Don’t worry, be happy is definitely easier said than done sometimes. With the information overload that comes with Internet access, sometimes life can seem pretty grim. Alternatively, it’s easy for any kind of bad news in our daily lives to cast a shadow over the rest of our day, or even the week (you can already sense the Teen Angst, can’t you). But sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint why we can’t seem to get ourselves out of bed. So if food fails to be your go-to pick-me-up, we’ve compiled a few videos from the brighter side of the interwebs – from weird news stories to a look into why your Teen Angst is acting up again – to help you cope through some rough times.
Hang in there, kids.
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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – Salmon Cannon
I may or may not have watched every single video on Last Week Tonight’s official YouTube channel, but can you blame me? It’s hard not to adore John Oliver’s Brit-in-America humour and wit, while simultaneously learning a thing or two about important social issues currently happening in the world. But like all news outlets, there are a couple pretty depressing/bittersweet videos on the channel. Salmon Cannon, thankfully, is not one of them – instead it’s the complete opposite. And if you’re thinking, “oh, this must be some weird hidden message type of video,” you’d be surprised: it is, literally, a salmon cannon. Featuring some very special guests.
Ze Frank – Teen Brain
If you’re young and moody, your parents/teachers/peers have probably blamed it on your hormone-inbalanced teenage brain…and they wouldn’t be wrong. But sometimes tackling the science doesn’t really help the situation. It’s easy to sit back and say, “it is what it is,” but we occasionally still end up festering in our own self-hate, regardless. That’s where Teen Brain comes in: Ze Frank and Rainn Wilson (a.k.a. Dwight of The Office) help impart insight into where all that angst is coming from, and why being an emotional teenager might not be such a bad thing. They even detail a couple hilarious anecdotes of their own, and while we hate to admit it, sometimes things are a lot more comforting when they’re being told to us by an adult.
Chip Kidd’s TED Talk – The Hilarious Art of Book Design
We’re going on an unapologetically nerdy tangent here. If you’re someone who prefers being pre-occupied with the world of art and/or culture when you’re down, this video will definitely help. Book designer Chip Kidd has designed some of the most famous covers of the world, from the silhouetted skeleton of Jurassic Park to even a couple Batman books, and he’s a brilliant, hilarious speaker. It’s easy for us to think of TED Talks as being persistently sombre from time to time, but Kidd throws that out of the window and delivers a talk that’s as engaging as it is informative.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – Midnight Confessions: God Edition
The thing that I love about Stephen Colbert is that he wears his modern Catholic beliefs with pride, and still manages to make it fun. I mean, your show definitely has to be good when God drops in to say what’s up to New York, right? The video itself is pretty self-explanatory, but I just can’t get over how God loves pandering to the NY crowd, and yes, has his own confessional. Who’d have thought, hm? Man, late night show hosts get all the perks.
J.Y. Park ft. Conan O’Brien, Steven Yeun & Park Jimin – “Fire” MV
When Conan O’Brien announced that he would be in South Korea for a special episode of his late night show, thousands of fans rushed to the airport to greet him. Turns out, they’re as Team Coco as much as everyone else. But of course, no South Korea special would be complete without some K-Pop parody-type music videos, but everyone was surprised – and equally thrilled – when Conan teamed up with Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead and veteran singer/producer Park Jin Young (founder of JYP Entertainment, home of groups like the Wonder Girls and 2PM) for an original song that’s…surprisingly catchy. The resultant music video is part-hilarious, part-crazy and captures the candy-coated goodness of K-Pop perfectly. Rumour has it O’Brien and Yeun actually do sing in the chorus – see if you can hear them.
Featured Image: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – Salmon Cannon (YouTube)
