Posts Tagged ‘ images ’

Neologism Wanted: What Do We Call Sites Like Failblog, Anyway?

Failblog.

Accidental Dong.

I Can Has Cheezburger?

There’s a family of website that predated (and in most ways anticipated) tumblr. They rely on a single-image post, sometimes with a short explanatory caption, that follows a general humorous theme. Most are driven by user-submitted content and update several times a day.

Is there a name for these things? Can I call them prototumblrsaurs? (Prototumblrcephalous? Prototumblrtops?)

I mostly ask because I saw something on a trip to the Badlands that made me think there might be room on the internet for one more:

What do we think? With enough of these (and enough sharp-eyed readers) could we have a “Handicapped Inaccessible” prototumblrsaurus in the making? Better to just post it straight to Failblog and forget about it? Make it as a tumblr instead?

I’m genuinely curious. My familiarity with photo-driven blogs and content is limited. I’ve been selling myself as a writer all these years, and MA101 remains stubbornly word-driven despite the upswing in visual aids.

Leave me your thoughts! And maybe a photo of a badly-placed “handicapped” sign while you’re at it?

 

Hello to Everyone Stealing Images Off My Blog!

Dear Readers,

I shouldn’t actually be saying “readers,” since — like any website — a lot of my traffic comes from people using Google Images to find a picture they need for their website.  So you’re not actually “reading,” per se.

That’s okay, though!

I do it all the time.  All the time.  As much as I hate to say it, MA101 is not 100% perfect with its credit/copyright attributions.  I try to subsist on Wikimedia Commons, but you know how it is — some days you just need that picture of penguins kissing and the wiki can’t turn it up for you.

Or...never mind...

...they in fact have two. Gah!

So anyway, this is a very friendly hello.  I do hope you’ll occasionally stop and read the posts too — they are pretty funny, sometimes!  And maybe some day we can get together and talk about ways to properly cite images, and see if we can’t break this cycle of bad attributions.

But until then, I hope all your penguin-kissing needs are satisfied (you filthy perverts), and that you come back soon!

Cheers,

Geoffrey

Just How Many Things Does PBR Stand For, Anyway?

Today’s post started out as something different.  I was Googling “PBR case” for a good image to steal, with my usual dedication to copyright and proper citation, that might help illustrate the concept of Wisconsin hospitality to readers from less fortunate states.

I found one, too.

But what I learned in the process was that “PBR” stands for an awful lot of damn things.  For example, it clearly has something to do with computers:

I have no idea what, but it pops up when you Google "PBR case."

It’s also apparently a thing you can get shot with.  Non-fatally, since it stands for “plastic baton round” (sounds much nicer than “riot bullets,” I guess), but you should still probably double-check what Officer McFriendly means when he offers to share some PBRs with you.

Although your head might actually hurt less, afterward.

And then apparently there’s this physics thing, where you’re comparing the “PBR case” to the “ZR case.”  Man do I want to be a part of that study.

The original caption tells us that "thick curves represent the PBR case," which is a pretty accurate description of Wisconsinites in general.

It’s also the Burkinabé Party for Refoundation in Burkina Faso, a nuclear “pebble bed reactor,” the “plant breeders’ rights” that the creator of a new plant breed enjoys, and the Professional Bull Riders organization.

Which is exactly what it sounds like.

All this from one little Google Images search.  Plus I found this awesome picture of what appears to be a Pabst Blue Ribbon coffin, bringing a new and wholly inaccurate meaning to the phrase “going out in style.”

So I’m not the only one that gets wholly distracted when looking for images, right?  I think the original post was going to be something about my brother’s unannounced visit, and how we always wind up tying one on, but I’ve lost track by now.  You tell me which would have been better!

Blog Correction: Those Are Not My Boobs

Astute readers have pointed out to me that the photo and caption from Friday’s post seems a little disingenuous.  You may recall it as a hand clicking a mouse, with the caption “I have no life,” referring to my obsessive examination of WordPress’s “Random Post” mechanic:

What I did not notice when I lifted the picture from a Google Images search with my usual assiduous attention to copyright law was that the body attached to the hand differs from mine in a key respect:  I would never be caught dead in a white sweater.

Also I do not have boobs (I suspect that I would have noticed if they’d appeared recently, and the blog would not have updated because I would have had better things to do).  The image used yesterday is a stock photo and has no relation to me other than that I needed a picture of a hand clicking a mouse.  In my defense, however, it is the same mouse I use.

I apologize if I accidentally misled any of my readers into thinking I have an awesome rack.  Longtime readers will recall from the Topless Men Post that I have no such thing.  Regular content will resume on Monday, with greater attention to detail when stealing images from Google search results.

Thank you.

The Management

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