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5 Video Memes for 2008

These videos memes will be haunting YouTube with ever more frequency, so prepare yourself to be entertained and/or annoyed every time you check your email. 

5. Pancakes!

This pancake-mixing freak spent several weekends scooting ingredients around his kitchen counter, but it was worth the effort. His video (and follow-up Pancakes II) has been watched by millions and copied over and over again.


Other examples of the Pancakes! meme:


4.  “Crank That” Ballerina

On July 22, 2007, the “flying superman” movement in the Crank That dance caught the attention of a nine year old ballet student in Kansas City, Missouri. She showed her best friend the next day in ballet class and the meme spread across the country in under three hours.


Obviously performed while their terror-inducing instructors are out of earshot, “Crank That” Ballerina is almost popular enough for Good Morning America to have it performed under freezing conditions in Times Square.

Other “Crank That” Ballerinas:

Unfortunately, in a filing with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Soulja Boy’s attorneys have successfully blocked Listgasm’s efforts to post any more examples of this meme.


3. Colin’s Bear Animation

Colin (last name unknown) took an Animation Arts course at UOIT that failed to fulfill his lofty educational goals. For his final assignment, he rendered up an absolutely horrible example of all that he learned in class. A fellow student identified the memetic potential of Colin’s Bear Animation video and uploaded it to YouTube.

The rest is history.

Other instances of the Colin’s Bear meme:


2.  Message to Scientology and Scientology Raid

Obviously this is a highly sensitive topic, complicated by the fact that the same attorneys who represent Soulja Boy (in the legal sense) also represent the Church of Scientology. We’ll do our best to survive the onslaught of court filings and (far worse) messages of support from the Digg community.

In the spirit of the sort of video transmission we’ve come to expect from an alien civilization, a group of hackers named “Anonymous” has declared war on Scientology.

A second (and closely related) meme is the Scientology Raid, which appears to be protests and hactivism tageting COS locations.

Message to Scientology and Scientology Raid have both inspired many humorous (and serious) videos to be uploaded in response.

Other examples of these memes:

Unfortunately, in a filing with the The European Court of Human Rights, Tom Cruise has successfully blocked Listgasm’s efforts to post any more examples of these memes.


1.  Tribute to Mr. Recession

As we stand on the precipice of the great recession, YouTube enthusiasts have been creating visceral expressions of what went wrong. Not to be confused with the videos of wannabe economists spewing on and on about the recession from their dimly-lit living rooms, recession tributes are a humorously tragic remixing of business imagery, CNBC footage, and music.


Obviously, the producers at CNBC failed to recognize the demand for recessionary self-pity, and we now turn to YouTube to collectively mourn our lost future.

A few more depressing tributes:

Really, this is all too much. I’m giving up now.

Suicidal Kitten

We can’t imagine anybody reading any of these magazines…and yet they exist…

In our quest for lists we are constantly trolling the far corners of internet for new information. One of the biggest sources for these lists are magazines. In fact the inspiration for LISTGASM originated out of the neighborhood newsstand. And if you doubt us, then we respectfully challenge you to do the following: The next time you are at Borders Books or Barnes and Nobles, we dare you to ignore the lists plastered all over the covers of various magazines

On to the next challenge:

We want to know if you have heard of, read, or subscribe to any of these magazines. We can’t even believe that these exist. (sorted by category)

WOMEN:

  • MissBehave: We are not entirely sure if this magazine is still being published, it may have been downgraded to a blog. Still, we agree its time for a magazine that tell girls thats burhkas are out and being urban is in. Their title is catchy, feminine, and yet has a slight touch of entomology.

mb

  • Romantic Times BOOK Reviews: We love romantic book covers more than probably (see the logo?) anyone else, but we still can’t imagine anyone reading reviews for books with titles such as, Fallen: Celeste, Deep is the Night: Dark Fire, or The Last Celtic Witch. Definitely spend some time reading ASK THE AUTHOR, regarding the sensational Sasha Lord.

romance

  • Black Hair: The best magazines that nobody reads has to be the ethnic ones, and by ethnic we usually mean African-American or Latino. I’d like to know the specifics around using “soul glow.” Wouldn’t you? However I would prefer to learn everything on 1 page instead of 156…

black hair

  • Cornbread 2 Caviar: Just when you thought this list was slowing down, we slip this right under you. The magazine is described as the “Southeast’s Urban voice for Christian Women.” This makes as much sense to us as cussing out a deaf person.

    cornbread

  • Weddings and Quinceañeras: I have only been to one Quinceañera in my lifetime and the girl was half black, so it doesn’t really count. This magazine is exclusively for Latinas planning their birthday parties 15 years in the making. The following year they plan their child’s first birthday party and by age 20 they finally get married. I think that’s why its called Weddings AND Quinceañeras, but I think that the title should be in reverse order. Think about it, each purchased issue lasts the consumer a good 5 years!

    weddings and quinces

  • Fit Pregnancy: This magazine is no different than any other female subscription- full of how-to’s, tips, pretty pictures, and even prettier advertisements. My guess is that the only women who purchase this magazine are the same ones who planned their pregnancy and have intentions to get knocked-up immediately thereafter. Pay close attention to the special pull-out section in the picture.

fitpreg

 

  • Pageantry Magazine: Where to begin? Luckily they have a special issue in the spring that is naturally titled “Prom Time.” Please find time to visit their site so you don’t miss out on the “Pic of the week.” We do appreciate the hair, make-up, and etiquette tips, but where’s the advice to ensure your little Teen/Hoodrat gets asked to the big dance in the first place?

pageantry

  • Just CrossStitch: This magazine is read by the tackiest and wackiest thrift-store shopping, home-schooling mothers in America. Although their house may feel extremely cozy upon entering and their baked goods are always delicious, be careful- because these woman are just a Lifetime Movie away from committing murder (or suicide).

