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'Difficult People' has a new take on disability

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Hulu has picked up Difficult People, a half-hour comedy initially developed for USA featuring two bitter, jaded comedians who can't stand anyone around them—except each other. With leads Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner anchoring the show, the comedy promises to be totally amazing, but there’s another star on the show who’s worthy of note: Shannon DeVido, a disabled actress who’s been cracking audiences up and challenging norms about disability on stage, screen, and YouTube, where she maintains the popular “Stare at Shannon” webseries.

What makes this role remarkable, however, is precisely what’s unremarkable about it. The role wasn’t written or designed for a disabled character, and DeVido was cast on her own merits as an actor. In a world where disabled talent is often pigeonholed into a limited number of roles, this marks a significant accomplishment and shift in the way Hollywood thinks about how it wants to address disability.

Which is good news not just for Hollywood, but also for audiences. Fans of Difficult People—and there will be many—are going to be seeing a comedian going about her business and being hilarious. It just so happens that she’ll be using a wheelchair for mobility, but that won’t be the most important part of her character, as she noted in an interview with Bustle when she talked about the role. For audiences uncomfortable with disability and unaccustomed to seeing disabled people on screen, she’ll be an eye-opening exposure to the fact that disability isn’t frightening, nor is it the defining characteristic of people’s personalities.

The show, produced by Amy Poehler and Dave Becky, revolves around a pair of classically struggling comedians on the fringes of New York’s comedy scene, looking for their big break. In the “us against the world” plot, they’re constantly frustrated as their peers work their way up the ranks, they talk trash about their fellow comedians, and they bond over their exclusion from the circles of the famous and fortunate. They’re constantly up to hijinks and general irreverence, which occasionally lands them on the wrong side of social situations—but at least they have each other to gripe with.

It’s one among a growing list of Web-only original series that’s changing the face of film and television in the U.S. With shows like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black on Netflix, Hulu is wading into the fray in an attempt to compete. Difficult People is one of a number of new productions the website is hoping to use to woo away some market share—and an Amy Poehler-produced half-hour comedy promises to be screamingly funny, so it’s a smart move.

DeVido will appear in an episode as a comedian who rolls on stage and starts telling wacky stories, in a role originally envisioned for a character who wears glasses and has a funky, off-beat storytelling style, with no mention of ability status. Two circumstances conspired to put Shannon in the role: Her agent submitted her even though the role wasn’t specifically written for a disabled character, and the casting director was open to all comedians who fit the part.

Representing disabled talent can be challenging, as agents have to pick and choose carefully when it comes to auditions. Roles specifically written for disabled characters can be a frustrating exercise in stereotypes and brief inspirational moments on screen—but if a role isn’t specifically written for someone with a disability, casting directors may write a disabled actor off as soon as she shows up to audition. As if that isn't bad enough, not all studios and sets are accessible, so wheelchair users like DeVido sometimes literally can’t get in the door.

That wasn’t the case with Difficult People, where the producers wanted funny people, period. And that’s why they hired DeVido, whose offbeat humor can be seen to great effect in “Stare at Shannon,” where she performs silly improv stunts in public. They’re all designed to be funny on their own, but it helps that she loves poking fun at herself; she’s inviting people to stare at her, and to realize that her sense of humor has nothing to do with her spinal muscular atrophy. Seeing a disabled woman zooming around in a wheelchair cracking jokes might be discomfiting, which is part of the point: While she's out to entertain audiences, she also wants them to think about how they relate to disability.

And that’s precisely what will happen on Difficult People, when Eichner starts mocking her on stage and the point of the scene isn’t that he’s making fun of a disabled comedian, but that he’s belittling a fellow member of the comedy scene. We’re supposed to view him in a negative light not because he’s insensitive, but because he’s a jerk to everyone across the board, regardless of who they are.

DeVido noted that people often feel uncomfortable around her when she’s filming for “Stare at Shannon.” People have thought she’s soliciting for money, they’ve patted her on the head, and they’ve called her “inspirational” simply for doing what she loves and what she’s good at. Sometimes these interactions are captured on film and reflected back in the face of the viewer, challenging the idea that disabled people are here to inspire the nondisabled community or that they’re doing something courageous by leaving the house, doing improv routines, or heading to a casting call just like any other comedian.

