Month: January 2010

final videos from the treasure hunt.

Someone found the medallion and ended the Pioneer Press treasure hunt yesterday. I had so much fun producing the video clues, in part because it was so outside of what normally passes for newspaper journalism. Entirely absurd stuff that I somehow found really gratifying and fulfilling! Here’s a comment from a message board about the videos that I find especially delightful:

“…they’ve had Horny Nuns, One-Armed Whores, Gay Robots, Beheaded Pirate Puppets, Irate Columnists, Male Blow-Up Dolls, etc… – they really CAN’T sink much lower than they already have.”

That’ll be a real challenge for next year…

Last night I produced one last video of the actual clue writer hiding the medallion at Lilydale park. In the end he finally reveals who he is…

Today they also published explanations for each of the clues, making clear what the weird clues were referencing. All the video clues are also compiled on the page:

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14283528

Lewis the linguist, continued.

The other day Art said, "Knock knock."  I said, "Who's there?"  And he said, "YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOUUUUUWWWWWWWW!  Boooooooooo!"  And that was his knock knock joke.  Then Lewis said, "Knock knock" and I said, "Who's there?"  Lewis said, "Meow."  And that was his knock knock joke.

Lewis has lots of wonderful ways of saying things that are so tempting to perpetuate.  Things like calling all trucks wee-ooohs, like a siren sound.  Or how whenever you put him in a hooded jacket or sweater he wants the hood on right away and says, just like foot but starting with an 'H', "Hoot, hoot!"  Or calling frogs wee-wee's.  Ahhh, it would be so easy to just adopt his version all the time because it's so endearing.  Most of the time I say, "Oh, you want your hood on?" but I must admit I love to say it his way!!!

Gender color preferences revealed and The Most Rediculous Baking Project

Today Art said, out of the blue (no pun intended, but it is a good one considering the topic!) "Girls like purple and boys like black."  

"Really!" I answered.  "Who told you that?"  
"Nobody.  I just know."
"Do you like purple?" I asked, since only a few weeks ago he was asking to have his room painted purple and pink.
"No.  I only like black.  And brown and white."  
"What about pink?"
"I don't like pink."  (Even thought just today he wanted the pink popsicle stick and he used to always want to be the pink hippo in Hungry, Hungry Hippos)
"So if we play Hungry Hippos you're not going to want to be the pink one?"
"No," he answered.  "You can be the pink one.  You like pink."
Consider gender neutrality a thing of the past.  We are entering a new phase of exploration: gender roles!
Speaking of rolls!  Rediculous baking project of the day – fig newtons.  I tried to make newtons.  Ever since Paul Newman made Fig Newmans I can never eat another regular newton, Paul's are so superior!  But they are also so expensive so I thought, what if I could make my own?  And what if they were really good?  Well, they were a pain in the ass to put together and the kids were totally not into the whole baking thing today. Art barely held the mixer with one hand while he devoured a grapefruit popsicle with the other.  And when I was rolling the dough between two greased sheets of parchment (!) he said, “Can you stop baking now?”. Then they had a half-hearted battle over the mini-chopper button to puree the figs. Result? Neither one of them so much as licked their homemade newton when all was said and done.  So I have decided that it IS worth it to spend $4.50 on Fig Newman's because they are yummy and apparently much more difficult to produce than I ever imagined.