Happy April First

In the past I have often attempted gentle humorous posts on this day. However, I have been a little too stressed and tired to come up with anything appropriately silly and interesting. Still, I think it fair to warn you about the rest of the internet today. While many people don't participate, enough do that it's dangerous to believe anything posted online with a date of April 1. Don't get caught as a fool... follow links, check sources. Don't trust the web today.

Check out April Fools' Day on the Web for some known jokes this year.

April First

I'm a big fan of gentle "gotcha" pranks on April First. I am not a fan of any sort of mean-spirited prank. So my enjoyment of today will depend much on whether or not people try to be clever or they try to be mean.

I have a page specifically for April Fools links to go to so people know what they read was a joke. It's here, and it has some nice links to some awesome lists of April Fools jokes of the past. So check those links out and try not to get caught by someone having fun today.

April 1st Round Up

For the most amusing web-based pranks, April Fools Day on the Web is the place to go.

Elayne put a few links up.

Wikipedia has a decent list of jokes, as well.

CNN even had a round up.

However, the absolute BEST this year, for me, was from Evening Magazine on KING 5. The field hands "planting" the mini-marshmallows just about killed me.

Happy April 1st

I have no desire to take part in the fun this year, but I'll enjoy seeing what other folks come up with.

April Fool?

The best April Follies on the Web for the day.

Advance Warning

I do not know if I am going to do an April Fools joke this year. I haven't got anything planned at the moment. But remember this: Most of the year, the internet is 60-80% unreliable, and you should always double-check anything you read. But on April 1st (and March 31st and April 2nd) that reliability vanishes completely, and you should assume that most of what you are reading is made up, and check your sources and then check their sources. It's ok to be caught out on April 1st, some really smart folks have been "gotten" before. But try not to spread false information and check the date on an article before quoting it (this goes for year 'round, actually).

I like April Fools Day. It forces us to stop taking everything so seriously. That said, I've seen my share of cruel pranks. I prefer gentle jokes that have a link to a page that says it's a joke, but some people really want to be mean. Just so you know, any April Fools joke I play will have a link to that page. So follow links before reporting news.

Warning

On most days, you should trust the internet about as far as you can throw an elephant. On this day, you should not trust the internet at ALL. Anything you read online today must be taken with a large grain of salt, and then confirmed by multiple sources on a different day, before you even consider the possibility that it may be true.

A good April Fool joke will be plausible but not hurtful, amusing but believable, and easy to confirm as false (I usually include a link to an "April Fool!" page). But many pranksters don't follow the "rules", so just don't believe anything until it's been confirmed on another day by a reliable source.

For an ongoing list of the best jokes, check out April Fools' Day On The Web. And for the April Fool haters, yeah, whatever. It's important to be silly on occasion, so I support being amused by today, even if you don't participate. If you get grumpy about it, people just think you fell for a prank and are bitter about it.

My favorite April Fool's joke

It appears that the Swiss tourist board website put this up yesterday to celebrate April Fool's Day. I loved the idea when I heard about it, and I loved it even more when I saw how they did it. So watch and enjoy!

Foolish Links

April Fools' Day on the Web.

Not In A Joking Mood

Sorry, although this is one of my favorite holidays, I just don't feel very happy today.

Maybe I'll post something funny next year.

Hmmm, Is It Too Early?

Well, maybe. It might be a little early to post this warning, but I've seen some signs of people getting ready for it, so I'll post my usual annual warning about the holiday of the internet.

Remember: Most of the time the internet is pretty much unreliable. It's a mess of people, and most people have no obligation to be honest. So every day you should be critical and think about what you read and see on the 'net, and don't trust anything until it's been verified by multiple sources.

There is one day that's thrown entirely out the window. On April 1st, don't believe ANYTHING you see on-line. It might be true, but presume it isn't.

At the moment I have no plans for an April Fools' Joke. Should I come up with one... well, you'll find out on April 1st, right? But consider this your warning from me.

On a related note, a good April Fools' Joke has certain qualities. It must be believable, but people should be able to check it. It should never be cruel. It should not lead to harm. It should be funny, either in and of itself, or once people realize it's a joke. Sometime on April Fools' Day I'll attempt to round up a list of jokes played that day, and will no doubt revisit some of my favorite classics. Hopefully, it'll be a good one this year.

Foolish Roundup

Kevin Church has April Fools Day haters pegged.

