The digital Renaissance Man of Eastern Iowa [Chris Hanel] has finally decided to leave the midwest for the potential glory  on the East Coast (Orange County, no doubt). Chris’s departure weighs heavy upon the many friends he’s made here in Iowa City. Noboy wants to see Chris and Kori leave, but we fully support their decision. A man’s gotta do, what you gotta do. Here’s a man with talent: Exceptional Artist, Video Effects Editor, Coordinatior, Writer, Director, Actor, Improv Comedy Aficionado.

In the three years since he’s been back in Iowa, we’ve been able to put-forth an audience/fan script-submitted MST3K-Style Movie Heckling experience with Riff Raff Theater. When Chris had the time, he’d jump in to a Comics In Action gig… like the one at Coe Collage…

Of coure, this was not the ONLY time he’d worked with Comics In Action.

Then again, there is the multitude of movie we skewered under the guise of Riff Raff Theater. Here’s a clip.

You will be sorely missed, Mr. Hanel. Stay in touch. We’ll always have your back.

I received (what I will from now on refer to as ‘The Phone Call’) at 9:56pm CST. I was on the phone with my kids at the time and decided to take the call (momentarily) to see what the guy wanted. We had been talking recently about the Comics In Action website and how I wanted to take the site over to a WordPress driven site, rather than use Dreamweaver and Photoshop to assemble everything.

I told my son, Jared, to wait a second and clicked over to the other line. We said our respective, –Hey, dude, what up’s– when the caller asked, “Have you heard the news?” I replied, “What news.”, rather hesitant as to what the response would be. “It’s 100 percent sure. We’re moving back to Iowa.” I almost dropped my RAZR and shouted at the moon, “There IS A GOD!”

If you haven’t guessed, my good friend, Chris Hanel, is returning to Iowa. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know exactly why this is so important. It’s not like Chris and I have had some kind of long standing friendship that has surpassed the ages. I’ve only hung-out with the guy less than a dozen times. So, why did this news make me as giddy as a school-boy? We have a mutual project, Comics In Action, that has tied us together in a way that is beyond odd.

Comics In Action was borne out of a mutual feeling that a local improvisational comedy troupe was necessary here in the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City area. The concept started from Chris’s idea, which was expounded upon by fellow-collaborator, Abraham Peterka. Chris and Abe had been working with a mutual friend, Stephen L. Phelan, on a Star Wars Fan Film, “The Formula“. The near-feature-length film had received some critical acclaim within the Star Wars community and garnered them well-deserved ‘street cred’ among Fan Film makers in general.

No sooner had Chris and Abe held auditions for their ‘MIB meets FBI’ improvisational comedy troupe, when Chris decided to attend the DAVE school (short for ‘Digital Animation & Visual Effects’) and move to Florida. From there, Abe was left to assemble the rest of the comedy troupe. Comics In Action became a minor hit within Eastern Iowa, amassing fans from Des Moines to the Quad-Cities.

Chris was at the initial improv auditions and MAYBE one rehearsal (if my memory serves me correctly) and then I didn’t see him for a couple years. He came back to Iowa for family get-togethers and he even had the opportunity to perform with us a couple of times. Each time, I sat back and thought to myself, “Man. He’s got a pretty quick wit. I wish he would stay.” In fact, there was rarely a moment during Chris’ absence, when Abe or Steve wouldn’t comment on how much they missed him and the grand times they had putting “The Formula” together. Although I was having fun with the rest of the comedy troupe, even I began to feel as if Chris’ presence was sorely missed… and I barely knew the guy.

During those times when Chris came back, the two of us would always find time to chat about life, Comics In Action, The Formula, Trey Stokes, Pink Five, and Natalie Portman. The guy comes off as a true geek who has managed to do some things that even the ‘truest geek’ would bow down in reverence. How many people can actually say that they have met and interviewed George Takei of ‘Star Trek’ fame? Who has hung out with Natalie Portman? Chris has. Do you realize what this means? It means that I am within 3 degrees of separation from George ‘freakin’ Lucas. WOW! Do you know anyone who has met Mike Nelson, the head-writer for MS3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000)? I didn’t think so.

Somehow during those times, the two of us have garnered mutual respect for the other. We talk the same language. We both have high-hopes for Comics In Action and we both are upset George Lucas’ attempt to mask the original storyline…”Hahn shot first!” In addition, we know perfectly well that ‘Real Genius’ is the most quotable movie ever made.

So, now I look forward to Mr. Hanel returning for good to the heartland. He has already put together an idea that I’m sure will be a drop-dead hit. He’s already got me hook-line-and-sinker. I’m crossing my fingers that the honeymoon will last for some time. Actually, I should be ashamed for writing that. I know Chris. I know better than that.

“Release the hounds!”

For some time, I have been collecting links to the latest viral videos on the web. These videos have come from various people: family, friends, co-workers and fellow students. As viral video savvy as I think I am, there is far to many awesome videos out there on the Word Wide Web for even I to track.

This post will be a continually updated post. I have grown tired of trying to remember the various links when I am not sitting at my on computer, so I have decided to collect them all into a single post. But, it will be impossible for me to do all in one sitting. This won’t be a Top 10 or a Best of the Best list of stuff. This will simply be a continually updated post that will detail what I think is the best of what I think a good viral video is all about.

I remember rolling on the floor for HOURS after watching this short movie. Many of my friends are Star Wars fans and after watching Pink Five, I had forwarded the link to nearly everyone I could think of. I then proceeded to force all my co-workers to watch, including my boss. Maybe that’s why I got laid-off. Pink Five has grown into a trilogy that follows the efforts of ‘Stacey’ and the boyfriend (Han Solo) she keeps on the ‘down-low’. It’s a pretty intricate series and it winds its way and tells the back-story to nearly every Star Wars character. I can’t believe my friend, Chris Hanel, is actually working with Trey Stokes and Amy Earhart on this series. It ‘like, totally blows my mind.’ OK. Now, I am truly embarrassing myself.

What can be said about this spin on Budweiser’s ‘Whassup!” series of commercials. Of course, the ‘old granny’ version was just as funny as the first. But, these guys took that concept to a completely different level. This is by far my favorite.

There over a billion versions of this animated video on Google and YouTube. This is probably the cleanest of them all, which makes determining the original author’s name, Victor Navone, easier to determine. This clip was originally built in 1999, making it one of the longest running viral videos on the internet. This one is short and sweet and the real bonus is for those that can figure out how he trimmed Gloria Gaynor’s hit ‘I Will Survive’ to fit.

What could be funnier than watching bear Kung Fu? This would be one.

Speaking of bears, it seems I’ve seen this before. Perhaps in a Funniest Home Video contest.

This animated short takes some time to fully develop and it surprised me with its depth and story line. Not only is the digital animation top notch, the soundtrack adds just the right touch of poignancy. Look it up.