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kottke.org posts about parody

Boston Dynamics tests new swearing robot

In addition to robots that run fast, can’t be knocked over, launch themselves 30 feet into the air, and climb up walls, Boston Dynamics also makes robots who move like people. Now, imagine if that robot swore like a longshoreman while going about its duties. This made me laugh super hard. (via @nickkokonas)


Pub fare gets the fancy food TV treatment

From CBC Radio show This Is That, which previously did a bit on Artisanal Firewood, comes a spoof on fancy shows about chefs like Chef’s Table called Cooks.

What do I want people to think of my food? Well, that it’s fast, it’s cheap, it’s a little salty, and most importantly, that it was cooked all the way through.

Nailed it.


Drive 2: The Uber Years

In Drive 2, Ryan Gosling trades his robbery getaway driving gig for driving for Uber.


If Doctor Who were American…

Back in February, Smug Mode chose American counterparts for all of Doctor Who’s past incarnations. We’re talking Dick Van Dyke as the 2nd Doctor, Gene Wilder for the 4th Doctor, and Donald Glover as the 11th Doctor. Here’s a nicely done faux 50th anniversary video celebrating those Doctors:

(via @moth)


Lego version of Felix Baumgartner’s record jump

This has got to be some sort of record for quickest Lego parody of an event: watch as a Lego man jumps from a balloon hanging high in the air, just like Felix.

(via ★thoughtbrain)


Sad Kermit

A sad Kermit the Frog sings Elliot Smith’s Needle in the Hay (complete with The Royal Tenenbaums parody), NIN’s Hurt, and Radiohead’s Creep (in which Kermit says “fucking”). (via buzzfeed)


Grand Theft Auto, circa 1985

Commercial for the little-known version of Grand Theft Auto for the circa-1985 NES. The Tanooki Suit is the best part. (via house next door)


Commercial parodies

A list of the 50 greatest commercial parodies of all time, with video evidence.


Eames’ Powers of Ten + iPhone = God?


“One day, your computer will be a

“One day, your computer will be a big ass table.” Parody of Microsoft Surface, a $10,000 touchscreen coffee table. (via everyone I know)


In the Year 2030, the Young Hotshot at

In the Year 2030, the Young Hotshot at My Office Tries to Walk Me Through “Centaur,” Apple’s New Mind-Orb-Based Operating System. “Well, go ahead and materialize the topaz orb first. That should launch your facefield preferences.”


Remember the guys humping the ottoman video

Remember the guys humping the ottoman video from Friday? There’s a sequel of sorts: how to blog. (via dens)


Mike Monteiro mocks up a cover for

Mike Monteiro mocks up a cover for Post & Permalink, my suggested fake blogging magazine from last night’s post about the should-be-fake Blogger & Podcaster.


Music video for Rock Me Amadeus by

Music video for Rock Me Amadeus by Falco. Not to be confused with the Dr. Zaius song from The Simpsons.


Ikea instructions for making Dick in the Box

Last Saturday, Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg collaborated on a music video for a new holiday gift idea: Dick in the Box. If you haven’t seen the video yet, go now and then come back…it’s pretty funny and you won’t understand the rest of this if you haven’t seen it. So go!

You back? So, my favorite part of the song is the instructions and yesterday while we were alternating between watching the video like 50 times and assembling some IKEA furniture for the office, I had the obvious idea. Ikea instructions for making Dick in a Box:

Ikea Dick In The Box Cover

Ikea Dick In The Box, Step 1

Ikea Dick In The Box, Step 2

Ikea Dick In The Box, Step 3

More Dick in a Box: Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead version, Line Rider version, some guy dancing in his living room with a box fastened to his crotch with a belt version, and a this is either brilliant or completely stupid (DURRR! DURRR!) video response.


Cover story on Scientific Republican magazine: “The

Cover story on Scientific Republican magazine: “The Stork, A New Look at an Intriguing Old Reproductive Theory”.


Professor Richard Dawkins Speaks at Fair Hills

Professor Richard Dawkins Speaks at Fair Hills Kindergarten Regarding Santa Claus. “If you are the sort of person who is interested in the truth, perhaps you would consider asking yourself this question: how exactly does a single elderly man not only manufacture but also deliver in a single evening what would, by all forms of logic, account to be millions of toys?”


What would happen if poets and playwrights

What would happen if poets and playwrights wrote works whose titles were anagrams of their names? Here’s one by Basho called Has B.O: “Swamp mist, eyes water- / Why is that monk still wearing / Winter robes in June?”


The Onion does a weekly Sunday magazine

The Onion does a weekly Sunday magazine cover that parodies the likes of the New York Times Magazine and Parade.


Female Tech has combined her love of

Female Tech has combined her love of technology and an artistic sensibility to create photos of herself posing with various gadgets: a stratgically placed PSP, Sega Genesis cuddle, and GameCube piggyback. Reminds me somewhat of a certain Palm parody from back in the day. NSFW.


Great Coke ad parody of Grand Theft Auto

Great Coke ad parody of Grand Theft Auto. (via df)


Andy got a cease and desist from

Andy got a cease and desist from Bill Cosby’s legal team for hosting the satirical House of Cosbys videos, and he’s going to fight it. “More than anything, this strikes me as a special kind of discrimination against amateur creators on the Internet. Mad Magazine, Saturday Night Live, South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and countless other mainstream media sources have parodied Bill Cosby over the years.”


Movie trailer mash-up: Toy Story 2 + Requiem for a Dream.

Movie trailer mash-up: Toy Story 2 + Requiem for a Dream.


In the spirit of the reimagined trailer

In the spirit of the reimagined trailer for The Shining, here’s Brokeback Top Gun and Sleepless in Seattle.


Interview with “incompetent design” theorist Don Wise. “

Interview with “incompetent design” theorist Don Wise. “The only reason you stand erect is because of this incredible sharp bend at the base of your spine, which is either evolution’s way of modifying something or else it’s just a design that would flunk a first-year engineering student.”


Who doesn’t love advertising CMYK jokes? “A

Who doesn’t love advertising CMYK jokes? “A Clockwork C:0 M:60 Y:90 K:0”


43 songs about the blogosphere (full-size). There’s “Checking

43 songs about the blogosphere (full-size). There’s “Checking My Stats On An Hourly Basis”, “I’M THIRTEEN AND EVERYTHING SUCKS”, “You’ve Never Heard Of This Band I Love”, and sentimental favorite “Don’t Read Kottke (But I Steal His Links)”.


What would Gawker look like if it

What would Gawker look like if it got bought by the NY Times? (via waxy and panop)


Andrew Hearst dreams up some magazines covers

Andrew Hearst dreams up some magazines covers done in the style of George Lois, who created several memorable covers for Esquire magazine in the 60s and 70s.


Explaining what a scientist is using Goofus

Explaining what a scientist is using Goofus and Gallant as an example. Goofus and Gallant have also been pressed into service to explain 21st century etiquette, politics, and journalism.