Difficult People will be worth tuning in for because it’s already attracted a huge swath of comedic talent. This is just one of several series on Poehler's plate, but that won’t make it any less funny. And hey, if one of the comedians on the show happens to be disabled, so much the better—because sometimes disability is funny, and seeing a disabled actor is a reminder of all the great talent we’re missing out on.

Photo via D. Sharon Pruitt/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)


Stephen Malkmus covered Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' for a bunch of kids

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The kids love Taylor Swift. The kids love "Blank Space." And, apparently, the kids love Stephen Malkmus covering "Blank Space." 

Last month, the former Pavement frontman performed with his current band, the Jicks, as part of the Portland, Ore.-based kids' variety show, You Who. The audience is decidedly younger than a typical Jicks show, so of course they covered "Blank Space." 

The kids almost start a mosh pit toward the end. Or maybe they're all just clamoring for the bubble machine. 

H/T Pitchfork | Screengrab via MyMusicRx/YouTube 

Afroman literally threw a fan offstage for taking a hit too many on a blunt

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Potheads are generally a fairly congenial, peace-loving bunch. They’re usually too busy trying to figure out how to order burritos on Seamless to be rude or violent, but if they get out of line you can always just blare death metal at them and watch them run away and cower in a corner.

Afroman, however, belongs to a rare, entirely different breed of stoner: the violent asshole. 

Following an incident earlier this week where he punched a female fan onstage, video has surfaced of the “Because I Got High” troubadour inviting a fan onstage, then literally throwing him offstage for not passing the blunt in an efficient manner. Not chill, Afroman. Not chill at all.

According to fan footage on YouTube, the incident went down last December at Thompson House in Newport, Ky. Afroman had just set the stage by singing an incomprehensible parody of “Deck the Halls”—I can’t really make out what he’s saying, but it seems to be extolling the virtues of road head—before inviting a fan onstage to smoke a blunt with him. But when the fan started Bogarting the joint, Afroman got frustrated and literally threw him back into the crowd, which you can see at the 1:45 mark.

Clearly, Afroman has some anger management issues, which have prompted concert bookers to cancel a slew of upcoming gigs. But he seems contrite about the whole thing, or at least as contrite as someone who cold-cocked a woman in public could possibly be:

Sorry, Afroman, but “because I got high” isn’t gonna cut it as an excuse this time.

H/T BroBible | Screengrab via Weedmaps TV/YouTube

Rainn Wilson and Donald Faison upstage Ingrid Michaelson in her new music video

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Ingrid Michaelson isn’t taking crap from anyone—especially not the men who took over her music video.

Having already teamed up with SoulPancake in the past with “Little Kids. Big Questions.,” Michaelson figured bringing Rainn Wilson along for the ride seemed like a no-brainer, so he and and eight other comedic actors brought havoc with them for Michaelson’s “Time Machine”music video. It’s not a romantic song, and it manages to smash a bunch of romantic clichés (not to mention a bouquet of roses).

It’s both fun and entertaining, giving us a better idea of what it’d look like if men played the typical women’s roles in music videos.

Besides, where else are you going to see Donald Faison serenading you in a giant bath tub?

“When I came up with the idea for this video, I had no clue how to get these guys involved,” Michaelson told BuzzFeed News. “I’ve never loved being upstaged so much.”

Neither have we.

H/T BuzzFeed | Screengrab via SoulPancake/YouTube

YouTube for Kids to go live on Feb. 23

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BY SAHIL PATEL

Almost a year in the making, a children’s version of YouTube finally has a release date. The service, which will be available as a free Android app for smartphones and tablets, will go live on Monday, Feb. 23.

With a focus on educational content and early literacy, YouTube Kids will feature licensed content from established producers as well as originals made exclusively for the mobile app.

