When a man in Florida named Dano created Motorcycle Monster several years ago, it was a website that kept growing and growing. Initially the site for insurance company MRA Motorcycle Insurance, it expanded into a collection of essays about relevant laws, safety tips, and cultural icons by company man and biker enthusiast Dano. And it took off into the world of streaming media from there.

With an online radio station, an immersive collection of original articles, and a site brimming with related videos, biker culture has fully entered online media. The video content covers bike builders, conventions, shops, artists, general motorcycle how-to vids, biker humor, footage of biker legends like Arlen Ness and Bruce Rossmeyer, tips on how to maintain your bike and crash less, biker art, preview clips for Motorcycle TV shows, and more. Each video is about five minutes long and often hosted by Dano or another member of Motorcycle Monster’s crew, slightly edited but with an overall brash, unprofessional edge that matches the site’s intended vibe. For enthusiasts, it’s worth checking out the biker legends section for interviews and performance footage of the infamous doing the kind of biker tricks that are expected of them. For people like myself who are not enthusiasts, check out the how-to videos. I still don’t know how to change oil on a bike, but at least I know where to find a video about it, if pressed.

There’s basic, comprehensive motorcycle training for people who need it. While there’s no guarantee that Dano’s tutorials will let you glide safely on the asphalt without crashing, there’s at least insurance to help ease the pain.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Launched in November of 2005, More Input Show was the generic, somewhat faulty website’s first of six vlogs and it featured near-weekly updates. With several vlogs in various states of abrupt disarray like Even More Input, Spinput, Drive-In(put), Football to the Groin (which is funny, but not as funny as Kicked in the Nuts), and Under the Table, More Input Show served as the connecting flagship site for unemployed vloggers Mike and Greg. But it seems that Mike and Greg have found themselves jobs, since no further installments have been uploaded since October 2006.

Unscripted but with a guideline, Mike and Greg sit down with a cigarette and some Gatorade to discuss the week’s ongoings at “The Simpsons,” Nintendo, Intel, and sci-fi serials. The production value is obviously low-budget since one of the duo’s biggest selling points is their lack of gainful employment – well, that and the fact that the “set” is lit by a fluorescent light bulb. There are occasional graphics and comic segments, but the bulk of the show is filmed in a single unmoving shot and episodes range from 10 to 20 minutes in length. Each episode tends to be as good as the last. So if you’re interested in any of the topics Mike and Greg discuss, you’ll probably feel kinship with their awe-inspiring knowledge of geeky current events. Everything is on a shoe-string budget, but their humor makes up for the standard-issue webcam that they use in place of a digital recorder. The site is now neglected with some links, videos, and sibling vlog sites not functioning at all. There is no doubt that this blog is a weekly hobby made to be fun rather than successful or financially rewarding, but part of the show’s charm is how often they admit that.

Their podcast for the week of August 21, 2006, sums up what Mike and Greg are all about: fun, geekdom, gaming, computers, and being unemployed.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Created by Karen Morrison, executive producer of E!’s “Fashion File,” MOD TV produces fashion programming for major television networks, including the Style Network, ABC, E!, and Canada’s CBC. Launched in late 2005, the documentary-style website peeks into the exciting world of upscale fashion, bringing viewers behind the scenes of runway shows and to some of the world’s hottest parties. Mod TV also work with Allure Magazine to highlight style trends with short featurettes.

It’s incredibly difficult to snag a seat at a runway show and Mod TV helps bridge the gap between the invited few and the rest of us. The Fashion page lets viewers in on big name shows dating back to 2005 collections displayed in New York, Milan, and Paris. Clips of strutting models are interspersed with party shots and interviews with models and designers, backed by upbeat club music to give viewers the feeling that they’re at these high energy events. The Beauty page contains “how-to” videos of the hottest trends of the year, plus an in-depth look at designer make-up artist, Pat McGrath. The Models page focuses on the slim creatures that grace our magazines, profiling models like Alessandra Ambrosio. A video of Kate Moss, who showed up in support of her friend and Burberry designer Christopher Bailey at the NYC show gives the illusion of a woman well put-together, despite what the tabloids say. The On TV page is a series of Allure-sponsored features, hosted by Editor-in-Chief Linda Wells, where we get to see moments like this where Christina Aguilera shows how her magazine shoot mirrored the 1940’s throwback style that she alluded to in her latest record.All the videos here look beautiful, each one professionally shot like it could be on Morrison’s similarly cinematic Fashion File.

