Speaking of ... PingRay's Issue 10

Books by Other Means

“A music video for books, but on the Internet.” One can imagine that kind of elevator pitch if VidLits had been offered to a Hollywood executive. But VidLits, animated mini-stories based on new books, were originally the result of sweat equity by its two key creators, writer/TV producer/founder Liz Dubelman and animator Paca Thomas.

In an interview with PingRay, Dubelman said she had the idea for VidLits one day while listening to “This American Life” on public radio. “This is good,” she says she thought, “but with the Internet we can add pictures and effects. It’s really all about the story. We figured stories are in books and books needed to be marketed. VidLit could be like a jukebox for books.”

As it turns out, original VidLits--without book companions—are also popular on the site.  Example: "Craziest," written by Dubelman herself, about her obsession with the game of Scrabble and its mystical meaning in her life. And “Portico,” an entire “world” based on storytelling, is in the works.

The most successful VidLit so far is the one for “Yiddish with Dick and Jane,” which, according to Dubelman, was viewed 1 million times in the first 8 weeks on the site…and is still going strong.

“Yiddish with Dick and Jane,” a primer that re-interprets the classic children’s book with the highly expressive expressions found in Yiddish, was written by Ellis Weiner…the same Ellis Weiner whose “Santa Lives” VidLit is our NetStories selection for Issue 10. 

How is it that the same author defends both Yiddish and Santa Claus, you might ask?

“I am able to do this,” Weiner told PingRay, “because I am a recipient of what I call ‘Judeo-Christian culture.’ Having written the Judeo- part, I wanted to address the Christian part. Unless what I’m thinking of is actually ‘Judo-Christian culture,’ in which case I should have been writing about martial arts, and this whole Santa thing has been a terrible mistake.”

On the assumption that “the whole Santa thing” was not a mistake, what could be next for such an ecumenically diverse author?

“My co-author, Barbara Davilman, and I discussed ‘Yiddish With Archie and Veronica,’” Weiner said, “but our editor (rightly) talked us out of it. Instead, we are completing ‘Yiddish With George and Laura’ (really), which will be published by Little, Brown in September of 2006. So far the ‘log line’ for it is, ‘the whole mishpochah [Yiddish for extended family] up at

Kennebunkport,’ which says it all. Actually it doesn’t say it all. It says it all about the story part. The Glossary will be something different. Meanwhile, I look forward to doing two sequels to ‘Santa Lives’, tentatively entitled ‘The Tooth Fairy: What Does She Want From Us?’ and ‘The Easter Bunny: An Inquiry.’ “

Why, one might ask, is Weiner is apparently more suspicious of the alleged Tooth Fairy and the iconic Easter Bunny, than of the overweight guy who risks injury on your property by entering through a roof opening not meant for ingress, in the middle of the night, in all kinds of neighborhoods?

We may have to wait for the books…and the VidLits…to find out.