I lost my stinking head in the maze! and the Devilman got away.
But I found someone’s Driver’s License. I guess I better get it back to them.
Converted ALL the halloween mix tracks to 128kps for smoother playback, to avoid annoying skipping/ artifacts/ dead air from 200+kps & stinking VBR. I will also avoid embarassment at future b-day parties when the music won’t play! way to troubleshoot, Jusby! [It's still a mono system tho *ahem*]
86 Tracks totalled 4.2 hours… which continued even through the power failures. As did the Green Laser!
However, it did require additional AAA batteries from Mike.
The tracks included: Arrington de Dionyso, Angelo Badlamenti, Eliot Smith, Baby Gramps, Bo Bell, Depeche Mode, Diamanda Galas, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Echo & the Bunnymen, Fran Zappa, Gabrielle Roth, Jugala Orchastra of Sunda, the Residents, and Gyoto Monks among many others.
Here’s a comment I got on Olyblog:
Thanks a ton
My young daughter (Wren) really appreciated your guided tour of the haunted house. She knew from last year that you led the less-horrifying tours. She’s a spunky kid in real life, but doesn’t like the buckets-o-gore of this type of show. Her best friends insist they absolutely looooove it, and torment her if she doesn’t go with them on the tour. So she has to go, even though she really doesn’t like it.
This year she sought you out discreetly (for a 10 year old) and attached herself to one of your tours. The un-clueful friends followed along behind her. They didn’t seem to notice EVEN THE TINIEST BIT that they’d missed the full-on horror treatment this year. Afterwards, as the girls resumed trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, Wren dropped back from their pack to rave about what a big favor you were doing, how your abbreviated tour let her save face with her ghoul-tolerant friends for the first time, how smoothly you signaled the performers to let them know to hold back on the monstrousness… She went on for half a block, until her girlfriends interrupted us to tell me how SCARY the CLOWN GUIDE was.
Apparently you were terrifying. Congratulations. What a performance.
At half past seven (or quarter ’til eight) Jusby made his appearance as the clown referee/ tour guide for the Tumwater Halloween House. New props and new actors had been added, but the main difference in Friday’s performance was the intense wind and rain. Although it was relatively dry within the black plastic maze, the doors and edges kept getting blown open, and I still had to guide people to and from the rainy open yard areas.
I brought along my music, and that added a nice texture to counterpoint the people screaming and growling and crying.
Here’s a few of my co-conspirators. This guy hung out with a baseball bat in “the Head Shop”.
This gal spent some time dancing in the Clown Club.
And this guy is gonna owe me some Major Goop & Candy!
But he’s got a lot of work tomorrow before the reopening. Some of the fog machines died, and a giant tree limb cracked and was hanging precariously over the yard. And probably lots more stuff I shouldn’t worry about.
I’ll be loading up the Clown Club with scary balloon dogs… and hopefully another gifted clown or two!
After all, the whole thing benefits the Thurston County Food bank. I have benefited from the Food Bank in the past.
I pulled up the Halloween House on North street the other day, and Mike said, “We were just talking about you.”
What a reception! Okay, here I am!
“If you still want to do the tour guide bit…?”
Oh, yeah! So he sent me home with a head that I doctored up with some Jusby make-up.
Then Orion and I brought it over to The Clown Room. Tonight is Opening Night 6-10 PM.
I got a-head of myself!
btw, it’s REALLY DARK and SCARY… Don’t bring the little ones.
But if you insist, Jusby will guide them through with shouts of “LITTLE KIDS! LITTLE KIDS!”
Later that night… Jusby escorted the first visitors through, but not before a long discussion about the True Meaning of Halloween, and what to do when a little boy says, “Please, No, Daddy! I don’t want to go! I’m TOO SCARED!”
I just finished a round of judging for TCTV’s live benefit “Show Off”. A second set of judges will see primarily vocal acts until 5:30 today (Saturday). There will be 12 finalists with two alternates for a live televised show held at the Washington Center on November 14th. Two $500 prizes will be awarded.
This was a miss matched pair of musicians. The old guy sang a song about how he had his mercury fillings removed. The young guy sang a song about zombies.
