You Have 5 Chances to Survive

Remember that time we closed registration to ROFLThing NYC really suddenly? It was a sad time for us too, and we’ve lost just as much sleep over it as you have: your wailing and gnashing of teeth have tormented our dreams. We’re sorry, we really are.

So sorry that we’ve decided to give you one last chance to get involved in this awesomeness. We’ve decided to bring you guys some Change You Can Believe In. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to LOL free! But you must act NOW.

We are auctioning off the last five tickets to ROFLThing, the ones we had been saving for our parents in case they ever chose to undisown us after creating the mess of ROFLCon the First*. The auction will only be open for 24 hours, so GET YOUR HUSTLE ON. Proceeds from each ticket will benefit a different charity or nonprofit that we <3, so you’ll actually be supporting a good cause in addition to repenting for your earlier procrastifail on obtaining tickets. Win-win!

Without further ado, the links to the auctions:

* ROFLTicket supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation
* ROFLTicket supporting Big Cat Rescue (in honor of our guest Sockington)
* ROFLTicket supporting the Internet Archive
* ROFLTicket supporting Global Voices
* ROFLTicket supporting New York Cares

All of these organizations need your help more than ever because of the recession. Coincidentally, you need ROFL in your life more than ever because of the recession too! Gee golly, sounds like you’d best click on them links and start bidding!

* Don’t worry guys, this isn’t actually true. Although I did have to explain Goatse to my mom, and that was really awkward…

OnLatte to Caffeinate ROFLThing NYC

We here at Team ROFLs are dedicated to finding the coolest stuff in the world and bringing it to you to make sure that your ROFLxperience is full of wonder and delight. Curators of win, if you will. And oh, have we struck gold this time.

(pic by JourneysCoffee)
That’s right. Lattes. They are caffeinated, they are delicious, and if you’re at a shishipoopoo coffee shop they sometimes come with art. Drinkable, caffeinated art. How cool is that?

“ROFLDudes,” you say. “That’s alright I suppose, but it’s not actually that cool. And how is this cutting edge? Stuff’s been around since like 1847. I expected more from the guys who brought us Brawndo and ROFLCondoms and…”

Oh MAN. Is that our logo rendered on a latte? IN CARAMEL? The answer is yes, and it’s all because a cool new Bostonian company called OnLatte has a) perfected a wondrous machine that can print images onto latte foam and b) agreed to give us a demo of said wondrous machine at ROFLThing! Over the course of ROFLThing, they’ll be making lattes to order for you guys with one of ten super-secret tubetastic images printed on them. One of them is obviously the ROFLThing logo, but the other 9 will remain a mystery until the event…

(Okay, you guys know me too well. Yes, one of them is Goatse. I love my life.)

NYC Flash Mob with This American Summer!

We blogged about the wonderful “Where the Hell is Matt” 2008 video a while ago. We suspect you are now in one of two camps (it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure!):

1) You are lazy and haven’t watched it. Shame on you. Watch it! Go on, now! Once you watch it, you’ll probably be in…

2) You marveled at the greatness of our planet and the jiveness of Matt Harding. Now you are filled with warm fuzzies and also a slight twinge of jealousy and regret that you didn’t get to participate in such a wonderful project. Are there any cool projects like this now that I can participate in, you ask?

Well, does Team ROFLCon have the answer for you. Our friends at This American Summer have been roadtripping the country for almost a month now and documenting their wacky adventures online in the form of pictures, tweets, blog posts, videos, and even a constant update of what music they’re listening to in their van. Basically, they’re doing all the hard work so we can reap the benefits vicariously. Nice.

And now they’re taking it one step further. Check out this invite for a video flash mob they’re planning in NYC!

When: Monday June 30, 2008, 7 PM EDT
Where: Outside Grand Central Terminal on the southside (E 42nd St), across the street and under the pedestrian bridge
Why: It’s an interesting thing to do (and the footage should be cool).
Who: You!

Did you hear that? YOU! So if you’re in the area, grab a video recording device and join them! They’re a meme in the making, they were proud attendees of ROFLCon, and they’re wonderful people.

ROFLCon Ranked #2 Most Pathetic Convention

Writers have Pulitzers, musicians have Grammys, the Boston Celtics have the NBA Championship, and scientists (& Al Gore!) have the Nobel Prize. Today, the ROFLCon staff was surprised with accolades of similar magnitude in our own field—that of running really freakin’ geeky conventions.

It’s no annual event and there’s no red carpet, but that can’t stop us from basking in the glory of being named the #2 Most Pathetic Geek Convention by Cracked.com.

In and of itself, this ranking would be no big deal. After all, most geek conventions are slightly puzzling to behold and take some concept or another “to a whole new, frightening level.” What makes this honor truly epic is the other conventions we’re sharing it with. Guys, we beat out Klingon Feast, a furry convention, and the Ohio Valley Filk Festival (which, incidentally, is happening in my hometown. And I thought there were no nerds here!), and we did so with reasonably good overall conference hygiene. If that doesn’t mean we just leveled up as a ‘Con, I don’t know what does.