This is hilarious. Ronnie Karam (a.k.a. Flipit from TVgasm) stars as Andy Rooney in this parody of those ubiquitous Geico commercials. I laughed out loud multiple times, and I'm sure you will too.

INDEED!

Last week, ABC premiered two "goofy" reality shows: Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Both have lots of potential, but only one seems to realize it. In short, Wipeout is awful. I could only bear to watch five minutes of it before turning it off. The main problem (among others): canned "play-by-play," which is clearly scripted in post production and is therefore dumb and annoying. The whole fun of a silly obstacle course should be the spontaneity of it all, but instead, Wipeout is dumbed down, thus proving that the producers have little or no faith that their subject can be amusing on its own. I know this is supposed to be a ripoff of MXC, but seriously, it's a piece of garbage.

On the other end of the spectrum is I Survived a Japanese Game Show, which is shaping up to be a great summer guilty pleasure. The show sort of plays out like The Gauntlet meets animé: two teams (the Yellow Penguins and Green Pandas) duke it out in a game show challenge, with the losing squad sending two members to an additional elimination challenge at the end of the episode. Along the way, there's plenty of funny yet fascinating cultural high jinks, and a spunky little housekeeper lady who's not unlike Japan's answer to Mrs. Beakley.

The first episode was hilarious, even if it was a bit uneven. However, last night's edition rose (just a tad) above the camp level as backstage drama flared. I actually found myself drawn into the story way more than I had expected. Don't get me wrong: this ain't high level stuff. But it's fun. My only critiques are the production similarities of Hell's Kitchen: same narration style, same interview style, same ambient music. I know the two shows share producers, but can we mix it up a bit? After all, if there's anything that reality TV has taught us, it's that we become more engaged when the characters do the exposition, not some disembodied voice (always a problem with Hell's Kitchen, in my humble opinion).

Nevertheless, in the clip above, one contestant, Meaghan, must act as a human claw and pluck stuffed pandas from a pile of balloons. Glorious exasperation ensues...

When it comes to celebrity stalking, I like to think I'm quite the expert, but compared to my friend IndianJones, I'm clearly just a novice. Take for instance his encounter last night with Battlestar Galactica's chief hottie, Tricia Helfer.

Full glorious story (replete with fanboy-tastic lingo such as "skinjob") after the jump...

Shill time. I've got a new post up on DipDive — one that dares raise an issue that many Obama-heads might not appreciate. Here's the first paragraph:

Take a look around the urban landscape: t-shirts, murals, and posters all boast pop-art odes to Barack Obama. He attracts celebrity followers wherever he goes, and his mere name is enough to catapult nobodies into viral video stardom. The man, or rather The Man, has become a force unto himself, effectively plunging our country into a deep, unmitigated bout of Obamamania. There’s absolutely no denying it. People are fainting in his presence, dreaming in his absence, and generally gushing at all other times. Barack Obama has become the coolest thing ever — the closest thing to a Beltway matinee idol we’ve seen in quite some. So here’s the question: is Obama himself actually cool?

Continue reading Urkel-bama? ».

So I'll be the first to go on record and say that perhaps these two headlines don't quite mesh...

(Bonus points to the bear headline too).

Last month, I posted photos of my friends Mark and Leslie's triumphant R2-D2 cake, and I am happy to report that in the time since, the tasty dessert has become an Internet sensation. The story has been picked up by the Los Angeles Times as well as various news and radio outlets in Arizona, Boston, New Zealand, and Norway; not to mention such websites as Great White Snark, Fark, StumbleUpon, Slashfood, and, I'm happy to report, the official Star Wars blog at starwars.com. (ooooh)

Now, I'm not writing this just to toot my own horn (although, I rarely pass up an opportunity to do just that). No, I'm writing because I want to thank Mark and Leslie for giving my site such a huge traffic boost, and furthermore, since the whole point of the original post was to give their new bakery exposure, I'm super excited to say that as of yesterday, their cake has been viewed (on my site alone) by over 100,000 different people and counting! If you're in the NY area, be sure to check them out and tell them I sent you. Here's the link:

• Mark Joseph Cakes

As I was toiling around the Internet the other day, I came across this severe photo of Cindy McCain (are there any other type?) and a thought occurred to me: if everyone had a pocket-sized version of this pic, we could have a utopian society. Think about it. Any moment you're contemplating cheating, slacking off, or being disrespectful, one look at this photo will completely change your mind. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Cindy's face is so harsh and judgmental, it's almost as if she's asking you — and only you — "OH REALLY?" How can one transgress in the presence of such matronly disdain?

Examples after the jump.

In less than two weeks, the tenth season of Big Brother will premiere on CBS, and I can't tell you how excited I am. Sure, we just finished season nine a scant eight weeks ago, but Big Brother is a drug like none other, and I don't care if I have to wait two months or two minutes for a new season. I want it NOW.

Of course, there were a lot of people who didn't love last season (unlike the vast majority, I enjoyed Til Death Do You Part quite a bit), but hopefully, plenty of viewers will return this summer and keep this most beloved of guilty pleasures alive and well. If you don't watch Big Brother, it's never too late to start. Why not give it a try this summer? As I like to say, it's not just a show. It's an experience. But be warned: without fail, the first three episodes are always exceedingly bland and boring to newbies. However, after three episodes, Big Brother will most certainly sink its claws into you and never let you go. That's a good thing.