The site’s look behind the scenes and permission to glance behind the curtain is engrossing. Moments like this with up-and-coming designer Oliver Theyskens (of the now defunct Rochas), where he explains the difficulties with getting his name out there in the highly competitive fashion world, and like these, where models like Gemma Ward and Alessandra Ambrosio prepare for a big Victoria’s Secret shoot, make for camera-captured moments that are both intimate and high-profile at the same time.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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For those tech-heads not already enamored with it, Digital Juice is a Florida-based digital company best known for its video-editing merchandise. Like their monthly print magazine of the same name, DJTV elucidates how filmmakers can make the most of Digital Juice products while teaching the latest tricks of the video production industry. The first episodes of its initial three-show lineup were launched in August 2006, while product demos and customer tutorials had been online since February 2003.

Hosted by Perry Jenkins, Chuck Peters, D. Eric Franks, and editor Chris “Ace” Gates, the shows are intended for professional and amateur editors and graphic designers alike, and are dedicated to the five “T”s: tips, tricks, tools, techniques, technology.

Some of the weekly shows available on the DJTV network include Production Notes (for filming techniques), Tech Know (for audio tips and equipment), Cutting Class (for editing tips), and Take 5 (five tricks using Digital Juice’s renowned editing equipment), which are hosted by Jenkins, Peters, Gates, and Franks, respectively.  Well-designed and edited with high production values, the writing for each episode is concise, informative, and often witty, making the videos very easy to watch for editing experts and amateurs alike.  Judging by the several dozen, if not hundreds of comments that each episode receives, the site has fans that clearly appreciate the show and politely clamor for more.

In addition, the Digital Juice website plays host to a series of additional pages, including the DJ showcase, magazine homepage, forums, a poll, and even a chat room, as well as links to purchase the DJ products.

Jenkins, Peters, and Franks share a wealth of information in their shows, some of which isn’t discussed on similar sites. For example, did you know that green and blue aren’t the only colors that can be used as backgrounds when underlaying video? You can also use shades of purple and red, as Jenkins demonstrates in Episode 106.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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After spending a decade in digital services and mobile technology, CEO and Producer Anil de Mello began MobuzzTV in March 2005 to spearhead commercial vlogging with a broadband-on-broadband talk show featuring peppy presenters Karina Stenquist, who is also the show’s screenwriter, and Iria Gallardo. Anyone could make a news service for new mobile technology, but De Mello and his team cater their high-grade feed to that very specific demographic of users who are passionate about such products – young and tech-friendly with a variety of interests.

MobuzzTV is a little more fun and irreverent than most news shows, but it offers a niche service to a niche community with superior content and a simple user interface. Polished three-minute videos are uploaded daily and filmed on a set designed to be minimal and attractive for optimized viewing on small mobile screens. While episodic themes range from music to global politics, each segment revolves around how tech culture has impacted the day’s headlines. That can mean anything from advances in memory research through analyzing rat brains to how P2P programs are faring in recent lawsuits. Their customized bilingual news for the computing community is noteworthy; Spanish-speaking presenter Iria Gallardo provides similar information of the same caliber with the same demographic in mind as Karina’s English version, but in Spanish. The script can be spotty, but sometimes their screenwriting is legitimately entertaining. For example: “Microsoft to Extort Clueless Children” and “France unveils Geoportail”: “It’s like Google Earth, but in French and difficult to use.”

The quirky news service is best embodied by stories like one in the January 24, 2007 episode, which explains Microsoft’s research venture: immortal computing, where users can arrange specific messages in advance of their death to be sent to loved ones or other interested parties, long after their demise. It’s just the kind of stuff that MobuzzTV covers with the kind of writing and humor that is its trademark.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Diggnation, Revision3’s most popular vlog, operates a weekly summary for the grassroots news site Digg, where informed users write and post articles about the day’s breaking headlines, which it has been doing to much acclaim since July 2005.  Like its parent site, Diggnation‘s initial focus was hardcore tech, but over time the show has become a repository for general quirky news with a tech bent. Co-hosts Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht chat about the top stories that the Digg user base has nominated as being most significant to the community that week (with a little chatter about their lives along the way).

Rose and Albrecht are no strangers to tech-related entertainment.  They were both on-camera hosts and personalities for programming on the late, great cable network TechTV before it was bought out and merged with gamer media company G4 in 2004.  A year later, Rose co-founded Revision3 and has been helping to produce his own online tech content ever since.

