Dan Gurewitch

Well, I’m back from the hospital, and I can finally share...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:01:31 -0500

Well, I’m back from the hospital, and I can finally share the good news: I gave birth to a muffin.

I know I’m a bit late to the Halloween photo party,...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:27:00 -0500

I know I’m a bit late to the Halloween photo party, but… Carl Sandiego.

The consensus is that he’s Carmen’s brother, but steals lesser known landmarks. Like the World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn.

Hardly Working: Love and Sleep. Inspired by a verbal slip-up I...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:56:58 -0500

Hardly Working: Love and Sleep. Inspired by a verbal slip-up I made in a writing brainstorm. Furthers our opinion that consuming an inappropriately large Slurpee is the most obnoxious character trait imaginable.

“Fort Knox” by Goldfish. I was just introduced to...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:15:08 -0500

“Fort Knox” by Goldfish. I was just introduced to this song via a video on Vimeo, and it’s the catchiest, funkiest song I’ve heard in forever. Everybody start your Monday morning off by dancing in your underwear.

BFF in the NYT

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:32:40 -0400

I’m not sure how exactly this happened, but my friend/roommate Josh is quoted in an editorial in today’s New York Times:

“Josh Riman graduated from Syracuse University in 2006. “I had a job at a great advertising agency,” he said, “but was laid off in 2007. I found a job the next day, amazingly enough, and worked at this next advertising shop for about a year and a half. Then, on my birthday, the place went bankrupt. We all lost our jobs.” Since then, Mr. Riman has been doing freelance and “pro bono” work. He has been unable to find anything even reasonably secure.”

It’s true! Not mentioned in the article is how after he lost his job on his birthday, I went bowling with him to cheer him up, and it turned out the bowling alley was closed for renovations. And then he got his foot caught in a bucket and a car drove through a puddle, drenching him.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:27:41 -0400

The Onion’s sharp satire makes me really happy - but occasionally they are scooped by reality, and that makes me really sad.

Their headline/article: Obama’s Declaration of Swine Flu Emergency Prompts Pro-Swine-Flu Republican Response made me laugh, until I remembered that this joke has already essentially come true.

Glenn Beck declared that he wouldn’t be getting the H1N1 vaccine and neither should anyone else, claiming (with no factual basis): ”People just feel in their gut, ‘I don’t trust these people any more…’ They think our government could be so incompetent that they don’t have any clue as to what they are doing.” So he’s choosing to nurture distrust of the Obama administration even when it means potentially endangering his viewers’ lives.

Hilarious! Print it!

Pixar tweeted our parody! The fact that Pixar likes anything I...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:21:00 -0400

Pixar tweeted our parody! The fact that Pixar likes anything I was involved in is absolutely the coolest thing ever.

The Legend of Link’s Distractions, a new cartoon written...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:16:19 -0400

The Legend of Link’s Distractions, a new cartoon written by me and animated by Mike Parker. For anyone who’s ever liked the mini-games more than the game itself. Digg it.

Left: FunnyOrDie office, LA, after receiving a large shipment of...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:36:00 -0400

Left: FunnyOrDie office, LA, after receiving a large shipment of Nerf guns
Right: CollegeHumor office, NY, after receiving a large shipment of Nerf guns

We are defined by our similarities, not our differences. We are one. We are…

…Going to rumble with you. Meet up in Dodge City, Kansas? (Keep in mind, as our sign notes, no adults allowed.)

Pixar Intro Parody, written by Sam and I. The real credit goes...

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:34:14 -0400

Pixar Intro Parody, written by Sam and I. The real credit goes to Mike Ritchie for the CGI animation and Carl Sondrol for the score. As a massive Pixar fan, this one makes me particularly happy. Digg it.

Everyone must watch “Modern Family” now. I - like...

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:12:00 -0400

Everyone must watch “Modern Family” now.

I - like many of you, I’d imagine - was initially skeptical about this show, based solely on its generic title and generically smiley print ads. But after watching the first four episodes, I am confident in proclaiming it not only the best new comedy this season, but perhaps the best new comedy on TV in years.

