Rescue Attempt

February 27, 2007 Mark Williams 13 comments

Well, I videotaped it.

If you have no idea what that video is, then get some history on it in my initial post and my follow-up.

Otherwise, all of this will make even less sense to you than to those who already know the sordid tale.

See more of the cup’s continuing story in Cupdate.

Blue Straw, Fun, News, True Story, Video none

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Written by John on February 27, 2007.

Looks like the other cup was a goner, or it got rescued. What I am saying? Don’t waste the bandwidth on something this silly.
Written by John on February 27, 2007.

This may sound weird. Ever since I was kid, seeing a hand or hands enter a camera shot where I cannot see who they are attached to sometimes gives me the creeps especially if the hand or hands move strangely.

I hate to say it. This video clip is one of those moments.
Written by Blitz Krieg on February 27, 2007.

Noooooooooooooooooo!
Written by Dave on February 27, 2007.

Weird, the vid came out smaller than a postage stamp for me…… bummer.
Written by Simon on February 27, 2007.

Mark, the musical selection was just the right accompaniment for the tension built by your editing. The cliffhanger ending nearly had me weeping in angst. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out, but there’s a part of me that thinks you’ll do it only to make a profit off the reputation of this first one. Scummy bastard!

(There’s a spelling mistake in there too. I think you meant to type, “…who already know the soda tale.”)
Written by Moksha Gren on February 27, 2007.

I opened my Google homepage this morning and immediately saw you had posted something called “Rescue Attempt”. I though to myself, “hmmm, I wonder what Mark could be res…..” I knew before I even hit the link. I was shaking my head even before I saw the video box load.

I will say this though…I think the video is just as good if someone were to have no idea about the back story. Surreal would not even begin to cover it.

And unlink Simon, I embrace your capitalism. I not only look forward to the sequel…but also the t-shirt and the lunch box. I hear Jack in the Box is carrying the Rescue Attempt action figure. It looks just like a standard cup…but they assure me it’s worth the extra $1.50 for the collector status.
Written by Blitz Krieg on February 27, 2007.

By the way Mark, very nice production. I’m so happy the cup still survives.
Written by Mark on February 27, 2007.

John – Very observant, and good memory. The white cup lying on its side lasted only about a week. Wasted bandwidth? Who watched it? Huh? Huh?

Glad it was creepy for you. It certainly was for me, squatting between the cars and that gutter.

BK – That was Shannon’s reaction when she watched the unedited version. Ha!

Dave – Some technical glitch? Or maybe you had been viewing some objectionable material at work and had decreased the size so you could at least enjoy the audio without the surveillance cameras knowing what you were doing.

Simon – I tried a couple other compositions before I got this one and knew it was right (because I couldn’t find my John Williams CD with “Jaws” on it). This is from the opening bars of “St. Crispin’s Day / Battle of Agincourt,” on the Henry V soundtrack, perhaps my favorite movie score of all time. Ever. In the history of movies.

The sequel should be interesting, whenever that may be.

(groans but laughs at “soda tale”)

Moksha – Oh, wow. T-shirts. Wouldn’t that be a quirky inside joke? I could post something to cafepress.com or a similar site, and watch the orders trickle slowly, like a man with a huge prostate standing at a urinal.

I laughed out loud at the idea for the Jack in the Box tie-in.

Blitz – Thanks. It’s so much fun to make these it’s almost addictive. I, too, am happy the cup is still there (checked it just this morning — the video is from last week)
Written by John on February 27, 2007.

What happened to it? As far as I am concerned, I hate creepy videos or anything that creeps me out. With some stuff, it is difficult to say what is going to creep me out.
Written by Linda on February 27, 2007.

All this time I’ve been thinking (kidding myself?) how well I’ve managed to keep up with you guys, your interests, senses of humor, etc. I’ve got a lump in my throat as I read this, realizing that I’m not really “one of the guys.” I thought I could pull it off. I hung in there through the urinal discussions, the body stuff, the gropings, the dog poop, all that “manly matter.” But I just don’t get the cup thing. I just. don’t. *pouts*
Written by Mark on February 27, 2007.

John – It’s still there, safely tucked into a spot where the sun never shines directly.

Linda – In my experience, guys are more likely to be sentimental about inanimate objects than are women. Cars, magazines, that weird-looking thing that by God you just might need some day. At the very least, we’re worse about being packrats (again, I understand I’m painting with a broad brush here, but this is just based on the men and women I’ve known).

As an extension of that, I think maybe the male brain is more likely to become intrigued by a cup that’s been in a gutter for at least half a year.

I know a guy who pushed up the translucent ceiling panel in an elevator and placed a Hershey’s Kiss inside, just to see how long it would stay there. Months later, we still could see the silhoutte of the Kiss. We snickered every time one of us thought to look.

There are many other examples of guys seeing how long something can stay there, but I can’t possibly enumerate them here (nor would you want me to).
Written by Charles on February 27, 2007.

I knew exactly what the entry was going to be just by reading the title. The only question I had was when you were approaching the drain. “When he reaches in, will he or will he not have a glove on?” You decided to go sans glove…courageous. Obviously, it is wedged in there pretty tight, because I noticed there wasn’t any movement when you put your mitts on it.

I liked the credits, and the fact that you acknowledged your indecision.

I’M SO GLAD YOU LEFT IT THERE. You can’t move it now. You know that every time a hard rain comes, you can’t wait to see if it is still there the next morning, or afternoon.
Written by Mark on February 27, 2007.

Charles – You know, I thought about gloves, and then I figured, nah, that might look weird. (ahem)

I wondered whether anyone noticed that I actually touched the cup. Did anyone notice I accidentally flicked the straw a little? I thought about chaos theory, wherein just the flap of a butterfly’s wings can change things enough to alter history.

Then I thought of the great song “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” and couldn’t get Billy Corgan’s voice out of my head.