Seven Days Blogs: 802 Online

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I meant to post this a couple days ago, but I got distracted by my crazy job.

Remember Louis Armistead, the UVM senior who did the Davis Center video? We just hired him as a freelancer, and he's making videos every other week for Seven Days. At least, that's the plan.

The first episode of Loutube News features superstar politico-spawn Chelsea Clinton.

YouTube of the Day

A couple weeks ago, I posted a video about a German TV crew that interviewed Bolton cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Well now the German video is posted on YouTube, so here it is. And Don the Jonesville postmaster makes an appearance! Yay!

Vermont YouTube of the Day

A German film crew traveled to Bolton recently to spend a day with cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Alison's book Fun Home apparently just appeared in German.

Alison made a little movie of this "excrutiatingly boring" experience, which actually ends up being pretty entertaining. I like the part where the road is blocked by a fallen tree.

I was expecting to see my old friend Don the Postmaster when the crew drove up to the Jonesville Post Office, but no. Maybe the Germans got him on film. He's quite a character.

Here's Alison's blog post on the taping.

YouTube of the Day

This isn't a Vermont video, but I couldn't resist sharing.

My son Graham is really into construction equipment of any kind, but he especially loves excavators. Sometimes I let him sit on my lap and look at pictures of excavators on my laptop. Today I searched for excavators on YouTube and turned up some entertaining videos.

Graham liked the ones where the excavators were moving dirt, but I was surprised and delighted to find this excavator ballet. You have to see it to believe it.

YouTube Videos of the Weekend Storm

I just searched YouTube for Vermont videos of the weekend's storm, but I had a hard time finding any. There seem to be lots of videos from Canada though.

This one's my favorite. Some guys in an apartment above an icy road in Toronto put their camera on traffic. I feel a little guilty about laughing at this video, but it is funny. And there don't appear to have been any fatalities...

 

Here's a longish video from Vermont, called Vermont Storm, or "We Come From the Land of the Ice and Snow."

Here's a very short video from somewhere in Canada. I call it, "We Love You, MySpace Friends!"

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Woman mounting hay bale at Shelburne Farms. Will she make it?

Vermont YouTube of the Day

The teenagers in Rutland must be really bored if all they can think to do at night is beat the crap out of each other.

The big kid obviously wins the fight, but the other guy gets in at least one good punch.

And I'm not linking to this because it's good — I'm just pointing out this interesting little cultural artifact.

LouTube Nation

Last week, I posted a clever YouTube video about the Davis Center at UVM. I actually ended up doing some research on it, and learned that it was filmed by a senior political science/film and TV studies major, Louis Armistead.

I chatted with Lou a bit last week, and ended up writing about him and his video in my "Web Page" column in the newspaper. I also talked with Pat Brown, the Director of Student Life and the Davis Center, who called Lou's video "one person’s opinion, and sort of a tongue-in-cheek approach to some feelings about the Davis Center.”

Brown didn't seem to think it was as funny as I did. Can't blame him, though, really.

The Davis Center video is actually one of many that Lou has made during his career at UVM. I ended up watching most of them on his YouTube channel, which he calls "LouTubeNation." I think my favorite is probably "Full Dorm," a parody of the opening credits of "Full House."

Good work, Lou! I'll definitely be checking back for more (though not until I return from my long weekend in Chicago!).

Even Better Vermont YouTube of the Day

This may be the best one yet. A UVM student's satirical report from the new Davis Student Center. Thanks, Richard!

Vermont YouTube of the Day

A squirrel invades the Living and Learning Complex at UVM. They call him Rupert.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Badger Attack at the Bennington Zoo!

It's a spoof, of course.

I found a new vlog

It's made by Raymond, a Scottish guy who lives in Port Henry, New York. The first episode is a bit long, but he's funny. And he has a lot of pets. A dog, four cats, some fish, a lizard and some hermit crabs. Here's his channel page.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Former Army Sergeant Drew Cameron, of Iraq Veterans Against the War, has a new project. He and his fellow art studio-mate Drew Matott collected uniforms from service members opposed to the war, and they made paper out of them. Then they used the paper to make anti-war art.

