So the other day, I did something I hadn't done for quite a while. I watched a TV show.
I don't have cable, but back when I did, I enjoyed watching "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill". Both of those shows are still on the air, but nowadays, if I want to watch them, or any other network TV show, I log in to hulu.com. I don't do this often, for much the same reason that I don't pay for cable, but last Tuesday, I fired up the laptop, and my wife and I lounged around watching the best hour of animated evening programming the FOX network has to offer.
The episode of "The Simpsons" we watched was one of the most recent, entitled "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words". If you want to watch it without spoilers, just click below:
The episode centered on Lisa's love for, and obsession with, crossword puzzles, specifically the New York Times crossword, and it had Lisa qualifying for the finals in the national crossword championship. Homer accompanied her to the tournament and won a lot of money betting on her until betting against her, and benefitting from her loss, in the last round.
One specific puzzle was featured in the episode, a complicated bit of enigmatology (yes, that's a word) commissioned by a fictional character with a message (or two) concealed within it. Several days after watching the episode I found my mind going back to the puzzle used within the episode, which featured fleeting close ups of actual puzzle grid and clues, and it occurred to me... They actually created a puzzle specifically for this episode of "The Simpsons"!
I wondered idly, "what if I went back and watched that episode and paused it on the puzzle close ups? What crazy inside jokes would be contained in the clues and answers? Leave it to the Simpsons staff to concoct an entire 140-clue crossword puzzle only to flash it partially on the screen for a few brief seconds. I have attempted to build a crossword or two, and it is really freaking hard, but then again... so is writing and animating a hugely successful prime-time sitcom, and I can't do that either.
Anyway, less than a week after watching the episode, the fabulous folks at Netflix and the U.S. Postal Service brought me "Wordplay", the (2006?) Documentary about.... The New York Times Crossword Puzzle, and its associated annual tournament! I had added "Wordplay" to my Netflix "queue" about a year ago, along with over a hundred others, and it coincidentally showed up just after I watched this puzzle-centric "Simpsons" episode. It was a good movie, highlighting both the hardcore puzzle-solvers, with whom you and I can not possibly relate, as well as casual puzzle devotees like Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton, and The Indigo Girls. I learned from the movie that "intercoastal" is an anagram for "altercations", a fact which I promptly forgot, and which bugged me until I had to re-work it out for myself.
After watching that movie, you really want to pick up a Times crossword and hop to it. At least, you do if you are Me, and thus a Giant Nerd. I had a less-than-half-solved Sunday puzzle lying on my dining room table, and as the wife and I were getting ready for bed, I picked it up and figured I would re-attack it with my newly energized brain. I got a bit done, and then I came to the clue "Loses on Purpose". Ordinarily my mind would have skipped to "Folds", "Dives", or "Flops", but I knew that the answer was "Diets" ("loses on purpose", geddit?), because I had recently seen that clue used in another puzzle. Or Had I? I idly mused about where I had seen that clue before, and I realized I hadn't seen it in print; I had HEARD it. Heard it in the voice of Lisa Simpson, less than a week ago! Which meant that Lisa had been doing .... Waitaminute! Could it be?
I checked the upper-left-to-lower-right diagonal and found, sure enough, the "secret message" encoded in the supposedly fictional puzzle featured in one of the two TV shows I had happened to watch in the last several months. Then, as my wife and I reeled at the improbability of that (we had both watched the episode together in exactly the same spot where we were now solving the puzzle together), I remembered the other secret message. The one spelled out in the inital letters of each clue. Sure enough, there it was. Threaded throughout every single clue in the puzzle, and helping to explain why some of them were so oddly worded, was a message from one fictional character to another with NO REFERENCE MADE TO IT ANYWHERE IN THE PUZZLE. The only way any solver could have noticed this message (without being autistic or severely OCD) was to watch the episode of "The Simpsons" in which a yellow-skinned Will Shortz explains where it is. This is the ultimate example of an "easter egg" within a puzzle, and I just happened to have found it.
I still haven't finished the puzzle, though, and likely won't. It is an incredibly difficult one, even for a Sunday Times puzzle, and I believe this is due, in large part, to the crazy clues Mr. Reagle (The puzzle's constructor) had to find which started with the right letters for the hidden message.
Now if you will excuse me, I must go grab this week's Sunday Times, and get started. Happy Holiday Weekend to all, just in case I don't post again before then.
Showing posts with label General Nerdiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Nerdiness. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Crunching The Numbers
Want to really make some money? How much money would you like? How about 700 billion dollars? That's a figure that has been in the news a lot lately. We all know it's a big number, but how big is it?
You probably can't make 700 billion dollars waiting tables. That's way too slow. A good server, on a good night, in a good restaurant, feels pretty lucky to walk home with 100 bucks at the end of a night. At that rate, it would take you 7 billion nights to make that amount. Working 7 nights a week, for 19 million years, you still wouldn't quite get there.
We need something faster. Something WAY faster. The fastest possible way I can think of to make money is to just print your own! It's not legal, of course, but imagine with me if you could make money literally as fast as you could print it. I figure you could fit about five $100 bills on a standard page of 8.5” X 11” printer paper, and if you've got a new, state-of the art inkjet printer, which can spit out about 40 pages per minute, then that's $20,000.00 per minute! Now that's really making money, FAST.
Let's say you start making your money at 9:00 am on Monday morning, September 29, 2008. After only an hour, you would have 1.2 Million dollars! By 9:00 pm, after reloading your paper tray a few dozen times and using up a few ink cartridges, you would have about 14.4 Million bucks to show for your efforts. Not shabby at all for a single day's work! That's enough money to buy every senior citizen in America a new hearing aid battery, but you still aren't even close to your goal of 700 Billion.
At this rate, you won't make 700 billion before your grandchildren are retired. You need something faster, you decide. So the next morning, bright and early, you go to the Office Supply Megastore and buy 5 more fast printers, each capable of 40 pages-per-minute. Hey, you can afford it, you're a multimillionaire now! Go ahead and pick up a new leather office chair, a fancy ball-point pen, and some beef jerky while you're there!
You get your new printers home, plug them all up, and set them all loose at 9 o'clock sharp. Working through the day, not stopping for lunch (Aren't you glad I told you to get the beef jerky?), you jump from printer to printer to printer, replacing paper and ink, until, at 9 pm, exhausted, you shut off the power strip, and stumble toward your bedroom. You made 86.4 million dollars today, bringing your total to $100.8 Million in two days! Now you have enough money to buy every child in America a candy bar (and throw in a new toothbrush, too), but you are still not to 700 billion. So, I guess it's nose back to the ol' grindstone tomorrow.
After repeating the process on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with all 6 printers shooting out $20,000-a-minute each, for 12 hours a day, you would have 360 million dollars to show for your 60-hour workweek.
You can now afford to do the old “pull a coin out of your ear” trick on every man, woman, and child in the country with those nifty golden $1 coins, but you are still not to 700 billion. Guess you're gonna' have to work Saturdays, too! On Saturday, you decide that, if you are going to have to keep doing this, then skipping lunch is for the birds, so you only work 11 hours, instead of the twelve you've been doing. This brings in another 79.2 million, bringing your total up to 439.2 million.
Well, the next week, you really get into your groove. Taking a lunch break each day, and taking Sunday off (to let the paper cuts heal) you get in a 66-hour workweek, netting $475.2 Million. With your haul from last week, you are now up to 914.4 million dollars. You now have enough money to buy each senior citizen in the country a 2-year subscription to Reader's Digest and a lighted magnifying glass, but you still haven't made your first billion, much less your 700th. You make 7.2 million dollars an hour and it's still taking too long!
Fast forward to Christmas morning. Sleigh Bells are ringing, Jack Frost is nipping, Chestnuts are roasting, and you are still printing $100 bills, at a rate of 1200 per minute, for 77 hours each week. Your total so far? 5.904 billion dollars. You are not even one one-hundredth of the way to your goal. You have enough money to buy every kid in America a gift-wrapped bicycle, but not nearly enough to bail out the American investment banking industry. The good news is, new technology has made home inkjet printers even faster, and they can now print one page per second, a 50% improvement! You buy yourself 10 of these new beauties, recycle the old ones, and start off the New Year printing faster than ever!
So, in 2009, with your new high-tech printers, you are now making the unbelievable amount of 5,000 dollars per second! You keep that rate up for an entire year, still working Saturdays, and loading ink and paper faster than ever, and by the following Christmas, you have made.... 61.776 billion dollars for the year, for a grand total of $67.68 Billion. Almost one tenth of the way. You now have enough money to buy every adult in the country a brand new iPod Touch, but still not nearly 700 Billion.
As a matter of fact, at this rate, you will need to keep this rate of printing up for another 10 years and 12 weeks, printing your last few million somewhere around March 20, 2020. The President of the United states by then might be a 56 year old Sarah Palin, or a 73 year old Joseph Biden by then, in the third year of his/her first or second term. Barack Obama would be 58, and John McCain would be 84. We might be in the 8th year of our War against Russia and Iran, or we might be driving American-made electric cars powered entirely by wind and solar energy, or both!
Most of us make money at a rate significantly less than 18 Million dollars per hour, so it would take even more time than that. Most of us are closer to the waitress end of the spectrum, looking at 19 million years to make that kind of dough. Hopefully, before the Sun explodes in a supernova, destroying our planet.
I may have been a little off, here or there, on my math. I have done far more research than anyone should, but I may have messed up somewhere in there. These numbers are so big that rounding errors cost millions of dollars. If you took the 700 Billion dollars proposed for the Bank Bailout, and gave every man, woman and child in America their “cut”, they would each receive a check for $2,293.67, but that's rounded down to the nearest penny. Add up all the fractional pennies saved by not giving everyone those last 85 thousandths of a dollar, and they add up to 2.621 million dollars!
I hope this helped you wrap your brain around a number that big. I know it's helped me. I'm Frank Gibson, and I approve this message.
You probably can't make 700 billion dollars waiting tables. That's way too slow. A good server, on a good night, in a good restaurant, feels pretty lucky to walk home with 100 bucks at the end of a night. At that rate, it would take you 7 billion nights to make that amount. Working 7 nights a week, for 19 million years, you still wouldn't quite get there.