Launch content partners include The Jim Henson Company, which is supplying full episodes of classic series like Sid the Science KidPajanimals, and Fraggle RockDreamWorks TV, which launched on YouTube last year with original short-form programming inspired by the animation studio’s IP; Nat Geo Kids, which will offer a mix of original and curated videos; Mother Goose Club; and Talking Tom and Friends.

One of the biggest names in children’s TV, Reading Rainbow, will also be a major part of the app. Its creator, LeVar Burton, is producing a series for YouTube Kids called uTech, which will explore future technologies that will become an ever-present part of people’s lives.

Beyond the traditional names, the app will also offer original series and videos created by some of YouTube’s biggest stars. Hank and John Green (the Vlogbrothers), for instance, have created kids’ versions of their popular educational series SciShow and Crash Course. Joseph Garrett, a U.K.-based Minecraft gamer known by most as Stampylonghead, has also agreed to make videos for the new service.

All channels and playlists will be organized by four main categories: Shows, Music, Learning, and Explore. Additional features include parental controls over time limits, as well as the ability to turn sound and search on or off.

Read the full article on the VideoInk website.

Illustration by Max Fleishman

Stream these Oscar-nominated shorts before the Academy Awards

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The Oscar-nominated shorts don't usually get the same shine as the big-name pictures, so Vimeo went ahead and put them all in one place. You can either rent them for a 72-hour period, or buy and stream anytime.

Animated shorts Single Life, Me and My Moulton, The Bigger Picture, and The Dam Keeper are available to stream before Sunday’s awards, as are live-action films Aya, Boogaloo and Graham, Butter Lamp, Parvaneh, and The Phone Call.

Anything involving Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine, Vera Drake) is worth watching, and powerful short The Phone Call is no exception. As for animated films, Me and My Moulton is quite charming and a good weekend watch. The Dam Keeper is a dark story that stars a cute pig. (Another quality short, Disney's Feast, is available on iTunes.)

Vimeo is also offering access to two films you can’t stream elsewhere: The Reaper (La Parka) and White Earth.

H/T Decider | Screengrab via Vimeo 

This 'Sesame Street' parody of 'Birdman' stars everyone's favorite avian

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In one fell swoop (and one continuous shot), Sesame Street managed to peck at the best and the worst of Birdman and pull off a nearly seamless parody. The spoof focused on the big bird of the street, so naturally it was called Big Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Orange Pants).

We may not know much about Caroll Spinney, the man behind Big Bird, but we do know plenty about the bird himself. Even when he’s out of the costume, he hears that pleasant voice—and it haunts him.

He can't escape it, but then, maybe he doesn't even want to escape it. He'll fly, but not if he lets logic and the alphabet get in the way.

Give this movie all of the Oscars.

H/T Hollywood Reporter | Screengrab via The Watercooler/YouTube

The best of Harris Wittels, from 'Parks and Recreation' to the humblebrag

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Fans and comedy lovers are mourning Harris Wittels, who was found dead in his L.A. home on Thursday.

Wittels, who was just 30 years old, accomplished much during his comedy career. He was a writer and later executive producer on Parks and Recreation, a regular on hit podcast Comedy Bang! Bang!, and popularized the term “humblebrag” on Twitter

Wittels left a small goldmine of comedy online. Here are some of his best-loved bits and appearances.

1) Parks and Recreation 

Wittels appeared on Parks and Recreation as Harris, a 33-year-old animal control worker and avid Phish fan who was always “down to clown." 

2) Comedy Bang! Bang! 

Fans of Comedy Bang! Bang!will remember him best for Harris’s Phone Corner, also known as Harris’s Foam Corner, a segment that featured Wittels reading jokes he'd written in his phone. You can check out a full catalog of Wittels’ appearances here.  

Wittels also appeared on Comedy Bang! Bang! as a character named Jack Sjunior.

3) The humblebrag 

Wittels cultivated a huge following on Twitter through his @Humblebrag account, which astutely zeroed in on self-adulating tweets thinly veiled as accounts of adversity.

The account eventually spawned a book and a very funny promo.

Screengrab via Funny or Die/YouTube


'Mad Max: Fury Road' has a new trailer—and it's epic

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At this point in the life of the Mad Max: Fury Road trailer, the biggest question is whether star Tom Hardy actually says anything in this movie. 

