Other Projects
21 Years After 9/11
On 9/11/2001 This is True was just over seven years old. I had founded HeroicStories a little more than two years earlier, and we still lived in Boulder, Colorado.
The Return of Stella
In Issue 1345, I said I “should” have some news about the True Stella Awards “by late next month.” That would be late …April. When COVID really geared up I wasn’t sure how my schedule would be affected (etc.), so I paused. I’ve now unpaused! Instead of working on a podcast last week, I finally finished up the setup work for my Stella plan.
Top 3 (x4) of 2019
Looking at the stats for 2019 is showing what you all found the most interesting or entertaining to read (and listen to!) of my offerings this year.
True Stella Awards: Still in the Top 10
On Monday, the Youtube channel “TopTenz” listed what it thinks are the “top 10” sites online that give out humorous “awards” — here’s the video:
The Return of Randy’s Random
Long-time readers may remember that years ago, I had a separate mailing list called “Randy’s Random” — mostly jokes and funny stories. But how to deal with graphics? I didn’t want to email graphics, so Randy’s Random then morphed into Jumbo Joke, which (as you probably know) ran for years. I sold it in 2016, but the buyer didn’t put it back online.
What’s Up with Jumbo Joke?
An old email humor list I ran called “Randy’s Random” got turned into a web site, Jumbo Joke, way back in 2004.
Short Version: It’s Gone
Dangerous in the Wrong Hands
Some Readers Seem to Want to top recent examples of “Stupid Reasons for Protest Unsubscribes”.
End of One Era, Start of Another
While doing my research this week, I stumbled across an interesting tidbit: Paramount Pictures has become the first major film studio to announce that it will no longer be distributing movies on film, and is going exclusively to digital distribution.
Honorary Unsubscribe: Yueyue
I don’t often copy Honorary Unsubscribe write-ups to the True site: there’s an archive for those. But I suspect readers are going to want to talk about this one, from True’s 23 October 2011 issue:
GOOHFy Anniversary
Oh! I just realized it’s an anniversary! When I went to look up what was the best story from 10 years ago, I realized that there were really two: Mike the Headless Chicken, and the story that led a reader to tell me I was, positively and without doubt, going to hell.
Ed Freeman and Political Manipulation
I generally don’t want suggestions for True’s Honorary Unsubscribe feature; my usual problem is having far too many possibilities for the one slot each week. In July 2009 a new trend started: people wanting me to do an Honorary Unsubscribe write-up for Ed Freeman, a brave Vietnam War helicopter pilot who saved about 30 shot-up kids and was awarded the Medal of Honor — the U.S.’s highest military decoration.
A Picture Worth 1,000 Anytime Minutes
…or, The Birth and Death of a Spinoff Web Site
Sure: a picture is “worth 1,000 words.” Sometimes it’s worth 1,000 minutes on your cell phone plan, as in this case. The story, from True’s 27 December 2009 issue:
Me, the Dvorak Keyboard, and
the Wall Street Journal
I’ve heard from several friends who spotted me in the Wall Street Journal today. It was just a tiny mention in an article about the Dvorak keyboard, an ergonomic alternative to the common “Qwerty” layout that you probably use.
Don’t Talk to the Cops
Some readers will be a bit puzzled why I would spread this message in my blog: “Do not, under any circumstances, be interviewed by the police without advice from a lawyer.” You have a right to remain silent, and I urge you to exercise that right. Especially if you are innocent.
Changes to the Honorary Unsubscribe
Now and then, Premium subscribers — the paying customers which, I have said time and again, make True possible — get a little miffed that they get the Honorary Unsubscribe after it’s published in the free edition. Frankly, shouldn’t they get it either exclusively, or at the very least first?
Honorary Unsubscribe Choices
It’s quite a search sometimes for Just The Right Person for the Honorary Unsubscribe. Sometimes I have to choose one person over another when both would be great. Sometimes it’s a struggle to find someone I think really should get the honor.
Laugh, or the World Laughs At You
It’s so sad to see how people just can’t take an obvious joke. (Say, like on a site called Jumbo Joke!) There was a political item today, and it resulted in a lot of whining — and protest unsubscribes.
New ‘Deluxe’ GOOHF Card
I want to tell you about my new Get Out of Hell Free product. I’m really excited about it: I’ve been dropping hints about it for several weeks now, and I’m happy to say they start shipping Friday.
Denver Mensa A.G.
Kit and I are back from Denver, where we both spoke at U.S. Mensa’s Annual Gathering. Several readers have asked what a Mensa gathering is like. Mensans simply have one thing in common: they’re all in the 98th percentile of intelligence — pretty smart people.