Fun with YouTube
Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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Web
I've been stumbling across a lot of fun videos on YouTube lately. So in a kind of cousin to Multi-link Monday, here's YouTube Tuesday -- five videos that you might enjoy. Note: All links go directly to the videos, so if you're at work, have your headphones on.
• Now that Sunday's NFL Draft is over, enjoy this hilarious parody of The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" taking a look at some of the most disappointing draft picks of years past. ("You looked like a Grecian god, but hit just like my cousin Maude!") Anything by BradyFan83 is a must-watch for me on YouTube, but you have to like football -- and modern music. He also put up a video about Brady Quinn's draft day plunge -- that's quick work, man!
• I'm a sucker for those old mental hygiene films, the kind we had to watch in school ("please stop the projector now and discuss"). Save AV Geeks as a favorite YouTube contributor and you'll get plenty of these old gems. Some favorites of mine: "Shake Hands With Danger" shows how you can mutilate yourself with large equipment; "Ro-Revus Talks About Worms" puts a creepy face on intestinal parasites; and "Soapy the Germ Fighter" teaches kids not to be afraid of giant living cakes of soap who appear in your bedroom at night.
• Some slightly more modern mental hygiene films include these 1970s gems. Remember Yuck Mouth, who didn't brush? Timer, who hankered fer a hunka cheese? And I don't remember this PSA on eating more fruit, but it'll give you "Schoolhouse Rock" flashbacks.
• Saturday morning cartoons have changed a lot over the years -- remember when the networks actually offered up preview shows giving kids a sneak peek at the upcoming cartoons? Here's a fun commercial previewing the 1971 ABC lineup. Now I remember why "Lidsville" gave me nightmares. And how long did that "Jackson 5" cartoon last, anyway? If the 1980s were more your cartoon era, settle in for a half-hour recap of cartoon openings from that decade. Worth it if just for "Gilligan's Planet." If 1990s cartoons are more your style, this medley might appeal. Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all!
• And not everything on YouTube is pop-culture fun. German abstract filmmaker Hans Richter made "Ghosts Before Breakfast" in 1927. The techniques and tricks he used may seem old hat to us now, but try to imagine them in the mid-1920s. As the commentor notes "Astonishing. I was under the impression digital technologies invented these techniques. " A note shown before the film begins says that the Nazis destroyed the sound version of the film, considering it "degenerate art." A fascinating bit of history.