We already know that director George Miller went with a mostly dialogue-free script, which has led to previous trailers full of some of the most high-octane, pure action sequences we've seen in cinema since Gene Hackman sped through Paris in The French Connection

The new international trailer, like its predecessor, doesn't answer this question, but once again we could care less, because once again we're too busy being blown away by the action.

It's increasingly easy to see why the crowd at last year's Comic-Con went totally nuts over the extended version of the Mad Max trailer. There's no lizard-eating in this particular trailer, but there is an ever-expanding cast of disreputables who look like they stepped off the latest runway show at the Capitol. The original Mad Max, along with Frank Herbert's Dune, pretty much defined futuristic wasteland dystopia in the ’80s, and it looks like Miller has spent the last three decades thinking long and hard about how to keep that original aesthetic by transforming it into something that almost smells like the future. The harsh colors, the shaved heads, Charlize Theron's gang of female scavengers, and the gleefully manic pursuit through the desert by a team of villains almost have that covered. 

But the kicker is that even in this trailer we can see the effect of this lifestyle on Max. Tom Hardy's wordless transformation from the opening shot, when he gazes at the viewer with a look of startled, wide-eyed vulnerability, through the subsequent frames where he's gagged, forced to fight back, and become the vigilante himself, show us the "Mad" happening to Max against a backdrop of—what else?—Verdi's Dies Irae, in one of the few times in trailer history its use has felt validated by the subject material.

Just a few more months til this film's May 15 release, and we can all welcome our new crazed, skull-flaunting, orange-soaked desert overlords.

Screengrab via MOVIECLIPS Trailers/YouTube

Amber Rose calls out Kanye West on Twitter

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After escalating her feud with the Kardashian family over Instagramearlier this week, Amber Rose is now turning to airing her grievances with former beau Kanye West on Twitter, following a diss from West on a radio broadcast.

"If Kim had dated me when I first wanted to be with her, there wouldn't be an Amber Rose," West told Power 105.1. "It's very hard for a woman to want to be with someone that's with Amber Rose... I had to take 30 showers before I got with Kim." 

Rose did not take the implications about her sexual history lightly, turning to Twitter to call out West.


Rose, there's no need to be fighting. When you look like you do in a barely-there bikini, there's no reason to bother with drama. Just keep being fabulous.

Photo via SOCIALisBETTER/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Fernando Alfonso III

Are Prince Harry and Emma Watson dating?

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Those of us who have been shipping Harry Potter and Hermione Granger since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone came out in the ’90s may now have something to gush over in real life.

Well, sort of. No, Emma Watson isn’t going out with Daniel Radcliffe. Instead, she has been dating Prince Harry of Wales on the down low, according to an Australian online publication.

Woman's Day Australia reports that the couple have gone on numerous "secret dates" since Watson split with her Bristish rugby-playing beau Matthew Janney last December. The courtship began with the royal asking mutual friends to connect him with the actress. He then reached out to her via email, which is pretty much the digital age equivalent of passing her a note during French class.

Of course, there really was no need for a dozen other people to be present for the duo's first date, but a gentleman does everything in his power to make a gal feel comfortable. “Harry didn’t want her to feel like she was put on the spot,” a source tells Woman's Day. “A party also shows he’s fun and not stuffy.”

Since then, they have reportedly gone on many dates. Plural! Of course the entire Internet is freaking out over the rumor—even if there’s only one source behind the story.

The overall consensus is:

Quick, someone write Beauty and the Beast fanfic about these two! 

H/T Woman’s Day Australia | Photo by Marco Bond/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Creep on a Google Glass date with webseries 'Watch Me Date'

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How would you feel if someone showed up to a date wearing Google Glass? Hopefully you'd be disgusted and a little bit disappointed that you'd been set up with such a dork. If both parties turned up with those things on their faces, you might expect a scene akin to this

This is the setup for the Guardian's new webseries, Watch Me Date, without the lasers. By prominently wearing a device that perfectly illustrates the emptiness of existence, those involved can bond over their mutual lack of self-awareness. In this series, we see people you could actually imagine wearing Google Glass on a real blind date: a loser, a fame-hungry sociopath who hams it up for the camera, and 30-year-old blank slates still just content to go along for the ride.