We need something faster. Something WAY faster. The fastest possible way I can think of to make money is to just print your own! It's not legal, of course, but imagine with me if you could make money literally as fast as you could print it. I figure you could fit about five $100 bills on a standard page of 8.5” X 11” printer paper, and if you've got a new, state-of the art inkjet printer, which can spit out about 40 pages per minute, then that's $20,000.00 per minute! Now that's really making money, FAST.
Let's say you start making your money at 9:00 am on Monday morning, September 29, 2008. After only an hour, you would have 1.2 Million dollars! By 9:00 pm, after reloading your paper tray a few dozen times and using up a few ink cartridges, you would have about 14.4 Million bucks to show for your efforts. Not shabby at all for a single day's work! That's enough money to buy every senior citizen in America a new hearing aid battery, but you still aren't even close to your goal of 700 Billion.
At this rate, you won't make 700 billion before your grandchildren are retired. You need something faster, you decide. So the next morning, bright and early, you go to the Office Supply Megastore and buy 5 more fast printers, each capable of 40 pages-per-minute. Hey, you can afford it, you're a multimillionaire now! Go ahead and pick up a new leather office chair, a fancy ball-point pen, and some beef jerky while you're there!
You get your new printers home, plug them all up, and set them all loose at 9 o'clock sharp. Working through the day, not stopping for lunch (Aren't you glad I told you to get the beef jerky?), you jump from printer to printer to printer, replacing paper and ink, until, at 9 pm, exhausted, you shut off the power strip, and stumble toward your bedroom. You made 86.4 million dollars today, bringing your total to $100.8 Million in two days! Now you have enough money to buy every child in America a candy bar (and throw in a new toothbrush, too), but you are still not to 700 billion. So, I guess it's nose back to the ol' grindstone tomorrow.
After repeating the process on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with all 6 printers shooting out $20,000-a-minute each, for 12 hours a day, you would have 360 million dollars to show for your 60-hour workweek.
You can now afford to do the old “pull a coin out of your ear” trick on every man, woman, and child in the country with those nifty golden $1 coins, but you are still not to 700 billion. Guess you're gonna' have to work Saturdays, too! On Saturday, you decide that, if you are going to have to keep doing this, then skipping lunch is for the birds, so you only work 11 hours, instead of the twelve you've been doing. This brings in another 79.2 million, bringing your total up to 439.2 million.
Well, the next week, you really get into your groove. Taking a lunch break each day, and taking Sunday off (to let the paper cuts heal) you get in a 66-hour workweek, netting $475.2 Million. With your haul from last week, you are now up to 914.4 million dollars. You now have enough money to buy each senior citizen in the country a 2-year subscription to Reader's Digest and a lighted magnifying glass, but you still haven't made your first billion, much less your 700th. You make 7.2 million dollars an hour and it's still taking too long!
Fast forward to Christmas morning. Sleigh Bells are ringing, Jack Frost is nipping, Chestnuts are roasting, and you are still printing $100 bills, at a rate of 1200 per minute, for 77 hours each week. Your total so far? 5.904 billion dollars. You are not even one one-hundredth of the way to your goal. You have enough money to buy every kid in America a gift-wrapped bicycle, but not nearly enough to bail out the American investment banking industry. The good news is, new technology has made home inkjet printers even faster, and they can now print one page per second, a 50% improvement! You buy yourself 10 of these new beauties, recycle the old ones, and start off the New Year printing faster than ever!
So, in 2009, with your new high-tech printers, you are now making the unbelievable amount of 5,000 dollars per second! You keep that rate up for an entire year, still working Saturdays, and loading ink and paper faster than ever, and by the following Christmas, you have made.... 61.776 billion dollars for the year, for a grand total of $67.68 Billion. Almost one tenth of the way. You now have enough money to buy every adult in the country a brand new iPod Touch, but still not nearly 700 Billion.
As a matter of fact, at this rate, you will need to keep this rate of printing up for another 10 years and 12 weeks, printing your last few million somewhere around March 20, 2020. The President of the United states by then might be a 56 year old Sarah Palin, or a 73 year old Joseph Biden by then, in the third year of his/her first or second term. Barack Obama would be 58, and John McCain would be 84. We might be in the 8th year of our War against Russia and Iran, or we might be driving American-made electric cars powered entirely by wind and solar energy, or both!
Most of us make money at a rate significantly less than 18 Million dollars per hour, so it would take even more time than that. Most of us are closer to the waitress end of the spectrum, looking at 19 million years to make that kind of dough. Hopefully, before the Sun explodes in a supernova, destroying our planet.
I may have been a little off, here or there, on my math. I have done far more research than anyone should, but I may have messed up somewhere in there. These numbers are so big that rounding errors cost millions of dollars. If you took the 700 Billion dollars proposed for the Bank Bailout, and gave every man, woman and child in America their “cut”, they would each receive a check for $2,293.67, but that's rounded down to the nearest penny. Add up all the fractional pennies saved by not giving everyone those last 85 thousandths of a dollar, and they add up to 2.621 million dollars!
I hope this helped you wrap your brain around a number that big. I know it's helped me. I'm Frank Gibson, and I approve this message.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Space-Time Continuum Is Feeling Kinda' Fragile Lately...
Wanna Hear A Weird Story? No? Oh, Well, I'm gonna' write it anyway...
Years Ago, Sometime when I was in college, I think, or possibly just afterward, I got a call from someone, out of the Blue, who had contacted me in a fit of excitement to tell me (and perhaps everyone else he could reach) that he was standing in a parking lot, right next to a De Lorean, the Gull-winged sportscar from the 1980's most widely known as the time-travel vehicle of choice for one Marty McFly in Back to the Future. The De Lorean Motor Company (DMC) also inspired the name of the Rap group known as "Run DMC".
The DMC-12 was the only model ever produced by the Ireland-based company, and only about 6,500 of them are believed to still exist. So running into one of these in a restaurant parking lot is pretty unlikely.
Here's The Thing; I can't remember who it was that called me to tell me this. It was a male, around the same age as me, and was most likely either my Friend Corey, or Glenn, or maybe Jarrod.
Here's The Other Thing; This kind-of-slightly-interesting thing happened at least 5 or 6 years ago, and I hadn't given it a second thought for half a decade or more, but just recently, in the past 9 days or so, I have told this story TWICE.
My wife and I were talking about something-or-other while driving home, and somehow the conversation came around to this half-remembered story about getting an excited phone call from.. Who? My brother? or Corey, maybe? Might have been my brother, but I think it was Corey or Glenn or somebody. Then, just a couple of days after that, (Thursday, May 1st, to be exact) one of my co-workers mentioned the band Run DMC, and this led to me again recount this story of the time a guy I knew called me, out of nowhere, to let me know he was spitting-distance from this very rare and cinematically significant automobile. I didn't have to mention who it was that made the call, because my co-workers wouldn't have known them anyway, but again the thought nagged at me; I couldn't remember if it might have been my brother that called me.
3 days later, my cellphone beeply-beeped at me in the middle of the night as I lay in bed. I groped for it on the bedside table, and flipped it open to reveal a camera-phone picture of a De Lorean DMC-12, sent to me by my brother, completely out of the Blue! Underneath the picture was the brief, but evocative caption, "A Friggin Delorean!" (I only found out that that's not how "De Lorean" was spelled about halfway through writing this post.)
Now to make this even creepier, the message came after I watched a marathon of "Heroes" episodes from season 1, in which people are time-traveling, and predicting, painting, and altering the future all over the place. Was I "remembering" someone (maybe my brother?) calling me about seeing a De Lorean, or was I having a pre-cognitive vision of the future? After you watch 6 episodes of Heroes in 2 days, you start to think this way. Factor in the time-travel associations of the Back to the Future vehicle itself, and it really starts messing with your mind! I know I did get that call, and I am now relatively sure it wasn't my brother (What're the odds of seeing 2 of these things?), but it is nonetheless a really freaky coincidence!
Either that, or I am such a huge geek that the standard reaction upon anyone who knows me seeing a De Lorean is to instantly inform me of it.
Gotta go see Iron Man now, so... I'll see you in the future!
Years Ago, Sometime when I was in college, I think, or possibly just afterward, I got a call from someone, out of the Blue, who had contacted me in a fit of excitement to tell me (and perhaps everyone else he could reach) that he was standing in a parking lot, right next to a De Lorean, the Gull-winged sportscar from the 1980's most widely known as the time-travel vehicle of choice for one Marty McFly in Back to the Future. The De Lorean Motor Company (DMC) also inspired the name of the Rap group known as "Run DMC".
The DMC-12 was the only model ever produced by the Ireland-based company, and only about 6,500 of them are believed to still exist. So running into one of these in a restaurant parking lot is pretty unlikely.Here's The Thing; I can't remember who it was that called me to tell me this. It was a male, around the same age as me, and was most likely either my Friend Corey, or Glenn, or maybe Jarrod.
Here's The Other Thing; This kind-of-slightly-interesting thing happened at least 5 or 6 years ago, and I hadn't given it a second thought for half a decade or more, but just recently, in the past 9 days or so, I have told this story TWICE.
My wife and I were talking about something-or-other while driving home, and somehow the conversation came around to this half-remembered story about getting an excited phone call from.. Who? My brother? or Corey, maybe? Might have been my brother, but I think it was Corey or Glenn or somebody. Then, just a couple of days after that, (Thursday, May 1st, to be exact) one of my co-workers mentioned the band Run DMC, and this led to me again recount this story of the time a guy I knew called me, out of nowhere, to let me know he was spitting-distance from this very rare and cinematically significant automobile. I didn't have to mention who it was that made the call, because my co-workers wouldn't have known them anyway, but again the thought nagged at me; I couldn't remember if it might have been my brother that called me.
3 days later, my cellphone beeply-beeped at me in the middle of the night as I lay in bed. I groped for it on the bedside table, and flipped it open to reveal a camera-phone picture of a De Lorean DMC-12, sent to me by my brother, completely out of the Blue! Underneath the picture was the brief, but evocative caption, "A Friggin Delorean!" (I only found out that that's not how "De Lorean" was spelled about halfway through writing this post.)
Now to make this even creepier, the message came after I watched a marathon of "Heroes" episodes from season 1, in which people are time-traveling, and predicting, painting, and altering the future all over the place. Was I "remembering" someone (maybe my brother?) calling me about seeing a De Lorean, or was I having a pre-cognitive vision of the future? After you watch 6 episodes of Heroes in 2 days, you start to think this way. Factor in the time-travel associations of the Back to the Future vehicle itself, and it really starts messing with your mind! I know I did get that call, and I am now relatively sure it wasn't my brother (What're the odds of seeing 2 of these things?), but it is nonetheless a really freaky coincidence!