 

stitch

 

 

  • Sister 2 Sister: I am about ‘100 things better to do with my time’ away from writing to the editors of this magazine for black women and informing them that it should be “Sista 2 Sista,” and the ‘2′ should be in reverse. If you are going to do something, then do it write. Am I right?

sista

  • Women’s Basketball: I totally dig the concept of women buying a magazine containing foldouts of other women in time-lapsed photographic poses (i.e., completing lay-ups). Good form, but try to jump next time.

wnba

MEN:

  • En-V-Us: Talk about Pride, this magazine bills itself as an “ethnic men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine.” I don’t even think a college kid in a racially exclusive fraternity would pick this trash up…take that back… they probably would, but only because of the cologne samples. And why should I EN-V you anyway? Please remind me…

envus

  • Dime: Who knew there was a magazine dedicated to the “basketball lifestyle?” I play basketball a lot- I even have a pair of Jordan XI’s, and yet I have never heard of this “lifestyle” that this magazine promotes. I think its because of a specific thing Dime refuses to promote…A DAY JOB.

dime

  • Ultimate Grappling: Nothing says “I’m Straight Bro, I promise,” like jumping out of your supe’d up 4×4, ripping off your Affliction T-shirt, and getting down with some Mixed Martial Arts. I just don’t see where reading magazines fits into the whole equation. I guess that’s where the Ring Girls calendar comes into play…

grapplers

 

  • Log Home and Wood: I would go as far as saying that these are the two most necessary magazines on our list. One could argue that their carbon footprint is extremely large but I would counter argue that their weathered hand slap could knock you straight on your ass. Have you ever shaken the hand of a carpenter?

logs wood

 

 

  • Trapper & Predator These men don’t need Mountain Drew or heights to get Xtreme. Nope. They use assault rifles, bows, ATVs, and various animal calling techniques. Knawwaatimeen?

trapper

TEENS:

  • Inside Cheerleading: I can admit that I have been on the”outside” of cheer leading for too long. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen Bring it On, so really- what more can there be? The answer lays somewhere in the mail (after $33 dollars and a 3 years subscription).

inside

 

  • Word Up! (black) J-14 Magazine (white) , and Gumbo Teen (confused): We thought teen gossip rags died with NKOTB (New Kids on the Block), but we were very very wrong. The greatest thing about these magazines have always been how they look exactly like something a 12 year old would put together…collage after collage after collage…

word

 

j

 

 

gumbo

That just about does it for this list. We hope you are going bonkers trying to figure out how these magazines stay in business.

What’s next for Listgasm? Food! Frozen food and chocolate to be exact. But don’t worry everything has been lab tested for quality!

 

 

 

2007: The Necessary Lists

Just a few more days until 2008.

If you are like me then the future bums you out. It’s not that I don’t have an optimistic outlook on life, its just that I have watched a ton of movies. These tidbits of entertainment promise us awesome technological advancements like flying cars, hover skateboards, space travel, and fabulous new wardrobes. As we enter 2008 we are forced to cope with the fact that 2008 will be slightly better than 2000.

future clothes

Solution: Reflect on 2007 with the help of the following lists while eating your old Y2K rations.

Spotlight: Foreign Policy Magazine

Today we take a break from the completely random lists that we usually spotlight on the Listgasms Blog and give respect to the listgasmic qualities of Foreign Policy Magazine.

fp

Their list archive is particularly interesting, like the sweet satisfaction of eating a persimmon for the first time.

Thanks to FP magazine we can all be more educated on topics like:

  • Individuals who have made themselves Presidents for life
  • The world’s biggest military build-ups (Sorry liberals, the US is not #1)
  • The most eligible World Leaders
  • The world’s largest hedge funds
  • 5 population trends to watch
  • The world’s top immigrant smuggling routes.

Go get you learn on with Foreign Policy Magazine

All hail the trend lists of 2007

2007 is almost complete and that means a flurry of lists to conclude the month of December.

Yahoo, Wikipedia, Time, People and Google have all released their search trends or top stories for 2007, and you can bet that every magazine and local news site will be compiling their own take in the coming days…
We will keep everyone posted on these findings as they arrive. Keep checking the “most recent” lists to stay up to date. We will also spotlight the more informative 2007 lists under the “Friends of Listgasm” link on the left side of the home page. And as always, if you have spotted a listgasmic list for 2007 then feel free to submit it on over!