Andy, the aforementioned loser, is up first. He meets Flo and, in announcing that "London can be quite lonely," squarely places the blame for his romantic incompetence on the city's 8 million other inhabitants. He's depressinghe spends his day cold-calling people for charity donationsand you can imagine he's the type who'd go home and re-watch footage of the moment he wanted to ask for Flo's number but didn't. 

You wouldn't want to be Ian and Sarah, either. He immediately crows that he's already posted a selfie ("hashtag cyborgtime!") and she places sneakers oddly high on her list of man criteria, yet rhymes Nike with bike. At least they have some fun in their shared gormlessness. 

They reveal post-date that they did end up getting it on (although we don't get to see split-screen footage of their Glass clanking together), despite Ian's serious advice that you should bring a black garbage bag to a restaurant for your coat "so it won't smell of curry." To most, the idea of someone stowing their jacket under the table in a knotted plastic bin liner would be a deal-breaker. Sarah gives him a "seven out of 10... yeah, I fancied him."

It's easy to dismiss this series as a bit of fluff, but such a view does it a slight disservice. Would Andy be so pathetic and Sarah so accommodating of strange behavior if they were being filmed in a traditional way? Would Ian have modified his boorish personality if there was a large camera and boom stuck in his face? 

It's a credit to the technology (and also somewhat scary) that despite how dreadful Google Glass looks, people seem very quick to forget that it's there and they're being filmed, thus shedding any additional performative layer brought about by the knowledge that all your moves are being recorded. 

It's a mystery as to whether this makes any difference to the alveolated participants of Watch Me DateI fancy that Andy would confess to anyone who would talk to him that he became a vegetarian "for brief amounts of time" because of Morrisseybut for everyone else, it raises queries as to how such devices could modulate communication and relationships in the future.

Screengrab via Watch Me Date/YouTube




This xylophone cover of Led Zeppelin is the only one you need

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That rock and roll exists at all is a testament to artistic rebellion, and when it comes to turning convention on its head, the Louisville Leopard Percussionists are virtually without peers. Who else could translate the heavy metal stylings of Led Zeppelin into a xylophone-and-marimba opus?

The video below documents a rehearsal session for the musical collective (all kids aged 7 to 12), which covers “Immigrant Song,” “The Ocean,” and “Kashmir” in fluid sequence. Jimmy Page himself was blown away: “Too good not to share,” he wrote in a Facebook post.   

Now do “Freebird”!

Photo via Louisville Leopard Percussionists/YouTube   

Read Aziz Ansari's touching tribute to late friend Harris Wittels

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Comedian, writer, and Parks and Recreation executive producer Harris Wittels had a lot of fans. His sudden passing earlier this week has prompted an outpouring of love from fellow comedians and others who worked with Wittels during his career, but Aziz Ansari's tribute is perhaps the most touching.

“There are so few people that you meet in life that give you that feeling that you’ve found a real unique, original person," Ansari wrote. "Harris Wittels was one of those and we lost him yesterday. He was 30 years old. I’ve been devastated.”

Ansari, who worked with Wittels on Parks and Recreation, goes on to recall a seemingly endless number of hilarious and heartfelt moments the two shared, and even reveals parts of movie scripts Wittels had written that had never been filmed.

One of the funniest parts of Ansari’s trip down memory lane involves an NBCworkplace harassment email that was sent to executives as well as Ansari and Wittels. Wittels' response, which Ansari says was sent as a “reply all,” is an HR nightmare of epic proportions, but shows just how far Wittels was willing to go to make people laugh.

Ansari’s letter is a touching goodbye to someone who was loved very dearly by lots of people, and it's definitely worth a read. 

Photo via WarmSleepy/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0)

Stuntman turns office into a real-life game of Pac-Man

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Take one of YouTube's popular pastimes—parkour—combine it with beloved arcade game Pac-Man, and you've got a one-two punch of video gold.

