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It's practically impossible for me to sit here and list the top ten short films from 2006. Not only are there thousands of shorts to sift through, but the majority of them are not available online. So, how does Erik go about putting together a list of the best short films from 2006? Will he randomly spew out names and titles for films you'll never be able to see unless you just happen to show up at a specific festival on a specific day at a specific time?

Of course not. What I've actually done is comb through all the previous Eat My Shorts and chosen my ten favorite short films that I've written about this year. Most (if not all) of them are not from 2006, but they are available online and all of them are wonderful, fantastic and definitely deserve your attention. This has been an amazing year for short films, and I like to think (in my own bizarre fantasy world) that Eat My Shorts truly helped spread the word -- that it helped bring more attention to an art form that desperately needs to be back in front of a mass audience. Oh, and thanks to you for being a part of the revolution. Viva la Shorts!

Each and every single day, it's our job here at Cinematical to provide you with, not only movie news, but refreshing new content. From time to time, I'll take it upon myself to ask friends, relatives and the occasional random person on a street corner what they would like to see more of on this unbelievably awesome blog. Recently, the same two words have been slipping out the mouths of those around me -- short films.

Short films (or shorts) have been around since the early 1900's. Back then, when one would visit a movie theater, they would have a chance to watch a variety of short films before the feature began. Be it animated or live-action, most shorts were comedic in nature and helped launch the careers of folks like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. However, mainly due to the rise of television in the 1950's, commercially-produced shorts were about to disappear, paving the way for today's standard of one movie per showing.

Now, short films cover an array of topics and are often used by the filmmaker as a "calling card" or as entrance into Hollywood's heavily guarded front doors. With more and more film festivals cropping up each year, short films are slowly climbing their way back into our hearts. There are now a multitude of websites dedicated to helping filmmakers find more of an audience for their shorts by streaming them online for free. And this is where we come in. Each week, I'm going to scan the internet and bring back an assortment of short films for you to watch and discuss. Oh, and I'll also need your help. Since most of you are already watching shorts online, feel free to send all tips, links and suggestions to shorts@cinematical.com. I'll keep an eye out and may even use some of your stuff for future editions of Eat My Shorts. Got it? Good. Let's go watch some shorts: