A day in the life at YouTube - cupcakes and puppies.

Considering its game-changing impact on culture and society (allowing us to see and share ourselves with the world as never before), it’s pretty astounding that there hasn’t been more “behind the scenes” at YouTube videos.  Or, maybe there have been.  But I’ve certainly never seen any.  Which is why I felt compelled to post this.

NBC’s TODAY show not only shows us footage in the belly of the beast at YouTube (more like a playground for adults), but they interview YouTube employees who proudly champion their employer’s cause.  While they speak to several employees who drone on about the company’s greatness, I’m sure this woman (in summing up YouTube’s entire perception (of itself and that others have of it)) will get a nice raise.  Her one profound line:

“We’re the moneymakers here at YouTube.”

Yes… you are.

Giving us a glimpse into the YouTube culture proves insightful.  But the only part of this behind-the-scenes look at the corporate giant is the revelation that, every Thursday, their pastry chef raffles off a three-pound cupcake.  Where can I apply for a job?

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Vierra, Gifford and Kotb - feel the love.

In a backstage scene you couldn’t pay me to be in, NBC TODAY talk show co-hosts Meredith Vierra, Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb hold a production meeting in the hair and makeup room for a new segment being hosted by Vierra.

Can we say cranky?  Good.  Can we say hysterical?

Kathy Lee and Hoda (with hair and makeup undone and looking a bit deranged) clearly aren’t in the mood.  When Vierra asks the name of the segment they’re producing, Gifford (clutching her coffee cup for dear life) responds:

“Who knows?”

Zoinks.  And the production meeting is over (in 20 seconds) but not before Al Roker gets a zinger in:

“Hey, Meredith!  If I were you, I’d get a whip, a chair and a pistol!”

Meredith, no slouch in the sarcasm department, zings right back:

“I’ll get it out of your office.”

The frightening things is, I bet Roker really does have a whip, a chair and a pistol.  Team Roker!

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According to research reported in the news, Atlanta is the gayest city in country.   How’s that for a tourism campaign?  Comedian, talk show host and Oscar nominee Mo’Nique (herself a resident of Atlanta) had quite a few fiery words about the “Gay Atlanta” story which she shared liberally in her monologue on her BET talk show (The Mo’Nique Show) last night that will either have you clapping wildly in support of her comments or saying “wtf?”.  And for that, we love her and this monologue.

Sure, she’s loud.  Yes, her weave (which she flings dramatically) gets more attention and tv airtime than I ever will.  Yes, her legs (as the media mercilessly pointed out) have more hair on them than Robin Williams has on his entire body.

But she’s also refreshling frank.  Given a choice between watching Jay Leno meander through a bland, canned monologue and watching a riled up Mo’Nique dissect the news in a way more reminiscent of a preacher’s sermon than a talk show host’s monologue, I think my choice is clear.

And here it is.

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Howard Stern and Jay Leno - no love lost.

Howard Stern has never minced words about how much he hates (and I choose my words carefully here – Stern “hates” Leno).

Stern shared his thoughts on Leno’s controversial reemergence as host The Tonight Show with Harry Smith of CBS Earl Morning.  The radio talk show shock jock spared no words and made no attempt to mask his seething disgust of Leno and how he displaced Conan O’Brien.  Stern, as usual, opens strong:

“I don’t do a lot of television interviews. but when your people called me up and said you wanted me to comment on late night television, boy did you get my juices going. Just the mere mention of Jay Leno’s name makes me want to vomit.”

It’s clear Stern feels he must say what other people in the entertainment industry are too afraid to say about Leno (though quite a few comedians (including Jimmy Kimmel) have openly and mercilessly bashed Leno for his role in the NBC talk show debacle.   As Stern puts it, it’s Leno’s MO to cut a guy just to get a job.  He recounts how Leno “pushed Johnny Carson out of The Tonight Show and he did it in a merciless way” over 15 years ago.

Harry Smith clearly delights in Stern frothing at the mouth while unleashing a can of whip-ass on Leno.  This is probably the easiest interview he’s done ever.  Stern needs no proding or trick questions or motivation.   When it comes to Leno, he’s a loaded gun.

Stern wraps up his assault on Leno by explaining Leno’s “lack of integrity”:

“Jay is a multi-millionare a many times over.  I was fired by NBC many years ago.  You know what I did?  I didn’t sit there like a lap dog and take it.  I got up.  I brushed myself off and I went on terrestrial radio on a competing station and I burried NBC alive.  That’s what you do.  Jay should’ve dusted himself off and gone to a competing network and beaten Dave and beaten Jimmy Kimmel… like a real man!”

