BoomTown Talks to a Puppet
by Kara Swisher
Posted on May 21, 2008 at 10:21 AM PT
The ubiquitous puppet interviewer (not) Shel Israel–who BoomTown has definitively determined is powered by the hand of the very funny Loren Feldman of 1938 Media–came to ATD HQ (aka, the cottage behind my house) yesterday for a lovely chat.
In our interview, I revealed that I was indeed the actress who played Princess Leia Organa Solo of Alderaan in “Star Wars” and also, given that the California Supreme Court has recently approved gay marriages, my upcoming nuptials with a certain tech blogger I have written about.
In all seriousness, I really like Feldman’s video work, although it is definitely strongly rendered.
Why? Because it is just the kind of innovative original material that is a key part of creating a whole new genre online.
His use of puppets is clever, but he also does more thoughtful, though still humorous, video essays as himself, which I also think are unique and bracing (that is a polite way of saying he does not hold back much).
Here’s my interview, along with another Israel puppet report on the MicroYooHoo deal and then another of Feldman’s on Google Health’s debut below it:
Kara and Shel
Shel on MicroYooHoo
Feldman on Google Health
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Comments
“bracing”… heh. yeah
Posted by dave mcclure at May 21st, 2008 at 3:05 pmI wonder if the only words you could use to describe Loren would be “bracing” and “strongly rendered” If he had said something equivalently offensive about Women or lesbians as he said about African Americans. Just in case you have forgotten, read this: http://whydoeseverythingsuck.c.....ights.html
To use a George Bush word, this piece sounds very much like “appeasement.”
Posted by Hank Williams at May 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 amHank:
He called me a mean lesbian in his tags. I am, but I take your point. Loren veers very close to the offensive edge, but I think he is a satirist and very little is off limits.
I don’t think everything he does is funny, for sure, but that this is his brand of satire. And I do think it satire. There are lots of those in comedy like this.
Posted by Kara Swisher at May 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 amYou end up hating yourself for watching it. Sort of like reality tv.
Posted by Cyndy Aleo-Carreira at May 22nd, 2008 at 1:13 pmWell, I am a Howard Stern fan, so I am not hypersensitive. And I can tell you there is s *huge* difference between someone like Howard, who I think people get offended by but who absolutely knows where the line is and someone like Loren who says stuff like, “black people are so f****** lame.”
So Kara, did you get the “strongly rendered” satire.
Posted by Hank Williams at May 22nd, 2008 at 3:31 pm