Web Humor

You can't open a magazine or glance at a billboard these days without seeing Photoshop at work.  Usually, the work is so good that it's virtually undetectable, but sometimes... something goes wrong.  Sometimes, instead of airbrushing out a blemish or some 5 o'clock shadow, celebrities wind up looking like total freaks of nature.  And be honest, when that happens, we all laugh, don't we?

Take this total "oops" with the great and powerful O:

"YOU get an extra hand, and you get an extra hand, and you get an extra hand!"

Photoshop disasters like these are just good comedy, folks, and that's why I made a list of my 10 favorite celebrity Photoshop disasters from the past few years.  The best thing?  Just wait a week and there will probably be another delightful mistake for us to laugh at.  Hooray for human error!

Fans of the HBO show Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's epic book series, are used to watching some pretty dark, graphic material every Sunday night.  Not an episode goes by when we don't see something horrific, violent, or horrifically-violent.  Yet we keep coming back for more, because the story and characters are just that compelling.

As with any popular show, fans tend to flock to the internet to discuss the show after it airs, and along with any kind of web discussion comes the inevitable humorizing* of the material.  And thank goodness... because this is some dark stuff.

For an overview of how the internet has used humor to lighten up GoT, click here.

If you like memes, check out some of the funniest GoT memes here.

If parodies are your thing, here are my 10 favorite GoT spoof videos.

Don't worry, I will never post any spoilers without giving you a big neon sign of a warning first!

*Yes, that is a word,  I looked it up.  I was kind of surprised too.  ;)

Unless you've been living under a rock this week, you've no doubt heard about the Kitchen Nightmares-inspired social media meltdown of Arizona restaurateurs (and noted crazy people) Amy and Samy Bouzaglo of Amy's Baking Company.  I confess, I really enjoyed watching these two nutcases wage war against the Big Bad Internet.  When people start yelling at their "fans" on Facebook, it's time to make  some popcorn and crack a beer, because that's just good quality entertainment, right there.

It all started like this:

It escalated quickly, and of course, soon some excellent memes hit the web:

See all the best memes to come out of this mess (so far) here.

Because I'm here to help, here's a complete summary of this cringe-inducing but hilarious spectacle, along with some tips on how to avoid becoming the butt of a massive internet joke.  Here's a hint: It helps if you're not batcrap crazy.  That's a good start.

Having spent the first decade of my career working in live television production, I've seen my fair share of "OOPS" moments hit the airwaves.  Most of these moments become legendary among newsroom staffers; a private joke to be shared over pints after the dust has settled at the end of your shift.  All that changed, however, when YouTube made every second of digital data available 24/7.  Nowadays, a reporter cannot stumble over a word without having the clip circulate around the web faster than the common cold in a kindergarten classroom.

Which is good, because that is some funny stuff!

I put together a list of some of the greatest news bloopers to go viral in the past few years; everything from the rookie anchor who didn't know his mic was on when he let loose a stream of curse words on his first (and last) day on the job, to the one that most closely resembles my own goofy production antics:

Yes, that's a full-screen graphic with a hamster as the suspect, and yes, it was aired live on television a few years ago.  But I swear, this isn't my handy work... even if it is the sort of stuff we used to get into back in the good old days.

See the whole list here!

Last week, a charismatic man named Charles Ramsey hit the web like a much-needed ray of sunshine.  Not only did Mr. Ramsey perform an act of heroism that resulted in the release of three women who had been kidnapped and held hostage for over a decade, but he then told the story to news reporters with such flair, such enthusiasm, and such honesty, that he instantly became "internet-famous."

This phenomenon is not without precedence.  Without TV news interviews such as these, we never would have been introduced to Sweet Brown ("Ain't nobody got time for that!"), Antoine Dodson, or Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker.  I think it's natural for the internet to find humor in even the darkest of stories.  There is literally nothing funny about the fact that these women were held hostage, abused, and utterly victimized for so long, and finding levity in Mr. Ramsey's recounting of their rescue is fine -- as long as we all agree that we are not laughing at him, we're laughing with him.

As Cheezburger Network CEO Ben Huh said, "The Internet likes to celebrate our heroes.  In our own way, this is our celebration of Charles Ramsey."

See the interview that started it all here.

Last week I blogged about hip hop superstars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and how their hit song "Thrift Shop" has been causing a web sensation with parody videos popping up every day online.  Turns out, the duo is not a one-hit-wonder when it comes to spawning web humor: these mofos are certifiably hilarious.

Image via: Know Your Meme.

I stumbled upon this Funny Or Die video these two made about getting a (fictitious) record deal, and I literally LOL'ed. Then I found the interview they gave Stephen Colbert, and laughed some more.  Not just that, but "Thrift Shop" memes have started appearing on all of my favorite humor sharing sites.  I put together a gallery of my favorites here.  Enjoy!

Last week, a new blog popped up on the radar called "Texts From Superheroes."  I was immediately intrigued.

Some of the best single topic blogs operate on the premise that hilarious text messages can come from unlikely sources, like a dog, for example.

I put together a list of the 5 most hilarious "Texts From A ___" blogs -- check it out here.  I'm partial to the texts from Dog and Hillary.  Which are your favorites?

If there's one universal truth about humor, it's that farts are always funny.

Oh, I'm kidding!  What I meant to say is that if there's one universal truth about humor, it's that it's subjective.  What one person thinks is hilarious, another might find crass.  Someone's sense of humor is as varied and unique as their sense of style.  I know this is true, because I just spent a ridiculous amount of time watching YouTube's ten most popular humor clips of all time, and while I found some of the clips to be very funny, a few others... not so much.

It's amazing to me that anyone could find Annoying Orange funny, for instance.  It's also amazing that anyone could not think "I Just Had Sex" is a riot.  To each his own, and all that jazz.  One man's prime rib is another man's Shitaki mushroom.  Subjective.

But who am I kidding?  This:

BOOM.  Always funny.

Yeah, I know, I'm predictable.  Last week I mentioned the song, "Thrift Shop," by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and now here I am... watching spoof videos.  What can I say?  When I like something, I'm nothing if not obsessive thorough.

Image courtesy: "Thrift Shop" video on YouTube.

You can find a link to this very funny original video, along with my top 5 favorite "Thrift Shop" parodies, right here.  Don't say I didn't warn you -- this song is so addictive that it should come with a warning label!

New memes pop up every day, so it's almost impossible to keep up with them all!  Thankfully, you've got me to keep you informed, you lucky folks.  Here's a quick list of the newest memes to hit the web this spring.  Some of them might surprise you.  For instance, did you know that sloths are huge right now?

No, not that kind of Sloth.  This kind:

It's true!  Anyway, the new memes are just as funny as the old memes, so check 'em out.  Have fun!