Sorta-Motivational Posters

February 2009

2009-02-23T16:24:00.002-05:00

*Brushes the dust off of the blog*

Wow... it has been awhile, hasn't it?

A lot of things have happened to me in the last six months or so. Needless to say, I've had a lot going on so as not to give much attention to my blog. However, I've been working on a number of things I'll be bringing out on here as time goes on.

I received an email this past weekend giving me a suggestion for a new "What we learned" series, so I hope to be working on that this week and have something up, hopefully enough to invigorate me to making regular posts again.

I'll give myself a deadline of Friday, so check back then to see the next series of posters.

If I can remember how to make them...

Update

2008-09-26T13:12:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to take a moment here and place an update--

I'm starting to get more traffic to my deviantART page, and daily I receive notification of individuals who favorite my posters. Currently, I have just over 70 posters on my deviantART page, while (at this time) I have 175 posters on this page. Generally, I choose what I consider to be the best posters from the SMP blog to go over to the dA page. However, if you see a poster on here that you believe would be a nice addition to the dA archive, please let me know, and I will make sure it gets over there (barring any unusual situations or conflicts with dA TOS).

Thanks for all of your kind words.

Daniel

What We Learned From The RPG Cliche List, Part 1

2008-09-18T09:12:00.003-04:00

Good morning all. Tomorrow starts my 6 day vacation up in the state of NYC. My wife and I are looking forward to relaxing and spending time with friends. So, with a week of inactivity ahead, I got together a thread of 9 posters for What We Learned, and these turned out pretty good.

For those of you who have never visited the Grand List of Console RPG Cliches, you must go there now. I've read the list at least a hundred times over the last few years, and it just gets funnier each time (mostly because I've played other games that fit some of the cliches). Anyways, I'm going to be doing a few series from this list with the approval of the site's owner, Mark Sachs. In fact, I've asked him to critique them, so I could change the posters with better examples in the future.

The first series involves a nine-part cliche that deals with the rules of Travelling in RPGs. The phrase of each poster comes either directly from the site, verbatim, or is paraphrased to fit in the space below. Therefore, the posters are only mine by creation--the images are from games and the phrases from the RPG Cliche list. But feel free to enjoy.

What We Learned From The RPG Cliche List, Part 1

Texas

2008-09-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

What We Learned From Chrono Trigger, Part 2

2008-09-04T10:35:00.005-04:00

Here's Part Two of the collage started last week. Again, not the highest of quality--mostly just a quick riff on what's going on. A few keepers in the group, though.

I've got at least three great ideas lined up for the "What We Learned" series--however, I'm determined to increase the quality of my posters, so it may take some time before they come up. I can't promise this coming Tuesday, but I will try to have the first series up sometime next week.

So... here we are:

What We Learned from Chrono Trigger, Part 2

Natural 20

2008-09-02T08:31:00.001-04:00

What We Learned From Chrono Trigger, Part 1

2008-08-29T08:45:00.006-04:00

After another needlessly long hiatus, we're back with another attempt at some continuity of putting up new information.

Today, in keeping with the Video Game theme we've been going on with as of late, we have the first of two batches of the game Chrono Trigger. This game came out around the same time as Final Fantasy VI and was about the only other RPG of the Super Nintendo era to ever rival it. It's a classic in its gameplay, especially in its music, and now, in its ability to be put on posters.

As always, most of these posters are one-shot jokes at the screenshot--others do attempt to make a point about a lesson learned from the game. I will be posting part two sometime next week, as to give me a buffer to build up my poster collection.

What We Learned From Chrono Trigger, Part One

What We Learned From Final Fantasy VI

2008-06-19T10:55:00.005-04:00

Wow, we're FINALLY back with an actual update! I guess ol' Daniel finally got off his lazy behind and did something! Most of the lack of updates came from a lack of motivation or inspiration, and, well honestly, the last few 'What We Learned' series were kind of forced in their delivery. So, I says to myself, 'Daniel, just go back to what got you into this to begin with.' So here we are--What We Learned from video games. And as soon as I started--well, just see for yourself. 18 separate posters! It's a double-value collage! Enjoy.

