Viddler

In the week leading up to April 1st we held a competition open to everyone in which you had to fool the audience of your video that you were being honest.

I’ve held all of you in suspense for long enough, so let’s announce the winners.

Foolery: Ultimate Edition

Rog42 from Sydney, Australia, tricked us in to believing that we could get a discount from Microsoft by getting a tattoo behind our ear. He really does work for Microsoft, so was really sly. See his video below.

Rog42 scored himself the option between a ThinkGeek OR Amazon gift card to the value of $100 and a Viddler t-shirt! Giddy up!

The Cheeky Tricks

The only other participant in this contest was CheekTV. Their April Fools’ Day video was featured here on the blog and showed some fantastic ways to prank your friends in and around the home. Nice! Watch CheekTV’s video below.

What? That’s it? Yup! Now we’ve got all these spare t-shirts we’ll have to figure out what to do with. Participate next time, yo.

Here’s the video the won Rog42 the rad prize:

Here’s the video that won CheekTV sweet Viddler schwag:

After all the issues discussed in the 75 winners’ videos of C-SPAN’s StudentCam 2009 contest, there was just one grand prize winner; Sawyer Bowman. He those the personal topic of cancer and asked what the president’s plan is to eliminate the fatal disease.

President Barack Obama saw Sawyer’s video and recorded his own. In it he addresses cancer as a key priority of his. He mentions his personal relationship to to cancer, his plans for research, and a cure that we’ll see in our lifetime.

Sawyer Bowman’s interview with C-SPAN yesterday:

Featuring music videos every Monday has restored my faith in their art. Far too many ‘big name’ bands have music videos that can cost close to a million dollars to produce, and they end up being completely stereotyped and usually promiscuous. Independent artists are generally far more creative with their music and that creativity flows in to their music videos. They’re called music artists because they create art. Britney no longer creates art, she creates money.

Art is inspirational. Fans or art often create their own interpretation and this is most flattering to artists; being recognized, respected, and loved.

Jordan Clarke (friend: jordanc87) is a fan of the band Broadcast 2000. He produced this fantastic music video for a project at the Vancouver Film School. Broadcast 2000 discovered the video and put it on their mySpace page for all their fans to see. Discover more about Broadcast 2000 and their upcoming gigs below the video.

About the band

Broadcast 2000 is the creation of London-based Joe Steer. On his debut mini album ‘Building Blocks’ he combines cello, double bass, guitar, ukulele, glockenspiel, banjo, percussion and his own layered vocals. This makes him a multi-instrumentalist. Yes, that word makes me raise my eyebrow in awe too! The mini album was all written, recorded, mixed and mastered in the bedroom of Joe’s north London flat. This isn’t the future of music. This is the now of music! Joe originally used his own vocals for the album as a guide and intended on replacing them with a singer later, but never did.

When on tour Joe delegates his multi-instrumental talents to the likes of various musicians including Tom Andrews (glockenspiel), Chris Banner (percussion), Louise Golbey (harmony vocals), Greg Cordez (double bass) and Kelly Underdown (violin).

Speaking of touring. Broadcast 2000 is currently on tour throughout Europe. They currently only list dates until August on their website, but I’m sure they will have many more gigs after that! More info on their gigs/tour.

In honor of Bea Arthur, whom passed away yesterday, I was going to feature this video in which Bea talks about the cruelty towards chickens used in the production of KFC’s foods. While the contents of the video is gruesome to make a point, it isn’t really the kind of video you’d like to see during your delicious waffles with peanut butter on a Sunday morning. Watch the video here at your own leisure.

Moreover, I have a humorous video by PETA (subscribe) that goes behind the scenes of a photo shoot with Cloris Leachman. Throughout the behind-the-scenes video Cloris mentions how she became vegetarian and hasn’t had meat in over 47 years. I know a lot of people that would struggle to accomplish such a feat. The only meat I eat is chicken, and I’m not sure I could give it up completely. I probably wouldn’t get much protein without it.

In case you’re unaware, PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Founded in 1980, it’s the largest animal rights organization in the world with over two million members and supporters. Discover more about PETA…

Have you ever dressed up in a costume made completely of food? If so, did you eat it afterward? Nom.

As always, send all video feature requests to me via a message on Viddler. I’d love to get your content on the front page!

Statistically, young adults love to travel. I certainly do! Exploring new places is built in to our human nature. There are still many places on Earth that have yet to be explored for the first time. Although, as far as I’m concerned if I haven’t explored it then it hasn’t been explored. I even love exploring new areas in my own neighborhood.

If you’re traveling to a place where you don’t have any friends or family to stay with, then the majority of your budget will probably go towards accommodation. Hotels and motels can add up. Especially in another currency. Traveling with friends can help reduce the cost of such necessities as accommodation, plus it’s fun to share new experiences with friends.