The Slumgully Bluegrass band
An amateur hypnotist convinces Vaude DeVille to remember 3 shapes incorrectly.
Ammon Platter, the judges really liked this guy, and so did Sage who offered him professional advice.
Another pie… a long time coming but finally delivered.
“Just Sage” keeps crashing at my house on his way somewhere. I brought up the topic of pieing, and he told me the story of what happened when he’d crashed at another friend’s house. The guy let him use the shower in exchange for some hamburger. While showering he noticed that the shower curtain was decorated with the shadow from Psycho. Just then, his friend burst in with a Super Soaker! “Now, go ahead with your shower.”
Then for dinner, the friend brought him his food in a metal dog bowl! The friend was also eating from a dog bowl. Apparently it was a habit he picked up living on a boat. [They don't wobble and slide off the boat!]
Finally, he said, “You need some Barnacle Vodka,” and retrieved a bottle that he’d found SCUBA diving. The label had washed off and barnacles had grown on the glass, but the plastic ring around the top said Smirnov, so they knew what it contained. After the drink he said, “Now Get Out of My House!”
Sage also mentioned that the whole thing had been documented with pictures for fcbk. That was my opening.
I thawed the whipped cream and loaded it up in the pan. Well, beggars can’t be choosers.
I read (and re-read) “Branding Only Works on Cattle” by Jonathan Baskin Salem back in July. Then I found him on facebook and twitter. His blogs (http://dimbulb.typepad.com/) have continued to educate and entertain. I’m fascinated how so many big companies are, in his opinion, completely off track and barking up the wrong tree when it comes to their marketing.
Here’s some notes I took and some ways I’m grappling with The Clown Game.
The chronology of Purchase Intent:
Problem Recognition {Jimmy wants a Fun Birthday Party}
So WHAT IF… My Brand was defined what my customers DO? And My Branding defined the Who, Where, When, Why & How of my service? [My customers are craving a tactile representation of life's sweetness and light... and creaminess.]
I’m working on identifying the moments BEFORE customers recognize the problem. I’m needing a plan that doesn’t involve me logging onto facebook 10 times a day and wishing people Happy Birthday… on the day! By then it’s usually too late to book me. AND the person having a birthday doesn’t book their own party entertainment! That’s all bass-ackwards!
2 Do
Links to related services [Duh! Reciprocal links with party planners, cake decorators, etc.]
Design a “Before You Call” worksheet [Duh! Revising the FAQs or generating an on-line form with Where is Your Event? How Many Guests Do You Expect? etc.]
Guerrilla Suit [Isn't that what they're expecting?]
Get people to React/Respond/Do an Activity/ Give Feedback/ Edit/ Bid/ Try Application/ Purchase
Get people to Join the Team/ Further the Issue/ Add/ Improve/ Make a Difference
Ride Behaviors, Don’t Create Them
Show, Don’t Tell
Prompt Behaviors, Not Ideas
Talk to many every time I talk
“Content is inherently more credible if it makes No Claims to Credibility!”
On the other hand… Viral Marketing is nothing more than a glorified Chain Letter, and valuing Transparency means not allowing ppl to post comments Anonymously!
More hard news on the facebook scene: Have Clear Business-like Goals for Social Media Efforts! [Get the phone to ring? Get commitments for work?]
My Favorite was Chapter 7 “Games as Purpose, Not Distraction”
How To Recreate the sales ‘funnel’ as a game board
AND make shopping for birthday entertainment more like clipping coupons, searching for sales. Take a hint from Alternate Reality Gaming and let the players play with ALL the pieces.
ELEMENTS of GAMING
a payoff
a context
narrative flow
a variety of tools
winners & losers
touch points as mini-rewards
So that.. The Process of Getting to the Purchase Should Be as Satisfying as the Purchase Itself!!!
and furthermore: Customer Service, Refunds, Repairs, Problems, Etc. are also FUN/ SATISFYING/ GAME-LIKE/ PLAYFUL
“Once you see your consumers’ chronology of purchase intent as a pathway of linked, co-dependent behaviors, the idea that the brand can be structured much like a game has a lot of power. The qualities of discovery, self-guided authority, personalized pacing, intermediate rewards, and the challenge of skill and luck are themes that keep coming up in descriptions of search technology and new media and across our cultural landscape… (Unfortunately) brand continues to be the business corollary to buying a lottery ticket.”