Rustic B, an L.A.-based stuntman, imagines what it would look like if Pac-Man's ghostly bad guys got loose in an office building. Rustic gained some Internet notoriety for working as the stunt double for Smosh's Anthony Padilla, but in this video, the attention is squarely on Rustic's shoulders. 

In the end, it's all just a case of someone getting a little too absorbed in their video games, but for the wall-flip alone it's worth the watch.

Screengrab via Rustic B/YouTube


This new site is like 'Inside the Actors Studio' for the modern age

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A new site promises to tell you everything you ever wanted to ask about Hollywood, straight from the people who power the entertainment machine.

It's not gossip, however. TakeHollywood aims to put the focus back on the craft of creating, serving as a resource for the acting community, although the site could be enjoyed by any aficionado of theater and film. Each week TakeHollywood launches short-form video interviews with luminaries in the field on a variety of topics essential to aspiring and working actors. The talent ranges from director Rob Marshall to screen legend Sophia Loren. 

"It’s freemium," explained CEO Yasmin Naboa. "Every week when we launch content, there will be some that’s free and some that’s paid. This week we launched Seth Green, who’s paid, but Christina Applegate is free."

Video content online has been creeping into the paid space, particularly with the launch of Vessel this year. At $9.99 a month, TakeHollywood sports a higher price point, but the content is also highly specialized. However, TakeHollywood is keeping some of its content completely free: its original series. The primary series is The Bulbar Method, a look at acting classes meant to lighten the mood. Fans at TakeHollywood's launch event got a live taste of the antics the series promises, but for now there're just teasers online for the sketches.

"One of the things we’re trying to do is promote creativity," explained Naboa. "[Cofounders] Edoardo Ponti and Sasha Alexander knew [star of the series] David Fickas from USC film school days. It’s also the satire part. … You have to be able to laugh at yourself during this process. I think it lightens the situation when you have that humor."

The site is also hoping to build community, in part by taking things offline for open discussions. In that spirit, the site's launch event was held at Venice's Mobli Beach House, and several established talents from behind the scenes and onscreen spoke candidly about the work of acting.

"What I’ve been missing so much in the last couple of years is being in [the creative] conversation," explained April Webster, a casting director who most recently worked with J.J. Abrams on the new Star Wars film. "Not talking about how much money this will make. I remember as a kid working in the theater in New York, we’d all go out after the shows, and guess what we would talk about? The theater. That was such an exciting conversation to be in. If you want to be in the arts, you have to be around artists."

The panelists also spoke honestly about the love-hate relationship working actors have with social media.

"It’s a responsibility," said Jenna Ushkowitz, who's currently starring on Glee. "As celebrities, bad behavior is so rewarded in this town and it's so unfortunate. It boggles my mind. I think being a role model is a responsibility. So to be able to have social media to change that is great."

Alexander, who in addition to being a cofounder of the site is also a working actress currently on Rizzoli & Isles, said social media was much more difficult for her to embrace.

"In the beginning, when I was asked to do it, I really didn’t know what to do," she said. "It felt way too personal. My day is usually, when I’m shooting, I’m up at 5 in the morning, we’re on set 12 to 15 hours a day. I have two little children; I have a husband. The last thing I'm thinking about is, 'Hey, here’s me, here’s my favorite toothpaste!' That’s not where I go. Some people do. It’s not where I go, nor is it what interests me in other people. What I like about social media is exchanging ideas. Poetry, art. I love quotes of the day. When I started to use it for what I felt comfortable with, then I started to see the rewards in it."

It's that kind of candid discussion that TakeHollywood hopes to share and foster in the acting community.

"More than anything, it’s just inspiration," said Naboa. "One of the things Edoardo mentions in the founders video we did [is] everyone is on the same journey. Whether you’re Patricia Arquette or Seth Green, you’re on the journey. So just be in it."

Photo courtesy of Sally Claire Photograph

Building an online network 'by moms, for moms'

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BY JESSICA KLEIN 

Siobhan Freegard started Netmums, a digital hub for mothers, when she was a new mom and realized there weren’t any websites out there specifically for mothers (as you can imagine, that was a while back—her kids are a lot older now). Thus, U.K.-based Freegard’s online community (“built by moms, for moms,” she explained) grew to its current state as an established forum, resource, and outlet for mothers. She decided it was time to “hand Netmums on to an experienced team who can manage and nurture it going forward.”