Either that, or I am such a huge geek that the standard reaction upon anyone who knows me seeing a De Lorean is to instantly inform me of it.
Gotta go see Iron Man now, so... I'll see you in the future!
Friday, March 7, 2008
My "Friday 5": Real-People Songs.
Over at Art's Strange World, Art has a recurring feature called the Friday 5, where he thinks of some list of five things and challenges his readers to post their own additions to the list.
Lately, the lists have been Songs tied together by some common theme. Songs featuring Cadillacs, Cars (excluding Cadillacs), States, Cities, Years, Heaven and Hell, and this week, People.
I've been playing along, and having fun. It reminds me of my old college buddy, Corey Fager, who was very proud of his semi-encyclopedic knowledge of rock music. He would challenge a group of his friends to throw out a word at random, and he would see how quickly he could respond with a line from a song. I think I stumped him once with the word "penguin", but he was rarely stumped for long.
Anyway, today's challenge over at Art's blog was songs based on or mentioning real people. Living or dead, important or obscure; if they made it into a song, they are fair game.
Here's My 5...
I will throw the comments section open to those of you who have any to add. What's your 5? Bonus Points for Obscurity!
For an extra challenge, try a sub-theme: All Women? People Not Mentioned In The Song's Title? All Minorities? All Still Living? All Non-Americans? All Children? All Elderly? All Villains? Give it a shot! You might just use up your whole Friday, and bring the Weekend on even sooner.
Lately, the lists have been Songs tied together by some common theme. Songs featuring Cadillacs, Cars (excluding Cadillacs), States, Cities, Years, Heaven and Hell, and this week, People.
I've been playing along, and having fun. It reminds me of my old college buddy, Corey Fager, who was very proud of his semi-encyclopedic knowledge of rock music. He would challenge a group of his friends to throw out a word at random, and he would see how quickly he could respond with a line from a song. I think I stumped him once with the word "penguin", but he was rarely stumped for long.
Anyway, today's challenge over at Art's blog was songs based on or mentioning real people. Living or dead, important or obscure; if they made it into a song, they are fair game.
Here's My 5...
- James K. Polk by They Might be Giants. (Highly Edu-taining!)
- Mandelbrot Set by Johnathon Coulton. (Even More Edu-taining. Warning: Strong language.)
- Frank Sinatra by Cake.
- Mrs. Robinson by Simon + Garfunkel, and others.(Mrs. Robinson may not be real, but Joe DiMaggio is.)
- Candle In The Wind by Elton John. (about either Marilyn Monroe, or Princess Diana, depending on the version)
I will throw the comments section open to those of you who have any to add. What's your 5? Bonus Points for Obscurity!
For an extra challenge, try a sub-theme: All Women? People Not Mentioned In The Song's Title? All Minorities? All Still Living? All Non-Americans? All Children? All Elderly? All Villains? Give it a shot! You might just use up your whole Friday, and bring the Weekend on even sooner.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
If You Watch More TV Than I Do...
(And C'mon! Who Doesn't?)
...Then you may have seen the new Slim Jim commercials featuring the "Snapalope". These spots feature young men stalking little stick figure creatures that resemble Christmas "Reindeer" decorations made from pipe-cleaner. These critters follow in the grand tradition of the
mythical Jackalope, and Berkeley Breathed's bizzare Basselope.
Con Agra Foods, Inc. apparently had to come up with a new ad campaign, since Randy "The Macho Man" Savage has moved on to play the role of Sasquatch in commercials for their competitor, Jack Link.
I realize that Slim Jims are marketed at men almost exclusively, and if you see the TV ads, it is clear that they are appealing to the manly, hunt-something-and-kill-it mystique, but there may be an unintended consequence to this campaign...
... Do they really want to draw attention to the fact that the meat in a Slim Jim can't be attributed to any particular real animal? I guess hunting a beef and/or mechanically separated chicken fortified with modified hydrolyzed soy protein just doesn't have the same appeal.
...Then you may have seen the new Slim Jim commercials featuring the "Snapalope". These spots feature young men stalking little stick figure creatures that resemble Christmas "Reindeer" decorations made from pipe-cleaner. These critters follow in the grand tradition of the
mythical Jackalope, and Berkeley Breathed's bizzare Basselope.Con Agra Foods, Inc. apparently had to come up with a new ad campaign, since Randy "The Macho Man" Savage has moved on to play the role of Sasquatch in commercials for their competitor, Jack Link.
I realize that Slim Jims are marketed at men almost exclusively, and if you see the TV ads, it is clear that they are appealing to the manly, hunt-something-and-kill-it mystique, but there may be an unintended consequence to this campaign...
... Do they really want to draw attention to the fact that the meat in a Slim Jim can't be attributed to any particular real animal? I guess hunting a beef and/or mechanically separated chicken fortified with modified hydrolyzed soy protein just doesn't have the same appeal.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Devil In A Blue, no... Red, no.. Black- Striped..No.. Green Dress!
This lady changes clothes faster than you can change channels!
if the embed doesn't work, here's a link. And the Legal Department here at The Daily Blog of the Day wants me to add: "This blog is not responsible for the content of any outside links, their advertisers, or affiliate programs" There.
Quick Change Artists - The most amazing bloopers are here
As mentioned in my post on Competitive Magic, I was raised by Magicians. I have consequently seen enough tricks and illusions to make me probably one of the world's most skeptical cynics. There is an old standard of stage magic called "Metamorphosis", in which a Magician* locked away inside multiple layers of captivity, and his assistant** quickly, almost instantly, switch places. This trick frequently involves a quick-change as well, using techniques that are only moderately difficult to master, compared to the relative challenge of the rest of the escape.
But this lady blew me away! I lost count of the number of transformations she made! Even if you have some idea of how it was done, the flawless execution of it should still inspire some awe for a perfectly crafted performance. I am positive I do not want to know how much her chameleon wardrobe cost.
*Actually one of two magicians, although that's giving away part of the secret, and the posters rarely acknowledge that.
** The other magician, quite frequently even more talented than the one with his name on the poster in the big print.
if the embed doesn't work, here's a link. And the Legal Department here at The Daily Blog of the Day wants me to add: "This blog is not responsible for the content of any outside links, their advertisers, or affiliate programs" There.
Quick Change Artists - The most amazing bloopers are here
As mentioned in my post on Competitive Magic, I was raised by Magicians. I have consequently seen enough tricks and illusions to make me probably one of the world's most skeptical cynics. There is an old standard of stage magic called "Metamorphosis", in which a Magician* locked away inside multiple layers of captivity, and his assistant** quickly, almost instantly, switch places. This trick frequently involves a quick-change as well, using techniques that are only moderately difficult to master, compared to the relative challenge of the rest of the escape.
But this lady blew me away! I lost count of the number of transformations she made! Even if you have some idea of how it was done, the flawless execution of it should still inspire some awe for a perfectly crafted performance. I am positive I do not want to know how much her chameleon wardrobe cost.
*Actually one of two magicians, although that's giving away part of the secret, and the posters rarely acknowledge that.
** The other magician, quite frequently even more talented than the one with his name on the poster in the big print.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I'm The Guy Who Reads The Newspaper Over Your Shoulder.
Whenever anyone says the word cheeseburger, with the emphasis on the first syllable to differentiate it from a hamburger (which should have ham on it instead of cheese, really, if you stop to think about it), my mind automatically and involuntarily plays this song for me.
Because I want all of my readers to be cursed with the same problem, I bring you: Here I Am, by Lyle Lovett, and his Large Band.
Turn up your speakers and enjoy. The song is actually better without the video, so run it in a separate window or tab, or just shut your eyes. That is a commentary on the video's cinematographer and/or director, not on the appearance of Lyle. Although his looks were probably not why he was Mr. Julia Roberts for a while.
Because I want all of my readers to be cursed with the same problem, I bring you: Here I Am, by Lyle Lovett, and his Large Band.
Turn up your speakers and enjoy. The song is actually better without the video, so run it in a separate window or tab, or just shut your eyes. That is a commentary on the video's cinematographer and/or director, not on the appearance of Lyle. Although his looks were probably not why he was Mr. Julia Roberts for a while.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Super, Thanks For Asking!
I hope Everyone is having a Super Super Monday today.
It is Super Monday, of course, because it is the day between Super Sunday and Super Tuesday. And, of course, because this Monday was the last surviving Monday from the planet Krypton, and our full-spectrum sunlight enables it to perform Super-weekday feats with an array of powers such as Hangover Vision, 24-Hour Political Stump-Speech Breath, and The Power to Amass 4 million Pounds of Purple, Yellow and Green Plastic Crap to throw from floats in an attempt to see women's bare chests for 1/16th of a second.
Because tomorrow is not only Super Tuesday, it's Super "Fat Tuesday", or as the French call it, "le petit bon homme soufflé plus grand quiche deluxe ratatouille Tuesday", or something like that. I learned all the French I know by listening to old Marcel Marceau recordings, but it's been a while, so I might have misplaced an accent mark or something.
For those of you worried about the overlap of the traditional celebration of excess with the solemn proceedings of the nation's electoral process, don't worry, Louisiana's primary is not until Saturday, when, hopefully, most of the SuperFat Tuesday revelers will have remembered which congressional district they live in. (Hopefully one that smells better than the one they woke up in!)
I, for one, am in favor of just making every 4th February (the hardest month to spell) "Super February". It's Able to Leap-Year Tall Buildings in a Single Bound!
Think about it! We'd have Super Groundhog's Day, on which meteorologically psychic rodents from the planet Krypton inform us of upcoming climatological trends. And let me tell you, Super Groundhogs do an even better job of it than our regular ones. They can really see through all the bullcrap. With X-ray Groundhog Vision, they don't even have to leave their holes!
Super February would also be Super Black History Month, in which we could remember the many contributions to society of our African American Superheroes, like...
uh.. Oh, Yeah! At least one of the Green Lanterns! and... uh..this guy! Ok, on second thought maybe not.
Maybe we just do regular black history, but with an extra leap day, to study even more innovative uses for peanuts!
Super Valentines Day! If Someone gives you flowers or chocolate, you have to marry them, right then and there. First come first served, Winner Take All. (*Void where prohibited by law. Which I think is pretty much everywhere. Except for Las Vegas. And maybe some parts of Utah.)
