that grew up watching action movies and is aware of how absurd her life has become. The show actually started to remind me a little bit of Bottle Rocket.

Once I changed my point of view about the show and looked at it as a post modern comedy, a lot of my previous gripes suddenly disappeared. It just started to become more and more amusing that the characters didn’t seem to do anything to help their situation or conversely, despite the cryptic clues and ridiculously complex storyline, their only plan of action was to just run in guns blazing with no real plan at all. Jonas and Bree go sight seeing while ‘Action’ Dan (the only one that ever actually does anything) breaks into Alex’s place while joking about it. This all built up to the comic genius which was the kidnapping of Jules, easily one of the funniest episodes in the history of the show. The scene where DB is vlogging and Jules is tied up in the background caused me to almost fall out of my chair laughing.



My new point of view allowed me to not only ignore the absurd, insane actions and motives of the characters, but I began to revel in them. Even the grand question of why are they still making videos suddenly no longer became a problem. LG was a great example of our new post modern technoculture where people no longer write personal correspondence, but instead write mass correspondence. Conversations that use to be private are now done openly via MySpace comments and such. It has even been known for criminals to continue to post on their blogs even while fleeing from the police. I remember how Adrian Lamo famously continued to blog even while the FBI was chasing him for hacking the New York Times. LG has just taken this to its comically absurdist conclusion by still vlogging despite it putting them in obvious danger.

The big problem I see LG facing is the fact that it has become a show without a star. In my opinion Bree was the only character that was able to consistently make captivating solo vlogs. Daniel, Jonas, Sarah and Taylor are all supporting cast, and it looks like the lead has left. I enjoy the ensemble videos, Daniel and Jonas have great chemistry and I Know What Boys Like shows Sarah and Taylor can work quite well together too. But I think the show will always struggle without a strong lead character to rally around.

After all, there is a reason it is called the Breeniverse.

----

Wow. Thanks to Terryfic for reordering my lg15 world. I can't imagine that at least of some of Terry's observations weren't the product of intentional acts on the part of the Creators. And maybe most of them. However, the Creators haven't been able to let us know, or found a way yet, to explicitly signal to us what they are doing. Maybe they haven't realized it themselves, just as many of us have been stuck in the rut of Bree's bedroom. But Terry's new world order recasts many things long thought to be low points in the Breeniverse, like Bree taking Jonas to the vet for treatment of a major wound to his hand. That makes no sense if you hold lg15 to a standard of strict reality, but in terms of Pulp-Fictioneseque surreality, its actually kinda cool.

Monday, May 21, 2007

The Bree Drought: Will It Reach Biblical Proportions?

the oh-so obvious image to me include here

The last Lonelygirl15 video to feature Lonelygirl15 herself, a.k.a. Bree, a.k.a. actress Jessica Rose, was What the F*@k??? on May 11, 2007. On that day, Bree voluntarily got into a car with the Order. Today is May 21, so it has been 10 days without a sign of Bree.

Breeologists, take note. This is remarkable for at least one reason: it is the longest absence of the show's star ever. The previous longest gap was nine days -- and that was WAY back last summer -- from Grillz on June 25, 2006, until My Parents Suck on July 4. And no videos were released inbetween these two videos. My Parents Suck was the 1st lg15 video to be widely viewed on youtube (and the legend goes that this is when Creator Greg Goodfried called up Creator Miles Beckett and told him it was time for him to quit being a doctor), so its not like too many people took special notice of this drought from the possibly-real Bree at the time.

The creators of lonelygirl15 have indicated before that they intend the show to carry on even if (or when?) Jessica Rose gets too big for her britches and moves on to hollywood stardom. But, were that to happen, it would also be a testament to the success of their creation.

To fill the Breegap, we have new lg15 characters in sisters Sarah and Taylor joining the cast. And they aren't bad actresses AT ALL (in fact, Alexandra Dreyfus (Sarah), and Becky Kregoski (Taylor) both appear quite talented in my opinion). However, their actual connection to the PLOT (whatever that is) is exceedingly thin.

Basically it goes like this: Taylor is a soccer-playing teen located somewhere in the vicinity of Zavalla, Texas, with a faux-emo sex-crazy older sister named Sarah. Taylor vlogged a few times about soccer and an intriguing weird competitive thing between her and her friend Sam (who we never saw) that also involved the influence of Taylor's strict mother. Then, out of the blue, Taylor also told Bree that she thinks she remembers playing soccer against Jules(or Julia), who Nikki Bower had previously suggested (with absolutely no evidence) was likely the New Girl for the Ceremony. (see this prior post for more details on that.)

Following me so far?

So, of course, Bree Daniel and Jonas drive from California to Texas to meet Taylor (and Sarah) at a park, and then proceed to find Julia with their help. Then, the crew kidnaps Julia and ties her up, because that of course is the best way to convince someone that their religion is bad and that they may be picked to do The Ceremony (whatever that is). Then Julia escapes, then they find her near a dumpster (despite houses being all over the place), and then the Order found them (of course), and took Julia. And Bree went with them, but we don't know why (of course).

So, while your head is spinning from all that, you can watch this cute vlog from Taylor and Sarah, called I Know What Boys Like.



The answer, by the way, is Bree. But we'll make do with Sarah and Taylor in the meantime. And if you are pining for Jessica Rose, let's hope you don't have to wait until the July 27th premiere of I Know Who Killed Me (which hopefully is not the title of future Bree vlog, either).

Monday, May 14, 2007

One Year Ago

a crazy world

Over the weekend, a milestone was passed. It has been one year since the Lonelygirl15 account was created on youtube. Of course, "Bree" did not post any videos on May 12, 2006. "Her" first video did not appear until later that month, and Jessica Rose did not protray Bree in her first vlog until June 16, 2006. To me, June 16 is the real first "anniversary" of Bree and Lonelygirl15. But I haven't posted anything in over two weeks. So there you go.

And for readers who didn't know, here is a list of critical links for lonelygirl15 fans:


  • LG15 Today Blog. With a wink and a smile, LG15 Today always brings you the latest and greatest in daily lonelygirl15 news. Such as the identity of Sarah, played by 21-year old actress Alexandra Dreyfus. Sarah is a new character on lg15, who we now know is not jailbait in real life, thanks to LG15 Today.

  • LGPedia. The LGPedia is the official, fan-authored, encyclopedia of all things Lonelygirl15. If you are interesting in learning the basic plot of the show so far, check out The Story So Far .... Of, if you want the full story of how the Creators of Lonelygirl15 were discovered, check out Down the Rabbit Hole: The Hunt For Bree.