In minimally edited videos, Kevin and Alex sit on a couch with laptops on laps and discuss the week’s top tech stories in one long shot that lasts about 15-20 minutes. There is some variance to this format. Sometimes they leave the couch and sit on stairs. Sometimes they go to bars, where their popularity precedes them as row after row of fans scream for them (although the joy they find in drinking beer while delivering the news is something that never changes).

On the whole, things haven’t changed that much since the show began in July 2005. Kevin and Alex are funny (that’s possibly the beer), jovial (so is that), and knowledgeable about their topic.  Their geeky joy (combined with Digg’s inherent populism) is probably what has made the show such a success. In the early days when the two hosts only discussed tech news, the stories that were selected by Digg users were always interesting, quirky tech stories. The same still holds true today, despite the fact that their news coverage has broadened. Occasionally Kevin and Alex will discuss things like the sexy scandal involving Miss USA, but the majority of the show continues to be comprised of  Japaneses robots falling down stairs, notes on leaked iPod firmware, and similar techy fare.

It’s like a very low-budget, unscripted “Daily Show” for techies, where the news broadcast is interrupted with meandering discourse and the occasional footage of Alex assaulting Kevin’s computer. If you enjoy that sort of shtick while listening to your news, you’ll enjoy every episode.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Chuck Olsen loved his home state of Minnesota so much he made a vlog about it. Besides experience as a Senior Web Producer at Twin Cities Public Television, he also has a background in filmmaking and blogging. His personal blog was even nominated for an award at the Southwest Interactive Festival in 2004 and his other vlog, Secret Vlog Injection, was a success until he switched his focus to Minnesota Stories and found work as a part-time correspondent for Rocketboom.

He calls his citizen journalist project an experiment in decentralized citizen media, the idea being that his vlog provides a welcome platform for Minnesota residents to share stories, films, music, and views on local politics. Olsen launched the site in July 2005 and he’s been providing regular updates ever since.

The entry that started the project was a humble introduction in which Chuck’s girlfriend Lorika attempted to fry an egg on the steamy sidewalk. Although there is the occasional bit of random fun, the videos have since focused on topics more pertinent to Minnesota residents, running the gamut from coverage of local entertainment events and video art to a peek into a town hall community meeting on crime.

A series shot at the Minnesota State Fair was highly entertaining from a gastronomical perspective. Karina, of Schmlog fame, taste-tests some of the fair’s treats, in a greasy battle between intestines and taste buds; deep-fried chocolate chip cookies and mac n’ cheese nuggets on a stick make appearances.

Olsen really does try to encapsulate everything in the five-minute episodes, but if you’re from Minnesota and find something in your lifestyle that isn’t being covered, the site encourages submissions and, even more, encourages creation of other Minnesota vlogs.

One of the kookier videos featuring local color is Olsen’s entry on the Minnesota Rollergirls in their championship competition. They race in lit-up neon outfits, pitting the Atomic Bombshells against the Garda Belts for 3^rd place and the Rockits versus the Dagger Dolls for the title.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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Daryl Hannah’s online series, dh love life covers super-green topics like biodynamic wine, bike culture, and the many uses of hemp. Instead of abusing her celebrity status by showcasing her efforts all over the tabloids, she goes by the admittedly unambiguous pseudonym “dh” and employs a user-friendly website to showcase her mini-documentaries and inform the world of all the hazards that endanger it.

She may have the benefit of better than average production values from videos shot by professionals, but her message is all green.

The first episode makes its mark with pure shock value: Daryl pours herself a glass of the vegetable oil she uses to fuel her car, drinks it, and then licks the stopper to her fuel tank. The effect is pure curiosity and she uses it to spark viewer interest in her 5-minute videos.

Each through episodic environmental investigation of dh love life has a clear message, usually indicated at the end of the episode with a link to a website that hopes to combat whatever problem Daryl has taken on that week. In addition to daryl spouting vegan, eco-friendly wisdom, current events appear in the videos almost as much as they appear in the news section.

One famous episode worked to garner sympathy for a subsidized farm in the middle of South Central LA that risked being bulldozed. (After the episode appeared on the site, she tied herself to a nearby tree and found herself in jail.) In addition to the show, the incredibly informatived Know Dummy provides readers with news (good and bad), eco alerts, lifestyle tips, and in-depth feature articles written by daryl herself.