I like this one. Gentle humor, easily dismissed because the article itself says it's a joke.

I also have a fondness for Evil Bully. Dangerous m-- er, stuffed bulls, are very attractive.

The Museum of Hoaxes links to a few good ones.

Mike Sterling has gone All Star Batman and Robin for the day, while Pal Dorian has turned his blog into a Booster Gold fansite.

I pity the ... nevermind.

Google Sightseeing says Google Earth is using X-Rays and Infrared in its next update.

Something that wasn't a prank: Craigslist ad was meant to cover up crime.

Note: I may add to this post later if I see other fun ones.

April Fools

Again, I have no intention of pulling a joke this year. I couldn't come up with anything either clever enough or silly enough. After my last couple of fails, I didn't feel like failing again. But watch for jokes all over the rest of the 'net.

Again: The internet is not reliable most of the time. But today, don't believe anything without lots of back-up and documentation.

Now, a couple of links to make this post not a complete waste of time:

A collection of April Fools' Day on the Web. (The site may be slow today)

Speaking of jokes, Jester is an on-line joke recommender that attempts to figure out your sense of humor and only feed you ones you might find funny. (I think this is for real)

It's Monday Again Already

Happy 5th Birthday to GirlAMatic.com.

Here's a Superman Copyright FAQ that explains how the Siegels got half the Superman copyright back. For the record, since I strongly oppose the Disney-driven copyright extensions, I think my opinion on the details of this subject is best left unsaid. However, I firmly believe the Siegels and Shuster estate deserve compensation as well. Overall, I think this is a win.

Mark Evanier quoted my e-mail to him about our road trip, and linked back to me. Of more interest, he actually got a look at the ingredients of The Soup, which I wished I'd done once I learned they were available. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's a list from which you can duplicate the recipe. (If you're wondering what the road trip was about: Road Trip Part 1 and Road Trip Part 2.)

More on April Fool and the history of the day at the Museum of Hoaxes.

Another condemnation of Vista. As I've said before, I have no intention of ever downgrading to Vista. I'll go to LINUX first.

World's fastest internet connection 'used to dry laundry'. I like this lady's style.

Ah, uses of the internet. Yup, Eric and I do this all the time.

Fifteen years of Spam.

I'm Buffaloed.

Brian Wood tells about the inspiration for DMZ "Friendly Fire".

This is just sick. Putting seizure inducing graphics on a forum for sufferers of epilepsy is the kind of crime that should be punished with prison for a few years.

For the in-laws: sand pug.

And lastly, I've been e-mailed by a friend to ask if I will be posting when/if Eric gets called in for Jeopardy. I can make no promises. I figure that I'll post only when an air date is set for an episode he appears in, and not until. Lots of reasons for that, not the least of which is that things sometimes change at the last minute, so if I post that he got called, and for some reason he doesn't actually play, I wouldn't feel like explaining it. And of course, should he get on the show and play, we won't be telling anyone how he did until after the show airs.

April 1st

At the moment I have no plans to do an April Fools joke this year. However, I urge everyone to remember that the internet, which is usually fairly unreliable, generally becomes COMPLETELY unreliable at this time of year. Any item you read on April 1st, or that is dated April 1st, check the sources. If you can't find any sources, don't believe it.

This has been a public service announcement.

It Can't Be Thursday Already!

Stupid Google Tricks.

Compact Fluorescents aren't so good, after all. Don't worry, we'll be moving to LEDs or something else soon enough.

Spy Hunter!

Comics Should Be Good examines Oz.

By now, everyone has heard about PZ Myers being barred from seeing a Creationist movie that he was tricked into appearing in. And you've all probably heard who PZ's guest was who managed to see the movie because they only kicked PZ himself out. But I couldn't not link to the story.

Simply clicking a link could get your home raided. The article says the FBI isn't bothering to record the referrer, which means some "prankster" could put the link up in a major forum and it would get tons of hits... I'm afraid clicking a link should NEVER be "probable cause" for a federally condoned home invasion and robbery.

All roads lead to Rome. Or somewhere.

The 5 Most Ridiculously Over-Hyped Health Scares of All Time.

Pastafarians in Crossville Tennessee got permission to put a Flying Spaghetti Monster statue on the Courthouse lawn. I want one! (A statue of the FSM, not a courthouse) Be sure to scroll down for pictures on how they made the FSM.