Here’s the Clown Crucifixion montage that was the result of “the Great Clown Photoshoot”. It made its public debut at the Fall Arts Walk as a 40″ x 40″ print hanging in the window of Hot Toddy.
21 minutes of Northwest Festival of Clowns featuring all three of the events in which I competed… and some other clowns too. Courtesy David Raffin & Blissful Remembrances.
Francois had also wanted to buy a Giant Penny, but the vendor had run out. I gave him mine, since he had paid $20 for my $5 pair of shoes.
The $5 Replacement shoes.
Then I sent Trish over to NW Costume to replace the size 20s with the next largest pair they had left: size 18s. They should be big enough but more manageable in the act.
Then I took Orion over to Rusty Cock Ridge to replace the penny. I wound up with so much more!
I bought a JUMBO Gold $20 coin as well. Now I have a full set: Copper, Bronze, Silver, and Gold!
If you can’t earn a Gold Medal, buy some Gold Metal.
(c)The Olympian
I also hit on the inspiration to connect Carolee with Sprout. Carolee recently made the news with her synchronized swimming group, and Sprout recently earned a Gold for her synchronized swimming skit. Carolee said the swimmers would be having a show in December, and I promised to connect them through facebook. But, gosh, I don’t have a routine all worked up to coordinate with that.
Carolee asked me to publicize my services more. Maybe somebody would want me to come to their Halloween party. Maybe Rusty Cock Ridge would want to hire me… HUH? WHAT? She would have to talk to the boss, but he was usually a push-over. [She's married to him. Who's really the boss?]
I sat down with some paper and drafted a proposal for their venue. When the topic of price came up Orion was chiming in “By Donation!” WTF! I had to gag him with one hand and say that it was negotiable. I figure I could certainly accept a large percentage in trade since they have a lovely PHOTOGRAPHY business and BOUTIQUE!
I spent a leisurely morning with Orion. I made pancakes. Then we went to the festival for Mama Clown’s demo birthday party.
Why isn’t Orion blowing good-bye kisses to Mama Clown?
Why the heck did Orion stand DIRECTLY BEHIND Mama Clown for the final group photo op?! I dunno, but I still love him, and her show was awesome.
Francois came from Belgium to attend a couple of clown conventions. He started with a group of four. They have recently just formed the first clown alley in Belgium and Holland. For several days he has begged to buy my new size 20 shoes. Today I sold them to him. He wanted to go to the store and buy more. I figured that I could easily find it again in Tacoma. I got lost on the way. We drove for what seemed like hours. By the time we got there, the store had closed. In the end, he gave me a rare Belgian clown button and big praise in front of the assembled clowns. I also threw in my giant penny.
Christie “Ruffles”, Kimmi “Bubble~Trouble”, and I at the Awards Banquet. I got to have breakfast with Christie yesterday morning. Actually, I crashed the buffet (it was supposed to be for guests of the hotel), and I luckily discovered that our waiter was Singer/ Songwriter and KAOS DJ, Scott Askew.
Meanwhile, in another part of the dining room…
It’s Albert “Clem” Alter doing a spoon trick with Angels on his left and right (Contreras and Ocasio).
CLaroL the CLown from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, after ringing Wally (with plunger on head).
The Red Nose Brigade Group Paradability Entry “Road Apples” took a Silver and People’s choice award.
My solo skit “New Wand” took a Bronze Award.
My group skit with Bubble~Trouble “Pie in the face” got an Accommodation certificate. So they apparently thought we were disabled and thanked us for participating.
And the moral of the story? People prefer steaming piles of horse manure.
Oh, yeah, Francois’ clown partner, Marc won the only Gold Medal for a solo skit. His was about flies.
Horse manure and Flies. Something smells funny and it’s not my pies.
Posted by Jusby the Clown 
Posted by Jusby the Clown 
Posted by Jusby the Clown 