So here's the good news. While the July 12th 13th premiere date is still a few days off, CBS will be revealing the new cast this Wednesday (according to Jokers Updates, which may or may not be wrong). I'll be sure to have a complete analysis right here at bsideblog.com, and of course, there will be photocaps of every show throughout the season. Tell all your friends!

Yesterday afternoon, while my friend Jash and I were getting drunk and watching TV, a most curious text message arrived on my phone. It came from my friend Caty, and for whatever reason, I felt the need to read it out loud (not a normal practice).

"This message is from my friend, Caty," I said, as if Jash even cared. "Just met Spike from Top Chef... You know him? He's nice."

Three. Two. One... MUTUAL GASP.

Maybe it was the booze or maybe it was our unhealthy obsession with Top Chef, but this news made Jash and I drop our jaws at the exact same time. (Sort of funny because it's not like the coolest news ever, even though it is pretty cool. I blame the booze). Anyway, I immediately called up Caty and asked her for the story. Turns out she had mixed up her bearded chefs. She had really meant to say "Andrew," who of course is just as awesome in our books. She said he was really cool and friendly and whatnot, but to be honest, the specifics are a little hazy (booze). All I do remember is that I commanded Caty to get a photo posthaste. And that's what she did. What a good friend. And what a cool chef. One more pic after the jump...

When it comes to Real World: Hollywood, no one passes judgment in a more snotty way than Sarah, the aspiring journalist from Arizona. Never is this more evident than in the clip above where Sarah comments, "Probably shouldn't be wrestling. Probably shouldn't be on top of another girl." The words alone aren't really what makes the clip. It's the prissy attitude, the cocked head, and the screwy face. All together, these factors combine to make a glorious moment of bitchiness.

And speaking of which, two bonus pics of Janelle giving her best "I'M A BITCH" face after the jump.

I'm not gonna lie: the latest episode of the The Real World totally caught me by surprise. For forty-five minutes, it seemed to be dwelling in Sarah's awful, judgmental behavior (with occasional bland detours into the world of Briana) when suddenly, out of nowhere, the specter of cancer up and KILLED a person on the show. What the? Poor Brandon, who served as a mentor to Nick, was gone before we knew him, sadly succumbing to the disease he had apparently battling for quite some time. He only first surfaced on this episode, but his passing was still remarkably powerful, what with his dying wishes for Nick to carry the torch for him in entertainment. I'm not gonna lie: I was a bit misty-eyed (and then some).

However, as tragic as the last ten minutes of the episode were, we simply cannot overlook the rest of the show, which truly featured Sarah at her worst. She may be smart, but her bitchy, prudish attitude has been reaching new heights (or lows) of obnoxiousness — as evidenced by the way she literally tattled to Charna about Nick's alleged loudness the night prior. Oh, and then there's the way she addresses the camera: narrowing one eye, tilting her head, dismissing whoever it is she's talking about, etc.. She's become fairly awful — to the point of hilarity — which is why it was so wonderful to see Sarah first fail at her hosting gigs and then get wasted, fall over, barf in her hair, and then devolve into an incoherent mess of tears. Perfect cosmic justic; although, I should note that she wasn't entirely incapacitated — she did have enough wherewithal to hurl a lightly racist comment at Nick; so that was pleasant and everything.

Photocap after the jump...

Grab your stamens of crocuses! Ina Garten has something to say about burnt cheese, and it's not kind. Check out the Barefoot Contessa video above to find out how she feels when her GOOD cheddar and GOOD gruyere get singed...

Major non-props to CBS and The CW, who have both apparently pulled their feeds from RedLasso. This means all my clips of Gossip Girl and The Late Show with David Letterman have been yanked. I discovered this just now when I attempted to create a clip of last night's Letterman, which featured Mary-Kate Olsen bashing Spencer Pratt (and Dave in turn calling him a "worm.") Alas, because of this CBS-RedLasso impasse, I find my hands tied. Sure, I know it's probably available on YouTube, but since I'm stickin' it to the man these days, I'm gonna refrain from seeking alternative video sources and let CBS reel from the ANTI-BUZZ. Furthermore, I'm going to post a clip from a rival entertainment source as further punishment.

So... Ha!

Hey y'all [said in Paula Deen voice]. I've written another post for DipDive.com, and this one focuses on Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain's respective cookie recipes — apparently the key to this election. Anyway, I'm curious as to how these recipes will turn out, but I'm not sure if I have the patience (or capacity) to make them myself. Any intrepid bakers out there feel like taking them on? Nevertheless, voice your opinion in the comments, and in the meantime, here's the intro to my article...

When it comes to predicting elections, we can refer to our usual tools of prognostication — charts, maps, trends, stats, data, logic, common sense — or we can turn to a more reliable bellwether: cookies. Yes, those small, innocuous, and oft-times heavenly morsels of greatness can hold the key to elections.

While seemingly unrelated to politics, it turns out that there’s a very special link between cookies and Presidential ascendancy. For the past four elections, the readers of Family Circle magazine have accurately predicted the next President based on the cookie recipes of the candidates’ wives. Whoever has had the more popular cookie has gone on to win the whole shebang. Why? Not sure. Maybe it’s because a scrumptious cookie recipe speaks of a candidate’s good judgment. After all, what candidate would ever allow a substandard cookie to represent him on the campaign trail? Anyone that abides by such silliness surely can’t be fitting for the White House. (Of course, by this logic, Ina Garten could power her husband Jeffrey into the Oval Office without a problem; so, as you can see, the theory is a bit flawed.)

Continue reading COOKIE MONSTERS: Michelle and Cindy Get Their Baking On ».