Super President's Day! Super Ash Wednesday! Super Susan B. Anthony Day! Super Chinese New Year!
Also Spay Day, Lupercalia, Iwo Jima Day, National "Introduce a Girl To Engineering" Day, Darwin Day, National Condom Day, and some More, and More And More....
I'm ready for Springtime already.
It is Super Monday, of course, because it is the day between Super Sunday and Super Tuesday. And, of course, because this Monday was the last surviving Monday from the planet Krypton, and our full-spectrum sunlight enables it to perform Super-weekday feats with an array of powers such as Hangover Vision, 24-Hour Political Stump-Speech Breath, and The Power to Amass 4 million Pounds of Purple, Yellow and Green Plastic Crap to throw from floats in an attempt to see women's bare chests for 1/16th of a second.
Because tomorrow is not only Super Tuesday, it's Super "Fat Tuesday", or as the French call it, "le petit bon homme soufflé plus grand quiche deluxe ratatouille Tuesday", or something like that. I learned all the French I know by listening to old Marcel Marceau recordings, but it's been a while, so I might have misplaced an accent mark or something.
For those of you worried about the overlap of the traditional celebration of excess with the solemn proceedings of the nation's electoral process, don't worry, Louisiana's primary is not until Saturday, when, hopefully, most of the SuperFat Tuesday revelers will have remembered which congressional district they live in. (Hopefully one that smells better than the one they woke up in!)
I, for one, am in favor of just making every 4th February (the hardest month to spell) "Super February". It's Able to Leap-Year Tall Buildings in a Single Bound!
Think about it! We'd have Super Groundhog's Day, on which meteorologically psychic rodents from the planet Krypton inform us of upcoming climatological trends. And let me tell you, Super Groundhogs do an even better job of it than our regular ones. They can really see through all the bullcrap. With X-ray Groundhog Vision, they don't even have to leave their holes!
Super February would also be Super Black History Month, in which we could remember the many contributions to society of our African American Superheroes, like...
uh.. Oh, Yeah! At least one of the Green Lanterns! and... uh..this guy! Ok, on second thought maybe not.
Maybe we just do regular black history, but with an extra leap day, to study even more innovative uses for peanuts!
Super Valentines Day! If Someone gives you flowers or chocolate, you have to marry them, right then and there. First come first served, Winner Take All. (*Void where prohibited by law. Which I think is pretty much everywhere. Except for Las Vegas. And maybe some parts of Utah.)
Super President's Day! Super Ash Wednesday! Super Susan B. Anthony Day! Super Chinese New Year!
Also Spay Day, Lupercalia, Iwo Jima Day, National "Introduce a Girl To Engineering" Day, Darwin Day, National Condom Day, and some More, and More And More....
I'm ready for Springtime already.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Costumed Geeks Part 2: I Conned Chattacon.
As promised, this is the continued adventure of my Saturday in Chattanooga. Part 1 is here.
After dropping off my wife at the airport a few miles north of Choo-Choo-Town, I waited for McKay's to open, and received a little over 15 bucks for my crate-o'-junk. I then had about 45 minutes to make it to the convention before 10am eastern. (9am by my watch.) After getting lost (twice) around downtown, I got there just barely in time. I found the convention center, but instead of finding the registration booth (Where I would find out whether or not I could afford to get in), I instead found the reading, about to get started.
So I walked in and sat down. Nobody kicked me out due to lack of convention badge. With my poor complexion, ponytail, and official San Diego ComicCon Swag Bag, I certainly looked like I belonged there. I got to listen to the reading, which was quite good, while sitting to the immediate left of an overweight 40-something lady wearing a Hogwart's School Robe. After the reading I got my copy of "The Sorcerers' Plague" signed, chatted with Mr. Coe for a few minutes, and then set out to find the registration table.
As it turned out, I couldn't afford to go to ChattaCon. And after taking a look around, I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to ChattaCon. The only thing it appeared that my 50-dollar registration would get me was in to the Dealers' room, where I could then spend even more money that I didn't have. So I went and paid the three dollars for the parking garage, and took off back toward McKay's, from whence I had come. There were lots of Artists displaying their works at the Con, But I felt like the biggest Con Artist of them all.
There is more to tell about my Saturday in Chatt-Town, but it will have to wait until another day. Look for Part 3 tomorrow, in which I will tell you where to get Awesome (and Cheap) Shoes, And some of the Best Barbecued Brisket on the Planet.
After dropping off my wife at the airport a few miles north of Choo-Choo-Town, I waited for McKay's to open, and received a little over 15 bucks for my crate-o'-junk. I then had about 45 minutes to make it to the convention before 10am eastern. (9am by my watch.) After getting lost (twice) around downtown, I got there just barely in time. I found the convention center, but instead of finding the registration booth (Where I would find out whether or not I could afford to get in), I instead found the reading, about to get started.
So I walked in and sat down. Nobody kicked me out due to lack of convention badge. With my poor complexion, ponytail, and official San Diego ComicCon Swag Bag, I certainly looked like I belonged there. I got to listen to the reading, which was quite good, while sitting to the immediate left of an overweight 40-something lady wearing a Hogwart's School Robe. After the reading I got my copy of "The Sorcerers' Plague" signed, chatted with Mr. Coe for a few minutes, and then set out to find the registration table.
As it turned out, I couldn't afford to go to ChattaCon. And after taking a look around, I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to ChattaCon. The only thing it appeared that my 50-dollar registration would get me was in to the Dealers' room, where I could then spend even more money that I didn't have. So I went and paid the three dollars for the parking garage, and took off back toward McKay's, from whence I had come. There were lots of Artists displaying their works at the Con, But I felt like the biggest Con Artist of them all.
There is more to tell about my Saturday in Chatt-Town, but it will have to wait until another day. Look for Part 3 tomorrow, in which I will tell you where to get Awesome (and Cheap) Shoes, And some of the Best Barbecued Brisket on the Planet.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Batman's Nemesis.. Steve?
If you want to watch the "The Dark Knight" trailer, It is up. Here. A big "Thank You" to Superhero Hype, for the tipoff.
I watched a crappy bootleg version of the trailer a few days ago, and thought "I don't really like the Joker", but figured maybe, somehow, it was the fault of the low quality handheld recording. It wasn't. I think maybe I just Don't Really Like The Joker.
I have devoted a lot (and I mean a lot) of time and attention to the Joker's upcoming film treatment, and I have to say, my questions have still not been answered. And what's worse is that I have been assured that my questions will not be answered!
Several different online interviews have made clear that the origin of the Joker will not be addressed in this movie. Which leads me to say. HUH!? If you are not going to address The origin of the Joker... Then why put "The Joker" in your movie at all? Why not just have a guy named Steve? I mean "Steve" could just as easily rob banks and kill people with knives and explosives and stuff, and he would save money on makeup and purple trenchcoats. This guy is not Steve. He's the JOKER! and something, somewhere, somehow, turned him INTO the Joker. Batman's origin story made a terrific movie, and his beginning was so important to the movie that they called it "Batman Begins"! But the Joker doesn't get to begin? He Just Is? He has Green(-ish) hair! He wears crazy clown stuff! Why? He has horrible facial scars! From Where? The Public Has A Right To Know!
I have heard wonderful raves about Heath Ledger's performance, and I have no doubt that he will be able to portray the Clown Prince of Crime in a way that will make his character (painfully) clear, but Origin stories, when dealing with superheroes or villains, are the Best stories. They are necessary stories.
In the Comic books, at least in my comic books, the origin story is encapsulated in a couple of sentences right at the beginning of every single issue! Because you have to know why you are seeing this guy flying around in a jetpack, or swinging on webs, or picking up trucks and throwing them at people. You need a reason for your characters.
I know that the Joker, while the most visible by a long shot, is not the only baddie in this movie, and I only hope that the omission of his origin is to make room for the even more awesome origin story of my favorite villain, Harvey "Two Face" Dent.
So Mr. Nolan, I'm gonna give you a pass (for now) on this Joker thing, but if you screw up Two-Face... It. Is. ON!
I watched a crappy bootleg version of the trailer a few days ago, and thought "I don't really like the Joker", but figured maybe, somehow, it was the fault of the low quality handheld recording. It wasn't. I think maybe I just Don't Really Like The Joker.
I have devoted a lot (and I mean a lot) of time and attention to the Joker's upcoming film treatment, and I have to say, my questions have still not been answered. And what's worse is that I have been assured that my questions will not be answered!
Several different online interviews have made clear that the origin of the Joker will not be addressed in this movie. Which leads me to say. HUH!? If you are not going to address The origin of the Joker... Then why put "The Joker" in your movie at all? Why not just have a guy named Steve? I mean "Steve" could just as easily rob banks and kill people with knives and explosives and stuff, and he would save money on makeup and purple trenchcoats. This guy is not Steve. He's the JOKER! and something, somewhere, somehow, turned him INTO the Joker. Batman's origin story made a terrific movie, and his beginning was so important to the movie that they called it "Batman Begins"! But the Joker doesn't get to begin? He Just Is? He has Green(-ish) hair! He wears crazy clown stuff! Why? He has horrible facial scars! From Where? The Public Has A Right To Know!
I have heard wonderful raves about Heath Ledger's performance, and I have no doubt that he will be able to portray the Clown Prince of Crime in a way that will make his character (painfully) clear, but Origin stories, when dealing with superheroes or villains, are the Best stories. They are necessary stories.
In the Comic books, at least in my comic books, the origin story is encapsulated in a couple of sentences right at the beginning of every single issue! Because you have to know why you are seeing this guy flying around in a jetpack, or swinging on webs, or picking up trucks and throwing them at people. You need a reason for your characters.
I know that the Joker, while the most visible by a long shot, is not the only baddie in this movie, and I only hope that the omission of his origin is to make room for the even more awesome origin story of my favorite villain, Harvey "Two Face" Dent.
So Mr. Nolan, I'm gonna give you a pass (for now) on this Joker thing, but if you screw up Two-Face... It. Is. ON!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Reader Responses and Wrong Numbers
Well, I have had plenty of responses from readers, Most of which have been in response to my short, pithy question about eating half an apple. I just tacked that thought onto the end of my ramblings about Google and my new text editor, and didn't expect all the response.
The Intended-as-Rhetorical Question was this: "If An Apple A Day keeps the Doctor away, Then what happens if you just eat half an apple?" I then answered my own question, but you, good readers, had even better answers.
