Ironic Sans: January 2009 Archives

Coraline Box #40

I don’t want to encourage marketing people to send me stuff hoping I’ll write about it, but this is a particularly nice bit of marketing so I think it deserves a mention. It’s creative, and has a personal touch.

The team behind the upcoming movie Coraline has sent 50 handmade boxes featuring props from the movie to 50 different bloggers. I’m the recipient of Box #40, made from an old cigar box:

Coraline Box

I admit, it was pretty cool to get the box and wonder what it contained. I won’t keep you in suspense:

Coraline Box

It contains 3 headless dog bodies. Somebody else got the dog heads. It also contains one glittery halo, and still images from the movie scenes in which these objects appear. There is also this quote printed on a piece of paper: “She heard a shuffling noise, and a light came toward her, swinging from side to side. When it was closer she saw the light was coming from a flashlight being carried in the mouth of a large black Scottie dog, its muzzle gray with age.” -Chapt. IV

Not all 50 boxes have turned up yet, but NOTCOT has a pretty good roundup of those that have.

Thanks, Coraline Team!

Posted by David at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Filed under: Advertising | Entertainment

I wrote it, you made it: A commercial

Back in November, 2006, I posted an idea for a commercial I’d like to see. Some time later, I was contacted by Ethan Cushing who wrote, “I am a director trying to expand my reel and would love with your permission to hire a crew, rent some great HD cameras, and film [this].”

So without further ado, I now present… the commercial:

Nice work, Ethan! Going back and reading my original post, I was surprised to realize that he more or less used what I wrote verbatim. If I’d known that would happen, I would have spent more time crafting the dialogue.

Incidentally, I’d still love to see this battery commercial concept turned into reality. It would require a bit of F/X trickery, I think. If anyone wants to take it on, go for it.

Previously: I wrote it, you made it: Montris

Posted by David at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under: Advertising | Ideas | You Made It

The Natural Cure For [Copy Goes Here]

And all this time I thought epsom salt was only useful for relieving sore muscles and constipation.

Lorem Epsom Salt

Posted by David at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Filed under: Advertising | Design

I wrote it, you made it: Montris

Sometimes I post ideas that would blow me away if they could actually be made real (I’m still waiting for someone to build an Ant Desk). But occasionally I do hear from people who have taken one of my more practical ideas and actually turned it into reality. I keep meaning to write about them, so I’m starting with this one: Montris.

About a year ago, I came up with an idea for a game I described as Tetris, one brick at a time. I called it “Montris.”

I was eventually contacted by a reader named Chris Kastorff who decided to make a working Montris game. We discussed various factors that would affect game playability: The number of colors, the width of the playing field, etc. He wrote a proof-of-concept game that allows users to adjust all of those factors. (Note: In his conceptual implementation, bricks do not fall on their own. You must press the down arrow to progress the game).

More recently, I heard from a reader who has actually taken the concept and fleshed it out completely into a functional game! He calls it Sirtet. You can find it along with other games on his website.

I like that he penalizes players for making pieces of more than 4 squares. It adds another level of complexity to the game. Nice work!

Posted by David at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under: Games | Ideas | You Made It

First Line

For some reason I’ve had this line in my head for months now. So I decided to finally draw it and post it:

In my mind, this means something specific. Can you figure out what? And if so, how far can you continue the line?

Posted by David at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Filed under: Art | Entertainment | Favorites

The Breakfast Cereal Club

“You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a leprechaun, a monster, a cap’n, a tiger, and a rabbit. Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Cereal Club.”

The Breakfast Cereal Club

January 30, 2009

Coraline Box #40

January 26, 2009

I wrote it, you made it: A commercial

January 23, 2009

The Natural Cure For [Copy Goes Here]

January 19, 2009

I wrote it, you made it: Montris

January 16, 2009

First Line

January 5, 2009

The Breakfast Cereal Club