  • The Official Lonelygirl15 Forum. The official forum for discussion of the show. Note that discussion of individual videos takes places in two places. First in individual threads of The Videos subforum of the forum, and also in the Comment Board, which simply means the main page of the site, which also allows comments to be made below each posted video. While the forum and comment board have some overlapping members, they have their own distinct in-jokes and cultures. Members of the comment board are usually easygoing souls who get drunk on slurpees and grape nehi (don't ask), and use the word "meep" repeatedly (really, don't ask). Members of the forum include fans from all generations and inclinations, from the very devoted, to the very critical.

  • The Children of Anchor Cove Forum This is the primary unofficial forum for discussion of lonelygirl15, as well as other internet episodic series including Prom Queen and Brotherhood 2.0. Anchor Cove was originally formed in September 2006 when early fans of lonelygirl15 left that show's original and failing "phorum", and made a place of their own. This proved helpful when the official forums failed multiple times in light of the intense media exposure which accompanied the "outing" of the Creators of Lonelygirl15. The "Children of Anchor Cove" was the title used by the creators of Lonelygirl15 for their original casting call. Sometimes referred to an "Rancor Cove," the Cove includes a nucleus of early lg15 fans and later adoptees who enjoy absurdly advanced and sometimes harsh discussion of lg15 and other shows. Myself and other Covians are patiently waiting for the convergence of internet video, television, and human DNA. No, it does not involve the Hale-Bopp comet.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Smosh Takes YouTube Throne: Google Demands Refund

Dateline .... 1am ET...April 26, 2007:

April 26, 2007 will go down as a very sad day in the history of internet video. Or at least in the history of lonelygirl15. Barring a minor miracle, sometime in the next few hours, Lonelygirl15 will step down from her YouTube throne. Bree, which reached the top spot on YouTube as the most-subscribed channel of all time in September 2006 (displacing the fiery Geriatric1927), will have yielded the top spot to, umm .... Smosh.

smosh rocks dude!

What is Smosh? Here is a random blogpost from a few months ago:
(Smosh has) the most discussed video (on Youtube at the time), which is as well ranked as the second most viewed video (of all time) on YouTube, had received a massive total of 22721 comments (as of Nov 2006). These numbers continue to increase everyday and definitely show the popularity of the video.

Nothing exceptional or world-changing occurs in this video though! It is simply two guys, known on YouTube as “Smosh”, parodying the Pokemon Music Video in their bedroom with a lot of exaggerated gestures and funny faces. However, in the YouTube community, this video is a revelation! 'NeoInvader' exclaims, “Legends Pure Legends”, while another remarks, “God, their facial expressions are priceless.”, and some even go further commenting that they have watched the videos a thousand of time “You guys are my heroes!”
I picked that very random blogpost to quote because everyone I can find coherently commenting on Smosh will say something similar. Yes, Smosh is two 19 year old guys from somewhere in the United States who make, well, frankly, not-funny comedy clips. And I don't mean not funny in a bad Saturday Night Live skit kind of way. Well, maybe I do. Time Magazine did dub them the SNL of youtube, in part for their "unswerving, unwinking commitment to idiocy." Like the bad SNL skits at 12:45am that just won't end. But worse.

But quality is of no great importance on YouTube. So, it doesn't make a difference what Smosh uploads, it WILL get hundreds of thousands of views, slavish praise from its fanbase, and perhaps even featured by youtube (the holy grail of exposure). In fact, if one of the Smosh guys made a video of the other one taking a dump ("whew, that smells dude!"), it would no doubt get half a million views. See pic above.

"Aren't Funny, Milo?! How can you honestly say they aren't funny? They won an award for being funny, you hater!"

Yes, yes, yes. Last month, Smosh won the YouTube award for best comedy video in the "First Annual Rigged YouTube Awards." This event was created for more YouTube press, but it was also a chance for the mainstream media to shine its light on the best youtube had to offer. Right?

Well, the spotlight was a little harsh for Smosh:

The Boston Herald (March 28, 2007) wrote:
Best Comedy: “Smosh Short 2” by Smosh - Apparently, YouTube is devoid of comedy. Two teens from California created this, and well, we don’t care how they do it in California.
And an upstate NY paper (March 27, 2007):
YouTube viewers selected seven "winners" for the inaugural YouTube Video Awards recently. For results, go to www.youtube.com/ytawards. Smosh Short 2: Stranded video by Smosh won best comedy when it clearly did not deserve a nomination. It just wasn't funny. "Mixed Nuts" and "Completely Uncalled For"; which finished in second and third, were clearly more comical.
And an Australian rag (March 28, 2007):
Like any awards show, YouTube's were not without controversy. At least one winning video drew the ire of readers and led some to question the competition's legitimacy. Smosh Short 2: Stranded, the winner of the 'best comedy' award, was swamped with negative comments. Some users even went as far as to accuse the creators of stuffing ballots and paying YouTube for the award.
And the NY Times (link now dead) wrote:
Whew, that smells dude! Get off youtube you emo freaks!
OK, so maybe some people (read: smoshkoshb'goshlovers) will disagree with those assessments. But I just don't think its funny. But I'm not one of those people who say "get off of youtube," one of the most ridiculous taunts I've heard since the third grade. I just don't understand their appeal. I'm not going to begrudge anyone who truly finds it funny. I just won't trust their recommendations.

So, What Did Bree Do Wrong?

ian and anthony, or bree?  Don't ask Pill!

How could this happen? A few months ago, Lonelygirl15 had a healthy lead over smosh in subscribers. And almost double the number of any other channel on youtube. But, starting sometime in late February, Bree's new subscriptions started to dry up, while Smosh's started to take off. This latter event struck me as suspicious, frankly, but I have no concrete evidence of any cheating.

A number of theories have emerged for why Bree's popularity has stalled or declined:

1. Quality of the Plot: Many speculate that the decline in bree's popularity has to do with the decline in the quality of the plot. Bree took Jonas to the Vet. OK, I generally agree that there has been a decline. But Smosh's quality, well we already discussed that. But Smosh's fans exalt Smosh and bash lg15.

2. Bree's 15 minutes expired. Possible. Though it was much longer than 15 minutes, and its far from over just because Smosh is taking the throne tonight. Bree reigned atop youtube for seven months. That is an ETERNITY in internet time. Plus, numerous lg15 videos in the last few months still have received very respectable view counts.

3. The youtube timewarp: For awhile now, Lonelygirl15 videos have been released on the official Lonelygirl15.com website for a period of time before hitting youtube. The gap started at maybe a few hours. But in the last few months, the gap kept widening until youtube was about 8 videos behind. One might think this would drive more lg15 fans to the official site, but that doesn't seem to have occurred. Instead, core fans started going to the official site exclusively, thus leaving lonelygirl15 on youtube devoid of her biggest protectors. Every big youtuber needs its defense force. So the youtube comment threads for lg15 were overtaken by hatred.