Here's the video, with a song, "Search and Avoid," by Ryan Harvey:

Drew was one of three vets I interviewed for the Peace Talks story last April.

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

Here are two videos taken on a road trip to Canada. Not sure if any of these guys are actually from Vermont, but in the first video, they're driving through Vermont.

Video #1: Where in the world is Jim Misenti? And why couldn't he join this leg of the road trip? We'll never know.

Bonus video #2: A short but appetizing video clip of poutine.

These videos remind me of Found Magazine. I often don't know where they're from, or who made them — I like them because they're little windows into peoples' lives. I talked to Found founder Davy Rothbart a couple weeks ago, and he said he likes "the mystery" of found notes. "It’s just a fragment of a story, and it’s up to you to finish the rest of it," he says. "There’s some kind of magic in trying to fill in the blanks.”

These videos are like that, too, only it's usually a little easier to fill in the blanks. You get more clues.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Not sure what to call this — performance art? Random act of kindness? Whatever. It's interesting.

The video shows a woman offering free hugs outside the mall on Church Street. Not sure if I would have stopped for a hug, but I like it that some people did. Especially the kids at the end.

There's no explanation on the YouTube page, but apparently this was in conjunction with an International Free Hugs Day on September 10.

A history of the Free Hug campaign, from the Free Hugs Day Wikipedia entry:

A video on YouTube was released on September 22, 2006, and by December 2006, had gained over 17 million views.^[2] According to the video summary, it was recorded in Sydney. In the video, the main character who is giving out hugs, (identified as "Juan Mann", a pseudonym),^[3] walks through the Pitt Street Mall holding up a sign with the words FREE HUGS written on it. Music for the video is provided by Sick Puppies, an Australian band that Mann met a year earlier.^[1] Shimon Moore, the lead singer of the Sick Puppies who worked at the mall, shot the footage which he later compiled into a video for the song.^[1]

The soundtrack to this video is a Sick Puppies song.

 

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

Two UVM women, one camera, two video clips jokingly begging boys to visit...

The ladies of Millis 3 High bring you: "Dear Boys."

"We're exceedingly hot chicks..."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

An expertly edited account of an extreme unicycling competition at Killington in July. Check out those jumps! Nice job, Jason Checkla.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I have no idea who these people are, but this short video of their bulldog lounging on a chair during their camping trip made me laugh out loud.

We're going camping this weekend (finally!), but we're leaving the dogs home. Trying to keep up with a 1 1/2 year-old in the woods is challenging enough without having to chase the dogs around, too. Our dogs are not nearly as mellow as these two.

YouTube of the Day

This one's actually not from Vermont, but I couldn't resist.

A video clip from the Miss Teen USA pageant, in which Miss South Carolina gropes for an answer to the the question: Why can't 1/5 of Americans find our country on a map?

UPDATE: A witty video response. Thanks, Sky!

UPDATE II: Ha! Miss S.C. got so much attention that the Today show invited her to try again. Her new response?

"Well personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on our map. I don't know anyone else who doesn't. And if the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography." 

Not as much fun as the first answer.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

It's Pizza Boy, USA! This is a clip from the dough-throwing contest at the 2007 Lamoille County Field Days. It comes to YouTube from the St. Albans Messenger, which regularly does video.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I try not to promote Seven Days stuff on my blog like this, but I can't help it this time. Stuck in Vermont vlogger Eva Sollberger went to the Rosie's Girls welding camp last week and shot this short report. I so wish that I had been able to do something like this when I was a kid.

Good job, Eva!

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Pillow fight in downtown Brattleboro!

My favorite quote: "This one's heavy and hard."