Ouch!

Before ending the interview, Stern manages to clarify the rumors of him possibly replacing Simon Cowell as lead judge on American Idol.  Love him or hate him, Stern has a way of bringing a controversial topic into focus and presenting in a way that makes it a no-brainer.  When asked by Smith whether or not he would take the American Idol gig, Stern defiantly says:

“Listen, wouldn’t you judge a karaoke contest for a hundred million dollars?!”

And there you have it.  I’d take the job for a vodka cranberry and a Happy Meal.  Call me Simon.

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Sarah Palin - a possible career in standup comedy.

Looking decidedly casual donning a pair of jeans topped with a black blazer, Sarah Palin appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night (a much-hyped appearance for the return of Leno as host of The Tonight Show).

Palin proceeds to confound and scare the crap out of her detractors with comments like the one below where she responds to Leno’s question of whether her parents have ever given her political advice:

“Not a whole lot of political advice.  My dad will tell me what kind of ammunition to use if I go out [hunting]…”

Insert awkward laughter from Leno and his audience who make mental notes to not piss Palin off… ever… in this lifetime or the next.

Her reasons for going into journalism have been explained exhaustively but that doesn’t stop Leno from asking her the same question we’ve been hearing for over a month now.  Yes, it is odd that she entered the media which (as she claims) has been very unfair to her.  But she has a degree in journalism communications (oh, the irony) and she expresses her belief that the media is a wounded, ineffective beast that needs to be righted (and she’s, of course, the person who should do it!):

“The mainstream media is quite broken.  And I feel there needs to be the fairness and the balance in there which is why I joined FOX.”

The fact that Leno let what could’ve been a fantastic joke at FOX’s expense slide by is one reason why Leno will forever annoy me.  His questions to Palin underscore his cotton-candy, feel-good style of interviewing.  He does, however, call her out on her tendency to engage the media on topics and then cry foul when the media obsesses on that topic (like with her children).  Palin stumbles through a response in typical Palin fashion, by sharing with us a Palinism (a euphemism, quote or analogy that is so difficult to follow and to understand, that it literally causes our brains melt or explode).  This Palinism is for you:

“It’s like the old saying where light can travel halfway around the world before truth can get its pants on!”

Maybe it was the way she said it that made it fall flat.  Leno rescues us (though I do hear a few in the audience snicker and “wtf”) by sending us to commercial break.

Back from commercial break, Leno corners Palin on her embarrassing handwriting fiasco where (not long after attacking President Obama for using a teleprompter) she was photographed with notes written in the palm of her hand.  Her response:

“The poor boy’s version to the teleprompter.  Think about what I wrote on my hand.  I wrote three things that represent a challenges to America.  I wrote “energy independence”… I wrote “tax cuts”… and I wrote “lifting American spirits”.”

I don’t fault Palin for writing notes in her hand (we all use cheat sheets to remember complicated thoughts).  The question is, however:  Is “energy independence”, “tax cuts” and “lifting American spirits” complicated enough to warrant notes in the palm of her hand?  It’s not exactly a lengthy speech on healthcare.

Palin closes out her Tonight Show appearance by doing a standup comedy routine (perhaps to show that she really does have a sense of humor).  She’s actually not bad at all.  Correction, she’s pretty good.  I’d watch her over watching Leno’s standup.  If all else fails in this “politics” thing, she just might have a career in politics.

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Romney and Palin go head to head on late night talk shows.

Maybe this is a foreshadowing of a brewing, political battle to come – or maybe it’s just coincidence, but Letterman has booked Sarah Palin’s nemisis former Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

First, who are we kidding?  There are no coincidences in tv.  Everything (down to sneezes and awkward silences) are carefully planned.  Letterman (himself very close to being #1 on Sarah Palin’s hit list) made the shrewd move to book Romney (who has made disparaging remarks against Palin which he has apologized for) on the same day Palin is scheduled to appear on Leno (at the same time).  It’s also a known fact that (despite their recent Superbowl commercial that hinted at them burying the hatchet), Leno and Letterman are still mortal enemies with bad history.

The night of the big showdown for Romney and Palin?  This Tuesday evening.  This should be good.

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Conan on Twitter - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

It’s like watching a baby take their first steps!  That’s right… c’mon… you can do it!

The embattled talk show host who once made fun of celebrities on Twitter and all but renounced the social media platform as trivial in his monologues and Twitter sketches has now… joined Twitter.   And what a welcome wagon he’s receiving!

