Well, maybe not — but it’s at least the coolest thing since that whole Diet Coke and Mentos YouTube video craze.

I just stumbled on the “Will it Blend?” series of YouTube videos, and I’ve got to say I’m hooked. Basically, the idea goes, the host comes up with an idea of some wacky thing to stick in a blender and then… well, you get the picture. Here are two I like; one here and one after the jump.

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Two caveats up front: One, I’m told that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are “lame,” and that for liking them i am “lame.” I’ll live.

Two, I’m usually not a fan of people and or/organizations who try to pretend they’re really into the idea of someone making them a video cause, you know, they’re so hip and with the Internet age, when really they just want to save money and have someone else to do their work for them.

That said, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are doing just that. And, well, let’s just say I was never that consistent with my principles. They’re offering $5,000 and a trip to Paris to meet the band if you make their next music video, and the contest lasts two more weeks. I’m sure we have some video junkies here who could take the prize — I expect a cut. Official rules are here; below, lead singer Anthony Kiedis discusses the rationale behind the contest and how to win.

So today is my first day off from my day job in a little over two and a half weeks. I’m very excited; I’m going to be kicking up my feet, relaxing and… going to the DMV. D’oh!

While I’m waiting in line, enjoy the sight of Tommy Chong (No, seriously — it’s Tommy Chong) getting on YouTube, with interesting results. It proves once again that old maxim — you can put the celebrity in a viral video, but you can’t take the viral video out of the… uh, just watch the damn video, OK?

With a hat-tip to Radar Magazine’s Fresh Intelligence blog, which I’ve recently found myself obsessed with, an interesting story about how personal media can be used not just to post videos of yourself doing the Numa Numa dance, but as a reaction to people who, you know, actually get paid for doing this sort of thing.

Seems, according to Radar, that horrifically bad “comic” Carlos Mencia has got a little derogatory nickname for himself — “Menstealia” — for blatantly ripping off the work of legendary comics who’ve come before. So Radar posted this video that someone put together and threw up on YouTube, of Mencia lifting a Bill Cosby joke:

Now, I thought that was good, but wasn’t really planning on posting it until I saw that this kind of thing is practically a YouTube phenomenon. After the jump, someone else gets in on the act. (Ironic, don’t you think?)

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So I was recently watching (shaddup, I know) an episode of “Gordon Ramsay’s F Word,” a random, totally ADD-infotainment-age, show featuring the many talents of British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. As part of the show, they send a food critic off to do random things, and in this latest episode he did something fairly SMITH-related.

In our Toolbox, we have a section on DIY sites, where users can show off their projects and give others instructions on how to make their own. The restaurant critic, Giles Coren, showed off a distinctly British version of this phenomenon, Pimp That Snack, which takes classic British junk food and makes it big. Like, really big. Us Americans won’t be able to relate to some of the stuff, but it’s a fun site to check out anyway. (If you’re interested, here’s the project Coren worked on.)

After the jump, because it made me smile, a video sent to me by a friend at the day job — it’s not a personal media thing, but it is on YouTube, so it sort of counts. Also, it’s a penguin. A penguin who goes shopping. So rules be damned, I say.

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I’ve had a rather long afternoon of switching all my work-related materials from my personal laptop to the laptop provided for me by my day job; going from Mac to PC is less than relaxing. (Flame wars about which is better officially not allowed, by my own personal decree.)

So, because I need a rest, and something mindless to laugh at, here we go, an answer to the eternal question “Can ninjas love?” provided by, of course, YouTube’s personal ninja.

OK, so I’ve never played — or outside of the commercials, even seen — the video game Half-Life. (My mommy won’t let me play violent video games. She says they’re bad for me.) But I still think this video, apparently a riff on the game that’s really more of a techno beat soundtrack, is pretty gosh-darn cool, consarn it.

According to the MySpace page for the film’s makers, they created it using the game’s own engine.

For the record, SMITH beat Jon Stewart to an interview.

Hold on just a second, we need to go brush our shoulders off.

Whoo. OK, sorry, we’re back. Anyway, Larry posted a few days back on the new book A Fighter’s Heart, by Sam Sheridan; it’s the story of one man’s journey, learning to kickbox with a muay Thai master in Thailand, fighting in Brazil, and exploring the history of violence in general. You can see our excerpt here, and read Michael Slenske’s interview with Sheridan here.

And, thanks to the magic of the Internets—which, as we understand it, are a complex series of tubes—you can now watch Sam’s interview with Jon Stewart right here.

Get it? Pawesome?

Oh, god, I need a drink.

Anyway, following up on last week’s smashing success, here’s a video that proves that this isn’t just the age of personal media, but of animal media. And of animals stalking celebrity animals. Personally, I welcome our new terrier overlords.

Bonus points if you figure out what the title of this post refers to. (No fair Googling.)

Couple videos this week, actually. First is a little belated Valentine’s Day fun from a random YouTuber who put together what’s actually a pretty good (though admittedly not great) song in honor of the holiday. Like I said, not the greatest song ever, but I just enjoy the fact that a fun thing like this can go up for so many people to see with so little effort. And it is definitely listenable. After that video, and the jump, even more YouTube fun.

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