Clearnace

2008-05-29T10:41:00.000-04:00

Do Not Shut Door

2008-05-20T09:19:00.001-04:00

Image taken and submitted by Howard. Thanks, Howard.

What We Learned From Signs

2008-04-21T14:16:00.004-04:00

Hello again all.

Due to the fact that I'm going to be quite busy over the next few weeks, and that my updates are going to be rather hit-or-miss, I thought I'd put up a quick "What We Learned" collage that I kinda just threw together. This one was rather easy, because the pictures themselves are quite humorous--An online search for "Misspelled signs", "Funny Marquee" and the like. I even found a few sites that had hundreds of signs each, one sight was just from NYC!

So here we go...

What We Learned From Signs

Good Friends

2008-04-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

Miscellaneous, Part III

2008-04-15T13:12:00.004-04:00

Hey all.

I've fired up a few projects, including a game that writers oftentimes take part in, A Collaborative Fiction game--where writers take turns adding a piece of the story at a time. We're starting our first game on Monday, and I've been involved with the rules and documentation, which would show the lack of updates on here. If you would like to see what it's all about, take a stroll over to http://www.enchantedtofu.com/.

Anyways, Thought I throw another filler series up. As usual, these are not my posters, but posters found around the web. They're much more creative and humorous than my usual fare, so I'm sure you all will get the same kick out of them I did.

More original posters soon.

What We Learned From Video Games, Part 1

2008-04-07T11:05:00.006-04:00

Hey all.

Got the "What We Learned" up a day early. Mostly because this will round us off at an even 100 Original Posters! I couldn't wait, so I went ahead and put them up. You'll notice on the right sidebar I have a full listing of all of the posters by name, in case you want to look them up that way.

I guess I should speak a little about this collage. (I'm a little tired today, so I'm gonna keep it brief). I just did an image search for video game images--specifically Chrono Cross (Non-Sequitur below). I came across a website that had one screenshot from practically every game made for the SNES. I just went through it this morning and picked out a few humorous images. (Note: Chrono Cross is not for the SNES, note the better graphics--it kind of is the sore thumb of the group.) Hope you enjoy.

Update 04-04-08

2008-04-04T10:02:00.002-04:00

Another weekend is upon us!

Just a brief update. Got a new post (non-driving-complaints!) on the "Honest Opinion" blog at http://smp-imho.blogspot.com. They're still from my old archives at macclenny.com, but this time, I complain about something completely different than driving... still whiny-toned though.

I also want to point out that, as many of you no doubt have noticed, we're about to hit 100 original posters for the site! I want to roll over in style, so I'll be holding off on new updates until I get a collage together. This will probably take place on Tuesday when I get my "What We Learned" series back in order. Not sure what it will be yet, but I will do some serious brainstorming to make sure it's worthy of the triple-digit milestone.

I'll also be working today (and if I don't finish, monday) on creating a new sidebar with an extensive list of every poster on the site. This will, obviously, be a lot of work, so it will not only take some time, but may be a day or two behind the actual postings on the board. I ask that everyone kindly bear with me as I start off. It should get easier once it's fully updated (90+ posters to start off with will take quite a while, since each poster will have a link), but I'm lazy at heart and am not looking forward to it.

But anyways, I'll see everyone next week, hopefully at least on Tuesday.

Tongue

2008-04-04T09:10:00.001-04:00

Hawaii

2008-04-02T09:38:00.000-04:00

Office Party

2008-04-01T13:56:00.001-04:00

Update 04-01-08

2008-04-01T13:46:00.003-04:00

Hey all,

Real busy around here lately. Sorry for the lack of update that usually comes with a Tuesday. I was able to post the third installment of the Driving Lessons rants on the "Honest Opinion" blog, http://smp-imho.blogspot.com. Perhaps if you enjoyed the other two, you might want to take a quick look at this one as well. I will try hard to have some updates by the end of the week.

Thank you all for your patience

Optimism

2008-03-28T11:25:00.002-04:00

Update 03-27-08

2008-03-27T10:18:00.003-04:00

Hello all:

Got a new posting up on the "Honest Opinion" blog at http://smp-imho.blogspot.com. I'm still in the process of posting old editorials I did back in 2006-2007, and I probably will be through April, but they're still worth a look.