First, "Pottery Lady" informed me that half an apple a day would lead to half as much doctor time. She also reminded me that I don't know my right from my left.
Then Liz answered, probably all hopped up on Red Bull, because she gave a wordy and random answer worthy of admiration. I had to look up who in the world Goran Mxyzptlk was though, and it turns out he's the hunky guy over on the left. (see above paragraph re:right/left)
My Dad also chimed in, although via e-mail, and I had to share it. He informed me that an apple a day will keep just about anybody away, as long as you throw it right!
He also thought my newfound use of Strikeout (or in CSS, "line-through") reminded him of Kevin Nealon's "Mr. Subliminal" character. He may have a point there (totally wrong), because I have often thought that myself. (full of crap) Not that I can hold a candle to the writers over at SNL (hacks), but, then again, I do this in my spare time (send cash), so you get what you pay for. (lots of cash)
The Intended-as-Rhetorical Question was this: "If An Apple A Day keeps the Doctor away, Then what happens if you just eat half an apple?" I then answered my own question, but you, good readers, had even better answers.First, "Pottery Lady" informed me that half an apple a day would lead to half as much doctor time. She also reminded me that I don't know my right from my left.
Then Liz answered, probably all hopped up on Red Bull, because she gave a wordy and random answer worthy of admiration. I had to look up who in the world Goran Mxyzptlk was though, and it turns out he's the hunky guy over on the left. (see above paragraph re:right/left)
My Dad also chimed in, although via e-mail, and I had to share it. He informed me that an apple a day will keep just about anybody away, as long as you throw it right!
He also thought my newfound use of Strikeout (or in CSS, "line-through") reminded him of Kevin Nealon's "Mr. Subliminal" character. He may have a point there (totally wrong), because I have often thought that myself. (full of crap) Not that I can hold a candle to the writers over at SNL (hacks), but, then again, I do this in my spare time (send cash), so you get what you pay for. (lots of cash)
Before I leave you and go to sleep, I have a few Search Engine Wrong Numbers to relay.
It has been quite a while since I have had any good ones, but I got a few now. One person looked on Ask.com (in which you are encouraged to actually type in a question, rather than just keywords or search terms) for "Where can I buy Corkpops?" This person was probably not impressed with my ranking of the corkpops pressurized cork removal device as one of the lamest products ever, and a thing you should never buy.
And file this one under "Should have seen this coming": Just a day after putting up a post entitled (rather misleadingly) "If You Have Syphilis", a Seeker of Knowledge found my site by looking up "How to know if you have syphilis". And that, genteel readers is, I Promise, the last time you will see reference to that particular venereal disease on this blog. Scout's Honor. There are other blogs out there that can write about VD every day for all I care, but after typing the word twenty times, in every conceivable spelling, I feel like I need to go take a scalding shower for about Forty minutes. And I can't because we're still in a Drought.
See you round Blogophiles, and remember: Only You Can Prevent Talking Bears Stealing Hats From Park Rangers.
It has been quite a while since I have had any good ones, but I got a few now. One person looked on Ask.com (in which you are encouraged to actually type in a question, rather than just keywords or search terms) for "Where can I buy Corkpops?" This person was probably not impressed with my ranking of the corkpops pressurized cork removal device as one of the lamest products ever, and a thing you should never buy.
And file this one under "Should have seen this coming": Just a day after putting up a post entitled (rather misleadingly) "If You Have Syphilis", a Seeker of Knowledge found my site by looking up "How to know if you have syphilis". And that, genteel readers is, I Promise, the last time you will see reference to that particular venereal disease on this blog. Scout's Honor. There are other blogs out there that can write about VD every day for all I care, but after typing the word twenty times, in every conceivable spelling, I feel like I need to go take a scalding shower for about Forty minutes. And I can't because we're still in a Drought.
See you round Blogophiles, and remember: Only You Can Prevent Talking Bears Stealing Hats From Park Rangers.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
If You Liked "Sifl and Olly"...
Okay, I'm gonna come right out and say that this brand of comedy is not for everyone. You might very well think that this is the dumbest thing ever. But If you liked the "Sifl and Olly Show" (and the later work of Liam Lynch), then you may possibly appreciate the brand of comic genius that is Leslie Hall.
Who is Leslie Hall, you ask? She is the leader of the quasi-band "Leslie and the Lys", and the woman responsible for the "Gem Sweater" video, which, if you don't turn off about 10 seconds in, will be stuck in your head for a while whether you want it or not. I saw the Gem Sweater video back when it first debuted on atom films in 2005, and the follow up "Beat Dazzler" video.
Well, three weeks ago, Leslie and the Lys put out a new video on YouTube, entitled This Is How We Go Out, and it shot to the number one spot. Unlike the first few videos, where awkward and painful music was accompanied by awkward and painful imagery, this one actually has a pretty good song to go with the awkward and painful imagery. If you check out Leslie's YouTube profile page, you find some non-musical comedy which is kind of Tom Green meets "Sifl and Olly" meets an Overweight, Middle Aged, Iowan Woman.
Anyway, If you don't like it, you can't say I didn't warn you. If You did like it, you might also want to check out Groove Fighters Episode One and Episode Two.
Who is Leslie Hall, you ask? She is the leader of the quasi-band "Leslie and the Lys", and the woman responsible for the "Gem Sweater" video, which, if you don't turn off about 10 seconds in, will be stuck in your head for a while whether you want it or not. I saw the Gem Sweater video back when it first debuted on atom films in 2005, and the follow up "Beat Dazzler" video.
Well, three weeks ago, Leslie and the Lys put out a new video on YouTube, entitled This Is How We Go Out, and it shot to the number one spot. Unlike the first few videos, where awkward and painful music was accompanied by awkward and painful imagery, this one actually has a pretty good song to go with the awkward and painful imagery. If you check out Leslie's YouTube profile page, you find some non-musical comedy which is kind of Tom Green meets "Sifl and Olly" meets an Overweight, Middle Aged, Iowan Woman.
Anyway, If you don't like it, you can't say I didn't warn you. If You did like it, you might also want to check out Groove Fighters Episode One and Episode Two.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Anybody want to buy a book?
Wow... It is Sunday afternoon and I get to post again.
Friday morning I had to teach a Balloon-Twisting workshop for a children's entertainers convention at a church in Nashville. I was doing the event for free, as a favor to my parents, but the opportunity existed to sell "Lecture Notes" after the workshop to those who wanted a written version of the class to take home with them. I had prepared this material already back in 2002, when I gave much the same lecture at the same convention.
That time, I had to compose and self-publish my notes, which involved several hours (days, maybe?) behind the computer, writing and illustrating, and then several more hours at Kinko's spending a fortune printing the things (including the full-color cover), then cutting, folding, and stapling....
I probably made twenty of the things, at a cost of well over forty dollars, not including time and effort. I figured I could sell them at 6$ a piece, and then, if I sold all twenty of them, I would leave the class (which I was teaching for free, remember) with an eighty dollar profit to show for all my labor.
I sold 6, I think. The details are a little fuzzy, 'cuz this was over 5 years ago, but one point stands out clearly in my mind, and that is... I didn't quite make the money back that I put in. I was left with a stash of more than a dozen booklets that I gave away most of over the course of the next 5 years.
Then this year I had an opportunity to do the lecture again. Only I had given away the notes over the course of the last 5 years, so I had none! I decided to use the knowledge gained from my past mistakes, and print them at the University Library instead of Kinko's, Skip the Full Color cover, only make a few of them (I made 6), and charge more for them. $7.50 sounds just as fair as $6, anyway.
So I spent slightly less than $20 to make half a dozen of these little 32 page masterpieces, and I went to the convention and did a wonderful presentation. I sold two books... I didn't quite make the money back that I put in. Again.
Anybody want to buy a book? I got 4 left. At $7.50, they make great stocking stuffers!
Friday morning I had to teach a Balloon-Twisting workshop for a children's entertainers convention at a church in Nashville. I was doing the event for free, as a favor to my parents, but the opportunity existed to sell "Lecture Notes" after the workshop to those who wanted a written version of the class to take home with them. I had prepared this material already back in 2002, when I gave much the same lecture at the same convention.
That time, I had to compose and self-publish my notes, which involved several hours (days, maybe?) behind the computer, writing and illustrating, and then several more hours at Kinko's spending a fortune printing the things (including the full-color cover), then cutting, folding, and stapling....
I probably made twenty of the things, at a cost of well over forty dollars, not including time and effort. I figured I could sell them at 6$ a piece, and then, if I sold all twenty of them, I would leave the class (which I was teaching for free, remember) with an eighty dollar profit to show for all my labor.
I sold 6, I think. The details are a little fuzzy, 'cuz this was over 5 years ago, but one point stands out clearly in my mind, and that is... I didn't quite make the money back that I put in. I was left with a stash of more than a dozen booklets that I gave away most of over the course of the next 5 years.
Then this year I had an opportunity to do the lecture again. Only I had given away the notes over the course of the last 5 years, so I had none! I decided to use the knowledge gained from my past mistakes, and print them at the University Library instead of Kinko's, Skip the Full Color cover, only make a few of them (I made 6), and charge more for them. $7.50 sounds just as fair as $6, anyway.
So I spent slightly less than $20 to make half a dozen of these little 32 page masterpieces, and I went to the convention and did a wonderful presentation. I sold two books... I didn't quite make the money back that I put in. Again.
Anybody want to buy a book? I got 4 left. At $7.50, they make great stocking stuffers!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
See You In December!
Finally, some more movement in the The Dark Knight Viral Marketing campaign. I caught everyone up to date on what I knew back in August, but since then the "See You In December" threat has loomed over the legions of Geekdom without explanation. See what in December? What are we gonna see in December? Is it gonna be cool? Will I Be able to see it? Will it hurt? WHAT, WHAT WILL WE SEE IN DECEMBER!!!
Turns out, a Seven Minute-Long preview will (sorry, not will... might) be released in December.
In IMAX.
I am So THERE!
I had heard that this movie was being partially shot in IMAX, and let the news roll over me. I love me some IMAX, but the only Theatres are pretty far away, and expensive, and.. yadda yadda yadda... I had resigned myself that I would probably see the flick in a normal, mortal, multiplex screen...
But now, I get to see seven uninterrupted minutes of Batman/Joker Goodness Half a Year Early, AND in beautiful, full Framed IMAX Splendor? OH, JOY!
