Chill With Dan Instead

Will: The Movie

2009-06-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

At the reeeed hoooouse

2009-05-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

Weirdest commercial I've seen in a while.

And from the same folks, best drive through order I've seen. Love the ending.

Absolute Gold

2009-05-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Awkward Family Photos

Thank you, Jill. You're my hero.

I suppose it was inevitable...

2009-04-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

People much like myself who were picked on in middle school are taking to the streets as masked vigilantes. How can I assume this? Dude... listen to his voice.

... although Super Hero is a bit of a misnomer here. Watchmen did well to distinguish between a masked vigilante and a 'Super Hero'. When a dude shows up from another planet with otherworldly powers, or some poor bastard gets de-atomized and reassembles himself, wake me.

When one of these poor dudes shows up face down in a canal somewhere... let me sleep in a bit longer.

(Yes, I'm aware of the irony of my 'Joker' photo below. Eat me.)

This one's for you, Mike

2009-04-29T14:51:00.001-07:00

In case you decide to move to Florida, you'll be ready:

Be Prepared... especially if you're eldery

2009-04-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

What a Twat

2009-04-29T14:31:00.001-07:00

Watch Real Life Twitter on CollegeHumor

Mow the Lawn... really?

2009-04-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

I stole this from you, Inji. Thanks for the brilliance. And while we're at it, here are some old favorites:

Caruso!

2009-04-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I stole this from Blake.

Texts From Will

2009-04-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

This wonderful website has compiled several hilarious text messages, most of which i'm pretty sure were sent to or from the notorious Will Sherrod.

http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/

Marketing Fail

2009-04-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Fail Blog. And Bill.

Too Soon... for me, anyway

2009-04-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows I was a hardcore Nirvana fan for most of college. I still love 'em, but I've broadened my horizons a little bit since. This hurt my soul... but I'm an awful person, so I'm posting it anyway.

I hate you, Bill.

Good Samaritan

2009-04-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a little relieved they haven't discovered my identity yet.

Yep

2009-04-15T17:42:00.001-07:00

Thanks Tamara.

Checkmate

2009-04-15T14:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.buzzfeed.com/markp/billboard-pwn-6dm

The Story Of Cooking Mama

2009-04-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Stole this from Mike. Thanks Mike.

Awwwkwaaaard

2009-04-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, Maria, I stole this link from you on facebook. Props to you.

Gotta love Google

2009-04-02T02:46:00.000-07:00

Glad I caught this before April Fool's Day was totally over on Gmail.

Something tells me my roommate Mike will be upset this wasn't real.

Ice that sucka

2009-04-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

ICE KUH-NIFE!

I can't condone anyone actually, ya know, stabbing anybody to death with one of these... but I am curious to know how this thing might work out.

What you've been missing

2009-04-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Squeeze Bacon

Thanks Tamara.

Yeaaah Becky... I got fuckin' snapples.

2009-04-01T13:50:00.001-07:00

You're welcome, Tamara.

The way of the few-ture.

2009-03-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

Okay okay okay, so I'm getting lazy, but these were all too funny not to post.

In The Know: Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?

This is my kinda philanthropy

2009-03-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

Anonymous Philanthropist Donates 200 Human Kidneys To Hospital

I sure hope this gets passed

2009-03-31T21:02:00.001-07:00

Congressman’s War Hero Son Would Have Wanted Highway Bill Passed

I hope they catch this sick bastard

2009-03-31T20:55:00.001-07:00

DNA Evidence Frees Black Man Convicted Of Bear Attack

I need this job.

2009-03-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks Bill.

Theology at it's finest

2009-03-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Click on this. Read it. You're welcome.
(Admittedly, this is probably fake, but it's still awesome.)

Thanks Bill.

Everyday Heroes

2009-03-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

Inspiring.

Thanks Bill.

Guilty. But to a lesser extent than many of you, I'd wager.

2009-03-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

Dan's Review of 'Knowing' With Nicolas Cage

2009-03-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ahahahahahahaha!

A New Nemesis?

