How about this for the ultimate vanity project:  take an HGTV Design Star finalist who got the boot mid-way through Season 3, add an insane ego and an insatiable need to see himself onscreen, stir in an assistant who thinks she’s Paris Hilton, and you have “The Michael Stribling Design Project.”

The Michael Stribling Design Project from Kling Stribling on Vimeo.

Oy vey.

If Stribling would just drop the “I’m so amazing” bit already.  Michael, you’re young, so I’ll give it to you straight (or maybe I should say, “on the level”).  This kind of arrogance does not project confidence.  On the contrary, those who truly are amazing never have to resort to telling people of their amazingness.  If you’re amazing, people will just get it–you don’t have to hit them over the head with it.  Let it be their own idea.  Seriously.

Despite some bad audio during confessionals, this is actually a great little way to promote yourself, if–as HGTV’s Genevieve Gorder mentioned to me recently–you’ve been invited to the party that is design television and don’t want to leave.  I applaud Stribling’s ingenuity to create his own online show–and think it’s kind of a fun concept to make it an ongoing reality bit.  Although I’m not buying that bullcrap about his assistant faking her design background behind his back.  Whether she has or doesn’t have a design background, I don’t think it’s some big mystery to him.  That’s so obviously a plot point to create false drama.

Also, it’s lame to rip off the title from The Antonio Project.  I’m guessing the intent is to spoof Antonio Ballatore’s show, but what it really says is, “I can’t be a hit without piggybacking someone else’s success.”

As for the “design” part of this “design project,” that remains to be seen.  The only design-related footage in this short is a blip of Stribling wielding a tape measure.  Big effing deal.  The rest of it is all, “whoopidee-doo!  Look how big I am in Houston!”

Prove it, dude.

*UPDATE 10/27/09: The Michael Stribling Design Project is not an “online show,” as I thought previously.  According to Stribling, it’s a nationally-syndicated show that “got picked up,” and this was his pitch piece.