What’s so great about the show is that it never fails to entertain amidst all the eco education. a trip to MARS, a vegan playhouse with a stripper pole and a huge trampoline in their backyard, is not only a discussion about the health values inherent in the vegan lifestyle, but a bizarrely fun advertisement for the quirky establishment.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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The comedic quartet known as the of The Ministry of Unknown Science – Jason Berlin, Rico Gagliano, Eric Trueheart, Timothy Walker – are members of the over-educated, over-worked underclass that keep Hollywood afloat. They have degrees from places like Harvard and the American Film Institute and held previous positions as writers for various television programs.

After meeting at Burning Man, they have performed their science themed act around Los Angeles since 2001, often in their very secret “Theory Labs” – they took to blindfolding a reporter from the local media while driving him there. Sadly, the Minsitry had to abandon the labs in February 2006 because of a cease-and-desist order from the landlords citing excessive noise, a failure to adhere to fire safety regulations, and a lack of a dance permit, bringing an unfortunate halt to their experiments.

If you’ve enjoyed The State, or its less inspired offshoot, Stella, then Ministry material will seem familiar. The site has some 20 short clips with a now defunct rotating clip of the week – it’s currently stuck on “Rabbi Hirschfield, that Wascally Wabbi.

Most, though, are science, or science-fiction based – a field test of new testicle protection technology; riffs on 1950s-style educational videos; a group of overlords addressing their clone army as they prepare to attack the sun; and so on. Clips are short, and revolve around the four core members, their alter-egos – Doctor Fistula, Armitage Shanks, Professor T, and Cap’N Shady – and a small supporting cast, as they “conduct complex multi-media experiments in pursuit of results.” They take the whole scientist thing very seriously.

The themes of the skits lend themselves to some delightfully pathetic special effects – an observation that was not lost on the creators. The animation of the clone army approaching the sun in their very phallic looking ships is a B-movie highlight.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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Deepwater Channel is the online video home of Deepwater Films, a company that specializes in filming only the most memorable, dangerous surfing expeditions on the planet. The San Diego company is best known for oceanic IMAX releases such as Big Wave Hunters – a surfing film featuring the extreme athletes highlighted on the Deepwater Channel. Unlike a handful of other surfing websites, which are locally based, and often of questionable production quality, Deepwater is partnered with Graphic Films, an IMAX specialist, and creator of 1998 Academy Award-winner, Alaska: Spirit of the Wild. Thanks to this combination of filmmaking experience, and daredevil surfers, the site is able to provide the sort of footage rarely seen outside of the theater.

The surfing team includes a number of professionals, including Chuck Patterson and Shane Dorian, who travel the world in search of only the largest waves. Once found, the surfers must be towed in by partners on jet skis, and then rescued should the ride go awry. The videos focus on the individual triumphs, and viewers are treated to 2-3 minute clips of these surfing pros as they ride curling waves of almost comical heights. The Surfers clip introduces the viewer to the different athletes, and offers a bit of the “behind the scenes” experience. The self-explanatory Wipeouts is a draw if only because of the ridiculous height from which the surfers fall. In another video, Scott Chandler can be seen riding with his dog on the board – though not on one of those aquatic cliffs, of course. Beyond that, the site offers extensive profiles for their numerous team members, as well as a photo gallery for those wishing to memorialize these rides on their wallpapers. While the site may not be the surfing mecca that is Surfline, it does allow you to live vicariously through these surfers, if only for a few minutes.

One can only watch so many death-defying surfing clips without wondering how these athletes are able to risk their lives so frequently in search of the big wave thrill. This video is dedicated to the Tahitian surfer, Malik Joyeaux, who was killed in December 2005 while surfing Pipeline, in Hawaii. It serves as a sobering reminder of how dangerous this sport can be – something that is easy to forget when watching a series of stylized video clips.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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It’s hard to believe I’m looking at David Lynch’s members-only site right now. (Specifically, I’m looking at Lynch’s house blend of organic coffee on sale for $11.95.) This is the director who brought us “Twin Peaks” and movies like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive.

It’s amazing to have Darryl Hannah publish an environmentalist vlog, but it’s a watershed moment to have David Lynch create exclusive material for his own uncensored, online network. The site is wholly independent and viewer-supported, so there is a steep, $9.97 monthly fee to access the bulk of its content.

Lynch also has a foundation for “consciousness-based education and world peace” and a scholarship in conjunction with the American Film Institute to support promising filmmakers (which is funded in part by sales of the aforementioned Lynch coffee).