2009-03-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

So Nick SantaCroce of Gadwell Lane fame doesn't like Wall-E. I do. It's not my favorite Pixar movie, but it's fun to give Nick shit about it anyway. So we've been facebook-bitchslapping one another concerning this point... and this just seemed like a fun snippit.

For my two Rat Girls...

2009-03-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Michelle and Jenna... this one's for you...

A Goodenough Post

2009-03-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

So Michelle, Jermaine and I were out scouting cemeteries for 'Claire' all day, bouncing all over Ventura county from Ventura to Oxnard to Santa Paula. And in Santa Paula we pull in and the first thing we see is this family plot:

I'm not sure if the picture is Goodenough, but I think you get the idea.

My favorite moment might have been Jermaine's immediate, amused, flat out refusal to believe this was an actual family plot:
"What? No waaay! That's not reaaal." (Followed by a fit of laughter).

Of course, this family plot lead to several inappropriate jokes that we were not Goodenough to avoid.

Michelle: "Hey, what's that plot over there?"
Dan: "I dunno, I don't think it's Goodenough."

Michelle: "They were all born in the early 1900's"
Dan: "I wonder if there's anyone Goodenough left."

Jermaine: "What do you think of this location, Dan?"
Dan: "It's Goodenough, I guess."
Jermaine: "Okay Dan, time to stop."
Dan: "Okay, but when we scout the next location, let's keep an eye out for the 'Better' family plot."

This post may not be Goodenough, but hey, I tried.

Probably a good thing it wasn't the Wellenough family, because we know I couldn't have left that alone.

Update: I'm not alone on this:

Awesome.

Annnnd the parents drop the ball...

2009-03-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

So I don't usually just post personal stories, but this one is just priceless. And I can't decide if I mean priceless in a good or a bad way.

My chocolate labrador Sara has been getting pretty up there in years and hasn't been feeling too well of late. My parents have been taking care of her since I left for college, but she's always been my dog and I've had her since 7th grade. She was a replacement for my doberman-rottweiler mix, Max, who was previously run down by a neighbor for no good reason at all. Not getting into that story this time around.

So I wake up this morning and realize I have a missed call from 5:38am. My parents are on the east coast, but they don't usually forget about the time change, so I was a big alarmed thinking Sara must in particularly bad shape and they had to put her down. I'm semi-prepared for this news because Mom had been telling me a few days prior that Sara wasn't doing so hot.

So I'm driving to work and call back (with my hands free device) and finally get my mom on the phone. And the call goes something like this:

"Hey Mom, I saw you called and just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"I called? When?"

"At 5:30 this morning."

"Oh, that must have been by accident. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, the phone was on silent. No worries." (Sigh-o-relief) "I'm just glad it was an accident."

"Oh, why's that?"

"Ya know, I was afraid it was an emergency, maybe you had to put Sara down this morning or something."

"Oh, no honey, we did that yesterday."

WHAT?

Yeah. Apparently they both forgot to tell me or assumed the other one had called. This amused me for the first half of my day, but like any bad news that doesn't sink in until later, it eventually devolved into frustration.

So that was my morning. I hope someone out there at least finds it as mildly amusing as I did. At first.

R.I.P. Sara 'The Beef' Ast

Basically... be Don Draper.

2009-03-13T10:56:00.001-07:00

Thanks again, Asenath.

"And he's like "Yeah! I'm the Guy!"'

2009-03-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm from Jon Hamm

Thanks Asenath.

Ooooooh Florida

2009-03-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

This isn't one of those crazy "Kid kills whole family, feeds to crocodile, tries to hijack his school bus" Florida stories, but I think it has the same forehead-smack inducing effect.

We don't need no edumucation.

As if Florida education wasn't bad enough.

This explains everything...

2009-03-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

Mike, you are my hero for finding this. Click on this bad boy to watch in the proper size at College Humor.

Watch Why Terminators Transport Naked on CollegeHumor

Imma Gunna Buy You... A Draaaank

2009-03-09T13:11:00.001-07:00

Gotta love Cute With Chris. Especially when he nails Will's pick up lines like a pro.

