Technical Difficulties

Powerloafing is offline at the moment, obviously.  We're working hard to get back online, and you'll be the first to know when it's back up.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Be Cc'ing You

Our next episode cost three times as much as a normal episode, and it's also gonna be almost eight minutes long!






But, it's a sure to be a hit, since it's based on an obscure British spy show.






And, we're more of a hit in Britian anyway. They get us more than North Americans for some reason.






We hope everyone likes it, because, like we said, it cost a lot and it was a bunch of work. But, we had fun doing it. Look for it sometime in early '08.

Far out man

His slacker creation is keeping him busy

Business News

LA Times - SUNDAY PROFILE

'Powerloafing,' a Web sitcom, has given an Emmy-winning writer a chance to take his talent to another medium.
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 16, 2007

Mike Upchurch has elevated slacking to an art form.

The Emmy Award-winning writer is the creator of "Powerloafing," an online comedy about a world-class slacker, Cubicle Carl, whose adroit avoidance of work makes him a role model for aspiring office slugs.

"That's part of the definition of powerloafing," Upchurch said. "You're not just goofing off, you're getting away with it and you're convincing all the right people that you're a top worker."

Upchurch creates what he calls the world's smallest sitcom on what may be the world's smallest set -- his Los Feliz district apartment.

Everywhere are props for his comedic endeavor: Carl's cubicle, folded and stored on the porch; a singing fish modified to deliver dialogue via remote control; a mummified corpse in a shirt and tie. (more)

Back on the Net!

We redesigned our home page and relaunched our URL Powerloafing.com. We totally stole the classy black background from Superdeluxe. Our new home page has all the little gadgets you've come to expect, and a nifty new episode in the hopper. Our goal of helping you to goof off more efficiently just got easier for the both of us!

Dept of Doom!

Coming Soon to a Computer Near You

It's criminal how long it's been since we've posted. But, we've been busy working on new episodes, we swear, and submit photographic evidence here and here. One of the guest stars for our upcoming episode, "Dept of Doom," is the spitting image of a well known celebrity. Unfortunately, we're not sure who he is, because the guy just showed up in the back seat of our car and then forced us to do an episode.

1984 - Big Boss is Watching

Miniature sequence

In our upcoming episode, we simulated a vast cubicle maze with 24 miniature cubicles. Of course, we can't afford expensive computerized camera dollys, so we had to modify a Barbie Beach Cruiser toy to get the effect. Instead of costing thousands, it was about fifty bucks.

It took a freakin' week to get it right, and we had to build tracks, but 60 takes later we finally got it in the can. The sequence is pretty cool and by far the most complicated thing we've done. Stay tuned, it may be up on Superdeluxe soon, and you'll be the first to know.

Our new Studio...

...Is still a living room. But, it's a better living room than the one we used to shoot in. There are all kinds of improvements: new lighting, a better fake clock pole, and an overall roomier more ergonomic setting.

The snapshots are from our latest episode, 1984, which is rumored to be on Superdeluxe soon. It's got all kinds of special effects and greenscreen. Our half-finished rough edit had to be taken down because it leaked and got several hundred views in a few hours. If that's any indication, it could be viral.

stand by

Here's a still from our newest episode:

The deal is: we got picked up by Superdeluxe.com. They are the most totally awesome website on the web. They haven't launched Powerloafing yet, but they have great stuff over there to check out now. We'll have 10 brand new episodes rolling out over the coming months, and we have all sorts of cool stuff planned. Stay tuned for more news in the next couple weeks. Thanks to all our hard core fans who have sent support and threats during the last few months we've spent offline.

Announcing... something's gonna happen!

As you may have noticed, our main URL is blank, and we haven't updated this blog in eons. See, what happened is: Powerloafing got acquired by a media giant, and preparations are being made to bring Powerloafing to every cubicle. Sorry to be so vague, but we are contractually obligated not to blab. But, we can say it's gonna be BIG. Sometime in '07 you will be directed to the coolest URL on the planet. Get ready to go into overtime wasting the company's time.

Huh? Wha?

