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Hey, guys. Let’s talk! Family meeting! How are you? OK, good, enough about you. Let’s talk about Videogum. We are now deeeeep into our fourth year. Does that seem crazy to you? It should. That’s a lot of years. Some might even say it’s too many years. Just kidding, Videogum 4 ever, I’m sure. But that’s a lot of years still, even if we all agree there should be many many more years. We mentioned a few weeks ago that we were going to start having some more freelancers around, and you’ve seen some of the results of that (good results!) and we will continue to build on that. But here’s another thing we are now doing: accepting submissions. Do you love this website? Would you like to contribute to this website? Now you can! If you’ve got a think piece, or an idea for a supercut, or an unlikely movie review, send it to us at submissions@videogum.com. Before we even go any further, though, let’s all be on the same page: send us GOOD submissions. Thanks. We are not in the Garbage Publishing Business, and will not publish garbage. We reserve the right to not publish anything ever sent to submissions@videogum.com. That being said, no one is more familiar with the tone, sensibility, interests, and moral code of the Videogum audience than you, the Videogum audience. Mommy and daddy have talked about it, and we think you’re ready. Honestly, this is just a really good way (we hope) to both open up the site to new voices, which the entire Gum Team but I especially think it could use, and also a great way (we hope) to discover smart and hilarious new voices. When we are trying to think up someone to solicit for freelance material, we always think of the same 10 people, and a lot of those people are already quite busy. That’s not to diminish your own busy-ness. I’m sure you are very busy too. All the more reason to widen the pool. So many people are just so busy. Who even has the time to blog anymore? But OK, I think I made my point: please pitch us ideas, stories, columns, etc. You’re the blog now, dawg.
And now that we have talked about that, let us talk about some other things:
As a general rule, we really want to grow this place, not just in terms of audience, which, you know, all websites want to grow their audiences because that’s how websites work, but really, at least for us, the part of growth that is the most exciting is the part where the site can just become something MORE than what it is right now. Obviously, that means making some changes to what the site even IS, and change is weird and off-putting, and that’s why we are even talking about this, because we care about your FEELINGS and we want you to help us do all of this and not just be a disgruntled observer. So here’s how you can help: you can, as previously mentioned, contribute to the site. But also, please share your thoughts/ideas/feelings on what the future of Videogum should be. For example, what would you like to see more of? Is there anything that you genuinely care deeply about that you also think are within the purview of Videogum’s editorial mandate (visual pop culture, mostly) but that often gets overlooked or completely ignored? To clarify: in the past, we have posted questions like this before, and a lot of times the answers are something like, “Bring back The Hunt For the Worst Movie!” or “Don’t post videos of babies, babies are boring!” That’s not the kind of feedback we are looking for. Things that have happened on this site in the past might happen again in the future and they might not, but if they don’t, it’s not because we forgot about them. And if we want to post a video of a baby we will post a video of a baby. What we are looking for is pro-active ideas for the NEW FUTURE of the site. As always, if you don’t like something on Videogum, don’t read it. Do you know how many other things you could be reading right now? Not just other websites, but print publications, not to mention books. Hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of books alone. And back issues of the New Yorker that are piling up. Some great stuff, too! So, you know, make smart choices with your life and time. Reading something you don’t like is not the smartest choice you can make, and then going so far as to complain about not liking it is an even worse choice still. Pick and choose! This is the United States of America! But so yes, back to the issue at hand: how do we take the site to the next level? Freelancers: check. Open submissions: check. What else? I’m not going to say that this is as much your website as it is ours because it isn’t. It’s mostly ours. We will continue to call the shots. But we would love for you to be as involved as you possibly can without letting the lunatics (that’s you) take over the asylum (that’s Videogum.com). So let’s start this way. Let’s talk it out, bitch. (Ari Gold! Our old friend!)
We look forward to hearing from you! XOXOXOX.
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How about The Search for The Worst Baby Video of All Time?
The Hunt for the FIRST! Comment of All Time
My first submission will be Steve Winwood IS Chris Trash: A Conspiracy Theory
Will you accept my Ebert and Roeper Move In Together sitcom treatment?
MORE VIDEOS OF BABY HIPPOS GETTING STARTLED BY BUTTERFLIES!!!!
no, seriously, love the open submissions idea.
I love love love Videogum, but really, I only have one gripe. Okay, two: I really miss the Worst Movie Of All Time. Bring it back! I also don’t like baby videos. Babies are boring.
I wholeheartedly agree.
babies are awesome… okay not really, but when they start talking and being assholes, then babies are fun. case in point, our kid totally rolled his eyes the other day just like i do. It warmed my heart something fierce to realize that my dickishness made into another generation.
