Monday, October 27, 2008

Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show: Now with added Wash!

TCMS Season 2 is well under way....
And the latest episode stars a familiar face - Alan Tudyk! I'm a HUGE fan of GTCMS a weekly webseries starring Kiko, whose infectiously happy mangling of the English language is a real pleasure to behold. Each week a guest (or victim) visits with Kiko and her happy band of, er, friends and chaos ensues. In the latest episode lobster fisherman Girly Boy (or Gary Boyd, or Wash!) finds himself in mortal danger. Only the collective strength of Team GTCMS and their balls can save him. 

Who is responsible for this medley of manic madness?
Kim Evey is writer, producer and also stars as Kiko. Ms Evey and her husband Greg Benson also produce a number of other webseries including 

Retarded Policeman (perhaps not what you are expecting and all the better for it)
Two Hot Girls in the Shower (definitely not what you are expecting and infinitely funnier)
The Guild (oh yes! I may have mentioned The Guild before a few hundred times!)

Where can you see this fantastic webseries?
On the Intertubes, of course! You can either view on YouTube or directly at the Crackle.com.
And they are on Facebook, too. I've embedded Season 2, Episode 7 (with Alan Tudyk) here:

param>param>src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tPi_dh6Vk1I&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349">

What are you waiting for? Watch them all now!

Anything else?
Unicow (he's a unicorn cow), one of Kiko's friends, has his own series with episode 1 called 'Unicow gets laid'. And this is exactly what you would expect. I confidently predict that you won't have seen a funnier deadpan performance from anyone in a Unicow costume before. Enjoy!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Evil League Applications update

Over on Whedonage.com...
there's a new article up today (by yours truly) about the ELE Applications. Rachel Rhee, the new Dr Horrible Project Manager, has been interviewed on drhorrible.net. She confirmed that every single application will be viewed by team:

"I keep an eye out on the Whedonesque message board to see what fans are saying and I’ve read that a lot of people are feeling like their applications might not get selected because they are not getting written up about by some of the press the ELE has received. I just want to reassure everyone out there that every, single application is being reviewed. If you submitted to us before the deadline, it will definitely get seen by the Dr. Horrible Team."

This is good news, but most people do not have the time to sift through the 650 applications so this is a chance for everyone to put forward their favourites with reasons why they think they are good. Pop over to Whedonage.com and add your comment and share your favourite videos with us all. 

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Browncoats honoured and Dr Horrible update

Kids Need To Read new Endowment 
A wonderful announcement on the KNTR website this week:

"All of us at The Kids Need to Read Foundation sincerely thank the Browncoat community for its ongoing support of our efforts to not only provide books for children, but to encourage a life-long love of reading in the kids our books touch. To permanently demonstrate our gratitude, Kids Need to Read is establishing The Kids Need to Read Browncoat Endowment. This fund is being started from a donation by the California Browncoats and expanded by donations from the Austin Browncoats, Mid-South Browncoats and NoVA Browncoats Meetup Group..."

KNTR have already donated to many schools and organisations and this endowment will ensure that carries on in perpetuity. Many, many congratulations to KNTR and all Browncoats for the wonderful work you do.

What is a Browncoat?
Whedonesque posed this question today. What's your take on that?

Dr Horrible - top ten lists 
The Applications for the Evil League of Evil closed last week and since then there has been mounting excitement. Lists of people's favourites are popping up all over the place, and Pink Raygun are starting to interview some of the applicants and their creators. I can't possibly comment on any of the entries for the obvious reasons, but here some lists if you want to look for ourselves:


And theonetruebix has set up a playlist of all the YouTube applications he has found:

One thing that has struck me (apart from the obvious fact that neither Evil WorldofHiglet's or Felicia Day's entries aren't on any of the lists!) is that people are going for the  more highly-produced entries. My preferences don't swing that way, but that's only me. And no, I won't be publishing a list of favourites....

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Social Media and Blog Action Day 2008 Come Together

Danny Brown writes....

This is my personal donation to Blog Action Day 2008 and beyond. At the end of each year, I will let you know how much was donated. Yet as I said, we’re all in this together. Social media brings everyone together, so let’s open up our arms and bring in the poverty-stricken of the world into our network.

read more | digg story

Danny Brown is bringing the issue of poverty home in this article. And to prove that his words have meaning he will donate $0.10 for every unique comment he gets - direct action working. I know Danny from www.micromagnate.com where his contributions are always interesting and engaging, and this is his latest blog post on his own Social Media website. And did I mention he is now the latest in a long line of illustrious Bloggers to be taken on by iEntry and WebProNews business network as a syndicated Blog Partner?

