More later,
Mark
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
My Favorite Two Words: BEARS WIN!
Ah...
Tomorrow at work I will devour orange-and-blue doughnuts, drink free Diet Pepsi and generally rejoice in all of the obnoxious splender associated with the Chicago Bears victory over that Pittsburgh team that cannot kick.
One cool fan-cam I found shows Johnny Knoxville's awesome touchdown catch:
Me and one fellow Bears fan held down Jillians until Mary got off work in the fourth quarter. Because of stupid scheduling – the Browns were the late game – there was NO Steelers coverage on local TV, putting all of the Pittsburgh fans in a bar with me (Bears cap, Forte jersey). Were we nervous after the Stupiders marched downfield on the opening drive and scored an easy touchdown against the Bears? Sure. In the end, however, there was much rejoicing in our little corner of the bar.
That image of the Squealers kicker looking like he was going to cry is something I will not soon forget. I hope he has a day job...
It was a low-scoring affair, something you don't normally associate with Ben Roethlisberger. Allegedly.
With the Slackers losing, this was HUGE victory and I could not be happier...
More later,
Mark
Tomorrow at work I will devour orange-and-blue doughnuts, drink free Diet Pepsi and generally rejoice in all of the obnoxious splender associated with the Chicago Bears victory over that Pittsburgh team that cannot kick.
One cool fan-cam I found shows Johnny Knoxville's awesome touchdown catch:
Me and one fellow Bears fan held down Jillians until Mary got off work in the fourth quarter. Because of stupid scheduling – the Browns were the late game – there was NO Steelers coverage on local TV, putting all of the Pittsburgh fans in a bar with me (Bears cap, Forte jersey). Were we nervous after the Stupiders marched downfield on the opening drive and scored an easy touchdown against the Bears? Sure. In the end, however, there was much rejoicing in our little corner of the bar.
That image of the Squealers kicker looking like he was going to cry is something I will not soon forget. I hope he has a day job...
It was a low-scoring affair, something you don't normally associate with Ben Roethlisberger. Allegedly.
With the Slackers losing, this was HUGE victory and I could not be happier...
More later,
Mark
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
That Darned Kanye!
Earlier today, I came to my site and wouldn't you know it but that kooky Kanye had to barge his way in...
It looked a lot like this:
Mark's World Interrupted
Someone has to get him under control!
Sheesh!
More later,
Mark
It looked a lot like this:
Mark's World Interrupted
Someone has to get him under control!
Sheesh!
More later,
Mark
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Obama Gives a Shout Out to The Vindicator
We were all a little impressed that the president worked us into his speech today at the GM/Lordstown assembly complex. It looked a little like this:
More later,
Mark
More later,
Mark
Monday, September 14, 2009
Directing Conrad Brooks
CONRAD BROOKS, LEFT, IN "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE"
I was walking the Monroeville Exposition Center floor during Saturday's Pittsburgh Comicon when I saw a sign over a booth for "Conrad Brooks."
The name was familiar. Where did I know it from?
Turns out, it was THE Conrad Brooks, sole cast survivor from infamous movie director Ed Woods' classic bad film, "Plan 9 From Outer Space."
He portrayed "Patrolman Jamie," one of the two officers constantly dispatched to investigate the mysterious cemetery goings-on that somehow involved Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Vampira and a chiropractor.
Just the previous weekend, in fact, Mary and I had enjoyed a copy of the recent RiffTrax send-up of "Plan 9," courtesy of co-worker Robert McFerren who learned of my love of truly bad movies. RiffTrax is made up of some of the cast of the old "Mystery Science Theater 3000" show who are famous for augmenting a movie's soundtrack with their own often outrageous commentary. The "Plan 9" riff was excellent.
Well, during my first visit to the booth, I obtained an autograph from Conrad and enjoyed talking to him for a bit. He's quite the character at 78 years old. And I promised to stop by later for a DVD. He has starred, it turns out, in quite a few productions since "Plan 9," and has even tried his hand at directing.
So, I returned three hours later, filled with the after-glow of meeting Stan Lee and Conrad had seemingly forgotten me in the interim. Heck, he's quite popular and the crowd was a fair size – and he's 78 – so I cut him a lot of slack.
What you will see next is the unedited video of that encounter. It turns out, the much-maligned Mr. Wood probably had his hands full, if the entire "Plan 9 From Outer Space"cast had a much energy – not to mention, technological skills – as Conrad.
He was attempting to say ...
ConradBrooks.Com
... but the camera stalled before he got it all out at the end.
Eerie, eh? If Criswell was still alive, he might remark, "My friend, you have seen this incident, based on sworn testimony. Can you prove that it didn't happen?"
