Congratulations toThe Slow Mo Guys, who took an early lead and went on to win this month’s edition ofOn The Rise, the program where you decide which up-and-coming YouTube partner gets a spot on the homepage. The Slow Mo Guys will be featured on theYouTube homepagetoday, thanks to your support and votes. A quick history on The Slow Mo Guys: Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy have been experimenting with high-speed cameras since 2004. Whether documentingbirds of prey swooping,droplets colliding, or the effects of taking aball to the face, these friends take on the world at a slower pace.
Here’s more from The Slow Mo Guys themselves:
"I have loved watching stuff in slow motion ever since I was a kid. I used to watch fight scenes from movies frame by frame on VHS so I could see all the action. When I got the opportunity to work with high speed cameras I saw this as my opportunity to film as many things as possible in super slow motion. I have been doing it for about 6 years now as a profession, but only recently got a computer powerful enough to deal with such massive files for my own show! Looking at things in slow motion makes you realise what you actually miss out on when you see things at "human speed". Sometimes you see something completely unexpected, sometimes can see how stuff works and sometimes stuff in slow motion just makes you laugh! It has been a great honour to participate in YouTube's On The Rise contest. I would like to thank everyone who voted for us and to welcome all our new subscribers!" Gavin Free
If you’re enjoying our monthly blog series and want to see more rising YouTube stars, head over to our “On The Rise” channel and check out our playlists on the browse page. Check back next month, as your channel may be the next one featured!
Kevin Antoine Dodson, star of a viral Internet song warning neighbors to watch out for a sexual predator, was arrested and charged with marijuana possession after being stopped for speeding, police said on Saturday.
Dodson was charged with second degree marijuana possession, speeding, failure to have liability insurance and other minor charges after police stopped him early Saturday in Huntsville, Huntsville Police spokesman Dr. Harry Hobbs told Reuters.
He was released later on Saturday after posting a $1,340 cash bond, Hobbs said.
"Let me be the first to tell it!!" Dodson tweeted to his 33,000 Twitter followers after his release. "So just got out of jail off a weak charge ... Got pulled over in my Benz and they got me ... I never been in jail except that time in grade school. You remember!!!"
Dodson, who lives in Huntsville, which is about 80 miles north of Birmingham, came to prominence after millions of people watched his response to an NBC television affiliate in summer 2010 after his sister was attacked in their home.
The interview was turned into a song "Bed Intruder" by New York musicians Evan and Michael Gregory that has sold thousands of copies on iTunes and earned Dodson royalties.
"Obviously we have a rapist in Lincoln Park," Dodson told the television station. "He's climbing in your windows. He's snatching your people up trying to rape them, so you all need to hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband because they are raping everybody out here."
Dodson chastised the sexual predator who attacked his sister in her bed -- an attack he reportedly thwarted.
"You don't have to come and confess that you did it," Dodson told the NBC affiliate. "We are looking for you. We are going to find you. I'm letting you know now."
(Reporting by Eric Johnson; Editing by Jerry Norton)
YouTube personality wickydkewl, better known as Davey Wavey, is well known in the community for his outspoken videos on gay rights and various other topics topics. His inspirational videos challenge his viewers to be themselves in a world full of outside pressures. Today, he experienced some drama on his otherwise tranquil channel. Davey's latest video, '7 Things Gay Guys Lie About', was less than well received- in fact it was met with outcry from his viewers. YouTube personality Tyler Oakley took to twitter and posted on his Tumblr blog to voice his opinion saying:
It didn't take Davey Wavey long to respond to the complaints. Only a few minutes later he deleted the video from YouTube and replied with this tweet:
Tyler then posted on his blog 'And THAT is why you voice your opinion.' The situation emphasizes the power of the YouTube Community. We, as viewers, have the power to control what content our favorite YouTuber's put out. If you like a video, share it! If you hate one, tweet... and you may be shocked to see what effect your words have!
Critics are again taking aim at the Transportation Security Administration's screening procedures, this time after an enhanced pat-down of a 6-year-old girl was caught on video and posted on YouTube.