Year 5 will be the time travel one, right?
“Start with Year 5 & work backwards.” -Werttrew, on Videogum.
Seriously, though, I’m ok with WMOAT being gone, since I can listen to How Did This Get Made, which is very funny. I know some people got mad about that list of bad boyfriends a while back, but I enjoy that kind of thing. Like those ones on Stereogum that I usually really disagree with, but still find the need to read and imagine my own.
And of course, Adventure Time recaps would be ace. Shit, I could just submit those now, huh?
And we the people could do bad movie reviews, if we are so inclined (and now I regret missing the showing of Death Bed: The Bed that Eats EVEN MORE. AND GUYS, I WAS ALREADY REGRETTING THAT TOO MUCH)
I wonder if there would be any objection to a revival of WMOAT not written by Gabe/only sometimes written by Gabe? I think it could be fun to see a variety of people writing it.
I saw that movie in a theatre!! It was really worth the time. Not only does Death Bed: the Bed that Eats eat you, it also invades your dreams and the whole thing is narrated by a ghost (maybe?) that lives in or behind the mirror (I think?), and everyone seems really non-chalant about being eaten by a bed. I don’t think anyone really struggles, but that may just be because it would be very difficult to film as you could quite easily escape a bed we all do it every day. The best part is *Spoiler Alert* when the guy reaches into the bed and comes out with perfectly clean skeleton hands that are still mobile and functional. GO SEE DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS RIGHT NOW!!
Oooh, what if we did a WMOAT Videogum at the Movies type thing! We can all watch a crap movie together and discuss it in the comments. Please use lots of pictures, the pictures are the best parts.
Has there been a larger piece written about how weird and awesome this show is? I came to it a little late but I have been amazed how it – and generally a lot of the stuff on regular Cartoon Network (not Adult Swim) – is kind of clearly made for adults with an attitude of “hey if kids like it and want to watch it then that’s cool too.”
GIRL, THAT’S like every cartoon SINCE FUCKIN like the 90′s.
Naw, Adventure Time’s special.
Really? Besides Rocko and Ren and Stimpy, I seem to notice it a lot more of that now that we live in “internet culture.” The stuff my younger cousins watched when my occupation was “babysitter” seemed much more aimed at them. Occasionally there was a joke that was over their heads, but usually not entire episodes.
IF YOU’RE gonna do lists, though, YOU BEST not be a LITTLE BITCH and make us CLICK THROUGH every goddamn ENTRY (like Stereogum does) TO MAKE it look LIKE THEY get more hits. HATE IT.
actually year 5 is the year we fight Daleks.
Thoughts/ideas/feelings, eh? Sweet. Ok, I’ve got one of those.
As a fellow Gabe, I feel that Gabe and I have a special bond that makes it easier for me to bring up delicate subjects, such as asking him to PLEASE WRITE SHORTER DAMN PARAGRAPHS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
Even I agree with this, and I’m extremely verbose most of the time. I mean, maybe not now, because the comment is basically over. I could have written “ditto,” which would have been even shorter, but that sounds like a Rush Limbaugh fan or something. But basically, yeah, while I feel that the internet has imposed a ridiculous expectation that things be bite-size (I mean, “TL;DR”, what the fuck is that, how about “I didn’t read this because I have ADHD, and I’m bragging about it because I’m an asshole, and technically I don’t even know what your post is about because I supposedly didn’t read it and for all I know it’s most amazing and important thing ever”) even I think that sometimes (not all the time but sometimes) the whole rambly stream-of-consciousness thing gets hard to read.
you are wrong. gabe is perfect. learn to read. or just don’t and shut up.
r those kids looking at porn?
I don’t want to get too far into the weeds with this, but I think the Videogum of the future should have more of the stuff that’s pretty good, and less of the stuff that isn’t quite as good. The rest is just details, really.
Also, no facebook connect.
in the future of Videogum, That One will launch a successful write-in campaign to get Netflix to produce new seasons of Lost through a “Videogum Everywhere” executive order.
unfortunately, those episodes will only be made up of footage from Matthew Fox singing Nickelback lyrics in his back yard and Harold Perrineau running up to strangers asking if they’ve seen his son.
At the very least, how about having a set up so that we don’t have to log out of FB Connect and log back into our Vgum accounts every time we come to the site?
in the future of Videogum, the uprising of a certain group of mechanical human-like machines will no longer be spoken about….
Republicans will lose the 2012 election by an embarrassing margin and wiped off the face of the earth.
