Don't worry, this episode isn't in French. I just thought it would be fun to name it like a futuristic perfume inspired by the fragrance.
I realized after I finished this that he should have referred to it as a "mysterious" odor. If you didn't know the astronauts were confounded by it, the joke could be lost. Oh well, what can I do? Re-do it? I don't think so. Moving on.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Irony
This episode is dripping of it.
Yeah, the last two lines were totally self-indulgent. I judge whether a clip is working if it makes me laugh or not when I play the preview. This one seemed lacking until I added the last two lines. I'm not sure that helped anyone else find it funny, but it gave me a chuckle -- and as an artist, isn't that all that matters?
Speaking of The Three Stooges, the Farrelly brothers want to cast Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carrey in their film version. I think that's a great idea, but I think to make it really interesting, they should play it straight -- not as a comedy.
One more thing, a quick thanks to Scott Beale for featuring DI on Laughing Squid. Very nice.
Yeah, the last two lines were totally self-indulgent. I judge whether a clip is working if it makes me laugh or not when I play the preview. This one seemed lacking until I added the last two lines. I'm not sure that helped anyone else find it funny, but it gave me a chuckle -- and as an artist, isn't that all that matters?
Speaking of The Three Stooges, the Farrelly brothers want to cast Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carrey in their film version. I think that's a great idea, but I think to make it really interesting, they should play it straight -- not as a comedy.
One more thing, a quick thanks to Scott Beale for featuring DI on Laughing Squid. Very nice.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Mortuary Science
When I read this story, I honestly had the exact same thought that Brad did. Why is this illegal? A funeral home employee snitched and they exhumed the body to check it out. Really? Why? Who cares?
If you're not familiar with the name mentioned at the end, David Frum was a speechwriter for Bush who helped spin us into the Iraq war with the phrase "the axis of evil." He's a "true American hero." He's also the son of a multi-millionaire real estate developer. A lot of conservatives (and liberals too, I admit) join the cause due to a pet issue, such as abortion or terrorism. I'm guessing his is the estate tax.
The estate tax is a good example of how they try to use jargon to spin ideas. Nobody minded the estate tax because, as its name implied, it only applied to rich people. So the Republicans renamed it the "death tax." That didn't work on me. My feeling was, "Hey, why not tax the dead? They don't care. And even if they did, what are they going to do about it? Screw you dead guys."
I have to give props to Frum for one thing, though. Even he came out against Sarah Palin as being obviously unfit for the job. So I'll give him that.
If you're not familiar with the name mentioned at the end, David Frum was a speechwriter for Bush who helped spin us into the Iraq war with the phrase "the axis of evil." He's a "true American hero." He's also the son of a multi-millionaire real estate developer. A lot of conservatives (and liberals too, I admit) join the cause due to a pet issue, such as abortion or terrorism. I'm guessing his is the estate tax.
The estate tax is a good example of how they try to use jargon to spin ideas. Nobody minded the estate tax because, as its name implied, it only applied to rich people. So the Republicans renamed it the "death tax." That didn't work on me. My feeling was, "Hey, why not tax the dead? They don't care. And even if they did, what are they going to do about it? Screw you dead guys."
I have to give props to Frum for one thing, though. Even he came out against Sarah Palin as being obviously unfit for the job. So I'll give him that.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hay Fever Relief
I have to thank Kevin Parsons for sending me this news story. With that to work with, the episode practically wrote itself.
A while ago I did an episode called Brain Worms and I still occasionally get visitors who stumbled on this site as a result of a Google search for "brain worms." I picture someone getting a disturbing diagnosis, doing a search to see what they are up against and then finding a silly little video that makes light of their plight. So if you came here looking for serious relief for your hay fever -- sorry.
For those of you so kind as to be fans on the Facebook fan page, there's a new exclusive clip up there for you to see. Enjoy. But if you go there to see it and don't click "Become a Fan", shame on you.
A while ago I did an episode called Brain Worms and I still occasionally get visitors who stumbled on this site as a result of a Google search for "brain worms." I picture someone getting a disturbing diagnosis, doing a search to see what they are up against and then finding a silly little video that makes light of their plight. So if you came here looking for serious relief for your hay fever -- sorry.
For those of you so kind as to be fans on the Facebook fan page, there's a new exclusive clip up there for you to see. Enjoy. But if you go there to see it and don't click "Become a Fan", shame on you.
Friday, April 3, 2009
New Mexico
This is the kind of episode where I fear some stand-up comedian will contact me and say I ripped off his New Mexico joke. I don't think I've heard any of these jokes before, but I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't the first to make them. Co-invention happens all the time.