People are always looking to save money wherever possible. Why spend more than you have to, right?

Eurotrip (subscribe) — no, not the film — is the largest online community for budget minded travelers. Experienced backpackers have assisted travelers with unbiased information on budget travel throughout Europe. They’ve been reviewing and recommending thousands of activities to participate in across many cities an countries. It’s easy to tell that they love travel and have a great time abroad.

In this episode of Alternate Routes, several backpackers are followed around Rome experiencing all the unique features it has to offer.

I’ve always been a bit wary of backpacking, but a lot of my friends have been backpacking in recent years and had just as much fun as the travelers in the video.

Do you like backpacking or do you prefer spending the extra money for a hotel room? Feel free to leave a video comment below.

During the month of April C-SPAN and Viddler have been featuring videos every morning by both middle school and high school students for C-SPAN’s StudentCam 2009 Contest. As mentioned in Donna’s post, the topic in this year’s contest was ‘What is the most urgent issue for the new president to address after taking office, and why?’

Third Prize Middle School Winners

April 2nd

Hunter Gill
8th Grade
“Liberal Arts Education: A Strategy to Save the Nation”
Homeschool
Highlands Ranch, CO
Comcast

April 4th

Liam Sorahan
6th Grade
“Making a Difference”
Meadowbrook Middle School
Poway, CA
Cox Communications

April 6th

Zane Jones, Nathanial Burton, & Mark Miles
6th Grade
“Save Our Economy”
Throop Elementary
Paoli, IN
Avenue Broadband

April 8th

Neel Desai, Riya Patel, & Ronak Bhagat
8th Grade
“SBNN: Financial Crisis”
Frederick H.Tuttle Middle School
South Burlington, VT
Comcast

April 10th

Walter Gottlieb, Rachel Feinstein, & Cassandra Fresse
7th Grade
“Go Green for Life”
Elysian Charter School
Hoboken, NJ
Cablevision

April 12th

Abby Icenhour, Ashley Wilcox, & Gloria Yu
8th Grade
“Not Enough for Your Buck”
Farragut Middle School
Knoxville, TN
Charter Communications

April 14th

Matthew Helm & Benny Richmond
8th Grade
“Environmental Crisis: Should We Drill in Alaska?”
Lora L. Batchelor Middle School
Bloomington, IN
Comcast

April 16th

Michael Pyskaty
6th Grade
“The Auto Industry’s Ripple Effect”
Starpoint Middle School
Lockport, NY
Time Warner Cable

Second Prize Middle School Winners

April 18th

Eric Beeler
8th Grade
“Job Loss: Weakening The American Economy”
Haynes Bridge Middle School
Alpharetta, GA
Comcast

April 20th

Zachariah DeGiulio
8th Grade
“Healthcare for all in our Lifetime: An Impossible Dream?”
High Bridge Middle School
High Bridge, NJ
Comcast

April 22nd

Robert Levinson & Adam Zionts
8th Grade
“Health Care Viewpoints A Message to President Elect Barack Obama”
Falcon Cove Middle School
Weston, FL
Advanced Cable Communications

April 24th

Allison Moore, Michelle Harris, & Whitney Strong
8th Grade
“Today’s Special: No Money, Low Self Esteem, with a Side of Poor Education”
Selma Middle CHAT Academy Selma, AL
Charter Communications

Third Prize High School Winners

April 1st

Garrett Padera & Wesley Davison
12th Grade
“Consumerism and Waste: A Message to Barack Obama”
Glenbard South High School
Glen Ellyn, IL
Comcast

April 3rd

Alexander Macina
10th Grade
“Following the Money Down Pennsylvania Avenue”
Shaker High School
Latham, NY
Time Warner Cable

April 5th

Carla Aronsohn, Catherine Skipp, & Damian Hunt
12th Grade
“One Nation Under God”
MAST Academy
Key Biscayne, FL
Comcast

April 7th

Kenzie Clark & Alexia Dickey
11th Grade
“Crossing New Borders”
Jenks High School
Jenks, OK
Cox Communications

April 9th

Noah Gray
11th Grade
“Left Behind”
Miami Palmetto Senior High School
Miami, FL
Comcast

April 11th

Alec Weaver
10th Grade
“The U.S. Economy Crisis”
Lincoln Public Schools: Information Technology Focus Program
Lincoln, NE
Time Warner Cable

April 13th

Mariah Standal & Caitlin Buhr
12th Grade
“The Climbing Climate”
Mount Horeb High School
Mount Horeb, WI
Charter Communications

April 15th

Christopher Else & E’mani Daughtery
11th & 9th Grade
“Crisis In Darfur”
Angelo Rodriguez High School
Fairfield, CA
Comcast

Second Prize High School Winners

April 17th

Chad Klitzman & Dustin Slade
9th Grade
“Bailout or Failout”
Cypress Bay High School
Weston, FL
Advanced Cable Communications