There's another pillow fight scheduled for July 28th on the Statehouse lawn in Montpelier. See the Montpelier Pillow Fight Blog for more info.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I know, I know, you've grown tired of yet another story about those 802 rapper kids. Or at least, I've grown tired.

But hey, guess what, they made a new video, and it's definitely worth watching. It's cleverly called the "CO2 Music Video," and it's about global warming.

Let's see if the governor is "down with it." Ha! The kids call on legislators to override Douglas' veto on the energy bill, H.520. Not often you see kids rapping about needing a 2/3 vote.

Colin Arisman, one of the X10 crew, is an intern at VPIRG.

Vermont YouTube strawberry follow-up

Last week, I posted a video in which a guy named Paul announces that he's found the World's Biggest Strawberry.

Seven Days food writer Suzanne Podhaizer interviewed him this week as part of her story, Ruby Fruit Jungle. Turns out he's Paul Reynolds of Montpelier, a violist who teaches at Middlebury and plays in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

From the interview:

SEVEN DAYS: Do you plan to preserve the strawberry for posterity? Maybe you could varnish it or something.
PAUL REYNOLDS: My plan was to preserve it . . . I thought about selling it on eBay, and I told my wife about that. But we agreed that, in transit, it probably wouldn't last.

SD: What did you ultimately decide? Did you carve it up like a Thanksgiving turkey?
PR: My 2-year-old daughter's eyes were so big when she saw it that I couldn't resist giving it to her . . . she ate the whole thing.

SD: That must have taken a while.
PR: About 20 minutes. She had it all over her face and she just kept saying how good it was.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

The other day, we got a phone call about a military counter-recruitment protest at Algebars, the video gaming center on Church Street. The call came after the fact, so there wasn't much we could do about it.

But just now I was looking around on YouTube, and I think I found a video of the action.

This clip shows an Army recruiter demonstrating how to play a military video game. Looks like his audience is a bunch of teenage boys. Things start to get interesting when the protestors show up about six and a half minutes in.

They only appear for a couple minutes, but they seem to cause quite a stir. The owner definitely gets worked up.

After the protestors get kicked out, (minus the cameraperson, who must have been a plant), the recruiter calmly tells the kids not to get riled up about the disruption. "I deal with stuff like that on a daily basis," he says. "I come down to Church Street, I get called a murderer every other week."

He tells the kids that it's the protestors' right to object to his presentation, and that they can do it because people like him fight for their rights. Which sounds really magnanimous, and makes you feel for the guy.

But then he says... "Could I probably have taken them out? Maybe, maybe not. Who knows."

Wait, what?

Here's another interesting bit of dialogue. These guys are standing in a darkened room, diagrams of a machine gun, a human target silhoutte, and a soldier crouching to shoot displaying on the wall. They're listening to an Army recruiter tell them how to fire a gun.

One of the protestors says, "What do you guys think you're going to get by going to Iraq and killing people?"

The guy who responds, you can almost hear the "well duh," in his voice. He says, "We're not going to Iraq man, we're playing a game."

Here's the write-up of the event, from the Algebars website:

Vermont's Staff Sergeant Philip Thomas will be introducing the America's Army game as well as provide a realistic shooting experience with the America's Army Laser Shot system this Friday, June 22, from 7pm to approximately midnight. He'll teach participants how to fire an M4 Carbine and a 9mm pistol (obviously without ammunition) like a real soldier (NOTE: must be 16 years and older to handle the weapons).

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Oh, 802 Music Video, what have you spawned?

Here's a video called "Stowe Rappers," starring two teenage boys, rapping in a basement.

Word.

Listen closely for these gems:

"My name is Nick _____ / the chicks just can't get enough of me / I dominate when I ski / I show no mer-er-cy."

"You gotta listen up, stop and yield / we're colder than an eskimo on Mount Mansfield."

"We aren't rappers? We are so rappers. If a girl says we're not than we're goin' to slap her."

"We aren't fags, we got Playboy mag."

