I’m one girl who doesn’t idolize Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her gross gang of grandmas, but when I saw Hanelle Culpepper’s short “Sex And The City” parody, Six And The City, I smiled. And I laughed. And I forwarded it to a whole bunch of people I knew. It features a young Carrie (Adair Tishler), blogging her young life on the playground in the city. Naturally, giantess Samantha (Channing Nichols) has the jump on the whole kissing-of-boys thing, and of course, there’s the prissy prude Miranda (Melia Lockwood), and tomboy Charlotte (Sierra Wingert). It’s brief and smart and the girls are all cute as can be, and for once, strangely enough, it’s not creepy seeing kids playing grownups (see Bugsy Malone for a great example of that). And if Culpepper’s spoof is too much estrogen richness for you to take, check out her antidote, How To Wait In Line For Star Wars. –Elizabeth Meyer

Click the poster on the right to view ‘Six And The City.’

Speaking as a former Worcester video store owner (remember Starship Video on Park Ave.?), I can tell you that the fear of obsolescence was a pretty big one for me and the dwindling base of independent store owners. Heck, even the big boys like Follywood and Lackluster have taken hits in the last five years. For me, the writing on the wall was Netflix and the reality of digital downloads replacing that trip to the video store. While I miss my customers a whole lot, I am happy I got out when I did.

The wacky folks over at The Onion have posted the video story below, detailing a historical attraction that recreates the video store experience for an America that no longer has them. Before you send it off to someone whose sense of funny you may not be familiar with, let them know that it’s a joke. I can’t tell you how many of these I had sent to my Mom before realizing that she thought they were legitimate news stories…

In an attempt to explain the “fair use” loophole in copyright law to his students, Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University created a brilliant summary of fair use copyright principles…by letting clips from Disney animated features do all the talking for him. Faden’s conscription of such clips falls under fair use, much to the chagrin of The Mouse, a company known for vehemently defending its copyrights and sponsoring legislation that prevents its characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy from entering the public domain after the standard period of 75 ears…er, years. According to the bogus FBI warning at the beginning of the 10-minute film, “Federal law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute or exhibit portions of copyrighted motion pictures, video tapes or video discs under certain circumstances without authorization of the copyright holder. This infringement of copyright is called ‘fair use’ and is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching and parody.”

Oh, what joy technology hath wrought. We suppose that it was only a matter of time before someone decided that Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” would be such a nice stylistic match for Gilbert & Sullivan’s oft-performed “The Pirates Of Penzance.” That someone was Mike Hightower, a Chicago Renaissance guy with a penchant for parody. He took the goofy 1990’s pop staple and recorded it in the style of Sirs Gilbert & Sullivan, and cleverly edited it with footage from the 1983 film version starring Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. The visual element makes it funnier than Jonathan Coulton’s snarky riff on the song, and the cutting is almost as perfect as Todd Washburn’s videos made from songs from the brilliant Star Wars: The Musical. Watch Hightower’s video here. –Robert Newton

HARRY POTTER AND THE DARK LORD WALDEMART [NR]
There is nothing wrong with a few getting a few laughs while getting more socially aware, like when watching this short Harry Potter spoof, courtesy of the folks at WalmartWatch.com. Not only is it a clever parody (that unlike MAD Magazine, does not change most of the names), but it also lays out the disparities between the comparatively benevolent Wal-Mart that Sam Walton founded and the company it has become since diverging from that path. And of course, in the tradition of Shakespeare, Uncle Miltie and Monty Python, Hermione is a guy in drag. The site goes further, paralleling Hermione’s efforts to liberate house elves through S.P.E.W. with the need for humane treatment of workers, comparing the oppressive Dolores Umbridge to Wal-Mart anti-union forces and dark “Lord Valdemort’s” disdain for those not of pure blood with Wal-Mart’s discrimination against women, minorities and the handicapped. Click on the above title or photo of “Harry” and “Hermione” to check it out for yourself. –Elizabeth Meyer