Does this mean we can get a puppy? I think we’re ready for a puppy!
Wait… I thought we have Birdie? More Birdie!
More crabby Gabe think pieces on current events, plz. Seriously. I really love those.
Yes please!
GOD. YOUR avatar really TAKES ME back.
absolutely yes. Kelly, too.
Seconded! Crabby think pieces are my favorite, especially if they are really long-winded and then like BURN BITCH at the end.
any minute you should start receiving a copy of Precise Acclaim my parody of Infinite Jest. all 136 installments should finish uploading in the next few hours, so check the submissions inbox soon gabe.
Ok so since your editorial mandate is “visual pop culture” what about featuring some webcomics from time to time or even have one of these freelancers create a videogum webcomic.
or self-produced videos like Gabe & Max Present The Internet or whatever that very funny best week ever series was called.
^^^^ THIS guy has SOME IDEAS, y’all. LET’S see some visual representations UP IN THIS shit.
Also whenever anyone asks me for feedback I pull an awkward Kristin and hide behind printers, but are you looking into adding forums for discussions or something? Or are you planning to militarize us, so when Videogum Everywhere enters its offensive phase there will be ground troops ready?
I would personally be alright with either.
Make the site more like Thought Catalog
I kid, I kid. Seriously, though, I have no ideas. I’m completely worthless.
“HOT DAMN TIME TO FIND ALL MY OLD FANFIC.” -Nerds
Seriously, you guys are gonna get so much fanfic.
But hey, I do actually have a question for the submissions and how that will all work. Should people submit a piece fully formed, or can people submit ideas for pieces to see if y’all are even interested in that subject at all? I mean, obviously, people can write stuff and put it on their own tumblr.coms if VG rejects it, but I would just hate for someone to write some ambitious piece and spend a lot of time on it, and then it not be something that you’re really interested in publishing at all in the first place.
While I’ve never contributed to VG’s unofficial sister site Monster Occurances Both Foreign & Domestic (www.mobfd.biz), I do check it out a few times a month and am quite delighted by much of the content there. I’m sure as long as someone’s piece is funny and thoughtful it could appear on that site if it doesn’t make it on Videogum.
TRUDAT. I do enjoy MOBFD too.
Also, is that Admiral Adama in your avatar? I just started watching Battlestar Galactica last weekend! 5 episodes in and really enjoying it so far.
Admiral Adama is to me as Coach Eric Taylor is to Gabe. BSG is terrific, it’s like LOST but with characters that you actually care about. But it’s also like LOST in that it’s final season and series finale sharply divided the fanbase. But it’s very much worth the journey, especially for really cool space battles.
NOTE: Skip the season 3 episode ‘Black Market’. While most episodes of BSG rate from ‘good’ to ‘great’, that episode is stunningly lackluster, inconsequential, and even the showrunner said he wished it didn’t exist.
Nvr 4get: Bulldog
You DID make it up!
Whatever Summer, my Tilda Swinton fanfic is awesome.
I feel that what sets Videogum apart from other websites which also feature celebrities farting on trampolines is the healthy perspective you guys have on what is now pop culture. I love the State of the Union-like posts about where we are as a culture and really, that’s why I come here: The disconnect and alienation that’s injected with celebrity posts. It’s not snark, and it’s not satire. It’s just two people loving and hating the culture in which they live. The infamous nostalgia post was brilliant and perfectly timed.
So, I guess if I could wave a wand and tweak Videogum, I would do that. I’d read longer think pieces about the health of culture as it exists in this little bubble. I guess, since submissions are now a thing, I could change that. But I’m not funny. Gabe and Kelly are funny.
Also, I like videogames. They are fun to play and are becoming much more than that! I would love to see videogame stuff! Emily V. Gordon was a guest a bit ago. Indoorgum every once and a while?! Pretty please?
I love you gabe and kelly love is forever fan love you
“Think piece.”
That One, 1983-August 23, 2012
I AGREE, but can we also TAKE THE phrase “think piece” OUT back behind the barn (SO THAT it can just GO UPSTATE and live a really HAPPY LIFE with all the OTHER overused phrases THAT HAVE come to mean all but nothing, I SWEAR) because that phrase IS THE worst and I’m tired OF HEARING IT. IF YOU’RE not thinking about WHAT you’re writing, you’re a fucking IDIOT.
I’D ALSO be down for some VIDJA games.
Yes. I’m quite ashamed for using it just now.
No worries. I’d SAY LET’S HUG it out, but then YOU’D PROBABLY TRY to fuckin kill me OR SOME shit and I SUCK WAY too much at death to CHALLENGE you so. FUCK. THAT.
