Charlie Bit My Finger Food

Is nothing sacred anymore?

One of my favorite YouTube videos has officially sold out. But then again, as far as selling out goes, this one doesn’t seem so bad.

The popular “Charlie Bit My Finger” YouTube video never fails to bring a smile to my face. Maybe it’s the two adorable children, maybe it’s the British accents, or maybe it’s the all-to-familiar exchange between an older and younger sibling. Well clearly I’m not the only adoring fan because after 366 million views, Gerber  has used the video in a campaign for their Gerber Finger Goods.

The video is the same we’ve come to know and love, with added pop-ups to inform parents on how to know when their children are ready to eat  finger foods– you know, instead of just their brother’s actual fingers.

The video has been up for a few weeks now and received a little more than 200,00 views. I’m unsure of how much the company paid for the rights to the  video (probably enough to send both Charlie and his brother to college a few times over), but the revamped short certainly hasn’t reached the same renown as the original.

In conclusion, the video is as funny as ever, but now it contains a few parenting tips. Simple…and efffective?

OCD Awareness in One Second (over and over again)

For some people, the smallest actions and thoughts can turn into ruinous obsessions. While we all have our quirks and pet peeves, individuals suffering from Obsessive-Complusive Disorder suffer from paralyzing fixations and equally tremendous amounts of anxiety. OCD is chronic, long-term, life-altering, and extremely misunderstood.

How often have we jokingly referred to someone’s methodical, seemingly excessive approaches to situations as OCD? Your friend who can’t stand to have even a shred of paper lying on the floor. That person who cringes when a teacher only half erases something from the whiteboard, leaving behind a few lines of marker (I’ve known a surprisingly large amount of people who are extrememelly bothered by this). Or the one who organizes their neatly folded socks by color.

We jokingly laugh at our friends little quirks and habits, throwing around the term OCD as if it were as inconsequential as the common cold.

Now think of those who really suffer from OCD: The fear of the stove being left on keeping you all night as you run downstairs every 5 minutes to check. The need to wash your hands over and over, until you’ve rubbed your skin raw. Your thoughts constantly preoccupied with sounds, noises, and counting, making everyday life impossible.

To bring awareness to this devastating disease, a brilliant 1-second advertisement has been created to give us all a piece of our own medicine. Created for the OCD foundation, the commercial is no more than a brief message written on a blue background.However, the key to this (incredibly) short video is that, in the 1-second it runs, the viewer is unable to read the complete message. A viewer is required to hit play again, and again (and again and again and again…and maybe even again…) in order to find out what it says. The obsessive pressing of the play button acts to help place you in the shoes of an individual suffering from OCD. For some of these people, pressing the button once wouldn’t be sufficient, even if they had enough time to read the message thoroughly.

The individuals behind this ad, as well as the exact motivation for its creation besides to raise awareness remains unknown. The rumor is that McCann Erickson of Israel has created it, possibly as an entry for the Cannes Good Work Contest. Either way, it’s a great message and a great cause. I’ve embedded the video below– how many clicks will you need?

Jersey Shore: How Wilde!

While I personally do not watch Jersey Shore, I have unfortunately been subjected to a few episodes due to my friends’ obsessive fascination with the show. During the off seasons, I am treated to ridiculous phrases and catcalls, all said in a terrible fake jersey accent. I hate to admit it, but these ridiculous little sayings become quite catchy…annoyingly so.

The other day I stumbled across the following video. Playbill has created a hilarious short series called “Jersey Shore Gone Wilde.” To promote Oscar Wilde’s great play The Importance of Being Earnest, now showing on Broadway, these professionally trained actors can be seen reciting lines from Jersey Shore episodes in the style of the great playwright. British accents? Check. Cheeky conversation? Check. Pencil Mustache? Check. Outfits that Oscar Wilde himself would covet? Double Check.

I shamefully recognized many of the references, but I have to admit that the quotes didn’t seem half so terrible when spoken in a proper British accent. In fact, some of the sounded half-way intellectual– then again, I may just be going crazy.

So what do you? What would Wilde think?

And don’t forget to check out all of the videos in the series!

Funny or Die: Keeping a Celebrity’s Career Alive.

Funny or die.

No, I’m not just saying the name of the website, I’m outlining the choices that crashing celebrities are given after devastating acts of career suicide.

They could be funny— make jokes about themselves, fully accept their ridiculous acts.

Or they could watch their careers die.

While the SNL monologue has always provided a great platform for a little bit of self-deprecation (see Miley Cyrus, last Saturday, March 5th), the internet makes that bit of necessary humiliation even more accessible.

For those of you living under a rock these past few weeks, Charlie Sheen has taken a swan dive straight into the pool of insanity. After his lawyers forbade him from any further interviews with the media, Sheen took matters into his own hands, creating personal video posts that were deemed less than interesting by tabloids and rabid fans alike. But now that Sheen has officially lost his job on the sitcom Two and a Half Men, Sheen needs to up his crazy to stay relevant (of course, that $100 million dollar lawsuit against CBS might help any financial loses he will experience after never being hired in Hollywood again…).

So how does a star both capitalize their madness while simultaneously working to gain back even a shred of respectability?

Funny or die. And this time I am talking about the website. Founded by famous funny men Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy, the FunnyorDie website is quite the viral sensation. While the title of the site actually refers to the viewers’ ability to vote a video as either ‘funny’ or deserving to ‘die,’  the name applies quite well to the options of some desperate celebrities.

Several celebrities, from Natalie Portman to Zac Efron, have starred in one of their exclusive videos. After all, a celebrity willing to laugh at themselves seems to denote a sense of grounded-ness. It’s positive for the individuals image for the audience to see that that person is down to earth and connected to the viewers; they are not divas who are above a bit of silliness for a laugh.

These exclusive videos are especially exciting when they feature the tabloid’s latest favorite screw-ups. About two years ago (yes, her “hot mess” status has been applicable for that long), Lindsay Lohan had just faced a very public break-up from girlfriend Sam Ronson. While going through a break-up in the eyes of the public must be devastating enough, the real scandal came when the Ronson family began issuing restraining orders against the apparently insane Lohan. The press had a field day– who can blame them. Lohan had always provided plenty of fodder.

To combat these negative issues, Lohan, or perhaps more likely her publicist, made a deal with FunnyorDie. Soon enough, Lindsay Lohan’s “eHarmony Profile” became a hit web video. With the tagline “Lindsay Lohan is newly single and ready to mingle!,” audience enjoyed laughing at Lohan as she, in turn, laughed at herself.

While that might not have saved her career, it certainly helped redeem her– at least until the next scandal.

Now Charlie Sheen can add an exclusive FunnyorDie video to his resume. “Charlie Sheen’s Winning Recipes” incorporates all of Sheen’s spectacular (and wacky quotes)– from tiger blood, to Adonis DNA, and we can’t forget winning. Filmed as a “cooking show,” Sheen takes his insanity to a whole new level– and we love it!

Perhaps Sheen’s career isn’t completely revived, but it never hurts to laugh at oneself. Afterall, it’s easier than admitting defeat, which Sheen would never do– he’s winning. Or at least this video is.

While I couldn’t embed the video, I have provided the link: http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/5cwg

Side Note: where did they get the tiger hat on such short notice? Do they actually make those?

Check it out and tell me what you think.