The Lex Files

Lex, Dr. Fitness, and the Fat Guy

I was interviewed on yesterday’s episode of Dr. Fitness and the Fat Guy, an Atlanta-based radio show.

If you have a lot of time, and a bit of patience, you can check it out on iTunes. I appear a little more than 12 minutes in, and am on for about 20 minutes. The interview was fun.

The hardest part was that some of the questions required long answers. As they were asking, I tried to think of the simplest way to give some of the answers, but knew that they’d be wordy nonetheless. Next time, I’d work even harder of the Cliff Noting.

That is one handsome devil…

… in this Internet interview.

What do you do when your show is cancelled?

I originally was going to post the following entry on the Official Cracked Blog, but we decided not to:

Until recently, I hosted Cracked.com’s world-famous* Week in Douchebaggery. A few days before last Friday’s show, I was unceremoniously fired.

Okay, that’s a lie. There was a big “We’re Firing Lex” party. My firing was extremely ceremonious. Swaim was there to offer me some moral support: “I told ya you should have had a few more websites as characters in your video,” he said. “Those always work.” I left him to polish his gold-plated musket.

For a while, there was talk of having Cracked editor Jack O’Brien take over the show. His charm and dapper good looks give him at least two advantages over me, and the thought was that if we didn’t have any good jokes for him, he could just smile his suave, “I-ooze-sexuality” smile and still hit the homepage of Digg. Or at least Reddit. But Jack decided he’s too busy banging hot chicks who are just a little too short to be real models, but cute enough to sell Snorg tees. I can’t say I blame him. At least not on camera. Since I’ve been, you know, cancelled.

Gladstone was there, at the Firing Lex Ceremony. He tried not to mention that his recurrent “Hate by Numbers” video bit is still alive and kicking, and that it’s hit the homepage of Digg more than [abusive celebrity X] hit [victimized celebrity Y]. You know what, Gladstone? Your self-serving grin said it all. Get a goddamn first name. And a real green-screen while you’re at it. The Week in Douchebaggery might not have had an audience, or “good writing,” or “return on investment,” or “a point,” but we had a real goddamn green-screen.

So, what do I do now each week, instead of scouring the world’s press for douchebagginess in the news? Great question, self. I’m glad I asked me that.

The answer is, I compete in Internet-based contests. Specifically, I’m trying to be named a “Master of Song-Fu.” You can scroll down to the bottom and vote for me right here.

Sure, my entry into the contest may lack the talent, emotion, or singing ability that some of the competition offer. But it’s keeping me off the street, and that’s something. My good friend Swaim begged up and down Cracked.com for votes in that YouTube contest a month or two ago. Does anyone out there still have love for That Douchebag Guy? I’m not above begging.

It’s pretty much how I eat these days.

* Both my parents watched it, and my wife sometimes, too.

More on that Last-Ever Week in Douchebaggery

As I mentioned, last week’s Week in Douchebaggery was the show’s swan-song.

There’s been an outpouring (or at least, out-dripping) of grief here on the comments in my blog, on the comments on Cracked, and also on YouTube.

Because there’s been genuine concern expressed (in Internet terms anyway) (as in, “Hey, hope u don’t kill yerself LOL!!!11!”), I wanted to explain that no, I haven’t been fired from my day job. It’s just that the WiD was only one small component of my job, and for the time being I’m focusing elsewhere day-to-day. The show’s audience’s fervor was much stronger than its size, and the ROI on making the weekly show wasn’t too compelling at this point.

But you haven’t seen the last of me! Or my snark!

The Last Ever Week in Douchebaggery

Sad but true: Enjoy the last-ever episode of Cracked’s Week in Douchebaggery, hosted by me.

Lex on TV

And, of course, talking about douchebags:

Lex in the WSJ

They know talent when they see it.

The News on Cracked on Spitzer

When Spitzer made headlines, we made jokes. Enjoy! And Digg!

Huge.

I leave for LA early tomorrow morning.

I’m proud of today’s Cracked video, which was a huge hit. If you know websites, you’ll like it.

I didn’t have much to do with this one, other than a suggested joke or two, and a few suggested cuts. Good times:

The Internet Party

Wherein I Blog About Work

I am pleased with today’s newscast on Cracked.

I think the show is hitting a stride. We’re getting funnier in the average show, and the cutaways make for a more interesting watching experience. Not surprisingly, it’s a pretty sizable endeavor to script, film, and edit a daily video five days a week.

So, we’re cutting down to three days a week starting next week. The hope is that by having an extra day in between shows, we can have a little extra time to focus on making the shows that much funnier.