You’re right, the nostalgia post was great. I wish Gabe would post it again.
The thing I’ve always noticed about Videogum, and on certain days I love this and on certain days I loathe this, is that when I click on a video of (pretend example) say a kid crying because his parents are making him eat his vegetables and it’s very funny, but then there is like a 2,000 word screed about how the parents might be abusing their child. And that’s perfectly fine – I love that this website has a point of view, especially when it taught me how WRONG I was about the whole Daniel Tosh rape joke extravaganza and rape culture in general. But it’s sometimes… jarring? Also, I know it’s mostly always been this way, I’m not expecting that to change much. I guess sometimes you just want farting kittens and you get farting kittens and the plight of euthenized stray cats in Macedonia. So what I’m saying is that it gets unexpectedly heavy in certain posts when I just wanted farting kittens. But maybe it’s time to rethink the branding identity of Videogum – maybe something along the lines of a more overt pop culture criticism blog (is that what it already is?). Of course, like Gabe said, I could always skip to the next post…
hire topher grace to finish the hunt, two bird sone stone
Actually, just hire Topher Grace. Then we’d know what’s ALWAYS up with Topher Grace!
yeah that was the second bird i was talking about, two klassic kolumns merged into one
Make it so I comment more often.
And while you’re at it, make it so I comment more witty.
Eye wanna spel bettur.
I’m fine. If anything, make it so everyone’s comments refer more to how good my comments are. Like “djfreshie, good one” or “hey djfreshie, where do you get your ideas??” Stuff like that.
You’re the man, djfreshie.
Yeah, that’s a damn good idea, djfreshié!
I didn’t think you’d roll out my ideas so quickly. Here’s another one while I’m thirsty: Can we get more Mr Pibb in the vending machine?
djfreshie may be the most gifted monster I’ve ever seen; gifted not just because of his imagination, his energy, his originality, but because he has access to the unutterable, because he can look inside a person and discover the unique essence of his humanity. To read his comments is to have yourself taken apart, undone, touched at the place of your own essence; it is to be turned back, as if after a long absence, into a human being.
bigbabyherzog?
“the part of growth that is the most exciting is the part where the site can just become something MORE than what it is right now. Obviously, that means making some changes to what the site even IS, and change is weird and off-putting, and that’s why we are closing Videogum.”
That’s totally where I thought you were going with that.
I love bizarre pop culture and I love that Videogum also seems to love bizarre pop culture. You guys introduced me to The Room, and for that I owe you a leisurely football toss, but it was those clips and the WMOAT that got me coming back and commenting a lot (when I had more time to do so!). I enjoy watching stuff and being amazed that someone followed through and made their (for better or worse) wackadoo vision reality and I love discussing that kind of stuff with smart people.
I guess the one thing I would like to avoid is nonsense lists, I know they generate page-views (believe me, my bosses send me those articles weekly), but I feel like Videogum and its audience are generally above that and are able to talk about a subject without requiring an arbitrary countdown.
Yes. Listicles will be the death of this site. And I’d also like to add that hate view pieces are also annoying. So no hate view pieces, please.
What is a hate view piece?
A piece that is an unpopular opinion or really lazy article that riles up traffic and generate a ton of comments that are corrections. The New York ‘Times has been doing it A LOT lately — they had one last week about gay male comics and another one about a month ago that was an op-ed about algebra being useless (maybe for girls)? I keep seeing them on blogs and fb feeds with angry rants surrounding them. Ironically, the anti-math one helped me realize how to break the NYT paywall so hahaha joke is on you jerks, I’m going to read all the articles for free now.
So like don’t link to articles that are clearly written by dickheads?
What about a Hatebreed piece, because I have a lot of opinions on mid-90′s hardcore bands from Connecticut?
FLW, who wouldn’t love that? Come on.
I don’t know…The Petting Zoo is one of my favorite posts now, and it’s a list. I mean, not really because it’s totally arbitrary, but that’s what’s kind of fun about it. I wouldn’t mind list with that kind of spirit.
But Kelly’s ability to manipulate that trope into something fun and interesting is one of my favorite things about this site. Her suggestions are the best. I am still laughing at the CNN piece from last week. And animal videos don’t need to be ruminated upon. But she has a wonderful talent in making lists not seem like lists — even the daily links are a delight and usually those are just boring old links sitting around going to other things on other sites.
I’d also like to get a running feature of things Kelly and Gabe hate, but Kelly’s reactionary hating of bugs is so funny. And her non exposure to certain fruits and vegetables.