I recently was looking into getting a guestbook for the blog for visitors to sign if they didn't feel comfortable putting a comment on a post. I ran through a few of the free ones I've found online, but one was a joke (it was obviously a spam link they wanted you to post into your HTML code), and others didn't work well with the blog interface, so I want to ask if there are any who know of a good, reliable, free guestbook I can put on my blog. If you have any suggestions, please comment to this post with them.

And by the way, please leave your observations or opinions as comments on the posts--I really would like some feedback.

Luggage Claim

2008-03-25T13:42:00.000-04:00

What We Learn From Life, Part 1

2008-03-25T09:07:00.005-04:00

Got the series up a little earlier today than I would have guessed. It's just been a productive morning--in all aspects of the word. Got to work early and finished up some things. Had a couple of fresh ideas for posters and got them made expediantly. And now, getting them posted.

Anyways, what this series of "What We Learned", or more correctly this week, "What We Learn" is, in general, life. These posters follow the template of actual (sorta-) motivational posters in that the phrase is what's emphasized and a picture is associated with it, rather than what I usually do, which is find a picture or screenshot, and try to affix some saying to it. Therefore, you might actually find that these posters mean something. They might even be worthy enough to print out and hang on your wall, or download and set as a wallpaper (if you do, please let me know. I'd actually be quite honored if someone went to that kind of trouble). As with the Superfriends from last week, this will be part 1. I expect to make this a reoccuring theme as well, especially since I had fun coming up with the phrases.

So here we go

What We Learn From Life, part 1

Update 03-24-08

2008-03-24T09:05:00.002-04:00

Good Morning. Have a good weekend all?

I had a productive one to say the least--yardwork, family, etc. But anyways...

I've got the first post up on my blog "In My Honest Opinion" [http://smp-imho.blogspot.com]. I'm starting with the first few editorials I did for a website back in December 2006. It's a little area-specific, but if you would like to take a gander at it, head on over.

I'll be putting up my next What We Learned tomorrow, though it might be light in size--at this moment, I only have 5 posters. However, as I mentioned before, this series will be a little different, as the focus are going to be more on the saying than the picture. "What We Learn from Life, part 1". It may be up later in the day tomorrow, depending on how my schedule starts to turn out. I'll also be busy this week altering profiles on the myriad websites I have accounts with, as my age will advance +1 this week. Such a small figure to adjust on so many sites, but it must be done. (It also gives me a chance to visit some sites I haven't been to in awhile...)

Well, anyways, I best be getting on to my normal daily work. Check back tomorrow.

Arkansas

2008-03-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

Update 03-21-08

2008-03-21T11:09:00.003-04:00

Hey all. Another Friday is upon us.

I've managed to get some filler posters up this week. Funny thing how they came about--on a whim, I took whatever picture came up on Yahoo's front page for news. Obviously, the poster has nothing to do with what the stories were about, but I guess I've been in a goofy mood this week.

Anyways, the real reason for the update: I've got another blog registered. The blog doesn't have anything to do with posters or any form of photo-manipulation, but it does carry a bit of humor. I used to do satire editorials for a website. At this point, the site has fallen into inactivity, so I'm looking to bring my babies to another site--and what better site than one I'm currently keeping up! The 'essays' are on everyday life annoyances and so forth. The style of humor is very tongue-in-cheek, truthful with a hint of exaggeration. (In my case, a heaping spoonful of exaggeration) I don't have any up just yet, but I've got a good 8 or 10 articles already written from times past I'm going to gradually post on the site. I figure there's no reason to put them all up at once and not have anything to put up for months.

The site "In My Honest Opinion" is not meant as a regular updating site as I'm trying to establish with this page, but whenever I get a good article (or... any article really), I'll post it up and put a notice on this page that it has been updated. If you want to just take a quick look-see, much like a house that still is undergoing finishing work, it can be found at http://smp-imho.blogspot.com, or you can follow the link I added at the bottom of the page.

Thanks again for your loyal readership

Laughter

2008-03-21T10:03:00.001-04:00

(PS -- he's not really laughing)

Clean Your Plate

2008-03-20T08:40:00.002-04:00

Collate

2008-03-19T09:35:00.003-04:00

Update 03-18-08

2008-03-18T09:28:00.002-04:00

Hello all.

First order of business, two threads are up for What We Learned. The first one is on Popeye the Sailor and the second will be part 1 of a series that will have a number of installments, the Challenge of the Superfriends. Even with the extra time I had to do these sets, it doesn’t appear I was batting 1.000 with the jokes. I think I’m just at a low ebb right now, hoping every day that I break from it.

You’ll also notice that a good bit of the humor of these posters aren’t exactly resembling true ‘motivational posters’, i.e., portraying some deep, philosophical adage, even if the message is satire. Most of the posters so far have actually been created by first finding or creating the picture, then making a witty observation about the picture. This actually is pretty much the only productive way to work with the “What We Learned” series, since each one carries a theme, limiting where the images will come from. I think as a little change of pace, next week, I’ll work the other way around in creating some sets. I’ll come up with the idea, be it a moral or quirky saying, then finding a picture that mirrors the situation. This would seem to more fit in with the traditional ‘motivational posters’ that many are used to seeing. This may mean that the theme will be a little more general (and thus less restrictive), but the posters will be more universal. You’ll notice with these two series today, most of the jokes are relating to the image or are even inside jokes in which you would have had to seen Popeye and/or the Superfriends before to get them. (I also apologize about the quality of some of the Superfriends posters—the scene jumps and cuts on the show were so breakneck that it was almost impossible to get clean screenshots of all of the characters.)

Anyways, on to other news. Last week, I had mentioned putting around the idea of going into other areas of what is known as ‘photo-manipulation’, which, according to deviantART and other sources, is the correct terminology for projects such as found on this blog. I have a template for another one of these ‘p-m’ styles, faux trading cards, that I was hoping to eventually work into a weekly segment, much like “What We Learned”. However, in doing about 3 or 4 cards, I quickly realized that there was MUCH more involved in making a presentable finished product. It took me about an hour just to do one, where with the template in place for these posters, a picture can be done and refined in just a manner of minutes. I still like the idea a lot of doing trading cards for basically anything, but I will really have to have a good idea and be willing to spend some time on making it look good. If I were to make it a regular thing, say weekly, the quality would almost instantly drop. What I’ll probably do then is make it an irregular update, adding in the cards when I get them. I would like to get some feedback from everyone once they start coming up to let me know whether or not you all like them. Actually, feedback in general would be nice—lately, all I’ve been getting is spam. I guess if spammers are reading the blog, that would be considered feedback… All in all, if I decide to go forward with the trading card idea (or any other ideas of ‘p-m’), I’ll set up individual blogs for each and simply have links to each page. Keep checking back with me for more details on this as it unfolds.

Finally, I received an email some weeks back suggesting I start a newsletter, or some sort of email correspondence to regular readers. This struck me immediately as an awesome idea. However, I want to make sure I GET a regular reader base first of all. If you, therefore, would like to receive a regular (monthly, bi-weekly, etc) newsletters, either send me an email or comment to this thread, as a way of letting me know how many individuals would be interested. After all, it would take a good bit of time and effort to do so, and if there would be no one interested, I could better spend my time making more posters.

Again, thank you all for the page hits and the positive feedback…… looking at you, dear readers. :)

What We Learned From The Superfriends - Part One

2008-03-18T09:18:00.005-04:00

And now series #2, What We Learned from the Superfriends.

This one was actually a breath of fresh air. I've been a huge (anti-)fan of the Superfriends for some time now. After reading an online review of one particular season of the somewhat-popular 70's cartoon show, I HAD to get the season on DVD. Fans of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 would absolutely love watching these cartoons. I know cartoons are supposed to take certain things for granted, and especially cartoon featuring superheroes--disobeying a law or two of physics along the way. But, seriously... If you haven't had a chance yet to watch a few clips of the show, I HIGHLY suggest that you do so before or after (or both) reading these posters. You'll come to appreciate them a lot more, as practically all of them are inside jokes based on the show. YouTube has a number of clips available to watch. Just type in "Challenge of the Superfriends" in the search bar.

"Why would these posters be part one?" you might ask. Well, you'll notice that only superheroes are listed. I have a whole other section for supervillians coming up (part 2), as well as just general observations about the show (part 3). Parts 2 and 3 will most likely not be the next two series of "What We Learned" that I do. Most likely, I'll pace them every few weeks or so. But in the meantime, enjoy.

What We Learned From The Superfriends - Part One: Heroes

What We Learned From Popeye The Sailor

2008-03-18T09:14:00.002-04:00

Alrighty all, series #1 today is "What we learned from Popeye the Sailor". Popeye always struck me as an odd idea for a cartoon--mainly because i'm not a war veteran of the early days. After all, cartoons were originally invented for adults to show before movies back before Television, and an old navy retiree like Popeye would appeal to a number of individuals. However, to a generation today who was raised on cartoons, he's just plain creepy. The following posters were made from pictures I came across online, doing an image search simply for the phrase "popeye".

What We Learned From Popeye The Sailor

Update 03-14-08

2008-03-14T09:20:00.004-04:00

Happy Friday to you all. Hope you have a good weekend planned ahead of you.

Well, we were able to actually go a whole week with updates! Hope you enjoyed it, because I believe next week may be a little spotty. Tuesday's sets are almost ready to go, so there's no worry about those two being on time, but updates after that for the rest of the week are potential at best, probably unlikely. We shall see, after all.

Tuesday's sets: Again, the first one will be "What We Learned from Popeye The Sailor". The second set will actually be part 1 of a series in itself! There's an old 70's TV show that I've had more than a couple of laughs over (for ineptitude, not intended humor). It's become a subject of ridicule by many reviewers, and a cult favorite in the way that many episodes of Mystery Science Theater has become classic. That show was "The Superfriends"--a superhero cartoon which gathered a number of DC comic superheroes together. If you haven't ever seen an episode, wander over to YouTube sometime today for a few minutes just to take a watch. Search for the phrase: "Challenge of the Superfriends", as that was the name of the season that had the most jaw-dropping craziness ever to grace the superhero genre.

So then, the second set on Tuesday will be "What We Learned from The Superfriends, part 1". If you have any posters or ideas at all involving the 70's superhero series "The Superfriends", you know the drill by now, send the ideas or completed posters to TheSortaMotivator@yahoo.com (If you do not receive a response or confirmation, please let me know--it seems the email inbox has become off-and-on again on receiving emails).

Also, I've decided to go ahead with the idea I mentioned earlier this week: In the near future, possibly the end of March, beginning of April, I'll be starting a new blog featuring a similar-minded but different medium of "photo-manipulation". I've got the templates ready to go; I just want to make sure I have a good supply to put up before I turn it over to the public. I'll be sure to put up links on this blog, and vice-verse, to make it easy to navigate over. So, please stay tuned for these new events to come.

Idaho

2008-03-14T09:20:00.001-04:00

Montana

2008-03-13T09:05:00.001-04:00

Update 03-12-08

2008-03-12T15:07:00.003-04:00

Either this afternoon or tomorrow, I'm going to be reorganizing the site slightly--mainly grouping some of the 'after' posters from What We Learned sets in with the originals. (In other words, when I do a poster after I've already finished the set) I'm also taking suggestions of any ideas you may have on how to better organize the archives or to change as far as the color scheme, etc.

I've also been brainstorming another idea in addition to the motivational posters--if it comes about, I'll register another blog and link it to this one. It kinda is in the same ballpark as what I'm doing here; just in a different medium.

Anyways, send in some feedback.

Rhode Island

2008-03-12T09:28:00.000-04:00

Farm Music

2008-03-11T14:53:00.000-04:00

Maryland

2008-03-11T09:04:00.000-04:00

Update 03-10-08

2008-03-10T10:51:00.002-04:00

Monday starts a new week and new hopes that, perhaps this time, I'll actually get 5 days in a row with posters. As you can probably tell with this state poster - Mississippi - I'm running a little out of steam on the states. I'm from the south, so the southern states were pretty easy to do. I've even lived up north in NY for a little, so I can get some of the New England states alright, but I'm hitting bedrock on some of these states. Therefore, if anyone has any good quotes for their respective state, I'd love to hear them. They're bound to be better than what I can come up with.

Oh, by the way, I've got one of the two themes for Next Tuesday. I still have to finalize the second "What We Learned" topic, but I know for a fact that the first one will be "What We Learned from Popeye The Sailor Man". I already have about a half-dozen posters (and at least 2 funny), and will hopefully have two lengthy sets come next Tuesday. If you have any good ideas for a Popeye poster, send them to TheSortaMotivator@yahoo.com

Mississippi

2008-03-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

Scooby Doo

2008-03-07T17:29:00.003-05:00

Country Federal

2008-03-07T17:26:00.001-05:00

Perhaps this could use a little explanation:

I work for the Credit Union who has this ad currently on their website. I was quite taken back by the poor job on colors and grammar. If it's still up, check it out at www.countryfcu.com

Update 03-07-08

2008-03-07T10:08:00.003-05:00

Hello All.

[Take 2: Power went out here in North Florida during the first attempt at this blog post--wiping out my work when I was about 80% done or so]

I wanted to first of all take a moment and thank the visitors. I've been receiving some comments on the posters, even some of them on the page, and have even received a couple of emails with suggestions for the site! (Good ones too, that I will no doubt be implementing in the next month or so). I certainly appreciate all of the comments, suggestions, and feedback, so please don't be shy!

I also wanted to let everyone know that the next installment of "What We Learned" won't be going up again until Tuesday next (the 18th). Since this last collage came up late, I would hate to be rushed and have another low-quality set. However, to compensate for a week and a half wait, the post for the 18th will have TWO sets to the series. This will give those who want to submit ideas not only more time to send their suggestions, but also a variety on what they could be about. The themes will be posted up on Monday, so check back then to see what they will be.

I also will be doing my best to get back into a daily-updated blog starting on Monday. I've run dry in my 'stash' of backup posters, but I'm going to build it back up so that I'll have at least one each day I can put up next week, no doubt going back to the states for some more cultural teasing.

Based on the popularity from the Miscellaneous poster posts (the ones not from me), I would like to open up the idea that if anyone has a motivational poster they themselves have created and would like it hosted on the SMP blog, please send it to me. I will be glad to put it up and give credit for your work. Please remember that the site is a family-friendly site, so all submissions would have to be 'G' rated--no language, gore, or promiscuity. For any reason why I would not put the site up, I will personally reply with an email explaining what we can do to alter it a little and get it on the site. This also means, of course, if you would like to make your own posters for our "What We Learned" series, they can be sent and included, again, with proper credit given.

Again, please let me know by way of feedback your thoughts or suggestions for the site. Thank you all for visiting the site, and again, check back on Monday for more posters.

What We Learned from NES Mario Games

2008-03-06T10:29:00.006-05:00

First, let me start by apologizing that this collage is two days late. I actually have been a 'good boy' at work lately and getting a lot done--honestly, there's been a lot going on around here, which has left me with little brainstorming time. This will also be observed in the quality of the posters for this week. I had high hopes when I came up with the idea, and actually got off to a great start (Ingenuity was the first one I did). I just couldn't keep up the creative momentum. However, a promise is a promise, and so, I give you:

What We Learned from NES Mario Games (Mario 1, 2, and 3)

(Mario is owned by Nintendo and the three games "Super Mario Bros." "Super Mario Bros. 2" and "Super Mario Bros. 3" are also owned by Nintendo, Inc.)

Miscellaneous, Part II

2008-03-05T11:26:00.006-05:00

It's Filler Time!

While I still endure through my creativity slump/lack of free time, I thought I'd throw up some posters I've collected off the internet. Again, as before, these are not my property and are owned and created by other individuals. However, they're just too funny to pass up.

Tune in tomorrow for "What We Learned From The NES Mario Games"...

I hope...

Update 03-04-08

2008-03-04T11:03:00.002-05:00

No New posters, I'm sorry. Been kind of busy as of late. The "What We Learned" batch for this week will not be up until Thursday--please check back then.

Thank you for your patience.

Update 02-29-08

2008-02-29T09:54:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates for the last few days--been kinda busy with work and other things. If you'd like to see one of these 'other things', go to http://www.purevolume.com/embersofautumn. The song "At the Arcade" was for a weekly competition where a band (or solo act, such as myself) is given a week to write a complete song and record it. Seeing as I have poor recording equipment, a lack of knowledge of proper mixing, and no ability to synthesize drums, the song came out a little rough--but if you want to know what I did this week, you can take a listen.

More stuff on Monday, and Tuesday's "What We Learned" segment will be on NES Mario Games (Mario 1, 2, and 3). If you have any witty sayings or whatnot, let me know.

Polka

2008-02-27T09:25:00.000-05:00

Back by popular demand, a few more music genre posters.

Disco

2008-02-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

Update 02-26-08... Update

2008-02-26T13:36:00.002-05:00

I received an email in the inbox for TheSortaMotivator@yahoo.com from an email address
that previously did not get through. I believe the tinkering I did with the spam control probably led to this. I'll openly say then that the address is back open for suggestions and/or comments.

If you send an email and do not get a response (for something that one would assume a response should be appropriate), feel free to comment on this particular message with your email address, and I will investigate further.

Thanks for your patience

The Sorta-Motivator

Update 02-26-08

2008-02-26T10:45:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to give a notice real quick.

It was brought to my attention that the email address TheSortaMotivator@yahoo.com has not been receiving ANY emails whatsoever. At first, I had assumed that none were sent, but a few individuals have contacted me to let me know they have tried to send emails. I'm investigating this problem and will post further notice when the email address is verifiably working again.

I apologize about this. Please check back tomorrow, if not later today, for notice of this being fixed, or for an update of status.

What We Learned From Musical Genres

2008-02-26T09:09:00.008-05:00

Round 2 of our What We Learned project. This week, we are motivated by what we learn from musical genres. Few things separate high school cliques more than the style of music they listen to. Though it becomes less of a mark of identification as we get older, it still guides our thinking, helping us to form biases and opinions of others simply based on the music they listen to.

Well, let the biasing continue...

What We Learned From Musical Genres

The following posters have been added to this series:

Oregon

2008-02-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

Update 02-22-08

2008-02-22T08:52:00.001-05:00

Hi all,

No new posters today--kinda busy. Just wanted to put in a quick word to remind all about the What We Learned segment next Tuesday--Musical Genres. If you have any ideas, send them my way at TheSortaMotivator@yahoo.com .

See You all on Monday

North Dakota

2008-02-21T09:19:00.001-05:00

Arkansas

2008-02-21T09:18:00.001-05:00

Conversations

2008-02-20T13:41:00.002-05:00

Here's a poster cropped from the movie "Murder By Death".
Peter Sellers plays Sidney Wang (a spoof of Charlie Chan).
The quote on the poster is the line associated with the screenshot

Tennessee

2008-02-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

New Mexico

2008-02-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

Kentucky

2008-02-20T09:06:00.000-05:00

Special Effects

2008-02-19T15:43:00.003-05:00

Last one for the day. Just wanted to briefly mention that next Tuesday, SMP's "What We Learned" topic will be on musical genres. If you have a clever saying or a witty observation about a particular genre of music, send it to me at TheSortaMotivator@yahoo.com.

Windows

2008-02-19T14:43:00.004-05:00

What We Learned From Final Fantasy IV

2008-02-19T09:19:00.010-05:00

And a happy Tuesday to you all...

Today, we start the new segment "What We Learned", where a collage of motivational posters, all carrying a similar theme, will be posted on here. I like the idea, as they each can be considered separate thoughts, but all spring from the same root source.

The one downside to this idea is that, with some of the ideas that came to mind, the 'joke' is a tad limited in its appeal. For example, though anybody can read the posters and probably get the point, the jokes are very much 'inside' and hold much of their humor value to those who have actually seen, played, or read about the game in detail. The first poster explains this well--Fans of Final Fantasy well know the somewhat-popularity of the "spoony bard" phrase. The poster "Sacrifice" could only be appreciated by those who played the game and had to put up with the ongoing bickering of Palom and Porom.

Other posters, though, really don't have as much of an 'inside' joke as it is just making a witty observation about the screen shot (See Forethought, Masculinity). It's quite possible that even if you played the game through a number of times, nothing more was intended by the poster's message than just a simple one-liner. Therefore, if you get the jokes--awesome. If not, don't sweat it. Perhaps next week I'll have a series that you'll get more.

So then

What We Learned From Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV is Copywrited and/or Trademarked by Squaresoft, Inc.

California

2008-02-19T09:13:00.001-05:00

Wyoming

2008-02-19T09:12:00.001-05:00

Virginia

2008-02-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Update 02-15

2008-02-15T15:35:00.003-05:00

Well, two days down and I've gotten quite comfortable with this idea!

I'm loving the idea of doing these posters. It helps me to reduce my... angst at work when things get a little hectic, and yet they're quick enough to put together that I'm not wasting too much time (just in case my bosses are reading).

Just a few updates, I've got my old deviantART page up and running, so you might wanna check it out. I've got some posters on there I don't have on here, and vice versa... you know, to keep it fresh. http://dburn13579.deviantart.com.

Coming Tuesday, I'm going to start a regular (possibly weekly) segment called "What We Learned". I'll have a series of themed posters based on a certain subject. Tuesday's segment will be entitled "What We Learned From Final Fantasy IV".

Now, granted, out of the 8 or so that I've done for the segment, unless you've played the game, any humor derived from these posters will be superficial. Some of them are funny regardless, but there are a few that you just have to be 'in the know' to get the joke, and so I apologize ahead of time if they won't make sense. Needless to say, I cracked myself up over most of them. I've got one up on deviantART already.

Please send me some feedback and/or ideas that you may have. I'd like to see what becomes of this project

Gifted

2008-02-15T15:33:00.001-05:00

Oklahoma

2008-02-15T11:17:00.000-05:00

Drummer

2008-02-15T09:13:00.000-05:00

Did this one for my friend, Matt.

Power

2008-02-15T08:52:00.005-05:00

Posting my first 'Tribute' Poster. I've done a few of them--just haven't put them up yet. This comic strip is from one of my favorite webcomics: http://www.reallifecomics.com/

The situation in the strip struck me as funny because a few years ago, my friend and I were channel surfing and came across PBS who was running this EXACT same special. We fell out laughing.

Real Life Comics is the property of Greg Dean
http://www.reallifecomics.com/

West Virginia

2008-02-15T08:50:00.001-05:00

Louisiana

2008-02-15T08:48:00.002-05:00

Literacy

2008-02-14T11:04:00.003-05:00

Wow, my first day, and already I'm a poster-making machine!

I should give it a rest for now, but i'll leave you with a poster I did yesterday. Check back in tomorrow for more.

Miscellaneous

2008-02-14T10:47:00.004-05:00

The following posters were found online--these are not my property, and being posted on this blog is merely a sharing of the humor. I just wanted to put them up, though, cause they're just so hilarious.

Alabama

2008-02-14T10:23:00.003-05:00

Georgia

2008-02-14T09:59:00.002-05:00

Florida

2008-02-14T09:43:00.002-05:00

Sorta-Motivational

2008-02-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

Hi all.

You know those motivational posters that you always see? You know what I'm talking about--the one with the iceberg that you can only see part of above the water, or the guy standing on top of a mountain--the kind with some pithy saying that amounts to "You can do it!"?

Don't you hate them?

Cheesy, not-entirely-true, they really aren't so much of a motivation as a wishful-thinking poster.

Well, anyways, for the last 6 or 7 years, I've seen de-motivational posters all over the internet, especially those found at despair.com (you should check it out). Yesterday, I found a link where a template is designed that you can just put the information in and create your own. Since I'm on a creative high, I thought I'd start a blog and just start putting up one or so a day. We'll see how long I can last, right?