4. People don't like watching episodic video online. This theory is that people would rather watch skateboarding mishaps, 85 ft. basketball shots, or just one-off funny videos on youtube, instead of an episodic series like lonelygirl15. Well, its true that youtube and its clones will always be a place where you can track down 30-second classics like "Girl Poops Pants." But that doesn't mean that an episodic series cannot develop a fanbase. Youtube, however, does next to nothing to foster episodic content. Its design and focus elevates individual videos over series. The new series on Myspace, PromQueen, seems to be having some success in least in part because of Myspace's commitment to developing an audience. YouTube doesn't do that. But it might share ad revenue sometime in the next century.

So, Google paid $1.65 billion for Smosh. And everything else on youtube; Montgomery Mini-Mall commercials, people lighting farts on fire, you name it. And don't get me started on the #3 alltime subscribed channel, miaarose. Um, can Google still get a refund?

Edited to Add, June 9, 2008: This post apparently falls high in Google searches about Smosh. You'll see some people in the comments are upset that I don't like Smosh. Hey, I'm not saying you are not allowed to like them, Tweens Of America. But think for yourself, decide what YOU like. The rest of us are allowed to shake our heads and mutter things about dentures and such if we want.

ETA: Sept. 23, 2008: Is Smosh going down?

Friday, April 20, 2007

Attack of the Breeclones!

oops, I forgot to include Greenteagirlie. she's new.

The biggest news in Lonelygirl15 world this week is the proliferation of potential Brees, currently descending upon the Breeniverse like a biblical horde of locusts. But, instead of devouring whole crops in front of horrified settlers, this horde is just a bunch of young girls. But one of these girls is the "new girl" chosen by the Order for the dreaded Ceremony. OMG! (Disclaimer: EVERYONE believes The Ceremony should be dreaded, though we have no idea what it is. You must accept that fact, kind readers.)

(Oh, and lots of potential new girls? Yes, yes, many of us see parallels to Buffy Season 7 cropping up, but hopefully all these girls won't be descending on the Breebunker anytime soon for resistance training with Bree or the unseen-character-formerly-known as-Tachyon.)

So, to briefly recap how this development came up, in The Perfect Beach (April 13), a beautiful day for the lg15 cast at a Mexican beach was interrupted by a visit from The Order. Under the duress of Jonas' new gun, Aunt Alex let this zinger slip:
"They don't need you anymore, Bree. ...They have another girl!"
Oh My! Then, on April 16, Nikki Bower posted a video called The Ceremony Girl where she claims to have located this alleged new girl, aka CallMeJules24 on youtube, or Julia. While Julia's two videos to date are clearly suspicious and emit at least some faint lg15 canon smoke, Nikki B. has never been confirmed as canon by the Creators. In fact, when this blog identified the actress who plays Nikki B. back in January 2007, Nikki made the following comment on the official lg15 forum:
Just for the record, I am not canon. I am a fan just like all of you. While I do have anonymous sources and tipsters, I am truly investigating as one of you would.
So, with that backstory, it was not clear from Nikki's video whether or not miss jules was intended to be official or what. Could the world continue revolving with such tension?

Apparently not. Speculation evaporated the next day when Bree posted a video called New Girl which (1) referred to Nikki B. for the first time (and a reference by Bree is how Gemma and Jonas were first canonized), and (2) speculated about whether Jules is the new ceremony girl or not--and Bree needs our help to figure it out, people!!!



So, anyhow, along with Julia, crack lg15 sleuthers have identified a plethora of other suspicious videos from more young girls who appear to be candidates for lg15 canonhood/the Ceremony (shiver!). Some people like this, because they don't like Jules and hope someone else becomes a more established character in the cast. But some people like it because it is total enjoyable pandemonium to see all these girls (and note, most of them do appear to be under 18) vying to potentially become part of the lg15 cast.

Luckily, the LGPedia has compiled a list of all the candidates so far with useful links to videos, myspaces, and the like. Some of these girls are likely fanfiction, others are uncertain. Aside from Jules, Soccerstar aka Taylor seems to be a good candidate to be a production sanctioned by the Creators. Perhaps the Creators will choose "the new girl" based on fan input? It's an intriguing idea, at the very least.

Who will be the new girl? Stay tuned.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Break out your Alphaville CD: It's time for PromQueen

Or drink warm Zima.  Take your pick.

PromQueen is a new internet video series produced by the folks who brought us SamHas7Friends. But this time, instead of producing a very slick show for only $50,000 -- they are backed by Michael Eisner, former Disney head honcho, and his new internet-video venture "Vuguru." (By the way, don't you love names like this -- you know some marketing dude dreamed that up. "It like 'guru', and 'vu' like 'views'! Ka-ching! Success is inevitable!").

The show is set to debut on April 2, but press releases yesterday hint that episodes will debut about 12 hours earlier on the show's myspace. So set your clock for 7pm ET (GMT -4) on April 1. And its not like it will take up a bunch of your time. Like SamHas7Friends, PromQueen will run for 80 episodes of 90 seconds each. It's an intriguing format that is perfect for today's ADD teens and average internet viewers. Adding some interactivity, each of the characters already have their own myspaces, ready to befriend you. I mean, who doesn't want to be "top friends" with lead PQ babe "Nikki"? Who cares if you're a 45-year old inmate and its illegal to be her Myspace friend.

In short, PromQueen is the first big-budget attempt to recreate lonelygirl15's success. That's a big deal. But the camera shots will be more like traditional TV; this is not a fictional vlogging experiment like Lonelygirl15. In fact, Eisner seems irritated by that knee-jerk press analogy. From a Wired interview:

WN: OK, then, how close is it to Lonelygirl15?

Eisner: (exasperated sigh) It isn't close to that at all -- that's one person talking into the camera. This is a story-driven, character-driven emotional mystery.

WN: You really balked at the comparison to Lonelygirl. Why?

Michael Eisner: Hey, I balk at any comparison to anything. It's creative content -- saying that it's like something is usually the kiss of death. I never even thought of either of those two (shows). Really, that's the first I've heard of a similarity with the two. Prom Queen is like what it is.

Profound, Eisner. We won't compare it Family Ties, either. So, tune in. Let's see whether this thing flies. They already got sponsors and product placements it appears. All they need is Alphaville's "Forever Young" playing and some warm Zima, and they got it made.

