MySpace HoTrain: Hulda

I just got a MySpace friend request/hoochie sales pitch from a "girl" named Hulda. Is this a real name? If so, it's not terribly common. This is how far they've gotten? I can't wait until they get to made up names. I might actually agree to be friends with a Leia.

I AM IN PITTSBURGH!!!!!

 

Downtown Pittsburgh

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am in the home of my beloved Steelers. Such a geek am I.

 

Met a nice family on the way who were from Pittsburgh. They told me and Jen some cool places to go here in Pittsburgh. On the way to pick up our luggage we saw Pittsburgh Running back Willie Parker at the airport. He was on his cell phone (or at least pretending to be).

We have a rocking hotel room and I am totally psyched!

 

The Non-So Live Blogging for the Critic's Choice Awards.

Okay, I know now that this awards show aired live on Monday and this is just a re-broadcast. So sue me.

Here are my thoughts of the rest of the show so far:

• They should serve alcohol at every award show. Seriously. And no writers.  Marcia Gay Harden just came out with something totally wacky. Almost completely not able to be understood.
• It is painful to watch D.L. Hughley. Man, his stuff just isn't working.
• I would pay just to see the tape of Brangelina's table. My wife says she appears humorless. And maybe not so smart. I love how Brad had to explain what Eddie Izzard was getting at when he introduced Sicko. IT'S A LIST OF THE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BETTER HEALTHCARE PLANS THAT THE U.S.! BINT! Yeah, and I love the look she shot at Brad when Hughley made that joke about Africa and he laughed. How territorial!
• Ray Liotta is out there giving like 20 awards. It's like they they said "We only have 10 minutes left! Who talks fast but can be understood! Liotta! Get out there!"
• That "In Memoriam" segment was lame. I mean, let's make fun of flops where other shows pay tribute to the deceased. Great idea.
• Also love the smug looks on the critics faces on the stage now. But better is the dirty looks that Sean Penn was shooting them. Love when real life shows through the Hollywood glitz.
• I am completely distracted by the huge orange face on the lady behind the guy accepting for No Country.
• Uh, DL? We might not be seeing you next year. Hate to break it to you.

Live Blogging: The Critics Choice Award

The wife and I are watching the Critics Choice Awards and we have two questions. One, how come this award show is on and the strike is cancelling the Golden Globes? Is it bacause Critics are writers or because the WGA doesn't want to piss them off? And two, what were the critics smoking when they gave the award for "Best Ensemble" to Hairspray over No Country for Old Men and Juno, which had better ensembles BY FAR!

This could be the most fun awards show ever. Just counting the no shows, which have been many, will be greatly enjoyable.  

And I love the producer (or whoever he was) for the Kite Runner who accepted thanking the studios, producers and stuff for accepting the Best Young Actor trophy. I'm sure the kid would have said the same thing if he wasn't in hiding.

And I think Nikki Blonsky won the female part, basically, because she decided to attend the awards.

Fun with eBay! Action Comics #1 edition (it's really real!)

I stumbled upon this through Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin, and thought I'd share.

Over at eBay a copy of Action Comics number one is up for auction. Yes, Action #1, the holy grail of superhero comics. Check it out for yourself.

The item description reads as follows:

"This is a real edition of Action  Comics number one it has been certified and includes a certificate of Authenticity that is included in the sealed edition of the comic. I did not want to part with this but current economic conditions dictate that I have to sell it off. Again this is a real edition not a fake."

And here is the picture that ran with the auction:

 

EBay Action 1

The opening bid is $50,000. There as of yet been no takers and there is a day left in the auction. Why is this? I think I can explain:

• The picture is either a stock photo of Action #1 or this guy has a pristine mint copy of the book. Or this is one of the numerous (and considerably less valuable) reprint copies that are floating around. I'd vote for either 1 or 3 because if it is a copy of the 1938 Action #1, he wouldn't have to put it on eBay. I know one dealer that offers $1 millon dollars for a near mint Action #1.
• There is no condition whatsoever in the description. According to Overstreet, $50,000 would put you between Good and Very Good on the grading scale. But no one will be willing to pay a penny for it before knowing what dings and dents the book has.Let alone 50K.
• He says it has been certified. By whom? If it's by CGC or perhaps a major comic dealer, being certified might mean something. Certified by his mom or the guy who owns the flea market that he bought it from is another thing entirely.
• It may not be a fake, but that doesn't mean its real. Real in the sense that it was from 1938. This is one of the most reprinted books in the history of comics. Some reprints are almost indistinguishable from the original. Many, non-savvy buyers think they are buying the "real" 1938 Action #1 when they really are buying a reprint.
• The whole "economic conditions dictate that I must part with it" thing is classic eBay hucksterism. Actually, it's classic general overall hucksterism. The "I'd keep it for myself but I need the money" ploy has been used to enhance the value of less-than-what-they-say-it's-worth items since the dawn of time.
• While the seller does have a 100% Positive feedback score, he only 9 feedbacks from 5 different eBay-ers, all for stuff he bought. All from 2005-2006. So, no feedback for anything he sold. (And one of the sellers who left him feedback was Mile High Comics, so this doofus should know what a comic book auction should look like.)

This all adds up to an auction that smells fishier than the dumpster in back of a sushi restaurant in summer. Is there a possiblility that this auction is legit? Yes. But this kind of item would only attract serious collectors. And serious collectors are familiar with eBay and expect certain conditions from any eBay auctions  (i.e. multiple pictures of the actual item, accurate description of the condition of the item, information on who certified the item, etc).

I am tempted to e-mail this doofus and ask to see pictures of the item. But I'd figure since this item obviously won't sell that would open me up to e-mails from him trying to do the hard sell for me. I'm sure the "my kid needs new shoes/braces/is in the hospital" ploy would follow soon after!   

Worst. Misspelling. Of My Name. Ever.

Let me just preface this by saying I have an incredibly long last name which is incredibly hard to spell. Also, I have notoriously bad penmanship. That being said, I still don't think the mailing I just got from the Emelin Theater is right.

 

Emelin mailing

Can you see my name? No, let me enlarge it for you. And let me also say, other than removing my home address, which you really don't need to see, I made no other alterations to the mailing.

 

Emelin mailing name only

The only way this could be more insulting is if they changed the A to an E and the S to a D.

Granted, I could see them thinking my E would look like an F. And I could see how my V might be mistaken for a U. But there is an A between the V and the C which was omitted, possibly on purpose.

Can't wait to call them and inform them of the mistake.

Spammers stalk me.

 

Round sign No SPAM

This blog has been filled with details of my dealings with the MySpace HoTrain. Now, spammers have followed me to another venue.

I have a message boards. They can be accessed through my own, personal website.

And, as message boards go, it isn't much. There was only one topic and only four people posted on it--my wife and three of our friends. Mostly just to mock my welcome message.

Apparently, these four people (five if you count me) are enough to garner the attention of spammers for the fly-by-night drug companies. I don't know how they found me. But they found me.

Each and every day for the last week, I have been receiving about 15-30 new topics posted on the board, all with topic names such as Viagra and Lipitor. Click on one of the topics and there is spam asking you to click a link to buy cheap prescription drugs.

Now, while I do think the pharmacuetical companies grossly over charge for their medications, I know that clicking these links would lead not to cheap prescriptions, but probably to spyware and viruses.

What's more, the whopping four people on the board know this too. And they are less likely to click the links than I am.

See, this is why spammers are stupid. Yes, this is a bargain basement message boards that came free with my website, so there is lax security at best. They think, wow, a venue for us to spam our advertising to all the members of the board! But they don't realize that only five people have ever posted on the board, and only one has posted more than once--me. And the last posting activity was in August 2007. So, basically, posting their drug ads on this board is a great big waste of time.

But everyday there is more and more posts. So everyday I have to go in to the board no one uses, delete all the spam, and block all the IP address in fear that someone might stumble on the site, think I approved the post, and click the link resulting in their computer getting fried.

I wish there was a way to send a reverse virus to them and destroy their systems. That would save me a lot of time each day.