That part you see when the camera moved early in the clip occurred when Conrad mistook the camera for, apparently, a tape recorder or something. Then he launches into a perfect Ed Wood spiel. Then promotes Mark's World. And then he sells me a DVD.
I found him to be endlessly entertaining to talk to and was glad that I had a chance to meet him. I kind of knew what to expect from the Stan Lee experience. Conrad was an unexpected, but fantastic, pleasure.
More later,
Mark
I (Kinda) Meet Stan Lee
THE HOLY TRINITY: STAN, ME, SPIDERMAN
I was thinking about this over the weekend: Living in Ohio has given me the opportunity to meet many of my childhood heroes.
Last year, I met Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend in Canton and then had dinner with Adam West in Niles. Sayers and Butkus were the heart of the Chicago Bears team that first awed me when I was 9 year old; West starred on the TV show that captivated me when I was 6.
In many ways, that kid is still alive inside somewhere. Hence, less than a year after my dinner with Adam, the kid talked me into taking the opportunity to meet Stan Lee.
For the non-true-believers and the uninitiated, Stan is the creative genius behind Marvel Comics who, along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Roy Thomas and others reinvented the comic book genre in the 1960s. Their impact is still felt on pop culture even more than 40 years later.
Don't read comics? OK. Have you been to the movies lately? Ever hear of Spiderman, Iron Man or the Fantastic Four? Stan the Man had a role in the genesis of all of them. And the X-Men. Daredevil. You get the idea.
He is an icon and he was booked for the Pittsburgh Comicon at the Monroeville Exposition Center. Mary and I had toyed with the idea of attending, but her work schedule got in the way.
The kid inside kept reminding me: "Stan is 86 years old and what are the odds we'll ever get another chance to meet him? It's only 70 miles..."
So, I decided to hit the convention solo, snatching up two of the remaining Stan Lee autograph passes ($40 each which I thought was a bargain) and a one-day pass for Saturday, though I eventually upgraded to a Sunday pass to when organizers talked me into staying for the Saturday night auction.
The convention was a hoot. It is not one of the huge, corporate deals like the San Diego Comic Con run by the fine Wizard folks. The Pittsburgh event is homegrown and has all of the pluses – and minuses – such efforts entail. I won't go into a blow-by-blow evaluation (Like: The floor was big and featured many cool booths – but there was no map or guide to what was where) but suffice to say I had a great time and hung out with fellow geeks of all ages.
And the place was a geeks dream: Scores of artists were on hand to talk to fans and sell their artwork; tens of thousand of comics were on sale; every superhero toy you ever sought as a kid was there for a price.
I spent the first couple of hours walking the floor, staking out claims and comparing deals. At about 12:30 p.m., they started lining us up for the afternoon signing. Tickets were numbered through the 800's; mine were in the mid-600's.
IT'S A LONG LINE
For the better part of the next two hours, I stood in line bonding with my fellow fanboys. There were all ages there. Directly in front of me was a high school student/football running back who had called off of work and now fretted about what to give Stan to sign (the convention folks could have done a better job letting folks in line know there were no items like 8-by-10 pictures of Stan available to get signed). I tried to talk him into getting his cool Avengers-themed hat signed; he chose a blank piece of paper to get framed.
Behind me was a Cortland resident who manages one of the big Mahoning County bar/eateries. He agreed to shoot a pic of me when I got to Stan and did an awesome job as you can see aboved.
Now, they sold 900 passes which meant poor Stan's hand was going to be hurting after the five-hour signing. The actual signing was a precision-like assembly line: Items were taken, slid across a long table to Stan, an aid told him which color of Sharpie to use, he signed, mumbled, you moved on.
I chose, from my comic collection, two books from Marvel's early era that were penned by Stan: "Tales of Suspense" No. 47 from 1963 (featuring the last appearance of Iron Man's clunky armor and "Amazing Spiderman" No. 40. featuring the second part of the epic battle with the Green Goblin.
Now, after the signing, you could stand in another line to get a "certificate of authenticity" for $3 a piece. After trolling the floor and snatching my brother's Christmas gift, I got into that line just as Stan's signing duties had wrapped up. As he was whisked into his awaiting car, he came by and I reached out and got to shake the great man's hand!
"Hey Stan," I said.
"Nice to see you," he said as he shook and moved quickly along.
It was awesome! Excelsior!
Now I have videos which I will put up tonight. All in all it was a great weekend. And while Stan Lee was awesome, someone else stoled the show...
More later,
Mark
Monday, September 07, 2009
I Am A Rock Star!
Those who know me well know that I am a student of arcade/carnival games.
I like to watch the games, figure out the angles and excel. Hence we've won tons of watches, TV's, bikes and other items at the Mardi Gras on the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach as a result of gaming during our many vacations. During our trip this past August, we snagged a power washer for my Dad.