So Freegard needed a new project, one that came about in part due to an Internet experience she had with a younger mom that showed her the immense popularity of online video for millennials—including millennial moms. Hence the birth of Channel Mum, an MCN that follows in the footsteps of Netmums (“by moms, for moms”), but takes the form of videos on YouTube instead of written words.

Who were some of the mom creators who inspired you to do this?

In all honesty, it wasn’t a creator who inspired me. It was three separate things. Firstly, watching my children following the big gaming vloggers, such as Pewdiepie and StampyLongHead, gave me a window into the world of YouTube creators, but I initially assumed it was all for kids. Then, I had a light bulb moment when I observed the difference in reactions from me (in my forties) and a younger mom friend (in her late twenties) when we were searching for a recipe together. I went to the text-based results, and she went to the video results. My thoughts were, “I don’t have time to watch a video,” whereas hers were, “I don’t have time to read all those words.” It was my realization that the way we want our information has literally changed in less than a generation, from text to video.

And finally, when I went to do an audit of mom content on YouTube, I was both shocked and inspired by the chasm between the huge amount of content, creators, destinations, and networks in all the other sectors: food, beauty, music, sport, tech, and that created for or by moms.

There are some great mom creators, but (in the U.K., anyway), they are very fragmented and there is no route for viewers to find them. The YouTube search engine doesn’t offer any confidence—try searching breastfeeding on YouTube, and you are drawn into a world of, at best, odd and, at worst, thinly disguised X-rated content.

YouTube audiences have grown up and are having kids, and we need to fill this content gap for millennial moms.

Read the full article on the VideoInk website.

Photo via Alli Worthington/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0)

Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell's 'Birdman' parody is perfect

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Everyone in show business seems to be haunted by a character: Michael Keaton’s character in Birdman is haunted by the superhero he once played, Caroll Spinney by the Big Bird he portrays. As Fred Armisen got ready for his hosting gig at the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday night, he too was haunted by someone.

He and fellow host Kristen Bell spoofed a number of nominated films to kick off the show, but they mostly swooped in on Birdman, from the single shot to the inner monologue. There were also plenty of scathing jabs towards the awards show itself. That drumming? Not just for the audience.

Just add in appearances from Miles Teller and Bill Hader and you’ve got yourself some slaps and a perfect shot.

Screengrab via Film Independent/YouTube

'SNL' cast member Kyle Mooney discovers a lot of people don't watch 'SNL'

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Some of the content created for Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary special ended up on the cutting room floor, including a man-on-the-street sketch from newer cast member Kyle Mooney that showcases him at his best (and weirdest).

Before he joined the cast of SNL in 2013, Mooney made YouTube videos, which often featured segments of him interviewing people in a “deadpan manner” about random topics that usually came off as both awkward and hilarious. More recently, SNL brought the segment on to the show and let Mooney ask New Yorkers about the Super Bowl.

In his latest sketch, he asks random passersby about their favorite SNL memories, and while most of them follow the rule of “ignore everything” and just walk by, a few stay long enough to get a conversation going. It’s unclear if they even know who Mooney is or what they’re even getting themselves into.

One thing is certain: People know a lot less about SNL than NBC hoped for.

Screengrab via Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Finding the ghosts in the mp3

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Right now, I'm listening to an album I downloaded from a band called Black Tambourine. Their music is blissfully reverb- and echo-heavy, punctuated with hiss and feedback. There's a weight to it, a warmth. But there's a part of me that feels guilty for funneling it through laptop speakers and making it cold. 

In the transition from analog to digital, mp3s have often stripped music of its essence, and people have spent time and money attempting to find ways to recover that somewhat intangible substance. But what about the sounds that escape when you compress an mp3? 

Ryan Maguire has spent a lot of time with those ghosts.