Office Guns

While we don't advocate violence in the workplace, (too much work), we do admire the technical achievement that Office Guns represents. Who knew you could create lethal projectile launchers with the junk in your desk?

Summer Break

We've taken a bit of a break because the apartment gets unbearably hot when we shoot in the summer. As soon as the lights go on the tempurture rises to over a hundred, and AC is too noisy and messes up the sound.

Thank you for all the emails demanding more episodes. We understand your frustration, and have provided the above twiddling thumbs to graphically represent it. But, there will soon be more powerloafing: we have 5 new episodes which begin rolling out in September, or maybe a little sooner, and several more on the drawing boards. We've also had some very positive discussions with actual brick and mortar businesses, who just might want to be in the Cubicle Carl business. When we officially sell out, you'll be the first to know.

Featured Powerloafer: Jon Greathouse

The highly infectious tune that begins each Powerloafing episode was composed and performed by our Musical Director, Jon Greathouse. Jon has composed music for network and cable TV shows and commercials, been a studio musician on 15 albums, and is also one of the great composers of low budget horror scores. (Jon coincidentally wrote the score for Dead 7, which happens to star the guy who plays the VP, Joe Myles, as a meth dealer who gets killed by a zombie.) Since coming to LA from Colorado in 1994, Jon has been hard at work in the music industry as a film composer, producer, studio musician and live performer. He also released a great CD of electronic music in 2000.

Happy Baby's Eyeballs Will Incinerate You!

Viva Cubicle Carlos!

None of us can speak a word of Spanish, but that didn't stop us from doing our newest episode, Powerloafing en Español to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We translated dialogue using a free online translator from Babelfish. Free auto-translators are notoriously unreliable, so the dialogue makes little sense, and our pronunciation is atrocious, but shouldn't we get some credit for at least trying? We hope this episode makes inroads in the vibrant and growing Spanish language internet.

We also hope nobody gets offended by our blatant stereotypical depictions. However we fully intend to offend millions of spaniards when we say that madadors are gay. Did you hear us? Let our friend Babelfish translate it: matador es homosexual!

VARBusiness!

Leading business publication VARBusiness has lauded Powerloafing in a recent column by Editor Lawrence M. Walsh. We applaud Mr. Walsh for having the forsight to pick a future industry leader in loafing technology. And, if there are any venture capitalists out there putting smart money in web entertainment, we are available for meetings. Just take a look at the picture of Carl to see the kind of money that can be made. KA-Ching!

Great Idea! Bad Execution...

According to KCCI in Des moines, a couple in Iowa managed to get out of work by orchestrating a really clever plan: pretending their son was on life support. When they asked for a leave of absence to deal with their son's death, their employer (Tyson Foods) asked for proof, so they posted a fake obituary in the local paper announcing the death. Unfortunatly, their son was spotted by family friends feeding his healthy and completely alive face at a local restaurant, and the cops were called. Now they face possible jail and fines, and it's really going to be hard for them to successfully lie their way out of work for quite some time.

We applaud such intricate, underhanded, and innovative ways to get out of work, but urge caution: this method should only be used in large cities.

Featured Powerloafers - Part I

We begin our series featuring wonderful performers who donate their time to Powerloafing so you can effectively waste yours with the four regular cast members:
Paul Greenberg: Paul is a busy TV writer and performer when he's not playing the biggest loafer in the world. He wrote and produced the TV sketch comedy Vacant Lot, has voiced a million cartoon characters, inluding for the shows Jimmy Neurton and Invader ZIM. He's also been an actor in Reno 911, and Curb Your Enthusiasm and written for Jackass, The Jenny McCarthy Show, and the MTV Movie Awards. He's also acted in films like Tommy Boy, and he stole the movie As Good As it Gets from Jack Nicholson.

Ron Lynch: Ron, who plays Carl's boss, is a prolific actor, writer, and voice artist. He voiced the principal on Adult Swim's Home Movies, and is a city council member on Tom Goes to the Mayor. He's also a favorite live stage director and performer, with the popular Idiots, and Tomorrow Show both currently enjoying long runs on the LA stage.