At the end, Nick points a (toy?) gun at the camera.

I bet their parents are so glad that YouTube has enabled their kids to share this little ditty with the world.

UPDATE: I deleted Nick's last name from this post because I was beginning to feel bad about linking this lame video to his name forevermore on Google. He's just a kid, after all. Not taking the video down, though.

Vermont YouTube of the Day — World's Largest Strawberry?

This guy says he bought a 5-inch long, 3-inch wide strawberry at a market in Vermont. He's challenging YOU to find a bigger one. It is a pretty big berry...

Vermont YouTube of the Day

It's a music video from Robin Banks, called "Strong Street." It's shot in Burlington. And yes, there's a shot of Beansies, and lots of views of the lake. Good stuff.

Vermont YouTube of the Day?

I just browsed YouTube hoping to find videos from Saturday's World Naked Bike Ride though Burlington, but alas, there are none. At least, none that anyone has tagged as such in any obvious way. Too bad!

Those 802 rappers

Remember the 802 Music Video? I posted it as a Vermont YouTube of the day on May 2.

Since then, its creators, Colin Arisman, Kevin Hartmann and Luke Martin have gotten quite a bit of press. Channel 5 and WCAX did segments on them, the Barre/Montpelier Times Argus wrote about 'em, so did the Rutland Herald. Now the New York Times has a story.

OK, it's great that these guys got exposure in the NYT, but look at this ridiculous lead:

Vermont has long been a muse for poets and painters, but rappers have never been known to draw inspiration from its bucolic landscapes and postcard-perfect small towns.

Until now.

The quiet streets and low crime rates of Vermont have worked their way into the hip-hop world, thanks to a rap video called “802,” made by three students at Montpelier High School.      

Oh those wacky Vermonters! Aw, shucks! Ugh.

One precious nugget of this coverage that you might have missed — Barre City Councilor Carol Dawes' employer, Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, suggested that she write a rap for them. Here's an excerpt of her CVABE rap, as reported in the TA:

CVABE, spreading lit'racy /

CVABE, spreading lit'racy /

From the north, Lamoille County / To the south in Randolph town /

From the mighty Connecticut River / To the west down in Moretown /

In the learning centers, libraries, the workplaces and homes / We are spreading lit'racy, we are helping you become... /

A better reader, better writer, better in math, too / Maybe even helping you become a great compu... /

...ter whiz. Or learning English as a new way to talk, / We will teach you the skills so you can walk the walk. /

Now why can't I find that rap on their website?

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I stumbled across some archival videos of Vermont Pride celebrations via the House of LeMay blog. Here's one from 1999. YouTube compression probably won't allow this, but if you look really really closely, you might be able to see me on the first ever R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center float. Not that I look much like my blog photo — I had super short hair at the time.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

This is a good one, though it wasn't actually filmed in Vermont. It's a video from the first world championship highwire competition in Seoul, South Korea. It shows Circus Smirkus alum Jade Kindar-Martin of Shelburne walking/running a kilometer-long highwire across the Han River. The journey took him more than 11 minutes, nearly 10 of which have been captured on YouTube.

Kindar-Martin came in 3rd, out of 14 competitors.

Though he's from Shelburne, one of my editors tells me he's currently living in France. He and his wife, another acrobatic performer, actually got married on a high-wire. There's a nice photo on the Wikipedia page.

But Wikipedia doesn't say anything about the stunt Kindar-Marting pulled in Burlington in the 1990s. Apparently he stretched a highwire across Main Street in Burlington and walked back and forth between Nectar's and the Courthouse, while people stood beneath and watched.

Cool.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Apparently, the first-person shooter game Halo 2 lets players make movies with it, which is how this aspiring filmmaker shot the "Marijuana Halo 2 Video."

I'm not exactly sure what this short film has to do with Vermont, except that it seems to be "about" a pro-pot protest at UVM. This guy must have been high when he made this, and it's probably more fun to watch if you're high. Weird.