We go, play and let the points accumulate. A couple of years ago, I picked up a Wii at Happy Days Arcade in Old Town in Kissimmee, where we celebrate our anniversary every year.
Plus, I am the Crane Master. Show me one of those prize cranes with stuffed animals and i will win. Every prize has a specific weight balance; a center.
All it takes to win arcade games, I often tell people, is patience and a total disregard for money.
So, last week, The Vindicator published a picture of an arcade game that caught my attention:
Michael Snyder, a vendor who runs a dart toss game at the Canfield Fair, waits for customers. © The Vindicator
If you look closely, you can see that if you play for $20, you can win an electric guitar. To me, the attraction was electric, frankly. And irresistible.
I sought out the booth after my Saturday morning shift at the Canfield Fair in The Vindicator booth. I snapped this picture of our cool booth during a rare lull in traffic:
I watched a few players at the game. You had to throw a dart and hit the colored section of a star with very thin points. Most players would aim for the star directly across from them; about a seven-foot throw. For some reason (Gimmicked? Too well-worn? Poor velocity?) the dart would stick in the white around the star and bounce off of the colored star. I decided that I would arc the darts up toward the top, gaining some velocity on the way down and choosing the stars less-often played.
I plunked $20 down and after three shots, I had perfectly and symmetrically surrounded a star. I hit no color. But all of the darts had stuck.
I plunked down another $20 and took better aim. The first landed well within the colored part of a star. Winner!
I still had two darts. Though the sign clearly limits players to just one prize per day, the guy running the game – who couldn't have been a nicer guy – let me continue on. The second shot: Winner! Other players took note. There was some amazement. The third just hit white.
So, I picked a black-and-white Crescent bass, that came with a gig bag, strap and accessory kit that includes a tuner and a pick. It looks like this:
You can find it for about $100 on eBay.com, so I figured $40 was a decent deal.
More importantly, I had won. And there were a few jealous stares as I walked through the fair, clutching the heavy, full-sized bass.
"Nice bass. Where did you get it?"
"I won it throwing darts."
"What? Really? Where?"
Now, I should point out I don't actually PLAY the bass. I have no musical talent whatsoever. None. But now I want an electric guitar to match...
More later,
Mark
I like to watch the games, figure out the angles and excel. Hence we've won tons of watches, TV's, bikes and other items at the Mardi Gras on the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach as a result of gaming during our many vacations. During our trip this past August, we snagged a power washer for my Dad.
We go, play and let the points accumulate. A couple of years ago, I picked up a Wii at Happy Days Arcade in Old Town in Kissimmee, where we celebrate our anniversary every year.
Plus, I am the Crane Master. Show me one of those prize cranes with stuffed animals and i will win. Every prize has a specific weight balance; a center.
All it takes to win arcade games, I often tell people, is patience and a total disregard for money.
So, last week, The Vindicator published a picture of an arcade game that caught my attention:
Michael Snyder, a vendor who runs a dart toss game at the Canfield Fair, waits for customers. © The Vindicator
If you look closely, you can see that if you play for $20, you can win an electric guitar. To me, the attraction was electric, frankly. And irresistible.
I sought out the booth after my Saturday morning shift at the Canfield Fair in The Vindicator booth. I snapped this picture of our cool booth during a rare lull in traffic:
I watched a few players at the game. You had to throw a dart and hit the colored section of a star with very thin points. Most players would aim for the star directly across from them; about a seven-foot throw. For some reason (Gimmicked? Too well-worn? Poor velocity?) the dart would stick in the white around the star and bounce off of the colored star. I decided that I would arc the darts up toward the top, gaining some velocity on the way down and choosing the stars less-often played.
I plunked $20 down and after three shots, I had perfectly and symmetrically surrounded a star. I hit no color. But all of the darts had stuck.
I plunked down another $20 and took better aim. The first landed well within the colored part of a star. Winner!
I still had two darts. Though the sign clearly limits players to just one prize per day, the guy running the game – who couldn't have been a nicer guy – let me continue on. The second shot: Winner! Other players took note. There was some amazement. The third just hit white.
So, I picked a black-and-white Crescent bass, that came with a gig bag, strap and accessory kit that includes a tuner and a pick. It looks like this:
You can find it for about $100 on eBay.com, so I figured $40 was a decent deal.
More importantly, I had won. And there were a few jealous stares as I walked through the fair, clutching the heavy, full-sized bass.
"Nice bass. Where did you get it?"
"I won it throwing darts."
"What? Really? Where?"
Now, I should point out I don't actually PLAY the bass. I have no musical talent whatsoever. None. But now I want an electric guitar to match...