Not only is there a bounty of exclusive Lynch material here, but it’s displayed in a beautifully designed interface. In terms of video content, there’s a mix of original and pre-released content. The videos that don’t require a subscription include an on-again, off-again daily weather report and promotional material for new films like trailers and video blogs. The vlog that was associated with the release of his Inland Empire, for example, covered events, clips, interviews, and even viewer reviews.

Member-only videos include serials like Lynch’s 2006 Cannes video diary, which is sort of spectacular in its weirdness, Dumbland, his animated comedy series about life’s stranger unhappy moments in five-minute episodes, and an archive of trailers for most of Lynch’s iconic films. There’s also an exclusive experimental section with bizarre videos like “Coyote #1,” which finds a coyote sniffing around an empty living room at night with the caption; “The coyote is hungry and wants to kill and eat the small creature. The coyote doesn’t yet know the creature’s powers nor what surprises this environment may hold.”

Beyond the videos, there’s a radio show, original music, his ‘90s comic strip “The Angriest Dog in the World,” and several galleries of Lynch’s old photographs. Normally, “features” like e-cards and screensavers wouldn’t be mentioned on this site, but these are e-cards and screensavers by David Lynch and they’re definitely cool enough to mention.

While I’m sure I should be talking about the exclusive experimental films here, I was much more fascinated by his 2006 Cannes diary. Each installment is crafted with all the oddness of his fictional work, but in a episodic, documentary style. One episode, “Café Au Lait,” finds the auteur drinking “the best coffee [he’s] had in years” and talking to a musician about why the impulse to misdirect audiences is so gleeful.

But what’s so entertaining about the episode is that it doesn’t seem like the musician has any idea what Lynch is talking about. And rather than try to correct his conversational partner, he seems to enjoy it all the more. All the episodes are like this. The diary might as well have the subtitle: “Strange Moments with David Lynch.”

This is a pay site, and a relatively expensive one as far as non-pornographic internet content goes.  Although it’s entertaining, only the most obsessed Lynch fans will find the site worthwhile for the cost.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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For those weary of high-school sex-ed teachers who turn red at the mention of “masturbation,” the Midwest Teen Sex Show provides a comically candid alternative to ‘bird and bee’ euphemisms. The video podcast, created by Guy Clark, Nikol Hasler and Britney Barber, all in their twenties, was launched in April 2007 and promises to provide “sex edutainment“—sex education that isn’t boring as hell.

Clark, the brainchild behind the show, produces and directs every episode. Hasler who acts as the program’s pleasantly wry host, is a mother of three who manages the offices of an online vegan company and teaches creative writing. She met Clark in high-school, and agreed to sign-on as host once he sold her on the idea. In a September 2007 interview she said, “I like teenagers because they are still learning to be adults, yet they have the sense to still be children.” Barber, an actress, successfully auditioned for the role of the “funny, sexy, girl,” performer and now plays the wacky, audacious character that stars in the zany skits featured on the show.

The show puts a quirky yet informative spin on issues of teen sexuality moving beyond the standard “sex sells” mind-set of pop culture teen programming found on ” The Hills” or ” Gossip Girl.” While the topics, from ” contraception” to “ the first time,” can sometimes zip past a PG rating, there is nothing overly bawdy or scandalous about the content—so porn seekers, surf elsewhere.

The structure of the three to five minute episodes is generally consistent, with Hasler introducing a topic such as, The Older Boyfriend, and Barber playing lead actress in a skit that illustrates just how creepy 25-year-olds who like teenage Lolitas can be. In the Abstinence episode Hasler assures teenagers, “If your not having sex your not getting a sexually transmitted disease, no matter what you’ve read about toilet seats.” Barber then demonstrates a slew of alternative activities the abstainer can enjoy– Parcheesi anyone? The ladies explore the tortures of high-school locker room nudity in the Gym Class episode, ending with every boy’s fantasy– a lesbian shower scene.

Together the hosts give the show a hilariously rich quality, without taking away from the seriousness of the themes they address. Additionally, both the subject-matter and characters are hugely accessible and designed to connect with everyday teens, rather than Beverly Hills socialites, or blossoming celebrities.

The Birth Control episode, in which Hasler cites the “pull and pray,” as the “reason she has two of three of her children,” offers up advise on the many ways to make love, not babies.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Anusha Alikhan
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