Happy Almost New Year! We have some seriously amazing uploads this week, thanks to all the great participants in Chicago SketchFest. We’ll be announcing our favorites on January 9th and 16th at Sketchubator, but here’s a selection of some that caught our attention so far!

Matt pointed out today that the blog had sort of become the Matt Enlow and Max Silvestri blog. What can I say, I’ve been on vacation.

Great, that’s plenty of chit chat. It’s almost the year 2010! And between mouthfuls of roasted reindeer, we’re hard at work here making sure you have plenty of funny stuff to watch next year while you’re shamefully avoiding doing work. But before then, as Matt blogged earlier, get ready for Sketch Of The Dead, starring Paul F. Tompkins and Mad Men’s Rich Sommer and directed by the hilarious Mike Rotman. It drops tomorrow, December 30th! is live and awesome and embed right after the jump…

Some of you may remember earlier, when I reported that we shot a short with Mr. Show’s Paul F. Tompkins and Rich Sommer from Mad Men. Well, it comes out later next week (on the 30^th, save the date!), and let me tell you, sir, it is magnificent. In honor of Sketch of the Dead’s impending release, here are a few more pictures from the fateful day of production. Years from now, we’ll look back on these photos (in some deeply guarded archive, no doubt) and marvel at the humble beginnings of the short that would alter the world as we know it forever (Editor’s note: It probably wont).

There are lots of things in the world that Max Silvestri does not understand. Or maybe he just doesn’t pay attention. Each week in this column, Max tries to figure a new mystery out by reading the work of the greatest democracy on Earth, Internet commenters.

I thought Senators were really lazy. Isn’t that a thing? I am almost sure it is. They work ten weeks a year and spend the rest of the time drinking expensive Scotch bought for them by lobbyists and getting their aides to “handle” mistresses. It is very similar to what goes in the House, except in the House everyone is gay but is constantly telling people not to be gay. Am I totally off on Congress? Maybe. Either way, it is very surprising that the Senate got its act together enough to meet on Christmas Eve to cast the final vote on healthcare reform.

Every week, we give away $500 and airtime on our Comedy Central show Atom TV in the the Atom Showdown. Our tireless development team sifts through all of your uploads (literally yours) that come in to Atom and then we pit the two best videos against each other and make them fight it out for our approval and our cash (check out the showdown upload rules for all the life affirming fine print).

Every week I troll the uploads to Atom, looking for the best Videos You Uploaded This Week And Also That We Like! It’s an all holiday VYUTWAATWL so hold onto your yule logs!

Some of you may remember one of our best videos of 2009, Old People News starred a kindly (and perhaps familiar) Cronkite-esque newscaster. Director Kevin Maher reached out to us to let us know  a bit more about the actor, Arthur Andersen, who is far more than just a befuddled news caster. As it turns out, Arthur had an illustrious career on stage and radio, and he loosely inspired Zac Efron’s character in the recent film Me and Orson Welles. I had the chance to talk to Arthur about his time on stage and his relationship with Orson Welles…

Every week, we give away $500 and airtime on our Comedy Central show Atom TV in the the Atom Showdown. Our tireless development team sifts through all of your uploads (literally yours) that come in to Atom and then we pit the two best videos against each other and make them fight it out for our approval and our cash (check out the showdown upload rules for all the life affirming fine print).

Matt: have you seen the comments this week?
Andrew: haha, not yet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year everyone; Streamy season, the most prestigious web-show-awards-ceremony around. It’s sort of like the Oscars for web-series. There are all the categories you’d expect: Best Comedy series, Best Actor… you get the idea.

Unlike other hoity-toity awards shows, anyone can nominate their favorite web show for free. There’s no need to be in any Academy or Association of Press, so what are you waiting for?

Seriously though, nominating your favorite shows (on Atom or otherwise) is a great way to help them gain exposure. The more exposure those shows get, the more successful they’ll become, and the more likely their creators will be compelled (and able) to make more of episodes.  For starters, you should take a look at our top 10 videos of 2009.

The Legend of Neil guys have even whipped up this helpful ballot, enumerating every possible category they’re eligible for (way to take the moblin by the horns).

Also, wouldn’t it be hilarious if some web-celeb was forced to utter, “and the winner is… Hot Sluts”?  In some sense Hot Sluts always win.

Comedy’s Paul F. Tompkins and Serious, Period AMC Drama’s Rich Sommer sacrificed their Wednesday (and their top layer of face skin) to shoot the soon to be released Zombie-Com, Sketch of the Dead for all you Atom-heads. I was on set to bring them waters, lift heavy things and throw blood at the walls. Director Mike Rotman has been burning the midnight oil to get the short into your hot little hands. In the meantime, you’ll have to be satiated with this on-set photo.

Look forward to Sketch of the Dead to be released later this year!