Fairly conventional funnies this week.... Niece #2 introduced me to "Basic Instructions" last summer, and I've been following the strip online since. It's a twice-weekly sort of affair. Drawn by Scott Meyer in a spare, text-heavy style, and always addressing an issue of practical concern ("How to Confound Your Alien Captor"), the 'Instructions are usually pretty amusing.
The Weekend Diversion
I have spoken of Dice Wars before in this chronicle, but it returns now as the Weekend Diversion. I have not been able to stop playing this game in the half-year since I discovered it. The intoxicating feel of a sprawling "4x" strategy game, but it only takes about 10 minutes. What could be more practical for Today's Busy Lifestyle?
The Quiz End-of-Season Wrap-Up
At the end of previous Quiz seasons, I've prepared a visual representation of the leaders' trophy cases. But frankly, that took forever. Besides, there's the L&TM5K Leaderboard now, so you can always check out who's who anytime you want. But still, this is a good time to salute the leaders:
The Thursday Quiz
After thirty Thursday Quizzes, Rex Parker still holds a strong lead in total number of Stars, with 15. Behind him is Mrs.5000, with 11; Rebel, with 9; and drschnell, with 8.
In the third season (TQXXI-TQXXX), drschnell led the way in Star production, with 6. Mrs.5000 and Cartophilia trailed a bit behind him, with 4 apiece; Boo had 3.
It's still a tie in the overall race for Gold Stars, with Blythe, Phineas, and Cartophilia locked in at 3 apiece. In the third season, though, Cartophilia set the pace; all three of his Golds came in the last ten quizzes, with the remaining seven Gold Stars split between seven different contestents.
The Monday Quiz
After twenty Monday Quizzes, Mrs.5000 has collected an impressive 7 Exclamation Points. Phineas and Chance are behind her with 5 apiece, and Becky and d right on their heels with 4 apiece.
Mrs.5000 and Phineas split the second season honors with 4 Exclamation Points apiece; behind them, there were six contestents with 2 E.P.s to their credit.
And...
With that, we will roll seamlessly into MQXXI on Monday.
Speculation
I am willing to bet that, because I used the Roman numeral for thirty, the recent post titled "The Thursday Quiz XXX" will become the L&TM5K post most often accessed through random Googling. If my prediction is correct, it will replace the post "Indulgent Uncle, Preteen Nieces," which is currently far and away my most Googled item. Yes, friends, there are some real creepy folks among us, here on the Internet.
The Semiotics of Facial Hair: An Album
I started last Saturday looking like this:
There were many stops on the way to the clean-shaven state. At each of them, I felt more or less the same inside, but would, I think, have seemed like a much different kind of person to an independent observer.
Facial hair, and its shaping, conveys powerful messages about one's social position and conceptions. There are styles of facial hair that, combined with a certain range of personalities, create a sort of semiotic dissonance.
And then there are styles that, because they have acquired special signification through historical associations, are really just not a good idea for anyone.
I finished the afternoon looking like this. Was I still the same person I had been two hours before?
Happy Weekend!
15 comments:
So this is why it took you so long to get ready for the quilt show?? =P
Quilt projects:
1 / shower curtain
2 / bathrobe
There you are M5K! I remember YOU!
dude. the beard looked awesome! good job. don't you feel so much better without it though?
i'm not going anywhere near that game. i've too much to do.
(the pornstache photo is the most hilarious)
Hey, you didn't try my favorite look, so I did it for you:
http://fingerstothebone.com/nine-1.jpg
That... unsavory interpretation of your uncle/nieces post never occurred to me. How utterly vile.
photo one: normal, bookish guy
2: biker. or killer. or killer biker.
3: complete nerd.
4: loony. do not approach.
5. normal, somehow less bookish guy. has anyone told you that you resemble bill hicks?
hey, wait! did you also cut your hair in the last photo?
william hurt / especially photo 4
@rebel: specifically, I was rinsing the henna out. If you must know.
@fingers: I am not at all comfortable with having those lips.
@chance: Someone may have told me I looked like Bill Hicks. It wouldn't mean anything to me, so I wouldn't likely remember it. Who's Bill Hicks?
@gl.: Yes.
@karmasartre: William Hurt I sometimes get, yes. It always makes me think of him as the fool in King Lear, going out to die miserably in the snow. Which is kind of a downer.
He's a comedian. Image Google Bill Hicks for a few views.
wow, Michael, you took me from Grizzly Adams to Elton Parks to Steve McCurdy and then right back to the Snack Shoppe. I think I have to go lay down now.
wow, Michael, you took me from Grizzly Adams to Elton Parks to Steve McCurdy and then right back to the Snack Shoppe. I think I have to go lay down now.
Sorry for the double post. I am a dork.
I am a fun game junkie in spurts so I have that Dice Wars open in another tab right now. Thanks in advance.
And another thanks is in order because when I came "The Hilter" or "The Chaplin" shot, I had the best laugh all night.
There is a huge difference in each look. The first and last look like they could be brothers but not the same man right off.
While I am jealous of the facial hair stylings, I remain happy not to have to deal with it myself.
I do hope the triple X does take the lead. The other is disturbing for sure.
Every time a shave off a full beard, I do the same sort of thing. Next time, I'm taking pictures.
During my first such staged shaving about twenty years ago (!) I exclaimed that with only a mustache I looked like a K-Mart manager. You can be grateful at least that you do not!
I believe you have told me in years past that some folks have told you that you look a bit like Tom Petty. I saw the documentary Runnin' Down a Dream a while back (a surprisingly good and enlightening movie) and I'd say you look rather like him with a full beard, though Mr. Petty's is pretty darn gray at the chin.
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