Hooktube.com used to provide a private way to view youtube vids, blocking ads, bypassing region locks, and also pulling comments and search results via the api. All you had to do was replace the you in a youtube link with hook.

No more. On July 11, this appeared on the changelog:

HookTube no longer uses YouTube api for anything, and most features (channel page, search, related videos, etc) are gone. No choice.

Which was extremely bad, but at least you could still watch videos privately right?

July 16: YouTube api features are back but mp4 <video> is replaced with the standard YT video embed. HookTube is now effectively just a light-weight version of youtube and useless to the 90% of you primarily concerned with denying Google data and seeing videos blocked by your governments.

rest in pieces
It was a good run, 1.5 years. Started as a quickly made addition to the norbot project, and within long the server had to be upgraded several times. Of course YouTube Legal was an inevitability at that point.
Special thanks to the many people who created plugins and extensions for hooktube, /g/, the five people who donated anonymously, and BitChute for working hard on a real YouTube alternative. HookTube will remain operational in the present state for those who only needed it for performance reasons. See you in the next project.

:(

Alternatives include: invidio.us, youtube-dl, the Freetube desktop app, Newpipe for Android, and you’re doomed if you use iOS. ETA: Actually, I just remembered, there’s Media Grabber for the Workflow app. And Invidio mostly works on mobile.

There's been an explosion over the past few years, and there's so many to try, but a lot of them don't work for me due to me just not feeling soothed by the speaker's voice. There's Guided Meditations to help you sleep, to help calm anxiety, to connect to your higher self, etc. Any suggestions? Links much appreciated!

Oddly all off a sudden, while I was watching a video, my phone started to play the same sound as my PC speakers. It was kinda of cool, like my phone was a second speaker. But it did it automatically. Anyone else see this? I have access to YouTube music now so maybe that's a new feature or something?

edit: My device is Windows 10 PC using regular Chrome and Google Pixel XL (Android P)

The video, in case you haven't seen it yet.

WaPo had an interesting breakdown a few days ago on most of the shots in the video and theories as to their meaning that is worth reading.

However, one thing I noticed they (and most other people so far) missed was that you can see Glover's back in the beginning since he is facing away from the camera and there is clearly no gun in his pockets or in his waistband... so it simply materializes when he reaches behind him after he slowly dances towards his first victim.

They also don't mention how during the third to last scene everyone screams and scatters even though he is only making a gun shape with his hands which, when contrast against the actual scenes of murder causing no reaction by anyone, says a lot.

I am also currently addicted to Reaction videos on YouTube of people watching the video for the first time. Peoples' initial shock and their different interpretations of the video are fascinating to watch. In one of them, someone even mentioned something nobody else seemed to notice... that after the first murder, the gun is carried away by someone else with an almost reverence while the body is simply dragged away like garbage and again after the second murder scene as well.

Anyone else notice any other interesting elements worth noting?