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

Ah, the randomness of YouTube. I have two short videos for you this morning. The first takes place on the Grand Isle Ferry. I call it, "Cool or stupid?"

I believe the second was shot at Yankee Lanes in Colchester. I call it, "I love you in your big jeans, you give me nice dreams."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

The rarin' librarian strikes again! Watch Jessamyn West install open-source operating system Ubuntu on two library computers in rural Washington, Vermont. Take that, Microsoft! She blogs about the experience on librarian.net.

While Vermont's policy-makers talk about making this the first e-state, Jessamyn actually spends time in libraries and classrooms helping rural Vermonters understand how to integrate this new technology into their lives.

Jessamyn talks the talk and walks the walk. And we're very lucky to have her here.

UPDATE: Hey look, I submitted this to Boing Boing, and they linked to it. Cool.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

It's the 802 music video. Favorite line: "Our state capital might be 200 years old, but our dome is so blinging that it's plated with gold." Oh yeah.

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

Vermont has been hit by yet another snowstorm, and thanks to the profusion of video cameras and the miracle of YouTube, we can view snow-themed video clips from all across the state.

These aren't quite as exciting as the Valentine's Day Blizzard vids , but they're interesting:

"Vermont"

"snow"

"Eve jumps off the deck into a pile of snow"

And of course the pets...

"Heidi in Snow in Backyard"

"Nina Totenberg plays in the snow"

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Just found this video of Putney voting to impeach Bush and Cheney on Town Meeting Day.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Someone rescue this poodle.

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

More blizzard vids!

Skiing off the roof:

Jumping off the roof:

Jumping off the porch:

Dog Toss:

Digging out the Subaru:

The Snowbaru:

Snowed in in Hinesbury:

Another Valentine's Day Blizzard YouTube

This guy has a season pass to Stratton but he's stuck in New York City. He's pissed.

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

Blizzard videos!

Students at Johnson State College celebrate their snowday:

Timelapse video of snowstorm:

Hunt Street in Fairfax:

Middlebury in the snow:

A snowy VT Valentine:

Petite pooch goes pee:

 

And Lyndonville...

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Ben Van Buren's a senior at Burlington High School; next year, he'd like to enroll at The New School in New York. Instead of writing one of those hum drum college essays, he made a delightful little musical movie and posted it on YouTube. Just found it there and thought I'd share it. Check out those dance moves!

Burlington theatre-goers will recognize Ben from local productions such as The Bus.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Sales clerks making mischief behind the counter at EB games in Burlington.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Sorry for all the video posts. Been too busy to do much else.

Here's one from the Peace and Justice Center showing Vermonters at the big national anti-war march last weekend.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Here's a creative plea from University of Vermont ResLife staffer Kevin Hytten. He wants UVM students to fill out a student statisfaction survey that he'll be emailing to them in February.

I found this video on YouTube the other day, then contacted Kevin (who had used his name as his YouTube screenname, making him easy to find in the UVM directory) to confirm that it was, in fact, a real UVM video. Here's what he had to say about it:

"We have about 4,600 students on campus and I have coordinated many assessment projects in the past few years, yet we always struggle to get students to complete a survey no matter what the incentive is. So I thought I would try to find a way to connect with them using current technology and my graduate assistant suggested YouTube. I plan to include the link as part of the survey email. My hope is to at least prevent them from hitting delete right away. If one student at least mentions to another 'hey did you see that video?' perhaps my survey email will stay in their inbox a few days longer."

Cool. Especially since Kevin himself stars in the video. I think it's great that people with titles like "Assistant Director for Research, Marketing, & Publications" are willing to act goofy on YouTube.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

This is the "trailer" for Chris Bohjalian's new book, The Double Bind. I heard it referenced on VPR yesterday. It kinda makes me want to read the book, but the keywords bombarding me at the end are definitely over the top. My advice to the marketers would be to tone it down a bit.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Check out Senator Pat Leahy going after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales:

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I have it on good authority that these chickens belong to Anais Mitchell.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

This appears to be a trailer for a documentary about a woman race car driver in rural Vermont.