Last night, the account “@ConanObrien” (with a “Verified Account” seal in case anyone doubts its authenticity) went live on Twitter with one (and only one) tweet:

“Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.“  about 15 hours ago via web

He’s only been on Twitter for 15 hours and already he’s making us laugh and cry. He also has almost 250,000 followers (they’re coming from near, far, and the outer reaches of the universe).

During the bloody talk show civil war involving Jay Leno, NBC and Conan where Leno displaced Conan as host of The Tonight Show and (along with NBC) pissed off the majority of Americans who cared, Conan managed to gain an astounding amount of support in social media (trending daily on Twitter and gaining tens of thousands fans on a “I’m With CoCo” Facebook fan page erected in his honor).

Now that he is unemployed (though wealthy), unable to do a tv talk show for the next six months do to his contractual settlement with NBC, and is contemplating doing a live talk show tour, what else is he to do?  As his bio on his Twitter page so brilliantly sums it up:

“I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account.”

Indeed clown man.  And we will listen and follow and retweet.  Remember, reciprocity is the spice of social media life.

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He's baaaack! But will anybody care?

Heeeere’s Jay!  After a messy, knock-down, drag-out bloody brawl involving NBC and Conan O’Brien over Leno reclaiming his old job after failing to draw viewers to The Jay Leno Show at 10PM, Jay Leno and NBC are back in their comfort zone and trumpeting the return of Leno to his previously abandoned position as host of The Tonight Show for over 15 years.

There will be an all-star lineup the first week of Leno’s return including former governor Sarah Palin.  Missing from the original Leno Tonight Show crew will be Kevin Eubanks (jovial leader of The Tonight Show Band).

So, how is NBC promoting a return that was hotly debated and marred in allegations of betrayal, deceit and mismanagement by NBC suits?  How do they sell the stench of a scandal that left both the network and Leno bruised and even despised?  Below is the most recent promo clip for the return of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno?

Will you be watching?

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Craig Ferguson gets sexaaaay for a fan.

Craig Ferguson (the bad boy of late night talk and host of CBS’s Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) is not a big tweeter at all (@latelateshowhos).  But recently, his Twitter account has received some “follower love” as he’s mentioned wanting to boost his numbers (either seriously or sarcastically).

One of Ferguson’s fans (who also follows him on Twitter) sent him a tweet-request.  Urockstar sent the following tweet which Ferguson read on air:

“Can you do a sexy dance on your show when you reach 100,000 followers.  The women would love it and some of the men too.”

Ferguson reached 100,000 followers two weeks later.  Below is his victory, sexy dance — too hot for your laptop.

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Low-tech Lynn gets her first tech lesson.

You know times have changed when a woman being called “low-tech” is worse than her being called “loose”.  NBC’s TODAY Show ran a contest with Ladies Home Journal to find the most “low-tech” person in America (we all know that person – they don’t do the internet, they don’t text, they actually still talk on the phone – gag).

The prize for the low-tech winner:  a lesson in the latest technology to bring them into the digital age (the Cenozoic era is sooo over).

In an introduction clip, the winner (Lynne Horan from Massachusetts) confesses to being “low-tech” as if she’s admitting to molesting children — all that’s missing is the blur over her face to mask her identity (the hallmark of a confession of shame).  Family and friends have begun to disown her and laugh at her for being a techtard (technological retard – don’t tell Sarah Palin).  Let’s look at the details of Lynn’s affliction:

• Low-tech Lynne buys cheap disposable cameras from the drug store to capture those special family and friends moments (I would disown her at this point myself if I didn’t have a few of those cheapie cameras lying around my house too);
• She makes the following statement proudly:  “I do no how to email.  I have a computer at work.  Mostly data entry.”
• She confesses:  “I would love to keep in touch with the kids but..”  (Somebody call child protective services!)
• She looks into the camera befuddled and asks: “What’s a Skype?”  (the entire room, including the camera guy, bursts into laughter – that’s right Lynne, everyone is laughing at you – it’s time to get help).

After receiving a thorough lesson in modern technology from TODAY correspondent Sarah Haynes, Horan enthusiastically considers herself cured tech-able.  Haynes sums it up a little more precisely (and with a bit of snark on the side):

“More importantly, you’re empowered.  You don’t have to feel stupid.  ‘Cause you’re not.”

Lynn doesn’t seem too convinced of this.  But let’s cut to the chase.  People like Lynn are technologically challenged because they want to be.  With the user-friendliness of today’s software and gadgets and the fact that you can ask anyone in your life (including free tech support for help), anyone who is technologically challenged is that way because they are either extremely lazy, locked away in a bunker waiting for the apocalypse or severely chemically imbalanced in the brain.  Whatever the cause, let’s ship these people to another planet and commence with evolution.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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