Ira Krakow is a serious dude.
Looking strikingly similar to a Senator from New York State, Ira is a self-professed trainer, author, and consultant to all things Blenderized.

In this tutorial, Mr. Krakow gives us an introduction to animation for the NEW! Blender 2.5. Here, Krakow absolutely gushes with enthusiasm about the improvements. After a lengthy introduction, Krakow proceeds to showcase said highlights.

Krakow is smart. He knows his way around Blender. He has much to teach us noobs. Pay close attention to his announced shorcut keys (i.e. "Scale the cube up 3 times. "S" "3" "Enter.") and advanced vocabulary.

Just don't expect Mr. Krakow to wait up for you. Like any good teacher of an advanced production program, he first requires that you know your ABC's. Start with 3Boy, move up to Blender 2.5 and Ira Krakow.