Maguire is a doctoral student at the University of Virginia’s Center for Computer Music, and his project The Ghost in the mp3 explores those often unheard sounds. The soundscape “moDernisT” was pieced together “by salvaging the sounds lost to mp3 compression from the song ‘Tom's Diner,’ famously used as one of the main controls in the listening tests to develop the mp3 encoding algorithm. Here we find the form of the song intact, but the details are just remnants of the original. Similarly, the video contains only material which was left behind during mp4 compression.”

Separated from the 1987 Suzanne Vega song, it's actually a pretty cool piece of experimental music. 

On the site, Maguire also deconstructs columns of white, pink, and brown noise, "when compressed to the lowest possible mp3 bit rate." It's an interesting look into what exactly is lost in compression, and translation. 

We asked him a bit more about these ghosts.

How did you get involved in this project?

A couple of years ago, I was studying the history and development of electronic music with Tara Rodgers, and we were spending a lot of time looking at the different kinds of music that grew out of advances in audio technology. Music history can be traced really closely by following technological history. I noticed that vinyl records had inspired musique concrete and scratching, cassette tapes gave birth to tape music, then CDs inspired glitch music, and I was contemplating what a musical practice based on mp3s would look like. At the same time, we were reading Jonathan Sterne's amazing book MP3: The Meaning of a Format, and things started to click. 

The main difference between mp3s and every previous medium for recording music electronically is that mp3s are explicitly modeled on the limitations of our auditory perception. They are what is called a perceptual codec, which means that, in order to reduce file size, every mp3 utilizes a model of human auditory perception to erase information that, according to this model, most listeners in most situations will not hear. This idea was a really brilliant one by the folks who created the format—and also pretty audacious and, in a way, impossible. It works extremely well; I listen to mp3s nearly every day, but like most things, it's not perfect. So I became very interested in the sounds that this codec just discards, and the result of that line of inquiry is what lead to the music I'm making now.

Why was "Tom's Diner" the template?

"Tom's Diner" in particular was chosen for the first track in this project because of its use as the primary test track during the development of the mp3 format. There were other tracks, too, which I am working on currently, but "Tom's Diner" alone is considered the "mother of the mp3." When the audio engineers developing the format had a new working prototype for the mp3 algorithm, they would test it with "Tom's Diner," and based on how well that song was encoded, go back to the drawing board. Eventually, they decided that it was encoded well enough by the format and went to market with it. Jonathan Sterne's book has a really wonderful history of the development of the format and the role these tracks played.

What discoveries did you make that surprised you?

I think I was most surprised by how interesting the sounds were that were thrown out! I was very curious what it would sound like but didn't really expect it to be anything that someone might want to listen to. So, when I finally finished my first test and put on my headphones to listen to the result, I had this really wonderful eureka moment. Like, "Hey, these sounds are really haunting and beautiful. I can work with this!"

Do you have a personal opinion on what mp3s do to music quality?

I think mp3s are great for listening through earbuds on the subway or in your car, and I do that nearly every day, but you really can't replace the experience of sitting down and listening to something in a quiet place with good headphones or speakers and a high fidelity audio format. I don't consider myself an audiophile, just a music lover, and when there is a recording I really love, I don't hesitate to buy it in the best format I can, because that experience of just listening to it in all its detail can't be replaced.

Can you elaborate a little on what "format music" is?

The term format music places this practice in the context of the development of electro-acoustic music through the last century or so. We first had people like Pierre Schaefer making very early recordings of trains and using vinyl records to create experimental music, while other people worked more strictly with electronics to develop synthesis techniques and electronic music. When magnetic tape technology came along, we had folks like John Cage experimenting with cutting up tapes and taping them back together to make audio collages and "tape music," and then with the advent of compact discs, we have folks like Oval and Nicolas Collins using skipping and damaged CDs to create music, exploring the limitations of these ubiquitous technologies used to disseminate and store music. So, I think of format music as following in that tradition of recognizing what the current state of technology is and testing its limitations, turning it around and looking at it from different angles, and seeing what kind of art can come uniquely from our time.

H/T Death and Taxes | Photo via p_a_h/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Fernando Alfonso III

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