Dan The Terrible Boyfriend

2009-03-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

This one goes out to John, who sent me this and told me it was very me. And he's right.

The Dark Knight... by Pixar

2009-03-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, I may be 10 years behind on this, but this is brilliant and I'm posting it anyway.

P.S.

Nucking Futs

2009-03-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

So other than staving off the negative influences of Will on the Blogosphere, I rarely take a moment to get too serious on here.

I remember when the Canadian Bus Beheading happened... and then never hearing about it again. Months later I tried to find a follow up and couldn't find anything then, either. Maybe I just can't google worth a damn but-

Here's a follow up-

and I gotta say... it's kinda infuriating. Maybe I'm just not sensitive to the plight of those with a (possible) mental disorder but... anyone else feel like Canada's dropping the ball here?

Dan's Spoiler Free Watchmen Review

2009-03-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Keeping this spoiler free is pretty easy. I think the story works fine. I didn't really miss anything they took out. I thought the changes they made work to serve the story best as a film. There are minor things I would change. I agree with a review I read where they said they'd prefer Nixon removed and only seen on television.

What works?

Rorshach, of course. Totally badass. Hard not to love everything he does in this movie. The ultimate badass being ultimately badass. He has one line in a prison lunch line that literally had the audience cheering.

All the characters are well cast. There wasn't any point where I felt they weren't doing their character justice.

The fight sequences are solid and fun. I had reservations against Snyder's visual style, and while I'm still not sure a Watchmen movie should be this 'cool' and stylized, I think it actually works pretty well for this film.

Anytime the movie is being dark and gritty, it works. It feels right. It feels Watchmen. It doesn't shy away from violence, nudity, sex, gore, and hard-to-watch situations.

The moral grey area of the comic is intact. That was hugely important to me, as I felt losing that would betray the entire story.

What doesn't work?

Tonally, it's all over the place, and that was hard for me to deal with. Some scenes are very comic booky, almost goofy. Nixon plays like a charicature. This movie is far too aware that it's a comic book. It goes big and over the top in some scenes, then wants to be taken seriously when it gets down and dirty in others.

There are musc cues in here that are laugh-out-loud funny, and I'm not entirely convinced they weren't meant to be. It's almost like Snyder said 'well, no one will take this seriously, so I'll make it funny instead.' One scene in particular is played almost completely for comedy set to one of the funniest musical cues in the movie, and while I don't remember that scene in the comic being overly serious, the humor feels wrong here. Instead of it being inherently funny within the story, the scene and play as though Snyder himself is making the joke.

Am I biased because of the comic? Possibly, but I don't think I would have liked this scene in it's present form even if I hadn't read it.

It's a 'cue the music' movie.

Melodrama. Some dialog, particurlarly dialog between love interests, just feels cheesy, staged, lacking the weight they should probably have. Snyder knows how to stage action, but it seems he needs some work with actors. A score dips in at all the 'right' moments to try to illicit more emotion, but it's noticable. It adds to the odd tonal inconsistency.

It's a fun movie. I enjoyed it. At this point, it's hard to tell if it will have mass appeal outside of the comic's fans. Do I think it could have been better? Yeah, but I wasn't too disappointed, either.

I'm curious to see what others think once they've seen it.

Click on this awesome comic strip to read - Thanks Janet.

Important News

2009-02-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

As our economy collapses, our war in Afghanistan ramps up, our war in Iraq rages on, our relations with North Korea remain tense... as our world crumbles... Thank God we have the media to keep it all in perspective.

This was in my 'Top News' section on Yahoo News today.

Way to keep your eye on the ball, guys.

Personally, I prefer Coke also.

Post Apocalypse Life Skills

2009-02-26T14:16:00.001-08:00

I want to thank Will and The Onion for helping to make my point agaisnt Guitar Hero.

Cluck you guys.

2009-02-26T12:07:00.001-08:00

Cause, ya know... why not?

2009-02-25T14:02:00.001-08:00

Admit it... it'd be kinda cool.
And this is just awesome.