More later,
Mark
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Poor Sports In Denver
As you can hear on this FanCam, some Denver Brokens fans are upset that their former quarterback landed on an actual pro team after being backstabbed by a newbie coach who will be lucky to win four games this season:
And to think, a year ago, the biggest problem in Denver was whether then-coach Mike Shanahan would be able to break his playoff jinx. Now? Playoffs?? Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me?? Playoffs??
More later,
Mark
And to think, a year ago, the biggest problem in Denver was whether then-coach Mike Shanahan would be able to break his playoff jinx. Now? Playoffs?? Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me?? Playoffs??
More later,
Mark
Monday, August 24, 2009
It Bears Noting...
... the next four Bears games will enjoyed in front of the warm glow of the Rat Pack Tiki Bar's 42-inch plasma...
Ah, sit back and enjoy the colortinis, as Tom Snyder used to say...
On Sunday, we got back from Florida in time to watch the rerun of the Rev. Jay Cutler's spiritual revival and the dismantling of the New York Giants from Saturday night on the NFL Network. Eli Manning looked scared. Rich, but scared. The Bears looked awesome!
Some clips:
From here on, it's all live for the next month (sorry Jillians!).
Sunday night , the Bears stomp a mudhole in Kyle Orton and the Denver Brokens, I mean, Broncos on national TV. Really, I like Kyle, but I much prefer having a quarterback.
The following Thursday, the Bears close out the preseason against local punching bags, the Cleveland Browns. Local broadcast will be on the Browns network. Since the audio will be a joke, we will be watching the game but listening to the home team call from WBBM-AM via the NFL.com's Field Pass.
Then we have a 10-day break until the opening weekend when the Bears once again bask in the glow of the national spotlight Sept. 13 as they take on that Wisconsin team on the cheesy tundra of Moe, Larry and Curly Lambeau Field in the season opener of Sunday Night Football on NBC.
The week of Sept. 20? The Bears open at home to dethrone the soon-to-be former Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Alleged-Whore-Chasers, I mean, Steelers. Since the game features another local team (really, no one in Ohio even watches the Browns including, oddly enough, people named "Brown" who's family members curiously had some relationship with the team) that game will light up the home plasma, too.
So, unless the Sept. 27 game against the Seattle Seahawks gets nationally telecast because swine flu wipes out the remaining NFL schedule, we will be soaking up beers at our favorite bar spot at Jillians. Ditto for the Oct. 4 blowout of Detroit. There's a bye week Oct. 11 and then we are back in front of the plasma for the Sunday night romp against Atlanta. Oct. 18.
The rest of the schedule:
• Oct. 25, outside chance to watch the Bengals game on the home plasma.
• Nov. 1, home plasma against the Browns, again.
• Nov. 8, Arizona, Jillians.
• Nov. 12, home plasma, Thursday night game against Mike Singletary's Youngstown-Debartolo-owned 49'ers.
• Nov. 22, home plasma, Eagles, Sunday Night Football.
• Nov. 29, Jillians, Viqueens.
• Dec. 6, Eric's birthday, St. Louis, Jillians.
• Dec. 13, Wisconsin team, Jillians.
• Dec. 20, the real Cleveland team, the Ravens, Jillians.
• Dec. 28, home plasma, Viqueens, Monday Night Football.
• Jan. 3, Detroit, Jillians.
Then we have the various playoff games, all nationally televised. And, finally, Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010 which, unfortunately, returns to the site and broadcast station of Super Bowl XLI: Miami and CBS.
But, wait, before you fuss: Maybe it's best to return to the scene of that unfortunate Rex Grossman flailing bad passes in the Purple Rain (Prince! Don't forget that horrible Prince!) if only to have the Rev. Jay Cutler exercise that demon from our souls.
Eh?
And the circle is complete...
Anyway, with the potential of 10 games in the comfort of our cool home, this season is gonna be great! Who knows: If the Bears get hot, with late-season flex scheduling, poor Jillians might go broke!
More later,
Mark
Ah, sit back and enjoy the colortinis, as Tom Snyder used to say...
On Sunday, we got back from Florida in time to watch the rerun of the Rev. Jay Cutler's spiritual revival and the dismantling of the New York Giants from Saturday night on the NFL Network. Eli Manning looked scared. Rich, but scared. The Bears looked awesome!Some clips:
From here on, it's all live for the next month (sorry Jillians!).
Sunday night , the Bears stomp a mudhole in Kyle Orton and the Denver Brokens, I mean, Broncos on national TV. Really, I like Kyle, but I much prefer having a quarterback.
The following Thursday, the Bears close out the preseason against local punching bags, the Cleveland Browns. Local broadcast will be on the Browns network. Since the audio will be a joke, we will be watching the game but listening to the home team call from WBBM-AM via the NFL.com's Field Pass.