P.S. If you want to discuss PromQueen in depth as it unfolds (and who doesn't yearn to be an internet video analyst a la Chuck Klosterman, who has spent more time deconstructing Saved By The Bell than any person alive), be sure to check out the Anchor Cove forums. The show will also have its own official forum up in a few days.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Brotherhood 2.0: Unholy Child of NPR and YouTube

The new TheHill88, or the new Robert Siegel and Michele Norris?

Brotherhood 2.0 just may be the most entertaining vlogging experiment of all time. On December 31, 2006, Brothers John Green (an award-winning author of young-adult novels) and Hank Green (head of ecogeek.org) took a pledge (perhaps written in blood, but I am not sure about that) to cease all text-based communication for the year 2007. Instead, they have been posting videoblogs daily, trading off each weekday. And if a brother fails to meet his daily posting obligation, or forgetfully writes to the other brother (as John heinously did done once by way of a cc email), some sort of crazy punishment is imposed.

The results are entertaining, often quite funny, and always intelligent. While vlogging is not new, the Brothers Green infuse it with new life. They take the vlogging format--something primarily developed and defined by the youth culture at youtube---and combine it with the intelligence and rigor of your typical NPR (National Public Radio in the U.S.) All Things Considered fare. Yes, its the unholy child of NPR and YouTube, and its great.

Here's a random episode, where on February 21, 2007, John compares M.T. Anderson's novel Feed to the concept of having a whole Wikipedia in your brain.



All the videos (and most of the comments by the audience) are available at http://www.brotherhood2.com, as well as on their Vlogbrothers channel at YouTube.

The popularity of the series has already inspired Brotherhood2.0 fan and notable YouTuber Terryfic to create a tribute video to the show in the style of the opening credits of an 80's sitcom. If that doesn't intrigue you to start watching, I don't know what will.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Why Jessica Rose Is A Bigger Star Than Lindsay Lohan

Cross posted from, and discussed further, here at Anchor Cove.

Entertainment and gossip sites are all over the internet. And part of the nature of entertainment gossip is that people want to know the scoops as they are happening. They need to know, and know now! This benefits terrible shows like Access Hollywood, but also websites that are not only unafraid to talk about Britney's latest exploits, but that will show every picture they can find too.

Now I believe that the nature of internet news/gossup sites is that they tend to blow up internet-based stories, as they are all sharing the same backyard. For example, sites like TMZ (the gossip site most responsible for outing Bree), The Daily Reel and Geeksugar have posted blurbs about lonelygirl15 frequently. If something happens on the internet, its easy and and frankly natural for an internet-based outlet to consider it very newsworthy and post about it. Its the internet promoting the internet, in a roundabout way.

So, in the last week a few pictures of Jessica Rose with Lindsay Lohan have popped up on the internet (the 1st I saw was at TMZ). We know Lohan is a much bigger star than Jessica right? And we also know that Jessica's role is this film is not very big, right?

Yet, I'm seeing Jessica's star shining very brightly when the Lohan movie is discussed.

For example, Big Picture Radio says:

LonelyGirl15, aka Jessica Rose, has reportedly parlayed YouTube success into a co-starring gig in a future Lindsay Lohan movie. Moviehole has the story, and if I were Jessica, I'm not sure how to take the news. On the one hand, it is a major motion picture. On the other, relying on Lindsay Lohan to generate interest for your film at this point is kind of like buying the deed on a hilltop home in Southern California when it's raining."
OK, now Rose is "co-starring" with lohan. A big elevation in status. And, not only that, but the writer here apparently feels that using Lohan for "your film" (i.e., Rose's film apparently) is a bad idea for Jessica Rose. Someone reading this cold might well conclude that Rose is a bigger star than Lohan!

Another fun article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald online. (link) Ok, the SMH is Australian and close to Rose's New Zealand roots, but its funny to see the article note that "a number of photos of Rose and Lohan (note, that's Rose and Lohan, not Lohan and Rose) on the set of the film have cropped up on celebrity gossip websites."

And the focus is all on Jessica:

Oh, the glory of fame! "Brought up in New Zealand, Rose shot to stardom after she appeared as the home-schooled teenager "Bree" in a series of video blogs, posted on YouTube under the alias Lonelygirl15."

Elsewhere, website Geeksugar notes that Lonelygirl15 co-stars with Lohan, and Glitteratigossip reveals that she "will star opposite" Lohan. The hype is everywhere and growing. But maybe its not hype.

If you add up all the views of all lg15 videos on youtube, you have a TREMENDOUS number of people that have seen her. And its going up everyday. How many people are renting the Parent Trap today, right? Perception can become reality quickly. The more times that Jessica Rose gets compared favorably to people like Lohan, like in the articles cited article, it may well shift common opinion.

Conclusion: Jessica Rose is a bigger star than Lindsey Lohan. If you dare disagree, please speak up.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Miles Beckett's Dad Gueststars on LG15

That and other news reported by the lg15today blog, on hand when Miles stopped by the finally fixed official chat.

LG15Today Reports On Miles' Revelations In Chat

(LG15today blog added to blogroll.)

Sunday, February 11, 2007

The LG15 Hierachy, and Being Featured with Paul And Andrea

casey casem says he can't figure out opaphid either.

This weekend I perused the subscriber counts of Lonelygirl15 and its subsidiary channels on YouTube to see what the most popular parts of the Breeniverse are. I found the following:

1. Lonelygirl15. As always, #1 all-time most subscribed at youtube, with 82,000+ subscribers at this point.

2. Danielbeast. Currently #15 all-time, Danni B. -- the D-Train, the Beast -- has 21,000+ subscribers, just after Renetto on the charts.

3. Gemmers19. With over 15,500 subscribers, Gemma should be around #30. But she does not appear on the youtube charts at all because her current profile pic is not from a public video, which takes you off the charts. While this little quirk may not be widely known, its not a smart move for anybody on youtube who wants traffic.

4. Jonastko. Currently #61 with just over 12,000 subscribers. Jonas has grown on me over time really. And NOT like fungus. I think Jonas just became more of a geek, and not just a skateboard poser dude.

5. OpAphid. With 5641 subscribers, should be #88 on the youtube all-time chart. But again, appears to have the private profile pic problem like Gemma. If you didn't know, OpAphid is part of the lg15 ARG (alternate reality game), which became a much more integral part of lg15 last week with OpAphid/Daniel's "Miss Me" video, which showed that Daniel had been captured by the mysterious Order. Eek.

