Mortified: Angst Written

Congratulations to Mortified participant Maurissa Tancharoen, who co-wrote the pretty damn awesome new web series, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Mortified fans may know Maurissa from our latest book, Mortified: Love Is a Battlefield. In Maurissa's entry, "Dissed," she shared a diary that revealed her ill-conceived attempt to go from studious Asian girl to sassy, hip hop homegirl.



Dr. Horrible has a pretty great pedigree-- Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day (who writes a fun series of her own). But the show's secret ingredient is actually its score by Jed Whedon.

Anyway, we think you'll get a huge kick out of the show. Hopefully, if its a hit, it will help to bring more attention to world of online series (like ours, for instance).

Labels: alumni, BFF Club

Mortified deals with a wide range of issues that teenagers face everyday. From the cute stuff (songs, exams, crushes, bad hair). To the dark stuff (bigotry, depression, addiction, divorce, violence). Even though our project is rooted in comedy, we love to use Mortified to explore the full spectrum of what kids go through. The good and the bad.

Not surprisingly, one topic that we hear a lot of kids write about is suicide. And today, there is a suicide attempt every 42 seconds. Luckily, there's a great nonprofit devoted to helping people of all ages get the privacy and care they need. But as this organization is no longer government funded, they need your help to continue. All we ask is that you watch this video. If it impacts you, perhaps you will visit Hopeline.com and donate funds to help 1-800-SUICIDE.



Special thanks to our friend Frank Warren, who runs the fascinating PostSecret project, and who first told us about the hotline. Hope you can help. If not, forward this to a friend.

Labels: BFF Club

Our friend Jason Bitner from Found Magazine has created a fantastic new project, Cassette from My Ex. The site is a collection of personal essays written about mixtapes that people received while in relationships that are now kaput. In addition to reading about the music, you can even hear it streamed on the site in all its historic glory.

How much does Mortified like it? We contributed to it.

Read this recent mixtape essay by Mortified creator Dave Nadelberg featuring a music that includes everyone from The Pixies to The Replacements to New Order to several bands you wish you could forget.

Many other captivating projects have emerged in recent years devoted to mixtapes, too. However, Cassette from My Ex is among our very faves in that pack, focusing more on stories about people than the the music. Worth checking out.

Labels: BFF Club, Pop Culture

One of our favorite projects to emerge in recent years is Sasha Cagen's To Do List project.

It is now a book. And we suggest you check it out.

In keeping with Mortified, Found, PostSecert, Passive Aggressive Notes, Overheard, This American Life, etc... Cagen's book celebrates the world of the overlooked and seemingly mundane, letting them serve as unique and captivating windows into who we are.

We think you will like it.

Labels: BFF Club

Big thanks to the one and only Judy Blume for making a Mortified milestone.

As many of you know, we've long listed Ms. Blume as the "official patron saint of Mortified". In part, this is because of the influential and progressive work she's done in the world of young adult lit. But it is also because her presence (references to her name or work) looms over many of the old journals, notebooks, and letters submitted by Mortified's contributors raised in the 70s, 80s and even 90s.

So naturally, it was huge thrill to discover the reverse-- that Judy Blume actually wrote about us in her journal. We can think of no more fitting or surreal honor. What began as a simple bit of fanmail many years ago... has grown into a pretty damn unique and surprising friendship. So reading her entry meant a lot.

And yes, we've been pretty much spazzing out like preteen girls in a Judy Blume novel ever since.

By the way, she has a new children's book out, and we highly suggest buying it for someone much shorter than you.

Labels: BFF Club, Press

Watch Mortified alum Mark Phinney premiere his pilot...

Fat Broke & Horny

New York TV Festival
Sat Sept 8th at 3:45pm
Free!
New World Stages - manattan, 340 w. 50th

You will laugh and stuff.

Labels: alumni, BFF Club

Remember a few years ago when Secret antiperspirant ripped off PostSecret.com with an ad campaign? No? Good. Hopefully the video below will continue to induce said amnesia.

Our friend Frank, who runs the always inspiring Post Secret project, just completed a new video that we think is pretty damn cool. Since Mortified and Post Secret are sorta in the same creative universes (or is that universi?), we figured you might get a kick out of it, too.

In addition to being cool, it's also a great example of the ways in which grassroots projects like ours are using technology in innovative ways to spread the good word. Which, to scrappy organizations like ours, is just as inspiring as the content itself. Enjoy.

Labels: BFF Club