Just found out that our surreal musical web TV show and web comic Odd Noggin Land won 2009 Best of NH: Web Series. Congrats to the cast and crew! A new episode should be up next week. In the meantime, ketchup with old episodes!

Think you’re trapped in a fantasy world? Thomas doesn’t think. He knows.

In 1979, Thomas in Wonkyland was the most popular children’s television show in America. Young Thomas and a cast of colorful puppets solved life issues by sharing, caring, and being true to themselves. After years of wholesome fun, the television screens went dim, the viewers grew older, and the world moved on.

Now the cast is back, and a lot of things have changed.

Decades later, Thomas is still trapped in Wonkyland, the same puppet world he enjoyed as a boy. Yearning to see the world beyond imagination, Thomas is a dysfunctional man-boy forced to grow up in a child’s dreamland. Discover what has changed now that Thomas and his magical friends must face the trials and tribulations of adult life.

Coming soon to the web!

This is a still from the first ever live web video broadcast of Stranger Than Fiction improv comedy. Suggestions for scenes were taken exclusively through live audience interaction in a chat room. My experiment was a big success. We used Mogulus to produce the show. We are pretty sure this is the first time the web has been used in this way by improv comedians. Everyone in the cast was excited by the positive response. The audience demanded we do it again soon!

The Center for the Book at the NH State Library awarded “The Future” for best capturing the essence of the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I directed the movie with improv comedians Stranger Than Fiction for the 451 Degree Filmmaker Challenge hosted by the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival.

UPDATE: Steve Garfield featured “The Future” in his latest episode of Vlog Soup. Steve’s take on the future is a must see!

And here is a response video from the vlogfather Steve Garfield!

The energy conservation reality TV pilot I am hosting will begin streaming online at The Energy Smackdown site and on Myspace. The Boston Herald printed an article entitled Cameras roll as Medford residents strive to conserve ‘Energy’ today covering the documentary series.

It’s citizen journalism at its best – though learning how to vlog still takes a little know-how. That part’s been left to Exeter and Epping High School teacher and new-media guru John Herman.
“The first stage was teaching residents – young and old . . . some very, very old – how to shoot video and upload it to the Internet,” said Herman, who’s volunteering his services to NPR. “The philosophy is that if New Hampshire is to retain the first-in-the-nation primary, then the residents need to earn it. But it is really paving the way for future elections and how people will communicate their opinions.”

The challenge is to make a video that explains why we deserve to have a new home theater. I haven’t owned a TV in years, so a home theater seems amazing. The contest is called The Makeshifters, and the results are announced shortly after we will have moved into our new home. It would be amazing if we won, but I can’t win without your help. Support us by watching our video (CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH OUR MOVIE). Vote by clicking on a number on the voting dial. You can upload your own video and compete before July 20th, but if your video is better than our video… then we must battle!

From New Hampshire Public Radio hosts presidential forum in Exeter

“It’s really neat to see that people, community members, will actually get to voice their opinions about a presidential primary in a whole new way. Four years ago no one had this opportunity and four years from now, every state will be doing this,” (John) Herman said. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing, from a historical perspective in technology. It’s not exactly Alexander Graham Bell using the phone, but it’s a milestone seeing people use technology that can affect real things.”

From a Letter to the Editor from Jon Greenberg:

Exeter resident John Herman deserves special thanks for single-handedly coordinating the video portion of the program.