The Batman Super-Preview is expected to show along with other (far less buzzed about) hero film I am Legend, which stars Will Smith in the tile role alongside Charlize Theron. I don't know anything else about I am Legend except that I am going to see it, and I am going to see it in IMAX. In December!
So there will be a scene from the movie shown in IMAX theaters in December along with Will Smith's Perennial Holiday Action Blockbuster. OK, is there anymore info you can give, Frank? What will we see? Do we get to see the Joker? The Batmobile? Two-Face, Maybe?
Well 4 scenes were shot with IMAX cameras for this film. Obviously, the scene would be one of them. And of course, you probably won't be seeing the dramatic climax of the film, so probably an early scene, something designed to set the stage, whet the appetite. A.. "Prologue", so to speak...
This is directly from the IMAX press release about TDK (The Dark Knight)....
Everything about this is couched in rumor and hearsay. The possibility of the 7 minute preview
was first released/leaked/invented? on the Portuguese-language Site Omelete. Those wanting to verify the original source of the rumor had better know Portuguese. Of cours Viral marketing is all about creating mystery and rumor, and these guys have done masterfully.
So will we have to wait 'til December to find out anything more about the Caped Crusader? Possibly not. Halloween plans might be in store too, because the whysoserious site has changed again. I will keep you posted, until then....
See you in..October?
Turns out, a Seven Minute-Long preview will (sorry, not will... might) be released in December.
In IMAX.
I am So THERE!
I had heard that this movie was being partially shot in IMAX, and let the news roll over me. I love me some IMAX, but the only Theatres are pretty far away, and expensive, and.. yadda yadda yadda... I had resigned myself that I would probably see the flick in a normal, mortal, multiplex screen...
But now, I get to see seven uninterrupted minutes of Batman/Joker Goodness Half a Year Early, AND in beautiful, full Framed IMAX Splendor? OH, JOY!
The Batman Super-Preview is expected to show along with other (far less buzzed about) hero film I am Legend, which stars Will Smith in the tile role alongside Charlize Theron. I don't know anything else about I am Legend except that I am going to see it, and I am going to see it in IMAX. In December!
So there will be a scene from the movie shown in IMAX theaters in December along with Will Smith's Perennial Holiday Action Blockbuster. OK, is there anymore info you can give, Frank? What will we see? Do we get to see the Joker? The Batmobile? Two-Face, Maybe?
Well 4 scenes were shot with IMAX cameras for this film. Obviously, the scene would be one of them. And of course, you probably won't be seeing the dramatic climax of the film, so probably an early scene, something designed to set the stage, whet the appetite. A.. "Prologue", so to speak...
This is directly from the IMAX press release about TDK (The Dark Knight)....
The first of the scenes, including a prologue that introduces Batman's arch-nemesis The Joker, was shot in April, several weeks in advance of the actual start of principal photography. Additional selected scenes are being filmed with IMAX cameras during the course of production on "The Dark Knight."So, They shot the prologue earlier than the rest of the movie, eh? Possibly because they planned to release it earlier than the rest of the film? I think it is a safe bet that this is the scene that you will be able to see in December. Here is a picture, released along with the IMAX press release, from the filming of that scene. For a larger version, and another Imax Shot, follow this link.
Everything about this is couched in rumor and hearsay. The possibility of the 7 minute preview
was first released/leaked/invented? on the Portuguese-language Site Omelete. Those wanting to verify the original source of the rumor had better know Portuguese. Of cours Viral marketing is all about creating mystery and rumor, and these guys have done masterfully.
So will we have to wait 'til December to find out anything more about the Caped Crusader? Possibly not. Halloween plans might be in store too, because the whysoserious site has changed again. I will keep you posted, until then....
See you in..October?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Can Ye Guess What Day This Be?
If You.. er, Ye.. said "International Talk Like a Pirate Day", then you are correct. ... Sorry, I meant "Then Right ye be! Aargh!"
OK, it isn't actually "TYPE" like a Pirate day, so enough with that. Anyway, this is the second year in a row that I have remembered it, (planned today's blogtivities a week in advance, even!) meaning that I have a better track record with observance of I.T.L.A.P.D. than with many of my relatives' birthdays.
The Holiday was invented by these guys, but was popularized by newspaper columnist Dave Barry. If I try to model my humor on this blog after anyone, it is Dave Barry. So in Honor of Dave, my syndicated comedy hero, The Daily Blog of the Day will Faithfully observe I.T.L.A.P.D. this and every year. Next year I plan to dress for the occasion, but this year, I don't have an Eyepatch.
So, Spread the word to all your friends... Or I'll Keelhaul the Lot of ye!
(P.S. - If you are viewing the sydicated feed in a reader, make sure you click through to the actual site to see TDBotD's Holiday makeover!)
OK, it isn't actually "TYPE" like a Pirate day, so enough with that. Anyway, this is the second year in a row that I have remembered it, (planned today's blogtivities a week in advance, even!) meaning that I have a better track record with observance of I.T.L.A.P.D. than with many of my relatives' birthdays.
The Holiday was invented by these guys, but was popularized by newspaper columnist Dave Barry. If I try to model my humor on this blog after anyone, it is Dave Barry. So in Honor of Dave, my syndicated comedy hero, The Daily Blog of the Day will Faithfully observe I.T.L.A.P.D. this and every year. Next year I plan to dress for the occasion, but this year, I don't have an Eyepatch.
So, Spread the word to all your friends... Or I'll Keelhaul the Lot of ye!
(P.S. - If you are viewing the sydicated feed in a reader, make sure you click through to the actual site to see TDBotD's Holiday makeover!)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Superhero Movie News! - Iron Man
If you know anything about me, then you already know... I love me some Superheroes. I collected Marvel Comics as a little kid. (I also collected baseball cards and coins. But not stamps; Stamp collecting's only for nerds!) I collected them a bit more seriously as a teenager, and one question I always asked myself was, "Why don't they make a decent movie out of --insert comic here--? Well, I don't know why they didn't then, but they have been making up for lost time in the 21st century. Ever since Tobey Maguire had his Spider-Mask peeled halfway back to play upside-down tonsil-hockey with Kirsten Dunst, Superhero movies have been marketable to the masses, not just the masses of Nerddom.
I have already shared my excitement with you about the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, and now I finally get a peek at what the upcoming Iron Man movie directed by Jon Favreau, and starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. With Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges co-starring (along with alleged cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Hilary Swank), it looks like they have got another one right.
The first Fantastic Four was an immature Super-sitcom, interspersed with meaningless stunt-scenes. (I am waiting for FF2 on DVD) Ghost Rider was an equally immature Eye-Candy Extravaganza. HULK had the most potential to be great, but unfortunately Ang Lee wrote a new, unnecessary, and overly complex take on the physical and psychological origins of the character, and made Bruce Banner's dad into the lamest villain ever, bringing the movie to a conclusion with the most artsy-fartsy fight scene ever put on film. I was never a fan of The Punisher or Elektra comics (I just barely knew who the character of Elektra was), and the Daredevil Movie was just atrocious.
Of course I saw them all, anyway. Comic Fans could appreciate these movies on some level, simply because they brought characters that we already loved to life for us in a new way, but until now Marvel had really only scored with the X-Men and Spider-Man trilogies. Well, they figured out what the audiences wanted. Superhero movies that did really well all had the word "Man" in them! (or its plural, although I suppose the mutants should be Xpeople, or X-Persons)
Well, Another "Man" movie is on the way!
Of course, outside of the titles, the successful movies have been the ones that centered on their superhuman characters' all-too-human problems. Tony Stark is going to be the next Peter Parker, I hope.
Anyway, the reason for all the Iron Man hoopla is the new Iron Man Movie Teaser that was just released yesterday. I have been hoping for a while that they would get this one right, and it looks like they just might have.
Warning: You will have a potentially annoying song stuck in your head after watching. You can't say I didn't warn you!
I have already shared my excitement with you about the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, and now I finally get a peek at what the upcoming Iron Man movie directed by Jon Favreau, and starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. With Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges co-starring (along with alleged cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Hilary Swank), it looks like they have got another one right.The first Fantastic Four was an immature Super-sitcom, interspersed with meaningless stunt-scenes. (I am waiting for FF2 on DVD) Ghost Rider was an equally immature Eye-Candy Extravaganza. HULK had the most potential to be great, but unfortunately Ang Lee wrote a new, unnecessary, and overly complex take on the physical and psychological origins of the character, and made Bruce Banner's dad into the lamest villain ever, bringing the movie to a conclusion with the most artsy-fartsy fight scene ever put on film. I was never a fan of The Punisher or Elektra comics (I just barely knew who the character of Elektra was), and the Daredevil Movie was just atrocious.
Of course I saw them all, anyway. Comic Fans could appreciate these movies on some level, simply because they brought characters that we already loved to life for us in a new way, but until now Marvel had really only scored with the X-Men and Spider-Man trilogies. Well, they figured out what the audiences wanted. Superhero movies that did really well all had the word "Man" in them! (or its plural, although I suppose the mutants should be Xpeople, or X-Persons)
Well, Another "Man" movie is on the way!
Of course, outside of the titles, the successful movies have been the ones that centered on their superhuman characters' all-too-human problems. Tony Stark is going to be the next Peter Parker, I hope.
Anyway, the reason for all the Iron Man hoopla is the new Iron Man Movie Teaser that was just released yesterday. I have been hoping for a while that they would get this one right, and it looks like they just might have.
Warning: You will have a potentially annoying song stuck in your head after watching. You can't say I didn't warn you!
Monday, August 13, 2007
The most under-appreciated band from the 1980's
Doing extensive research for the Greatest Toon of all time tournament, I came across this. If you are within a few years of my age, this might re-ignite a few memories that you didn't even know you had.
Also, note the Red Honda Scooter. I was brainwashed by childhood cartoons into buying it, and I didn't even know.
Watch the Video
Also, note the Red Honda Scooter. I was brainwashed by childhood cartoons into buying it, and I didn't even know.
Watch the Video
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Keyword University
Do you sometimes feel like you are just not "in the know" about pop culture? Do you want to have a broad, sweeping, knowledge of what people Really care about around the world? Do you just want to be ready to answer the trivia question that the Radio DJ asks tonight , so you can win the free passes to the new Ashton Kutcher movie?