Then we have a 10-day break until the opening weekend when the Bears once again bask in the glow of the national spotlight Sept. 13 as they take on that Wisconsin team on the cheesy tundra of Moe, Larry and Curly Lambeau Field in the season opener of Sunday Night Football on NBC.
The week of Sept. 20? The Bears open at home to dethrone the soon-to-be former Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Alleged-Whore-Chasers, I mean, Steelers. Since the game features another local team (really, no one in Ohio even watches the Browns including, oddly enough, people named "Brown" who's family members curiously had some relationship with the team) that game will light up the home plasma, too.
So, unless the Sept. 27 game against the Seattle Seahawks gets nationally telecast because swine flu wipes out the remaining NFL schedule, we will be soaking up beers at our favorite bar spot at Jillians. Ditto for the Oct. 4 blowout of Detroit. There's a bye week Oct. 11 and then we are back in front of the plasma for the Sunday night romp against Atlanta. Oct. 18.
The rest of the schedule:
• Oct. 25, outside chance to watch the Bengals game on the home plasma.
• Nov. 1, home plasma against the Browns, again.
• Nov. 8, Arizona, Jillians.
• Nov. 12, home plasma, Thursday night game against Mike Singletary's Youngstown-Debartolo-owned 49'ers.
• Nov. 22, home plasma, Eagles, Sunday Night Football.
• Nov. 29, Jillians, Viqueens.
• Dec. 6, Eric's birthday, St. Louis, Jillians.
• Dec. 13, Wisconsin team, Jillians.
• Dec. 20, the real Cleveland team, the Ravens, Jillians.
• Dec. 28, home plasma, Viqueens, Monday Night Football.
• Jan. 3, Detroit, Jillians.
Then we have the various playoff games, all nationally televised. And, finally, Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010 which, unfortunately, returns to the site and broadcast station of Super Bowl XLI: Miami and CBS.
But, wait, before you fuss: Maybe it's best to return to the scene of that unfortunate Rex Grossman flailing bad passes in the Purple Rain (Prince! Don't forget that horrible Prince!) if only to have the Rev. Jay Cutler exercise that demon from our souls.
Eh?
And the circle is complete...
Anyway, with the potential of 10 games in the comfort of our cool home, this season is gonna be great! Who knows: If the Bears get hot, with late-season flex scheduling, poor Jillians might go broke!
More later,
Mark
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Last Day At The Beach
On the evening of our last full day of the beach, we shot this little video:
This has been a truly wonderful week on the Atlantic Ocean. We had sun every day and spent a lot of time reading and relaxing on the resort deck. I finished two Grisham novels ("The Last Juror" and "The Broker") and mastered Madden '09 on the PSP. Now, I need Madden 10.
Many stories to tell, but we gotta hit the beach and then decide what to do with 120,000 points at the arcade...
More later,
Mark
This has been a truly wonderful week on the Atlantic Ocean. We had sun every day and spent a lot of time reading and relaxing on the resort deck. I finished two Grisham novels ("The Last Juror" and "The Broker") and mastered Madden '09 on the PSP. Now, I need Madden 10.
Many stories to tell, but we gotta hit the beach and then decide what to do with 120,000 points at the arcade...
More later,
Mark
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Letting My Geek Flag Fly
On Saturday, several hours before the whole Jon Favreau/"Iron Man 2" episode, my inner fanboy had a remarkable time as substitute guest/co-host of veteran Vindicator columnist Betram de Souza's Saturday morning radio show, The Valley's Talkin'.
Our topic was ostensibly about comic books' impact on popular culture, but we had a great guest, Youngstown's own talented artist and writer Chris Yambar.
Learn all about Chris here:
Yambar.Com
You can find Chris' work on the comic racks right now:
Bertram is terrific and a lot of fun to work with on Saturdays whenever his regular co-host, Doc Binning, takes a show off. However, he is not a comic book expert. I sent him home with "The Dark Night Returns" as homework.
The show was also captured on video by the talented Web genius Katie Libecco for Vindy.com. You can watch the video here:
More later,
Mark
Our topic was ostensibly about comic books' impact on popular culture, but we had a great guest, Youngstown's own talented artist and writer Chris Yambar.
Learn all about Chris here:
Yambar.Com
You can find Chris' work on the comic racks right now:
Bertram is terrific and a lot of fun to work with on Saturdays whenever his regular co-host, Doc Binning, takes a show off. However, he is not a comic book expert. I sent him home with "The Dark Night Returns" as homework.
The show was also captured on video by the talented Web genius Katie Libecco for Vindy.com. You can watch the video here:
More later,
Mark
Monday, August 10, 2009
Mr. Sweetwood, For The Defense
My respectful letter in response to Marvel's attorney's cease and desist order:
Michael:
Thank you for your letter.