6. Tachyon. Not in the top 100 alltime subscribed, but close at 4496 subscribers. Also part of the ARG, today's "Human Ransom" video made understanding Tachyon critical. At least, what you need to know is that Ms. Tachyon is like an Order rebel, the anti-Order if you will, which apparently has helped Bree to spring Daniel from the clutches of the cool-looking yet ineffectual Order. Oh, and Tachyon has this funky theme music that probably could make gold as a ring tone.

7. Cassieiswatching. "CiW" is the original cassie spinoff. This channel hasn't had a new video in 4 months, and ciw has long been declared dead. But she did manage to garner and retain 3,833 subscribers, mostly during the height of lg15 press coverage.

8. Nikki Bower. With 3354 subscribers, Nikki B. is the highest profile of the current lg15 fan fiction. Since Nikki B.'s connection to the Creators makes her more like what i call friendfic, this isn't too surprising. By the way, Nikki B. is in no way connected to cassieiswatching like I speculated in my last post. So, end your idle speculation on that point.

9. Lonelygirl362436. A series of three lg15 parody videos done by Carmen Electra to support Epic Movie, this channel has 3277 subscribers. Some hot moves from Carmen again proves that chicks=clicks on youtube. At least the Creators got some cash from the deal, as they made these irreverant spoofs.

10. Brother-10033. Somehow in cahoots with Tachyon, Brother bats last in the subscriber count of canon channels with 2,184 subscribers (and the only canon material to have less subscribers fanfic). His videos don't appear main-plot critical, however.

11. Paul & Andrea. I have followed the adventures of Paul & Andrea since they appeared shortly after Bree mentioned meeting Daniel's friends of the same name long ago. The fact that Paul replied in a video to a comment I made on one of their prior videos didn't hurt either. While clever fanfic, I didn't realize this channel actually has 2,152 subscribers!

A quick youtube email exchange with Paul on youtube revealed that this channel was recently featured for new subscribers on youtube. Apparently, when you sign up for youtube now, you get a chance to subscribe to some channels to start off your subscription list. Suggested channels are featured for 48 hours, and apparently Paul & Andrea recently benefited from such manna from youtube-heaven. Here's the video where Paul namechecked me:

Paul and Andrea haven't had a new video for about a month now, so if they want to take advantage of these new subscribers (not sure how many of their total), they need to move now.

12. Itscassie. With 1680 subscribers, itscassie is the 2nd most popular ever cassie spinoff. Well produced fanfiction. Will the real cassie ever appear? I still like the Bree is Cassie theory myself. But who knows.

There's lots of other great lg15 fanfic out there (like the hilarious LonesomeOctober, the scholarly Homeschoolers Aggregate, and humor from ApotheosisAZ, but no channels with over 1,000 subscribers on youtube that I'm aware of (and let me know if I'm wrong). Also, if you view the lg15 vids at lonelygirl15.com, you can see a lot of fanfic posted on the right-side of the screen, all hosted on revver (though much of it is cross-posted at youtube too).

And that's your lg15 hierachy watch for now. Good night.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

BREAKING NEWS: Nikki Bower .... is Alli Danziger!!

"Reporter" Nikki B. Is Really Actress and "Reporter" Alli D.! Must Credit Milowent/AnchorCove!

hellooo nikki/alli!

Roll the videotape (created by Terryfic):


One of the current remaining mysteries of Lonelygirl15 has been whether Nikki Bower (myspace | youtube) is "canon" (or official character of the series), fan fiction, or something inbetween. Nikki's uncanny ability to discover clues that no other fan could hope to determine, such as filming locations, and even the Watcher symbol, only raised more suspicions.

Well, Nikki B is definitely connected to the Creators of Lonelygirl15. She is LA based actress Alli Danziger.

With some shrewd sleuthing late last night conducted by Anchor Cove members uncovered the identity of "Nikki Bower" as belonging to actress Alli Danziger. Alli, at the very least, is a good friend of Lisa Goodfried, sister of Lonelygirl15 creator Greg Goodfried.

The search began when the sleuthers received a picture from Greg Goodfried's 2006 wedding to Amanda ne Solomon, plainly showing "Nikki B" as a member of the audience.
With the direct connection to the Goodfrieds established, it was quickly determined that "Nikki B" also appeared in the viewable picture from the private myspace of Lisa Goodfried.

hey there, nikki b!

Yet, Lisa's myspace has no google cache, so that was a dead end. However, more searching found that Greg Goodfried's brother's fiance (nice chain, huh?) was friends with an "Alli D" that also looked like Nikki B.




From there, a chain led through Alli's boyfriend Matt Seigel (the guy in her myspace profile pic), that tipped off her last name, which finally yielded GoogleGold:



Amazingly, on this website, she also has a video you can watch where she does a reporting schtick just like Nikki B, but as Alli D. Here it is:



So, there you go. I know most people figured out Nikki B was an actress, but the direct connection to the Creators had not been confirmed.

So is that the end of the road? Not quite. We still don't know who was behind Cassieiswatching or OpAphid do we? But on the other hand, Matt Seigel's myspace had an interesting comment posted on it the day after cassieiswatching's first video:

Bring me the head of cassie!

Could it be that Matt and Alli are among those behind CIW? OpAphid? Is the promise of real fan interaction only realized for those who know the Creators well? Only time, and myspace, will tell.

Sleuthing credits to: Terryfic, JayHank, Smashing, Hyemew, and Milowent. Video montage of Alli D. by Terryfic.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

All the Lonelygirl15 News That's Fit To Print

In the land of blogs, sometimes we hear of these things called "newspapers." I bet wikipedia probably has an entry on it.

Most blogs refer to newspapers as "MSM", mostly because bloggers like cryptic anagrams. Or is that acronym? Whatever. I don't know what MSM means, actually.

Well, some rag called The New York Times published an excellent article today about the state of Lonelygirl15 today, by Virginia Heffernan, on page 1 of the Arts section:

As Her World Turns, Lonelygirl15 Seeks New Thrills

As always, Ms. Heffernan makes some insightful comments:

The “Lonelygirl15” phenomenon that initially teased viewers with its pseudo-reality has evolved into a vaguely supernatural thriller with hints of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” It’s inventive, with highs and lows. On balance, it’s entertaining. But devoted fans love to complain that it’s not as good as it used to be, or as it could be.

...

Keeping together a rollicking plot with murder, a cult, imposture and teenage romance — making it exciting but not ludicrous — isn’t easy. Striving for continuity while relaying plot information in short bytes is an especially tall order. Viewers are standing by on fan sites official and unofficial to play gotcha anytime they decide Bree and company wouldn’t have had enough time while on the lam, say, to make it to an Internet cafe for video editing and uploading between chase scenes. They’re a tough crowd. And this policing still goes on, even though fans know the series is fiction.