Their title: "Car 69"
My title: "She's not a woman, she's a driver."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

This is a sharp looking little film from North Bennington.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

His title: "Always Coca Cola"
My title: "If anybody from Bennington, Vermont hears this, get your heads out of your asses."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Official title: "Janey + Evan in Burlington"
My title: "Zoom in on the mall goth!"

Anybody remember when Shilo's coffeehouse was behind that rock? Wasn't there some big controversy, because the rock attracted teenagers who sat there and scared off the tourists? My memory of this is sketchy, because I had only recently moved to town. But I seem to recall that the Church Street Marketplace made the rock smaller, so that people wouldn't want to sit there. Looks like it's just the spot to sit on, though. Businesses come and go (remember Liquid Energy?) but that rock is still there, and kids are still sitting there people-watching.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

There are lots of Vermont YouTube clips of people doing tricks on skateboards, snowboards and BMX bikes, but this guy is stuntriding a unicycle, which somehow seems cooler to me.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

This fall, Scotty and Fiddy hitchhiked around the country to all 50 state capitals. Montpelier was #7 on their list. They made this video while they were there, consisting of their attempts to flip all the way around the cannon on the Statehouse lawn. Very strange, very strange.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

To offset the karmic hit I took for posting that debauched video yesterday, I'm choosing a wholesome PSA as today's featured YouTube clip. This one's a promo for CEDO's MLK day celebrations and community service initiative.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

More New Years footage, presumably from a house at Jay Peak. The twenty-something guys who made this clip have entitled it "Vermont Trip." I would have called it "We did the six-beer funnel."

Choice quote: "I will bang a 50-year-old for $400. Do you know how much weed that is? That's like, two ounces of weed. That's like two ounces of weed for having sex."

Watch it if you dare.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Imitating Hank Hill making a prank phone call to a pizzeria. I guess this is what they do for fun in Danby.

New Year's Videos Part II

Ok, so we didn't actually get any videos from New Years from y'all. Instead, I've gone out prospecting. Here are some strange video highlights from the end of '06, beginning of '07, from your fellow Vermonters Eva, Richard and Don.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

White Christmas? Doubtful at this point, it seems.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

An animated cartoon introducing Joe Destruction, Private Eye.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

This is my first attempt at posting a Seven Days-related video to YouTube. This is a video of Wolcott town lister Arlo Sterner.

I spent a day hanging out with Dave and Arlo in Wolcott, and had a great time wandering around, looking for ruins. The whole time, Arlo kept saying he wished he could tell me all of his stories about the people and things he's seen in his 80 years. I finally whipped out my camera and told him he a minute to tell me a story. And he did. 

For some reason, the picture and the audio don't quite seem to synch, but I think it's still worth sharing.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Random happy holiday wishes from Joe Zingali, Rutland Town Administrator, "the guy that brings you the Rutland Town Planning Commission and Selectboard meeetings." I love civil servants on YouTube!

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Woke up this morning to sidewalks and trees covered in snow for the first time this winter, so I figured I'd choose a winter-themed video today. I'm so glad I found this one — a montage of  snowboarding photos currently on display at Pursuit Gallery on the bikepath in Burlington. If you've never been down there, go. It's a great space, often filled with provocative art.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Christian rap from Montpelier's public access station.

"Abraham was the man / Abraham was the man / For God he would do whatever he can / Had a kid when he was old / All around the story's told."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I know, I know, I linked to Bill's Pants movie trailer yesterday, but I didn't embed it, so today it gets to be the VYTotD. It's just really good. Makes me want to see the movie. And I was never a Pants fan.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Here are two. The first one is from a guy who made this video of his girlfriend. The second one is the girlfriend's response.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Here's a jaunty video of Middlebury High School students having far too much fun. Love the dancing nuns!