April 19th

Sheema Golbaba
11th Grade
“The U.S. and Iran: Force or Diplomacy?”
Jenks High School
Jenks, OK
Cox Communications

April 21st

Ryan Wright
11th Grade
“The America No One Wants To See”
Milton Hershey School
Hershey, PA
Comcast

April 23rd

Zach Redpath & Ross Dixon
10th Grade
“Education: A Message to Obama”
Baton Rouge Magnet High School
Baton Rouge, LA
Cox Communications

The first prize winners will be featured over the weekend and C-SPAN’s StudentCam 2009 will conclude on Monday with the Sawyer Bowman’s video which won the grand prize of $5,000 for himself and $1,000 for his school to spend on digital video equipment.

First Prize Winners

April 25th

Madison Richards, Samantha Noll, & Lauren Nixon
7th Grade
“Down to the Last DROP”
McKinley Middle Charter School
Racine, WI
Time Warner Cable

April 26th

Charles Greene & Eliza McNitt
12th Grade
“Requiem for the Honeybee”
Greenwich High School
Greenwich, CT
Cablevision

Grand prize winner

April 27th

Sawyer Bowman
10th Grade
“Cancer: It’s Personal”
Woodlawn School
Davidson, NC
MI-Connection

Congratulations again to all the winners. Don’t forget many more students participated in this contest. You can find Honorable Mention Winners on C-SPAN’s Winners 2009 page.

Which student’s video meant the most to you? At this point in time I’m quite concerned about the sustainability of Earth, and thus the videos ‘Requiem for the Honeybee‘ and ‘Go Green For Life‘ meant the most to me.

C-SPAN anchors have been interviewing the winners via Skype or telephone every morning live on television. You can watch the interviews on C-SPAN’s video page.

Yesterday I attended a college kinesiology (health & fitness) class and learned a whole slew of facts about topics such as cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. One common prevention between all the diseases mentioned is exercise. For example, diabetes is most common in overweight or obese people. That’s relatively common knowledge. Something new I learned was that the effects of osteoporosis can be prevented or reduced by load-bearing exercises. Walking, push-ups, weight-lifting, aerobics, and any team sports are considered load-bearing exercises.

I like to work exercise in to my daily tasks. If I need to go buy some candy, then I’ll walk to the grocery store and save the planet at the same time. I couldn’t care if it’s 4 miles away; I get to listen to some podcasts, have some exercise, and enjoy the outdoors for a little while. You may not have a close place to walk to, so get creative. Park as far away as possible from the restaurant you next eat at. Hey, it’s a start. Exercise is win!

Pete Thomas (one of the winners of The Biggest Loser (U.S.) – Season 2) definitely knows about winning and exercise! He won $100,000 for losing the largest percentage of weight during the series. He lost a total of 185 pounds over nine months. The Biggest Loser – Season 2 ran for two and a half months, so six and a half months after the show he continued to lose weight. Thus, the biggest part to weightloss on reality shows, such as The Biggest Loser, is what happens after the show ends. Four years later, he’s kept it off and is now a motivational speaker on exercise, nutrition, and weight loss.

Jenny discovers a lot more about the inspirational Pete on Made Fit TV (subscribe).

Check out other shows in the Made Fit family: Brides Made Fit and Moms Made Fit.

What’s your favorite method of exercise? Leave a video comment, yo!

Remember: If you’d like to be featured on Viddler, feel free to send me a message and tell me about the video you like.

After almost three years of hosting Rocketboom (subscribe) Joanne Colan has decided to leave the daily duties of presenting stories about Internet culture. Keep an eye on her though! She has previously worked for MTV, and with Rocketboom now also on the resumé, she’s only destined for greatness.

Alas, the show must go on. And without skipping a beat, Rocketboom introduced Caitlin Hill on last Monday’s video. Caitlin mentioned on her blog post Boom goes the Rocket! that the position could be temporary, but if you recall Joanne was also meant to be a substitute after Amanda Congdon (the first host of Rocketboom) suddenly left the show in 2006. “Temporary”. Psht! Caitlin is going to rock your mind like E.T. did back in 1982! (’rock’ + ‘E.T.’ Get it? Boom! )

In Caitlin’s first episode (below) she prefaces her love for spaceships and continues on to educate about the history of the former planet Pluto (previously ‘Planet X’). Were you aware that after a year of its demotion the state of New Mexico reinstated Pluto as a planet, and two years later Illinois did the same? These are the fascinating facts you learn from Rocketboom. I suggest you subscribe now. You won’t want to miss an episode!

Do you enjoy Caitlin hosting Rocketboom? Or are you still crying about Pluto no longer being recognised as a planet? Either way, leave your thoughts via the form of video or text, below.