All very true. Longtime lg15 fans tend to romanticize the early Bree videos. In the forums, the dominant posters are rabid fans who tend to work over every possible inconsistency, or ruminate about plot theories that include just everything under the sun, froms Aliens to Zombies.

But Ms. Heffernan's respect for Jessica Rose continues to grow:

“Lonelygirl15” has kept its first unbeatable asset, the one that has nothing to do with new technology. It’s the girl: Jessica Lee Rose. As the series goes on, Ms. Rose continues to mix moodiness, charm and precociousness, and her witchcraft casts a serious spell.
The New York Times print circulation on Wednesdays is approximately 1.08 million copies. Great article, give it a read. Her sources are pretty good.

Monday, January 22, 2007

She's Just My Ex? JayHank Examines The Phenomenon of The Ex-Girlfriend Project

Milowent proudly presents this post by JayHank.

by JayHank

A couple months ago, Milo_Went suggested that I read exgfproject.blogspot.com. I’m not a big blog reader, especially not the let-me-lay-out-my-heart-in-HTML variety.

But Milo_Went is a famous blogger for a reason. [ed. note: my time in prison.] When he recommends a site, something interesting is going on, so I swallowed my trepidation and started reading.

The basic outline is this: guy in his mid-30s looks back at an assortment of failed relationships and tries to figure out why he’s become a “bitter, damaged and pretty lonely guy.” Sounds sort of like that High Fidelity book/movie, right? Fair enough so far. But instead of the four past relationships of High Fidelity, the exbf, as he comes to call himself, juggles 8 relationships, that weave in and out for his entire romantic life, and to keep it all straight, each girl has her section written in a different color.

It all starts with a story about a typical 16-year-old’s first romance. Boy-likes-girl more than girl-likes-boy and she ends up hooking-up with one of his best friends. And… yawn.

But then, Kara and her medium-slate-blue letters, tango onto the screen:


“Standing there, looking at her leaning up against that car with the sun streaming through the trees behind her and her black hair blowing against her face, I instantly found out what my type was. It was like God had written me a prescription.”


After meeting Kara, I read the whole blog, (and it’s long, I’d say equivalent to a 300-page novel), in one sitting. Judging from the comments section, I’m one of many, many readers who have done the same. And throughout, I’m wondering, “Why is this so engrossing? Why is this so… good?”


Here’s why:


(SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read it, I’m about to ruin it. But, if you’ve got the time, go and read it. Then come back here, and I’ll presume to tell you why the last 8 hours of your life were, from a literary standpoint, well spent.)


The exbf, without any particular pretensions to do so, has written something of an early “post-paper” literary masterpiece. Now, on one hand, exbf is not the first person to tell a good-story using the internet, and on the other hand, nobody’s ever going to write a dissertation comparing the exbfproject to the Great Gatsby, but nevertheless the potential is obvious.


It’s worth bearing in mind that X (Kara always called him by his first initial) seems to be a real person, who has gone to some length to guard his, and the girls’, privacy. To do this, he never fills in a lot of the details a normal author would. The effect is that, with only vague descriptions, the reader pictures the faces of people he knows — it’s a technique Graham Greene used in “The End of the Affair” when describing the female protagonist, Sarah Miles. Greene declines to list a single physical feature of Sarah (except, I think he may have said her forehead was too big) and implores the reader to imagine the face of that girl. I’m no Graham Greene, he said it more prosaically, but I think most men know who I’m talking about. Every man has that girl. Kara is that girl.


So almost instantly, X sets a stage of anygirls and fairly prototypical relationships — there’s that failed, first high school romance (Andi); the girl that’s way more into you, but you go along with it (Gloria); that really great girl who, for whatever reason, is just not right, and that’s okay (Maria); the psycho that won’t go away (Veronica) — and chances are, any guy has been in a handful of relationships that roughly fall into some of the above categories. Chances are, you’re already picturing their faces, those eyes or that smile that you like to imagine nobody else ever really saw, the way you thought about their bare skin for weeks after the first time you saw it. That tender stuff that you’re mostly ashamed of and never really talk about. Powerful stuff.


But what makes exgfproject great is something else entirely — it’s misdirection. X doesn’t tell the story that you think he’s going to tell. X says he’s going to look back at 8 failed relationships, and figure out why he screwed them up. A reader might not realize sometimes until the very end that, actually, the whole blog is about Kara.


Over the course of four furious months of his real life, X lays down 58 chapters, every other day, a blinding pace (and incidentally, they’re often filled with great prose, like I’ll highlight below and humorous asides, “the Joliet Jake,” “So, I guess we can go back to Chili’s now, huh?” and “Tony Banks”). Kara dominates the first 25 chapters, then disappears, and you don’t even realize she’s coming back in a big way. You don’t realize that nearly every post will mention her or tie back to her. You don’t realize the last 15 chapters will be about her too. And you don’t realize that once he’s done writing about Kara, he’s going to lose all his momentum, and never contribute much more.

The reason he messed up his relationship with Roxanne and basically everyone else is:

That I wondered for years & years if today was going to be the day I would run I into[Kara] somewhere, or finally get that phone call?

Sounds vaguely familiar? It sets up Roxanne as another great prototype (the girl you should have been with, but you never gave her the time of day, because you were holding out for that girl). And you could write a lot more about each of these prototypes of girls, but that’s not my thesis.


Maybe Kara resonates here, because she fits so snugly into that defining Jay Gatsby moment (see, I mentioned Gatsby earlier for a reason) :

“I wouldn’t ask too much of her,” Nick says, “you can’t repeat the past.”

“Can’t repeat the past?” Gatsby cries out, “why of course you can!”

X suffers the same affliction. And X’s final post about Kara is truly a heart-wrenching read. The prose from this whole post is worth re-reading. First the man Kara ends up married to:


A guy that used to get stoned & eat dog food, and whose mother had her makeup permanently tattooed onto her face. A really smelly, unwashed, borderline-retarded, ignorant redneck shit-kicker who was the spitting image of her father, the father that she had resented & rebelled against her whole life.


And yet after all that Kara put him through — and we’re talking a lot of pain, a lot of cheating, a lot of heartache — and after all this time — his relationship with Kara began 17 years prior, and ended 12 years prior — he still has in his heart:


I've always thought that she sold herself short... For all her faults, I really thought, just for a minute, that she could have really done something with her life. … I don't know if she could have been a rock star, or a doctor, or an actress, or what...but I just always thought that she could have had something more, somehow ... maybe I just never could understand why the whole world wasn't as fascinated with her as I was...