8 Poverty Resources You MUST Check Out Today. No Excuses

There are 1 billion impoverished people in the world. There are only 8 causes in this list. It will take you 2 minutes to read it, and 1 minute to share one of the links with your friends. Why wouldn’t you act now and make a dent in the poverty problem?

read more | digg story

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Competition Winner! Plus - stats!

Without further ado, I'm pleased to announce... 
That there is a winner to the Evil WorldofHiglet competition to identify the DVDs and book on Evil WorldofHiglet's printer. These are the items in order (left to right):


In the end there were several entries that were correct so I had to number them all and apply the 'random number generator' to them. 

What's that - you want a name?
Ok, well the lucky winner is Lisa T! I've already sent the Application Form to Lisa and once I get that back I'll be working on a special episode - I've already got some ideas :) Lisa T is also the voice of Cordelia in Buffy: Between the Lines Season 2 and has a podcast/blog. SoCongratulations to Lisa T and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the Competition. 

Some quick stats - and more thanks
Between the 8 videos in the Evil WorldofHiglet Application Processing there has been over 12,500 views, so thank you everyone who has watched, commented and favourited them. There have even been some video responses which are well worth having a look at. We are working on a musical episode or two, too, which should be fun. I've not heard from Felicia yet, but she only got back from Blizzcon today. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Felicia Day and The Guild crew at Blizzcon

While the cat's away...
Blizzcon is well under way and they are being treated to the whole cast of The Guild - which is pretty lucky if you are there. My Evil Twin has taken the opportunity of Felicia being out of the loop temporarily to post a new video to YouTube. It's not the for the faint-hearted and I apologise in advance to Ms Day. It wasn't me. It was my Evil Twin. Against my better judgement I'm posting it here:



I'm sure Felicia will see the funny side. Eventually.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

One to watch: Life on Mars (US) starts tonight (plus - pr0n!)

Sam Tyler - you need to know this name
When I first saw 'Life on Mars' (UK) in England it was with mixed feelings. I loved the programme (LOVED it) and the fact it is set in Manchster and features many familiar locations added to my enjoyment. And I had recently moved from Hyde, so even funnier. This is a cop/sci-fi cross-over programme such as you will not have seen before. It is witty, dark, action-packed and has more style than A-line flares with pockets at the knees. And the music....The fact that it featured the building where I worked at the time in some of the scenes was, well, incidental. I've stopped twitching when I see it now...

The US version premieres tonight
And now this side of the Atlantic is going to be treated to the US version tonight on ABC. Now I am somewhat sceptical of 'versions' but I've seen the trailer and I'm convinced. Not only does it star Harvey Keitel as the Gene Hunt character, the styling and music look great. I really hope it lives up to expectations. I hardly watch the TV since Battlestar Galactica finished (even Dr Who is recorded but unwatched) but I'm going to be watching tonight.

Ashes to Ashes
As luck would have it I've just finished watching 'Ashes to Ashes' (UK), the follow-up to 'Life on Mars' and, if anything that is even better than 'Life on Mars'. That might be purely be for the music alone, and anyone who grew up in the 80's will appreciate the time and effort put into the sound, hair, fashion and eyeliner evident in the show. Season 2 will be out in 2009 and I'll be shipping over the DVDs as soon as they are out. Pure escapism.

Pr0n? Here?
Well, not really, so don't panic. I subscribe to James Gunn's Twitter (you know me, all the cool kids did so I thought I should, too) and he's been wittering on about a new thing he's been playing with. Nathan Fillion is one of his friends, so he can't be all bad, now, can he? Well, Mr Gunn is a bit of a potty-mouth and generally not the sort of person my gran would have liked to hang with (you know, if she had known what that meant). But he is nothing if not amusing. His latest exploit has a wonderful twist - PG Porn. I was reminded of this yesterday by reader Ed R (thanks ed!), and so I did actually watch it. And guess who's the star? Nathan Fillion! And guess what else? It is really PG! And very funny. The picture wasn't great as it kept freezing (in the wrong bits) but it's perfectly safe to watch - even though it's on Spike :) It's had over 200, 000 views in the first 24 hrs, so why not go and see what the fuss is about.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

McCain’s planetariophobia

Just had to do the 'Digg 'n' Blog about this post from the BadAstronomer:

So a little while back, John McCain made an ill-advised crack about planetaria (that’s the plural of planetarium), calling them "foolishness". It was ill advised because it raised the hackles of lots of science-loving folks, including those who want to — gasp, horror! — educate kids about astronomy and science.

read more | digg story

ELE Applications close in 3 DAYS!

