YouTube.com is now officially the Internet’s Next Big Timewaster. The site, for those of you who don’t get out much, allows users to post their own video clips – sublime, ridiculous or anywhere on the spectrum in between – so the general population can disrupt each others’ workday by sending highest priority e-mail messages about the latest clip of a talking cat.
And since the Insider crew is all about wasting time (though not effort), here’s a quick round-up of some of the more fascinating, funny or just plain freakish clips that were circulating at press time. (No, we’re not posting links. Go to YouTube.com and search for yourself.)
Cubicle: There are several videos posted, but they’re not of staggering quality. It’s the song that’s the thing here, a spot-on parody of James Blunt’s ubiquitous hit “Beautiful”: My job is stupid/My life’s a bore/Inside this office/ from eight til four …
However, if you’re actually listening to this song in a cubicle, there’s the strong possibility of creating a closed ironic loop that will damage the fabric of the universe, so be careful.
Noah Takes a Photo of Himself Every Day for Six Years: Well, the title of this one says pretty much all that needs to be said. A twentysomething guy takes a picture of his expressionless mug every morning. He stitches them together in a five-and-a-half minute video with a classical piano theme. Watch him morph through hairstyles, circumstances, fashions … everything, apparently, but moods. Weirdly compelling.
Mentos + Diet Cola = about 1,000 videos: The original video has been pulled at the creators’ request, but the tributes keep pouring in. If you’re not aware of what happens when you mix Mentos and diet cola, think 30-foot geyser of pop. The one I can’t bring myself to preview involves mixing the two in a human environment and boasts “Extreme Graphic Content.”
Speak English: Often, users will post unauthorized copies of clips from television or movies. Often, the copyright owners will demand they be removed. Not so the people behind Big Train, a turn-of-the-century British sketch comedy show (at least, not yet). This one features a lost English tourist seeking help from French locals. A single joke beaten to death, but very funny.