As a long-time customer and supporter of Marvel Entertainment, it certainly was not my intent to infringe upon Marvel's copyright. To the contrary, I think the various fan sites on the Internet do much to build Marvel's brand and keep it relevant and economically viable in the marketplace.
Certainly, marketing efforts, like the one prior to "Spiderman 3" in which Marvel Entertainment encouraged fans to build blogs and Web sites featuring preview clips from that film, introduced many of us to different ways to freely distribute popular film works via social networking.
The majority of the 9,500 views of the "Iron Man 2" trailer embedded on my site came directly as a result of the various retweeting of my original Twitter message to director Jon Favreau. His support of fan interest for this film is as innovative as it is absolutely admirable and I think it separates the Marvel brand from its competitors. Do what you must to protect your brand, but I would caution against doing so in ways that will negatively impact your core of loyal customers.
Per your request, the embedded clip of "Iron Man 2" that was shown at the San Diego Comic Con has been deactivated from www.marksweetwood.blogspot.com.
For your further information, my site's "Fair Use Policy" can be found here:
http://marksworlddisclaimer.blogspot.com
Please contact me if I can be of any additional service.
Very truly yours,
Mark
A fascinating 48 hours, for sure...
More later,
Mark
Michael:
Thank you for your letter.
As a long-time customer and supporter of Marvel Entertainment, it certainly was not my intent to infringe upon Marvel's copyright. To the contrary, I think the various fan sites on the Internet do much to build Marvel's brand and keep it relevant and economically viable in the marketplace.
Certainly, marketing efforts, like the one prior to "Spiderman 3" in which Marvel Entertainment encouraged fans to build blogs and Web sites featuring preview clips from that film, introduced many of us to different ways to freely distribute popular film works via social networking.
The majority of the 9,500 views of the "Iron Man 2" trailer embedded on my site came directly as a result of the various retweeting of my original Twitter message to director Jon Favreau. His support of fan interest for this film is as innovative as it is absolutely admirable and I think it separates the Marvel brand from its competitors. Do what you must to protect your brand, but I would caution against doing so in ways that will negatively impact your core of loyal customers.
Per your request, the embedded clip of "Iron Man 2" that was shown at the San Diego Comic Con has been deactivated from www.marksweetwood.blogspot.com.
For your further information, my site's "Fair Use Policy" can be found here:
http://marksworlddisclaimer.blogspot.com
Please contact me if I can be of any additional service.
Very truly yours,
Mark
A fascinating 48 hours, for sure...
More later,
Mark
It's All Fun and Games Until The Lawyers Get Involved
Not sharing director Jon Favreau's adventuresome excitement over Internet fan interest of "Iron Man 2" are the attorneys representing the Merry Marvel Marching Society (MMMS):
Sent Via E-Mail: Marksweetwood@aol.com
August 10, 2009
Attn: Mark Sweetwood
Re: NOTICE AND TAKE DOWN
Dear Mr. Sweetwood:
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Marvel”) are the owners of the copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights to the Iron Man 2 movie, including its footage and characters, among other things, and such rights are protected under the law worldwide.
The Iron Man 2 movie trailer available on your website at:
(http://marksweetwood.blogspot.com/2009/08/iron-man-2-sneak-peek.html), contains video, audio, images and likenesses of the Iron Man 2 movie that are being used without Marvel’s consent and infringes upon Marvel’s copyrights and other intellectual property rights. Please remove this content from your website immediately.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, my contact information is as follows:
Michael Sapherstein
Deputy General Counsel
Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
417 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Fax: (646) 403-3177
msapherstein@marvel.com
I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above is not authorized by Marvel, its agent or the law.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the above information in this notification is accurate and that I am, or am authorized to act on behalf of, the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Please act expeditiously to remove the material identified and contact me at
msapherstein@marvel.com if you have any questions. Please also provide me with the number of downloads and/or plays this movie trailer received.
Marvel reserves the right to take all available remedies available at law and in equity to protect its interests, and nothing in this letter shall be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of any rights or remedies available to it.
Sincerely,
Michael Sapherstein
Sent Via E-Mail: Marksweetwood@aol.com
August 10, 2009
Attn: Mark Sweetwood
Re: NOTICE AND TAKE DOWN
Dear Mr. Sweetwood:
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Marvel”) are the owners of the copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights to the Iron Man 2 movie, including its footage and characters, among other things, and such rights are protected under the law worldwide.
