Welcome to Bits & Base Pairs! If you’re new here, you can subscribe by clicking the button below!

BIT

Lazy Sunday

YouTube commands the largest share of TV for any streaming platform. According to the May 2024 Nielsen’s report, YouTube garnered 9.7% of all TV streaming viewership followed by Netflix as second with 7.6%.

YouTube was launched in February 2005. I was introduced to YouTube as a sophomore in high school by a classmate in December 2005. The reason for this introduction—the Lonely Island’s Lazy Sunday Digital Short—which not so coincidentally debuted in December 2005 on Saturday Night Live (SNL), starring Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell.

I still find myself rewatching Lazy Sunday and laughing the same way I did in high school. While some references are dated—like which navigation tool is best—MapQuest, Yahoo! Maps, or Google Maps? Almost 19 years have elapsed since this question was posed…and I think we now know who the clear winner is.

It is from Lazy Sunday that I learned and will never forgot which historical figure’s face lies upon the United States $10 Bill. To quote the Lazy Sunday’s rap lyrics directly…

Before the debut of Lazy Sunday, the Lonely Island—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone—and Chris Parnell were worried it would fall flat and be negatively received. They wrote the lyrics in 1 day, recorded the song the following day, filmed it with a handheld camera in Manhattan over 2 days, and then edited it on a laptop.

Now, it is arguably one of the greatest outputs of SNL of all time. So the next time your perfectionist self—for fear of failure or rejection—is getting in the way of taking a shot, just remember, you really never know what is going to rise to critical acclaim or go straight to zero. It’s best to give yourself more shots for something to succeed.

Thank you for reading and have a fulfilling weekend!

If you have any suggestions for future features as a Bit, Base Pair, or Academic Musing, please respond to this email with your recommendations!

Views my own.