I wrote this Eggo commercial sequel

My creative partner George Longley and I created the musical Eggo commercial that launched in April 2012. (Check it out here.) At the time, we also created a second spot with a different song. At long last, the toaster has popped, so to speak, and the second spot is on the air! Feast your eyes and ears on it below:

I asked Seth Rogen if we could have been friends

My above question for Seth Rogen appeared on CNN.com just over a year ago, as part of a series of questions from iReporters for Seth Rogen and his writing partner, Will Reiser, who were promoting their movie 50/50. The question I submitted was officially "vetted" by CNN, and then it was featured on the page advertising the upcoming interview. And in the Q&A session, my question was given the cool position of being the very last question. But I only just now finally screen-recorded the interview and edited it down to my part to put on YouTube. So for those of you who missed it back then, here's the story: In September 2011, I started posting a few videos on the CNN iReports site. Producers from the site contacted me and said they thought my stuff was really funny and they asked me to submit questions for their celebrity interviews. When I saw that Seth Rogen was going to be one of those celebs, I saw my chance at redemption. Because a year earlier, I'd been house-sitting for my friend Jenn on a tiny street where Director Sarah Polley was shooting her movie Take This Waltz with Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams (and Sarah Silverman, who wasn't in the scenes on the street). All month I thought about walking over to say hi to Seth. I even talked to a tech guy who had cords on my lawn and who said that for the inconvenience of the shoot I could likely get a meet and greet with the Director and actors. But I never got the guts to do anything. Then, one day, while I was standing in the doorway of the basement apartment, drinking aloe juice, Seth Rogen walked by. He said "Hey."I wanted to reply: "Hey, how's it going? How's your Green Hornet movie going? I'm a comedian and Jewish and Canadian, like you. Do you want to hang out? Maybe we could make some comedy together." But instead I said: "Hey." And that was that. Then I proceeded to beat my head against a wall for a year, bemoaning the fact that I'd blown my once-in-a-lifetime chance to ever be living on a tiny, secluded street with a big Hollywood comedian who had nothing else to do between takes other than to hang out with me. I tried to come up with ideas like making a song for him, but he was infamously not on Twitter, or Facebook, or anything. I toyed with the idea of making a song for Sarah Silverman, so that I could become her friend, and then maybe I could get in with Seth through her. But I never did that either. Instead, I stewed. And in the end, well, I turned the lemons of the situation into the lemonade of this video. Now, instead of me having blown a possible friendship with Seth Rogen, I've made a video so that millions of people can see that I blew a possible friendship with Seth Rogen. Hmm... Ok, let's pretend that's a better situation. Otherwise I'm going to start crying again.

If you want to see the questions from the other iReporters, the full video is here: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2011/09/26/ireport-seth-rogen-will-reiser.cnn

I challenged politicians to work together to fight global warming

On September 20, 2012, the Toronto chapter of 350.org held an event to talk about global warming. Afterwards, a panel talked about the importance of people being more green, government being more green and of people demanding eco policies from government. The last person to ask a question, I challenged the panel with my observation that a majority of Canadian voters vote for a party that cares about the environment, and so we must work together rather than let egos and in-fighting allow the destruction of the environment.

From left to right in the video, the panel was:
1) Tim Grant - Chair of the Harbord Village Residents' Association, and co-creator of the Green Teacher Magazine
2) Peter Tabuns - Member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for Toronto-Danforth (NDP)

3) Matthew J. Hoffmann - Associate Professor of Political Science at U of T

Here are details about the event, from the Facebook event page:

Riverside Public House, 725 Queen St. E., Toronto, ON, M4M 2H5
350.org Toronto presents:

A tongue-in-cheek tribute to Minister of the Environment Peter Kent – we will be screening the 30 minute, 1984 documentary “The Greenhouse Effect and Planet Earth” (written, hosted, and narrated by Kent) which explains the science behind climate change and states in no uncertain terms that “the greenhouse effect must be considered as the world’s greatest environmental concern.”

Since making the move from journalism to politics, Kent has abandoned any semblance of environmentalism: in December 2011 he formally withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol, he used the 2012 Omnibus Budget Bill C-38 to eliminate funding for energy efficiency programs and drastically limit environmental assessments for industrial projects, and he has supported tar sands development at every turn, pushing to maintain the $1.4 billion in subsidies the Canadian government gives to fossil fuel corporations annually.

The film will be followed by three speakers, Matthew J. Hoffmann, Associate Professor of Political Science at UofT, Peter Tabuns, member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for Toronto-Danforth (NDP), and Tim Grant - chair of the Harbord Village Residents' Association, and co-creator of the Green Teacher Magazine. They will comment on the current state of the climate and what we, as concerned citizens, can do about it, as well as fielding questions.

After that you will have a chance to meet the Toronto 350 team while enjoying the musical stylings of Juan Pablo Bermudez Rey.

Questions? Post here or email toronto350@gmail.com

High-res poster available here: https://www.sindark.com/350/kentposter.png

Like us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Toronto350.org
Follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/Toronto350
Join our 350.org Local page: http://local.350.org/350-toronto/

Matthew J. Hoffmann: https://matthewhoffmann.wordpress.com/
Peter Tabuns: http://petertabuns.ca/
Tim Grant: https://www.facebook.com/tim.grant.77985
Music: http://individual.utoronto.ca/juanpa/

I was a speed dater on Love Hunters

This show aired May 10, 2012  and I've already blogged about it, but I've just now finally screen recorded the episode from the Slice website and have edited together the brief moments where I was shown in the beginning and end of the episode. So, for those of you who missed it on air, you can now see me in all my humiliation glory. Here's what to watch for in the video:

00:19 I awkwardly introduce myself.
00:46 I awkwardly reveal that I've had dates end very quickly.
01:14 Her notes summarize me as "comedy, sarcastic, Evan Handler" (FYI: Evan Handler is the bald guy from Sex And The City, whom I'm often told I look like)
01:30 Back of my bald head.
01:35 Reprise of me apologizing for not making any sense. But at least she laughed!




Below I'll paste in the synopsis from this link:
http://www.slice.ca/Shows/ShowsPage.aspx?Root_Title_ID=279730

Synopsis
Love Hunter Jodi is an outspoken thirty-something, who is best described as a work-focused go-getter. She even admits to treating potential partners like candidates interviewing for a job. Can you blame her? Between her bustling career, her family and her charity work - Jodi has little time to devote to finding the man of her dreams. Her likes: a confident, self-assured family man with a keen sense of humour. Her dislikes: someone who’s lazy. Our prescription: we temporarily take Jodi off the career track and put her on to the dating fast track. With no time to waste, over the course of seven days, Jodi will go speed dating, be set up by a professional matchmaker and then by someone closer to home… all in the hopes of finding her Mr Right. With three guys to choose from, the question is: who will progress to a second interview… er date?

Here's the IMDB page for the episode, which I have proudly submitted my name to:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404713/

And if my video has whet your appetite to see Jodi's other dates, you can watch the full episode here:
http://www.slice.ca/Slice/Watch/Default.aspx?ID=v&releasePID=iuwuWSQ05vo_yQTJco8i6NvOSr0NEBfu

I acted in this Rent-A-Center radio ad

My voice can currently be heard in the U.S. in a Rent-A-Center radio ad that I acted in, called "Whirlpool Washer Interest." I got the part through my L.A. agent and was patched into the ad agency in Dallas to record it on September 9, 2012. I'm playing the bitchy credit card accounts phone rep. It really is a stretch for me to play a rude, disinterested person. But that's how amazing an actor I am. Click here to listen: