"Don't I Know You from Somewhere?" Week

Scott Hardie | May 29, 2005
Any comments on this themed week? (link)

If this turns out to be popular, I could do another one in the fall or winter, since I found perhaps twenty-five possibilities. The bad news is, these are the best seven, and these aren't all that great. :-) If you're wondering what the theme is, consider this old goo that would have been part of the week if I had thought up the idea in time: (link)

Ed, in case you're wondering, I have decided to save your themed-week request until early next round. Firstly, I think it will probably be easier than the one going on now, which wouldn't make it ideal for the end of a round. And secondly, I don't want to hear any accusations of unfairness by putting up a whole week of your requests while your wife is on the brink of winning. :-) So hang in there; it's coming.

Scott Horowitz | May 29, 2005
I found this theme amusing.

Aaron Shurtleff | May 30, 2005
Oh.

I wish I had read this before making guesses... oh, well! :)

Steve West | May 30, 2005
Sadly, me too.

Steve West | May 30, 2005
Just found the "Aviation and Space Travel" goo (560). Boy, is my face red.

Scott Hardie | May 30, 2005
You guys could always subscribe to the announcement list for the goo game. (link) They get notices when themed weeks like this have begun, as well as occasional hints.

Steve West | May 30, 2005
Done. Thanks.

Amy Austin | May 31, 2005
This is exactly why I've stopped jumping on goos so fast... after getting burned on that MC Hammer guess! (However... although the theme of the week is, in fact, amusing, I was lucky enough to have figured it out before the announcement arrived two hours later... and I do like it... ;-D)

Scott Hardie | May 31, 2005
Would it help if I started labeling them, like "This goo is part of [Whatever] Week in the game"? I make a point of doing it for posterity in the trivia field after the answer is revealed, but maybe it would be helpful up-front while the goo is still current. I kind of figured that people noticed by the large image atop the site menu, but it doesn't help when that image is intermixed with other images at random, not to mention when it sometimes stays up for weeks at a time.

Jackie Mason | May 31, 2005
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Amy Austin | May 31, 2005
No way! This is like when you asked if previous guesses shouldn't be permitted... and if I recall correctly, I think it was pretty much a consensus that guessers need to look in the library for themselves. (Since I myself have made that very mistake, that wasn't a biased answer, either!) I would be pretty disappointed if I had not gotten these goos, but it wouldn't change my opinion on this... the announcements and banner should be enough. (Now, it would have been nice to get the announcement *before* the themed week/goo appeared, but that's a different question...)

Scott Hardie | May 31, 2005
Well, I was out at the time. I don't get home until 3am every other Saturday night, which is why I used to start themed weeks on Mondays instead of Sundays. I was able to borrow John Gunter's computer for a moment at 11:45pm to put up the three random photos atop the site menu, but composing and sending the announcement had to wait until I got home. Maybe I could compose it in advance, but there's still no guarantee I could get to a computer at midnight. I'll see what I can do next time. :-\

Amy Austin | May 31, 2005
Ah...

Well, can't you program an auto-send, the same way you have the goos set to appear at midnight?

Scott Hardie | May 31, 2005
I could, and I might. But frankly, I'm scared of sending any more automated email from the site than I already do. Remember how ticked Ed got at those blank "goo reminder" emails that were accidentally going out for a few days? I'd hate it if a glitch in my code sent five copies of the announcement to every registered user, especially at a moment when I was forty miles away from my computer. :-)

Amy Austin | May 31, 2005
He wasn't so ticked that he couldn't understand that it was a bug that needed to be worked out, and I would hope that everyone here could appreciate the same. I understand your concerns for everyone's privacy and general hatred of SPAM (which is greatly appreciated, I am certain!), but if it's something that everyone is aware of in advance and would be willing to help you iron out the kinks of, I wouldn't be afraid to try it... eh?

Aaron Fischer | June 1, 2005
I'd let it slip once or twice, then I'd be happy to forward your name to the Illinois Attorney General (Joke).

Scott Hardie | June 1, 2005
We're four goos into this tough week and so far no complaints? The last time I wrote a clue in a foreign language (albeit five years ago) it drew howls from the players. Not that I enjoy stumping you: I'd prefer some players getting these over no players getting these. It's just that I anticipated a backlash over the difficulty. Oh well, maybe next week... ;-)

(The next two goos, Sports and Government & Politics, will be easy.)

Scott Horowitz | June 1, 2005
I think my favorite goo was the aviation and space travel. I don't know why, but that goo just made me smile.

Jackie Mason | June 11, 2005
[hidden by request]

E. M. | June 11, 2005
[hidden by request]

Erik Bates | June 12, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | June 12, 2005
Thanks, Jackie. I liked it too, and I'll probably do a sequel someday, even if the goos have to be even more obscure the second time around. I was worried about putting in John Edwards since most site users don't know him (he plays the leader of the group in FIN), but the choice was inevitable since that was the best-known celebrity in the lot.

I don't know what Nadine thinks of it, but I know Matt Preston finds it amusing there's a porn star out there with his name. (link) (There used to be a full-frontal pic floating around the web, but I couldn't find it to goo it. You must be terribly disappointed.)