“NO lists unless I ENJOY THAT list then THAT LIST ISN’T a list and IT’S OKAY!”
kelly’s hatred of bugs if definitely great, but i could also do with fewer HORRIFYING SPIDER VIDEOS. i realize that this is basically the same as “NO MORE BABY VIDEOS, BABIES ARE IDIOTS,” but, look, SOME OF US might read through the site in bed on their phones* every morning when they wake up on the western coast of america, and for those people, whoever they are, maybe the mere FLEETING IMAGE of a giant spider molting or eating a bird or whatever is enough to trick their dumb brains into thinking that every leg itch means that they are going to throw off their covers to find their legs COVERED IN SPIDERS, and maybe they know it’s stupid but they can’t help it and now their day is ruined because they can’t stop thinking about spiders.
*real talk: can the future of videogum include a better mobile site? with the ability to comment, and, i don’t know, fewer giant, screen-engulfing ads for kool-aid that are in spanish for some reason? i mean, i know that you guys need advertising, but they’re PRETTY annoying.
People do insane things for the team and report back.
JOE MANDE, your PEOPLE cry out for YOU!
More Gary.
YES. I’m sure all of Gary’s posts would be like, the funniest things ever! I mean, he IS Gary after all!
Goddammit, Gary, stop dicking around! Get back to work!
“Gary Stories To Tell In The Dark” – just us talking about Gary and the hilarious stuff he does.
In the dark.
Remember when he stole that cone?
Oh haha, I remember that. Classic Gary.
I left for like 3 months and I don’t get the jokes anymore! Who’s Gary? Why isn’t this no the werrtrew VG meme list?!
On. I meant on.
Gary’s origin story: http://videogum.com/563591/today-we-are-all-orson-welles/where-were-they-then/comment-page-1/#comment-9462592
Gary recounts putting a cone on his head
Gary Darko Boner
And here we are. Full circle. I’m not going to make a Gary joke yet, but now I know. I’ll be waiting. Watching. Commenting. A silent wit (or not). Until I am needed.
(Also, thanks!)
I KNEW Gary stole that cone! What a cut up!
This is a great idea like that time that Gabe (was it Gabe?) went on the celebrity tour or whatever in LA? That was great! We could do that in other cities because not everyone lives in NY or LA.
Badideajeans – go on the GRIMM tour and tell us all about how great Monroe’s house looks in real life! Please!!!
Grimm? The delightful show that airs on NBC on Monday nights? Well, OKAY. I was going to see if I could become an extra, they often ask for people and their dogs for random background shots, but stalking Monroe through the streets of Portland sounds like just as much (if not more) fun. Seriously. Because I was going to do it anyway.
“What’s That Smell?” – A weekly feature where someone discovers a weird smell and hunts down its origin.
We can somehow fold that into the Celebrity Sniffing Journalism Services we’re planning.
If there’s one thing I know, it’s viral marketing. The first 10 pieces will be peppered in with stories about stray celebrities we find in our quest to learn of the smell’s origins. We will report on what they smell like but embed code to bring people to our Smellstagram app. It’s all part of the plan.
I am pretty excited about this plan. WE’LL BE RICH AS MIDAS. Plus I’ll know what Benedict Cumberbatch smells like and I’ll be sending the intern out to chase down the gross smells. It’s going to be the best.
“Where’s The Beef?” – A weekly feature in which Gabe or Kelly hide a large slab of ground beef in the other’s apartment. Someone discovers a weird smell and hunts down its origin.
“It’s in my stomach!” – Birdie
More Dave Holmes.
MORE articles on HOW fucking balls to THE wall AWESOME AMERICA is, please.
NEVERMIND, just saw the SUGGESTION EMAIL link. Gabe, you Betty White hating BASTARD, GET ready for your email account TO BLOW the fuck UP.
I’d like Gabe to discuss the snack vacation he went on. What kind of snacks did he eat? Did he find new uses for salt? Did Birdie like the snacks?
More snack-based content.
I have been around since the early days. Like back in late 2008 (I think) is when I first read Videogum. I never really part-take in the comments section though, I’m just not much of a commenter, if you’re wondering why you haven’t heard of me. Though I love reading the top comments at the end of the week, or if there’s a particularly interesting debate going on…
So, I used to read Videogum because I loved reading Gabe’s commentary. I thought you might as well call this site VideoGABE. And then Kelly came aboard and I was a bit hesitant but she can really hold her own, for sure. I love Kelly now. But I still miss Gabe. I understand why Gabe stopped doing True Blood recaps, but I don’t understand why he stopped the hunt for the worst movie, or why his posts are getting less frequent and more political/ideological.