The incident in question happened earlier this month when the vacationing Drexel family was returning home to Kentucky from New Orleans' Armstrong International Airport. That's when 6-year-old daughter Anna was selected for additional screening.
The couple posted a video of the search on YouTube. It shows a TSA agent patting down the child and explaining the procedure to the girl and her parents. The screener says that she will use the back of her hands on sensitive areas and will "put my hand in the waistband."
The girl's father, Todd Drexel, says Anna was confused by the search and started crying afterward because she thought she'd done something wrong.
Mother Selena Drexel says most other passengers near them in the queue were able to pass through security normally.
"I did ask for alternatives. I did ask for her to be rescanned," Selena adds. "They just refused and said they were going to do what they were going to do."
Even the Daily Mail of London picks up the story, noting mother Selena can be heard asking agents "can't you just re-scan her" before being told "no" by an agent.
The New York Daily News notes the agent shown in the video was professional and very "polite" to the child, though mother Selena tells ABC she was less happy with an off-camera TSA supervisor that balked at other options for Anna.
For its part, the TSA says its agents acted as they should have.
"TSA has reviewed the incident and determined that this officer followed proper current screening procedures," the agency says in a statement quoted by CNN.
Still, the agency adds in the statement that it may seek make some modifications to those procedures going forward.
"(In) line with his vision to accelerate TSA's evolution into a truly risk-based, intelligence-driven organization, Administrator (John) Pistole has tasked the agency with exploring additional ways to focus its resources and move beyond a one-size-fits-all system while maintaining a high level of security," the statement continues.
Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection, TSA has been actively assessing less invasive screening methods for low-risk populations, such as younger passengers, while still maintaining a high level of security.
Regardless of the TSA's comments, the Drexels -- and others -- say they'll push for the TSA to change the way it handles young children at airport checkpoints.
"A 6-year-old child shouldn't be subjected to this kind of treatment in the first place if there's no reason to suspect her or her parents of being criminals," Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU Louisiana,tells CBS affiliate WWL in New Orleans.
"A child who is visibly, audibly complaining, 'I don't want to do this,' should at the very least be given some privacy," Esman adds, referencing content seen in the video.
Another dissenting voice comes from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security.
"I am personally outraged and disgusted by yet another example of mistreatment of an innocent American at the hands of TSA," he says in a statement. "This conduct is in clear violation of TSA's explicit policy not to conduct thorough pat-downs on children under the age of 13."
However, some did defend the TSA.
"Privacy experts don't like it at all, the critics call it security theater, but we have to say the screener here appears to be doing her job," CBS News national security correspondent Bob Orr is quoted as saying bySyracuse.com. "You can't take kids out of the mix, The exemption would point terrorists to a gaping hole in our security...The bottom line is al Qaeda is savvy, study our security system and practices and it's not beyond al Qaeda to use kids."
Currently YouTube is running two contests to promote up and coming YouTube stars. The YouTube Creator Institute will send video producers to two of the US’s leading film and television schools for an advanced 4-8 week program to train alongside industry leaders, helping them take their skills to the next level. And YouTube NextUp asked members of the YouTube Partner Program to make a video application outlining the future direction they’d like to take their content, with the strongest submissions receiving $35,000 in funding from YouTube and a spot at a special boot camp for them to learn new skills.
YouTube is running these programs because they believe that the next superstars of music, film, comedy, animation, and whole new content genres are practicing their craft on YouTube today. "Every day we come across extremely talented creators of all ages and from all walks of life, and we want to see them succeed and reach bigger audiences. We’re also aware that you, the YouTube community, are often the best judges of talent! You’ve already made stars of people like MysterGuitarMan, the Annoying Orange, and Dave Days, and we want to ask you to help pick the next generation of leading creators" said YouTube representatives.
The top-scoring eligible entries to the YouTube Creator Institute and YouTube NextUp have moved on to the public voting stage, and we’re inviting you to go to youtube.com/creators to vote for the people you’d like to see advance to the final round.
VOTE for your favorites, once a day until Friday April 8th, 2011 5pm PST
Finalists will move on to the next round of voting!