I’m generally distasteful of the holier-than-thou pitfalls of comedy snobbery; I’ve always disliked the notion that comedy approved by comedy fans is necessarily superior to comedy with mass appeal. While I love and respect Arrested Development and Mr. Show as much as the next writer-type, I also grew up watching and loving shows like Home Improvement and Caroline in the City. So what I love about Modern Family is how flawlessly it combines the best of both worlds (as Amir noted, its jokes appeal to “comedy nerds and everybody else”) - it takes a simple, grounded concept and spices it up with whip-smart writing, fully realized characters, and pitch-perfect, subtle acting.

Perhaps most excitingly, the show goes a long way towards erasing the negative connotation that the phrase “family sitcom” has acquired over the last ten years. With the advent of single-camera shows like The Office, Scrubs, It’s Always Sunny and 30 Rock, watching a family hang out in a living room suddenly became passe. But Modern Family proves yet again that sitcoms thrive on characters, not premises. It’s an inspiring reminder that with the right writing and performances, fantastic comedy can and always will be mined from the simplest, most relatable of sources.

samreich: “Balloon Boy Gets Scolded,” written and performed by...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:29:04 -0400

samreich:

“Balloon Boy Gets Scolded,” written and performed by us just now. Sorry this took so long. Digg it.

My little kid voice finds a home alongside Sam’s passionate monologue.

HOLY SHIT MEGHAN MCCAIN’S BREASTS ARE STUCK IN A MAKESHIFT...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:26:00 -0400

HOLY SHIT MEGHAN MCCAIN’S BREASTS ARE STUCK IN A MAKESHIFT HELIUM BALLOON FLOATING ABOVE COLORADO

UPDATE: They got the balloon down MEGHAN MCCAIN’S BREASTS ARE NOT IN IT

UPDATE: THE BREASTS WERE ON “WIFE SWAP”

Leaked Letterman Sex Scandal Movie! Absolutely real! Definitely...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:41:43 -0400

Leaked Letterman Sex Scandal Movie! Absolutely real! Definitely not written by me and David Young, directed by Sam and starring Jordan Hall. A quick turnaround, and a fun one at that. Help the truth come out… digg it.

Hardly Working: Stomp. We decided to take a break from comedy...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:05:00 -0400

Hardly Working: Stomp. We decided to take a break from comedy and do some avant-garde performance art. One of my favorites in a while. Kudos to shooter/editors Matt & Creighton for painstakingly piecing together this doozy.

Kristen Stewart Bites Her Lower Lip A Lot. You know, some people...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:27:50 -0400

Kristen Stewart Bites Her Lower Lip A Lot. You know, some people would just notice this and let it go. Instead of doing that, I asked our eternally patient interns and editors to assemble a montage of Kristen Stewart biting her lip. Enjoy.

"It’s like you won the opposite of the lottery!"

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:41:44 -0400

“It’s like you won the opposite of the lottery!”

- Amir, on my impending Nov. 6th hernia surgery.

Star Fox in Iraq. I wrote and directed this sketch (my first...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:10:22 -0400

Star Fox in Iraq. I wrote and directed this sketch (my first time as a director at CH)! Dedicated to everyone who, like me, still has those animals’ voices ringing in their heads ten years after turning off their N64. Digg it.

Insane Twilight Reaction Video, written by me, directed by Sam....

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:17:59 -0400

Insane Twilight Reaction Video, written by me, directed by Sam. I watched a lot of videos of actual teenage girls reacting to the “New Moon” trailer, then tried to write something even more ridiculous. Whether or not I did, I’ll leave up to you.

Kate Spencer, I’m dedicating this video to you.

Stand-up! This summer I rediscovered my love for stand-up,...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:13:22 -0400

Stand-up! This summer I rediscovered my love for stand-up, culminating in a 10-minute set at CollegeHumor Live at the UCB Theatre. Here’s an excerpt from my performance. Hope you like it.