The Iron Man 2 movie trailer available on your website at:
(http://marksweetwood.blogspot.com/2009/08/iron-man-2-sneak-peek.html), contains video, audio, images and likenesses of the Iron Man 2 movie that are being used without Marvel’s consent and infringes upon Marvel’s copyrights and other intellectual property rights. Please remove this content from your website immediately.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, my contact information is as follows:
Michael Sapherstein
Deputy General Counsel
Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
417 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Fax: (646) 403-3177
msapherstein@marvel.com
I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above is not authorized by Marvel, its agent or the law.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the above information in this notification is accurate and that I am, or am authorized to act on behalf of, the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Please act expeditiously to remove the material identified and contact me at
msapherstein@marvel.com if you have any questions. Please also provide me with the number of downloads and/or plays this movie trailer received.
Marvel reserves the right to take all available remedies available at law and in equity to protect its interests, and nothing in this letter shall be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of any rights or remedies available to it.
Sincerely,
Michael Sapherstein
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Animal Stories
(Cue: wolf howl)
It's time once again for "Animal Stories" with me, your charming and delightful ol' Uncle Mark, and you, little snot-nosed reader.
Hello reader.
Saturday night we were on the phone with my sister, Karen when Mary noticed the cats were agitated by something they were watching from our large picture window off of the living room. That window faces our backyard.
She looked out the window and exclaimed something like "Oh my god, there's a deer right by the house!"
What a gut-wrenching nightmare, little reader. I grabbed the camera and that's when we noticed the second deer.
Now I shot this picture through the sheers that cover that window:
That's the fawn that the neighbors had told us about a few weeks ago, little reader. As we watched, the big doe emerged from the side of the house.
I began to slide open the screen door off the dining room to shoot (a picture of) momma, who had closed to within a few feet of our deck. As I got the door open, she stopped and stared at me.
She stomped the ground, snorted a warning and then she and the fawn took off to the woods near neighbor Tony's yard. It was an amazing adventure, little reader. Yes, I am sure the deer are going to be alright...
In other animal news, it appears the owl has moved on. Coincidentally, or not, I saw the first gopher in several weeks scampering away as I was mowing today.
That's gonna do it for today's "Animal Stories." For those who have no idea what "Animal Stories" used to be, I share this clip of the once-charming and delightful ol' Uncle Lar and his sidekick, little snot-nosed Tommy.
More later,
Mark
It's time once again for "Animal Stories" with me, your charming and delightful ol' Uncle Mark, and you, little snot-nosed reader.
Hello reader.
Saturday night we were on the phone with my sister, Karen when Mary noticed the cats were agitated by something they were watching from our large picture window off of the living room. That window faces our backyard.
She looked out the window and exclaimed something like "Oh my god, there's a deer right by the house!"
What a gut-wrenching nightmare, little reader. I grabbed the camera and that's when we noticed the second deer.
Now I shot this picture through the sheers that cover that window:
That's the fawn that the neighbors had told us about a few weeks ago, little reader. As we watched, the big doe emerged from the side of the house.
I began to slide open the screen door off the dining room to shoot (a picture of) momma, who had closed to within a few feet of our deck. As I got the door open, she stopped and stared at me.
She stomped the ground, snorted a warning and then she and the fawn took off to the woods near neighbor Tony's yard. It was an amazing adventure, little reader. Yes, I am sure the deer are going to be alright...
In other animal news, it appears the owl has moved on. Coincidentally, or not, I saw the first gopher in several weeks scampering away as I was mowing today.
That's gonna do it for today's "Animal Stories." For those who have no idea what "Animal Stories" used to be, I share this clip of the once-charming and delightful ol' Uncle Lar and his sidekick, little snot-nosed Tommy.
More later,
Mark
Saturday, August 08, 2009
And Now, The Rest Of One Fanboy's Story...
DIRECTOR JON FAVREAU AND TWO "IRON MAN" CAST LOOK-ALIKES
So, Saturday afternoon, I was waiting for Mary to get home from work and doing some Web surfing. At this site, I stumbled into something I have sought for weeks:
WorstPreviews.Com
Yes, the clips from "Iron Man 2" that director Jon Favreau and cast had shared at the recent San Diego Comic Con. Some cool fanboy had apparently captured most of it on a cell phone and it had finally found its way to the Internet
What's more, the site allowed me to embed the clip so within minutes it was a part of Mark's World.
It was pure happenstance, but at about that exact moment, from the TweetDeck, I could see that Favreau (@Jon_Favreau on Twitter) had just tweeted to his many followers (I am one).
"Thanks for filling me in about the leaked Comic Con trailer online. I'm told it's not up anymore. Did anyone see it? Thoughts?"
So, I took a chance that he would not be pissed off that I just embedded purloined images from his film that won't be released for another nine months and tweeted directly to him:
"@Jon_Favreau I was blown away, especially by (Garry) Shandling! It's gonna be a long nine months, man! Just embedded it: http://tinyurl.com/n9o9yr"
Now, what happened next must stand as some testament to the confidence of someone as talented as Favreau.
He retweeted my tweet to his 120,000-plus followers.
