Stanfield’s Presents “The Guy At Home In His Underwear” – How do you increase people’s awareness of testicular cancer? You let the good-spirited and easy going Mark, a testicular cancer survivor, spend 25 days straight wearing nothing but his undies, while the whole thing is documented live (camera, audio), 24/7, and everyone can watch.

The entire project is not only about increasing our awareness of testicular cancer; it’s about helping out: “If he [Mark} can get 25,000 followers, and last 25 days, Stanfield’s will donate $25,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society in support of testicular cancer awareness.” There are currently well over 35,000 followers and counting, which is great but not enough; Stanfield’s set a new goal – securing 50,000 followers will score even more $$ to the Society, $50,000 to be exact.

What are you waiting for? Hit the Like button and start watching Mark live. You should also check out the trailer video.

Gather – This site offers a totally different approach to staying up to date with what’s going on in the world and in our life. It is “the place where millions and millions of people come for fresh perspective on what’s happening now. Gather members can share their own views and join in conversation with others who share their interests.” Thanks to their broad network of talented freelance writers and dedicated members, Gather offers great content for over 15,000 (!) groups.

See this cool gardening group I found on Gather. I think I’ll join this group to get some much needed tips on how to keep my plants alive and well…

MONET – When a French gallery decided to think light years outside of the art box for its new exhibition, it came up with this original and divine website celebrating the legendary Monet, father of impressionism and painted water lilies.

As soon as you enter the site of Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, Paris, you will hear the soft piano tones that instill a calm atmosphere, making you feel as if you’re strolling in Monet’s famous garden on a lazy afternoon. Choose between exploring the painter’s work or learning about his life in the site’s amazing digital experience. I explored both. It was captivating.

By the way, if you will be in Paris before January 24, 2010, be sure to visit the Grand Palais to see Monet’s art masterpieces, up close and (almost) personal.

YouTube Instant – If you like losing control every now and then, or if you like to let someone else take the Wheel for you, YouTube Instant is for you. As you may know, Google  recently came out with the instant search feature. This sparked computer science student Feross Aboukhadijeh from Stanford University, CA to create a YouTube-based site built on the ‘instant’ concept of Google’s.

Finding videos on YouTube Instant is easy. Simply type in the name of the artist, song or any other key word, and the site will automatically start playing the first (and probably the highest rated/most viewed related) video. I feel this instant project is a bit too aggressive, as it leaves very little to no control over the selected videos in the hands of the user. To give an example, see what happens when you type in just one letter in the search box (I typed in ‘J’ – see screen shot below). In addition, the number of related videos on the right seems too limited in my opinion.

Although the design aims for a light and informal look and feel, it’s a nice try, nothing more. I’m a bit annoyed by the thought I don’t really have much say over the videos someone else is selecting for me. Since I’d like to remain in control in terms of the content I consume, I’ll continue exploring videos on the good old formal YouTube.com, and on the All My Faves Video page, thank you very much. On the other hand, I realize I am a bit conservative in my views; try YouTube Instant for yourself and see if you enjoy it more than I did.

LipDub.in – The site’s name pretty much sums its concept, but in case you need a more detailed description, here it is: “LipDub.in combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song.”

To see an example of what users do on LipDub.in, see the two videos below; the first from Poland, Lip -dubbing Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough; the second from the UK, doing Jet’s Are You Gonna Be My Girl.

Dating Fails – Provocative at times, this Cheezburger blog is here to accentuate awkward, dumb and weird moments in the context of dates and relationships.  This blog is quite new, so there aren’t many entries in the blog’s archive as of yet. To get you going, see the short video below of a Break Up Win, rather than fail…

Partigi – If you trust your friends and their advice, Partigi is a tool you will enjoy using. Before rushing to see that supposedly promising movie at the cinema, visit Partigi and see what others say about the film first. It just might save you some hard cash and big disappointments.

In a nutshell, Partigi is an online notebook to keep track of films and TV shows you have seen and want to see, share them with  friends and get recommendations and info on other films you might be interested in. Partigi also includes books and video games categories.

For more on how to use Partigi, click here. In the meantime, why not browse the list of all-time best movies? Click the image below for the complete list.

Dear Blank, Please Blank – This long name is the shortest way I can think of to explain what this exquisite site is about. Regularly updated short feed-like messages of anonymous users make up Dear Blank, Please Blank, and this is a must RSS website.

Browse the various categories of anonymous witty, funny and often compelling messages users have submitted, addressed to their in-laws, ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, parents, sisters, brothers, colleagues, you name it. Thanks to Hans Johnson and Jared Wunsch from Seattle, Dear Blank Please Blank is here for us to enjoy and explore. Tip: I suggest that you start with the How Dare They category. That is where I found the message below:

To submit your own Dear Blank Please Blank message, click on the Submit icon on the upper right corner.

Oddly Enough Blog – Reuters, the very serious news company has decided to offer a news blog that is anything but serious. Self-proclaimed “News, but not the serious kind,” Oddly Enough is filled with weird photos and even weirder annotations.

So what sort of posts will you find on Oddly Enough? Click the one below for a quick example.

YTTM.tv – Go back in time with YTTM.tv, a huge video-based time capsule offering great historic and entertaining videos of various themes (video games, television, commercials, current events, sports, movies and music). Play with the year bar on top to see videos representing crucial and interesting moments in a specific year -as early as 1870!

To see an example of what I mean, see the video below by the film pioneer brother Louis Lumières , shooting the street on Broadway and Union Square, New York in 1896. Oh, and if you have an interesting video you think should be included in YTTM’s colossal collection, click the Add A Video button and pay your tribute to history.

Wetpaint – Simply identified as a “custom-tailored [entertainment platform] for young women who love TV and fashion,” Wetpaint is first and foremost a content specialist web publisher that has put its foot down and decided to offer its first “property” in the entertainment content area, hence this superb Weekly Fave spot.

Since Wetpaint specializes in online content, I won’t be surprised if this particular entertainment venue will make you wish Wetpaint had covered other interest areas as well. With the intent of offering top and engaging content while inviting users to interact with each other, Wetpaint is exceptional; you’ll understand why the way you consume content on this site is remarkable compared to what’s already out there.

Browse the entertainment categories (TV shows, fashion, gossip, spoilers, photos, videos, TV stars) and enjoy well-written and edited, interesting articles, posts as well as videos and photos. In short, Wetpaint is most definitely a keeper. See Wetpaint’s Grey’s Anatomy page to learn more.

LaughFactory – Described as the No. 1 comedy club in the country by USA Today, LaughFactory will bring you to the brink of asphyxiation in the best meaning possible. I guarantee you are going to laugh so hard, and I’m sure you will become addicted to this site in no time.

LaughFactory is a long-established (since 1979), star factory of America’s best comedians who started their comedy career at this renowned club. Some of the big names include Roseanne Barr, Jim Carrey, Jeff Dunham, Kathy Griffin and many, many others. The site is pouring with supreme comedy videos, and even their New Faces category, which in other comedy club sites is less than mediocre, over exceeded my expectations.

Explore the various content options LaughFactory has to offer, including Comedians, Channels, Magazines, my favorite -Videos, Contests, Joke Bank, and of course, Tickets. If you’re at work when browsing this site, be careful; you could easily find yourself still roaming around when the day is over… Enjoy the short video below of Laugh Factory’s ‘new face’ Mathew Taylor, talking about the perks of having a GPS. Enjoy.