ARGH! People are so stupid! You don't believe everything you read online, especially if it's about free stuff, including a horse. Whoever posted this needs to go to jail, but so do the idiots who went and robbed the guy's house.

Speaking of not believing everything you read online, the Museum of Hoaxes reminds us that April Fools Day is coming by doing a little more research into the possible origins of the day.

I loved this LOLcat.

I hope they rolled a critical hit (it looks like they did to me).

Pugs for the in-laws: I Has A Me.

On April Fools Day Jokes

You can always tell when people aren't doing their research when an item that was posted as an April Fools Day joke, with a clear link that indicated that it was an April Fools Day joke, shows up months later as an actual news item in a magazine.

Emeralds and Fools Lunkdimp

While I've finished my reading of blogs and such that I missed over the weekend while at the con, I'm going to dribble out the links a bit so I don't overwhelm either myself or my readers. Hey, don't laugh. For me this is a small linkdump.

My Reports so far: Pre-Con, No Foolin', Part I, and Part II.

The Survey is Up for Emerald City Comicon 2007, along with the dates of next year's con. Please, if you went to the con and fill out the survey, request Aaron Williams (PS238, Nodwick) and Linda Medley (Castle Waiting) as guests. And whomever else you want, but request them for me, ok?

Next year's Emerald City Comicon will be March 29th & 30th, 2008 at the Washington State Convention Center. I plan to attend unless something major happens that prevents it.

And, still speaking of the Con:

• CBR's Report and CBR's photo parade (what, no Illusive?).
• The Seattle Times Reports:
• The insider scoop on the ever-expanding Emerald City Comicon
• Q&A with Posehn
• Q&A with Tom Peyer
• A slightly related article about Fantagraphics versus Harlan Ellison.
• Other reports:
  • Jeff Parker reports on Saturday and also on the rest of the con
  • Penny Arcade in art and in words
  • Greg posts a pre-con readiness report with pictures.
  • Dorothy's Journal Pre-Con, Post-Con with video, and Suggestion for the Survey.
  • Comics Fairplay.
• The Beat announces the afterparty.
• ComicMix links to me and my Troll! Thanks Elayne!
• The Comics Reporter Collects Links to reports, and solicits any more that you have.

Moving on to other links...

April Fools Jokes I mostly missed:

• The Aquaman Shrine went Namor for a day, something I have often considered doing with my Aquaman page.
• Elayne spots some jokes.
• Nancy & David give us Seattle Viaduct Condos which should be amusing to anyone living in Seattle at the moment.
• Chief Seattle talks to a reporter.
• Americans Defeat Russians in First Space Quidditch Match.
• Three Bits of Trivia is naughty. (And here's some synchronicity).
• Today in Alternate History turns over the blog to novelist wannabes.
• The Pirate Bay finds a new home.
• Diane Duane reacts to being married to Peter David (ok, not technically April Fools, but it works)
• ComicMix went nuts:
  • Marvel to Launch 365.
  • Penguin Signed for Batman III.
  • Chocolate Cap Controversy.
  • Steven Spielberg and George Lucas Launch Studio Comics.
  • Ellison and Groth Sign Historic Peace Accord.
• Glenn Rounds up the Pranks and is disappointed.
• Museum of Hoaxes on Google's Pranks.

And more links...

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #96.

Eagle Award Noms are Up.

Scipio needs your cartography skills.

Net Neutrality and Music.

Kid kicked off airplane for coughing.

Updated: Space Junk and planes.

Kid blinded while making a bomb, media blames internet (although kids were making bombs LONG before the internet, yes, including me).

Star Wars Stamps. Yes, I plan on getting a sheet of them.

"He has insurance." Brought home to me yet again today as I needed to visit the doctor and get a refill on a prescription, and had to pay for it all out of pocket.

Right, that's more than enough for today. Dorothy Temporary Tattoo status: Mostly intact, small bits missing, cracks appearing. Not quite as vivid.

Happy birthday, Spaghetti Harvest!

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of one of the greatest April Fool's pranks of all time: The BBC's report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. Back in 1957, of course, spaghetti was still thought of as an exotic foreign food, and most Brits didn't know much about it, like how it was made. And I suspect our collective baloney detectors are a lot more finely honed in this day and age than they were then. So this little gem fooled a lot more people than it would today. So, in honor of today's important anniversary, here's the video (and I'm sorry about the poor quality, but that's the best I could find on any copy):

Today

April Fools' Defense Kit.

Be Ready For April Fools.