Videogum to me has always been a place where we come together to make fun of our own culture. The mainstream, pop culture specifically. I like these political posts, I agree with you completely most of the time, but they’re kind of obvious and easy things to blog about. There will always be people in politics, and pop culture alike, saying and doing ridiculous, insane, bigoted things and there are millions of people with opinions on things like Akin, Chick-A-Fil-A, all over the internet.
What was always more interesting to me is when Gabe really digs into a popular TV show, movie or pop culture figure or celebrity drama and exposes just how bad, ridiculous, absurd they are and what that means about our own culture. I get the feeling that Gabe has moved away from things like True Blood recaps and The Hunt because he thinks they’re trivial and he should spend more time on meaningful political issues. I would argue that the pop culture stuff is just as, or more important, than the political stuff, in the context of what I, personally, think this website is good for.
For instance, I was a lot younger and dumber four years ago. I loved True Blood, and almost fell into the trap of The Walking Dead, like a lot of my friends did, like most people did and still do love that show, at least when it comes to Walking Dead. Critics give both those shoes decent reviews. But Gabe really opened my eyes to how truly awful they were and how I just had bad taste in film and television, frankly. That may sound trivial, but it’s kind of important to me because it’s really changed the way I watch TV and movies and read books. I’m much more discerning now.
But he always went deeper, like, not only is this show bad, but the fact that this show is popular is indicative of what’s wrong with our culture. Videogum has always been a place where I could come together with other people to synchronize in our loathing of popular culture; down to specific instances and why. I’m making it sound less sophisticated than it is but that’s what we do here, I think it’s what this site should do and I think it’s healthy. I think a place like Videogum should exist in a diverse, internet eco-system. Videogum is an oasis of self-awareness in the barren, desolate desert of modern culture.
I want the site to grow, I want it to evolve. But I want it to take back it’s identity, maybe, or at least come up with a coherent mission statement at least. Because I don’t think what this site does is trivial, or just dumb humor. At the same time, I don’t know if it’s the best place for debating ideology. You know? You’re preaching to the choir most of the time. I want Videogum to stop taking itself so seriously (not that it does, really) but start taking the critique of popular culture seriously again; movies, TV, books, music, etc. If that makes sense. Maybe I’m just being sentimental and I miss the old days.
Either way, I will always love and support this site. Gabe and Kelly know what they’re doing, I trust them. I wish Videogum the best, It’s been great thus far and I promise to come along for the rest of the ride!
I really enjoy when guest commentators come on and give recommendations (mainly for television shows). Most of the recommendations have been well worth my while. So a weekly or bi-weekly recommendation of some lesser known shows, books, movies, whatever else would be great. Also, I have no problem with lists that aren’t completely trivial or too subjective to the writer’s tastes (i.e. Best salad dressing commercials of the 90s, favorite or least favorite baby names).
i don’t have any ideas to contribute of my own, but i like your idea very very much.
I would like the future of Videogum to involve a notification when someone replies to a comment I’ve posted, along with flying cars and robot maids.
I SECOND THIS SUGGESTION.
Hey Gabe and Kelly:
I just tried to send you guys about 3 GB of Christina Hendricks/Alison Brie slashfic, but I keep getting an error message saying my e-mails been blocked. Can you help?
Thanks,
FLW
PUT that shit ON A zip disk AND MAIL it.
Write Videogum, V-G-U-M, Box 3-5-0, Boston, Mass 0-2-1-3-4
I’ve run into this same problem! As it turns out, the solution is quite simple: CC to thatonehendricksbrie69@geocities.biz. You need to wait about 45 minutes, and then it should go through.
It’s just a strange programming error.
Just sent joanandtrudypilowfight.txt file over to you. Let me know what you think.
It’s not working. Could you send a .vid file? That should probably work.
Keep an eye out for my upcoming submissions of erotic fan fiction, which I will eventually publish as a novel called “50 Shades Of Clown”.
FUCK that. 50 SHADES of Freedom IS GONNA blow bookstore doors WIDE open.
FIFTY SHADES OF MOTHERFUCKING FREEDOM!!!!!
OH MY GOD STALLONE
i look forward to reading your erotic fan fic while wearing pancake makeup and a red nose… sexy time is very interesting in the Oblivion household.
Since Gabe is moving to L.A. or just did, I want to see him become a stage dad for Birdie then the Birde4actingrole dreams of ours will all come true! Plus while he is on set, Gabe can report on the snack carts from craft services.
Here Comes Birdie Boo Boo!
