Awesome Internet Writers

I spend a lot of time not doing work on the internet (and how) and a lot of it is just dicking around.  However, there are some things that I routinely read on the internet which are really well written. While I've already shared some of these with you guys, I feel the need to introduce to all of these awesome internet writers. These aren't just guilty pleasures that I go to for cyber entertainment, but people that I think are really, talented.

I encourage you to post responses with your favorite internet talent below! Until then, enjoy my top six.


1. The Key of Awesome/Barely Political- The Key of Awesome does something that a MILLION other YouTube channels do (they make parody videos of popular songs), but what sets them apart is they do it really well. While sometimes the concept might fall flat and feel a little sophomoric, at their best they highlight the underlying problems with songs and inherent character flaws of the ones singing them. Currently, my favorite is their parody of "Rain Over Me" which mocks fun of Pitbull and Marc Anthony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r79J4TgglGM

2. The Comics Curmudgeon- Josh Fruhlinger states the blog's mission as, "I read the comics so you don't have to." Simply put, he mocks the comics poking fun at their art, plot, and sometimes incomprehensible punchline. Fruhlinger is a former editor (or current, I never can tell what he does for a living) and the creativity and intelligence behind his criticism makes what could be a petty blog a lot of fun. He also expresses unironic delight in the madness of the soap opera strips- like Apartment 3G and Mary Worth- that I thought I would never read. I linked you guys to the Beetle Bailey archive because I love it when Fruhlinger talks about the homoerotic/violent undertones of the realtionship between Beetle and Sarge.

http://joshreads.com/?cat=26&paged=5

3. Ann Powers (NPR writer)- Okay, this one doesn't really count because she writes for a legitimate news organization, but I love her music criticism so I thought I'd share. Something I especially appreciate about Powers is her willingness to talk about pop music seriously, which isn't always the case for music publications. This article is about her top ten music picks for 2011 and, even though I don't agree with a lot of the choices (not a fan of J. Lo's "On the Floor"), her writing style is so amazing it doesn't even matter. She also introduced me to Dev (who sings the hook of Ada's favorite song "Like a G6") so I love her. (Don't kill me, Ada!)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/12/19/143799960/the-top-10-top-40-of-2011

4.John Cheese (Cracked writer)- I've talked about Cracked before, but I wanted to mention this writer in particular because he's indicative of a bigger change I've seen in the website since I started reading in college. It's always been kind a sophomoric comedy website that uses words like "boob" and "boner", but in the past couple of years it's started tackling more serious topics. John Cheese is funny, but he writes very blunt articles about his abusive father, intimacy issues with women, and his struggle with alcohol. I've linked to an article he wrote when he was one year sober because it's the first one that really turned me on to him. It just goes to show you that just because people come to a publication for jokes about poop doesn't mean they're not willing to hear about more serious topics.

http://www.cracked.com/article_18824_5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-quitting-drinking.html

5. Fashion SWAT (somethingawful.com feature)- I've long considered somethingawful to be like cracked, only meaner, but I still I love the somewhat defunct feature "Fashion SWAT." Basically, it makes fun of fashion styles from obscure places. It's riotously funny, though some of it is very much NSFW (the one I linked you to is fine). The humor can be pretty mean-spirited sometimes, but this article where they make fun of kid's science fair projects is honestly one of the funniest things I've ever read.

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/fashion-swat/science-fair-swat.php

6. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries- To be honest with you, I pretty much wrote this whole thing just so I could share this. It's a fictional video blog that tells the story of Pride and Prejudice from a first person, modern-day perspective. Lizzie Bennet is a grad student who talks about how her mom is obsessed with making sure her daughters join the WPF 2.5 club (the white picket fence, 2.5 children club). She is assisted by her friend, Charlotte Lu, and is occasionally joined by her sisters Jane and Lydia. One of my favorite vloggers, John Green, is the co-creator/writer/producer of this feature. Whether or not you like Pride and Prejudice, I would strongly suggest watching this. I don't know how long it's going to continue, but it's a brilliant idea with great execution.

http://bit.ly/IxSzJ0