Back To The Future's Alternate Ending

2009-02-24T10:42:00.001-08:00

It's been said JJ wasn't a big Star Trek fan before taking on the new movie. Think this is along the lines of what he had in mind?

Thanks Josh.

Thank. You. Bill.

2009-02-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

Wow.

http://www.jossip.com/stephen-king-killed-john-lennon-20090219/

Will Ain't So Bad

2009-02-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it, I've been showing a lot of Will-Love on this blog lately. Well it's all for a good reason. He showed me a fabulous weekend including lunch in Ventura, dinner and a movie in Santa Barbara, a funny one-liner at TomScott's expense, and still managed to squeeze in time for me to work on his upcoming claymation short, which I'm sure will rock (no pressure, Will).

But what touched me most was Will cooking for me the next day:

Man after my own heart.

Keep it up, Tiger.

Rallying Support For Will

2009-02-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

I know Will and I usually have our differences, but one thing I cannot abide is intolerance, most especially when it comes from a loved one:

Lets all take a moment today to let know we love and support him, even if he is a douche.

Some insight into Will's weekend

2009-02-16T19:53:00.000-08:00

I hung out with Will for a good portion of the weekend. I'll probably talk more about that later, but for now, some insight into how things went for Will on the one night we didn't hang out:

Yay for first dates.

Guess he's not all bad.

Have a good night, Stout.

Is Will Your Boss?

2009-02-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

For those who work with Will, know that he's not allowed to treat you like that.

Thanks Tamara.

Wow. Just Wow.

2009-02-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

And it gets better.

Thanks Brandi.

More Brilliance

2009-02-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

I found Will's other Blog.

Here.

Thanks for the help, Janet.

Pure Brilliance

2009-02-10T17:19:00.001-08:00

Slate Fail

2009-02-09T11:58:00.001-08:00

Love ya, Jesse.

Double-U Tee Eff

2009-02-06T17:13:00.001-08:00

Glad I didn't take this one home.

She's all yours, Will.

Will Sherrod: Well traveled or hopeless romantic?

2009-02-06T14:20:00.001-08:00

Like you, I've been curious about Will's true motives for his 'Totally Badass' spontaneous weekend traveling. At first I was a little worried, thinking "Maybe Will just IS kinda badass."

Fortunately, this clip came along and cleared all that nonsense up:

Watch Married To The Eiffel Tower [Part 1] | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

So now I'm thinking Will's spontaneous weekend trips go something a little more like this:

Badass. I'm sure it was, Will. I'm sure it was...

Hahahaha

2009-02-06T10:32:00.001-08:00

Thanks again, Janet.

Whoa... Rad.

2009-02-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

This is awesome. Thanks to Mike for sending it along.

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but my love of John Williams more than makes up for it.

Plus, as Mike pointed out, it's just impressive (as all Hell (I added the 'as all Hell' part myself)).

Check out this dudes Facebook Video.

A Little Brilliance For You...

2009-02-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

...from a lovely lady here at the office.

Leave it to Lipton to bring class to something classless.

Something You Should Know...

2009-02-04T18:05:00.000-08:00

I must sincerely applaud Will for his well crafted smear campaign. Clearly a lot of work went into that fine vlog. He has me at a bit of a disadvantage, being that I do not have access to a camera (or iSight), but this will not stop me from protecting you, dear followers. There's something you need to know about Will... something very important....

This Aggression Will Not Stand, Man...

2009-02-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing I can't abide, it's bullying. I know I have become a threat to Will's blog and many of his followers are beginning to see the light and choosing to Chill With Dan Instead. But this doesn't sit well with Will and his mantra seems to be "If you can't beat 'em... beat your fans..."

You may remember mention of Lil' Colin 'Coco' Whitman from two posts ago. It appears Lil' Colin has a problem. Will doesn't like that Lil' Colin is a fan of Chill With Dan Instead and has decided to take matters into his own hands.