From many guys, it’d just be an insincere stab. But Kara, whoever she is out there, will never read this. 12-years-later and this guy is still a little heartbroken that this girl that he loved so much didn’t live the life she could have. In a novel, it’d just be prose, but in real life, when a person doesn’t have the life they should have, they don’t get another chance, there’s no eraser and no rewrite.


And how funny is it that, now, after all the time & effort it took me to even start writing all this, and how quickly I wanted to be done with it...now, I don't want to quit writing about her. It's not that I don't want to be done with it, and it's not that I'm not over her...it's just that I still don't feel like I've found the right words to do it all justice yet.


There’s no proper term in literature for this sort of surprise ending. In a novel, this could never work. When reading, say, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” which has a similar sort of and-now-I-don’t-want-to-quit-writing ending, the reader knows there are 350 pages in the left hand, and only the back cover in the right. A 600 page book, can’t have the story end on page 350.


When X stops writing about Kara, you think he’s got 10 years of story left. And though he tells a couple more tales, the spark is out, and it just comes crashing down that this is it. This was his life. He messed up more than a decade because he believed in love a little too much, or simply with the wrong person.

If that medium-slate-blue has started to take on the contours of the reader’s personal “Kara,” the surprise ending is like accidentally striking an anvil with a hammer, the shock reverberates through the entire body.


Kara isn’t supposed to end up with the ignorant redneck shitkicker, X isn’t supposed to end up lonely. It’s a lesson too mundane for literature (even with a closing line like “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” Gatsby still had to die for his story to work), a lesson too painful and too personal for much cinema, and frankly too lofty for television. It’s a story that could only be told in a blog.


Coda


As a happy aside, two days ago, X made another post. After finishing Kara’s story a little over a year ago, and posting only a handful of times in the last 9 months, X says


“I never thought I would say this, but with any luck at all, there will be no more ex-girlfriends. I think I might have finally run out of colors....”


Below it, is the cover of the Superman Wedding Album, the famous comic book where after 60 years of false starts, Clark Kent marries Lois Lane. Maybe some people never really stop pining for Lana Lang, but in the end, everyone knows Lois is the one that’s meant to be.


The End ... for now?

[Thanks to JayHank for that excellent blogpost! - Milo]

Renetto Attacks Livevideo?

Well, well, well. If you've poked around youtube (or livevideo) in the last day, you have probably seen that Renetto posted a video yesterday (Jan 21) that brands top youtubers who have decided to start channels on livevideo.com as "traitors" to youtube:

Traitors or Not.. Smosh, Geriatric1927, Boh3m3, DIGITILsOuL?

Well, not surprisingly, renetto has really pissed some people off. His video already has 155 approved video responses. 155!!!!!

Among them is this brutal smackdown from geriatric1927:
Geriatric1927: Response to Renetto's insult

I'm sure there are some vids in this vortex supporting youtube and Renetto. One I noted is from DanielGardner (aka Tunafish, who used to frequent the Lonelygirl15 forums in the mystery days), who suggests that the original of something is always better than the replica (ummm... maybe that's true of store brand raisin bran, but does anybody still use altavista over google these days?). Daniel holds out hope that youtube will improve:
DanielGarner: I believe in YouTube

Meanwhile, YouTuber PeteMatrix has done a brief video questioned Is YouTube under threat from LiveVideo or Revver?. Not surprisingly, it shows that YouTube's Alexa internet ratings far outstrip livevideo or revver.

So, what's your opinion? Is Geriatric1972 a traitor? Or has Renetto become a youtube lackey?

As for me, I'll just say that livevideo does appear to work very smoothly with few technical problems. It is much smaller right now, which allows all my adoring fans to post comments to me (or post videos insulting me!

cara passes the crackers in bed test too

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Trying to Catch Up with Bree?

While the most recent Lonelygirl15 video (Truth or Dare) had a star turn from American Idol's Katharine McPhee, which thankfully ended up being a cute and well-done video, it is also worth nothing that it was officially the 118th video of the Lonelygirl15 series. And that doesn't even include the first few vlogs posted by Gemma and Jonas before they were canonized, or the ARG videos if you try to decipher those.

Is 118 bigger than Pluto?

118!?! 118 videos is a LOT of videos for new Lonelygirl15 watchers to digest. So, with some inspiration from the article I blogged about last week, Terryfic (an early lg15 fan adored by all) has launched a series of recap videos summarizing the lonelygirl15 series to date.

The youtube channel is called LonelyGirl15Recaps. The first two vids are already up, and show the highlights from the series from its inception through the discovery of the sinister photograph of Aleister Crowley on Bree's wall (June 16 - Aug 6, 2007). Be sure to check them out (especially all new and curious lonelygirl15 watchers)!

Recaps Vid 1


Recaps Vid 2


Lastly, leaving Bree for a moment, for the endless stream of visitors who find my blog by searching google for "cara brimley" or "are the nohogirls fake" (see here and here if you can't figure it out!), I should mention that the nohogirls recently posted a official recap of their shenanigans to date. Anyone wanting to know more about the nohos (or bree) really should visit the forums at Anchor Cove. That's all for now, folks.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

I Wish I Had Written This ....

A Must Read. Elle Dee has written an excellent analysis of some of the problems the Lonelygirl15 series has been dealing with since Jessica Rose was outed as the actress playing Bree in September 2006.

Why Don't More People Watch LonelyGirl15?

Excerpt:
Cameos from teen idols are all well and good, but I don't believe it gets to the heart of LG15's viewership problem: the show is simply too intimidating for new viewers, and risks alienating current viewers as well.
The article identifies the problems caused by the way Gemma and Jonas were introduced, as well as the confusion caused by the OpAphid ARG ("alternate reality game") that is supposed to be an independent project for the most part, but has become more intertwined with the LG15 plotline.

Ms. Dee concludes with some excellent recommendations for the Creators. But none of them deal with, unfortunately, introducing yours truly as a canon character. One step at a time, I guess.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

LG15 Gets ... McPheever! (Yes, I do mean Katharine McPhee of American Idol)

Just when you though the plot of Lonelygirl15 could not get any weirder (her parents aren't her real parents? Her notDad is dead? She's a potential? Where's my Buffy DVD collection?), well, reality gets weirder still.

It came out in the press today that Katharine Phee, the runner up from last season's run of American Idol, will guest star in an episode of LG15 to be released on Friday January 19. It's an AP article, so its everywhere.

So is this a good or bad development for LG15? Well, first of all, she's not horrible to look at...
Crackers In Bed Approved

Second, some new publicity can't hurt the series. Increasing viewership is not a bad thing.

