Greg Veis, YouTube Hunter Is On His Knees; Not Unhappy About It
by Greg - April 3, 2007 - 1:47 PM

I won’t try to pretend otherwise: this post is partly intended to tip you off to one of the funniest dudes on the web, but mostly it’s a way for me to publicly kiss up and grovel. (See how I already kissed up? “One of the funniest dudes on the web.” That’s The Art of War in action, baby.) Anyway, the dude’s name is Merlin Mann, and driven desperate, as most of us are, by etiquette-less public cell phone users, he created a character called “That Phone Guy.” (I’ve pasted some clips below, but for the full baloney go here). Pretty hilarious stuff—guy talks at uncouth decibels about inane things on street corners and in airplane terminals, except he’s not talking into a phone, but a wallet.

Here’s the thing: enterprising YouTube Hunter I am, I tried to interview Mr. Mann for the column. But Mr. Mann, turns out, doesn’t do interviews for That Phone Guy. Instead, you can ask him one question, and if he likes it and has the time, he will respond, as That Phone Guy, in a 30-second video. So, panda bears, watch the videos below, and then write in with a question you’d like That Phone Guy to answer. I’ll pick the best one and send it on to him. Hopefully he’ll knock a video out, and I’ll post it. It’ll be ours. If that happens, I might even be able to send you some Mental Floss schwag. But probably not, since I haven’t asked anybody at HQ about it.

And Mr. Mann, if you’re reading, let me take this opportunity to tell you how very handsome you are and that you are my better in most things.

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Comments (8)

  1. Okay.

    I love mental_floss magazine. I love the more-trivial-than-thou writing style. I’ve bought the mental_floss books and game. I visit the website for trivia and quizzes daily. I enjoy sharing articles and tidbits with friends and family.

    Obscenities in the blog or in content referenced by the blog, I don’t love. I can’t forward that to my wife or read it to my son.

    Am I going to have to limit myself to the printed, and therefore more carefully vetted, media?

    posted by Bryan on 4-3-2007 at 2:55 pm

  2. I’m totally down with the obscenities, as anyone who knows me can confirm. I’m just tired of Greg Veis, YouTube Hunter calling me an F-ing panda bear every week.

    posted by DDW on 4-3-2007 at 3:45 pm

  3. Shades of Kenny Tarmac, that guy who talks too loud on the cell phone on the plane immediately after landing, who frequently calls in to the Bob & Tom radio show. And we ALL know Kenny Tarmac.

    posted by Kelley O on 4-3-2007 at 4:44 pm

  4. You know, I really didn’t find them all that funny. Maybe I just don’t see it, but maybe not. Although I do like the fact that he uses a wallet rather than a phone.

    posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 4-3-2007 at 6:58 pm

  5. I’m with Geek. I expect better from my YTH.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 4-3-2007 at 9:18 pm

  6. Some humble suggestions:

    1) Add a warning disclaimer before your clips, similar to what Ransom did for mental_floss archive #4721.

    2) Add the (more…) link back to your posts after one or two embedded clips. Five embedded clips on the main page pushes other content further down the page. If the reader feels up to persuing your post further, they can click it then.

    Not that I have anything against clips with questionable content, but I’d appreciate knowing before I click on it so I can check my immediate surroundings for more sensitive types…

    posted by Jason! on 4-4-2007 at 10:49 am

  7. Let me add my voice body of those concerned about the obscene.

    I expressed similar concerns after a YouTube-Hunter Borat posting some time ago. It appears to still be an issue.

    All we need is a warning; then those who wish to avoid such content may. We are not asking for censorship, just courtesy.

    posted by n2y2 on 4-4-2007 at 12:25 pm

  8. Greg, you crazy You Tube Hunter, where are you this week? I look forward to your words of wisdom, sarcasm, and general sass! Your column is the only thing I look forward to on Tuesday!
    A sad Panda Bear…

    posted by Goldie S. on 4-11-2007 at 2:18 pm

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