Well, Folks, the Daily Blog of the Day is here to Info-cate and Edu-tain you, but if you need more random knowledge than one gas station clerk can dish out at you, then Might I recommend:
The first step in learning more stuff than you could ever want to know is this: get the Google Toolbar add-on, and install it. Actually if you have Firefox 2, you can skip this step, but I don't know about the other browsers. If you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, please switch right now. go ahead. I'll wait.
OK, now here's the fun part. Type the letter "A" into the little Google search bar, and look at the "search suggestions" that pop up below. you should have "Amazon", "Apple", "AOL", and "American Airlines" as search suggestions, as well as something called "Argos". Now I know that Argos is a city in the Mediterranean, but I doubt the city is interesting enough to be the second most searched for item starting with the letter A. So select "Argos" from the drop-down list and let's learn together.
Turns out Argos.co.uk is a sort of English equivalent of Amazon.com. It is a big-time catalog/online sales outfit. Now I am that much more culturally savvy if I happen to find myself "Across The Pond" over in Jolly Old England. Now type in "B". What the heck is a "Bebo"? well, follow the link to find out. Oh, it's another MySpace-style social networking site, like Facebook, and friendster, and Hi5, and orkut, and possibly a dozen others. Wow, now we've learned two things.
If you go through the alphabet like that (although I recommend skipping the letter "X", especially if you are using your work computer), and follow the trail of any search term you come across, you will be that much smarter and culturally savvy, instantly!
In just one pass, I learned who Kim Kardashian and Zac Efron were, several different businesses that operate in the UK, and what "Club Penguin" is. (It's another MySpace-style social networking site, like Facebook, and friendster, and Hi5, and orkut, only it is aimed at 8-14 year olds with protective parents)
If you were the last one on your block to know what the heck a Yu-Gi-Oh! card or a Pokemon was, or if you were to too embarrassed at your last dinner party to ask what the heck "American Idol" was, or if you don't know why your coworkers are talking about people named "Meatwad" and "Frylock", then Keyword University may be what you need. You wont get a diploma, but you won't get charged tuition, either.
Well, Folks, the Daily Blog of the Day is here to Info-cate and Edu-tain you, but if you need more random knowledge than one gas station clerk can dish out at you, then Might I recommend:
Keyword University!
The first step in learning more stuff than you could ever want to know is this: get the Google Toolbar add-on, and install it. Actually if you have Firefox 2, you can skip this step, but I don't know about the other browsers. If you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, please switch right now. go ahead. I'll wait.
OK, now here's the fun part. Type the letter "A" into the little Google search bar, and look at the "search suggestions" that pop up below. you should have "Amazon", "Apple", "AOL", and "American Airlines" as search suggestions, as well as something called "Argos". Now I know that Argos is a city in the Mediterranean, but I doubt the city is interesting enough to be the second most searched for item starting with the letter A. So select "Argos" from the drop-down list and let's learn together.
Turns out Argos.co.uk is a sort of English equivalent of Amazon.com. It is a big-time catalog/online sales outfit. Now I am that much more culturally savvy if I happen to find myself "Across The Pond" over in Jolly Old England. Now type in "B". What the heck is a "Bebo"? well, follow the link to find out. Oh, it's another MySpace-style social networking site, like Facebook, and friendster, and Hi5, and orkut, and possibly a dozen others. Wow, now we've learned two things.
If you go through the alphabet like that (although I recommend skipping the letter "X", especially if you are using your work computer), and follow the trail of any search term you come across, you will be that much smarter and culturally savvy, instantly!
In just one pass, I learned who Kim Kardashian and Zac Efron were, several different businesses that operate in the UK, and what "Club Penguin" is. (It's another MySpace-style social networking site, like Facebook, and friendster, and Hi5, and orkut, only it is aimed at 8-14 year olds with protective parents)
If you were the last one on your block to know what the heck a Yu-Gi-Oh! card or a Pokemon was, or if you were to too embarrassed at your last dinner party to ask what the heck "American Idol" was, or if you don't know why your coworkers are talking about people named "Meatwad" and "Frylock", then Keyword University may be what you need. You wont get a diploma, but you won't get charged tuition, either.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Holy Viral Marketing, Batman!
I really like superheroes, but I am really picky about them, too, which is why I typically leave the theater after superhero movies mentally dissecting what worked, what could have been done better, and what should never have even been attempted. Rarely does a Superhero Movie get it *just right*. But Christopher Nolan got Batman Begins *just right*.
Christopher Nolan is, in my book, tied with M. Knight Shyamalan for best Film Director In The Whole Wide World. And when the Best Film Director In The Whole Wide World (Nolan) takes on the Best Film Subject In The Whole Wide World (Superheroes), you get Movie Magic. So I am elated that Mr. Nolan is going back to Gotham City for seconds.
The Dark Knight, a direct sequel to Batman Begins, will be hitting theaters a year from now. The movie is currently fiming in Chicago, but the guerrilla marketing has already been underway for weeks, if not months, and is some of the most clever stuff I have seen. I don't know who the geniuses behind this are, but as long as they don't put any suspicious "Lite-Brite" toys underneath Boston Bridges, they should go on to do great things for other movies as well.
It all began, as far as I can tell, with the website "ibelieveinharveydent.com", which got a whole internet domain name to display a single picture. The picture is a political campaign-style poster featuring Aaron Eckhart's good-looking face gazing thoughtfully out into the distance from in front of a Flag background, and the words "Harvey Dent for District Attorney", "I believe in Harvey Dent", and in smaller print, "Paid for by friends of Harvey Dent"
For the Batman-Impaired amongst you, Harvey Dent is the name of the good-looking, unbribable, straight-as-an-arrow, District Attorney who is a good friend to both Bruce Wayne (as another of Gotham's Most Eligible Bachelors) and a professional friend of Batman. Harvey eventually becomes disfigured along one half of his body, marring his once-famous good looks, and turning him into the tortured, half-good, half evil character known as Two-Face.
This little teaser tells us two things. That the Character of Harvey Dent will be in the movie, and that he will be played by Aaron Eckhart. What it doesn't tell us is whether we will get to see the emergence of Two-Face in the film. This is why they call it a "Teaser".
So a Few Weeks after "I Believe in Harvey Dent" pops up, Comic-Book Shops in California start finding playing cards stamped with "Ha!Ha!Ha!" and "ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com" I won't tell you which playing card it was, but I'll give you a hint: It rhymes with "Smoker" and "Midnight Toker" (and, yes, some people call him "Maurice")
A visit to this site revealed a mirror of the original Harvey Dent site. Just the same picture as before... but the picture was changing, excruciatingly slowly, pixel by pixel, to reveal the first image of actor Heath Ledger in makeup as The Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker. (Hey, "Joker" rhymes with those things from the last paragraph! Except "Maurice".. wonder what that was about?)
Then 48 hours or so later, just when some people were getting the emails from their friends telling them to go check out the picture, they pulled it, and visitors to the site were greeted with The words "Page Not Found" in red lettering on a black background. Those who left disappointed missed the site's new content. written in *Black* lettering on the black background,(visible only if you "click and Drag" across the screen) was "Ha HA ha hA Ha ha...." for a disturbingly long time. Check it out for yourself here, if you want to.
People looking for some meaning to the madness found it, if they scoured among the "Ha"s for the other letters, which apparently (I've not checked - I'm not THAT nerdy! (ok, ok, I checked)) spell out the message "See you in December". The Movie will be out in Summer, so what is going to happen in December? Ah.. Another Teaser.
Speaking of Teasers, that is also the name for the 10 to 30 second advertisement for a movie that comes out before the 2 minute long "Trailer" does. It is shown in movie theaters far in advance of the movie, to generate "Buzz" and whet fans' appetites. Well, some one "Bootlegged" a very low quality recording of the teaser for The Dark Knight before it was supposed to be released, and posted it on YouTube. I found out about this and visited You tube to watch it. I saw it, but I couldn't hear it very well over my laptop speakers, so I went to get my headphones and watch it again. Before I could return from the other room, Warner Brothers pulled the plug and the Video, and when I tried to play it again, I was greeted with "This video is no longer available due to a Copyright Claim by Warner Brothers". I had watched it less than five minutes before it was pulled.
Well last week the plot thickened. Geeks of every color, shape and size were in San Diego for Comic-con 2007. Another site pops up, called whysoserious.com, with a countdown clock running on it. The site is made to look like the Joker is recruiting people. At the appointed time, people who want to join "The Joker's" forces need to be at a certain place. The place is indicated by a aerial photo, with no directions or even any indication of where it is. If you recognize the place from the air, then be there at the time appointed.
When they got there, among lots of other promotional stuff, there was a contest of some sort -a follow the clues-scavenger hunt sort of thing from he look of it. All of the participants were wearing garish, Joker-style, Clown makeup (you can see the photo at the bottom of yesterday's post), and the winner got to be "Killed" and photographed as a "Joker" body double. The Whysoserious.com website then featured the Joker's "death notice", still photos of the day's events, and the official release of the "Teaser" that I had seen before. The phrase "See you in December" came up again in the death notice. Then a bit later, they pulled the site altogether, and it now forwards you straight to "rent-a-clown.com", which seems to have no purpose (so far), other than to highlight the "mugshots" taken of the contest participants in their Joker-makeup. The fans are given ridiculous aliases which are all combinations of the same dozen or so (all-male) first names, and a few descriptive phrases; you can check it out here. (WARNING - you will want to turn your speakers waaaay down.) If there is a secret message on this site, I don't know what it is. If you figure it out, let me know, otherwise....
"See you in December!" HaHA haHA hahaha HA ha HAhahahahahaha!!!!
Christopher Nolan is, in my book, tied with M. Knight Shyamalan for best Film Director In The Whole Wide World. And when the Best Film Director In The Whole Wide World (Nolan) takes on the Best Film Subject In The Whole Wide World (Superheroes), you get Movie Magic. So I am elated that Mr. Nolan is going back to Gotham City for seconds.
The Dark Knight, a direct sequel to Batman Begins, will be hitting theaters a year from now. The movie is currently fiming in Chicago, but the guerrilla marketing has already been underway for weeks, if not months, and is some of the most clever stuff I have seen. I don't know who the geniuses behind this are, but as long as they don't put any suspicious "Lite-Brite" toys underneath Boston Bridges, they should go on to do great things for other movies as well.