Vermont YouTube of the Day

A 3-minute video about chronic fatigue syndrome, starring "Ms. Howl," a winged monkey in heat, "screaming in silent delight."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Another short student film — this one's from Middlebury College student Paxson Woebler Woelber.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Presenting a short film entitled "My Life at Bennington College," by wackyguy1234567.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Eeeew. A video of greased up male students stripping and posing at Middlebury College. Watch if you dare.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Could a monkey do Eva Sollberger's job? "The verdict is still out," writes the Deadbeat. "You be the judge."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Wild turkeys in Williston. Run away! Run away!

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Here's an unvarnished look at Vermont National Guard soldiers deployed overseas. The video is mostly just a montage of still photos — troops training pre-deployment, plumes of black smoke rising into the desert sky — but it includes some scrolling text at the beginning:

"After the terroritst [sic] attacks on Sept. 11, President Bush thought long and hard about the retalliation [sic] strategy of the United States military. There was only one unit strong and fit enough to go over and kick those pieces of shit right in their taliban asses!... A. co. 2-172 Armor"

The video is pretty tame, though it ends with the words "Fuck You" appearing over photos of Saddam and Osama Bin Laden.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

More random weirdness. Not sure where this mysogynistic but dead-on video came from, but it's worth sharing. Introducing the foul-mouthed Herbert the Hunchback, courtesy of user "plontonious."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Well, ok, it's not exactly on YouTube. "Bubble Blower" is hosted on Google video. Got the link from Richard Donnelly of Burlington Telecom, who immediately grasped what I meant yesterday when I wrote that I wanted quirky, unusual videos. Donnelly took the photos in this video, and I believe the kid above is his son. Here's the description: "Rant about a broken bubble blower over photos of an innocent child blowing bubbles."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Hey, I got two emails from people who suggested YouTube clips for me to use for one of these posts. Great! That means people are catching on. Unfortunately, both of the clips are of musical performances. I may end up using them, but truth be told I'm looking for stuff that's a little more unusual. Send me your quirky clips. Send me something that will surprise me.

My only requirements are that selections be Vermont-related, and not overly obscene. What, you ask, is "overly obscene?" In this case, it is whatever I say it is.

That said, here's a short video I found entitled, "UVM Dancer."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Today's YouTube comes courtesy of Jamba's Junktiques. At least, that's the YT user name. JJ's is a store in Burlington's Old North End, on North Winooski Avenue.

Says the short clip's description: "Phinneus, Burlington Vermonts Juggleing fool, shows off a variety of skill toys to a quirky soundtrack. All toys are sold on Fair Play Cart on Church St. Marketplace."

Vermont YouTube of the Day

From Emily, Laura and Karen Abbott, the short film, "It's a Nice Day for a Banana," complete with bloopers.

Vermont YouTubes of the Day

More YouTubes from fatfeisty fem, who was apparently on a tour through Vermont. In these episodes — let's call them, scenes from National Lampoon's Lesbian Vacation (I snagged the title from the first video) — FFF navigates the roundabout in Winooski, and stops for snacks in Plainfield.

Vermont YouTube of the Day part 2

I spoke too soon! There's some great Vermont YouTube footage up at the Exit Voices blog. Somebody from VCAM is going out and interviewing Burlington voters as they leave the polls, and posting these videos. I love it! My only criticisms are that the sound and the image seem a little out of synch, and there's no names IDing the voters. Other than that, I love it.

I think this one's my favorite, because of the guy at the end. He says, "I think it's really important that candidates know that all of these signs make no difference to how I vote. What I really want to hear more about is their position on the issues, and less about what the other person isn't doing." But you have to make it through the flaming liberal to see him.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

I think I'm going to start a new feature here at 802 Online.

Here's a YouTube clip I'm calling "Heterosexuals Spanging" But that Fatfeistyfem has called "Entering Vermont."