First of all, thank you Betsy and Peter. You're quite fantastic yourselves. Secondly, you'll note that Colin Whitman is a fan of me (Mr. Ast). It was met with this response from Will:

And as if threatening Lil' Colin wasn't enough, Will has brought along friends:

Here at Chill With Dan Instead, I will never bully my current or former fans. If you choose ChillWithWill as your path, I will accept that you have weighed your options heavily and chosen the less-Totally-Badass of the choices. But I will not ridicule you for it and I will certainly not threaten you.

I stand up for my fans and I say to you, Will, leave Lil' Coco alone, or you'll hear from me again. And I'm not some poor bastard who levels apple boxes when told. I can stand up for myself... and for Colin.

The Only Sensible Way To Live In This World Is Without Will's (Blog)

2009-02-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

It's all part of the plan.

Will thinks he's a hero, swooping in to recap things you can find in high quality on Hulu only to give you the YouTube version of it.

Isn't that kinda like being cast in the Dark Knight and showing up with nipples on your bat suit? TOTALLY BADASS is about quality, Will. But I suppose this is more your style:

A quick aside, Will. Talk about one sided smear campaigns, why does the subject of yesterday's rebuttle look not-so-thrilled to be chilling with Will here?

Where's your hand, Will? And why the 'Get that camera outta here' look on your face?

It's time for you to take off that mask and show us all who you reaaally are.

The Revolution Has Begun

2009-02-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

You had to know this was coming, Will. You can't abandon your fans for weeks on end and expect loyalty. Just see what lil' Coco Whitman has to say about Chill With Dan Instead:

And LLama LLovin' Kareem:

And Cuttin' J-Ro:

And the trump card, Mr. Dan Reed:

So there you have it, Will. I've gained approval from 4 people. Another 24 to 48 hours and I may have as many followers as you. Time to step up your game, my friend.

Now I'm going back to watching Groundhog Day. He saw his shadow. Prepare for another 6 weeks of winter, Will.

It's going to be long, cold... and bitter.

It's On

2009-02-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

It's On.

It has come to my attention via a very ballsy status update on Facebook that Will now considers me his arch nemesis.
This is what happens when you try to give a friend a kick in the ass for slacking on their "Totally Badass" blog.

Since Will is drawing a line in the sand, I thought I'd draw a few lines myself. Lines of distinction. While it's true that Will and I have some things in common-

-it has become apparent that there is truly a world of difference between us. Here are some examples:

This is how I treat my women:

This is how Will treats his:

This is how I treat my friends:

This is how Will treats his:

Animals like me:

Animals do not like Will:

And I think how one communicates with their friends, loved ones, and God's special little creatures is an important factor in who they are.

Once you really think about it, Will's got more in common with others than me:

I mean, Christ, isn't he just kinda scary?

So, dear readers (both of you), IT'S ON. You are now The Enemy Will Sherrod, and before you know it, people will Chill With Dan Instead all over the blogosphere.

3 Posts In One Day. Whoa.

2009-02-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

I threw a totally bitchin' party last night for my friend Bill. Actually, Bill is making his comedic short 'Apology Day' and the story concerns an obnoxious fellow who awakes the morning after said bitchin' party and must apologize for all the crazy shiznit he did. So the party was mostly to take PD photos of said obnoxious fellow being obnoxious and doing said crazy shiznit.

I only bring it up because Will said he would come by, but never showed.

Why Chill With Dan?

2009-02-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Why not? Chilling With Will just isn't as satisfying as it used to be, is it? Not feeling like there's anything new? Fresh? Well, welcome to Chill With Dan Instead. Which is exactly what you should do. Here I'll share my thoughts on a variety of matters, not the least of which is the disappointing lack of updates to chillwithwill.

I'll also get a little self absorbed and share updates on my current feature film endeavor 'Claire' even though you don't care.

In the interest of full disclosure, Will woke up on my couch the past two mornings. But I don't really want to talk about it.

I'm coming for you, Will.

2009-02-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

The blog has been created. This is my first blog and your last chance, Will. Be Totally Badass like you promised or I'll be forced to steal your fanbase.