It all began, as far as I can tell, with the website "ibelieveinharveydent.com", which got a whole internet domain name to display a single picture. The picture is a political campaign-style poster featuring Aaron Eckhart's good-looking face gazing thoughtfully out into the distance from in front of a Flag background, and the words "Harvey Dent for District Attorney", "I believe in Harvey Dent", and in smaller print, "Paid for by friends of Harvey Dent"
For the Batman-Impaired amongst you, Harvey Dent is the name of the good-looking, unbribable, straight-as-an-arrow, District Attorney who is a good friend to both Bruce Wayne (as another of Gotham's Most Eligible Bachelors) and a professional friend of Batman. Harvey eventually becomes disfigured along one half of his body, marring his once-famous good looks, and turning him into the tortured, half-good, half evil character known as Two-Face.
This little teaser tells us two things. That the Character of Harvey Dent will be in the movie, and that he will be played by Aaron Eckhart. What it doesn't tell us is whether we will get to see the emergence of Two-Face in the film. This is why they call it a "Teaser".
So a Few Weeks after "I Believe in Harvey Dent" pops up, Comic-Book Shops in California start finding playing cards stamped with "Ha!Ha!Ha!" and "ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com" I won't tell you which playing card it was, but I'll give you a hint: It rhymes with "Smoker" and "Midnight Toker" (and, yes, some people call him "Maurice")
A visit to this site revealed a mirror of the original Harvey Dent site. Just the same picture as before... but the picture was changing, excruciatingly slowly, pixel by pixel, to reveal the first image of actor Heath Ledger in makeup as The Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker. (Hey, "Joker" rhymes with those things from the last paragraph! Except "Maurice".. wonder what that was about?)
Then 48 hours or so later, just when some people were getting the emails from their friends telling them to go check out the picture, they pulled it, and visitors to the site were greeted with The words "Page Not Found" in red lettering on a black background. Those who left disappointed missed the site's new content. written in *Black* lettering on the black background,(visible only if you "click and Drag" across the screen) was "Ha HA ha hA Ha ha...." for a disturbingly long time. Check it out for yourself here, if you want to.
People looking for some meaning to the madness found it, if they scoured among the "Ha"s for the other letters, which apparently (I've not checked - I'm not THAT nerdy! (ok, ok, I checked)) spell out the message "See you in December". The Movie will be out in Summer, so what is going to happen in December? Ah.. Another Teaser.
Speaking of Teasers, that is also the name for the 10 to 30 second advertisement for a movie that comes out before the 2 minute long "Trailer" does. It is shown in movie theaters far in advance of the movie, to generate "Buzz" and whet fans' appetites. Well, some one "Bootlegged" a very low quality recording of the teaser for The Dark Knight before it was supposed to be released, and posted it on YouTube. I found out about this and visited You tube to watch it. I saw it, but I couldn't hear it very well over my laptop speakers, so I went to get my headphones and watch it again. Before I could return from the other room, Warner Brothers pulled the plug and the Video, and when I tried to play it again, I was greeted with "This video is no longer available due to a Copyright Claim by Warner Brothers". I had watched it less than five minutes before it was pulled.
Well last week the plot thickened. Geeks of every color, shape and size were in San Diego for Comic-con 2007. Another site pops up, called whysoserious.com, with a countdown clock running on it. The site is made to look like the Joker is recruiting people. At the appointed time, people who want to join "The Joker's" forces need to be at a certain place. The place is indicated by a aerial photo, with no directions or even any indication of where it is. If you recognize the place from the air, then be there at the time appointed.
When they got there, among lots of other promotional stuff, there was a contest of some sort -a follow the clues-scavenger hunt sort of thing from he look of it. All of the participants were wearing garish, Joker-style, Clown makeup (you can see the photo at the bottom of yesterday's post), and the winner got to be "Killed" and photographed as a "Joker" body double. The Whysoserious.com website then featured the Joker's "death notice", still photos of the day's events, and the official release of the "Teaser" that I had seen before. The phrase "See you in December" came up again in the death notice. Then a bit later, they pulled the site altogether, and it now forwards you straight to "rent-a-clown.com", which seems to have no purpose (so far), other than to highlight the "mugshots" taken of the contest participants in their Joker-makeup. The fans are given ridiculous aliases which are all combinations of the same dozen or so (all-male) first names, and a few descriptive phrases; you can check it out here. (WARNING - you will want to turn your speakers waaaay down.) If there is a secret message on this site, I don't know what it is. If you figure it out, let me know, otherwise....
"See you in December!" HaHA haHA hahaha HA ha HAhahahahahaha!!!!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Card Tricks
Ok "Sports" fans...
Welcome to the Daily(blog of the day) Sports Programming Network's...
For this, the 4th week of July, in honor of Comic-con San Diego, where my brother has been this week (I'm insanely jealous, by the way) DSPN will be taking a look at competitive Magic of two types. Magic:The Gathering, the Collectible Card Game (aka M:TG the CCG), and actual illusionist, stage magician, sleight-of-hand, type magic.
Everyone in my immediate family has some experience with one or the other of these two "Magics". My Father has recently become a National Champion Magician, (Here's his Magical Resume), and My Mother has taken up Magic too, now that her kids are out of the house. My Siblings an I stuck to the Card Game, but now that I think about it, I am the only one to have competed at both types.
Many Many Moons Ago, when I was ...oh, let's say 8 years old (between 7 and 10, for sure), I won first prize in the Youth Close-up category, at the Winter Carnival of Magic in Gatlinburg Tennessee. I did a trick called "The Matrix" in which I made quarters disappear from beneath a napkin, and a trick called "The Whispering Queen" which is a slightly theatrical take on the oldest "pick a card, any card, sir" trick in the book. I did these tricks so well, I won First Prize in my category, did I mention that already?
oh, by the way, I was the only person entered in that category....
I still have the trophy to this day. It is about a foot tall, and is topped with a hand holding a fanned-out display of cards. It sits next to my Spelling-Bee trophy from a few years later,on my mantel at home. I am a bit more proud of the spelling bee trophy, For reasons that are obvious to those of you with good eyesight.
Several years later, in high school, I became acquainted with some friends of my brothers (Hello, Mr. Lorrance!) who were collecting Star Trek: The Next Generation Collectible Card Game Cards. (aka ST:TNG CCG cards...see how handy these initials are?) I was not a big time trekkie, but the cards were kinda fun, and once I had the concept of a Collectible Card Game explained to me, I was hooked.
Collectible Card Games, (CCG's, even) are like narcotics in a number of important ways:
Anyway, My brother and I entered a Magic tournament ourselves. I didn't bring home a trophy, (I was put out in the first round, as was my Bro), but I did become a Registered Tournament-level Player (which is kinda like having the word DORK branded into your skin, only less painful). I haven't played in years, and my cards have been stolen (unless I lent them out to someone and forgot) But every now and again I still want to pick it back up. Or maybe I should just try Heroin, instead.
Hey, at least I don't play the Trombone, too!
Welcome to the Daily(blog of the day) Sports Programming Network's...
Ridiculously wide world of "Sports"
For this, the 4th week of July, in honor of Comic-con San Diego, where my brother has been this week (I'm insanely jealous, by the way) DSPN will be taking a look at competitive Magic of two types. Magic:The Gathering, the Collectible Card Game (aka M:TG the CCG), and actual illusionist, stage magician, sleight-of-hand, type magic.
Everyone in my immediate family has some experience with one or the other of these two "Magics". My Father has recently become a National Champion Magician, (Here's his Magical Resume), and My Mother has taken up Magic too, now that her kids are out of the house. My Siblings an I stuck to the Card Game, but now that I think about it, I am the only one to have competed at both types.
Many Many Moons Ago, when I was ...oh, let's say 8 years old (between 7 and 10, for sure), I won first prize in the Youth Close-up category, at the Winter Carnival of Magic in Gatlinburg Tennessee. I did a trick called "The Matrix" in which I made quarters disappear from beneath a napkin, and a trick called "The Whispering Queen" which is a slightly theatrical take on the oldest "pick a card, any card, sir" trick in the book. I did these tricks so well, I won First Prize in my category, did I mention that already?
oh, by the way, I was the only person entered in that category....
I still have the trophy to this day. It is about a foot tall, and is topped with a hand holding a fanned-out display of cards. It sits next to my Spelling-Bee trophy from a few years later,on my mantel at home. I am a bit more proud of the spelling bee trophy, For reasons that are obvious to those of you with good eyesight.
Several years later, in high school, I became acquainted with some friends of my brothers (Hello, Mr. Lorrance!) who were collecting Star Trek: The Next Generation Collectible Card Game Cards. (aka ST:TNG CCG cards...see how handy these initials are?) I was not a big time trekkie, but the cards were kinda fun, and once I had the concept of a Collectible Card Game explained to me, I was hooked.
Collectible Card Games, (CCG's, even) are like narcotics in a number of important ways:
- You start because your friends are doing it
- You sometimes have to buy your own paraphernalia from a friend, a "specialty shop", or an ad in the back of a magazine devoted to your "hobby"
- You gather with your friends to indulge the habit
- You spend all your money on the stuff
- The more you do it the more you need
- A "harmless" CCG like Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokemon (yes, they are targeting CHILDREN with this stuff) can be a "Gateway Game" to the hard stuff, like Magic:The Gathering.
- Drugs are actually consumed in the process of using them, whereas the Card-Flopper ends up with cratefuls of the things all over his bedroom. (And, Yeah, the masculine pronoun there was intentional, folks)
- Drug Users don't have to be literate.
- Drugs make you cool, CCG's just the opposite. (ok, just kidding... Drugs DON'T make you cool, kids. (They're BAD, m'kay?) But still... kids think that drugs will make them cool, whereas they harbor no such illusions about their Star Trek Cards. Lindsay Lohan and Robert Downey, Jr. never went in to Card Game Rehab, is what I'm tryin' to say, here.)
- Also, there are no tournaments where people compete at their ability to do drugs (except for Major League Baseball, and The Tour De France)
Anyway, My brother and I entered a Magic tournament ourselves. I didn't bring home a trophy, (I was put out in the first round, as was my Bro), but I did become a Registered Tournament-level Player (which is kinda like having the word DORK branded into your skin, only less painful). I haven't played in years, and my cards have been stolen (unless I lent them out to someone and forgot) But every now and again I still want to pick it back up. Or maybe I should just try Heroin, instead.
Hey, at least I don't play the Trombone, too!
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