Free Soda Refills!!!!!!!!
NO. THAT is the cause of THE GREAT FAT PLAGUE in our society, and we MUST STAMP this evil RIGHT out!
Actually a serious question and one that’ll probably get lost down here, but I’m hoping the trained meerkat that Kelly trained to monitor comments red flags this (Hi, Chico! Red-flag this and send it to momma-bear.)
Anyway, if we want to submit something, should we write it on spec or pitch an idea? If it’s a fully-formed post, I’m assuming with pics and links? Would like to be as helpful and stress-free when submitting something as possible.
Hey hey hey, I asked this question earlier! Great minds, FLW!
Could we all sit around together and watch the presidential debates like we do for the Oscars and Emmys and whatnot? I would much rather make jokes here than Twitter.
I think this site would benefit from a totally crazy Michael_, from Stereogum, style commenter.
WHAT the fuck does THAT EVEN mean, dragon.
Go to Stereogum for a day, you’ll know.
I think we can all agree the lack of ASCII art here is really upsetting.
granted these things pertain to me, but can we talk about gays in the military (not the uplifting stories of coming out, but about the hardships one still faces) or can we talk about how amongst the gay community, racism is alive and unfortunately well. also, can we have more snark directed at twilight? i feel like it teaches teenage girls to want crazy amounts of drama and unrealistic dynamics in their relationships which will ultimately lead to a generation of very unhappy women. btw… i got out of work early and i’m mid day drunk…. just letting u know how i rolls.
also… can we have more reviews of trueblood? i know gabe hates it, but can the monsters submit their critiques? that’s what made me join this site because it was comforting that other people were caught in the vicious cycle of loving and hating that damn show.
I would like to see more Lost recaps. What ever happened to those?
More sand.
Can there be weekly think pieces on all the ways the Speed Racer movie was actually a really, really fun, dynamic film, and one of the only live-action adaptations of a cartoon that was excellent and how it captured the spirit of the television series perfectly in all the best ways possible, and also I need another weekly think piece about letting things go and not letting popular opinion bug me when I feel a piece of entertainment has unfairly been maligned and ridiculed resulting in its flopping at the box office and in dvd sales, in hopes that one day I can watch my copy of Speed Racer and not immediately take to twitter or other available online social media platforms to complain that more people should’ve liked the film Speed Racer? Can I have that?
I liked that movie!
During the last race I was on the edge of my seat, not actually saying it out loud but thinking, “Go Speed Racer Go!” I’m guessing that it got so slammed by the critics because of residual ill-will from The Matrix Revolutions. Which is understandable, even if it’s unfair to Speed Racer.
CAN all of the ARTICLES AND comments default to THE STYLE of An American PATRIOT?
LOL WHAT the fuck does this GUY even MEAN?!
I see what he did there, if you just read the capitalized bits he says he just wants “Can articles and the style patriot.”
Just me,
Decoder Joe
Can we have all future articles in Comic Sans?
You’ve been doing a great job. But I’d like to see more features we like gotten rid of, and more features we don’t like added. Ok thanks bei!
I would love someone to review the strange and obscure films that show up in the Netflix instant view lists. The films that don’t have much information on IMDB. It would make watching them loads of fun,
Pam, Grantland already has a semi-regular article that does exactly that!
It’s written by Max Silvestri! (who I think might have some kind of affiliation with this site, no?)
Most recently Max reviewed ‘Dance Flu’ starting Kel Mitchell of Kenan & Kel!
http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/category/_/name/queue-review
oops…the movie is Dance Fu not Dance Flu…somebody needs to get to work on making Dance Flu happen.
Unfortunately, I think it’s time to head in a bold new direction. I would kill off one of the protagonists, either Kelly or Gabe. I know they’re fan favorites, but we need to shake things up.
MORE TOP CHEF REVIEWS! Everybody loves those.
Something I don’t really see here that I would enjoy reading/seeing more of is interviews – actors, YouTube stars, writers, comedians, whatever fits in the mandate. There’s a lot of irritating self-centered navel-gazing “journalism” lately, and it’s such a bummer to read. So not that, and not so absurd as Between Two Ferns (which is great, but we have that already). Real talk.
Oh, and when I said “There’s a lot of irritating self-centered navel-gazing ‘journalism’ lately” – I wasn’t referring to Videogum! I love Videogum. Phew.
I would like Videogum to be 40% gayer. Gabe is a really hot guy so it should be easy.
“Could Videogum BE any gayer?”
