Where's Snooki?

Via Cityrag

Almost As Fun As Drowning

The time has come! It's taken them forever, but Paramount Home Entertainment finally announced yesterday that Daria The Complete Animated Series is coming to DVD on May 11, 2010! All five seasons plus the two movies; god my heart just stopped. And the release date is just in time for my birthday, which means I'll either be hasty and buy it as a gift for myself, or I'll let someone else get it for me and then proceed to slather them with love. Hope they're prepared for that. I haven't been this excited for a new release since the last Mystik Spiral record came out!

Down By The Shore

So unless you're one of those people who don't own a TV, you've probably already seen or at least heard about MTV's new "reality show" Jersey Shore. It's probably one of the worst things I've ever subjected my eyes to, but after only one episode there are already countless highly quotable lines. That's got to mean something right? Parody is only a step behind, and comedians are hot on the tail of the Jersey Shore train wreck. Nick Kroll has made a name for himself doing both acting (FX's The League), voice work (HBO's The Life & Times of Tim), and stand up, but his character Bobby Bottleservice may be on the verge of becoming a viral sensation. I saw Kroll last year for a Chanucomedy event at the 92Y Tribeca, and his stand up snagged me in under a minute. His blog is pretty amazing too. And remember, unlike The Situation, Bobby Bottleservice respects women:

Photograph by Christopher Smith for the New York Times

The Next Big Thing

I first met Aziz Ansari in 2007, when I interviewed him for Heeb magazine's 'Honorary Heeb' feature. At the time he was a regular in the NYC stand up circuit, and after seeing him flaunt his comedy chops at least a half dozen times I was determined to interview him. His career was on an upward trajectory: he was on the cusp of a major MTV show (Human Giant) and with that his fan base grew exponentially.

Let me be the first to tell you, that when Judd Apatow's Funny People comes out this Friday, Aziz Ansari will become a household name. The character he created for Funny People, a crass-dancing-womanizing comic named Raaaaaaaandy (with eight As) is about to steal the show. Literally. Funny People isn't even out yet, and Apatow is already thinking about giving Raaaaaaaandy his own feature film. I guess having your own hype man/DJ really pays off.

Below is a sample of some of Raaaaaaaandy's magic. Also to give you an idea of Ansari's other work I've included my favorite sketch from Human Giant. As Raaaaaaaandy would say, get ready to 'laugh your dick off'!





Check out Raaaaaaaandy's website here. Check out my interview with Aziz Ansari for Heeb magazine here.

The Video Vault

I really appreciate it when musicians have the balls to take their creative vision to the next level. And we all know that music videos were once the best way to do that (MTV what have you become?!?) Thank goodness we still have the cinematic magic of Thriller forever in our hearts. But you know who else has put out some great videos? Bjork! That crazy Icelandic princess. One of her greatest collaborations was with John K, the creator of Ren and Stimpy, for her infectious pop gem 'I Miss You'.

Bjork - I Miss You