Boom. Mark's World was on fire.
The next thing I know, the counter on my blog goes crazy. I had more than 1.200 visits in the next hour. Almost as many in the next.
Now, in about four years, Mark's World had amassed – if such a term can even apply – a little more than 17,000 unique visits. In just a couple hours, we had about 6,000 more. Then e-mails started. And new Twitter followers joined. And more messages came in and were retweeted. Comments arrived at the Web site.
"Very cool that you embraced @sobeditor embedding it, Jon. VERY cool," one person tweeted. "Thanks for the embed @sobeditor," another followed.
It was amazing. There is so much positive energy for this movie and for the folks behind it.
On his Twitter page Favreau was getting a lot of feedback from those who had just viewed his work on Mark's World. Within a couple of hours, he posted:
"Thanks for all the encouraging feedback. Will let you know if/when official clean version goes up."
Now, this all has been a blast. But in surfing for a quality photo to use with this post, I came across this enlightening article from The Washington Post:
'Iron Man 2' Director Jon Favreau Shares Twitter Aims
The article explains: "Sure, Favreau's Twitter account has lots of intra-celeb chatter. But there are also the "Iron Man 2" responses that he says allow him pure, unfettered access to fans' thoughts and opinions."
There ya go: He's a smart guy and one heckuva director. And this fanboy is solidly in his corner and very appreciative that he allowed me to share in a small part of all of the "Iron Man 2" hoopla.
I cannot wait to see it. The next nine months are gonna take forever...
More later,
Mark
Friday, August 07, 2009
MyMovieMoment.com
Here's another clip from the fine folks at MyMovieMoment.com. It's me as "Robocop."
Enjoy!
More later,
Mark
Enjoy!
More later,
Mark
A Wonderful Wedding
Mary and I had a great time last weekend during a trip to the latest family wedding. First, we picked up her mom in Corning, N.Y. where I was able to score some great Market Street Bewing Co. beer. Then, the three of us headed to the Scranton, Pa. area for the wedding of Deanna DePietro and Chris Lemoncelli.
It was great seeing everyone again. Deanna has great taste: Chris is a Chicago Bears fan. The entire trip, whenever at least three guys got together, the talk was all about football... At Mary's godmother's house. At Mary's best friend's party. At the wedding...
Football season is coming...
Anyway, here are some of the photos we took (and Mary did an excellent job helping with the captions):
Amanda DePietro, maid of honor, comes down the aisle of St. Patrick's Church, Olyphant.
The newly married couple, Deanna and Chris, exit the church.
Mary and her Aunt Eliza (Isabella) at the reception.
Mary's cousins, Linda Walsh and Terri Valvano.
Aunt Eliza (foreground) shows the youngsters you are never too old to hit the dance floor.
Proud papa, Henry DePietro, dances with his daughter Amanda.
Cousin Frank Amato snapped this pic of me and Mary.
The aforementioned Frank Amato and his lovely wife Mary Ann.
Me and my favorite mother-in-law, Grace (Incoronata).
The reception was wonderful and featured that rarest of reception features these days: A live band! We were serenaded by classic rock hits all night long. A great time was had by all.
More later,
Mark
It was great seeing everyone again. Deanna has great taste: Chris is a Chicago Bears fan. The entire trip, whenever at least three guys got together, the talk was all about football... At Mary's godmother's house. At Mary's best friend's party. At the wedding...
Football season is coming...
Anyway, here are some of the photos we took (and Mary did an excellent job helping with the captions):
Amanda DePietro, maid of honor, comes down the aisle of St. Patrick's Church, Olyphant.
The newly married couple, Deanna and Chris, exit the church.
Mary and her Aunt Eliza (Isabella) at the reception.
Mary's cousins, Linda Walsh and Terri Valvano.
Aunt Eliza (foreground) shows the youngsters you are never too old to hit the dance floor.
Proud papa, Henry DePietro, dances with his daughter Amanda.
Cousin Frank Amato snapped this pic of me and Mary.
The aforementioned Frank Amato and his lovely wife Mary Ann.
Me and my favorite mother-in-law, Grace (Incoronata).
The reception was wonderful and featured that rarest of reception features these days: A live band! We were serenaded by classic rock hits all night long. A great time was had by all.
More later,
Mark
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Turns Out...
I was born in Kenya, too!
If you want to create your own fake Kenyan birth certificate, like some nutty "birther" broad tried to use to prove that President Obama was not born in Hawaii, just go here:
Kenyan Birth Certificate Generator
More later,
Mark
If you want to create your own fake Kenyan birth certificate, like some nutty "birther" broad tried to use to prove that President Obama was not born in Hawaii, just go here:
Kenyan Birth Certificate Generator
More later,
Mark
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