- Chandler Bing, skeptically
I don’t know if you are having submissions because the work is too much for you or if you just want more content, but if it is the latter I say you don’t need it. Your regular output is enough for me, and last week it was hellish to try to keep up with the 150 articles per day pace. So anyway, I guess my vote is less submissions by non Kelly/Gabe’s rather than more.
Doctor Who recaps? I’ll do ‘em. Eye’m a good writurr! (No, really, I am.)
I would love a podcast. And/or weekly videos from the editors. I would also like to have the site guest-edited by Birdie for a week.
Can we use the phrase “relax, technojeremy” more? I still try to work that into as many conversations as possible, which isn’t easy.
HAVE FUN at dinner!
A true classic, indeed.
Sorry for being tardy to the party (some of us work weekends)!
When I first saw this posting, my immediate thought was “Bring back True Blood recaps!” because that was what brought me to this site in the first place (or more precisely, googling ‘True Blood is just awful’ did). Now that I’ve caught a few episodes of the season, however, I withdraw that plea. There’s no reason to relive that, even if for hilarity’s sake.
This site is wonderful as it is. It is probably the only site I visit where I look forward to reading the comments as much as the posts. Even though I don’t get involved in the commenting process (partly for tardy reasons, partly because everyone else has already said what we’re all thinking), I still enjoy the back-and-forth.
That said, I guess my only suggestion for the future of the site would be to have freelance writers/articles with their own voice. I didn’t enjoy a lot of the recent non-Gabe & Kelly content only because it felt like the guest writers were trying (way) too hard to capture that unique Videogum voice that did not come naturally to them, and it left me feeling a bit awkward in the reading and slightly embarrassed for the forced nature of the content. Pieces that compliment Videogum’s style without attempting to dopplegang the existing material would be a welcome addition! I do think that Dave Holmes felt the most comfortable in the role of guest editor.
Sorry for being tl;dr. Since I never comment, I had to pack twoish years worth of characters into one post ;p!
Could we get recaps of Louie? I know the season is about to wrap up, but maybe in the future? I find that show to be consistently interesting and subversive to my expectations. I would like to talk about that with people who are more eloquent than I am.
.
This site is wonderful as it is. It is probably the only site I visit where I look forward to reading the comments as much as the posts. Even though I don’t get involved in the commenting process (partly for tardy reasons, partly because everyone else has already said what we’re all thinking), I still enjoy the back-and-forth.
That said, I guess my only suggestion for the future of the site would be to have freelance writers/articles with their own voice. I didn’t enjoy a lot of the recent non-Gabe & Kelly content only because it felt like the guest writers were trying (way) too hard to capture that unique Videogum voice that did not come naturally to them, and it left me feeling a bit awkward in the reading and slightly embarrassed for the forced nature of the content. Pieces that compliment Videogum’s style without attempting to dopplegang the existing material would be a welcome addition! I do think that Dave Holmes felt the most comfortable in the role of guest editor.
Kelly is awesome and rocks and has her own voice I have grown to love. If I had started on the Kelly blog thing I would probably go to that website looking for my Kelly fix and be annoyed by Gabe rattling on about some nonsense. I would probably go to the Kelly blog more than I do this blog right now- and I would go there looking for and expecting what I have come to love of Kelly’s style.
But I fell in love with videogum (long time lurker pretty much since the start minus a few months) because i got so much out of Gabe’s discourse and writing and anger and humor and writing style, and when that started dropping off I started dropping off. I love the intensely detailed vitriolic criticism of tiny minutae, i love his analysis of pop culture, I loved the WMOAT, I love the staunch feminism, I love the social commentary, loved when Gabe got mad at the people who got mad at him for GP crotch shot and explained why he, also, was offended. I loved it all. When Gabe rambles i am just delighted- the topic isn’t terribly important. I think Gabe has a great writing style and look forward to him going on in writing in another medium if this one has grown tiresome or he needs time for other endeavors. But the other stuff just doesn’t grab me, not because its not great, but because I am not getting the fix that i associate with the videogum branding in my head. I am like a pavlovian dog. i see the logo and the purple and just feel sad–like the dad moved away and we are in the house with other people who are really quite wonderful but its not the same and he just drops by and is like HEY- whats up? all ok? good! and sometimes stays for dinner but other times not so much, less and less, really.
I hope this was super constructive and helpful! sorry I just realized I just did the opposite of what was asked for and this is depressing and awful and I am a jerk. Please forgive me. I just had to say my piece. I do want the best for everyone and the site. if the site changes dramatically I assume it will be great and get a bigger audience and old farts like me (if there are even any more besides me) who are like ‘oooh we used to have a ‘WMOAT’ won’t matter.