A few years ago I had the thought that it must be really hard to throw away an old garbage can -- the garbage man would just be confused by the empty can at the curb and leave it behind. Then last year NBC ran the first SNL (an episode I know I saw back in the day) and George Carlin told that joke. Somehow it lodged in my subconcious for decades, waiting to pop out as what I thought was an original idea. But then again, maybe I had forgotten it entirely and my idea was, in essence, "original." Who knows? But as unintentional as it would have been, if I had used the garbage can joke in a DI, someone would have remembered the Carlin bit and assumed I was stealing from the master. Yikes. I hope nothing like that ever happens, but it probably will. Maybe it already has.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to pronounce Albuquerque correctly. No matter, the mispronounciation is funnier.
A few years ago I had the thought that it must be really hard to throw away an old garbage can -- the garbage man would just be confused by the empty can at the curb and leave it behind. Then last year NBC ran the first SNL (an episode I know I saw back in the day) and George Carlin told that joke. Somehow it lodged in my subconcious for decades, waiting to pop out as what I thought was an original idea. But then again, maybe I had forgotten it entirely and my idea was, in essence, "original." Who knows? But as unintentional as it would have been, if I had used the garbage can joke in a DI, someone would have remembered the Carlin bit and assumed I was stealing from the master. Yikes. I hope nothing like that ever happens, but it probably will. Maybe it already has.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to pronounce Albuquerque correctly. No matter, the mispronounciation is funnier.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Italian Ingenuity
I'm rushing through this posting because I have to go computer shopping. Then I'll be spending the next two days installing software, transferring files, all kinds of fun activities. No matter how bad your old computer was, getting a new computer isn't fun. It's pretty much the opposite of fun. I know a lot of computer geeks can think of nothing better than loading up a brand new CPU, but that's not me.
How much fatter will American office workers be when they get this machine installed in company lunchrooms. As if the smell of microwave popcorn isn't tempting enough, imagine the smell of fresh pizza baking at 3:00 in the afternoon.
The call out to Portugal didn't work as well as I had hoped, but it probably doesn't matter. It's not likely anyone in Portugal is going to see this. I don't really have a beef with Portugal; I just needed an ending. Sorry, Portugal.
UPDATE: The Obamas have obtained a Portuguese Water Dog. What the hell is the matter with our American Water Dogs?
How much fatter will American office workers be when they get this machine installed in company lunchrooms. As if the smell of microwave popcorn isn't tempting enough, imagine the smell of fresh pizza baking at 3:00 in the afternoon.
The call out to Portugal didn't work as well as I had hoped, but it probably doesn't matter. It's not likely anyone in Portugal is going to see this. I don't really have a beef with Portugal; I just needed an ending. Sorry, Portugal.
UPDATE: The Obamas have obtained a Portuguese Water Dog. What the hell is the matter with our American Water Dogs?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Tao of Brad
Here's a third happiness related episode to close out the theme. Ironically, my main computer just died so I'm far from happy right now. I just love forced shopping trips. Maybe I should use this as an excuse to finally go Mac.
While it might sound like I'm being dismissive of Zen teachings, I actually think they make a lot of sense. Though I'm not actively seeking enlightenment, I do try to keep material concerns from interferring with my ability to enjoy life. I may not be as ambitious as I might be if I were more greedy, but I do save a lot of money not buying crap I don't need. I'm sort of Zen-lite. I'm perfectly happy driving a Saturn Ion as long as it has the upgraded engine, chrome wheels and leather interior. Don't judge me.
A cool animation blog, Cartoon Brew, featured Deadpan Inc. today. While I greatly appreciate the attention, there were some strange statements in the posting. He said I do these "instead of writing." How does he think I do them? I'm not recording the conversations of actual robots. Didn't think I would have to clarify that, but I guess I did. He also calls me out as "obviously not a professional animator." Boy, he got me there. Actually, I got the impression he liked the work, despite the snark, and as they say, "There's no such thing as bad publicity." Thanks Jerry.
While it might sound like I'm being dismissive of Zen teachings, I actually think they make a lot of sense. Though I'm not actively seeking enlightenment, I do try to keep material concerns from interferring with my ability to enjoy life. I may not be as ambitious as I might be if I were more greedy, but I do save a lot of money not buying crap I don't need. I'm sort of Zen-lite. I'm perfectly happy driving a Saturn Ion as long as it has the upgraded engine, chrome wheels and leather interior. Don't judge me.
A cool animation blog, Cartoon Brew, featured Deadpan Inc. today. While I greatly appreciate the attention, there were some strange statements in the posting. He said I do these "instead of writing." How does he think I do them? I'm not recording the conversations of actual robots. Didn't think I would have to clarify that, but I guess I did. He also calls me out as "obviously not a professional animator." Boy, he got me there. Actually, I got the impression he liked the work, despite the snark, and as they say, "There's no such thing as bad publicity." Thanks Jerry.
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