Joe Myles: Joe, who plays the VP, is an accomplished actor and film producer. Look for him as a racist cop in the upcoming Wassup Rockers, by noted indie director Larry Clark, and as a DA in the new USA Network legal drama Guilty or Innocent. Before acting in respected film and television roles, Joe had a long career in low-budget horror films as the guy who got killed in the first reel by hot female vampires, and he also got his ass kicked as a coke dealer by Scott Baio in the movie Detonator, (an ass kicking he actually choreographed beforehand.)

Mike Upchurch: Mike, who plays the dumb guy in the cubicle next to Carl, is an Emmy award winning television writer. Mike has written for HBO's Mr. Show, and the Chris Rock Show, as well as Mad TV, and the George Lopez Show. Mike initially sold Powerloafing to Pop.com, a high-profile failed attempt by Hollywood to take over new media. When Pop imploded, Mike maxed a credit card to buy the project back. Powerloafing now continues on from Mike's small apartment in North Hollywood, and is produced by the four valiant folks featured in this post.

Loafing Cheat Sheet

iVillage.co.uk put together a nifty beginners cheat sheet on loafing. Although the fake screen saver made to look like a downloading icon is cutting edge, the rest will be familiar to any competent loafer. To make it easier for our user base, we've summarized the cheat sheet ourselves, making avoiding work even easier:

-Keep a messy desk, as though you've been working like a dog, and sigh a lot.
-Always have an important looking excel spreadsheet open on your desktop. Furrow brow, and stroke chin thoughtfully.
-Find a screen saver that looks like you're downloading. If anyone asks why you aren't doing anything just point to your screen and say "I'm waiting for such and such to download..."
-Have a jacket on the back of your chair at all times. That way if you're somewhere you shouldn't be it looks like you haven't left your desk for long.
-If you have to leave your desk to flirt with the secretary, carry a file. It makes you look like you're on your way to do something important.
-Stick a pencil behind your ear - always works for builders.

Inventor of the Cubicle has second thoughts

According to this Fortune article, the guy who invented the modern cubicle, Robert Probst, says he has regrets about it becoming such a prevalent workspace. We think he's being hard on himself. It's better than the walls of a coal mine, or someone else's hairy arms, as pictured above. Carl has put in a request for a window and a wet bar in his cubicle, though.

Powerloafing set also a kitchen

This is a view from behind the guest slot outside Carl's cubicle. You'll notice that behind the fourth wall is a kitchen, so saying we shoot in a livingroom is only partially right. A cupboard had to be ripped off the wall and moved to the balcony to make room for one of our cameras. The edge of the cubicle is secured to the kitchen counter, which has a light taped to it. Since we shoot both sides at once we have to get creative with light placement. This is, by the way, a behind-the-scenes shot from "the Insecurity Officer" an upcoming episode guest starring Tom Sharpe as a intense security guard, who's seen here getting ready to interrogate Carl for downloading music.

New Episode

Mr. President Goes Powerloafing is up on the mainpage. You won't believe who shows up.

How 2 Make a Fake Flash Camera

This fake flash camera works for comedy sketches or video projects where a big important looking flashing camera is needed cheaply. It actually works, in that it flashes, however, it doesn't actually take photos.

It's about 25 bucks in materials if you make a few, but since it's made out of macaroni and tea boxes some of the cost was recovered in pasta and tea.




We constructed four fake cameras for the new Powerloafing episode entitled "Mr. President Goes Powerloafing." We'll have it up soon. Sorry so quiet lately, but we're pushing so hard on this episode there's no time for the blog. We hope you'll find it worth the wait, and can build these fake flash cameras in the meantime.

Spike!

As you can see from this screen grab of our stats, we've had a rather dramatic increase in our traffic lately. The sky scraper on the right is the first half of February, which makes our "spike" in August look like a pimple. Until recently just a few comedy nerds were aware of Powerloafing, but in the last couple months we've reached tens of thousands of people. We're all tremendously excited, and we've rushed a super-gimmicky episode into production that will hopefully make this current spike look like a pimple, and allow us to sell out and cash in BIG time.