October 11th is the closing date
So you'd better get cracking or you'll miss the cut off for being considered for the DVD. The numbers of applications are rising, and if the amount of new posts on Wonderflonium.com this morning is anything to go by, the ELE (and Evil WorldofHiglet!) are going to have their work cut out for them looking through them all. All the rules and information are on the Evil League of Evil website so make sure you follow their instructions. I did a post last week with some pointers, too, and there is so much information on the Internet about creating videos that there really is no excuse to have a go. Come on - it can't be worse than this, after all!

My Evil Twin's ELE Competition closes on the 11th, too.
I've had several correct entries to the competition where you can win Evil WorldofHiglet assessing your application to the ELE. You don't need to have done a video and if you win you will get a video on YouTube critiquing your application in best Evil WorldofHiglet style. What? You're too chicken? Thought so....but if you decide to have a go all you need to do is identify all the DVD and the book in this picture. How could I make it more simple? (Note: I wrote 'simpler' first and then cringed and berated myself for such slack use of language. It's all about standards, people).

Stuff happened
And in more, related, news:
  • Dr Horrible is finally available from iTunes in the UK and Australia
  • Felicia Day has Twittered that Season 2, Ep 1 of The Guild now has a rough cut (very exciting!)
  • Felicia has also Twittered that she is appearing in more than 1 episode of a new sitcom, Roommates
  • A trailer (complete with spoilers) has been posted on YouTube for Nathan Fillion's new series, Castle which is due to be released in 2009.
And, finally
Dark forces are at work, my friends. A new Evil WorldofHiglet video is due at the end of this week and this one is not to be missed. I can't say anything else about it because it is filed under 'SuperSecretProject' but this is the one. Tell your friends.

PS
Kim Evey was chatting again on the Watch The Guild Community site a couple of days ago after a gruelling weekend of shooting The Guild. She said she still wants a Higlet and that she was going to go and watch the videos. Excited? I was so hyper I nearly forgot to do a screenshot! Hehe. Yes. I am very sad, but - Kim Evey! And anyone (Dani, Chris, Nas, Nathan or anyone else) who tells you I was starting rumours on the chat is completely wrong. It was a misunderstanding, nothing more. 

Saturday, October 4, 2008

JT and Mo get singy and other cool Whedon stuff

Oh, Hai!
Yep. It's official. I've been spending WAY too long on FriendFeed and too little time Blogging. So much so that I am almost fluent in Lolcat. I'm a bad person. But, just in case you haven't seen this yet, you might like this little video from Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (who both had a big part in Dr Horrible). When you're this talented, even a trip to pick up fastfood is just the inspiration you need to whip up a little ditty or three....

Favorite Food Song


Joss and Eliza Fox interview about Dollhouse
And just to make sure that the Whedons are well-represented in video form this week there is this interview with Joss and Eliza about how Dollhouse is going. They are both clearly excited about Dollhouse and I think this should be a comfort to those of us worried about whether, well, you know...



Now this is a Fox interview on the Fox YouTube channel. So is it too much to ask that they spell Joss' name right? Really? Joss Whendon? Don't make come down there, Spike.....

ELE Applications
Did you know that you have less than a week to get your Applications up on YouTube or Vimeo for them to be considered for the Dr Horrible DVD? What are you waiting for! Check out all the details on the Evil League of Evil website and do it. Now. And while you're at it why not try the competition I'm running. If you win, Evil WorldofHiglet will assess your application in a special Application Processing Web Episode. And the great thing is that you don't need to do a video. All the winner needs to do is fill in a simple Application Form (as seen in Act 1 and Evil WorldofHiglet's ELE Application). The picture is so easy now (especially if you click on it for the large view) that you will have no trouble identifying the DVDs and the book. There have been quite a few correct entries already so get your skates on - all it takes is a quick email (full details here).