Is it possible the Creators will flub this one and make it incredibly painful? Will the characters be buying Katharine McPhee CDs in the episode? I think even the crazy plot of LG15 cannot withstand that. Personally, I'm hoping the next guest star is William Hung. Now, that guy is REALLY famous.

i have no regrets about my lg15 appearance

Friday, January 05, 2007

YouTube Down?

YouTube appears down this morning, and may have been for at least the last 8 hours.

Could it possibly be due to this lawsuit in Brazil? It appears some model and celebrity in Brazil has a sex-on-the-beach (or more accurately, in the water) video show up on youtube, and they can't seem to keep it off. So a Brazillian Judge has ordered YouTube to be shut down. Seems to me very unlikely this can be the cause of the YouTube outage, because i don't see how a Brazil court's order would be enforced so quickly in the U.S.

Excerpt:

Court orders YouTube shut
....
A BRAZILIAN court has ordered the popular video sharing service YouTube be shut down until it removes a celebrity sex video from its site.

Daniela Cicarelli, a model and ex-wife of football great Ronaldo, sued YouTube after a video of her apparently having sex in shallow water on a beach with her boyfriend was posted to the site. For days it was the most viewed video in Brazil.

... Some copies of the video have been taken off the site but users reposted it.

.... legal experts said the ruling by the Brazilian court could be difficult to enforce in the United States, where YouTube is based.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

YOUTUBE videos SUCK and other observations....

The Lonelygirl15 Creators' placement of a screencap of Bree into the center of the Unthinkable Happened video (and posting the video on Bree's account instead of the Danielbeast account) in order to increase views got me thinking about how scammers are hurting legitimate videos at youtube.

The Unthinkable Happened (Posted on Youtube Jan 1, 2007) is current showing up at #16 on the Most Viewed This Week chart (376K+ views). The most popular video from LG15 in over two months.

Let's look at what constitutes the cream of the crop this week, shall we? Well, among this week's top 20 is a lot of trash:

1. EastCoastBob JJ chokes on Live TV..MSNBC MisterClip Clip of an MSNBC anchor losing her voice while commenting on saddam. Not funny. (Posted Dec 29, 1.3million+ views)

2. saddam idam Arabic language newsclip on saddam hanging. (Posted Dec. 30, 1.3million+ views)

3. Saddam Hussein HangingA 3 second vid showing saddam in the noose, and fake tougue sticks out. (Posted 29, 1.1million+ views)

4. Dirt Premiere Party Footage from premiere party from this new FX network show, on the FX youtube channel. (Posted Dec. 28, 943K+ views). Clearly scammed, has almost 1 million views, but only 52 comments.

5. Cutie Custom Maxim-type video of some japanese model. (Posted Jan 1, 815K+ views)

6. Saddam Hussein Execution Exclusive from Baghdad Another fake Saddam hanging vid. (Posted Dec 29, 682K+ views)

7. If You Had 15 Seconds A call from that late show talk host with the scottish accent (what's his name again)? For people to submit 15 sec videos, with a chance to be aired after the Superbowl. From the official CBS channel (Posted Dec. 29, 674K+ views)

8. Saddam Hussein Executed Live Hanging 30-12-2006 3:05 a.m/ Yet another fake saddam hanging video. (Dec. 29, 650K+ views)

9. Featured Video Intro (Updated Hourly). apparently a leftover 3 second intro segment to the new year's feature youtube did, sponsored by Chevy. (Posted Dec. 29, 547K+ views)

10. Saddam Hussein Hanging. It's not. (Posted Dec. 29, 561K+ views [will move to #9 at next chart ordering)

11. Tara Reid counts down to 2007 in Chicago with Efren Ramirez! Who actually counts all the way down from 60?!! I have no clue how it got this many views. (Posted Jan 2, 769K+ views -- will be moving up a few notches at next ordering)

12. Strange Faces and Noises I Can Make III. (Dec 29, 489K+ views) FINALLY! A real youtuber makes a video that is on the chart!!! But ... it is a stupid video of him making silly faces and noises to the webcam. So, of course Youtube featured it! The creator himself says: "P.S. - Thanks for the feature, Youtube. This video is a shining example of how one can be lauded for something that they put little or no effort into. This video took 20 minutes to make, edit, and post. ... Seriously, I totally agree with everyone who says this shouldn't have been featured. For those who put time and effort into making other videos (including myself), I sincerely apologize.

13. Happy New Year Beavers (Dec 31, 515K+ views) A totally ridiculous video of some animals (stills) saying stuff about a happy new years. But another authentic youtuber, who says: And before you all start slagging off my video... this was made for my group of friends, endearingly called the Beavers (hence the Happy New Year Beavers title). I created it to use on my blog to wish them all a Happy New Year.
As I don't have a video server the easiest way to share this video was to upload it to Youtube and I put it in the New Year catagory.... why it has been featured... I have no idea. ... No the video didn't take a long time to make, it was knocked up using multiple frames in WMM... Prefer not to receive insulting comments as I didn't make the video for anyone else but my friends....

14. Saddam's Execution footage (Real) (Dec 29, 419K+views) GUESS WHAT!! It's not the real footage!!!! What a surprise.

15. DZ Ozma (Dec 31, 515K+ views) The Japanese TV clip from their New Year's Eve show. What a silly song -- "bounce bounce bounce"? Anyhow, all the girl dancers go topless as it progresses, which was a big hubbub in japan (apparently they were wearing bodysuits).

16. The Unthinkable Happened. (Jan 1, 420K+ views). Yes, it truly is unthinkable. It is amazing that a video made specifically for internet viewers, one that people spent time on, actually made the most viewed list at youtube. And without being featured. This is from the most subscribed youtube channel of all time. Does anyone else really have a chance of making the most viewed lists (without being featured) these days with a legitimate video? Probably not.

17. MY 1ST PORNO - tell me what you think, sex, christina (Dec 7, 368K+ views). This uses the traditional scamming technique of inserting a hot chick at the center of video having nothing to do with it. Also, the comment sidebar is just a tremendous huge tagcloud meant to gather hits. The actual subject of the video is the alleged conspiracy around the collapse World Trade Center Building 7. Also completely scammed, as it has only 4 comments.

18. sonja kraus upskirt 2. (Dec 29, 362K+ views). A little bit of underwear goes far, i guess.

19. Happy New Year (Jan 1, 384K+ views). An authethic older vlogger. (nice comment: "why are there so many old people posting videos on YouTube?" yes, its forbidden, is it not?). How did it get this high? It got featured, of course.

20. UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 - THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! (Dec 28, 350K+ views) From the official ultimate fighting championship channel. Thank god this sport can still make the top 20.

No, you don't need to thank me for enriching your life by sharing all these precious videos with you!