Tired of clicking around YouTube and iTunes for online videos of substance? Search no more! The Observer has your weekly handy guide to what’s worth watching on the Web.
Balloon Boy’s dad’s Web show — Richard Heene, the father of the now infamous Balloon Boy, has a history of trying to make it big in strange ways. According to this Fox News article, he was an aspiring actor and filmmaker and created a show called Psyience Detectives. This episode takes “an entertaining look at 2012 facts vs. hype. What is expected to happen? What are all the strange preparations around the world about?” It involved lots of tornado chasing and wearing of sunglasses indoors. “He was totally bizarre with all that garbage,” said an old friend to Fox News. “We were like science detectives and storm chasers. Actually, it was very deadly, the storm-chasing stuff. He’d drive a motorcycle into the center of a tornado to get his readings. He would get on this itty-bitty motorcycle and just go.”
Huluween on Hulu — Looking for some scary movies to get psyched for Oct. 31? Hulu has the goods. Here’s their guide to scary slashers, spooky sci-fi, cult classics and B-movies that will inspire your costume assemblage. Along with Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead, don’t miss the “real-life horror” picks like Ghost Hunters shows and Paranormal TV. Popcorn required.
Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist Web show — Out of all the New York Times video shows, Mark Bittman‘s The Minimalist is the one that’s really worth watching. Each week, Mr. Bittman demonstrates, step-by-step, how to make recipes at home. This week, it’s Bok Choi with Shiitakes and Oyster Sauce. The intro always makes us laugh (“CHALLAH!”) and Mr. Bittman’s laid-back style makes fancy, healthy dishes look as easy as heating up a Lean Cuisine. Some favorites? Sweet potato salad, Fig-stuffed pork loin, Savory breakfast. Watch it and eat!
A WWII veteran makes a moving speech about gay marriage rights on BoingBoing — A World War II veteran stood before the Maine State Legislature on April 22, 2009, and gave a testimony on Maine’s marriage equality bill. “My name is Phillip Schooner and I live at 5 Graham Street in Biddeford. I am 86 years old and a lifetime Republican and an active VFW,” began Mr. Schooner. He went on to talk about his late wife of 54 years and his four sons, one of whom was gay. All of them served in the military and were raised “to be hardworking, patriotic Americans,” he said. When he went to vote last June, “the woman at my polling place asked me do I believe in equality for gay and lesbian people. I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her, ‘What do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?'”
Candace Bushnell’s Web series: The Broadroom – The Observer‘s former Sex and the City columnist Candace Bushnell has written a four-part Web series about women in the workplace. The show, which premiered online on Sept. 9, stars Jennie Garth (of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame), Jennifer Esposito (seen on Samantha Who?), Talia Balsam (Mad Men), Broadway actress Mary McCann and Lauren Devereux as ladies wrestling with male bosses, breast-feeding in the workplace and, uh, vanilla perfume. The last episode will appear tomorrow, on Oct. 23, so there’s time to catch up before the finale. They were written by Ms. Bushnell, directed by Ellen Gittelsohn (who has worked on Roseanne, Designing Women, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and sponsored by Maybelline.
